Olivia - nt2099 media and entertainment

Transcription

WHAT’S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA
E
ntertaining Japanese music
listeners for nearly a decade,
Olivia first caught the interest of fans in 1996 as the
lead vocalist of the music trio D&D
(Dance & Dream).
Riding on the wave of the Okinawan talent explosion courtesy of
the well-known Okinawan Actors
School which produced music talents
such as Amuro Namie, MAX and
SPEED, D&D was a unique female
dance trio. Known to many because
of the group’s lead singer Olivia.
Olive Lufkin is half American and
half Japanese, a rarity in the Japanese
music industry but a performer that
had the looks and the dance moves to
coincide with her beautiful vocals.
D&D became a fan favorite in
Japan and also to music fans who
snatched up copies of the groups
import CD singles and albums in the
US.
In 1998, Olivia was given the opportunity to work with mega producer Komuro Tetsuya and Jean Michel
Jarre for the song “Together Now” for
the 1998 FIFA World Cup France.
Her first taste of solo activity, it
eventually led to a solo career in 1999
in which she released several CD
singles in which her debut album
“synchronicity” was released the following year.
In 2001-2002, Olivia continued to
release more CD singles but in 2003,
she released four mini albums and
in the following year, a release of her
second album “The Lost Lolli”.
It is well known that the stress
of the releases on the performer was
starting to take its toll. Most notably
her music.
During the release of her mini-albums, Olivia’s music took a turn for
a 180 as her music went from happy
to a darker, punkish phase. This was
a reflection of Olivia’s state-of-mind
and a sign that she was starting to
burn out.
With a much needed hiatus in
2005, the singer/songwriter vowed to
make her return.
In June 2006, Olivia came back
stronger and ever, this time with a hit
son titled “a little pain” which was the
2
ending theme for the very popular “NANA” anime series and
now going under the “NANA”
inspired name Olivia inspi’
REIRA (TRAPNEST).
Reira, a character from the
“NANA” series shares similar
qualities to Olivia’s personal life
that many may find very interesting. In a way, you can say that it
has definitely given a positive and
hip vibe to Olivia and her music.
In October 2006, the next
Olivia inspi’ REIRA (TRAPNEST) CD single was released
* OLIVIA PERFORMING AT PACIFIC
MEDIA EXPO IN LOS ANGELES.
Photography by Nergene Arquelada
titled “Wish/Starless Night”.
Both songs were used as the
opening and closing theme for
the “NANA” series and again,
Olivia has made it to the top 10
in various music charts.
That same month, Olivia
completed her long awaited and
highly anticipated performance
in Los Angeles at Pacific Media
Expo (PMX).
DECEMBER 06 | J!-ENT
OLIVIA - WHAT’S HOT IN MUSIC
At the age of 16-years-old, Olivia Lufkin and two
other members (Aya and Chika) became the trio
D&D (Dance & Dream) with their first CD single “In
Your Eyes” released in 1996. In 1997, they joined
fellow Okinawa Actors School alumni such as MAX
and SPEED and more Avex Trax artists in an Avex
Trax compilation titled “VELFARRE J-POP NIGHT
presents DANCE with YOU” which featured the trio
singing two classic Japanese songs. In 1998, Olivia
was selected by mega producer Jean Michel Jarre
and Komuro “TK” Tetsuya (producer for artists and
groups such as TRF, Amuro Namie, hitomi, globe,
Suzuki Ami, etc.) to be the main vocalist of the 1998
FIFA World Cup France theme song titled
“TOGETHER NOW”. This leads to Olivia to pursue a
solo career and work on her first CD single.
As for upcoming projects,
Olivia announced that a new mini
album in January 2007 titled “The
Cloudy Dreamer” which features
songs such as “Dream Catcher”
which will be used in the NTV
series “Jigoku Shoujo”and a new
song for the “NANA” animated series titled “Recorded Butterfly”.
2006 has been an awesome year
for Olivia and it appears that her
persistence has paid off.
When you meet Olivia, she is
not the type that has a diva attitude. In fact, she’s very personable,
talkative and you start to learn
how creative she really is.
How caring she is for her family in which nearly each member
of the Lufkin family are musically
talent.
From her parents to her younger sister Caroline, a music artist
J!-ENT | DECEMBER 06
on the Temporary Residence ltd.
music label.
