This is gonna be quite a lot of work, but I wanted to do this before I fly overseas a few days from now and I won't be back till January. So here goes~! On the 4th December 2011, I got the chance to go to NMB48's first overseas live ever at SCAPE, Singapore on the 4th December 2011 featuring Team N. It was my 2nd Jpop concert ever and boy, I really did have another amazing experience altogether! Well we weren't allowed to take pictures in the concert hall but I found a site with official photos so I got some photos from there. So all credits of the photos of the girls especially to: http://www.scramble-egg.com/artist/nmb48/19singapore01.htm?s_egg= I got photos from the pictures the girls themselves blogged and etc as well.
Now where do I even begin? Well first of all, there were 2 time slots for the concert, one was at 2 pm and the other at 6 pm. Anyway, as for me, I attended only the 6pm concert! Ohh yes, about the seating arrangement, well it was a lottery system. Like when you buy your ticket, you get an alphabet, and you enter the hall when your alphabet is called. There were 10 alphabets altogether and my alphabet was G. Due to some miscommunication, my friends and I picked a different alphabet, so I ended up sitting alone. Lol. Out of 10 alphabets, my alphabet was the 6th alphabet to be called in. To be honest, it was really disheartening at first because I was worried I won't be able to see the stage clearly and etc. As you enter SCAPE, there are 3 segments, the right segment, the middle segment and the left segment. Since the middle segment was already pretty filled up, I chose to sit somewhere in the right segment. Ironically, I ended up at a seat somewhere around the same place when I went for AKB48's 2nd Stage in Singapore earlier in May this year. Well maybe this time I was slightly closer to the stage than previously. And it didn't really seem like a good seat at 1st...cause I was afraid I won't be able to see properly with everyone standing since I'm short...but it actually ended up pretty good cause in front of me were like guests and families...other than the small japanese girls right in front...the rest of them decided to sit almost throughout the entire concert so yeahh with everyone in front of me seated, I got a pretty good view!!  Anyway, just for a clearer picture, this picture is the audience in SCAPE from the 2pm concert I think. Cause it doesn't look like the 6pm concert I went to XP So yeahh we waited awhile in the hall as they played NMB videos and songs...then from backstage, you could hear the girls getting pumped up cause their cheer was pretty loud. That got me pretty excited because I knew the concert was going to start!! Anyhow, this was how the setlist looked like. Basically NMB48 performed their N2 Stage: Seishun Girls which is actually a revival of AKB48's Team K 2nd Stage of the same name. They performed everything minus one song, Cinderella wa Damasarenai, and they improvised the encore a little. Most of the songs weren't performed in full though. But it was all good cause they did perform a lot of songs after all O.O M01「Seishun Girls」
M02「Beach Sandal」
M03「Kimi ga Hoshi ni Naru Made」
--- MC (Self-Introduction) ---
M04「Blue rose」（Kishino, Yamamoto, Ogasawara, Fukumoto）
M05「Kinjirareta Futari」（Yamada, Hikawa）
M06「Ame no Doubutsuen」（Kadowaki, Kinoshita, Kondo, Jonishi, Shiroma, Yamagishi, Yamaguchi, Watanabe）
--- MC ---
M07「Fushidara na Natsu」（Ogasawara, Jonishi, Kinoshita, Fukumoto, Yamaguchi, Yamada, Yamamoto, Watanabe, Hikawa）
M08「Don't disturb!」
M09「Virgin love」
M10「Hizukehenkousen」
--- MC ---
M11「Boku no Uchiage Hanabi」
--- ENCORE ---
E1「Yakusoku Yo」
E2「Korogaru ishi ni nare」
--- MC ---
E3「Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo」
--- MC ---
E4「Oh My God!」
E5「AKB48 Medley」（Beginner, Chance no Junban, Ponytail no Shuushu, Heavy Rotation）
E6「Everyday Kachuusha」
Btw the photos below do not necessarily match the songs. Just to give you the heads up xD
So to get the concert started, the lights dimmed and NMB48's overture began playing. The overture I have to admit really does pump the fans up for NMB48. And then right after the overture comes the first song of the night: 1. Seishun Girls
