djfrosty

28 Jun 2023

Jon Batiste Announces New Album Featuring Collabs With Lana Del Rey, Lil Wayne & More

Just two years after releasing his Grammy-winning album We Are, cross-genre savant Jon Batiste is gearing up to unleash his next record upon the world. On Wednesday, (June 28), the multi-hyphenate took to Twitter to reveal that his new studio album, titled World Music Radio, is slated for an Aug. 18 release — and will feature collaborations with Lana Del Rey, Lil Wayne, Kenny G and more.

“World Music Radio is a concept album that takes place in the interstellar regions of the universe,” Batiste wrote on Twitter. “The listener is led through the album by an interstellar traveling griot named Billy Bob Bo Bob, who takes you sonically all around the world at the speed of light.”

Alongside his announcement of the album’s title and release date, Batiste also debuted the official visualizer for the set’s lead single, “Calling Your Name.” “I created this album with a feeling of liberation in my life and a renewed sense of exploration of my personhood, my craft and of the world around me unlike anything I had ever felt before,” mused Batiste.

In addition to Del Rey, Lil Wayne, and Kenny G, the album will also feature collaborations with Jon Bellion, Fireboy DML, J.I.D., NewJeans and more. World Music Radio — which is executive produced by Batiste, Bellion and Ryan Lynn — is certainly a star-studded affair. According to the press release, Batiste’s purpose for the new album is to explore the idea that all music is “world music,” and forge an international, cross-cultural community through different kinds of popular music from different regions around the world.

Two years ago, Batiste made history as the first Black artist to win the Grammy for Album of the Year in 14 years when he triumphed in the category for his genre-spanning We Are. He won four other awards that night, adding a handful of trophies to a mantle that already boasts an Academy Award for Best Original Score thanks to his work on 2020’s Soul alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails.

Batiste has landed two titles on the Billboard 200: 2014’s Social Music (No. 134, as Jon Batiste & Stay Human) and 2021’s We Are (No. 25).

See his World Music Radio announcement and listen to “Calling Your Name” below.

28 Jun 2023

David Corenswet The Next Man of Steel In DC’s ‘Superman: Legacy’

HipHopWired Featured Video

'The Politician' TV show premiere, Arrivals, New York, USA - 26 Sep 2019

Source: Variety / Getty

After a long and tedious process, a new Superman has finally been chosen to lead James Gunn’s new and revamped DC cinematic universe and the choice might surprise you.

According to Deadline, James Gunn handpicked David Corenswet to play the next Man of Steel in his highly-anticipated Superman: Legacy film and also announced that Rachel Brosnahan will be taking on the role of his boo, Lois Lane. Truth be told the role of Lois Lane could’ve been given to any white woman at this point as comic book fans have been eagerly awaiting to see who would be anointed the next last son of Krypton post-Henry Cavill. Surprisingly enough, Corenswet basically looks like a much younger version of his predecessor.

Y’all know Cavill somewhere right now punching air wishing he was 15 years younger.

Deadline reports:

The decision comes after the two were among the few selected to test in front of DC co-chairs Peter Safran and Gunn (who is directing) in full costume and makeup for the parts.

The tests took place over two days with the men; one of the days saw the three actors in full Superman attire. Sources close to the situation said that each actor had closed test deals that would expire after two business weeks, so clearly all parties wanted this sorted out before a potential SAG-AFTRA strike, which could go into effect at midnight June 30.

Okay, two down and two to go. Now that we know who Superman and Lois Lane will be, rumors have been swirling that Gunn is choosing between brothers, Alexander and Bill Skarsgård to play Superman’s arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor while Chris Pratt is rumored to be joining the film as Jimmy Olsen. As of now these are just rumors but truth be told, we wouldn’t be mad at a cast revolving around these four.

Whether or not David Corenswet can fill the big shoes that Henry Cavill left behind (with a single solo Superman movie by the way) remains to be seen but don’t be surprised if hardcore Cavill fans refuse to give the man his props regardless of how good he may turn out to be. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until July 11, 2025 to find out.

What do y’all think of David Corenswet being cast as the next Superman? Let us know in the comments section below.

