NEWS 音楽 Live Tour 2022-I made it!
Haven’t written here in YEARS but I’ve come back because I have something to say. (obviously)
After 15 years of being a NEWS fan, from falling in love with Ryo in 1 Litre of Tears back in 2007 that started this whole snowball of Johnny’s and subsequently obsession with Japan, to supporting NEWS as 6 members, finding my way to falling in love again with NEWS as 4 members, and again the struggle to accept a yet another new form of NEWS as 3 members,
Today I saw NEWS live at their Ongaku Tour 2022.
It’s still crazy to think that THIS HAPPENED. In a stroke of insane luck, a girl from another city in Oita Prefecture contacted me on Twitter because she was excited to find another Johnny’s fan in Oita. We talked a little, and I happened to mention that seeing a NEWS concert was one of my dreams. To which she replied, “Wait, do you really wanna see NEWS? We have an extra ticket!”
That was actually the moment I was forced to come to terms with 3-member NEWS because if I was gonna watch them live I was gonna have to catch up with ALL their songs that I missed out on since Tegoshi left.
And the thing about NEWS, the thing that keeps drawing me back to them every time, is their strength. The strength in their 応援 songs, of course, but also the strength of the members themselves. That will to want to continue making music as NEWS. The strength to pick themselves up time and time again when the odds keep going against them and loss strikes them repeatedly. For a group to go from 9 to 3 and still have the tenacity to stand back up and fight, I think that’s mighty amazing and worth giving all my support.
The most ironic thing I’ve noticed recently, is that if you told me that of the 9 NEWS members who debuted in 2003, only 3 would remain, Koyama, Massu and Shige were definitely not gonna be on my list. And yet, it was all the “talents” that left (Kusano and Uchi excluded), and these 3 remained. These 3 fought the hardest for NEWS. And if this isn’t an underdog story you’re gonna throw your heart into investing in, I don’t know what else to say to convince you. I have nothing but admiration for the strength these 3 men hold in their cores.
And so today, after 15 years of being slapped by the reality of the world, being shoved down in uni, in the working world, and weighed down by all my insecurities, my only saving grace being turning to NEWS songs, I witnessed these 3 men live for the very first time.
The dream of “I want to watch NEWS live!!” took shape when they were 6 members, and somehow continued even until they became 3. It truly shows the strength their music has on me.
I was blessed to get seats insanely close to the centre stage of Marine Messe A. I was barely 5~10 metres from the stage. When the guys moved across in the tram, we were barely 2 metres apart.
But let’s talk about it from the start. I was so excited and nervous that I was finally gonna hear NEWS live. In the intro, they played the opening sequence and KMK appeared on the screen. They started the concert singing TRIAD, but they were nowhere on the stage. It seemed like the whole thing was just a pre-filmed video as they walked down a dark alley (our concert was midday and the weather was SO CLEAR). It didn’t look live, but their voices felt so raw and live ringing through the speakers. So even before KMK appeared on stage, just watching that video and anticipating that I was going to see them, tears already started streaming down my face.
When they came out, i couldn’t believe it. They danced on the main stage (farther from me) for the first few songs, but then they came to the centre stage and I could see Koyama, Massu and Shige in THE FLESH.
It was unreal. Watching Koyama dance in front of me, Massu belting out notes in front of me, and Shige giving the best smiles in front of me. I am so grateful I could be born to experience those moments.
I can’t say much about what happened in between because, as always, memories are fragmented and I’ve already forgotten most of it. Knowing this fully well, I made sure I cherished every single moment I was there. I felt the fire of the pyrotechnics near the stage, I kept my eyes on the members whenever they were near and admired their passion, I looked around at the audience waving in sync, all of us here because of our common love for NEWS.
By the end of the show, I was disappointed because they didn’t sing U R not alone. I was catching up with EPCOTIA encore and WORLDISTA concerts just before today (and watched the Story DVD 2 months back), and in every single one they did U R not alone within the first 7 songs. This time, they didn’t perform it at all and I was heartbroken because that was the ONE SONG I was looking forward to and EXPECTING the most!!! I broke down after the concert, naturally. But Scarlet (my companion who gave me the amazing seat) told me that NEWS was saving it for next year, when they have their 20th Anniversary Tour, when hopefully the audience can sing along to the melody of U R not alone. I felt better hearing that, and swore that I will see NEWS again next year.
I HAVE to see them next year. I HAVE to experience U R not alone live, also Sakura Girl, Nagisa no Oneesama, LPS, Love Story, Ai Kotoba, White Love Story, Full Swing, Life… I love NEWS songs so much. I HAVE to join the fanclub and I swear I will see NEWS again in 2023.
I am so thankful for all the miracles and blessings given me to make today happen. I’m grateful that I’ve been placed in Oita so that I could be found by the girl on twitter. I’m thankful to my companion for choosing the insanely good seats for me. I’m eternally thankful to NEWS for choosing to continue as 3 in spite of all the challenges and always putting the fans’ thoughts first. Going to bed grateful for my existence and all things I come into contact to tonight. ❤️