Chemistry is one of the top R&B acts in Japan. Formed in 2001, the duo consists of Yoshikuni Douchin and Kaname Kawabata. This year, Chemistry attended as one of the musical guests of honor for Otakon in Baltimore. JPHiP and nandake was there to bring you coverage of some of their activities.
On the first day of Otakon at the Opening Ceremonies, Chemistry was in attendance and they introduced themselves in English, using their index cards to help them along. Yoshikuni mentioned that it’s their 10th anniversary as a duo but it’s their first performance in the States. Kaname continued by asking everyone to come out to their concert. They thanked us and Otakon and exited the stage.
On the second day of Otakon, Chemistry activities started with their scheduled autograph session. I arrived at the line about half an hour before the scheduled start time, and there was not too many people in line. I assumed that everyone had gotten their autographs after the concert the night before, but as the time drew nearer, the line grew and filled up the queue space.
They were very friendly as they signed my copy of their second single, “Point of No Return” and they were even surprised when I whipped it out for them to sign. They thanked me, but for some reason, management didn’t allow Chemistry to personalize their autographs with any names when they really had plenty of time to do so.
About an hour after their autograph session, their Q&A panel began in a room almost on the other side of the convention center. I arrived just in time and luckily got a decent seat. Before they started, they went over what seemed to be like a FAQ by answering some pre-written questions.
When asked about American fans, they say they like how enthusiastic, open-minded and fun the fans are. They go on to mention how they worked together with their fans to make their best of album comprised of songs that they both liked and what their fans wanted. They also consider their best of album as a checkpoint, rather than a goal. They took their fans’ opinions for the album so that it could be a work they did together. One song they both really like from the best of album was “Period” which, of course, was a song selected for Full Metal Alchemist. One of the main things they considered when making the promotional video was that the song was for Full Metal Alchemist, and as such, it determined the direction they took with the video. They continued by playing the PV for the crowd who were very enthusiastic, clapping along, and even singing along to the lyrics.
They also talked about how they’d like to come back to the US and perform; As both Chemistry and with their individual solo works. They mention their upcoming single (which came out on 8/10) called “Independence” and that it has two c/w tracks which are the individual works of both members. They’d also like to expand into other media such as movies because they don’t wanna limit themselves, and also continue to deliver their music to us again.
They recommend if anyone was to visit a place in japan, they mention Tokyo of course. And while Harajuku and Shibuya are popular locations, they mention Asakusa as a place to visit. They say that during their downtime while in Baltimore, they went down to Fells Point for a photo session, but otherwise they ate crab!
After the brief opening, they started the Q&A and allowed the fans to ask questions.
Q: Besides the convention, what’s your favorite thing about Baltimore?
A: Uhh, crab?
Q: Do you have any plans for west coast tour?
A: They would definitely want to do it, but right now, there are no plans.
Q: Are there any America R&B artists that inspired them and they really like?
A: Omarion, Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, and R. Kelly are some artists they mentioned.
Q: Where would they really like to go when they come back to the States?
A: They would like to start a US tour in New York
Q: Can I hug you?
A: Yes
Q: Can we start a Chemistry fanclub in the US?
A: OK!
Q: Kaname, what was it like working with Namie amuro and Crystal K?
A: He says he loves Crystal K and Namie Amuro, so getting to work with an artist like Namie was a dream come true and working with other artists is one of the best things about being a singer.
Q: What is your favorite English song?
A: There’s the song that they covered “Change the World” [by Eric Clapton]. They also like songs by Babyface. Yoshikuni likes Maxwell, and Kaname found himself singing “You Rock My World” by Michael Jackson the other day.
Q: What are your favorite childhood memories?
A: Yoshikuni: I’m from Hiroshima and there’s a baseball team. My parents are farmers so I would get some melons we grew, cut it up, and we would watch the baseball games together while eating melons. I would also go fishing with my friends at the hometown lake.
Kaname: I have a lot of memories but one that comes to mind is when I was in 8th grade, I really wanted to sing but I had never had a chance to, but there was an event one day where I was able to sing. After I sang, everyone applauded and it really made me feel that music is the best.
After the Q&A, they held a trivia contest to find the best biggest Chemistry fans who would win a signed poster. Three questions and three posters. The first question asked, “What is the name of the theme song on the 3rd episode of ‘Gundam Unicorn’?” The 2nd question asked, “What is the name of Chemistry’s debut single?” Finally, the 3rd question asked, “What is the name of the anime the song, ‘Period’ is the theme song of?”
Since so many people knew the answer to the last question, Chemistry asked the crowd to play jankenpon (Rock-Paper-Scissors). After a few rounds, the final winner got to answer the question and receive the last autographed Chemistry poster.
They thanked everyone for coming to the panel. 10 years ago when they formed in New York they never imagined that they’d be here in Baltimore to see all their fans from around the world and they’re really happy. They hope that they can come back to see everyone again. It was very fun to perform here for their fan. They’re happy and thankful that anime is popular all over the word and that one of their songs is the theme song for a popular anime that was able to bring them here. They finish the panel by saying thank you and that they love America!
It was great to see Chemistry here in the US, and hopefully they can come back soon and perform again!
Buy Chemistry’s single, Independence, from YesAsia! (Affiliate Link)