Her younger brother Jeff, is a
producer and also in a band based
in California and has produced
music with Olivia.
The bond among the Lufkin
family runs strong especially when
growing up in a military family in
which the family moved several
times across the United States and
later to Okinawa, where Olivia
spent her teenage years attending the Okinawan Actors School.
But as youngsters, the siblings
performed at different school and
festivals related events.
Olivia also is in good company along with well-known
“hapa” (mixed ethnic or racial
background) talent in the world
such as Eddie Van Halen, Doug
Robb (lead vocalist of Hoobas-
tank), Mike Shinoda (Fort Minor, Linkin Park) and Michelle
Branch.
Whereas the others have
started their careers in the U.S.,
Olivia’s career is in Japan.
To see a mainstream hapa music artist in Japan is rare but since
her music debut, it as given her
a unique distinction among other
female performers in Japan.
Olivia is living proof of a performer that has faced adversity but
still maintains the grace of being a
humble artist that cares about her
family, friends and also her fans.
In this special J!-ENT interview, the following interview took
place the day after her concert at
Pacific Media Expo.
We hope to show you the
professional and personal side of
Olivia Lufkin.
3
* OLIVIA SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS FOR FANS AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO. Photography by Nergene Arquelada
DENNIS: You were born in
Okinawa and you also have lived
in the United States before. What
cities have you once lived in?
OLIVIA: I was born in Okinawa and
lived in San Diego, Philadelphia and
North Carolina.
DENNIS: Having lived in two different countries, a positive way of
looking at things is that you have
had the best of both worlds but if
you were to choose a city/country
that you really enjoyed living in,
what would that city or country
be and why?
OLIVIA: I like both countries so
much. It’s hard to decide which I
like but my work is in Tokyo, I love
it there and I consider Tokyo my
home.
DENNIS: You have a sister who
is a singer. A brother that is in a
band. Did you come from a
musical-based family?
OLIVIA: Well, my parents
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listened to a lot of music when I was
little. They listened to classical. They
listened to the Beatles, the Who,
Elton John, Billy Joel. My mom listened to a lot of opera music. When
we were young, we were kind of
annoyed by classical and the opera.
When we got older, we began to appreciate it. My father played classical guitar, so maybe because of that
and watching him do that, it helped.
DENNIS: You hear about sister
talent singing in parties when they
were younger. From Beyonce to
Jessica Simpson, did you and
Caroline have similar experiences?
OLIVIA: Oh yes! In elementary
school talent shows, we would perform together. We would be part of
Okinawan Culture Festivals, dances,
culture dances. We did a lot of stuff
together.
DENNIS: Was there a certain
moment in your life when you were
younger that you felt you wanted
to be a singer?
OLIVIA: There wasn’t a certain
moment. I picked it up and naturally
was doing music. I wasn’t necessarily thinking that I wanted to be
a singer. I picked it up and I did it
because it was fun and from there it
gradually escalated.
DENNIS: Here you are back in the
United States, how does that feel?
OLIVIA: It feels like a became a
little Japanese girl. I guess when I
come here, my friends say that I have
become a little uptight, very polite
and say “you are really cute now” or
“what happened to the old Olivia?”
DENNIS: How was the old Olivia
like?
OLIVIA: I was really loud and
outgoing. I was like aaahhh.
DENNIS: Believe it or not, since
back in 1996 during the D&D days
we hoped to bring you to the US
to perform. So, it’s like a dream
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* OLIVIA AND TWO OTHER JUDGES CONVERSE AT THE NANA COSPLAY COMPETITION AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO. SHOWN IS THE
WINNER OF THE NANA COSPLAY EVENT, STEPHANIE YANEZ. Photography by Nergene Arquelada
come true to watch you perform
here at PMX. Especially here in
California.
OLIVIA: Oh, that’s so nice to hear.
DENNIS: When you found out
that you were going to perform
in the US for PMX, what was running through your mind. Were you
scared…shocked?
OLIVIA: I felt like it was part of the
flow because I have been receiving
a lot of mail in the beginning of the
year from foreign fans to perform in
the US and writing “when are you
going to perform here” and I had
that in the back of my mind. “Please
come to L.A.” and then I heard I was
performing at PMX and felt… Here
you go.
