Patricia Kaas, Nouvelle Ambassadress of French chanson, is currently wowing Asian audiences on her mini-tour of Japan and Korea. On 13 and 14 November the French star took to the stage at the Orchard Hall (in the Bunkamura Center in Tokyo's Shibuya neighbourhood) to perform extracts from her latest album, Piano Bar. Ms. Kaas had every reason to feel nervous – France's chanson diva had not set foot in Japan in eight years! What's more, Paul MacCartney was performing on exactly the same dates over at Tokyo's Dome and the local media had devoted so many column inches to the ex-Beatle's concert that one couldn't help wondering what would become of poor Patricia!

Would Japanese fans desert the French singer's concerts in favour of former Beatle-mania? Judging by the massive turn-out at Patricia's show, the answer was a resounding no! Ms. Kaas managed to draw a broad audience of fans to her concerts – ranging from smartly-dressed 50-year-old Japanese ladies to young trendies with spiky hair! And all appeared thoroughly enchanted by Patricia's two-hour performance. It has to be said that the international diva played the chanson card to full effect, crooning covers of old French favourites such as Ne me quitte pas, La vie en rose, Les feuilles mortes and Un homme et une femme. In short, Patricia managed to include just about every French chanson classic your average Japanese music fan might know. And the songs went down a storm!

Oozing warmth and consummate professionalism the minute she got up on stage, Patricia established an instant rapport with her audience. Indeed, France's best-selling export diva launched proceedings by announcing: "Piano Bar is a tribute to many different generations and different styles of French chanson and the film music associated with it. (...) I remember the last time I played here audiences were a little bit shy – but you really don't have to be that way with me!(...) When you recognise a song you know you can start clapping before I even begin!" And on these words Patricia launched into what can only be described as an impeccable performance, revealing a romantic, sensual and tender side to her character. What's more, the French star proved she is just as capable of singing from the heart as she is belting songs out rock-chick style from her guts!

Patricia's sound engineer certainly had a hand in the success of the Piano Bar show. For it was thanks to his nifty shunting and fusing that the audience were able to enjoy extracts of songs and interviews with the great French chanson stars of the past. Coming to the end of Syracuse, which she sang weaving her way through the front rows of the audience, Patricia paused for breath - and the lights dimmed dramatically as the voice of Edith Piaf echoed hauntingly from the wings. In a mini-extract from an old interview the heroine of French chanson explained how she got her stage name as Patricia launched into rousing renditions of Sous le ciel de Paris and Piaf's immortal classic, La vie en rose.

Later on in the show Patricia broke into an English version of Les feuilles mortes, which was cleverly followed by an insert of Yves Montand singing the original. And the other mix'n'match highlight of the evening came when Patricia and her group swung into an upbeat version of Claude Nougaro's Armstrong with Louis Armstrong's C’est si bon echoing in the background - after which Patricia slipped smoothly into her own jazz/soul version of Louis's classic! Superb!

After an hour and thirty minutes of non-stop chanson classics the audience called Patricia back on stage for an encore (which lasted a further half-hour). The only question on everyone's lips by this point was: would Patricia actually sing any Patricia Kaas numbers? The crowd finally got the moment they had been waiting for though. And, as the French star launched into early hits such as Mon mec a moi and the now legendary Mademoiselle chante le blues, Japanese fans leapt to their feet to dance.

Backstage, Patricia later admitted that she had been slightly nervous as to how Japanese fans would react to the show. However, after the enthusiastic response to her first Tokyo date, she said she was feeling more than reassured – and looking forward to her concert the following night! After eight years' absence from the Japanese live circuit, Ms. Kaas had every right to be worried, but she assured her comeback with a thoroughly impeccable and smoothly-produced show. There's only one piece of advice we'd give "chère Mademoiselle chante le blues" next time round – and that is that she's welcome to sing all her own material. She'll find an appreciative audience for the Patricia Kaas repertoire in Tokyo in any case!