In her national debut, IU has won over the country of Japan. On January 24 IU made her first television appearance on NHK BS’s “HOT@ASIA”. The show which took place at Tokyo Shibuya Bunkamura Orchard Hall is very popular among the Japanese faithful.

There were several highlights from the show that really shined a light on IU’s amazing talent. The first was what is called the “three level booster” in Japan. Showcasing IU’s ability to hit three level high notes. Special graphics on the screen indicated when IU hit each note, impressing viewers.

Another strong point in the show for IU is when she covered Minnie Riperton’s “Loving You” acoustically. The host gave her a standing ovation as she sang. “HOT@ASIA” gave IU a lot of coverage and stressed that she is a solo artist and singer-songwriter, which is not the norm for Kpop artists that debuted in Japan. The press IU received in Japan will do nothing but help excel her career.

Kpop specialist, Huruya Misayuki was also featured on the show to analyze IU’s talent and potential in Japan. “In 2012, Kpop is going to transform from being a visual entertainment to audio entertainment.” Misayuki said. “And this transformation heavily relies on IU’s success in Japan.”

What was most impressive about IU and may have been the “it” factor for Japanese fans is the way she interacted. Throughout the show IU spoke in Japanese. She seemed to understand most of the questions she was asked and tried her best to answer in Japanese. Using the translator very rarely, she handled herself very well. Whenever she stumbled with her Japanese, she saved herself with a quick transition of cute remarks. All this is impressive consider three months ago IU could hardly do an interview in Japanese.

IU’s future looks very promising, especially in Japan. IU’s debut Japanese single will be released on March 21.