DENNIS: Not sure if you know but
there is quite a large number of
people in the United States and
also outside of Japan that enjoy
listening to Japanese music and are
familiar with your work especially
back from the D&D days. Did you
know there were many people
in the US who listen to Japanese
music?
OLIVIA: I recently realized that. I
didn’t know that but in the last year I
started to really realize it.
DENNIS: Did you know that D&D
had a good-sized following from
fans in the US?
OLIVIA: No, I didn’t know that at
all. I was surprised.
DENNIS: One thing that I found
quite amazing is how personable
you were with your fans. I know in
Japan, there is a lot of security and
even in the US with Japanese artists who come to the US, security is
strict. But you chose to sign autographs for all your fans waiting in
line. You wanted to be a judge for
the Nana cosplay and you really
wanted to meet your fans. Meet-
ing your fans so upclose and personal is rare in Japan but how was
it to encounter your American fans
of your music?
OLIVIA: Oh, it felt so good! It felt
so good to meet everyone and get
the thumbs up from everyone. I
wanted to talk to everyone so much
but the line was going so quick but
I was very surprised. I was like…
thank you… thank you… it was so
fun! I felt like I was dreaming!
DENNIS: You attended the
Okinawa Actors School where
well-known talent such as Amuro
Namie, MAX, SPEED came from.
What was the vibe at the school
seeing that a lot of the top talent
in the mid-90’s were coming from
Okinawa and from the school that
you have attended?
OLIVIA: All I know that there was
something at that school that was
amazing. There was magic and
ambitious girls coming together and
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doing these amazing shows. It’s a
great school.
DENNIS: As many of us know, you
were selected with AVEX along
with AYA and CHIKA to form the
unit known as Dance & Dream
(D&D). It has been a decade since
the debut of D&D Looking back,
how was that experience for you?
OLIVIA: Well, I grown so much now
as an artist. When I look back, I look
at how I was so young, so ambitious,. It’s a little embarrassing but
it was a step for me but I’m glad I
did it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here
now. So, it was quite nice. I had a
really good time.
DENNIS: D&D incorporated that
Avex Hyper Euro Beat sound but
in contrast to the music you have
done in your solo career, were you
comfortable back then performing
Eurobeat music.
OLIVIA: Yeah, definitely. At the
time I was. At the time, I loved it.
8
DENNIS: With you at AVEX and
knowing that Komuro (TK)
Tetsuya wanted to really break out
Internationally, it was no surprise
to see you work with him and Jean
Michel Jarre for the theme song
of the 1998 World Cup Soccer in
France. How was that experience?
OLIVIA: I was so honored that they
chose me to sing in for the collaboration and to work with Japan’s top
music producer. I got to fly out to
L.A., Hong Kong and do a lot of
recording everywhere. It was such
a great experience to see and meet
with TK.
DENNIS: You were still with D&D
when TK selected you to sing solo
for “Together Now”. During the
process of doing that, were you
ready to focus on a solo career?
OLIVIA: I was ready for a solo project. I guess in the back of my mind,
I had all these ideas. When I was
doing D&D in the studio, I felt I can
make a song, fix the song’s melody.
There were so many things going on
in my head. I knew there was a day
when I would do my own thing. So,
I felt it was natural.
DENNIS: As we move on to your
solo career, let’s talk about your
first album “Synchronicity”. One
thing that I find very surprising
is how your music evolved from
the first CD single “I.L.Y. ~yokubou~” and “Re.ACT” to “Solar Half
Breed”. How would you describe
your first album?
OLIVIA: Well, it was… There was
a lot of things going on. The first
two CD singles were written by
somebody else. So, I had to… I was
trying to prove to my record label
and management that I can write my
own songs. So, during the recording of those two songs, I was writing
my music. So, that album is a little
mixed up. A lot of things going on.
But I got to work with the Sherbets,
I got to work with my brother Jeff
for the first time too. So, I got to
In 1999, Oliviaʼs goal to pursue a solo career came true with the
release of her first CD Single “I.L.Y.~Yokubou”, followed by her
second CD single “re-ACT”. On her third CD single, Oliviaʼs goal
to write her own songs came true with the release of “Dear Angel”
(CD single and maxi single), followed by the CD singles in 2000
with “Dress me UP”, “Dekinai” and “Color of Your Spoon”. This
same year, Olivia released her first album “synchronicity”. In
2001, Oliviaʼs CD single “Sea me” and in 2002 “Into the Sky” was
released. As well as a DVD release “Video Clips Olivia”. In 2003,
Olivia released four mini albums “International Bleeding Strawbery”,
“Merry & Hell Go Round”, “Comatose Bunny Butcher” and “The
Return of the Chlorophyl Bunny” which featured a darker punk style
of music. In 2004, her second album “The Lost Lolli” was released.
