It has been 180 days. One hundred and eighty days served. I wonder if G.O is as diligent as his loving fans in monitoring days served since he entered training camp back on February 18th. I suppose he really doesn’t have to in that we are keeping pinpointed track of each day served and how many days remain. For some reason today (which is actually just a few days shy of the six month mark of his service), I found myself trying to seek out his performance of Yutaka Ozaki’s I Love You because I just felt like revisiting perhaps one his more romantic performances.
G.O’s performance of I Love You at the 1st Japanese Fan Meetings in May 2011 was tender, soft and romantic. Coupled with his melodious voice, he looked devastatingly handsome dressed in black with the soft fringe of his bangs gently swept across his forehead. So romantic.
For his solo stage, G.O chose to sing a popular and very much-loved song in Japanese which is so wonderfully indicative of his genuine appreciation of the fans and to the attention he pays in wanting to delight them. I am sentimental (as you know), therefore the care (and no doubt time) he took to prepare and present this song to his Japanese fans melts my heart and warms me to my core.
If say, at the time of this performance I was an A+ teetering between biases, G.O would have made up my mind to make him my one and only, instantaneously. I say that easily now since I am very much biased, but his gentle magnetism is absolutely more potent in tender moments like these where he is simply wooing with good old-fashioned romance. The soft delivery of the song and the languid descent from the staircase only build on the anticipation of his kneeling at the edge of the stage to offer his hand understanding that skinship, even at its most base level of a handshake, is a powerful connect to the fans.
G.O casts a spell with all of the elements that make him such a masterful artist and performer, the most important of which is his authenticity and honesty. Melodies weave through him and lyrics always hold depth and meaning. I do not know for certain, but my guess is that performing this song was most likely his choice. He knows how to pick the right song for the right moment.
Then we’ll close our eyes again,
and hope that our love doesn’t lose its passion in a sad song. . .
~♥~