HipHopWired Radio

Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…

28 Jun 2023

Rihanna And Her Baby Bump Star In Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton Ad

HipHopWired Featured Video

RIHANNA FOR LOUIS VUITTON

Source: KEIZŌ KITAJIMA AND MARTINE SYMS / KEIZŌ KITAJIMA AND MARTINE SYMS

Even while pregnant Rihanna still slays. She and her baby bump are the new stars of Pharrell William’s Louis Vuitton campaign.

As spotted on HipHopDX Bad Gyal RiRi has been tapped by Skateboard P for his inaugural drop for the Men’s Spring Summer 2023 collection with the French fashion house. “Conjuring the bustling energy of Canal Street in New York, Rihanna embodies the trailblazing vision of Pharrell Williams’ debut collection with a new rendition of the emblematic Speedy” the caption read.

The “We Found Love” singer is captured sporting the brand’s Speedy handbag and duffle bag. “The new Speedy conjures through the inimitable savoir-faire of the maison a visual language evocative of the codes and stylistic attitude of Canal Street. It is an everyday icon conceived for every walk of life,” Luis Vuitton said in a formal statement.

On Tuesday, June 20 Pharrell Williams presented his first collection for Louis Vuitton at the iconic Pont Neuf in Paris. The event was attended by several noted celebrities including Jared Leto, Kim Kardashian, Pusha T and Jay-Z. Pharrell Williams closed his debut show for Louis Vuitton in a digitalized Damoflage motif suit, paying tribute to Paris with the reinvigorated emblem of the Maison.

You can see the Rihanna Louis Vuitton promotional trailer below.



Photo: KEIZŌ KITAJIMA AND MARTINE SYMS

HipHopWired Radio

Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…

28 Jun 2023

Toby Keith Says He’s ‘Feeling Pretty Good’ After Stomach Cancer Diagnosis, Hopes to Tour ‘This Fall’

Toby Keith is feeling hopeful after first revealing to fans in June 2022 that he has been battling stomach cancer. One year later, the country star opened up about his health ahead of his annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic with The Oklahoman, and shared that things are looking up.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he shared with the newspaper earlier in June. “Basically, everything is in a real positive trend … you never know with cancer, so you have to prepare.”

When the singer-songwriter first shared his diagnosis, he revealed that he already had six months of treatment — including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation — under his belt. “So far, so good,” he tweeted at the time. “I need time to breathe, recover and relax.”

Now that he’s had some time to take care of his health, Keith said he’s hopeful about getting back to entertaining fans in person. “I’ve got more wind,” the 61-year-old told the paper. “And I’m thinking about bringing the band in and setting up, playing two or three days somewhere just to see if I can get through two hours.” If that goes well, he’s hoping to be “out on the road this fall.”

“All I gotta do is see if I can get through two or three nights of work and get a little break in this chemo, and we’ll go back to work,” continued the seven-time Grammy nominee, who added that his tumor has shrunk.

On Monday, the Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic announced that it had raised $1.8 million in support of OK Kids Korral, a lodging facility of the Toby Keith Foundation’s that provides a free place to stay for parents to stay while their kids are fighting cancer. The top bids at the event’s auction included $120,000 for a guitar signed by Taylor Swift, $80,000 for a fishing trip with Keith and pro fisher Jimmy Houston, $70,000 for a dinner with Keith, $20,000 for a Game of Thrones trip to Croatia (11 were sold) and more.

28 Jun 2023

How Corook Turned a Bad Day Online Into Their Biggest Hit Yet

Back in April, Corook was having a rough day. The singer-songwriter had been hard at work promoting their single “CGI” on TikTok. While it was working — the song was steadily picking up steam heading into its release — the singer noticed that they were getting a lot of hateful comments.

“I already felt like I was in such a vulnerable place in my life,” they tell Billboard over Zoom, sporting their signature frog-shaped bucket hat that smiles into the camera even when they don’t. “I was trying my absolute best to allow my true self to shine through — for that to be timed with all of these hate comments really just like made me feel like, ‘Damn, I don’t have a place in this industry.’”