7
“It was very cool
to see Americans
singing my
Japanese songs.
I wasn’t
expecting that.”
* OLIVIA PERFORMING AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO
IN LOS ANGELES
grow a lot for the making of the
album.
DENNIS: I’ve read that starting
with your third CD single “Dream
Angel” that you now write all the
lyrics to your songs. As a singer/
songwriter, are you one who can
write a song quickly or are you the
one who likes to ponder and think
out the lyrics to your songs?
OLIVIA: Well, there are times I can
do it within an hour when I feel very
intensely, then it’s easier to write but
if I’m making something like a lead
single and have to make a real hook
to the song, then it takes a little bit
of time because I try to make it as
perfect as I can.
DENNIS: In 2003, you released
four mini albums – “Internal Bleeding Strawberry”, “Merry & Hell Go
Round”, “Comatose Bunny Butcher” and “The Return of the Chlo-
rophyll Bunny” and in 2004, you
released your second full album
“The Lost Lolli”. We started to
see a different side of OLIVIA. Not
sure if you can call it going through
a punkish music phase. It was a
180 turn from the music you were
known for in the 90’s. How would
you explain that? Was it a phase?
OLIVIA: It was a phase. I was fed
up with business stuff I had to deal
with. I was mad about how society
worked. I had all this anger and my
music came out like that.
DENNIS: If there was one song
that described how you felt at that
one time, what song would that
be?
OLIVIA: “Sugar blood suckers”.
Yeah, I made that song in one go.
Me and my brother, Jeff. He made
the back track and I grabbed the mic
and that was the first thing out of my
mouth.
EDWIN: What was going through
your mind when you created “Sugar Blood Suckers”?
OLIVIA: I just remember that I had
this breakdown in Shibuya Hachiko. I
was so freaked out! And I was looking everywhere, seeing all the advertisements and people going to work
and I was like arghh... What’s going
on? I was freaking out!
DENNIS: Now on the encyclopedia
site, WIKIPEDIA, there was a mention that after the release of “The
Lost Lolli”, you went on hiatus and
you were quoted as saying that
you felt “pretty depressed” and
“Started to notice and realize a lot
of her faults”. Was that in terms
of direction that your music is at in
your life or your state-of-mind?
OLIVIA: I was really worn down with
my schedule. I had to write four
mini albums and I was so burned
out and I had to write more songs. I
11
* IMAGES WITH OLIVIA DURING OUR J!-ENT INTERVIEW. Photography courtesy of Nergene Arquelada
didn’t know if I could do it anymore.
I didn’t know if I could write another
album without no energy or no
passion. I didn’t know if I can do it
anymore, so I had to step away for
awhile and wait until I came back.
DENNIS: You are creative musically, lyrically and I know business-wise, the goal is to sell many
singles but at the same time, creatively… Do you stick to your guns
on what you want to do and what
you want to write about?
OLIVIA: Well, there are some songs
that are 100 percent me. And they
will be the B-sides. And of course
the B-tracks, you have to balance
it out. Balance what the listeners
want and what you have. Or else
you can’t release CD’s for the mainstream. Right now, I want to try and
aim my music to as many people as
I can.
DENNIS: Last night you performed in front of a large audience
12
of your American fans for Pacific
Media Expo. How did it feel to
watch your American fans singing
your songs. Everyone standing
for your performance throughout
the whole concert . How was that
experience?
OLIVIA: Oh my gosh, I was so…
That made me feel… I felt so much
appreciation that …that moment…
Oh my goodness. It was very cool to
see Americans singing my Japanese
songs. I wasn’t expecting that. I was
a little nervous at the show. I was
trying to shake off the nervousness
and warm up. My family was in the
front row. My friends and family giving me “yes” signs and inside jokes.
I got comfortable right away.
DENNIS: What was the difference
in performing in front of an American audience versus a Japanese
audience?
