On Sunday, Aug. 24, Japanese artist, Ado, flew to Oahu to put on a show at the Neil S. Blaisdell Arena. According to Ticketmaster, the show was sold out and roughly 8,800 people attended.
Ado debuted on Oct. 23, 2020, with her hit single “Usseewa.” The title, a slang word for “shut up” in Japanese, reflects the disdain that Ado feels toward societal norms, according to Unseen Japan.
Minami McGregor (12) reflects on the influence that Ado’s immediate popularity had on Japanese social media. Coming from a Japanese background, McGregor says she was able to relish Ado’s music from a perspective that Western audiences could not grasp.
“I discovered Ado when Usseewa came out,” McGregor says. “It was really popular in Japan and being Japanese, having access to Japanese media and stuff, I heard it a lot through Instagram, TikTok, or even TV.”
Nikita Goodness (12) shares that she discovered the artist through One Piece: Film Red, in which Ado sings as the main character, Uta.
“Her songs are super high energy and tend to lean towards [heavy] metal, which is already a genre I enjoy,” she says.
Beau Johnson (11) had also jumped on the bandwagon in 2020 following Ado’s single. He shares a great sense of pride for how much Ado has grown since her debut, and he relates to her song lyrics.
“I’m happy to see her come so far in her music career,” Johnson says. “I love her music because I find some of her songs relatable, and honestly, some of them changed the way I think of things. I just love songs that people can relate to, especially if they’re in that exact situation that the song is about.”
Gianna Siliezar (11) discovered Ado on TikTok, and shares that she “really likes” how Ado’s approach to J-pop wasn’t the standard.
“I like how she screams in her songs because it’s very different from all the other artists I’ve listened to,” she says.
A handful of Kalani students were in the crowd on the night of Ado’s concert, and reminisced about the intensity with which Ado performed. Goodness shares that Ado’s concert was nothing like she had ever seen before, and a show to remember.
“It was a huge experience and absolutely breathtaking,” Goodness says. “It was unforgettable and probably one of the best performances I’ve seen.”
Beau Johnson (11) was seated near the front, alongside his friend, and recalls the performance as “loud” and utterly powerful.
“The performance itself was very energetic, which caused me to nearly lose my voice from screaming and jumping the whole time,” he says.
Siliezar shares that the concert was an amazing display of Ado’s visuals, ambience, and musicality.
“It was great and I really liked when she was dancing, talking to us, and performing in her cage while the [band] was just vibing,” she says.
She explains that light sticks were provided to attendees to wave around to the music.
“I liked how everybody was in sync with the colors on their light sticks and waving them around.”
