On August 31st, Hey! Say! JUMP! had their very first appearance in a-nation! It is an annual series of summer concerts organized by Avex. This year’s concert took place at the Ajinomoto Stadium. After the former member Nakajima Yuto’s graduation from the group, it was their first appearance in public as a 7 member group.
Given the sudden announcement, the choreography and line distribution of all the songs they performed likely had to be changed on very short notice. The fact that they all adapted to the change and gave us a near flawless performance is very commendable. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the group’s appearance with 7 members. However, let’s start with complimenting their professionalism and handling such a big change like the super idols they are! They could’ve cancelled the concert and taken a day off to cope with it, but they proceeded to appear regardless!
The performance started with the members appearing on the stage wearing their hearts on their sleeves. They looked nervous and confused yet calm. The setlist kicked off with the cult classic “Weekender!” Despite the heavy atmosphere, JUMP in their usual fashion took over the stage with their unmatched energy! While it was all fun and games, the next two songs, “Sandersonia” and “encore” were rather emotional. Especially with both songs having lyrics referring to not being alone and not saying goodbyes. Having lost Yuto, singing such lyrics was quite a heartache for them. You could clearly see how hard it was for them in their eyes. Their usual sparkle was quite dim.
“encore,” a song that celebrates the idea of always staying together, yet they are missing one very important member. One couldn’t just watch the performance and not think of Yuto. He has been with the group for 17 years since their debut in 2007. Together they came across so many different eras, of course, they don’t want to say goodbye and just wanna stay by each other’s side. But together or not, life goes on, giving “encore” as a song a whole new meaning.
Putting melancholy aside, JUMP then quickly jumped on the summer vibes with “Fanfare!” An uplifting and fresh summer song wrapped in the warmth of the summer breeze. The new line distribution took a bit to settle down, but we must applaud Takaki for beautifully opening the song, which was originally Yuto’s line.
During the MC, there was a little light-hearted banter between the members that really helped with changing the mood. Earlier during “Weekender,” member Inoo Kei had introduced themselves as the cute girl group Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu, following on that Arioka Daiki this time emphasized on their group name Hey! Say! JUMP and asked everyone in the audience to remember their actual name. When asked about the reason for saying the name of a different group, Inoo said he made a mistake out of nervousness. This evoked laughter both on stage and within the audience.
The second half started with an older banger, “Ride With Me” that definitely took longtime fans down memory lane. The energy continued with the rather recent “Donkey Gongs.” Although both songs are 10 years apart, JUMP danced to both with so much energy and passion that it reminded everyone who has been the reigning kings of the stage when it comes to dance. When it comes to dance, vocals, and stage presence, no matter the genre, JUMP is unbeatable! Their passion for their art is what sets them apart from other groups.
They are approaching their 18th anniversary this year, but their energy doesn’t fall short even for a moment! The choreography of “Ride With Me” is one of my personal favorites, so seeing them slaying the choreography with unmatched precision was truly a treat to my eyes!
After dance-focused performances, JUMP hopped on the moving trucks as they sang “Come on A My House” and brought out their goofy and playful side to the audience. What is a JUMP concert without “Come on A My House?” Exactly, it’s incomplete. While the silliness lightened the mood a lot but the pain again came rushing back the second the intro to “Asu e no YELL” started playing.
If there is a song that screams the name Nakajima Yuto, it’s this one. This song was the theme song for his drama Water Polo Yankees. A cheerful, high-energy anthem that celebrates youth, hope, and new beginnings. Without Yuto such a cheerful song quickly turned bittersweet, especially with the lyrics that encourage following your dreams. If we think this way that Yuto took a step forward to follow his dreams, maybe the pain in our hearts would ease a little.
We will cry, we’ll laugh, but we gotta support Yuto in his new journey. It must have been a tough decision for him to leave the group too. Let us help him be his best self moving on as a fulltime actor. I personally felt that having performed “Asu e No YELL” with seven members gave JUMP a closure that they needed to move forward.
From this point on the set list is moving fast towards the end. “Wo I Need You” was as fun and cheerful as ever. Not a single beat dropped on the ground. It’s during “eek!!” is when everyone started to loosen up. Especially during the second half of the song, when Daiki took over Yuto’s “zip zip” followed by Inoo’s “A-nation-tion-tion!!”. Everyone broke down into laughter. Suddenly, the ever-so-precious spark was back in everyone’s eyes. I cannot stress enough how much I appreciate Inoo and Daiki trying to make everyone smile from the very beginning of the show. Both of them have been very strong throughout this entire time. It must have been hard for them too, but they still pushed through. Arioka Daiki, the negative fighter for real! Daiki and Inoo fought the dark cloud of negativity away from above them.
Finally, they performed “DEAR MY LOVER.” It was the perfect end to a bittersweet show. The seven of them were finally smiling with their spark back. However, what we see is not everything. They might still be hurting, they might be giving their all to force a smile to reassure us fans, but still seeing them smile healed a lot of us. I know it healed me.
From 10 to 9, to 8, and now down to 7. From hereon, it’s gonna be a new JUMP for both us and for them. On the first day as seven, they gave their all. While we can all talk about how sad they looked throughout the majority of the show, I would like to put an emphasis on how they bravely faced us despite their emotions. Worst case scenario, they could have chosen to cancel their appearance at A-nation all together, but they did not.
They came up on the stage and faced the entire world. This takes a lot more courage than we think. They were nervous, emotional, conflicted, confused. So many negative emotions took over them but I genuinely believe that coming out on the stage was the best decision. It gave them a platform to reorganize their feelings. By the end of the show they all had a smile different to that they had at the beginning.
I would like to believe that it was their genuine smile. I really, really hope that the seven of them will stay together till the end of time. Whatever happens, whether they release music or not, I just want JUMP to stay together.
Yuto left a big gap in the group, and the JUMP we have now is desperately trying to fill that gap together. It is not going to be an easy task. A gap of 18 years cannot be filled overnight. But it is JUMP we are talking about. As long as we keep our faith in them and keep supporting them, I know they will overcome this hurdle and come back even stronger than before. Let’s put the negative thoughts aside and shower them with positive energy as much as we can! Both JUMP and Yuto need our support now more than ever!
Hey! Say! JUMP will shine and sparkle brighter than they have ever been before. Let’s bibidi bobidi boo away the negativity, shall we?
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I heartily agree with everything said here. I felt the same watching them perform that day, and I think right now we must make an effort to be respectful, gentle and encouraging towards them, because it must be a really hard moment for them. Thanks for this nice article! 😺💚