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Rain? No Problem! Not even impending typhoon can keep away fans of J-POP singer Nicholas Edwards

Kay Oct 18, 2014
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This past Monday was a holiday in Japan, Sports Day to be specific, which meant many of us had a three-day weekend. Unfortunately, it was also the second weekend in a row that Japan was hit by a huge typhoon, causing torrential rain, flooding and disrupted air and land transportation throughout large parts of the country. And while the Tokyo area was by no means the worst affected part of Japan, we still had huge amounts of rain and our share of canceled flights as the typhoon made its way across Japan.

So, Monday, October 13 really wasn’t ideal timing for a certain J-POP singer to be giving a live mini concert outdoors. Well, the singer scheduled to perform that day just happened to be Nicholas Edwards, the American singer who moved to Japan from Oregon, whom we introduced on our site last year. Apparently, his fans were in no way deterred by the approaching typhoon — they weren’t about to miss a chance to see him perform up-close. And we wanted to share with you just how loyal Japanese fans can be!

The mini concert was going to be held in an outdoor courtyard at the Tama Plaza shopping complex located in Kanagawa Prefecture, right outside of Tokyo, but with the strong typhoon approaching, they weren’t even able to make a call on whether the concert could actually take place until 10 a.m. that morning. The wind and rain could, after all, quickly grow devastating in a typhoon, and this was supposed to be a very big one too. To the delight of fans, the concert was not canceled, and the first of two performances was held at 1 p.m. that day as scheduled. (Yes, I went too … there’s no point in denying I’m a fan, is there, after having attended both his concerts so far?) And there was actually quite a good turn out, too. I even overheard some participants saying that they arrived at the venue at 7 a.m., without knowing for sure whether the concert would take place — now that’s devotion!

As for the weather, it had rained in the morning and then stopped at one point, and for a moment we thought we may be able to see the performance without getting wet, but unfortunately it started raining right about when the concert began. Aaargh! You can see the audience in rain gear, enjoying themselves despite the rain.

By the end of the concert, which lasted for about 25 minutes, it was actually raining quite hard. Still, fans eagerly clapped and waved and took pictures, appreciating the warm atmosphere. (They actually allowed us to take pictures and videos on smartphones and tablets, which is unusual these days for a live performance, and for which fans were immensely grateful!) To Edward’s credit, he performed with gusto throughout the concert despite being in the open and getting thoroughly soaked.

Fortunately, the worst of the typhoon hit the Tokyo area late that night, and apparently the second performance at 4 p.m. also took place as scheduled. Still, we have to say it’s quite amazing that as many people showed up as they did, when a typhoon was headed our way. Well, maybe fans are like that around the world to a certain degree … but going out in typhoon weather? All we can say is, Japanese fans can be deadly serious when it comes to their pop stars!

Edwards will be performing at more mini concerts across Japan until November 29 to promote his new CD Hard Spice, out in both a Japanese and English version, so we wish him the very best with his promotion, and also with his next concert scheduled in December. We just hope his fans won’t have to face any more typhoons to see him perform in the future, even though it does make for an unforgettable experience!

Photos: RocketNews24