@JAM EXPO 2018 Highlights: Day One
Every year during the summer, Japanese and foreign idol fans have the opportunity to come and party with their groups through several festivals in Tokyo and its surroundings! This time, we want to talk about @JAM EXPO, which came back for its 2018 edition at Yokohama Arena on August 25th and 26th. Here is our summary of the main events of the first day of the festival.
Hello!Project groups
Juice=Juice
Just like in 2017, Juice=Juice opened the show by being the first to perform on the main stage. “Fiesta! Fiesta!” started off a setlist made of 6 songs, and the 7 members set Yokohama Arena on fire. The Hello!Project group, who has been on the rise over the past few years, has once again demonstrated their elegance and perfectly executed choreographies throughout all the performance. Here’s a way to open the day on a very nice note! Note that this performance was one of the first for the former Country Girls member Inaba Manaka who joined the group in June 2018.
Setlist
01. Fiesta! Fiesta!
02. TOKYO Glider
03. Kindan Shoujo
04. Date Janai yo, Uchi no Jinsei
05. Karada dake ga Otona ni Nattan Janai
06. Goal 〜Ashita wa Acchi da yo〜
Kobushi Factory
Kobushi Factory members showed up on stage and performed 5 of their songs. “Kitto Watahashi wa”, newly released back then, quickly warmed up the audience, and was followed by the famous tracks “Nen ni wa Nen” and “Kenmei Blues”, letting the bass lines and the girls’ voices resonate accross the room. After two more songs from their repertoire, the members left the stage and concluded a totally successful Hello!Project introduction.
Setlist
01. Kitto Watashi wa
02. Nen ni wa Nen
03. Kenmei Blues
04. Minjuku Hanjuku Torotoro
05. Sharara! Yareru Hazui
AKB48Group performances
There wasn’t one, two or three, but five performances in total for the AKB48 groups!
AKB48 Team 8
Team 8 opened the festivities with a lot of energy with their cheerful songs such as “Hachi no Su Dance” led by Yokoyama Yui or their most iconic track “47 Suteki na Machi e” which ended the performance.
Setlist
01. Hachi no Su Dance
02. Shishunki no Adrenaline
03. Hoshizora wo Kimi ni
04. Seifuku no Hane
05. Happy End
06. Goal 〜Ashita wa Acchi da yo〜
07. 47 no Suteki na Machi he
AKB48Group Majimuri Gakuen Special Stage
A special appearance followed later in the day in order to celebrate AKB48Group’s newest TV drama, “Majimuri Gakuen”. The members playing a role in the show took part of this exclusive performance of “Majisuka Rock’n’Roll” (including Oguri Yui)!
Setlist
01. Majisuka Rock’n Roll
02. Yuri wo Sakaseru ka?
03. Flying Get
04. Iiwake Maybe
STU48
Arriving on the main stage as a gentle breeze from the coast, STU48 have again participated at @JAM EXPO with a refreshing performance and the members have been able to show their progress since their start on January 31, despite the absence of their leader, Okada Nana.
Setlist
01. overture
02. Kurayami
03. Omoi Dasete Yokatta
04. NEW SHIP
05. Pedal to Sharin to Kita Michi to
06. Yume Chikara
07. Setouchi no Koe
NGT48
After the port cities, it was Niigata who was honored next thanks to the NGT48 members, led by Ogino Yuka! Several songs from their repertoire resonated in the hall, like “Sekai wa Doko made Aozora na no ka?”, “Max Toki 315-go” and AKB48’s “Ponytail to Shushu”.
Setlist
01. overture
02. Max Toki 315-go
03. Ponytail to Shushu
04. Nani ka ga Iru
05. Yobisute Fantasy
06. Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara
07. Sekai wa Doko made Aozora na no ka?
08. Haru za Doko kara Kuru no ka?
AKB48
By the way, how to not mention that AKB48 appeared for the first time at JAM EXPO and with a top-stars line-up! Thus Yokoyama Yui, Muto Tomu, Mukaichi Mion and the other 13 members lit up the mood in the famous Yokohama Arena with one of the first performances of their 53rd single “Sentimental Train”. AKB48 concluded the 48Groups run for this first day and for this year’s @JAM EXPO edition.
Setlist
01. overture
02. Kibouteki Refrain
03. #SukiNanda
04. Sentimental Train
05. Oogoe Diamond
06. Sayonara Crawl
07. Everyday Katchuusha
Niji no Conquistador
After making a lot of noise in the idol industry with their latest single “Zutto Summer Aishiteru”, Niji no Conquistador’s members had the honor to perform for the first time on the main stage of the festival. That same single introduced their performance and immediately fired up the mood when all the fans mimicked the “Heart Jumps” towards their oshimen. “THE☆Ushouten Summer” and “Kagirinai Bouken ni Chikai Summer” took over and set up a real summer atmosphere in the room.
Setlist
01. Zutto Summer de Aishiteru
02. THE☆Uchouten Summer
03. Kagirinaku Bouken ni Chikai Summer
04. Triangle Dreamer
05. Sankakukei
The World Standard (Wasuta)
Nanase, Ruka, Ririka, Hazuki and Miri have also made their appearance! The golden group of iDOL Street took part of the show and the 5 members were able to mesmerize the audience with their magic powers through a dynamic performance. As usual, “Inu Neko, Seishun Massakari” made the audience dance in a crazy atmosphere!
Setlist
01. Saijoukyu Paradox
02. Purity Channel
03. Standalone Complex
04. Inu Neko, Seishun Massakari
05. Tapioca Milk Tea
Appare!Harajuku
That night, Yokohama could catch a glimpse of the crazy pop spirit of Harajuku, with the performance of the delirious and charming group Appare!Harajuku. They once again demonstrated that their crazy choreographies could fire up pretty much anyone! Being only a 20-minute performance for a first appearance on the main stage, the band performed 4 songs: their latest single “Parerira”, “Eine Kleine Osanaki Koi Dane”, “Kimi dake no Wonderland” and “Endless Summer”. A performance that showed all the progress of a group that is only 2 years old and still has a lot of surprises to unveil!
Setlist
01. Parerira Parerira
02. Eine Kleine Osanaki Koi Dane
03. Kimi dake no Wonderland
04. Endless Summer
Last Idol Family
Do you know the groups of the Last Idol Family? This is one of the latest projects from the worldwide-known producer and songwriter Akimoto Yasushi (the mastermind behind the 48Group franchise). We take advantage of this article to briefly introduce them: based on a television show (of the same name), several girls were selected to be the founding members of a group gathering multiple subunits. Their first single was released on December 17th, 2017 and since then, the group does not stop gathering new fans.
The 5 subunits Love Cocchi, Good Tears, Choux Cream Rocket, Someday Somewhere and LaLuce had the privilege to perform at @JAM EXPO 2018!
Setlist
01. Suki de Suki deshou ga nai
02. Love Docchi / Love Cocchi
03. Thrill / Good Tears
04. Kimi no Achoo! / Choux Cream Rockets
05. Kono Koi wa Transit / Someday Somewhere
06. Bandwagon / LaLuce
07. Rasu Ai, Yoroshiku
But that is not it! Stay tuned for more highlights of @JAM EXPO 2018 with our summary of the second day of the festival, coming soon!
Photos courtesy of @JAM EXPO
Article by Nathan Gey, translated to English by Brice