WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA

WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA Entertaining Japanese music listeners for nearly a decade, Olivia first caught the interest of fans in 1996 as the lead vocalist of the music trio D&D (Dance & Dream). Riding on the wave of the Okinawan talent explosion courtesy of the well-known Okinawan Actors School which produced music talents such as Amuro Namie, MAX and SPEED, D&D was a unique female dance trio. Known to many because of the group s lead singer Olivia. Olive Lufkin is half American and half Japanese, a rarity in the Japanese music industry but a performer that had the looks and the dance moves to coincide with her beautiful vocals. D&D became a fan favorite in Japan and also to music fans who snatched up copies of the groups import CD singles and albums in the US İn 1998, Olivia was given the opportunity to work with mega producer Komuro Tetsuya and Jean Michel Jarre for the song Together Now for the 1998 FIFA World Cup France. Her first taste of solo activity, it eventually led to a solo career in 1999 in which she released several CD singles in which her debut album synchronicity was released the following year. In 2001-2002, Olivia continued to release more CD singles but in 2003, she released four mini albums and in the following year, a release of her second album The Lost Lolli. It is well known that the stress of the releases on the performer was starting to take its toll. Most notably her music. During the release of her mini-albums, Olivia s music took a turn for a 180 as her music went from happy to a darker, punkish phase. This was a reflection of Olivia s state-of-mind and a sign that she was starting to burn out. With a much needed hiatus in 2005, the singer/songwriter vowed to make her return. In June 2006, Olivia came back stronger and ever, this time with a hit son titled a little pain which was the ending theme for the very popular NANA anime series and now going under the NANA inspired name Olivia inspi REIRA (TRAPNEST). Reira, a character from the NANA series shares similar qualities to Olivia s personal life that many may find very interesting. In a way, you can say that it has definitely given a positive and hip vibe to Olivia and her music. In October 2006, the next Olivia inspi REIRA (TRAP- NEST) CD single was released * OLIVIA PERFORMING AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO IN LOS ANGELES. Photography by Nergene Arquelada titled Wish/Starless Night. Both songs were used as the opening and closing theme for the NANA series and again, Olivia has made it to the top 10 in various music charts. That same month, Olivia completed her long awaited and highly anticipated performance in Los Angeles at Pacific Media Expo (PMX). 2 DECEMBER 06 J!-ENT

OLIVIA - WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC At the age of 16-years-old, Olivia Lufkin and two other members (Aya and Chika) became the trio D&D (Dance & Dream) with their fi rst CD single In Your Eyes released in 1996. In 1997, they joined fellow Okinawa Actors School alumni such as MAX and SPEED and more Avex Trax artists in an Avex Trax compilation titled VELFARRE J-POP NIGHT presents DANCE with YOU which featured the trio singing two classic Japanese songs. In 1998, Olivia was selected by mega producer Jean Michel Jarre and Komuro TK Tetsuya (producer for artists and groups such as TRF, Amuro Namie, hitomi, globe, Suzuki Ami, etc.) to be the main vocalist of the 1998 FIFA World Cup France theme song titled TOGETHER NOW. This leads to Olivia to pursue a solo career and work on her fi rst CD single. As for upcoming projects, Olivia announced that a new mini album in January 2007 titled The Cloudy Dreamer which features songs such as Dream Catcher which will be used in the NTV series Jigoku Shoujo and a new song for the NANA animated series titled Recorded Butterfly. 2006 has been an awesome year for Olivia and it appears that her persistence has paid off. When you meet Olivia, she is not the type that has a diva attitude. In fact, she s very personable, talkative and you start to learn how creative she really is. How caring she is for her family in which nearly each member of the Lufkin family are musically talent. From her parents to her younger sister Caroline, a music artist on the Temporary Residence ltd. music label. Her younger brother Jeff, is a producer and also in a band based in California and has produced music with Olivia. The bond among the Lufkin family runs strong especially when growing up in a military family in which the family moved several times across the United States and later to Okinawa, where Olivia spent her teenage years attending the Okinawan Actors School. But as youngsters, the siblings performed at different school and festivals related events. Olivia also is in good company along with well-known hapa (mixed ethnic or racial background) talent in the world such as Eddie Van Halen, Doug Robb (lead vocalist of Hoobastank), Mike Shinoda (Fort Minor, Linkin Park) and Michelle Branch. Whereas the others have started their careers in the U.S., Olivia s career is in Japan. To see a mainstream hapa music artist in Japan is rare but since her music debut, it as given her a unique distinction among other female performers in Japan. Olivia is living proof of a performer that has faced adversity but still maintains the grace of being a humble artist that cares about her family, friends and also her fans. In this special J!-ENT interview, the following interview took place the day after her concert at Pacific Media Expo. We hope to show you the professional and personal side of Olivia Lufkin. J!-ENT DECEMBER 06 3

WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA * OLIVIA SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS FOR FANS AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO. Photography by Nergene Arquelada DENNIS: You were born in Okinawa and you also have lived in the United States before. What cities have you once lived in? OLIVIA: I was born in Okinawa and lived in San Diego, Philadelphia and North Carolina. DENNIS: Having lived in two different countries, a positive way of looking at things is that you have had the best of both worlds but if you were to choose a city/country that you really enjoyed living in, what would that city or country be and why? OLIVIA: I like both countries so much. It s hard to decide which I like but my work is in Tokyo, I love it there and I consider Tokyo my home. DENNIS: You have a sister who is a singer. A brother that is in a band. Did you come from a musical-based family? OLIVIA: Well, my parents listened to a lot of music when I was little. They listened to classical. They listened to the Beatles, the Who, Elton John, Billy Joel. My mom listened to a lot of opera music. When we were young, we were kind of annoyed by classical and the opera. When we got older, we began to appreciate it. My father played classical guitar, so maybe because of that and watching him do that, it helped. DENNIS: You hear about sister talent singing in parties when they were younger. From Beyonce to Jessica Simpson, did you and Caroline have similar experiences? OLIVIA: Oh yes! In elementary school talent shows, we would perform together. We would be part of Okinawan Culture Festivals, dances, culture dances. We did a lot of stuff together. DENNIS: Was there a certain moment in your life when you were younger that you felt you wanted to be a singer? OLIVIA: There wasn t a certain moment. I picked it up and naturally was doing music. I wasn t necessarily thinking that I wanted to be a singer. I picked it up and I did it because it was fun and from there it gradually escalated. DENNIS: Here you are back in the United States, how does that feel? OLIVIA: It feels like a became a little Japanese girl. I guess when I come here, my friends say that I have become a little uptight, very polite and say you are really cute now or what happened to the old Olivia? DENNIS: How was the old Olivia like? OLIVIA: I was really loud and outgoing. I was like aaahhh. DENNIS: Believe it or not, since back in 1996 during the D&D days we hoped to bring you to the US to perform. So, it s like a dream 4 DECEMBER 06 J!-ENT

