Akanishi Jin solo concert in US
Just saw this on jpopasia.com, very interesting.
Johnny's Jimusho made two announcements on Wednesday regarding popular boy band KAT-TUN. First, the group will be doing an Asia tour this year. Second, member Jin Akanishi (25) will not be participating in the tour, and will instead be preparing for a set of solo concerts in Los Angeles.
KAT-TUN's tour is scheduled to run from May to August. Most of the concerts will be in Japan, but a few of them will be held overseas. They will perform in Bangkok on July 31, in Seoul on August 6-7, and in Taipei on August 27-28. Other sources say that a Hawaii concert is also being considered.
However, Akanishi is expected to leave for Los Angeles in May to prepare for three concerts on June 19-20. These will be the first solo performances in the U.S. by a Johnny's artist.
This is not the first time that Akanishi has been to Los Angeles. From 2006 to 2007, he took a break from show business and spent half a year there to study English.
After a solo performance in February, Akanishi received an offer from American cable channel UTB, which focuses on Japanese programs. At the time, KAT-TUN's Asia tour had already been finalized, but after discussions with the other members and agency president Johnny Kitagawa, it was decided that the tour would go on without Akanishi. He agreed to three concerts on June 19-20 at the Club Nokia venue at the L.A. Live complex. It is said that he will perform the shows entirely in English.
Akanishi is expected to remain in Los Angeles until October. He will be involved in promotional activities and is considering additional U.S. concerts.
Very interesting. I'm not a great lover of Akanishi Jin, but I have to admit that he is good at what he does and I wish I could be as lucky as other fans that live on the West Coast to see him in concert. Who knows, my luck might change and UTB could decide to send Jin closer by, like New York or DC since it says they're considering additional US concerts. My only issue is that he's separating himself from KAT-TUN again just when they're about to do something huge throughout Asia. :( But, it's good fo him and all that so more power to him. And maybe we'll get to see more Johnny's talents *cough* Arashi! Arashi! *cough* in America as well.