Yet in the two and a half months since that bad day, Corook’s life couldn’t be more different. Their EP Serious Person (Part 1) was met with acclaim, they’ve plotted out a headlining tour set to take place this fall, and their voice has become practically inescapable in the queerest corners of the internet.

Much of that attention is thanks to “If I Were a Fish” — the acoustic feel-good anthem about loving the parts of yourself that the world doesn’t seem to understand. It’s a song that wasn’t necessarily supposed to exist, until Corook’s girlfriend Olivia Barton asked her to channel her feelings on that fateful bad day into something productive.

“She said, ‘I’m gonna do what you do for me most of the time, and help you make something cool out of this. Let’s go upstairs, play whatever instruments and just make a really weird song,’” Corook recalls. “The weirdest idea that I had at the time was this thought of, ‘Well, if I were a fish, all of the weird things about me would just be super cool.’ And she said, ‘That’s really weird. We should definitely do that.’”

Making “a really weird song” might sound like an odd solution to a problem, but it’s central to what makes Corook stand out. Born Corinne Savage, the singer-songwriter took an early interest in working in the music industry, thanks in part to Linkin Park. “I feel like the very first musical memory I have is seeing this documentary on the band,” they explain with a laugh. “I sat crisscross applesauce in front of the TV and had a notepad and pen in hand, writing down things they were doing. I was coming up with ideas of which of my friends could be in my band.”

Learning how to play bass and guitar when they were still in middle school, Corook quickly showed an aptitude for music — after graduating from high school, Savage attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, eventually graduating with two degrees in songwriting and contemporary writing and production. In the time since their graduation six years ago, Corook has put their diplomas to good use (including a single titled “Degree,” which mostly bemoans what they didn’t learn in school and the “fifty grand in debt” they accrued as a result).

Wanting to kickstart their artist project, Corook hired a manager and started writing, recording and producing original songs about practically anything — their fear of snakes, their love of tequila, the unexplained questions of the universe and so on. In talking about anything, Corook found that they could talk about everything through their unique blend of self-deprecating humor mixed with top-tier songwriting.

“It felt like I understood the puzzle pieces and the mathematics behind making a good song, but I didn’t know how to tell my truth,” they say of their early work. “My truth is very sarcastic. My truth is trying to make the room feel good about talking about some awful thing. It’s been such a healing way for me to process my life.”

Creating a private SoundCloud filled with songs that they felt good about releasing, Corook and their manager began sending the work out to “a couple of people” within the industry. Suddenly, the singer-songwriter gained “700 followers out of nowhere” on Instagram, and received DMs from A&R reps at major labels interested in meeting up with them. “I guess my SoundCloud kind of went viral behind the scenes of the music industry,” they explain.

By 2021, Corook had signed a deal with Atlantic Records and rolled out their debut EP Achoo! the following year, finally “getting to be an artist for the first time in my life,” as they put it. Gaining a steady following on TikTok, they also came into their own as a person, changing their pronouns publicly to “they/them” as they began to figure out their gender identity in real time.

With a greater understanding of themselves came a wave of negative comments, which led them to writing their “really weird song” with Barton. “If I Were a Fish” thrives in its simplicity — all of the things that make Corook feel different in a world that craves uniformity only serve to make them that much more special.

It also made them deeply relatable to a legion of listeners online. The song has already been used in nearly 40,000 TikToks and streamed 10 million times on Spotify, with the vast majority of listeners relating deeply to the overtly queer themes of the song, repeating Corook’s refrain asking “Why is everybody on the internet so mean?” The song even earned Corook and Barton their first set of Billboard chart appearances.

The immediate viral success was a mostly welcome surprise for the rising star, though it came with its own set of caveats. “It’s really layered — as much as I love being a musician and a performer, attention still makes me like super uncomfortable,” they say. “It was a little bit weird for me to feel like there were so many eyes on me. I feel like everybody that has a moment on TikTok feels the pressure of ‘What now?’”

