Japan
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The rock band WENDY consists of four members, all of them men, with an average age of 19. Ranging from age 18 to 20, the teen band overflows with youth and vitality.
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Last year, they performed at SUMMER SONIC 2022, following up this year with a performance at METROCK 2023. They also performed a solo show at Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO in August of this year. Their shows are attended by listeners of all ages who keenly seek out new music, and they have a growing throng of fans who love the passion they pour into their live shows.
WENDY is establishing a big presence in the live scene, and everyone who hears them says the same thing: “I can’t believe they’re in their teens.” If you listen to their music, which is highly influenced by 1970s and 1980s roots music and hard rock, you’ll hear a fierceness and edge seldom found among Japanese artists, or even bands in other countries. Their melodies and lyrics are peppered with the essence of what it is to be a teenager, so they fit right into the 2020s. The band pairs its own unique originality with a sense of universality.
WENDY is made up of vocalist and guitarist Skye McKenzie, guitarist Paul, bassist Johnny Vincent, and drummer Sena. It was formed in Setagaya, Tokyo, in October 2020. Skye’s parents are British and Japanese, and Paul’s are Russian and Japanese. Skye is a native English speaker, so all of their song lyrics are in English. However, that’s not the only reason that their songs are in English.
The other reason for this choice is that every member of WENDY has their sights set on the world. From the very start, the members have shared a common dream: global success. But what does that entail? Winning a Grammy? Playing shows in huge overseas venues? We’d love to talk to the band and find out more.
In a previous interview, Skye has stated that he wants to play at London’s Wembley Stadium. There have been some recent new developments that are sure to put a smile on the faces of these ambitious musicians hoping to take on the world. The songs “SCREAM” and “Chasing a song,” which are featured on their first album, Don’t waste my YOUTH, released on August 23, 2023, have appeared in many Spotify playlists in countries such as the U.K., the U.S., and France, and the number of Spotify monthly listeners is soaring. Monthly listener numbers have grown more than ten-fold compared to before the album’s release. More and more of the comments on their socials are from overseas listeners, and they’re starting to draw steady attention from the global rock scene.
Despite being their debut album, Don’t waste my YOUTH was produced by Marc Whitmore, whose past production credits include Jon Batiste’s We Are, winner of the Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, and The Black Keys’ album Let’s Rock. In the “RECORDING MAKING with Marc Whitmore” feature of the album’s limited edition DVD, Marc has high praise for their musical sensibilities, saying, “They truly understand what rock and roll is, and that’s why they have to play it.”
In September, they performed in W24&WENDY: Rock n Roll is Back, a two group event at the Rollinghall club in Seoul, South Korea, playing alongside the up-and-coming K-pop band W24. This was their first overseas show, at a venue with a capacity of 500 people. However, the played their hearts out, undaunted, and Skye engaged with the audience in English, taking full command of the show’s tone.
Each show they put on, not only does the band get better at performing, but they also get better at confidently MCing. At the Korean show, the audience shouted and applauded as Skye talked, spurring them on. Their performance was a roaring success. With this show, WENDY has started building up a track record of success in their overseas performances. They’ve taken one step closer to being a global band.
However, WENDY is taking on the world through rock, and if you’ve looked at the music charts, you’ve seen that the rock genre has been struggling, not only in Japan but globally, as well. This is sure to be putting pressure on the band as they take the road of playing the kind of music they truly want to play, but you don’t get even the slightest sense of worry from the band members or their music. Perhaps the secret is hidden in the chorus of “SCREAM.”
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Don’t waste your time
Think about what people think of u
I don’t wanna be
Just a kid that sits around
I’ll scream out loud
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You get a strong sense of their commitment to doing what they want to do, regardless of what others might think. When you listen to the song, it’s clear where their bold stance, their energetic live shows, and their repertoire comes from. But it isn’t just their strong wills. Their fundamental love of music, rock, and live shows shines through to listeners, and it might be what’s behind the excitement of the audience at their Korean show and their positions on overseas playlists.
That’s not enough for WENDY, though. They understand that they’re only at the starting line of their efforts to take the world head-on with rock music. They’ll be refining their live performances and polishing the quality of their music, because the world they’re aiming for is a huge one.
It’s a great joy to be able to see WENDY take on the world with their brave, confident style, and hopes are high for their future success in the Japanese and global rock scenes.
Sakurazaka46’s “Shoninyokkyu” hits No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Oct. 25, ending Ado’s consecutive reign atop the list at four weeks.
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The girl group’s seventh single — the title means “esteem needs” — features second-gen member Hikaru Morita in center position of the choreography, and is the last song including first-gen member Mizuho Habu, who is set to leave the group in November.
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The song launched with 545,944 CDs, surpassing the group’s own record set by the previous single (“Start Over!,” 523,606 first-week copies) to rule physical sales. Streaming for the new single also surpassed its predecessor by 25 percent, racking up 7,882,683 streams to hit No. 5 for the metric. The track is at No. 13 for downloads (3,343 units) and No. 51 for radio.
