Japanese All-Girl Rock Sensation SCANDAL Rocks Sony Hall Monday Night!

My initial thoughts after I saw Scandal at Sony Hall last night were

Wow.

What an amazing show!

Two encores and these ladies ROCK!

Whatever you may think you know about J-pop I think this band will surprise you!

I discovered SCANDAL through the Bleach anime. Like most non-Japanese consumers of anime, I was exposed to Japanese bands through the openings & closings of beloved anime shows.

The bass ALWAYS goes hard! On-time, high energy or subtle ballads. Scandal has been around for over a decade and to their credit are legitimately great musicians who know how to move a crowd and are a lot of fun to watch!

As I noted in my prior announcement this North American summer concert tour kicked off in Toronto on July 9th and coincides with the band’s 15th anniversary and the release of their highly anticipated 10th album, “MIRROR,” which is out now.

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The band consists of

Haruna – Vocals/Guitar

Mami – Lead Guitar/Vocals

Tomomi – Bass/Vocals

Rina – Drums/Vocals.

I definitely miss live music and this crowd was full of rabid Scandal Stans so the energy was through the roof! #sonyhallnyc was also an ideal venue for this tour.

Our lead track “AI Ni NaranaKatta No Sa” (It Was Never Love for Me)is a sentimental love song and for the music video, we created a story based on lyrics so that you can feel just like you are living in the world of this song. Enjoy!

Listen to SCANDAL’s latest album, “Mirror” on Spotify at:

https://open.spotify.com/album/33u9Pw3cYqglQlAjNvupwE?si=GS3flOLFS2aFRxhE2jyXpw

They were legit so happy to be there Monday night that it was infectious. Very interactive with the crowd despite the language barrier, and they tried their best when talking to the very diverse crowd; people would shout things out in English and they would reply the best they could, and everyone would react approvingly.

Haruna, the lead singer, and guitarist had boundless energy and was super engaging with the audience, asking questions, and sharing how much she appreciated us. She did speak English but mostly spoke Japanese.

Tomomi, the bassist, and Rina, the drummer, had their own songs where they were the main vocalist. And that’s how Japanese bands roll, everyone unselfishly gets songs on the track list and performs lead vocals as well as backup for each other.

Tomomi, was dancing most of the time and went hard she’s got pipes as well, as a matter of fact, she slapped that bass, and her funky melodies enriched the tracks like I said, Japanese bass players go hard!

They started the set with some upbeat songs from the new album, MIRROR then slower songs before getting hyped up again. The new songs have a much stronger rock than pop tone live which kept the energy up during the performance. They also played some classics that the crowd just ate up!

Here is the track list (as close as I could determine) they did 18 tracks in total:

MIRROR
Flashback No.5
Saishuheiki, Kimi (最終兵器、君)
Ai no Shoutai (愛の正体)
Kanojo wa Wave (彼女はWave)
Shunkan Sentimental (瞬間センチメンタル)
Take Me Out
Ai ni Naranakatta no sa (愛にならなかったのさ)
Ivory
Ao no Naru Yoru no Sukima de (蒼の鳴る夜の隙間で)
Eternal
Yoake no Ryuseigun (夜明けの流星群)
Tonight
A.M.D.K.J.
Image
One More Time
ENCORE: Shoujo S
ENCORE: Scandal Baby

The band has been voted by fans across the world into the top ten of the “Most-Requested Artists” category of the J-MELO Awards every year since 2010, peaking at first place in 2014. I can definitely see why SCANDAL has remained so popular. They are very upbeat, and accessible but have an edge if you want an intro to Japanese Rock then this may be your gateway!

Special thanks to Erik Jansen at MediaLab PR for the opportunity to cover the show.

Here’s the remaining North American tour dates and venues. –

7/13 (Wed) Big Night Live, Boston, MA Tickets

7/15 (Fri) The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA Tickets

7/16 (Sat) House of Blues, Chicago, IL Tickets

7/18 (Mon) The Imperial, Vancouver, BC Tickets

7/20 (Wed) The Neptune, Seattle, WA Tickets

7/22 (Fri) House of Blues, Anaheim, CA Tickets

7/26 (Tue) Legacy Hall, Dallas, TX Tickets

About SCANDAL:

Formed in 2006 in Kyobashi, Osaka, SCANDAL made its major debut in 2008 with “DOLL” on indie label Kitty Records. The following year, they won the Best New Artist category at the Japan Record Awards with “Shojo S.”