About this song, it's really a great way to start the concert!! This was arguably one of the best performances of the night with the girls really exhibiting their true "seishun" (youth) spirit. Yes, there really was a spirit of youth, and just watching them singing and dancing their hearts out, it was indeed truly enjoyable! Talking about starting the concert with a bang, the girls really did so in this song ^_^
2. Beach Sandal
3. Kimi ga Hoshi ni Naru Made 
This two songs basically just went on with NMB48's vigour and excitement on stage. You could really just feel them enjoying themselves and it helped you enjoy yourself too! As for Beach Sandal, my NMB oshi and captain of NMB, Yamamoto Sayaka...so it was this song I got to hear her singing live for the first time. And goshh it was smooth!! Seriously, I'm such a big fan of this girl! In Kimi ga Hoshi ni Naru Made, the song was mid-tempo, so they slowed things down abit but still with a huge smile on all their faces. If I'm not mistaken, this was the part I saw Yamamoto Sayaka bend down and smiled and waved directly at the two young Japanese girls(they were about 8-12 years old) at the metal bars in front. And I saw them KYA-ing there and then! That must have been such an amazing moment for them! Haha. So right after that were the self introductions, most of which I was pretty accustomed to from following NMB pretty avidly. lol. By the way, NMB stands for Namba, the place where NMB48 originates from in Osaka. All the girls in this group belong to the Kansai region, and they're a group that's a sister group to Japan's mega girl group, AKB48. Haha I was most happy about getting to see my 2nd favourite in NMB, Fukumoto Aina, introduce herself because she'll do a "hadouhou" across the audience with her hands, and the audience will do the wave! It's really fun! Haha. Anyway, after the introduction segment, there comes the first unit song: 4. Blue Rose Oh my gosh, when Rikanyan (Kishino Rika), Sayanee (Yamamoto Sayaka), Maachun (Ogasawara Mayu) and Ainyan (Fukumoto Aina) come out with their leather black outfits and mic stands for this, I was like JFANJANFJANJ. They sure look good in it!! And Sayanee was beyond cool!! KAKKOI!!! The vocals too were really really good. I loved this performance so much liveee! Sayanee's charisma and aura is just incredible!! Maachun sang good too. Rikanyan and Ainyan's voices blended in perfectly together. This was just OMG FLAWLESS live. Ainyan looks so much COOLER in person too than she did in the live performance of this song that I watched on Youtube. A very polished performance indeed! 5. Kinjirareta Futari 6. Ame no Doubutsuen For Kinjirareta Futari, with Yoshida Akari undergoing suspension, NMB KKS Hikawa Ayame took her place. Not too much complaints here. Vocals were okay. Yamada Nana portrayed her part really well too although I'm still not a big fan of her voice 8D 
This were the outfits for Ame no Doubutsuen. Yess ANIMAL SUITS. Well I guess the performance is cute but to be honest, it's one of the songs I enjoyed less during the concert. This was actually one of the times during the concert I decided to sit down and relax. Haha. The song's a little too cute for me I guess? Haha. Then after that, it was the next MC Segment. If I remember properly, this MC segment was pretty entertaining. Throughout the stage, the member that I really want to give special mention to Maachun for really trying hard to speak quite a lot of English! I think her favourite line was "Are you ready?!" Haha, and oh, she sweats like a fountain!! She must be really healthy! Hehe. Anyhow, she was really really cute too, and I could just see her up on stage, giving her 110%. I totally commend her on her efforts in performing as well as trying to converse to the audience in English. Milky (Watanabe Miyuki) and Ripopo (Kotani Riho) also tried their hand in speaking English too. Most of the girls did try, and I'm glad they did. Otherwise, they depended on the translator. 
