Singing Cosplayer Hikari’s event report from JAPAN EXPO PARIS 2022 – DAY 1

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By Matsumoto Takuya

On Thursday, July 14, JAPAN EXPO Paris 2022, one of the world’s largest Japanese culture festivals, was held in Paris, France, for the first time in three years after COVID-19 disaster. More than 250,000 people attended the four-day event, exceeding initial expectations, and despite the fact that the number of people infected by COVID-19 is far greater than in Japan, there were only a few people wearing masks in Paris and at the JAPAN EXPO, indicating that the entertainment industry is making a comeback ahead of Japan.

At the Japan Expo, a Japanese singer gave her first live performance to an audience. She is Singing Cosplayer Hikari, an international singer who covers J-POP songs, especially anime songs and vocaloid songs.

Day 1 of the JAPAN EXPO (July 14, 2022)

Even though it was Thursday morning, there was a long line at the entrance of JAPAN EXPO. As I moved around to check the location of the stages in the venue, I found Singing Cosplayer Hikari’s photo and name on a sign board hanging from the ceiling of the venue. She was the only one of the performers to be treated this way, and her face and name were to be seen throughout the venue.

She performed on the TSUBAME stage, which was slightly smaller than the YUZU stage where miwa performed, and located at the far end of the venue. Therefore, only a few dozen people had gathered for the other artists’ performances on the TSUBAME Stage in the morning. However, perhaps the release of the set list three days prior to the event helped, as many as 300 people had already gathered 15 minutes prior to the start of the show.

It is hard to believe that an event of this scale would be held in Japan, but there are no rehearsals on the music stage at the JAPAN EXPO. The only sound check is done during the changeover right before the live performance. During the sound check, Singing Cosplayer Hikari appeared for the first time in front of the French audience in a grape-patterned yukata by the Japanese kimono brand ‘Furifu’, and was greeted with loud cheers.

Then the music started to play. The song chosen for the sound check was “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” by Yoko Takahashi, the first song from the TV animation “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. When she began to sing, the cheers turned to screams. The song is one of the most popular anime songs in France. Her voice drew so much attention that even visitors walking in the distance came running to the stage, and a crowd of over 500 people gathered in front of the stage.

After the sound check, the show finally began. After two songs, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” and “Soul’s Refrain”, it was time for Singing Cosplayer Hikari’s first stage banter. She herself spoke in French.

The other Japanese artists were doing their stage banter in Japanese through a French interpreter. However, she performed all of her three solo stage banters in French during the three days of the JAPAN EXPO. Except for an impromptu “shout-out,” she never used Japanese.

She neither understands nor speaks French. She thought, “I want to convey my thoughts and feelings to the French audience in French”. So she had been training in French pronunciation lessons for several months, and performed French stage banters along with her songs.

The third song she performed after her stage banter was “The Everlasting Guilty Crown” by EGOIST from the TV anime “Guilty Crown”. This song was chosen not because it was for France, but because she wanted to sing a song that she loves and that French people would not have to know.

However, at her autograph signing session, which was held every day for four days, and where long lines continued to form, what many of the French and other European audience members said to her then was, “The Everlasting Guilty Crown was the great.”. She also said in an interview with French media that this was the most impressive event of this JAPAN EXPO.

The fourth song was “Monster(Kaibutsu)” by YOASOBI. In France, it is said that the TV animation “BEASTARS” is very popular, and many people became fans of YOASOBI because of the song “Monster” from this animation.

After another stage banter in French, the intro of Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Inferno” from the TV anime “Fire Force” began to play for the fifth song, and the cheers of the audience, which had swelled to about 800 people, grew even louder. The song, which she had prepared for the JAPAN EXPO and which had been made available for music and video distribution worldwide, including France and Japan, on July 12 just prior to the event, was no less enthusiastic than “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis”.

After the third French stage banter, the last song was “Yume To Hazakura”, a cover version of which she released in April 2021, and whose music video has been viewed 2.54 million times on YouTube; it has reached #1 on the Apple Music and iTunes J-Pop charts in 14 countries and the song has also reached #1 on the daily Apple Music J-Pop chart in France five times. Her debut in France, the first live performance in front of an audience, was a great success. After the concert, a long line of new fans from France and all over Europe lined up for the autograph session, who would later come to see her on all four stages over the next three days.

In fact, an opening party was held at the venue that evening by the event organizers, performers, and related parties. She wore a conspicuous Alice-patterned school uniform by “LucyPop”, a Japanese school uniform brand popular not only in Japan but also abroad, and was approached by many local influencers, who uploaded photos of her on their social networking sites. She was especially excited to meet a local influencer who is a singer, and they showed each other videos of the French version of anime songs sung by him and the Japanese version of anime song covers sung by her.

< Singing Cosplayer Hikari France JAPAN EXPO Paris 2022 All live setlist and YouTube video playlist >
*All songs are cover songs of anime songs or vocaloid songs.

-July 14 (Thursday)-
13:15-13:45 Live music on TSUBAME stage (“Furifu” yukata costumes)
1) Yoko Takahashi / A Cruel Angel’s Thesis (TV animation “Evangelion”)
2) Yoko Takahashi / Soul’s Refrain (TV animation “Evangelion”)
3) EGOIST / The Everlasting Guilty Crown (TV animation “Guilty Crown”)
4) YOASOBI / Monster (TV animation “BEASTARS”)
5) Mrs. GREEN APPLE / Inferno (TV animation “Fire Force”)
6) AOKI Gekkoh feat. HATSUNE Miku / Yume To Hazakura (Vocaloid song)

< Singing Cosplayer Hikari SNS information >
https://www.tiktok.com/@singingcosplayerhikari
https://www.youtube.com/c/SingingCosplayerHikari/
https://www.facebook.com/SingingCosplayerHikari/
https://www.instagram.com/singingcosplayerhikari/
Tweets by SingCosHikari
https://www.nicovideo.jp/user/118807162

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