[Performance Report] Actor Ahn HyoSeop held an encore performance! Fans are enchanted by her straight eyes and sweet, deep singing voice.

Actor Ahn Hyo Seop, who is very popular in Japan for his appearances in dramas such as 'In-house Arrangement', 'Someday You' and the series 'Romantic Doctor Kim Sub', held an encore performance of his Asian tour '「AHN HYO SEOP ASIA TOUR＜THE PRESENT SHOW in TOKYO＞ ‘here and now’ Once more」 at the Tokyo Garden Theatre on the 12th February. This time, the show was upgraded with a live band format, which was different from the previous Japanese shows. They spent a special time with "porchak" (a term used by fans), delivering talks, missions and heartfelt vocals.

The event started amidst the full anticipation of the fans who filled the first four floors. The first song performed on stage, where a full band was set up, was 'Standing Next to You' by JUNGKOOK (BTS). When the groovy band sound and the elongated, deep voice of the singer resonated, the air in the venue instantly became hotter.

The audience was filled with applause, and when the host of the day, Masato Furuya, appeared on stage, he too praised the first song, and when asked how he felt after performing the first song, Ahn Hyo-seop replied: "I didn't expect so many people to be there. I was relaxed when I was rehearsing earlier, but I was very nervous when I sang in front of so many people". On his visit to Japan, he says: "I wanted to come so badly. I was filming all the time, but when I see my fans like this, they are full of energy. I want to give them energy today, so please give me energy too."

During the talk time while looking at the photos, a close-up photo of his face was shown with his cat Ba Eul staring at him. Ahn Hyo-seop said: 'This is the way he always looks at me. It's a bit hateful... The second photo was of Ba Eul lying down with his stomach showing, which caused a few chuckles from the audience at his cute chubby body. Ahn Hyo-seop said: 'I envy him because he looks so skinny with just his face. Ba Eul eats more snacks than I do (laughs)." Fans were also warmed by episodes that gave a glimpse into his daily life with his cat. The Christmas tree in Ba Eul's photo led to a discussion about Christmas. He had been filming on Christmas Day, but he told his Japanese fans that he had really wanted to come to Japan because he had been filming all the time.

The talk continued with photos, including a photo of him looking at each of the gifts given to him by fans on the 8th anniversary of his debut, and a photo of him winning the Best Acting Award at the 'SBS Acting Awards'. When asked about his mood after receiving the award, he said: "Every time I receive an award, I feel like I have to work harder. I don't get carried away just because I've won an award, I try to do my best every moment." He expressed his sincere thoughts.

This section also shows nostalgic photos found in the opportunity to change smartphones. Photos from the time of the music video shoot for Song Si Kyung and Naol's (Brown Eyed Soul) collaboration song "Even if it's been a while, we're still here" were shown, as well as a photo of the unajyu he had immediately after arriving in Japan for the Nagoya fan meeting. He had come to Japan the day before the event and reported that he had eaten yakiniku (grilled meat) and also had a draft beer. When asked what he would definitely like to eat when he comes to Japan other than his favourite unajyu, he replied: "I would like to look around Don Quijote in a relaxed state. I also haven't eaten tonkatsu yet, so maybe I'll eat it after the event", he smiled.

The audience then applauded when a picture of his appearance on Tetsuko's Room was shown. This was the first time a Korean actor had appeared on the programme in about 10 years, and also Ahn Hyo-seop's first appearance on a Japanese talk show, so it was a big topic of conversation. On his appearance, he said: 'I wasn't nervous. I wanted to meet Tetsuko-san very much. I admire her ability to carry on tirelessly for a long time and accomplish things" and said in Japanese, "It's really cute. Thank you very much, Tetsuko-san" and again expressed his gratitude. When asked what she would like to do in Japan in the hope that this appearance would be the start of more activities in Japan, she said honestly, "I want to travel (laughs)". While she expressed her desire to relax in Japan, she told the fans about her specific goals for 2024: "I love music, so I think I will be able to show you my musical appearance", raising their expectations.

After the talk corner, it was time for the mission 'Now, JJACK'. Last time, he performed fast speech in Japanese and mimed anime characters, but this time, as it was the Lunar New Year, he performed 'fukuwarai', which everyone has done at least once during the Japanese New Year. For the fukuwarai, he put on a black cat eye mask and took on the challenge. The participants explored the paper on which the outline of the base face was drawn with their hands to complete it. The nose was placed vertically but in the centre of the face, the eyes were placed above the eyebrows, and the lips were perfectly aligned as the fans shouted "Left, left! The lips were perfectly aligned with the left side of the face as fans shouted "Left, left! After taking off the blindfold, Ahn Hyo-seop looked stunned, but then he looked at the eyes above his eyebrows and said, "These are my eyebrows! and started tearing out a small piece of white paper. He then put the torn piece of paper on the middle of the eyebrow to create an impromptu eye, forcing the mission to succeed.