This is Maachun btw in the NMB48 Singapore shirt. I tell you she really SWEATS alot! haha. Other interesting bits in that MC segment, well I think it was here they talked about how one of the KKS, Hikawa Ayame, was unaware that there was no winter in Singapore and was the only one who brought winter clothes. LOL. And the other girls didn't tell her earlier? *shot* Or they probably just assumed she knew. One of them also spoke of how they knew there was a 1-hour difference between Singapore and Japan...but when they set their alarm, they weren't sure if they should set it one hour faster or one hour slower. HAHA. Oh, they also talked about MERLION. Lols yess in Singapore, the most important thing you need to know and go to is the MERLION. Got it? XD 
Yeahh so I think it was Haru who talked about how they were gonna post a picture of how it seemed like they were "fighting" with the Merlion with Ainyan's infamous hadouhou and that's one of the pictures. Lol they are soo precious! 7. Fushidara na Natsu 
Then after the pretty long MC segment, the next song, Fushidara na Natsu was performed. The picture there by the way is Rikanyan (Kishino Rika). Oooh this song being performed live is pretty good to watch too!! All of them look so pretty in their outfits. For this batch of songs, that was the outfit they wore. Some of them were in pink actually as you can see abit in Rikanyan's background. And as usual, I was stalking my two favourites, Sayanee and Ainyan. Well sometimes, they were both on opposite sides, so i just stalked the one closer to my field of vision. If not, I would watch Maachun (my 3rd favourite) or Rikanyan who appeared on my side quite alot XD Ohh and I was pretty happy I got to hear Ainyan's solo voice LIVE even if it was just for a short, short while. I hope she gets a longer solo for her next unit next time! Her vocals really have potential! They have a nice tone XD 8. Don't Disturb 
This is Riichan (Kondo Rina) btw. She had speaking English lines in this song XD Well if I were completely honest, I'm not overly fond of this song either. Together with Ame no Doubutsusen, these two songs were the weakest songs in the stage to me. *shot* This song was just a little too slow for my tastes...not that I don't like slow songs but...this one just wasn't enjoyable to me as a slow song. haha. Nevertheless, the girls are still eye candy, so it was still all cool. No I'm not lesbian but some of the girls are really attractive!! Especially Sayanee in my opinion. Haha. 9. Virgin Love 10. Hizukehenkousen 
However, at Virgin Love, the pace of the concert became faster again. This was a really solid performance too, the girls having sharp movements and pretty vocals to go along with it. And well, it's true that most girls look good in white, so the outfit change was nice too. haha. Well, Hizukehenkousen was okay too, but it paled in comparison to Virgin Love which was just executed so perfectly. Either way, I could see the girls gave their all, and it was still a treat to watch anyway. After that it was another MC segment. If I'm not mistaken...I don't remember much about this MC segment other than it being awkward cause Riichan suddenly fumbled and went speechless at what to say. lol. I guess she was nervous, so I forgive her though. lols. 11. Boku no Uchiage Hanabi After that, NMB came out in their yukatas to perform what they said was the last song in the setlist, Boku no Uchiage Hanabi. Before performing, Milky explained that these yukatas were common for Japanese girls to wear in the summer. It was a tradition and it was okay to wear in the summer because the material was thin. They did talk abit more and after that, they performed! 