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OLIVIA - WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC * OLIVIA AND TWO OTHER JUDGES CONVERSE AT THE NANA COSPLAY COMPETITION AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO. SHOWN IS THE WINNER OF THE NANA COSPLAY EVENT, STEPHANIE YANEZ. Photography by Nergene Arquelada come true to watch you perform here at PMX. Especially here in California. OLIVIA: Oh, that s so nice to hear. DENNIS: When you found out that you were going to perform in the US for PMX, what was running through your mind. Were you scared shocked? OLIVIA: I felt like it was part of the flow because I have been receiving a lot of mail in the beginning of the year from foreign fans to perform in the US and writing when are you going to perform here and I had that in the back of my mind. Please come to L.A. and then I heard I was performing at PMX and felt Here you go. DENNIS: Not sure if you know but there is quite a large number of people in the United States and also outside of Japan that enjoy listening to Japanese music and are familiar with your work especially back from the D&D days. Did you know there were many people in the US who listen to Japanese music? OLIVIA: I recently realized that. I didn t know that but in the last year I started to really realize it. DENNIS: Did you know that D&D had a good-sized following from fans in the US? OLIVIA: No, I didn t know that at all. I was surprised. DENNIS: One thing that I found quite amazing is how personable you were with your fans. I know in Japan, there is a lot of security and even in the US with Japanese artists who come to the US, security is strict. But you chose to sign autographs for all your fans waiting in line. You wanted to be a judge for the Nana cosplay and you really wanted to meet your fans. Meeting your fans so upclose and personal is rare in Japan but how was it to encounter your American fans of your music? OLIVIA: Oh, it felt so good! It felt so good to meet everyone and get the thumbs up from everyone. I wanted to talk to everyone so much but the line was going so quick but I was very surprised. I was like thank you thank you it was so fun! I felt like I was dreaming! DENNIS: You attended the Okinawa Actors School where well-known talent such as Amuro Namie, MAX, SPEED came from. What was the vibe at the school seeing that a lot of the top talent in the mid-90 s were coming from Okinawa and from the school that you have attended? OLIVIA: All I know that there was something at that school that was amazing. There was magic and ambitious girls coming together and J!-ENT DECEMBER 06 7

WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA doing these amazing shows. It s a great school. DENNIS: As many of us know, you were selected with AVEX along with AYA and CHIKA to form the unit known as Dance & Dream (D&D). It has been a decade since the debut of D&D Looking back, how was that experience for you? OLIVIA: Well, I grown so much now as an artist. When I look back, I look at how I was so young, so ambitious,. It s a little embarrassing but it was a step for me but I m glad I did it. If I didn t, I wouldn t be here now. So, it was quite nice. I had a really good time. DENNIS: D&D incorporated that Avex Hyper Euro Beat sound but in contrast to the music you have done in your solo career, were you comfortable back then performing Eurobeat music. OLIVIA: Yeah, definitely. At the time I was. At the time, I loved it. DENNIS: With you at AVEX and knowing that Komuro (TK) Tetsuya wanted to really break out Internationally, it was no surprise to see you work with him and Jean Michel Jarre for the theme song of the 1998 World Cup Soccer in France. How was that experience? OLIVIA: I was so honored that they chose me to sing in for the collaboration and to work with Japan s top music producer. I got to fly out to L.A., Hong Kong and do a lot of recording everywhere. It was such a great experience to see and meet with TK. DENNIS: You were still with D&D when TK selected you to sing solo for Together Now. During the process of doing that, were you ready to focus on a solo career? OLIVIA: I was ready for a solo project. I guess in the back of my mind, I had all these ideas. When I was doing D&D in the studio, I felt I can make a song, fix the song s melody. There were so many things going on in my head. I knew there was a day when I would do my own thing. So, I felt it was natural. DENNIS: As we move on to your solo career, let s talk about your first album Synchronicity. One thing that I find very surprising is how your music evolved from the first CD single I.L.Y. ~yokubou~ and Re.ACT to Solar Half Breed. How would you describe your first album? OLIVIA: Well, it was There was a lot of things going on. The first two CD singles were written by somebody else. So, I had to I was trying to prove to my record label and management that I can write my own songs. So, during the recording of those two songs, I was writing my music. So, that album is a little mixed up. A lot of things going on. But I got to work with the Sherbets, I got to work with my brother Jeff for the first time too. So, I got to 8 DECEMBER 06 J!-ENT

OLIVIA - WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC In 1999, Oliviaʼs goal to pursue a solo career came true with the release of her fi rst CD Single I.L.Y.~Yokubou, followed by her second CD single re-act. On her third CD single, Oliviaʼs goal to write her own songs came true with the release of Dear Angel (CD single and maxi single), followed by the CD singles in 2000 with Dress me UP, Dekinai and Color of Your Spoon. This same year, Olivia released her fi rst album synchronicity. In 2001, Oliviaʼs CD single Sea me and in 2002 Into the Sky was released. As well as a DVD release Video Clips Olivia. In 2003, Olivia released four mini albums International Bleeding Strawbery, Merry & Hell Go Round, Comatose Bunny Butcher and The Return of the Chlorophyl Bunny which featured a darker punk style of music. In 2004, her second album The Lost Lolli was released. J!-ENT DECEMBER 06 7

