Mori Calliope’s first solo concert blew fans away, but Hololive star had doubts

Mori Calliope finally achieved one of her big goals as a VTuber, going on stage in 3D and performing a solo concert in front of tens of thousands. However, it wasn’t all smiles for the Hololive star, who went into her July 21 performance with big doubts.

When Mori Calliope joined Hololive in 2020, one of her big goals was to get on stage and perform in front of a crowd. The rapper reaper has been grinding in the underworld in the years since, and finally got to that stage on July 21 with her debut “New Underworld Order” concert.

The sneak peek VOD, which has been watched by more than 300,000 people within 24 hours, blew fans away ⁠— and those who spent the $50 on a full-access ticket said it was worth every dime. 

With fans in the crowd at Tokyo’s Toyosu Pit jumping for joy and waving their lightsticks, it was a lot for Calli to take in. Despite all the fanfare, the star had her doubts about how the concert would actually go.

“When I got to the actual venue for rehearsal, I was super down,” she admitted on stream the day after. “I don’t know what it was. I wasn’t in a good mood and I was looking at myself thinking ⁠— it’s not that I want to put down my own success but I was starting to think to myself whether I was washed up. Maybe I’m not doing as well as I used to be. Maybe it’s over.”

However, Calli’s mentality changed when she started seeing fans flock into the hall, as well as in chat.

“I saw guys of course but I saw high school girls and older women, old guys, young guys, couples there together,” she continued. “There was one girl with her boyfriend and she was jumping up and down because she was so excited. I saw how happy they were and they came for me. They came to see me perform and me sing and make them happy.

“It was the same at the end of the show when I saw everyone leaving. I saw people getting so excited and bobbing their heads to the music. I instantly felt a smile spread across my face and I felt so stupid for thinking I was maybe washed up. Even if I was washed up and not doing well, that’s not the reason why I do this ⁠— I do this for those people.

“When I look over to chat too, the chat was going wild with people so excited and happy. I don’t know why I felt so down. All of those people in the crowd, in chat, they were real. That really helped me feel better about everything.”

While the exact number of paying fans isn’t public, the response online points towards tens, if not hundreds of thousands praising Calli for her first concert.

The 24-song performance, including a hype encore that left the star red “like a tomato” (and like the song) was well received, making all the effort worth it in her eyes.

“I don’t know how we did it, to be completely honest, but you guys could hear by the end that I was gone.

“As soon as I got off the floor, I walked to the back at full speed and Universal people were waiting. Their faces turned to horror when they saw my face was actually a tomato. The first thing I did was explode to the backstage and go to the shower, and I looked at my face in the shower and I was like ‘bro no f**king way’. My arms too ⁠— it looked like I had sunburn.”

“It was a happy exhaustion. I need to let myself have a break. I need to not stream for a minute. I am going to let myself have a couple of days.”