MAD JAMIE is heading back to Europe—and anyone needing a reminder of why Akubi Kanjousen’s performances leave such a strong impression should begin with these four music videos.
The Shibuya-based idol-punk artist will return for the HYPER NATURAL Europe Tour 2026 throughout September, bringing her latest album HYPER NATURAL and the uncompromising energy behind the slogan “Kawaii is Fxxk” back to European stages.
MAD JAMIE’s music is built for the live scene: loud guitars, shouted responses and emotions delivered without restraint. However, we’ve selected four videos which also reveal the vulnerability, playfulness and conviction behind that intensity.
“baby star” has the strongest connection to MAD JAMIE’s European journey, and a song and video close to heart for Dumpling Box as well.
Filmed during the 2024 Europe Tour in Norway, Sweden and Italy, the music video turns footage from the road into a quiet visual diary. Akubi walks through Nordic streets, visits old fortresses, pulls her suitcase between destinations and takes in the scenery around her. Rather than presenting Europe only through its venues and crowds, the video preserves the smaller moments surrounding the performances.
The gentle, slightly muted visuals give “baby star” a markedly different atmosphere from MAD JAMIE’s more confrontational videos. Her clear, distinctive high notes sit against calm landscapes and beautiful architecture, while the weight of the rock arrangement prevents the song from becoming overly delicate. The stillness of the surroundings instead makes its emotion feel even more pronounced, and looking back at it, the very first note of it brings you back to the time shared during the tour.
At the heart of the song is Akubi’s desire to become a star—and the reassurance she received from those who believed she was already shining. That combination of ambition and uncertainty gives “baby star” its bittersweet pull. It is not simply about reaching a distant goal, but continuing to move forward when it becomes difficult to recognise one’s own light.
The European footage adds another layer to that idea. Akubi is shown far from Shibuya, carrying MAD JAMIE’s music through unfamiliar cities and discovering that it can connect with audiences well beyond Japan—something she’s clearly demonstrated through her continued European tours and overseas performances to date. For those who saw her during that tour, the video preserves shared memories. For those preparing to see her this year, it offers a glimpse of the journey that brought her back.
If “baby star” captures MAD JAMIE’s vulnerability, “Fight for Freedom” throws the door open to her more chaotic side.
The fast-moving rock track was created as Akubi’s own encouragement anthem: a song about fighting for personal freedom while acknowledging the fear, pain, and uncertainty involved. Its momentum feels designed to release something, building tension before allowing the chorus to break forward with full force.
The video matches that restless energy by moving between several versions of Akubi. She strides through Shibuya with commanding confidence, performs with an almost confrontational intensity and then appears in increasingly playful scenes involving a maid outfit, a fan, kokeshi dolls, and other flashes of deliberate absurdity.
Those contrasts are central to its appeal as “Fight for Freedom” never asks Akubi to choose between being cool, cute, mischievous, or slightly unhinged. Each side exists at once, making the video feel like a condensed version of the captivating unpredictability found in a MAD JAMIE performance.
Even away from an actual stage, its pacing and expressive cuts recreate the sensation of being inside a crowded live house. It is less a polished visual accompaniment than a burst of live energy captured on camera—the kind of video that makes the next concert feel urgently necessary.
“NONFICTION” marked the beginning of MAD JAMIE’s current chapter.
Released around the project’s restart as Akubi’s solo endeavour, the song works as both a declaration and a promise. Its title reflects the principle at the centre of MAD JAMIE: what happens between Akubi and the audience is not a manufactured story. The frustration, excitement, conflict and affection are all part of the same reality.
The music video is direct and stylish, relying on bold red-and-black imagery and Akubi’s presence and emotionally haunting voice rather than an elaborate narrative. That straightforward approach suits a song built around honesty. There is no need to soften the message or disguise it behind something more complicated.