In the "Improvisation, Contrast Mission", Ahn Hyo-seop travelled to Japan and fell in love with "Porchak". No, I love you". He grabbed the microphone with both hands and delivered these words in a charming low voice, and the fans were entranced by his straightforward words. However, the performer was not satisfied and asked, "Shall I make it more boyish?" He tried a second time. The audience cheered and applauded when he said his lines with a slightly innocent look in his eyes.
In the 'Couple photo with Paul JJACK' segment, the audience was challenged to take a two-shot with a fan in the audience on screen. Fans who were randomly focused on the camera had a good time with Ahn Hyo-seop, making hearts together and posing with cat ears.

After the first part, which he said he enjoyed while relaxing, Ahn Hyo-seop left the stage to prepare for the second part. He said, "I've prepared hard, so please look forward to it." As he galloped off, the audience sighed and said, "Long legs...".

Before entering the second part, a bridge video showed him practising with his band members in Korea, in the airport before coming to Japan from Korea, and a selfie in a hotel. Fans were on the verge of dying from the boyfriend-like image of him lying on the bed and looking straight at the camera while adjusting his fringes! His sweet smile on stage and in the video must have made fans' cheeks loose.
After the exciting video, the band members stood by on stage. When he arrived at the stage after going around the aisles on the first floor, he regretted that he couldn't go to the second, third and fourth floors, but fans warmly told him that it was okay, he smiled gently at the fans' voices.
He then said, "It's just us, isn't it? I want to spend time with you all while relaxing and having fun," he told them, and as he sat down at the piano, he blurted out, "I'm nervous." The first song he sang was 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You'. As he sang gently and envelopingly, his voice gradually became more powerful, and at the same time the guitar and drums joined in. As the energetic sound echoed through the venue, he stood up and went to the centre of the stage, holding the microphone stand in one hand. He then sang passionately and powerfully, "I love you baby!"

He then performed Yutaka Ozaki's 'I Love You', saying: 'I was wondering what to sing, but I decided to sing a Japanese song since I came all the way to Japan. The song is also covered in Korean, so he sang the first verse in Korean and then gently sang the second verse in Japanese, moving the fans.

"Let's Go!" he started with Beyonce's 'Love On Top', which he had been listening to since high school. The audience responded by clapping their hands in time to the light rhythm of the song. As the mood of the audience grew, Ahn Hyo-seop sang "Dream Of Square" by W.H.I.T.E., a song he used to sing at karaoke when he was in primary school, and he sang it with energy and vigour, showing an innocent and cheerful expression as if he was back in primary school, and the audience was filled with the desire to have fun together. The audience was overflowing with the desire to have fun together.

The sparkling sound of keyboards echoed through the venue before Ruel's 'Painkiller' took to the stage. In the song, he slowly walked on stage step by step to the slow, languid rhythm, and delivered his inner thoughts through music, saying "♪Come here, stay with me, and when I'm in pain, stay close to me".

Ahn Hyo-seop, who promised to write and perform original songs one day, although this time it consisted of cover songs, showed his piano skills in the first song, and also attracted the audience with his piano playing in Seo Ji-won's 'Gather My Tears', the OST of the drama 'Someday For You'. After he finished singing, he closed his eyes for a while and firmly accepted the fans' loud applause. When he gently opened his eyes, he told the audience the reason for his song choice: "I prepared this song because I thought you would want to hear it".

The event quickly came to an end and before he sang the last song, he read a phrase from his favourite book, Erich Fromm's 'To Love'. Borrowing from the book, he thanked his fans for choosing to love him and expressed his desire to be there for each other and support each other in difficult times.

After delivering his heartfelt words, he performed YB's 'Blue Whale' as his final song. While swaying his body to the powerful band sound, Ahn Hyo-seop looked at the audience and smiled as he sang, "Â When your path is hard and painful, tell me, don't hide it, you're not alone". When he finished singing, he bowed deeply and left the stage, but the applause directed at him turned to handclapping as fans passionately called for an encore.

Then, as the place brightened up, Ahn Hyo-seop reappeared for an encore. He said: 'Thank you for the wonderful memories. I can live forever with a lot of energy and love".

To capture this moment, he decided to take a photo with his fans, and as he posed with his back to the audience, it suddenly went dark and a surprise video from the fans was shown. The video showed messages such as "Thank you for the excitement and happiness", "Please always stay healthy", "I will always stand by you, Hyo Seop" and "Thank you for choosing the path of an actor", all of which touched him.

The encore song performed was 'Wasted Nights' by rock band ONE OK ROCK. The song, with its message of not being afraid to take on challenges and not wanting to spend wasted nights, was chosen because of the direction of life he lives in the lyrics. He sang passionately while swaying his body to the powerful drum sound, and the fans swayed their hands from side to side and sang "I don't wanna wait", further increasing the sense of unity in the venue.

Amidst the flurries of snowflakes, Ahn Hyo-seop looked around the venue and smiled. He walked from one end of the stage to the other, bowed deeply and expressed his gratitude by saying "Thank you", then galloped off, leaving a lingering crush in the hearts of the fans.