‘Julie’ turns on passion during 6 1/2-hour concert at Tokyo Dome
Entertainment ( 16 )
TOKYO —
Singer-actor Kenji Sawada, also known as ‘Julie’ among his fans, sang for more than six and a half hours in front of 32,000 fans at a concert held at Tokyo Dome Wednesday held to celebrate his 60th birthday.
“Julie” wore a couple of native American headdresses with matching suits and sang 42 songs almost non-stop. His passion was evident and he broke into tears after his 26th song. “My eyes have been running a bit lately. I appreciate people coming down to see my performance, strange as it may be, especially on a weekday…taking time off work and so forth,” he said.
He sang 80 songs in total, ranging from his time with The Tigers and then Pyg, to those from his solo career. The concert started at 3 p.m. and finished after 9.30 p.m.
Wire reports
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16 Comments
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soldave
Also known as "Julie"???
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smartacus
What is the significance to Sawada of the native American headdress?
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techall
Native American = stone age immigrants
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timorborder
Were the exits barred? I thought Japan had signed a number of conventions against torture?
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borscht
I wonder if any other pop singer in Japan knows enough songs for a 6.5 hour concert. Or have the stamina to do it. Or the audience. Or can sing 42 songs without taking a break to change costumes and let their back-up dancers dance.
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movieguy
Music in Japan is all lip synched anyway. That's how you can sing for 6.5 hours.
I imagine people in Japan wondered what all the fuss was about with the Milli Vanilli lip synching scandal in the U.S.
Very little "REAL" music in Japan...
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30061015
You GOTTA be kidding. Native Americans & "Julie"? What am I missing here?
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thepro
Julie Sawada, what a hack
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3RENSHO
"...and finished after 9:30 pm."
So tell me, what time did the concert finish?
Moderator: After 9:30 p.m.
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terebiko
Kenji Sawada is a great entertainer and singer. He has been singing, not lip synching, since the 60's. According to Wikipedia his nickname "Julie" comes from the fact that he is a big fan of, yep, you guessed it, Julie Andrews. Quite a marathon concert for a 60 year old! Wonder if he sang Hare Nochi Blue Boy.....
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cwhite
last I saw him next door he was a typical ossan who looked both ways 3 times before heading into his house probably to make sure nobody was following him... I'll be sure to give him all your condolences.
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Weasel
Cherokee people?
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akaguma
let's hope he doesn't drop dead after such a sterling performance
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yawmin
Julie is awsome. Noone does shows for that long. id be shocked to see a 2 hour show. Also, The Tigers were so influential! romance in the milkyway!!!
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thepro
The Tigers were influential? No, none of the group sounds bands were influential. They were bad rip-offs of proper bands like The Beatles.
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realist
Congratulations on your 60th, Julie San! Ive been a fan of your since coming to Japan in the 80s. That marathon concert of 6 and a half hours should be in the Guinnes Book of Records - not many of the much less younger "tarento" would have the guts or the stamina for that!
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