“NONFICTION” also establishes an important distinction in Akubi’s artistry. Emotional honesty does not mean presenting only vulnerability, nor does it mean remaining serious at all times. It means allowing every side of herself—the anger, determination, humour and uncertainty—to exist openly within MAD JAMIE.
Years into the solo era, the song still feels like a manifesto. It explains why Akubi performs with such intensity and why the stage remains the place where MAD JAMIE makes the most complete sense.
“FXXK YOU VERY MUCH” is MAD JAMIE’s unconventional greeting song.
Rude, playful and strangely welcoming, it transforms a raised middle finger into an invitation to enter Akubi’s world. The song’s driving rhythm and immediate hooks make it feel ready for audience participation from its opening moments, while its message turns negativity into fuel rather than allowing it to stop her.
The video follows Akubi through the environment where MAD JAMIE is most at home. Backstage preparation gives way to a full performance with musicians and dancers, capturing the progression from dressing-room focus to the release of stepping onto the stage.
Its strongest moments come from that live-house atmosphere. The band, dancers and Akubi all push with the same intensity, creating something that feels less like a staged recreation and more like an ordinary MAD JAMIE night unfolding in front of the camera. Handwritten text, vivid backstage colours and close-up details add personality without distracting from the performance at its centre.
It is also a video filled with affection for the stage itself. Beneath the attitude and provocation is a clear sense that performing is where Akubi feels most alive. By the time the song reaches its conclusion, “FXXK YOU VERY MUCH” no longer sounds solely confrontational. It feels celebratory—a loud welcome to anyone willing to join the chaos.
Where MAD JAMIE truly comes alive
As captivating as MAD JAMIE’s recorded music and videos are, they only reveal part of what makes Akubi such a compelling artist. Her greatest strength becomes clear when she steps onto a stage.
Akubi does not perform with a carefully maintained distance between herself and the audience. Her shows are raw, physical, and emotionally direct. Whether she is standing in a packed Japanese live house or appearing before an unfamiliar audience overseas, she carries herself with the same conviction, as though the size of the room matters far less than reaching every person inside it.
That intensity cannot be created through styling, production or volume alone. It comes from how deeply she believes in the music she performs. Her passion resonates through her voice—through its sharp, distinctive high notes, its moments of vulnerability and the force with which she delivers every word. Even the most chaotic parts of a MAD JAMIE show feel purposeful because Akubi never appears to be playing at rebellion. She carries it close to her heart.
Her charisma also lies in contrast. She can appear commanding and larger than life one moment, then mischievous, warm or visibly moved the next. Songs built for shouting, call-and-response, and movement can suddenly give way to something intimate, allowing the emotional meaning beneath MAD JAMIE’s noise to rise to the surface. That openness is what draws audiences further into her world.
The slogan “Kawaii is Fxxk” captures the attitude, but Akubi’s performances give it substance. Behind the middle fingers and distorted guitars is an artist who has committed herself fully to what she creates—and who invites the audience to release something alongside her. The music may bring people through the door, but it is the conviction with which she performs it that makes them want to return.
Europe, get ready
These four songs offer a strong introduction to MAD JAMIE, but they represent only part of Akubi’s constantly evolving sound.
Across her wider discography, sharp punk energy sits alongside emotional ballads, defiant anthems and songs made to erupt inside a live house. “FXXK YOU VERY MUCH” captures the live-house joy. “NONFICTION” establishes the honesty behind the project. “Fight for Freedom” combines determination with playful disorder, while “baby star” reveals the fragile ambition beneath Akubi’s confidence.
That range is what makes MAD JAMIE more than the immediate shock of distorted guitars, middle fingers and “Kawaii is Fxxk.” Behind it is an artist determined to turn every emotion—however loud, uncomfortable or vulnerable—into something that can be shared from the stage.
With HYPER NATURAL opening another chapter in that journey, now is the perfect time to explore the rest of MAD JAMIE’s music—and discover the tracks that might become your own reason to meet her in front of a European stage.
So, Europe, get ready!
More MAD JAMIE on Dumpling Box
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