OLIVIA: The Japanese audience has
a sweetness and they follow. If I put
my hand in the air, they will copy and
follow what I’m doing and put their
arm in the air. With the American
audience, it wasn’t like that. The
American audience, they understood
the English lyrics. I looked at the
audience’s faces and they understood the English lyrics. While I was
singing, I looked at their faces, and
they understood what was coming
out of my mouth. That was really
nice. Yeah, that was very, very nice.
DENNIS: Let’s talk about your
recent work with the “NANA”
animated series, “a little pain”
reached the top 10 on the Oricon charts which was awesome.
“Wish” and Starless Night” were
used for both opening and ending
themes. But how was your feeling
to be part of something this huge.
The “NANA” manga, anime, the
film, the music... it’s huge!
OLIVIA: I was very excited. I didn’t
know about the comic at first. But
looking at my staff’s faces, oh my
goodness, I could tell it was huge. I
read the comic and I’m so excited
because the part that I got… Reira is
a lot like me and I can relate to her
in many ways and I knew I can really
do it and make the music.
DENNIS: It is very rare for a singer
to sing an anime theme song backto-back.
OLIVIA: Yeah, yeah. It’s a musical
cast. It’s going to go on until next
year.
DENNIS: Since we are on the
“NANA” topic, I’d like our J!-ENT
writer and “NANA” fan, Wynne to
ask you a few questions in regard
to you, Reira and the “NANA”
series.
WYNNE: You mentioned that you
felt some similarity to the character Reira. Can you elaborate more
on that?
OLIVIA: First of all, she’s half. She’s
in a mainstream band in Japan. She
has no friends, she’s isolated, lost
and not good at communicating with
people. She’s not good at choosing
men. I came to Japan when I was
16, I didn’t speak any Japanese and I
made it big with D&D. I was put in a
position where I didn’t have friends,
I couldn’t communicate well with
people. Even now I’m not a great
communicator with people and I
don’t have many friends. I really felt
for her.
WYNNE: Yesterday at the PMX
“NANA” cosplay competition, the
competitors talked about their
favorite scenes from the manga.
What is your favorite scene?
OLIVIA: Well, for the “NANA” animation, there was this scene where
Trapnest did a live show and they
played “Recorded Butterfly” and we
just got out of the studio and just
handed it to them. We made many
different versions of that song. Just
seeing that with the animation and
listening to it. It was really nice. I
was about to cry. I had goosebumps
all over.
WYNNE: The style of songs, you
mentioned that the A-sides are the
ones that you want to pump out
and the B-sides are more of you.
But with the more recent songs,
are they Olivia or Reira songs?
OLIVIA: The main songs that was
used for “NANA”… I’m acting like
Reira. I’m taking all the things I can
relate with her and exaggerating
myself as her.
DENNIS: In the U.S., for many
of us who write about Asian and
Asian American entertainers to
promote their work but also to
learn about challenges, especially
those who are half. In Japan, is it
very challenging for someone who
is half Japanese and half American
in the music industry?
OLIVIA: Yes, it’s definitely a lot
harder in the music industry. I think
fans can be distant if you can’t sing
Japanese naturally but It’s been
challenging but I think it’s starting
to change right now. I think many
listeners are opening up to many dif-
13
ferent musical genres.
DENNIS: Let’s talk about your
artwork. It’s really unique and
very cool. Can you tell us the
process of how you create it. Is
it manually or digitally created?
OLIVIA: Well, I just have a white
piece of paper. It’s doodling. I
don’t think what I’m going to
draw. It just comes out. My mind
is blank when I’m drawing and
when it’s done, you can see what
I’m thinking or what’s in my heart.
DENNIS: You also did the artwork for your sister’s album.
Has you work ever been published or is it just a hobby?
OLIVIA: It’s just a hobby.
DENNIS: Have you ever considered releasing a book that would
combine your artwork and written
work?
OLIVIA: Actually, I have been thinking about that. Maybe… (laughing)
DENNIS: Being back here in the
U.S., you have performed in Southern California, where your family
has lived. But curious, have you
performed in your hometown in
Okinawa. How was that like?
OLIVIA: Actually, it was an awkward
experience because I performed
along with Amuro Namie, SPEED,
W-INDS. and they have background
dancers but for this performance, it
was me and my brother Jeff with an
acoustic guitar. I don’t think the audience was as pumped but I would like
to perform in Okinawa again.