But seeing the track earn “wholesome” virality with its impact specifically on queer people quickly helped alleviate that stress. “I couldn’t ignore the insanely beautiful, sensitive, misfit community that this song just naturally created within the algorithm,” they say. “My comments section was full of people telling their stories and supporting each other. The whole reason I like doing this is because it connects people in a really cool way.”

The success of “If I Were a Fish” allowed Corook to look more ambitiously at their career — they released the first part of their project Serious Person early in order to capitalize on the sudden success of the single, while finishing up part two, preparing for a headlining tour, and dreaming up bigger goals for their future.

But “If I Were a Fish” also gave Corook space to step back and figure out what they really want out of a music career. “This song happening showed me it’s so much less about numbers — this community is what feels really important,” they say, their face now matching the chipper frog perched atop their head. “I want to grow that community as much as I possibly can — sensitive, queer people that are healing. I personally need that in my life, and I feel like everybody that is kind of joining in is realizing they need it too.”

28 Jun 2023

Ryan Tedder’s Runner Music Hires Amanda Hill as Co-Chief Creative Officer: Exclusive

Runner Music, the publishing and music company formed by Ryan Tedder, artist manager Ron Laffitte and publishing executive Andrew Sparkler, has hired former Sony Music Publishing executive Amanda Hill as president of A&R/and co-chief creative officer. 

Hill is the company’s first major hire since launching in January. In her Los Angeles-based role, Hill will be responsible for leading Runner’s global creative strategy, including writer and artist signings, company development and building out the Runner team.

“I am so excited to be starting this new chapter with Runner Music and to partner with Ryan, Ron, and Andrew, each of whom I’ve respected and admired for many years,” she said in a statement to Billboard. “I’m thrilled to be building this company from the ground up alongside them, and together with our songwriters we will create the future of music publishing.”

More recently, Hill served as senior VP of A&R at Sony Music Publishing, where she worked with major songwriters and artists including Tedder, Greg Kurstin, Miley Cyrus and Johnny McDaid. She consulted for Columbia Records from 2013 to 2019 and has managed Sarah Aarons since 2016.

“In almost 20 years of working with publishing A&Rs across all the major and indie companies, I’ve never had a more effective dialog and workflow with anyone than Amanda,” said Tedder, who serves as co-chief creative officer with Hill. “Her genuine passion for songs, writers and the creative process is as good as it gets and her 17-plus years of experience in all facets of music publishing are invaluable to myself and the Runner team.  Speaking on behalf of our writers, artists and myself, we are beyond ecstatic to have her join the Runner family.”

Earlier this month, Runner and Sony Music Nashville partnered to sign 19-year old multi-instrumentalist David J. “David is a true unicorn talent and I’m thrilled that Runner can partner with Sony to help bring his music to the world,” said Tedder at the time of the announcement. “I’m also pleased to announce that Brandon Silverstein is working with Runner as a strategic and creative partner for this project.” David J has earned 75 million career on-demand streams through his independent releases, including “Lost My Heartbreak,” “Before You,” and “Stay,” according to Sony. 

Blackstone Group’s Melody Holdings is an equity partner in Runner Music.

28 Jun 2023

SoundCloud Ups Tracy Chan to Chief Content Officer

SoundCloud has promoted two staff members — Tracy Chan to chief content officer and Ama Walton to senior vp of music licensing/deputy general counsel — and hired Devi Mahadevia, who joins the company as senior vp of strategy following a stint at Meta, the company tells Billboard.

“Tracy is one of the foremost innovators at the convergence of music and tech, and his new role bringing together all aspects of content on the platform will drive meaningful innovation for artists and fans,” said SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton in a statement. “Ama has pioneered fan-powered royalties deals to bring a new, more transparent model to streaming, and she brings her extraordinary background and expertise to the leadership role of deputy general counsel to help navigate new frontiers for SoundCloud.” 

Seton continued, “Devi is a long-term strategist whose extensive experience with consumer partnerships, product integrations, and corporate development represent a huge asset to the company as we grow and innovate across the business.”

In a separate statement, Mahadevia added, “I look forward to working with the team to forge new paths and uncover opportunities that benefit artists and listeners alike.” She previously oversaw consumer partnerships and product integrations for Meta’s AR and VR initiatives.

