{"id":75990,"date":"2012-01-01T00:00:25","date_gmt":"2012-01-01T00:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fukuoka-now.com?post_type=feature&#038;p=9442"},"modified":"2017-06-13T13:03:24","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T04:03:24","slug":"gaikokujin-star-tanjo-2011-video-and-photo-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/gaikokujin-star-tanjo-2011-video-and-photo-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaikokujin Star Tanjo 2011 Video and Photo Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"fn157star1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7170\/6728735747_9c5abf6260.jpg?resize=495%2C114\" alt=\"\" width=\"495\" height=\"114\" \/><\/p>\n<p>34 international acts from over 16 nations applied, but only eight were selected to perform in Fukuoka Now\u2019s second annual foreign talent contest- Gaikokujin Star Tanjo !<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"fn157star2\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7007\/6728735639_03b2287ec1.jpg?resize=495%2C329\" alt=\"\" width=\"495\" height=\"329\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Held in Fukuoka\u2019s newest venue JR Kyushu Hall, the location of this year\u2019s contest was itself an impressive sight. 767 guests were treated to state-of-the-art facilities, whilst enjoying the buzz of conversation, delicious offerings from various food and drinks stalls, and a million-dollar view of the city from the top of JR Hakata City (enhanced by the dazzling Christmas illumination display below)! Reporters from KBC TV and Fukuoka Now interviewed guests as anticipation for the main event grew.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jbjsPO9InVQ\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I4NTWRajAeM\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vux-6DcT7yI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The night\u2019s entertainment started with a bang, as Japanese guitarist \u2018Jo\u2019 immediately grabbed the audience\u2019s attention with his unique style of rhythmic acoustic guitar-playing. Hundreds of party-goers filled the huge hall to watch and cheer as eight talented acts from all over the world (ALT48, Anna Mihejeva, Bouzid Hamed, Daniel Byron, Kelly Harlock, Leah Olsen, Mari Somerville, Peter Bertrand) gave it their all- singing in English and Japanese, playing instruments, dancing and even beat-boxing before a panel of five esteemed judges. The competition was tight, and from the audience\u2019s response it seemed all contestants had earned themselves \u2018star\u2019 status before the final results were tallied. The show was not simply a competition, but an opportunity to showcase the range and scope of talent that Fukuoka\u2019s foreigners have to offer.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"fn156 star tanjo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7018\/6429558819_6f1d0da6d5_z.jpg?resize=400%2C560\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"560\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After a tense wait, the night\u2019s MC, Dom, announced the results: French beat-boxer Hamed had taken the title and first prize of \u00a5100,000 (for a repeat encore performance), having impressed both the audience and judges with his spectacular performance. A very close second place was awarded to Leah Olsen, whose powerful rendition of Christina Aguilera\u2019s \u2018I Turn to You\u2019 was dedicated to her mother, and jazz singer Mari Somerville took out third prize with an Ella Fitzgerald number. There were smiles and congratulations all round amongst the finalists, each of whom was considered a winner for making it into the final line-up.<\/p>\n<p>With that, the night\u2019s formalities were over and the stage was reclaimed by a different type of entertainment as Das Funkt (DJ) and the sexy Chat Voleur Dancers took the spotlight- pushing JR Kyushu Hall\u2019s sound and visual equipment to the limit and instantly filling the dance floor. By midnight, the stage had been well and truly taken over by revellers, as they made the most of a very memorable and entertaining night.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/fukuoka-now\/sets\/72157628216245681\/\" target=\"_blank\">Party Snaps on Flickr<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/fukuoka-now\/sets\/72157628228178137\" target=\"_blank\">Photo Booth on Flickr<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"fn157star3\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7029\/6728735835_84308d90a1.jpg?resize=495%2C194\" alt=\"\" width=\"495\" height=\"194\" \/><\/p>\n<div><strong id=\"internal-source-marker_0.5051272769924253\">Originally published in Fukuoka Now magazine (<a href=\"http:\/\/issuu.com\/fukuokanow\/docs\/fn-157\" target=\"_blank\">fn157 Jan. 2012<\/a>)<\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>34 international acts from over 16 nations applied, but only eight were selected to perform in Fukuoka Now\u2019s second annual foreign talent contest- Gaikokujin Star Tanjo !<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"9442","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4914],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-others","location-fukuoka-city","en-US"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/fn157star.jpg?fit=495%2C329&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75990"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99618,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75990\/revisions\/99618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}