A Dream

After watching my friends' exhilaration at having watched one of their idols perform on stage and my partner, John, saying that it still rates second to his No. 1 idol Barbra Streisand, it made me ponder on how much I really want to watch my No. 1 idol Akina Nakamori, and the answer is a resounding Yes!

Akina will be holding a Akina Nakamori Special Live ~ EMPRESS at CLUB eX this year. It will be a round stage at Shinagawa CLUB eX in Tokyo with 450 seats from 7-17 July, 2005. Tickets are sold at 12,000 Yen (Including tax) for all seats. It is an attempt for Akina to get closer to her true fans because sales are reportedly restricted to her fanclub and it will undergo a "lucky draw" to decide who are the lucky fans. From the name of the concert, it is likely that she will be covering many songs from her Utahime series, which is a 3 part series of an album concept that she covers other singers' hits. I have always been a fan of Akina singing other singer's songs because only a good singer will dare to attempt other singer's songs and will have the confidence to put it on record, let alone a concert.

Akina has held a previous Utahime concert at the Parco Theatre in 1994, so this is seemingly a part 2. She received rave reviews for that concert performance and I am excited about what new songs she might cover in this concert. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this concert, but I wish Tien and Eugin luck so that they can tell me all about it when they get back, if they do get the tickets.




I have been a fan of Akina since Jan 1984, when I first watched her performance in the 1983 Kohaku Utagassen (Red and White Song Festival), and it is my 21st year anniversary and I have never watched her sing live. I have videos of her concerts but I know that she is usually very self-conscious and thus anxious, and so the taped performances don't truly reflect her true poweress. From what I have heard from Tien and Eugin, who attended her concert last year, she is truly magical. I wrote a little history about how I "fell in love" with Akina and also did a small section on her single discography. It was all done in 2000 when I first started my website and I have not updated since, so please read the other fan websites if you want to know more about her happenings since 2000.

So, I have made a vow that I will make an effort to go to Tokyo next year with John, not only to visit Japan but also to attend my first Akina concert (which I hope that she will have one next year). This is not only a hope but a true desire, a dream that will come true ...