That's Ainyan in her yukata!! They all looked really beautiful, and I really enjoyed this performance! It was really simple and sweet, and even if this song is slower paced, it was nice!! The smiles on the girls' faces, the way they swayed to the song, I could feel their heartfelt emotions pouring out during the song. The performance was just lovely! :) Once the song finished, the girls said thank you and proceeded to leave the stage. Not long after that, we were led by one of the fans to call out for an encore by calling out "NMB" and "48" as well as the names of the 16 girls who came. After some cheering and chanting, the girls came out and performed: ENCORE 1: Yakusoku yo 
This song was really bittersweet. This stage sure has a number of bittersweet songs. Haha. I really liked it and the girls were really earnest as they performed...and not just for this song, but throughout the stage, i thought the girls really communicated well with the audience. They wore their hearts on their sleeves and I found it really really endearing. ENCORE 2: Korogaru ishi ni nare 
Lols that picture above is Sayanee and Milky. I'm not even sure where this came from, so I just randomly inserted it here. haha. Anyway about Korogaru ishi ni nare, being a big fan of Original Team K, of course it didn't feel quite the same watching NMB's Team N perform it. Nevertheless, I thought they did a pretty good job and really pumped their energy level even more despite the fact that they must have already been really tired. Even if it was tiring, they didn't show it on their faces, and they just gave a full force performance. Kudos to them for that. Just after this song, there was a short MC segment, and this is where the setlist differs from the original setlist. Then they announce that they'll perform their debut single, Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo. Everyone gets pretty excited because this easily is and will continue being NMB48's trademark song. ENCORE 3: Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo Well this song performed live definitely did not disappoint. The girls really showed what NMB was all about. The spirit of Namba, the Kansai vibe and their identity as a group. In the 48Family, out of the many singles that were released, this single is a truly authentic song that completely fits NMB48's image. The girls did a really great job in maintaining that authenticity and uniqueness of that song too. Then, they stop for a MC again, and then they announce that they'll perform their 2nd single, Oh My God! ENCORE 4: Oh My God! Haha definitely the most ENERGETIC performance of the night!! It makes you wonder if these NMB girls are Energizer bunnies!! The amount of energy, excitement and enthusiasm they put for this song is just a whole new level. This song, although it may be generic, the real essence of it is when it is performed live. Their smiles, their energy, and their spirit was truly evident in this song. In fact, watching this song being performed made me think just how amazing NMB48 were as a group. They executed the vocals and dance perfectly, and really, this song would make you just want for more and more of them. It would have made a really incredible finale, ending the concert with a bang. But... It wasn't the last song for the day. I know you must be thinking the encore is sure pretty darn LONG for an encore. I thought so too. xD ENCORE 5: AKB48 Medley (Beginner, Chance no Junban, Ponytail no Shushu, Heavy Rotation) So then NMB went on to perform an AKB48 medley, something they usually only did in their N1 stage, so I was pretty surprised when they did this. So let's go song by song. Well Beginner...when I first watched this in video, I thought the NMB girls' movements and dance other than a few wasn't sharp enough. However, when I watched them perform it live in front of my eyes, I was stunned! They DEFINITELY improved!! Their dance was so much sharper and they were so much more fiercer. In terms of execution, I thought they did it extremely well! GOOD JOB GIRLS. Moving on, there was Chance no Junban and Ponytail no Shushu. I'm grouping them together because these two songs, really to be honest, I think NMB48 actually surpasses AKB48 for these songs. Their energy level is just out of this world and their enthusiasm in performing is just infectious. This may not make sense to some but watching NMB48's Team N really helped me understand the true essence of theater and even of the 48Family. These two songs, AKB should be ashamed because I've never seen them perform these songs ever with such energy and passion xD Last but not least in the medley, there was Heavy Rotation. Well as much as I love NMB48, like I've said before, this song is OSHIMA YUKO's song. No Heavy Rotation perf is complete without her performing it. However, that aside, NMB did do a pretty good rendition of it. And as usual, this song is fun to sing along and even dance to if you want. Haha. I did like it when Sayanee took Yuko's solo "heavy rotation" line to end the song cause goshh, her voice is just soo polished and smooth! Really nice! ENCORE 6: Everyday Kachuusha 
Mirurun (Shiroma Miru), Rikanyan and Maachun. ;) Without much delay, they then jump to their last and final song of the night, AKB48's Everyday Kachuusha, which two of their members, Sayanee and Milky, were actually in. At this point, I seriously wonder how they managed to keep up with their ENERGY. I give a BIG A+ to their stamina especially since some of them are really young! Their age range by the way is 13-19, so I found it pretty impressive. And with that, they ended the concert on a high. 
