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Yu Sakai on ‘Tiny Desk’ Debut & Returning to His Roots With New Album ‘PASADENA’

Billboard JAPAN talked to Yu Sakai about his hopes for his new album, 'PASADENA,' as well as his Tiny Desk Concerts debut.

The album’s title comes from Pasadena, a city on the outskirts of Los Angeles where he lived when he moved on his own to the U.S. to become a musician. Could you start by talking a bit about recording in L.A.?The producers and songwriters on the new album have worked with world-famous artists like John Legend, Usher, TLC, and Anderson .Paak. I also wanted to do a J-pop medley, so we performed a medley of “Story,” “Gaze, Daydream,” and “Rose & Rhodes,” featuring about a minute and a half of each song, and then we ended with “Sinatra, The Darkness Of Cherry Blossom.” The song is about New York, but Washington is famous for its cherry blossoms, so I wanted to perform it.

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