The Japanese diva Ayumi Hamasaki was originally scheduled to hold a concert in Shanghai on the 29th. She had already arrived in Shanghai and was preparing to perform. However, due to tense China-Japan relations, the concert was suddenly called off on the eve of the event. Ayumi Hamasaki posted an apology, and later, footage leaked online in China showed her performing in an empty venue. Reportedly, Ayumi Hamasaki recorded the entire performance and plans to release it in the future to give back to her fans, which was deeply moving.
Ayumi Hamasaki was originally scheduled to perform at Shanghai Stadium on the 29th of this month, with tens of thousands of tickets sold. Due to Chinese dissatisfaction with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments that "if something happens to Taiwan," many Japanese artists' events in China have been canceled due to "force majeure". On the 27th, Ayumi Hamasaki even posted a selfie showing she had arrived in Shanghai and told everyone not to worry. In response to the tragic fire at Hong Kong's Hong Fu Yuen, she also announced she would remove flame special effects and asked fans to avoid wearing red clothing, hoping to express her prayers for Hong Kong during the show.
However, on the 28th she posted a limited-time story stating that hundreds of staff had finished building the stage, but she "suddenly received a request to stop the performance," and the concert was forced to cancel. She expressed deep regret, and said she couldn't apologize in person to 14,000 TAs (short for Team Ayu, Ayumi Hamasaki's fandom), saying, "it's hard to put into words, I'm really sorry."
Although she couldn't interact face-to-face with fans, Ayumi Hamasaki chose to "take the stage alone" and performed professionally, recording the whole show to be released in the future for affected fans. Netizens saw her dressed in her gorgeous stage costume in an empty stadium, imagining what it would be like to give her all before tens of thousands of fans, saying, "Makes me want to cry," "So professional," "An artist's discipline," and "She truly is a superstar."
Source: United Daily News