AKB48 in NYC (Part 2)

By: Brian Mah

In the concert the audience was a mix of age groups and genders. The audience was enthusiastic and grateful that AKB48 had their first US concert in NYC. The audience was allowed to enter the concert area at about 5pm. The VIP guests were escorted to the upper level, while the general audiences were in the lower level in the pit.

They were cheering and had a lot of energy during the start of the concert. The concert started a little later than planned, but that didn’t bother them. Many of who were waiting patiently to view their favorite group.

The dancers and singers arrived on stage with the loud vocal approval of their admirers. The first number was the song, " Aitakatta!" The first costume change for the group had the members dressed up in Scottish-type school uniforms. The group sang and danced in unison like they would in their Akiba show.

They sang their most popular songs, "I love you baby" and their rendition of "Happy Birthday." Each set drew louder and louder cheers. In the end of the second song, each member introduced themselves in their best English. The youngest member, Misaki “Wasami” Iwasa (14), Research Student, said,” I will put all of my energy in the concert.” That drew a loud roar from the crowd. One of the veteran members, Sayaka Akimoto (21), team K, said to the crowd, “I will do my best. Enjoy the show!” She also said the mission of AKB48 in English, which is “Idols you can meet everyday around.” Many other members were in awe of coming to NYC. “NY is very exciting,” sums up the words from another team K member, Sae Miyazawa (19). Tomomi "Tomochi" Nakatsuka, team B, admired the NYC skyline. “I love beautiful night in NY,” she said in English. One of the more humorous moments in the introductions came from Reina Fujie (15). She said, “I am very surprised with how big the drinks are.” That drew a few snickers from the older audience member. She was probably referring to the huge size of soft drinks are in the US compared with the size of soft drinks in Japan.