Original article [here].

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50,000 fans at a-nation; Koda Kumi’s comeback after 2 years & bare-legged ayu in yukata
2 September 2013.

The outdoor music event “a-nation stadium fes.” organized by avex played its finale show on 1 September at Tokyo city’s Ajinomoto Stadium. About 55,000 fans made their way to enjoy the performances of 8 of the best artistes.

Koda Kumi (30) energetically greeted the crowd with “I went on a break after giving birth to my boy, but after 2 years, I’m back at a-nation!!”. Taking off her T-shirt after the first song, she transformed into a bikini-clad sexy woman. Shaking her chest in time to the drums, she gave a powerful performance of “Butterfly”, “BE MY BABY” and more.

Halfway through, the former program publicity talent Watanabe Naomi (25) came on stage, mimicking Koda as she sang “Ai no uta”. Koda replied with a wry smile, “what should I do? She sings much better than me”.

Other artistes also made their appearance, including Korean group SHINee, Kishidan, m-flo and May J. The show closer was Hamasaki Ayumi (34), this being her 12th time performing at a-nation.

Hamasaki performed 8 songs, including “TO BE” and “HANABI”. Dressed in a yukata, she also travelled in a circle around the arena seats. She ended off with the following speech, “It’s been a hotter summer this year than usual, but we managed to create some awesome memories. Thank you.”