On 9 November, we had a date with Japanese sensation HANABIE. at Ancienne Belgique for their second-ever show in Belgium! After selling out The Kavka Zappa in the summer of 2023, the Japanese quartet was back in Brussels and the fans showed up in force, filling a nearly sold-out AB!
SUN’s Explosive “Brutal Pop” Opening Set
The evening kicked off with SUN, a French-German singer who defines her sound as “Brutal Pop” : a wild mix, as she puts it, between her love for pop icons like Destiny’s Child, Spice Girls, Britney Spears, ABBA, and her passion for extreme metal such as Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, and Hate Eternal.
She opened her set with ‘I Killed My Man’, a song that builds up slowly before exploding into a visceral scream.This set the perfect tone for what was coming next. She followed with ‘Free Your Soul’ and ‘Come Clean’, both driven by catchy riffs. SUN was full of energy and stories, chatting with the audience in French, English, and German about her love for both pop and metal.
Midway through the set, she delivered a fierce and powerful cover of ‘Survivor’ by Destiny’s Child, giving the classic a whole new edge. The crowd was clearly hooked and even starting a small wall of death and a pogo during the final track, ‘Higher Fire’. A opening act that perfectly warmed up the audience for the arrival of the main act : HANABIE.
Chaos and Kawaii: HANABIE. Take the Stage
At 9 p.m. sharp, the young Japanese musicians took the stage one by one to loud cheers: drummer Chika, guitarist/singer Matsuri, bassist Hettsu, and finally lead vocalist Yukina, who kicked things off with ‘Warning!!’. The show opened strong both musically and vocally, though the electronic backtrack initially lacked a bit of punch, a minor issue quickly fixed after the first song.
The band followed up with one of their latest singles, ‘Spice Queen’, a highly anticipated track that had the fans in the crowd going wild. The energy was so intense that Yukina had to check if everyone was okay after security stepped in to help someone in the chaos of the pit! Next came the heavy-hitting ‘Meta-moru-phose!’ and ‘Ware Amatou (We Love Sweets)’, giving Yukina the perfect moment to unleash her full vocal power, while Matsuri handled the gentler parts with her soft voice, creating the striking contrast that defines HANABIE.’s sound.
The electronic intro of ‘Kotoshi koso Gal~Shoka ver.~’ kicked off, with Yukina slipping on her sunglasses and asking the crowd if they were ready to dance and party. Within seconds, the entire venue was moving and dancing, and as soon as the heavy section dropped, chaos once again took over the pit!
Explosive Chaos and Vocals — Pure HANABIE. Energy
Throughout the show, the band kept interacting with the crowd, always smiling and radiating joy. They often expressed their love and gratitude to fans in an adorably cute, kawaii English… a charming contrast to the intensity of their music. What’s clear is that they love their audience and are very grateful to see so many people in the venue.
The rest of the set featured fan favorites like ‘Tousou’, where Yukina and Matsuri’s vocal interplay truly shone, and ‘Osaki ni Shitsurei Shimasu.’, before closing the main set with an explosive performance of ‘Today’s Good Day & So Epic’. After a short break, the band returned for one more song with their biggest hit ‘O•TA•KU Lovely Densetsu’.
Setlist: Warning!! / Bucchigiri Tokyo / Spicy Queen / Meta-moru-phose! / Ware Amatou / Kotoshi koso Gal~Shoka ver.~ / GIRL’S TALK / Reiwa Matching-sedai / GAMBLER / Choujigen Galaxy / NEET GAME / TOUSOU / Osaki ni Shitsurei Shimasu. / Today’s Good Day & So Epic / O•TA•KU Lovely Densetsu
And that’s how HANABIE. wrapped up their second Belgian concert — taking a moment to pose for a group photo with the crowd, proudly holding up the Belgian flag they were gifted.The fusion of J-Pop, J-Rock, and J-Metal clearly has a bright future ahead. Following in the footsteps of pioneers like BABYMETAL, HANABIE. has now proven that their success is no coincidence and that this unique, chaotic, and irresistibly fun Japanese sound has truly conquered the world.