[Otsuka Ai]21st Anniversary Live “It’s truly a treasure! I will continue my musical activities as long as everyone is here!” “Otsuka Ai LOVE IS BORN ~21st Anniversary 2024~”

On September 8th, Ai Otsuka held “Ai Otsuka LOVE IS BORN ~21st Anniversary 2024~” at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA in Tokyo.

Since Ai Otsuka’s birthday is September 9th and her debut date is September 10th, the anniversary and birthday live has become an annual tradition. Ai Otsuka continues to expand her field of activities as an artist as she celebrates her 20th anniversary since her debut. In this concert, she delivered 16 songs, from her classic hits to her latest songs.

In a climate where the vestiges of summer mixed with the cool breeze of autumn, the venue was filled with a packed audience who came to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Otsuka Ai’s debut.

As the piano instrumental song “trois” played, she appeared from a huge tent wearing a black base with white polka dots and shouted “I’ve missed you”, opening the memorable concert with “summer lovely days”.

After finishing the song, he asked, “How are you?” and then played his signature summer tune “PEACH” with a lively strumming. The audience responded by raising their hands and jumping around, heating up the venue in an instant.

In the first MC, she expressed her gratitude, saying, “I’m so happy. I’m so glad you came today. Because it’s my last 41st year, I want to spend it with you all.” She then said, “The 1st of 41 is the last. And it’s the first performance of the 21st anniversary. So I’ll play a song I’m playing for the first time.” Otsuka laughed, “It’s the first time, so I don’t know how it’ll turn out,” and performed “Magenta,” which was included in the mini-album “marble” released last year, for the first time. She continued, “Do you all remember this song? It’s a song that says I really love you all,” and performed “drop.”, released in 2009, starting off the set list with a mix of new and old songs.

After a short pause, Otsuka appeared on stage saying, “Sorry to keep you waiting,” and then said with a smile, “You all know that you’re growing old together with me, so I’m sure you want to take a break soon,” before moving on to the singing and playing corner. The songs she would perform this time were solicited through her fan club and decided based on the opinions of her fans. “If you’re not a member of the fan club, this kind of communication is waiting for you, so why not take this opportunity to join?” she said, and sang “Jellyfish, Shooting Star,” one of Otsuka’s ballads with a strong message, softly illuminated by the orange lighting of the setting sun.

She also confessed that she had experienced anguish and conflict when it came to songwriting, saying, “There was a time when I hated being tied down and wanted to be free, and I struggled and suffered.” Nevertheless, she said, “It’s okay to do what you think, everyone is number one. I wrote this song because they told me that this is what everyone wants. It’s a song that still makes me feel free,” and then she sang “Wings and Eggs,” scattering her overflowing emotions with delicate piano tones.

Then, as the evening approached, the inside of the venue took on a magical night-like atmosphere, and the screen was lit up with blue lights and countless stars were scattered on the screen during the summer song “Planetarium,” which has been loved since its release. Next, a starry sky was projected, and in the rhythmic track “Starry Sky Record,” oil paintings drawn by Otsuka were displayed on the screen, one after another, and Otsuka’s singing voice created a lyrical world.

As the concert reached the middle, she asked, “This is our once a year Thanksgiving day when we all get together. How is everyone doing?” which elicited thunderous applause. Another member of the audience asked, “How are you, Ai-chan?” to which she replied with a smile, “I’m doing fine.”

In July, Otsuka held a solo exhibition to express his gratitude for the past 20 years and to hand over the baton to the next generation. After that, he said that the theme of this live performance is a “mountain climbing camp” where he climbs a new mountain, and explained the situation of the live performance, which will be in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
Then, he asked, “It’s night now, what do we all do at night when we go camping?” and the audience responded with “campfire.” Otsuka said, “Let’s light a fire,” and lit a set of firewood arranged in a criss-cross pattern. He and the four band members sat around the fire and talked about old memories. He then said, “I want everyone to go back to 21 years ago and remember that song,” and looked up at the starry sky while sitting around the fire, and performed their debut single “Momo no Hanabira” acoustically, gently enveloping the venue.