DENNIS: With the success of
your recent CD singles, especially making it on the Oricon charts,
do you have old friends coming
out of the woodwork trying to
contact you?
OLIVIA: Yeah. I have a lot of
friends calling and asking “Olivia, is that really you on the Oricon? What’s going on?” Like my
friends, hairstylist, friends during
the D&D days. Because we were
up in the charts during the D&D
days and now as a solo singer, I’m
14
back on the charts, everyone’s
surprised I guess.
DENNIS: Your song “a little
pain” is a beautiful song and the
music video was also beautiful
and whimsical. Did it take long
to film that music video?
OLIVIA: The music video took
about a day to shoot and it was all
green back.
DENNIS: Are you involved in
the creation of your music videos?
OLIVIA: Yeah Definitely. Especially recently, I have a theme and
I talked about it with the director.
DENNIS: If I was to look into
your CD/MP3 player right now,
what would we hear Olivia listening to?
OLIVIA: Well, recently I listen to
a group Eluvium on my sister’s label, you would see Bjork in there,
Peeping Tom, any Mike Patton
stuff, the Fantomas.
* THE ARTWORK OF OLIVIA LUFKIN.
Courtesy of Avex Entertainment.
DENNIS: Earlier, we talked
about your sister Caroline.
What is the possibility for an
Olivia and Caroline collaboration?
OLIVIA: Maybe. (Laughing)
We do it for fun. We started
making songs and we made an
R&B song.
DENNIS: Do you have any
dream collaborations? Any
one that you would love to
work with?
OLIVIA: Oh my gosh… David
Bowie. I would love to work
with so many people. I would
love to do something with
Aphex Twin.
DENNIS: If there was one
word to describe yourself,
what word would that be
and why?
* OLIVIA AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO.
* OLIVIA ANSWERS FAN QUESTIONS AT THE PMX FOCUS PANEL. Photography by Nergene Arquelada
OLIVIA: Oh my gosh, that’s
such a hard question man… One
word? (laughing) Creative. Because that’s all I do... Art. I’m not
really good going out and socializing. I’m just at home, making
stuff.
DENNIS: Do like to go out and
shop too?
OLIVIA: I love to shop! That
really is my escape. When things
aren’t going well, I like to shop.
DENNIS: Curious, when you go
shopping, do people respect
your privacy or do you have paparazzi following you and you
have to disguise yourself?
OLIVIA: Well, I do have to be
careful of the paparazzi. I have
to wear hats. It’s not that bad
but it’s gradually escalating at
the moment.
DENNIS: Being back in the US,
was there something you wanted to eat. I’m sure in Japan,
you probably miss Taco Bell.
OLIVIA: Yeah, actually Taco Bell.
But when I’m in the U.S., I like to
eat the sweets like Twinkies, Ding
Dong’s and Hoho’s but recently
I’m eating more healthy, micro-
biotic foods and organic foods.
So, I really don’t miss it anymore.
WYNNE: With Halloween coming up, do you like to dress up?
OLIVIA: I always dress up! Last
Halloween, I was an elf. I had
my ears made by a professional,
got blue contacts and me and a
friend wore costumes and went
out to parties. The Halloween
before that, I dressed up as
Batman.
c. HAPPINESS – The opposite of
sadness.
d. SADNESS – It’s OK to feel like
that.
e. FAMILY – Oh my gosh. That’s
my touchstone, my best friends.
DENNIS: What final words
would you like to leave with
your fans?
OLIVIA: Thank you. I want them
to know that I know that they are
out there. I plan in the future to
branch out and going out of
EDWIN: In your music, it seems Japan for more performances
there is a lot of reference to
here in the U.S. one day.
outer space. Do you have a
fascination with space?
OLIVIA: Space? Hmm... I like
DENNIS A. AMITH is the founder/
nature, I love the stars, the sky.
owner of J!-ENT and is an entertainNature makes my mind calm
down. That is when my original- ment-writer-at-large for J!-ENT.
ity comes out.
DENNIS: Before we go, in all
of our J!-ENT interviews I have
a section where I give you 5
words. For these five words, I
would like you to give me the
OLIVIA definition of the word.
OLIVIA:
a. LOVE – My definition is that I
can’t find a definition for that.
b. SUCCESS – Peace.