The promotions and new hires come during a tumultuous period for SoundCloud, which announced plans to lay off 8% of its workforce in May. “This is a challenging but essential decision to ensure the health of our business and get SoundCloud to profitability this year,” Seton told staff in an email at the time.

That round of layoffs was the second in less than 12 months. SoundCloud had previously announced it would cut “up to 20%” of its staff in August 2022 due to “the challenging economic climate and financial market headwinds.” Michael Weissman, who took over as a CEO in 2020, departed SoundCloud in March. And Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood, who served as chief content & marketing officer for roughly two years, left in May.

28 Jun 2023

Meet MUSQ, the Latest Music Fund to Tap Into ETF Craze

A third music-focused electronic-traded fund — or ETF — is set to debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday (June 30). The aptly named MUSQ Global Music Industry ETF, trading under the ticker MUSQIX, has 48 stocks representative of the modern music business, including Universal Music Group, Spotify and Live Nation.  

To MUSQ’s founder, David Schulhof, the fast-growing ETF market is primed for an index that allows investors to easily buy into the global music business’s growth story. “It’s been hard to invest in music for the last 25 years,” he says. “You had to be a [limited partner] at KKR or Blackstone or Apollo. And it was really hard to get liquidity.”

Schulhof, most recently the president of music publishing at LiveOne, invested in music assets as the co-founder and CEO of Evergreen Copyrights, which was acquired by BMG Rights Management in 2010, but everyday investors weren’t able to participate in music’s growing popularity as an asset class. “There were a lot of other private equity-backed companies, but it was hard for investors to get exposure” to music, he says. 

With MUSQ, Schulhof says he’s giving “the Robinhood investor” a liquid investment to participate in the music business. MUSQ has 48 companies spanning the music content and distribution (including Warner Music Group, Believe), digital music (Spotify, Tencent Music Entertainment), live music and ticketing (Live Nation, Madison Square Garden, Vivid Seats), satellite and broadcast radio (iHeartMedia, SiriusXM, Townsquare Media) and music equipment and technology (Dolby, Sonos). U.S.-based stocks account for 45% of the index’s value; the remaining 55% coming primarily from South Korea, Japan and China. 

MUSQ avoids video streaming and other digital entertainment stocks that may rise and fall with music but aren’t dedicated to music. Still, not all of the fund’s companies generate most or all of their value from music. MUSQ’s three largest companies are Apple, Amazon and Alphabet. The next-largest company by weight, Sony Group Corp., owns film, gaming and electronics divisions in addition to Sony Music Entertainment. According to the index’s criteria, a company can be considered for inclusion if it derives at least 50% of its annual revenues from the global music business, is a top five company, or have at least 10% of the global market share in one of the five segments of the music business the index covers.

“I had to include them,” says Schulman, “and I couldn’t ignore them. But I created, I think, a fair, balanced approach, which was to cap their market share on the index at 7%.”

To be eligible for the index, a company must have a minimum market capitalization or assets under management $100 million and a minimum average daily trading volume of $200,000 over the previous six months. Some small companies, such as music streamers Deezer and Anghami, and the newly public Alliance Entertainment, didn’t make the cut. But many other small, unheralded companies are among the index’s 48 stocks, including Stingray, a Canadian streaming company that services cable television networks, and Cliq Digital, a German provider of streaming services that bundle music, movies, audiobooks and other content. 

MUSQ is part of a trend of music-focused funds attempting to tap into the booming ETF business. KPOP, which focuses on South Korean companies that create music and video content, launched in 2022. TUNE, another music-focused ETF, launched on June 22. Investors increasingly favor the simplicity of ETFs built around themes such as music, battery technology and sustainability. ETF’s asset under management ballooned from $3.4 trillion in 2016 to $10 trillion in 2021, according to EPFR. PwC believes ETFs will grow to $20 trillion by 2026.

“I have to believe that some amount of that money is going to be interested in music,” says Schulhof.

28 Jun 2023

Benny Blanco Sells Rights to Litmus Music

Super producer Benny Blanco sold a package of publishing and performance copyrights to Litmus Music, the private equity-backed music rights company run by industry veterans Hank Forsyth and Dan McCarroll, both groups said on Wednesday (June 28).

