“Hello my name is Kaho Kasumi and I love d…” exclaimed the enthusiastic Kaho Kasumi as she introduced herself to a stunned room. Old habits, die hard they say.
We were lucky enough to be invited to the press conference at Resorts World Sentosa announcing Ebisu Muscats’ performance in Singapore on 17 January at the Star Performing Arts Centre. Ebisu Muscats are a 30 member Japanese girl-group made up of either former “AV” (adult video) stars, “gravure” (a kind of Japanese pin-up) models or just famous from showing off their 'assets'.
Their colourful past aside, they make a brand of music that can only be described as upbeat (and some say cloyingly sweet) candy pop, with names that are equally as colourful ('Banana Mango High School', 'Watashi Mambo'). To underline this, the outfits they chose for the press conference were picked from the neon bright happy side of the colour spectrum.
Having to coordinate between the schedules of 30 different girls is something that must be next to impossible. Therefore unfortunately for us, they will not be at full strength at the Singapore concert as only 10 of them are able to make it down for their Asia tour.
The bubbly girls are performing in Singapore for the first time and even as seasoned performers, they still expressed nervousness at performing here.
“From the comments on our blogs, the responses and comments from the fans in Singapore were warm and friendly,” enthused Show Nishino, the most outspoken member of the group, through a translator.
“This is our first time performing in Singapore. We don’t know how many people will come to the show and how the audience will react. We also hope that this is a chance to entertain the audience and make it an enjoyable and fun experience!” added Nishino.
Ebisu Muscats Asia Tour 2013 Press Conference
(Click on above image to see photo gallery) The girls from Ebisu Muscats. Photo Willie Yeo
They were however coy when asked what the Singaporean fans can expect. “It’s a secret!” exclaimed all of them to a fit of giggles.
Unfortunately for fans, the band confirmed reports that they were going to disband, making this tour a farewell concert of sorts for the band and fans of the bands.
“Of course, all of us are a little sad about the news. But our mentor told us to treat it as a new beginning of our future careers, and to have a positive outlook on the challenges ahead,” said Show Nishino.
“Our mentor has advised that it is optimal for us to disband while we are at our peak (of popularity).”