After finishing the song, he said, “Finally, the countdown has begun. I only have a few more hours to be 41 years old,” and the band members said, “Cinderella,” to which he replied, “Yeah, that’s right,” drawing laughter from the audience. He then asked the audience, “You came to celebrate today, didn’t you?”, and the crowd erupted in cheers of “Congratulations!”. He then said, “When we talk about this, that song is the only one that comes to mind,” and performed “Birthday Song,” which erupted in a celebratory mood, with the entire venue clapping and singing “Happy Birthday” in unison. At the end of the song, he put out the bonfire, which erupted in even louder cheers and applause.

The live went into its final stretch. “Mousou Chop (Kenmochi Hidefumi Remix)”, a collaborative song written by Shinichi Osawa (MONDO GROSSO / RHYME SO) for Ai Otsuka, “vanity (from Shinichi Osawa)”, and the coupling song “Fufufu” were performed in succession, and Ai Otsuka’s worldview expanded with each song.

Then, the bright lights like the sun lit up the entire venue as if morning had come again, and with Otsuka’s call of “Let’s go!”, they performed “Mirai Taxi,” a song that is an indispensable part of her live performances, and the audience waved their hands from side to side with gusto, creating a sense of unity in the venue.
He then expressed his gratitude once again, saying, “Thank you so much for coming today,” and said, “This is our last song. It’s been a really long time since we last performed it, so I had forgotten a little about it.” He introduced it as “song number two that doesn’t work without everyone joining in,” and shouted, “We’re on vacation forever,” and sang the hidden gem “Coco Natsu Vacation” with the audience. He then looked out at the entire venue with gratitude, bowed deeply, and left the stage with a smile, bringing the main show to a close.

When the audience sang along, asking for an encore, Otsuka appeared on stage again. He made the audience laugh by saying, “I forgot to take a photo, so I came back.”
“This time spent with you all is truly a treasure! Thank you so much for being with me for 21 years,” she said, expressing her gratitude again, and then declared with confidence, “As long as you are all here, I will continue my musical career! I’ll do it for the 22nd year too!”

He then asked “Are you planning to end without playing that song?” and asked several times, “Are you going to play that song?” to which the audience responded with a cheer of “Yes!”
The atmosphere reached its climax when the intro to the classic song “Sakuranbo” played and gold streamers flew up. Smiles filled the stage and the audience. When Otsuka pointed the microphone at the audience and said “Ready, go!”, the audience screamed “One more time!” In the midst of a great frenzy, she sang the famous song that everyone knows together with the gathered audience, and the anniversary live that has covered the history of Otsuka Ai’s history came to a close.

Even in her 22nd year, Otsuka Ai continues to climb new mountains, take on new challenges, and evolve, so we look forward to seeing what the future holds for her.


01.Summer lovely days
02.PEACH
03. Magenta
04.drop.
05. Jellyfish, shooting stars
06. Egg with wings
07. Planetarium
08. Starry Sky Records
09. Peach Blossom Petal
10.Birthday Song
11. Delusion Chop (Kenmochi Hidefumi Remix)
12.vanity
13. Hehehe
14. Future Taxi
15.Coco Summer Vacation
Encore
16. Cherries


Photo by: Seitaro Tanaka


“Otsuka Ai LOVE IS BORN ~21st Anniversary 2024~” U-NEXT exclusive catch-up streaming

[Broadcast time]
Missed broadcast
From 18:30 on Sunday, September 22, 2023 to 23:59 on Sunday, October 6, 2023

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https://t.unext.jp/r/otsukaai

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＜Ai Otsuka official website＞
・Formula X:https://twitter.com/ai_otsuka99
・Official Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/aiotsuka_official
Official website:https://avex.jp/ai/

＜Ai Otsuka “THE FIRST TAKE”>
・Otsuka Ai / Planetarium – From THE FIRST TAKE (audio source)
https://avex.lnk.to/planetarium_thefirsttake
・Otsuka Ai / Cherry Cocktail – From THE FIRST TAKE (audio source)
https://avex.lnk.to/sakuranbo_cocktail_thefirsttake

・Ai Otsuka – Planetarium / THE FIRST TAKE (video)

・Ai Otsuka – Cherry Cocktail / THE FIRST TAKE (video)