Litmus said the acquisition includes Billboard Hot 100 No. 1’s like “Diamonds,” recorded by Rihanna, “Moves Like Jagger” recorded by Maroon 5, “Love Yourself” recorded by Justin Bieber, and “Señorita,” recorded by Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, plus “Eastside,” recorded by Blanco, Halsey & Khalid, “Roses,” recorded by Blanco and the late Juice WRLD featuring Brendon Urie, and others.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Investor interest in music copyrights remains at an all-time high, and while career-spanning catalogs from artists like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan have fetched among the highest reported sums, Blanco, 35, is among a growing cadre of younger producers, artists and songwriters who are electing to sell some of their copyrights while they are still actively making music.

This is the second rights sale Blanco, whose full name is Benjamin Joseph Levin, has done in recent years. In 2019, he sold Hipgnosis partial rights to some 90 songs, including his writer’s share in “Castle on the Hill,” which Blanco co-wrote and co-produced with Ed Sheeran.

A 2013 winner of the Hal David Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and multi-time recipient of BMI‘s songwriter of the year award, Blanco said his longstanding relationship with Litmus’s Dan McCarroll was the reason he chose them to handle these rights.

McCarroll, Litmus co-founder and chief creative officer, and Blanco met when the creative was 17 and McCarroll was running East Coast creative for EMI Publishing. The pair have since worked together on projects involving Keith Urban, Gym Class Heroes and Katy Perry, among others.

“I first crossed paths with Dan as a young teenager,” Blanco said in a statement. “I feel like we’ve had so many dinners and conversations that have gone beyond music and they really helped guide and shape me into the person I am today. There’s no better home I could imagine for such a meaningful part of my catalog.”

McCarroll speaks of the pride of watching him become the “incredible writer and producer he is today. We at Litmus are honored to work with him now to support part of his incredible catalog.”

Launched in August 2022, Litmus has $500 million in backing from Carlyle Global Credit, and aims to buy the publishing and recording rights of artists from a range of genres. In December, Litmus announced it bought Keith Urban‘s master recordings for an undisclosed sum. Forsyth previously held positions as executive vp at Warner Chappell and GM of Blue Note, while McCarroll served as president of both Warner Brothers Records and Capitol Records.

28 Jun 2023

Japan’s Daoko Talks New ‘Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie’ Theme ‘Tsuki no Hana’: Interview

J-pop vocalist Daoko was tapped to sing the theme for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie, a two-part animated feature due to hit Japanese theaters June 9 (Part 1) and June 30 (Part 2).

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The film depicts the final story of the Sailor Guardians, known as the Shadow Galactica arc. Daoko wrote the theme song “Tsuki no Hana” (“Moon Flower”) for this movie, set to be included in the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie Theme Song Collection, scheduled for release on the day Part 2 drops in theaters.

Daoko sat down with Billboard Japan to chat about the new song and her thoughts on the Sailor Moon franchise, which existed before she was born, the songwriting process for the movie theme, and where she expects to go next in her musical journey.

When did you first come across the Sailor Moon anime series?

I wasn’t born when the original series first aired, but reruns were being broadcast on cable TV when I was in kindergarten and that was the first time I watched it. The transformation scenes were cute, and from a kindergartener’s point of view, the characters were older young women and that also stands out in my memory. I see now that the items on the show like the rods are beautifully designed, but when I was little I just thought they were cute. We also pretended to be the Sailor Guardians in kindergarten.

What do you think is the appeal of the Sailor Moon franchise?

When I was little, I liked the visuals, transformation scenes, and worldview as a whole because I just thought everything was so cute. But now that I’ve grown up, and after watching the entire series over again, I thought it was cool how the concepts could be seen in the details of the design, like the planets being used as motifs. When I went to the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Museum (a major exhibition held in 2022), I took a long time looking at the transformation gear from each era.

You’ve mentioned that you “read the original manga and watched the anime series over and over again to take in the worldview more deeply” when creating the music for the movie.