It was very cool to see Americans singing my Japanese songs. I wasn t expecting that. * OLIVIA PERFORMING AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO IN LOS ANGELES Photography by Nergene Arquelada

OLIVIA - WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC grow a lot for the making of the album. DENNIS: I ve read that starting with your third CD single Dream Angel that you now write all the lyrics to your songs. As a singer/ songwriter, are you one who can write a song quickly or are you the one who likes to ponder and think out the lyrics to your songs? OLIVIA: Well, there are times I can do it within an hour when I feel very intensely, then it s easier to write but if I m making something like a lead single and have to make a real hook to the song, then it takes a little bit of time because I try to make it as perfect as I can. DENNIS: In 2003, you released four mini albums Internal Bleeding Strawberry, Merry & Hell Go Round, Comatose Bunny Butcher and The Return of the Chlorophyll Bunny and in 2004, you released your second full album The Lost Lolli. We started to see a different side of OLIVIA. Not sure if you can call it going through a punkish music phase. It was a 180 turn from the music you were known for in the 90 s. How would you explain that? Was it a phase? OLIVIA: It was a phase. I was fed up with business stuff I had to deal with. I was mad about how society worked. I had all this anger and my music came out like that. DENNIS: If there was one song that described how you felt at that one time, what song would that be? OLIVIA: Sugar blood suckers. Yeah, I made that song in one go. Me and my brother, Jeff. He made the back track and I grabbed the mic and that was the first thing out of my mouth. EDWIN: What was going through your mind when you created Sugar Blood Suckers? OLIVIA: I just remember that I had this breakdown in Shibuya Hachiko. I was so freaked out! And I was looking everywhere, seeing all the advertisements and people going to work and I was like arghh... What s going on? I was freaking out! DENNIS: Now on the encyclopedia site, WIKIPEDIA, there was a mention that after the release of The Lost Lolli, you went on hiatus and you were quoted as saying that you felt pretty depressed and Started to notice and realize a lot of her faults. Was that in terms of direction that your music is at in your life or your state-of-mind? OLIVIA: I was really worn down with my schedule. I had to write four mini albums and I was so burned out and I had to write more songs. I J!-ENT DECEMBER 06 11

WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA * IMAGES WITH OLIVIA DURING OUR J!-ENT INTERVIEW. Photography courtesy of Nergene Arquelada didn t know if I could do it anymore. I didn t know if I could write another album without no energy or no passion. I didn t know if I can do it anymore, so I had to step away for awhile and wait until I came back. DENNIS: You are creative musically, lyrically and I know business-wise, the goal is to sell many singles but at the same time, creatively Do you stick to your guns on what you want to do and what you want to write about? OLIVIA: Well, there are some songs that are 100 percent me. And they will be the B-sides. And of course the B-tracks, you have to balance it out. Balance what the listeners want and what you have. Or else you can t release CD s for the mainstream. Right now, I want to try and aim my music to as many people as I can. DENNIS: Last night you performed in front of a large audience of your American fans for Pacific Media Expo. How did it feel to watch your American fans singing your songs. Everyone standing for your performance throughout the whole concert. How was that experience? OLIVIA: Oh my gosh, I was so That made me feel I felt so much appreciation that that moment Oh my goodness. It was very cool to see Americans singing my Japanese songs. I wasn t expecting that. I was a little nervous at the show. I was trying to shake off the nervousness and warm up. My family was in the front row. My friends and family giving me yes signs and inside jokes. I got comfortable right away. DENNIS: What was the difference in performing in front of an American audience versus a Japanese audience? OLIVIA: The Japanese audience has a sweetness and they follow. If I put my hand in the air, they will copy and follow what I m doing and put their arm in the air. With the American audience, it wasn t like that. The American audience, they understood the English lyrics. I looked at the audience s faces and they understood the English lyrics. While I was singing, I looked at their faces, and they understood what was coming out of my mouth. That was really nice. Yeah, that was very, very nice. DENNIS: Let s talk about your recent work with the NANA animated series, a little pain reached the top 10 on the Oricon charts which was awesome. Wish and Starless Night were used for both opening and ending themes. But how was your feeling to be part of something this huge. The NANA manga, anime, the film, the music... it s huge! OLIVIA: I was very excited. I didn t know about the comic at first. But looking at my staff s faces, oh my goodness, I could tell it was huge. I 12 DECEMBER 06 J!-ENT