Before leaving the stage, they take a photo with the audience as a form of remembrance. Fans can also collect this photo at a later date to be announced for FREE. I guess it's a gift since it's NMB48's first overseas live. I'm just guessing xD This was from the 2PM concert btw and not the 6PM concert I attended. lol.  The last final bow. Really thank youuu NMB48 for an amazing, spectacular concert!! I really enjoyed myself! if you think that's the end of this report, you are WRONGG. As any other 48stage performed in Singapore, each and every person including myself who attended the concert get to have a handshake with the girls as we leave the hall. Actually, the line moved pretty fast, possibly cause of the labour law where the girls below 16 can't work past a specific time. I don't know really, it's just an assumption. You'll get quite a lot of time with the first few girls, have barely any time with those in the middle and then have quite a lot of the time with the last few. To be honest, I don't remember that much from the handshake, only memorable moments. What I did try to do was call each girl by name. I thought it would be something they'll appreciate even if I didn't get to say much to them. Also, I wore my I LOVE MALAYSIA shirt again (I wore it at the previous AKB stage last time too) just to pimp Malaysia to them. lol. 
Yeahh how I looked at the concert thay day. You can't really see it but that shirt says I LOVE MALAYSIA. So what I did was...I spammed Malaysia to almost ALL of the NMB girls that day. Like I would tell them I'm a fan from Malaysia and point out my shirt. It was quite funny because this led to one of my fan moments with Ripopo (Kotani Riho) 
This is Ripopo. She was the last in line. Basically what happened was like I said, I was pimping my I LOVE MALAYSIA shirt to all the other NMB members and I think I probably did to the member before her who was Maachun. I think Ripopo noticed because after the usual thank yous, the first thing she said to me was... "Ohh, I love Malaysia?" She said that in English and I replied YES YES!! And I gave her a thumbs up and she responded by giving a thumbs up back to me. It was pretty epic! After my first experience at AKB48 2nd Stage in May, I really wanted to make sure I did something memorable at least for my favourites so I wouldn't regret it, and I think I really had divine favour that day because I actually managed to do so. So my top favourite in NMB, Sayanee, was the third in the handshake line. I was really happy because I had quite a bit of time to actually talk to her. Anyway, before that, let me spazz about Sayanee abit! I'm pretty sure it wasn't my imagination but I managed eye contact with Sayanee several times throughout the stage!! It was incredible!!! Thank you people in front of me that were all sitting down!! hahahaha. Like there was even one part, she pointed right at me. I know it was probably random pointing but there was eye contact! This girl, you really have to give her credit for her fan service! The way she interacted and communicated with the audience while performing was really top class! Even if you weren't a big fan of her before this, if you ever go to the NMB stage, you'll slowly understand her appeal. Not only is she crazy talented, she is also charismatic and really nice to her fans! 
Btw this picture was taken from Sayanee's Google + and no, they didn't wear this at Singapore. haha. Anyway the handshake with Sayanee.. OMAIGAA SAYANEE was SOOOO SOOOOO NICEEEE!!! Like all the girls were nice...but she was definitely one of the nicest!! Oh gosh HER EYES. She was really really geniune, like she was really really attentive to you when you spoke to her. And you'll feel really really good when you speak to her because her attention is 100% fixed on you and nothing else. She was just so ready to listen and didn't seem like she took it as a burden or just her job. She really was earnest and sincere while standing there, shaking your hands and listening to you. Anyway, I told her she was my NMB oshi which she was gladd about of course and told her I was from Malaysia (pointed out my I LOVE MALAYSIA shirt.) She reacted well to that too with that lovely, lovely smile of hers and so as a form of respect to her as captain, I saluted her. And... SHE RESPONDED BY SALUTING BACK TO ME!!! Yepp just like that Google plus photo. She's such a sweetheart really My last but not least memorable fan moment was with my 2nd favourite, Ainyan! 