WYNNE IP and EDWIN MACARAEG are entertainment writersat-large for J!-ENT.
For more information on Olivia, visit
her official website at:
www.avexnet.or.jp/olivia/
17
OLIVIA PMX 2006 CONCERT REPORT
I
* OLIVIA PERFORMING AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO IN LOS ANGELES. Photography by Nergene Arquelada
t was a memorable night for
many of the fans who attended
the one night only concert of
Cutting Edge recording artist,
Olivia.
Olivia Lufkin has been entertaining Japanese music fans since
her days with the dance unit, D&D
(Dance & Dream) and now a solo
vocalist who is back on the Oricon
charts with hits such as “a little pain”
and “Wish/Starless Night” .
Pacific Media Expo brought in
thousands people to Los Angeles at
the LAX Hilton where the singer/
songwriter was the highlighted perfomer for that Saturday night.
The night started off with high
energy opening performances by
Japanese rock band UchuSentai
NOIZ and Los Angeles-based band
Dig Jelly.
It was clearly evident that a large
number of the people who attended
the concert were there for Olivia.
18
And many paid premium tickets
to be in the front row. VIP Tickets
were sold out within its first week of
being announced.
As a matter of fact, right at the
time that the VIP tickets were to go
on sale, so many people jammed the
PMX website to purchase the tickets
that the site went down temporarily.
So, many people have waited for
this performance and Olivia delivered.
When Olivia came out to perform, the audience was on their
feet literally throughout the whole
performance.
Olivia started out the concert
night performing the song “Sea Me”
which was followed by “Fake Flowers”.
It was when her hit song “a
little pain” from the animated series “NANA” was performed that I
watched the crowd singing the lyrics
to the song and noticing that the fact
that the crowd was singing to her
music (both Japanese and English
songs), this was definitely going to
be a magical night for her and her
fans.
Olivia performed a total of thirteen songs which include her other
“NANA” related hits such as “Wish”
and “Starless Night”. Also, an opportunity to hear her new song to
be released in 2007 titled “Recorded
Butterfly”.
The concert ended with a high
energy performance of “Spider
Spins” and the encore song “Devil’s
In Me” which brought everyone to
their feet and a fitting closing song
to showcase her talent.
The night ended with a surprise
announcement from Pacific Media
Expo that the fans who paid for
the VIP premium tickets will get
the opportunity to meet and get an
autograph from Olivia.
What amazed many people is
* THE MEDIA IN POSITION TO TAKE PHOTOS OF OLIVIA DURING HER FIRST SONG . Photography by Edwin Macaraeg
that not only was Olivia wanting to
meet her fans, she wanted to make
sure every one of her fans received
an autograph no matter how long it
would take.
Earlier that day, Olivia had
partaken in a Pacific Media Expo
“NANA” cosplay contest which she
had the opportunity to be a judge.
Rarely have I met an artist, let
alone from Japan wanting to do so
much for her fans and put in that
extra effort which definitely made
the night for them even more memorable.
It was evident because all we
heard after the concert to the next
day from fans is how happy they
were to meet her and their appreciation for her staying the whole night
to meet them and sign all their
autographs.
“I have been a big fan of Olivia
since D&D and I was very surprised
of how nice she was to me and my
friends who came to see her,” said
Elizabeth M. from Los Angeles.
“What I enjoyed the most about
this concert compared to others that I have been to is that this
concert was more about the fans of
her music as opposed to an event
that people are there because its
the only thing going on at the time
of an event. Personally, for me,
this made her concert even more
special”.
This long anticipated concert
was definitely well worth the wait
for many of her fans.
Not only was Olivia a fabulous
guest but also a performer that really did entertain the crowd.
We can only hope that this
experience at PMX will give Olivia
more opportunities and interest to
perform at more venues around the
country in the near future.
OLIVIA’S PMX
CONCERT
SET LIST
1. Sea Me
2. Fake Flowers
-- MC -3. A Little Pain
4. Tears & Rainbows
5. Alone In Our Castle
-- MC -6. Celestial Delinquent
7. Under Your Waves
8. Blind Unicorn
-- MC -9. Starless Night
10. Recorded Butterfly
-- MC -11.Wish
12. Spider Spins
-- ENCORE -13. Devil’s In Me
19

Olivia - nt2099 media and entertainment

Transcription

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