J-pop singer Ado with secret identity holds handshake event with surreal setting to hide her face – SoraNews24 -Japan News-

Fans have never seen Ado’s face, and that won’t change even after shaking hands.

There is a lot of image and appearance-based marketing going on in the Japanese pop music industry, and there is perhaps no clearer example of this than “Handshake events.” Although these meet-and-greet events often take place without a live music performance, they are very popular with fans as they give them the opportunity to shake hands with their favorite artist and enjoy their presence.

But if Universal Music Japan announced on Thursday that it a handshake event for J-Pop singer Adoit was quite a big surprise. Not because Ado is not popular – she is the singer behind the phenomenally successful “Usseewa”, and her songs are also the driving force behind One Piece Movie: Redwhich was a huge success even by the high standards of the anime franchise. No, what surprises Ado at a handshake event is that, even though it has been four years since her professional debut, she has never shown her face as Ado in public.So how do you organize a handshake for a major recording star while keeping her identity secret?

Like this.

During the event, Ado will be placed in a giant box made of opaque material. Fans will step forward one by one and put their forearm in a hole in one of the walls, whereupon Ado will grab it and shake it..

The hole appears to be surrounded by ledges that eliminate sight lines, so fans cannot look in and catch a glimpse of Ado, or even her hand. It is unclear if the singer can see the people she is shaking hands with, perhaps via a video feed and monitor in the box, or if she remains as blind as the fans she is shaking hands with.

The handshake event is part of the promotion for Ado’s upcoming second album titled Zanmuwhich means “Remaining Dream”. The album is set to be released on July 10, and fans who purchase it will receive a serial number that will allow them to enter a lottery to win one of three prizes, including tickets to the singer’s October concerts in Yokohama and personally signed posters. A total of 1,000 handshake tickets are up for grabs, which will be split between a two-day event in Tokyo in October. The exact venue will be announced to ticket winners at a later date. Full entry details can be found here on the Universal Music Japan website.

Source: Universal Music Japan via Otakomu
Photos: Universal Music Japan
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