■ “I think the realistic portrayal of me struggling in a place with a different language and culture shows a side of me that I’ve never shown before.” (EXILE AKIRA)
EXILE AKIRA and MIYAVI appeared as representatives of Japan in the new season of the hugely popular show “Call Me By Fire” on the Chinese video streaming service Mango TV, and delivered a spectacular performance on the opening stage.
Mango TV, said to be the most popular channel in China, is a video streaming service affiliated with China’s national broadcasting station. Its international app covers over 195 countries and regions around the world, with over 130 million downloads.
One of the popular shows on Mango TV is “Call Me By Fire,” a hugely popular singing reality entertainment show that has won the daily market share championship among variety shows in China 24 times and topped the weekly trending list on the Chinese version of TikTok eight times.
This is the fourth season, and 34 Asian stars, including AKIRA and MIYAVI, will gather together to battle it out in units for each performance. After six battle stages, the fourth champion will be crowned after the final round.
AKIRA has been active not only in Japan as a performer with EXILE but also as a solo artist throughout Asia, so he had been receiving offers to perform there for several years. Impressed by the enthusiasm of the program staff and the quality of the performance, he finally decided to take on the challenge of performing on this stage in 2024.
MIYAVI, who is active worldwide as a guitarist and actor, has been stepping up his activities in China in recent years, and his talent and achievements have been highly praised, leading to him receiving an offer to appear on a popular Chinese TV show, which led to his decision to appear. This will be the first time a Japanese artist has appeared on the show.
The episode aired on August 3rd (Japan time) featured the opening stage, in which AKIRA and MIYAVI appeared as a special unit. AKIRA performed a dynamic dance to MIYAVI’s powerful guitar, and the spectacular performance crossed borders to capture the hearts of the local Chinese audience, and after the performance there was a huge cheer, showing his presence from the very first episode.
After the broadcast, it caused a huge reaction on Weibo, and “EXILE AKIRA” made it into the Top 10 of the Hot Research overall rankings, attracting attention for future developments.
Check out EXILE AKIRA, who is breaking new ground on Asia’s most popular TV show, and MIYAVI, who is constantly evolving and seeking perpetual innovation, as they show us a side of themselves that we’ve never seen before, and the passionate warriors who are struggling to take on an epic and demanding project.
■AKIRA’s comment
We are pleased to announce that we will be appearing on the hugely popular singing reality show “Call Me By Fire 4” in China!Although I had been offered the role several times up until now, I was not able to participate due to timing issues. However, I was impressed by the enthusiasm from the long-time program staff, and finally decided to appear this time.
I have been working in this industry for nearly 25 years, and I believe that regardless of career, age, or position, it is very important to “continue to challenge yourself” and “be grateful for the opportunities to challenge yourself” in life.
The theme of this program is “opening a path of thorns,” and the group will create a live stage from tough missions they have never experienced before, and then engage in an unprecedented stage battle with new friends from Asia.
I am a member of EXILE and EXILE TRIBE, but I think that the real image of me struggling in a place with a different language and culture will show a side of me that I have never shown before.
“I hope that I can deliver a lot of courage and hope for life through my performance and through my appearance taking on various “thorny paths” on this large-scale singing reality show, which I am creating together with famous people from various fields in Asia, along with my own new expressive abilities and performance.
Program Information
Call Me by Fire 4
First broadcast: August 2 (Fri) 13:00~ (Japan time)
Distribution schedule: Broadcast every Friday and Saturday (From Friday, August 23rd, it will be broadcast every Friday and Saturday or only on Fridays)
Distribution platform: Mango TV
Featuring: EXILE AKIRA, MIYAVI, and 32 other artists
*The first broadcast will be released on the official YouTube channel within 24 hours of its release on Mango TV.
After that, the video will be released on the official YouTube channel within 48 hours of being released on Mango TV.
『Call Me By Fire』Official YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeByFireOfficial
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