OLIVIA - WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC read the comic and I m so excited because the part that I got Reira is a lot like me and I can relate to her in many ways and I knew I can really do it and make the music. DENNIS: It is very rare for a singer to sing an anime theme song backto-back. OLIVIA: Yeah, yeah. It s a musical cast. It s going to go on until next year. DENNIS: Since we are on the NANA topic, I d like our J!-ENT writer and NANA fan, Wynne to ask you a few questions in regard to you, Reira and the NANA series. WYNNE: You mentioned that you felt some similarity to the character Reira. Can you elaborate more on that? OLIVIA: First of all, she s half. She s in a mainstream band in Japan. She has no friends, she s isolated, lost and not good at communicating with people. She s not good at choosing men. I came to Japan when I was 16, I didn t speak any Japanese and I made it big with D&D. I was put in a position where I didn t have friends, I couldn t communicate well with people. Even now I m not a great communicator with people and I don t have many friends. I really felt for her. WYNNE: Yesterday at the PMX NANA cosplay competition, the competitors talked about their favorite scenes from the manga. What is your favorite scene? OLIVIA: Well, for the NANA animation, there was this scene where Trapnest did a live show and they played Recorded Butterfly and we just got out of the studio and just handed it to them. We made many different versions of that song. Just seeing that with the animation and listening to it. It was really nice. I was about to cry. I had goosebumps all over. WYNNE: The style of songs, you mentioned that the A-sides are the ones that you want to pump out and the B-sides are more of you. But with the more recent songs, are they Olivia or Reira songs? OLIVIA: The main songs that was used for NANA I m acting like Reira. I m taking all the things I can relate with her and exaggerating myself as her. DENNIS: In the U.S., for many of us who write about Asian and Asian American entertainers to promote their work but also to learn about challenges, especially those who are half. In Japan, is it very challenging for someone who is half Japanese and half American in the music industry? OLIVIA: Yes, it s definitely a lot harder in the music industry. I think fans can be distant if you can t sing Japanese naturally but It s been challenging but I think it s starting to change right now. I think many listeners are opening up to many dif- J!-ENT DECEMBER 06 13

WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA ferent musical genres. DENNIS: Let s talk about your artwork. It s really unique and very cool. Can you tell us the process of how you create it. Is it manually or digitally created? OLIVIA: Well, I just have a white piece of paper. It s doodling. I don t think what I m going to draw. It just comes out. My mind is blank when I m drawing and when it s done, you can see what I m thinking or what s in my heart. DENNIS: You also did the artwork for your sister s album. Has you work ever been published or is it just a hobby? OLIVIA: It s just a hobby. DENNIS: Have you ever considered releasing a book that would combine your artwork and written work? OLIVIA: Actually, I have been thinking about that. Maybe (laughing) DENNIS: Being back here in the U.S., you have performed in Southern California, where your family has lived. But curious, have you performed in your hometown in Okinawa. How was that like? OLIVIA: Actually, it was an awkward experience because I performed along with Amuro Namie, SPEED, W-INDS. and they have background dancers but for this performance, it was me and my brother Jeff with an acoustic guitar. I don t think the audience was as pumped but I would like to perform in Okinawa again. DENNIS: With the success of your recent CD singles, especially making it on the Oricon charts, do you have old friends coming out of the woodwork trying to contact you? OLIVIA: Yeah. I have a lot of friends calling and asking Olivia, is that really you on the Oricon? What s going on? Like my friends, hairstylist, friends during the D&D days. Because we were up in the charts during the D&D days and now as a solo singer, I m back on the charts, everyone s surprised I guess. DENNIS: Your song a little pain is a beautiful song and the music video was also beautiful and whimsical. Did it take long to film that music video? OLIVIA: The music video took about a day to shoot and it was all green back. DENNIS: Are you involved in the creation of your music videos? OLIVIA: Yeah Definitely. Especially recently, I have a theme and I talked about it with the director. DENNIS: If I was to look into your CD/MP3 player right now, what would we hear Olivia listening to? OLIVIA: Well, recently I listen to a group Eluvium on my sister s label, you would see Bjork in there, Peeping Tom, any Mike Patton stuff, the Fantomas. * THE ARTWORK OF OLIVIA LUFKIN. Courtesy of Avex Entertainment. DENNIS: Earlier, we talked about your sister Caroline. What is the possibility for an Olivia and Caroline collaboration? OLIVIA: Maybe. (Laughing) We do it for fun. We started making songs and we made an R&B song. DENNIS: Do you have any dream collaborations? Any one that you would love to work with? OLIVIA: Oh my gosh David Bowie. I would love to work with so many people. I would love to do something with Aphex Twin. DENNIS: If there was one word to describe yourself, what word would that be and why? 14 DECEMBER 06 J!-ENT

* OLIVIA AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO. Photography by Nergene Arquelada

OLIVIA - WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC * OLIVIA ANSWERS FAN QUESTIONS AT THE PMX FOCUS PANEL. Photography by Nergene Arquelada OLIVIA: Oh my gosh, that s such a hard question man One word? (laughing) Creative. Because that s all I do... Art. I m not really good going out and socializing. I m just at home, making stuff. DENNIS: Do like to go out and shop too? OLIVIA: I love to shop! That really is my escape. When things aren t going well, I like to shop. DENNIS: Curious, when you go shopping, do people respect your privacy or do you have paparazzi following you and you have to disguise yourself? OLIVIA: Well, I do have to be careful of the paparazzi. I have to wear hats. It s not that bad but it s gradually escalating at the moment. DENNIS: Being back in the US, was there something you wanted to eat. I m sure in Japan, you probably miss Taco Bell. OLIVIA: Yeah, actually Taco Bell. But when I m in the U.S., I like to eat the sweets like Twinkies, Ding Dong s and Hoho s but recently I m eating more healthy, microbiotic foods and organic foods. So, I really don t miss it anymore. WYNNE: With Halloween coming up, do you like to dress up? OLIVIA: I always dress up! Last Halloween, I was an elf. I had my ears made by a professional, got blue contacts and me and a friend wore costumes and went out to parties. The Halloween before that, I dressed up as Batman. EDWIN: In your music, it seems there is a lot of reference to outer space. Do you have a fascination with space? OLIVIA: Space? Hmm... I like nature, I love the stars, the sky. Nature makes my mind calm down. That is when my originality comes out. DENNIS: Before we go, in all of our J!-ENT interviews I have a section where I give you 5 words. For these five words, I would like you to give me the OLIVIA definition of the word. OLIVIA: a. LOVE My definition is that I can t find a definition for that. b. SUCCESS Peace. c. HAPPINESS The opposite of sadness. d. SADNESS It s OK to feel like that. e. FAMILY Oh my gosh. That s my touchstone, my best friends. DENNIS: What final words would you like to leave with your fans? OLIVIA: Thank you. I want them to know that I know that they are out there. I plan in the future to branch out and going out of Japan for more performances here in the U.S. one day. DENNIS A. AMITH is the founder/ owner of J!-ENT and is an entertainment-writer-at-large for J!-ENT. WYNNE IP and EDWIN MAC- ARAEG are entertainment writersat-large for J!-ENT. For more information on Olivia, visit her official website at: www.avexnet.or.jp/olivia/ J!-ENT DECEMBER 06 17

WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC - OLIVIA OLIVIA PMX 2006 CONCERT REPORT * OLIVIA PERFORMING AT PACIFIC MEDIA EXPO IN LOS ANGELES. Photography by Nergene Arquelada It was a memorable night for many of the fans who attended the one night only concert of Cutting Edge recording artist, Olivia. Olivia Lufkin has been entertaining Japanese music fans since her days with the dance unit, D&D (Dance & Dream) and now a solo vocalist who is back on the Oricon charts with hits such as a little pain and Wish/Starless Night. Pacific Media Expo brought in thousands people to Los Angeles at the LAX Hilton where the singer/ songwriter was the highlighted perfomer for that Saturday night. The night started off with high energy opening performances by Japanese rock band UchuSentai NOIZ and Los Angeles-based band Dig Jelly. It was clearly evident that a large number of the people who attended the concert were there for Olivia. And many paid premium tickets to be in the front row. VIP Tickets were sold out within its first week of being announced. As a matter of fact, right at the time that the VIP tickets were to go on sale, so many people jammed the PMX website to purchase the tickets that the site went down temporarily. So, many people have waited for this performance and Olivia delivered. When Olivia came out to perform, the audience was on their feet literally throughout the whole performance. Olivia started out the concert night performing the song Sea Me which was followed by Fake Flowers. It was when her hit song a little pain from the animated series NANA was performed that I watched the crowd singing the lyrics to the song and noticing that the fact that the crowd was singing to her music (both Japanese and English songs), this was definitely going to be a magical night for her and her fans. Olivia performed a total of thirteen songs which include her other NANA related hits such as Wish and Starless Night. Also, an opportunity to hear her new song to be released in 2007 titled Recorded Butterfly. The concert ended with a high energy performance of Spider Spins and the encore song Devil s In Me which brought everyone to their feet and a fitting closing song to showcase her talent. The night ended with a surprise announcement from Pacific Media Expo that the fans who paid for the VIP premium tickets will get the opportunity to meet and get an autograph from Olivia. What amazed many people is 18 DECEMBER 06 J!-ENT

OLIVIA - WHAT S HOT IN MUSIC * THE MEDIA IN POSITION TO TAKE PHOTOS OF OLIVIA DURING HER FIRST SONG. Photography by Edwin Macaraeg that not only was Olivia wanting to meet her fans, she wanted to make sure every one of her fans received an autograph no matter how long it would take. Earlier that day, Olivia had partaken in a Pacific Media Expo NANA cosplay contest which she had the opportunity to be a judge. Rarely have I met an artist, let alone from Japan wanting to do so much for her fans and put in that extra effort which definitely made the night for them even more memorable. It was evident because all we heard after the concert to the next day from fans is how happy they were to meet her and their appreciation for her staying the whole night to meet them and sign all their autographs. I have been a big fan of Olivia since D&D and I was very surprised of how nice she was to me and my friends who came to see her, said Elizabeth M. from Los Angeles. What I enjoyed the most about this concert compared to others that I have been to is that this concert was more about the fans of her music as opposed to an event that people are there because its the only thing going on at the time of an event. Personally, for me, this made her concert even more special. This long anticipated concert was definitely well worth the wait for many of her fans. Not only was Olivia a fabulous guest but also a performer that really did entertain the crowd. We can only hope that this experience at PMX will give Olivia more opportunities and interest to perform at more venues around the country in the near future. OLIVIA S PMX CONCERT SET LIST 1. Sea Me 2. Fake Flowers -- MC -- 3. A Little Pain 4. Tears & Rainbows 5. Alone In Our Castle -- MC -- 6. Celestial Delinquent 7. Under Your Waves 8. Blind Unicorn -- MC -- 9. Starless Night 10. Recorded Butterfly -- MC -- 11.Wish 12. Spider Spins -- ENCORE -- 13. Devil s In Me J!-ENT DECEMBER 06 19