Japan's Nogizaka46 Performs First Headlining Concert in Taiwan

J-pop girl group Nogizaka46 traveled to Taiwan for their first-ever solo-headlining concert at Taipei Arena on Sunday (Jan. 27).

Over 400 fans welcomed the members at Taipei Songshan Airport on Saturday, demonstrating their popularity in the country. They headed directly to the arena to participate as the only J-pop act in the KK BOX MUSIC AWARDS, performing their smash hit songs "Synchronicity" and "Jikochu De Iko!" onstage.

The next day, they hit the same venue for their first headlining show, kicking off the set with the cheery "Hadashi De Summer" and continuing to build momentum with such upbeat singles as "Oide Shampoo," "Hashire! Bicycle" and "Taiyo Knock."

The group then paused to address the crowd and made introductions in Chinese. During the talk session, some fans in the audience surprised the girls by lifting up signs that read "Welcome to Taiwan" in Japanese, and they appeared genuinely touched by the outpouring of love from the local crowd.

The girls then finished off the first half of the concert with a selection of singles including "Natsu No Free & Easy," "Girls' Rule," "Barrette," "Ima, Hanashitai Dareka Ga Iru" and "Guruguru Curtain."

The latter half of the 29-song main set included last year's Japan Record Awards Song of the Year winner, "Synchronicity," and the winner of the year before, "Influencer," and other solid, beat-driven singles such as "Seifuku No Mannequin" and "Inochi Wa Utsukushii." Popular member Asuka Saito took center position for the final song, "Jikochu De Iko!"

The members returned for the encore and treated the cheering crowd to some of their usual concert staples, "Korogatta Kane Wo Narase!," "Danke Schon," and "Nogizaka No Uta" to wrap up their hugely successful first Taiwan show.

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