NewJeans' Hanni takes Japanese fans by storm with nostalgic song

By Park Ung Posted : July 2, 2024, 12:06 Updated : July 2, 2024, 14:16
Hanni of K-pop girl band NewJeans performs during a concert at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on June 27. Courtesy of the quintet's mangmeent agency ADOR
SEOUL, July 2 (AJU PRESS) - K-pop girl band NewJeans captivated some 90,000 Japanese fans during their gigs at the Tokyo Dome in Japan last week.

The quintet, consisting of Danielle, Haerin, Hanni, Hyein and Minji, held the two-day concerts on June 26 and 27 to promote their Japanese debut album.

The highlight of the concerts came when Vietnamese-Australian Hanni performed a fresh rendition of Japanese oldie "Aoi Sangoshou," meaning "blue coral reef" in English, instantly striking a chord with the audiences.

 

The song was originally sung by Seiko Matsuda, Japan's quintessential idol of the 1980s. The beloved nostalgic tune still remains popular among many Japanese because it evokes memories for an era of rapid economic growth in the late 1980s, before the island country sank into a decades-long recession.

The song was also quite well-known among many Koreans here as it was included in the soundtrack of the 1999 Japanese hit romance film "Love Letter."

Hanni's performances quickly went viral beyond Japan. A YouTube clip showing the 19-year-old with a chic bobbed hairstyle with bangs, singing the song along with adorable dance moves, has garnered 3.28 million views in just less than a week. On TikTok, a similar clip garnered more than 1.67 million views with 167,000 likes. 

In response to such an explosive reception, Hanni is scheduled to perform the song again on Nippon Television's live music program this weekend.

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