Japanese singer-songwriter Ai Miyagi has announced her first performance in Korea since her debut a decade ago. According to MPG Co., Ltd. (MPMG), Miyagi will perform as part of her ongoing ‘I-Miyagi Tour 2024-25’ at KINTEX in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, on April 19-20. This marks a significant milestone for the popular Japanese artist, who has been gaining traction globally with her unique blend of J-pop and social media savvy.

Expanding Tour and Global Reach

In December 2023, Miyagi announced her decision to add eight performances in Japan and Taiwan Taipei (April 12-13) to this tour. This expansion comes at a time when J-pop is experiencing a resurgence, with stars like King Nu and Fujii Kaze performing at major venues like Nissan Stadium in Japan. The J-pop boom continues to grow, with fans in the U.S. and other countries eagerly anticipating the release of new music and tour dates.

Social Media Influence and Memes

Miyagi, with a total number of followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, is a representative musician of the Japanese social media era. Her lyrics have become a popular meme online, particularly as an autobiographical narrative. Miyagi made her debut in 2015 and her major debut in 2016, starting with busking and steadily performing as a live singer.

Her single ‘Marigold,’ released in 2018, became a representative song with a long run on the Japanese Oricon Chart. It has gained popularity by breaking 200 million YouTube views. Since then, she has hit each song, such as ‘I want to convey love’ (を い? え い い い だ), and ‘You don’t listen to rock’ (君 ッ ク い?). Miyagi also won six awards at prestigious awards, including the Japanese Records, the MTV Music Video Awards, and the Space Shower Music Awards.

Impact on Korean Fans

In particular, ‘Want to share love’ was a sensational popularity through the TikTok Challenge in Korea. Miyagi’s music has resonated with fans worldwide, and her upcoming performance in Korea is highly anticipated. In June-July 2023, she completed her five-year tour ‘I-Miyagi VS Tour 2024-Love Call 2,’ featuring performances with HY, Otsuka Ai, Tomiko, Yoniji, Moriyama Naataro, Akiyama Rizuki, Lexy, Sumika, and Spitz, among others. The tour included eight performances in four locations in Japan.

Miyagi shared, “I couldn’t forget the tour final with the band Spitz I longed for. The master band also covered ‘You don’t listen to the rock’ as a surprise.”

Recent Releases and Future Plans

Miyagi has been opening the ‘Dolphin and Apartment’ 2024-25 since September 28, 2023. For the time being, it is known that she will focus on Japanese activities rather than overseas activities, but as the tour expanded to Asia, domestic fans finally met her. Just before the tour, she released her 5th album, ‘Cat, Jealousy’ (猫 ェ ー ー). The album includes ten songs, including the title track, Jealousy for Cats. The album also features themes from NHK Morning Drama ‘Ran Bay,’ the movie ‘Toto-chan of the window,’ and the Japanese KTV drama ‘Unmet: A diary of a brain surgeon.’

In particular, it is also the last album in the 20s of Ai Miyagi, who will celebrate her thirtieth birthday on March 6th. The second half of the year, which finished the first half of the Japanese tour after the performance of the Osaka Castle Hall on the 13th of this month, will lead to the first overseas tour, Taiwan and Korean solo performances.

Upcoming Performances and Ticket Information

In this performance, the theme of ‘Spring Day’ (ル ヒ ヒ), which was loved by Korean fans, will be released for the first time as ‘Sketch’ is the theme of the most recent animated film ‘Theatrical Doraemon: Jingu’s Painting World Story.’ Ticket reservations will be reserved for the first time by the official fan club AIM. General reservations start at Yes24 at 6 pm on March 6th.