Iketeru Hearts Interview: Making "Iketeru" A Universal Word

(Top left, clockwise) Iketeru Hearts members Yuyu Arata, Kotone Uchida, Rie Tachibana, Karin Ochi, Yuno Yurano, Nijika, Kazune Manami (Not in picture: Madoka Usami)

Their ambition is to make the Japanese word "iketeru (cool)" a term as well-known as "kawaii (cute)" and be a bridge connecting Japan and the world.

Idol group Iketeru Hearts were in Singapore last month for the recent Anime Festival Asia (AFA) Japanese pop culture convention. It was their second year in a row attending the event, having placed first in a contest organised by idol-supporting app CHEERZ for the second consecutive year.

From Stand-Up! Hearts to Iketeru Hearts: One Last Stage in Singapore

Idol group Iketeru Hearts (formerly Stand-Up! Hearts) performing on the second day of AFA 2015

Over three days, they had fun with, bantered with and no doubt, put a smile on the faces of the many who had dropped by their booth, their curiosity piqued by the eight vivacious girls who would cheerfully invite them to take a picture or two together.

Often performing alongside many other groups at idol events in Japan, they had the audience's undivided attention showered on them for the first time, with supporters turning up in droves to spur them on at their daily stage performances.

They were only idol trainees, yet to make their professional debut but it didn't matter. The crowd couldn't care less. To them, "Stand-Up! Hearts" was what they were there for, what made them happy the most.

Ex-AKB48 Singer Tomomi Itano Holding Singapore Fan Meeting in October

Well, this is unexpected but great news! Ex-AKB48-idol-turned-pop-singer Tomomi Itano will be be performing in Singapore for the first time next month! The JAPAN MUSIC FESTIVAL - Tomomi Itano Fan Meeting & Showcase Live in Singapore will be held on Saturday, 8 October at Millian Singapore.

C3 CharaExpo 2016 Press Conference LIVE!

It's time again for Southeast Asia's largest mid-year anime, comics and games convention!

Get live updates from the latest press conference at the Playstation stage at the 313@Somerset flagship Sony Store!

Tohoku Kyodo Ryori & Sake is so Good! Unique Flavours from Japan's North-East!

Eugene Chua writes

 

Featuring Kyodo Ryori (郷土料理) or traditional local cuisine, from the Tohoku region, in particular, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures

11 March 2011 - A great magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck the Pacific Coast of Tohoku, Japan. The largest earthquake to have ever hit the island nation, it triggered a massive tsunami which brought great devastation upon the region, wrecking properties, taking lives, and sparking several nuclear accidents.

Five years have passed since the incident and the people are slowly recovering.

Singapore Fans Welcome Eir Aoi Home with Intimate Concert

Ardent fans staged a warm homecoming for Eir Aoi earlier last month as she returned to Singapore for her "ROCK THE WORLD" 2015 world tour concert after more than a year's absence.

The show was very much theirs as it was hers, with the vivacious crowd heavily responsible for igniting the atmosphere. Armed with glowing lightsticks, they illuminated The Coliseum at Resorts World Sentosa in a sea of blue, the Japanese singer's characteristic colour throughout the one hour and forty minutes.

Q'ulle Announces Singapore Stop on 2016 Asia Tour!

Singapore is one of the stops on Japanese rock dance unit Q'ulle's 2016 Asia Tour

Eir Aoi, ONE OK ROCK and ELISA are already coming to Singapore in the first month of 2016 but there are still more Japanese artistes set to make their way to our shores next year. 5-piece Japanese rock dance girl group Q'ulle has announced Singapore as a stop for their 2016 Asia Tour in a post on their official website.