So as you guys may have known from my previous LoveJojo post, I attended the LoveJojo launch party event as a photographer for the event. I'm not going to lie, as a result I took over 1500 pictures for the entirety event and my camera died near the end of the last performance...
Anyways... I thought it would be a good chance to write an overview of the event! The LoveJojo launch party event was held on the 7th of May, coinciding with the Free Comic Book Day which takes place on the first Saturday of May every year. Before the event even started, there was quite a few preparations to take place, and I'm not gonna lie I struggled with some of the tasks just because of height - RIP. From making LoveJojo banners to organising seating, there was a lot of preparation involved beforehand, Jojo was definitely thankful for all the help she could get!
But moving onto the actual event, there were various stores set up around the venue, from LoveJojo to Dengeki Co to Littlest Sweet Shop. Everything "kawaii" all in one place. I literally wanted to buy so many things if I actually had the money... #brokestudentlife
If I'm honest, during our preparations we even had a small struggle trying to keep the balloons up in the air. Some of the balloons decided to deflate or just preferred being on the ground and the amount of the times we ran out of ribbon... Oh dear...
And thus the event commenced. When I first arrived to the event, I thought I was overly dressed, wearing red lenses, red cat ears and a red lolita style dress. But once the event started, everyone got ready, got dressed up and many of the visitors were all dressed in such "kawaii" clothes. It was really interesting seeing all the different styles involved, and all the different outfits people put together.
So for our first act, we had Leader Looi with her back up dancers, Cat and Anya who are best known as members of Milae3! They performed renditions of K-Pop tracks, particularly G-Dragon songs and one Japanese song as well.
As a first performance I feel like there are certain expectations which you have to meet. I've performed live before and it's the question whether you would rather be first or last or in between, so I give these guys a round applause for going first! The audience responses weren't as live as they hoped considering the type of performance it was but it did get much better throughout the day.
The performance was then followed by Kadeem from Manifest Nation. He presented us with a dance solo which incorporated his own freestyle techniques and break dancing moves.
Before the interval, the MCs had a short discussion with our very own Hello Kitty star, James. If you've guys seen Hello Kitty around particularly at MCM Expo you may have seen James! The interactions were great and we even got to watch some dancing take place which was incredibly entertaining.
As the interval proceeded, this was the time where people were able to have a look around the stores. People were also given the opportunity to grab pictures with each other as well as socialise. I had a chance to get so snacks and drinks which were provided to the side - the cupcakes made by James and hi mum were on pointe! Also, I managed to have a chat with a few photographers like myself. Other than Tobi (TobiNinjaFox) I also met Anty and Orleans (Shadow Dinosaur). The interval was about an hour, and I even got the chance to talk to Kelsey Ellison, she's a lovely person to converse with aha!
As the interval ended, we proceeded onto the next performance in the line up. We had a chance to listen to Strange Chocolate, an indie band who played us some great tunes. Unfortunately we didn't have the whole band with us on that day, but even so, Daryl and Harriet played us a great set!
Following their performance, our MCs introduced an opportunity for the guests to win some prices from LoveJojo, specifically plush toys! But what did the guests have to do? Contestants who volunteered themselves for the contest, were made to compete in a dance competition to win the plush toys. It was definitely an interesting sight to see and I couldn't help but laugh. It was very entertaining and everyone seemed to enjoy the dance off, as shown from the audience's reactions. They decided on the winner's depending on who received the loudest cheers.
We had some interesting dance moves, and you could see who was teaming up in the dance off. Kadeem who participated unfortunately wasn't able to compete for a prize considering he was a dancer himself however he joined in anyways and you can see some well-known moves being shown off - some you may recognise the move above, performed by Kadeem and James as the "Nae Nae"!
As the dance off continued, we even had the MCs join in themselves. If I was filming the dance off the video would of probably demonstrate me laughing really loudly and cause the camera to shake as well. Ich dancing through the stage sidewards was a sight, and Aisha even formed a "Can-Can" with the contestants, along with the addition of Orleans who joined on the other end.
However, despite the dance off, we had a remaining two contestants who competed for the top prize. The contestants would compete in a 1 on 1 dance off. We had Sonic vs. Dan, who do you think won?
One of the highlights of the event would have to be the dance competition to be honest. The final dance battle was very tight, and the result led to Dan placing first place and Sonic second, although the cheers from the audience were indeed close!
After the announcement for the dance competition we moved onto the best dressed of the night. No one knew who had been chosen to judge the best dressed, but I can't deny that they chose a definite winner. There were so many people who dressed amazingly for the event, but the winner's particularly classic style was a winner for me.
Thus we continued with the performance line up, with a performance from Elle and Leila of LOST Girls! What can I say? Isn't it a dream to be able to perform with your best friend on stage, especially if you both have a passion for performing. These guys presented their first ever live performance together at the LoveJojo launch event, and I can't help but say they did amazingly! These girls' vocal ranges are unbelievable and as a Sword Art Online fan myself, I totally rate their song choices! They also completed a dance performance of "Romeo and Cinderella" - Any Vocaloid fans may of heard of this! Well done you two! Following this opportunity, they have also performed as backup dancers for Kelsey Ellison at the Yorkshire Cosplay Con! You go girls!
Following the LOST Girls performance, Jojo and the MCs worked together to present the raffle prizes. The prizes included a cushion, a popin cookin kit,a cute strawberry printed outfit, a Sailor Moon figure and and two plush toys differentiating in size!
And to end the show, we had our final performance of day! Presenting, the one and only, Kelsey Ellison. She performed for us her very own original songs such as the Pom Pom (Humplepups Remix)! Her unique style and dance moves definitely caught the audience's attention and I can say that the final performance got the most cheers. Despite it drawing to the end of a long day, the audience still displayed great enthusiasm!
You can check out Kelsey's video of the event below:
I can even say I had fun after the event ended, we all had time to socialise amongst each other and even had Ich's brother playing the piano and all of us singing and laughing around. Another highlight of the day, especially after a long working day, laughter definitely is the best medicine for it!
Thank you for tuning into my blog posts, I'm trying hard to get as many posts done over this summer but on top of work and travels, it's quite difficult to find time to put up content so I'll try my best for my readers! Don't forget about my blog anniversary giveaway which was mentioned in the last post! I have collaborated with LoveJojo to giveaway prizes to you guys as readers!
On another note, don't forget to check out LoveJojo's website below! At LoveJojo they sell a variety of cute items particularly alpacas which are the most popular purchases!
http://lovejojo.com/
If you would like to check out anymore images from the event you can check my Facebook albums below:
LoveJojo's Launch Party: Part 1
LoveJojo's Launch Party: Part 2
LoveJojo's Launch Party: Part 3
Thank you for reading, and I hope to update you guys soon!
