Kyary casts spell on S'pore

If there were a J-pop singer worthy of being Singapore's tourism ambassador, it would be the enigmatic Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

At just 21, the Harajuku kawaii fashion icon is one of Japan's biggest pop stars.

Local tourist spots like the Night Safari, Haw Par Villa and Gardens By The Bay rolled off her tongue in rapid-fire Japanese and the 1,200-strong crowd at The Star Theatre on Saturday night hung on to her every word.

This when even thought there was no translator at her two-hour KPP Nanda Collection World Tour 2014 in Singapore concert.

Whatever she told them to do - including moving their arms and body in the style of Aces (All Children Exercise Simultaneously) Day - they did so enthusiastically.

Known for her unique style of incorporating morbid visuals into her explosively colourful music videos, Kyary had performed here last May for her first Singapore concert.

On Saturday night, she said: "This is my second concert here, but it's my third visit to Singapore.

"My first visit here (last January) was to film a segment for (Japanese TV variety show) Catherine The Third, together with my two co-hosts.

"I was in town for less than two days, but I managed to visit the Night Safari and lounge at the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark."

She added in her cute, girly voice: "Yesterday, I went to Gardens By The Bay and also Haw Par Villa. I wish I could have taken a dip in the infinity pool at the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark.

"It's very hot here, but Singapore is a very clean place."

Kyary started the show by appearing in a multitude of psychedelic dresses with bows on her head, which brought on screams of excitement when the lights dimmed and they glowed in the dark.

Like a scene out of a child's room, the stage was filled with gigantic toys, books, alphabet cubes and floating popcorn.

Kyary, and her similarly-dressed dancers, played out the children's fantasy of dolls coming alive and dancing at night.

The crowd, a good mix of male and female fans, lapped it up.

At her request, her fans stood up, clapped only during certain segments of a song, swayed with their arms raised and jumped vigorously.

Her spell over them could not be broken and these adults even clapped along to the bizarre sight of life-sized furries like a blue rabbit and a yellow-pink bear, who appeared during breaks to entertain them.

Said Ms Sheril Norzali, a 26-year-old art director who was in the front row: "The most fun part about Japanese concerts is that there are hand gestures to go with the songs so it's very interactive that way. Sometimes there are set hand signs (for each song), other times, Kyary would instruct us on what to do.

"I found her performance very energetic. All her stuff is very catchy."

Said Kyary, who brought the house down at the end with her hits PonPonPon, Fashion Monster and Candy Candy: "My third album, Pikapika Fantasian, will be released in July and I wanted to share some of the songs from that album with the Singapore fans.

"Kirakira Killer is a new song from my album. Its music video has not been officially released and I'm happy to perform it here (for you)."

- Additional reporting by EUGENE MOK