Yes. I reread all the manga, watched the anime, and bought books containing model sheets and books geared towards fans to gaing new perspective on the work.

What part of “Tsuki no Hana” reflects what you took in through that process?

Since I knew that the song should exist alongside and support the world of Sailor Moon, I searched for a common language between my own worldview and that of the series. I tend to be too meticulous about being faithful to the source material and the original work, but Seiichi Nagai — who co-wrote the song with me — helped to loosen that up a bit, so that people who don’t know that “Tsuki no Hana” is from Sailor Moon will think it’s good when they hear it on the street. We aimed to please Sailor Moon fans while also adjusting the wording and the expression to make sure it also resonates with a wider audience. One of the themes was the nobility of the Sailor Guardians overcoming hardships.

Did the producers of the movie ask for the kind of music they wanted?

Since it was for the ending of the final chapter of the series, I initially had a ballad in mind, but as we discussed it further, it became clear they wanted the song to represent the strength of women and the thoughts of the Sailor Guardians as they confront their vicissitudes. Not mellow, but glorious. So the arrangement has powerful and dreamy elements to it.

Seiichi Nagai is the guitarist of TESTSET and also a supporting member of your backing band.

He’s been supporting me as a band member for my solo endeavors for a long time. We decided to form a new band called QUBIT with those same members, meaning he and I are now really bandmates. So we’re close like that, and I’ve also worked with him on several songs before. When he’s backing me in my solo projects, he peppers his performances with metal guitar flavors and I like his intense, cool playing style. His guitar playing also has a kind of starry sparkle to it that only he can create. I thought that would match the world of Sailor Moon and that’s why I invited him to collaborate.

The arrangement is credited to kensuke ushio, who also produces music under the name agraph. He’s worked on lots of anime-related music before. 

Mr. Nagai introduced us, and it was the first time I worked with Mr. ushio on a song’s arrangement. I thought he was so proficient. He made the song sound cool, and he scattered lots of sounds that would resonate nicely in a movie theater. The interlude is majestic, reminiscent of outer space, and we all had a lot of fun thinking about the song’s impact in theaters while working on it. I was in charge of singing and lyrics this time, so I didn’t get to see the entire exchange between the composer and arranger. It did kind of feel like something awesome was done before I knew it, and the demo came to me pretty much completed.

Have you received any response from your fans outside of Japan about releasing a Sailor Moon theme?

Sailor Moon is also very popular internationally, so I did receive many comments from people living in other countries when it was announced that I would be doing the theme song. My fanbase expanded internationally after working on anime music so I currently have quite a few fans in different countries. It seems they’re happy about my latest collaboration and looking forward to the movie’s release. I hope it’ll be a chance for people who like Sailor Moon to get to know Daoko. I’m sure people from many different countries will see the movie, and I wonder how “Tsuki no Hana” will sound to them.

When you perform outside of Japan, do you find the reactions of the audience different from those back home?

It depends on the country, and I do think there are individual differences, but people tend to be more expressive in a physical way. I guess it depends on the type of music, but in Japan, people are generally shy and seem to enjoy themselves internally, but elsewhere, people dance like crazy and that was also fun. I’d never seen anything like that before, so it left a big impression on me. Now I want the Japanese audience to dance, too, so I’ve been trying to build my shows to make it happen.

Are there any genres you’d like to try moving forward? Also, are you working on any new songs?

I think bands have their own cool ways of presenting themselves, but I decided to quit my former management to pursue what I like as Daoko the solo artist. I want to write cute anime music that falls under the “denpa song” genre (intentionally strange and catchy pop music). I want to write music that everyone can dance to at clubs, like “four-on-the-floor” stuff and house. I also want to expand the world in my demos, and since I’ve been practicing guitar recently, I’d like to write songs I can perform live “unplugged.” I like lots of music regardless of genre and want to keep doing music that I like. Right now, I have a strong desire to expand overseas, so I’ll probably make music with an overseas audience in mind, which probably means stuff people can dance to. I’d love to collaborate with artists from different countries, and am exploring various avenues at the moment.

—This interview by Akihiro Watanabe first appeared on Billboard Japan