Yu Shirota holds his first orchestral concert to commemorate his 25th anniversary as an entertainer!

Since her debut, Shirota has starred in numerous TV and movie productions and musical plays, and in recent years has attracted attention for her work as a director and for her work in “TOKYO” held in Japan and Singapore. He is active not only as an actor but also as an artist, and has released albums as well as concerts.

This performance is an orchestral concert to celebrate Shirota’s 25th anniversary in the entertainment industry. In a side interview, Shirota said, “The past few weeks have been a lot of thinking, reminiscing, and singing for this concert, and it’s been an emotional time.I’m overcome with nostalgia.” He talked about his thoughts on the anniversary.

This will be Shirota’s first solo concert with a full orchestra, and says, “It was a memorable event at Suntory Hall, a wonderful place where I usually go as a guest and watch it thinking how wonderful it is.” I’m happy to be able to play wonderful music with all the wonderful musicians and guest Mari Hanaso at this milestone time,” she said. , I hope that through my music I can express once again to those who have recently gotten to know me, “This is the kind of person Shirota is.”

Regarding the new song “Yume no Tane ~ I’ll be by your side,” she said with a smile, “It’s been a while since I’ve released a song.” She added, “I co-wrote it with piano player Takana Miyamoto. As for me, it’s been a long time since I’ve made music, so I’m feeling fired up, and I want to take another step forward by writing my own songs and lyrics. I hope to create more and more opportunities for my career as a singer-songwriter, which is something I’ve admired since I was a child and that conveys the message through my voice.”

The concert started with “Lion Heart” (SMAP). The sound source of Shirota’s own singing voice from 25 years ago was played, followed by the orchestra’s performance and Shirota’s singing voice reverberating through the sound, a production unique to this concert. It was a time for the audience to experience the passage of 25 years together.
Next will be the songs that were scheduled to be performed at the concert “Yu Shiroda Concert Tour 2020 ~Mariage~”, which was scheduled to be held in 2020 but could not be completed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In “I Love You” (Yutaka Ozaki), Shirota’s emotional voice overlapped with the orchestra, creating a beautiful harmony.
This concert will consist of two parts, but at the end of the first part of the daytime performance, Shirota’s nephew Taro appeared on stage as a surprise. To celebrate Shirota’s 25th anniversary, I gave her a bouquet of roses. The audience was filled with smiles at their cuteness, including introducing roses as “tulips.”

He and guest Hanaso performed a duet of songs from the musical “Elisabeth.” In the musical “Elisabeth”, Hanaso played the role of Elisabeth and Shirota played the role of Thoth in 2015 and 2016, but on this day, a duet song between Elisabeth and Franz called “Night Boat” was sung.

This duet was actually performed for the first time today. In a side interview, Shirota said, “It was the first time I had met Elisabeth in a way other than Thoth, and when I sang it with emotion, I felt it so painfully that I cried even during the rehearsal.It’s such a sad song. , I think Hanaso’s singing is what allows me to do that,” and just as he said, the singer’s voice conveyed so much emotion that it hurt. Shirota himself described it as a “precious collaboration” during the MC, and it was truly a heart-warming and precious time.

After Hanaso left the stage, the concert continued with Shirota’s original songs, and the audience was captivated by the variety of songs. For the encore, Shirota invited Hanaso again and the two sang “Amazing Grace” together. During the evening performance, there was a surprise in which audience members turned on their cellphone lights, filling the venue with light. Shirota couldn’t help but be moved by the fantastic scenery.

Also, at the curtain call, they performed their new song “Yume no Tane ~ I’ll be by your side” which will be released on October 30th. This wonderful song was created through a collaboration between Shirota and pianist/music director Takana Miyamoto, who hit it off through the Snoopy Orchestra Concert series that started in 2020 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of PEANUTS comics. A cheering song for “Yume”. Shirota sang along with Iwaki’s piano, as if speaking to each audience member individually.

In addition to this, Shirota captivated us with a diverse lineup of songs ranging from pop to Disney songs, musical songs, and original songs. The Osaka performance will be held at Festival Hall on Wednesday, October 30th.