This is Ainyan I actually had really limited time with her cause she wasn't the last few or first few but she was somewhere in the middle. Despite having limited time, I really wanted to make the best out of that short period of time, so I did something quick and memorable (I think). All I did was a HEART sign with my hand and said "AI" to her...and then I pointed at her and said "NYAN"
In response, she went "OHH" and did the same back to me!! That was pretty sweet of her!! Yappari, she was really really sweet and friendly just as I imagined her to be! Glad my judgement wasn't wrong XP Although I can't remember exactly what I said to the rest of the girls not mentioned, I can guarantee you ALL of them were really down-to-earth, warm and friendly. I really felt a lot of warmth from them. They really made me feel going all the way to Singapore to see them and supporting them was really worth it because of their gratitude and dedication. Anyway, here are some pictures to show roughly where the girls were standing. These pictures were from 2PM where they got to shake all the girls' hands. As for 6PM, it was unfortunate but two girls, Yamaguchi Yuuki and Hikawa Ayame, couldn't attend the handshake due to poor health conditions. It's pretty sad but their health comes first. I was also kinda relieved that those two aren't in my top few favourites in NMB or I would have ended up depressed. xD So the pictures from that same site again with official photos 8D 
Milky, Hikawa Ayame, Sayanee and Nana The 6pm stage...the handshake line was something like this too just that Hikawa Ayame wasn't there, and someone else was standing in her place...possibly Shinohara Kanna but I'm not sure. Can't remember *shot* 
Yuppi and Yamagishi Natsumi. As I said earlier, Yuppi was absent from the handshake at 6pm.  Ainyan and Miruru~! Somewhere in the middle XD 
Jonishi, Riichan, Haru and Rikanyan. 
Haru, Rikanyan, Kanakichi (Kadowaki Kanako), Maachun and Ripopo. LOL Haru and Rikanyan are in two pictures. And if you think my fan moments were over...they were not! AHA. Let's see it's something related to this... 
Ainyan hadouhou and MERLION? Okay, it wasn't related to Merlion but it's related to AINYAN and her HADOUHOU. So you know...I had such a short moment with Ainyan at the handshake...and with her being one of my top favourites...I wasn't satisfied 8D So... After the handshake, I was standing at a distance from the door where they were at but I was definitely completely visible. So I yelled out to Ainyan and instinctively did her "HADOUHOU" pose at her. She noticed me, smiled at me and HADOUHOU-ed back!!! Just before they were going to close the doors and leave, Ainyan looked at me one last time, smiled again and fired another HADOUHOU at me. So I smiled and sent my hadouhou back at her too! I ALMOST DIED. DOUBLE HADOUHOUs from AINYAN!!! How does one survive??? Really one of the best fan moments in my life!! HADOUHOU!!!! Unrelated but... 
Ainyan and Rikanyan in Singapore! I got this from Ainyan's blogg. These two are like one of the most awesome besties ever!! My love for Rikanyan grew too cause I love Ainyan a lot and I think their friendship is really sweet because they're both always there for each other through everything. Really sweet friendship they have there. Haha. Ohh, and all this is abit OT but I'm posting some of the girls' pictures with the Merlion because they're really funny and LOL-worthy! 
Maachun's praying at the Merlion :3 
Everyone's doing it Ainyan style. HADOUHOU-ing the merlion XD POOR MERLION. lol. 
Lolol Ripopo nice one!! And I saved the best one for last... 
Lol SAYANEE! Sooo creative! 8D And dramatic too! EPIC!! Yeahh, that was pretty off topic but this is what I really love about these girls. Their sense of humour, creativity and their enthusiasm was what made the concert so enjoyable. They're true entertainers, leaving a mark wherever they go. I don't know whether any of these amazing girls would remember me but still, I am really really grateful and thankful for the chance in meeting them. I know not many people get to meet their idols, their biases and tell them that she/he is your favourite, show your respect or even love to them. I had that chance, and I really thank God for it. Also, NMB gave me pretty bad withdrawal symptoms...even AKB wasn't this bad...I really miss them and want to see them again soon if possible! haha. They were really really such sweethearts!
So that is me, Ven the NMB fangirl from Malaysia! NMB saikou desu!! YOOOSHH NMB48! xD And yeahh the pictures of me were taken in my hotel after the concert xD And next up is the last picture in this entry taken the next day when I met up with a fellow fan, my Indonesian friend, Tarina, the next day! She decided to do Ainyan's trademark hadouhou with me...Well Ainyan is in my top 2 in NMB...as for her, Ainyan is in her top 10...not her top 2 so it was nice of her ;) This is at MOS Burger =D
TEEHEE HADOUHOU!! That's all then guys! Hope you enjoyed reading...I might have missed out quite abit...my memory's a little rusty. haha.
Malaysian fangirl,
Ven | 
