Conchita Wurst finished up her week-long first visit to Japan last night (Friday, July 10th), with a fabulous live performance of ‘Rise Like a Phoenix‘ on Japan’s Music Station. A performance on one of the country’s biggest music shows, and one that hit around 30 million people in at least eight countries.
Not bad for a first visit to the world’s most notoriously difficult music market to crack.
It wasn't only fun to be on this japanese show with other musicians with different styles, it’s also inspiring! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/GgiGLhEqPY
— コンチータ Conchita Wurst (@ConchitaWurst) July 10, 2015
And it was a particularly good performance, as Conchita was surrounded by other singers who sing a completely different genre of music than she does.
Japanese pop music, or J-Pop as it’s known here in Asia. That sometimes sickly sweet, extremely commercial, very manufactured sound, Japanese music is famous for. A genre I’ve grown to like, seeing as how it’s the most popular music here in Thailand, but one that’s an acquired taste for most westerners.
And I would imagine, being an Austrian singer about to sing a song that is at the absolute other end of the pop spectrum than what J-Pop and Music Station is all about, it was probably nerve-wracking for Conchita Wurst sitting waiting for her turn to sing.
Not sure if what she was going to produce would even fit into this type of music format, and certainly not with her own group of screaming fans most of the other singers seemed to have.
Then the introduction to her performance began, with Music Station playing a short segment about Conchita and her career, starting with how she won the Eurovision Songo Contesto (sorry, I couldn’t resist), followed by the usual comparison with Conchita as she is now, alongside her creator Tom Neuwirth when he was 17.
Which was actually brilliantly perfect for Conchita, as Japanese girls love beautiful boys — even if the one behind Conchita is now nine years older and wears a beard. So for them, to see Conchita Wurst in all her glory, and that gorgeous boy Tom in all of his, so many are now sure to fall in love.
Once the intro segment was over, Conchita was asked the usual questions, she let the host touch her beard, and she told about her visit to a Japanese shabu-shabu restaurant.
And then it was time for Conchita Wurst to sing on Music Station. Wearing an impossibly huge dress. A dress shaped like a big bell, designed by Ukrainian fashion designer Lara Quint and one which, at first look, I couldn’t decide whether it was the worst thing I’d ever seen Conchita Wurst wear or the best.
our look for #musicstation in #japan Shirt @cosstores Dress @laraquint Heels @louboutinworld #musicstationjapan #lovewins #anime #queenoftolerance #manga #doll #animegirl #otakuart #harajuku #kawaii #swag #yolo #whatsawrap #instadaily #inuyasha #conchitawurst #fitting #stylist #celebritydressing #personalstylist #beard #beauty #inked #azone Watch her Show Act to see the look on Stage!!! A photo posted by Thomas Reinberger (@thomas.reinberger) on
I finally went with the best, as it was perfect for her, perfect for Japan, and, frankly, just a perfect dress, as she looked like the sweetest doll in it. And one you wanted to hug as she was just so darned cute. (More adorable photos on her Facebook page).
As for her performance, not only was she Karaoke Conchita, with the lyrics of ‘Rise Like a Phoenix‘ displayed at the bottom of the screen in both English and Japanese in typical Japanese TV style, she also knocked the song right out of the ballpark. Yes. Perfect in every way.
Soon after Music Station ended, her debut album Conchita was already in the Top 100 albums in Japan on iTunes (#78, last time I checked), and she was trending on Twitter in Japan. Not bad for a girl most of the country was not familiar with just a few minutes before.
So, I’d have to say, what with her myriad TV interviews, with Japanese TV hosts fawning all over her wherever she went, with a visit to a Japanese fashion school, a private meeting with the mayor of Shibuya, and a performance on her last night in Japan on Music Station, Conchita Wurst’s first visit to Japan could not have gone better.
Well done, love.
Conchita at Music Station, Japan 10.07.2015 by rus-unstoppables