Legendary Japanese singer, Crystal Kay, welcomed an intimate group of fans at The Stowaway in Los Angeles. The bar and event area has a capacity of a cozy 170 people, and many eager attendees lined up early. When she’s not busy singing the national anthem at the Dodger’s Stadium, she’s hard at work expanding her 24-year discography. Earlier in the month, Crystal previously held her first LA performance—an acoustic set on September 3rd—at Hotel Ziggy. This time, she brought a full band specially for her September 11th show. On Twitter, she responded to calls for more shows by promising to expand her performances to the East Coast next year.
As the band warmed up to “Gimme Some,” Crystal gave a shout out to “DY,” Daichi Yamamoto who featured on the track, during the song’s early rap verses. Stepping out in a hot pink dress, the veteran performer smoothly slipped into the familiar atmosphere like a natural. After some quick introductions in both Japanese and English, she jumped into “Girl U Love” mixed with a bit of Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit.” Knowing her international audience, Crystal playfully bantered a bit with the crowd before going back to “What time is it?”
It’s no exaggeration to say every soul in the crowd knew her discography of 24 years and counting by heart. Anytime the singer turned the mic to the audience, they responded on cue. “I love that I don’t need background vocals because I have you guys,” praised Crystal. Slowing the energy down, she brought out Jacob, a special guest, to play “Motherland” on the sax. “We didn’t even rehearse; he just came, and we did our thing.” This heartfelt version of the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist ending song brought tears to the anime fans in the crowd as they enthusiastically screamed the opening lines alongside Crystal. She recalled how shocked she was to find out how well-known the series is globally, since the American title was drastically different from the Japanese one.
“Next year, thanks to you guys, will be my 25th anniversary. Time flies,” reflected Crystal before moving on to her favorite song, “Eternal Memories.” The 1999 song contains a bit of interesting trivia as Yoko Kanno composed the song as a commercial jingle for Vitamin Water. “This is my favorite song, and it’s my first song ever.” Because the 1997 tune was so popular, Crystal shared how many calls she received after it went on air. “I was 13 at debut, but I recorded this at 11. We decided to make it a full version and that was the beginning of Crystal Kay.”
Those who saw CK at her first LA performance were treated to an entirely new set as The Stowaway’s show drastically differed from the Hotel Ziggy one. With the charming handwritten setlists on the ground, the singer knew how to keep devoted fans on their toes as she adjusted her MC segments to the club’s mood. Covering Michael Jackson’s hit, “Human Nature,” Crystal disclosed how influential he and his sister were in her career.
The following songs contained elements from other popular songs, inserting lines from Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” into her recent single, “No Pressure.” Everyone warmed up alongside the Japanese songstress during the quick raps in the upbeat lyrical 2006 hit, “Kirakuni” ahead of the next track. Stretching and showing off her vocal prowess, Crystal sustained the high note in “Boyfriend -part II-” with flawless execution. During the song’s breaks, she encouraged the crowd to help her sing the lines from PinkPantheress’ “Boys a Liar, Pt. 2,” which was a cheekily appropriate mashup.
Before heading into the concert’s end, a fan gave her a bundle of flowers wrapped in paper with Louis Vuitton motifs. As the band headed into “Hard to Say,” Crystal took a moment to thank and introduce her band: Taiki (bass), Brian (keys), Les (drums), and Nozomi (guitar and musical director). But before she could even take a breather to compose herself, the crowd already screamed for an encore.
Of course, the setlist would not be complete without her bestselling single to date, “Koi ni Ochitara.” Pushing the vocal run and the near whistle note in the last lines of the song, the J-pop powerhouse bid farewell to her second ever LA show. Sprinkling extra lines of “I love you” in the outro, CK waved goodbye as she walked offstage.
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the show:
Setlist
- Gimme Some
- Girl U Love with Steve Lacy’s Bad Habit
- What time is it?
- Motherland
- Eternal Memories
- Human Nature (Cover)
- No Pressure with Earth, Wind & Fire’s September
- Kirakuni
- Boyfriend -part II- with PinkPantheress’s Boys a Liar, Pt. 2
- Hard to Say
- Encore – Koi ni Ochitara