Ado’s “Show” slips to No. 2 after holding at No. 1 for four straight weeks. But the song racked up 14,227,857 weekly streams (up approximately 1.17 percent from the previous week) to hold at No. 1 for the metric, while also continuing to rule downloads and video views. It also rises 18-14 for karaoke. Ado collaborated with Universal Studios Japan for its Halloween event “Halloween Horror Nights” for this track, featured as the theme for the event’s dance show “Zombie de Dance” continuing through Nov. 5. With Halloween less than a week away, the song still could return to the top spot on the Japan Hot 100.
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MAZZEL’s “Carnival” debuts at No. 4. The rising boy band’s second single hits No. 2 for sales with 52,448 copies sold, surpassing its debut single “Vivid,” which launched with 43,340 copies. The eight-member group also hits No. 4 for downloads with 9,289 first-week units — also performing much better than its predecessor (2,682 units) — and is at No. 3 for radio.
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Fujii Kaze’s “Hana” rises 11-7 this week, breaking into the top 10 on the Japan Hot 100. The theme of the new TV series Ichiban Sukina Hana that premiered Oct. 12 moved 55-12 for streaming after points for the track increased by about 111 percent from the previous week. Points for video also jumped 77-21 with a 71 percent increase.
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The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 16 to 22, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
Earlier this year — on a warm day in May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — a septet of young women fought nerves backstage at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Just over a year after its official debut, the group XG was in town for Head in the Clouds, a music festival celebrating […]
Koki Kimura is the man behind the smartphone game Monster Strike, which has gone on to become a popular content brand worldwide, bringing in over $10 billion in revenue. In June 2018 he was appointed president of MIXI Inc., and he has been focusing the company’s efforts on sports business. Takehito Masui of Warner Music Japan talked with Kimura about what led to his turning Monster Strike into more than just a game, expanding it into a full range of entertainment that includes real-world events, music, and anime. Kimura discussed what he has hoped to accomplish by doing so and what he sees as the future of sports and music.
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Takehito Masui: You’re currently the president of MIXI, but originally you were a game producer. Your smartphone game Monster Strike was a huge hit, with one trillion yen in revenue over a six year period. What do you think made it so successful at capturing people’s hearts?
Kimura: I think everyone has a desire to stay in constant contact with their old and trusted friends. In fact, they’re looking for excuses to stay connected. If you’re an adult, you can create opportunities to stay connected by saying, “I’ve got this work, do you want to do it together?” I was thinking that children also needed some sort of pretext to play together. AAA games had satisfied that need in the past, but now people were playing mobile games instead. I think that’s what led to Monster Strike’s explosive popularity.
Masui: Thanks to Monster Strike’s success, MIXI’s market capitalization grew 30-fold, from roughly 20 billion yen to roughly 600 billion yen. At the time, you were still a game creator. The environment around you has changed dramatically, but has your mindset also undergone any changes?
Kimura: Yes. One of the big changes was that I started paying attention to what was going on overseas. In 2015, Monster Strike had the highest annual sales of any smartphone app in the world, but most of those sales came from Japan. If you do business that exclusively targets the local Japanese market, you’ll quickly reach your limits. However, the whole world needs communication tools, not just Japan. When I started thinking “we might be successful overseas, too,” I started travelling far more often to overseas locations such as the U.S., Korea, and China.
Masui: In around 2018, Monster Strike evolved from being just a game to being an entire entertainment brand. Music became a much bigger part of it.
Kimura: We expanded it from games to a broader range of entertainment with an eye toward using the power of a mix of media to provide people with more opportunities use to extend invitations to others. Our idea was that this would make it possible for people to reach out even to folks who didn’t enjoy gaming.
Masui: Your owned media for sharing Monster Strike news includes an official Monster Strike YouTube channel. Currently (as of September 2023) there are 1.33 million subscribers. Then you launched the Monster Strike Anime TV channel. That has 640,000 subscribers (as of September 2023). The Monster Strike anime generated a lot of buzz, leading to a theatrical anime release.
Kimura: Collaborations were a big factor behind us branching out into anime. Our IP collaborations go all the way back to April 2014 with our Rascal the Raccoon IP collaboration. Then, starting with Evangelion in May 2015, we sold characters within Monster Strike. Of course, there are some people who start Monster Strike expressly for the characters featured in collaborations, but even more than that, it brings people together because they’re saying “hey, I hear Monster Strike’s doing an XYZ tie-up!”
We believed that a story could provide the game with even more added value, so why not make the story ourselves? And that’s what led to us making the anime. Monster Strike itself is a simple action game, so it’s not great at setting up a story and getting people emotionally invested.
Masui: Then you got into music, starting with the Monster Strike Orchestra, right?
Kimura: For our orchestra project, we were inspired by Dragon Quest. The music used in Monster Strike is orchestral, so we thought it would sound great if we had it performed by an orchestra, like Dragon Quest.
Masui: Then there’s the spin-off “Monsoni!” which consists of music played by game characters. The game’s characters have become musical artists, playing their own original music. What were you aiming for with this strategy?
Kimura: My own approach is to make surprising users our highest priority, so every day I thought about what we could do next that would really surprise our users. I thought, “I’m sure they were surprised with the orchestra, so what’s next?” I figured it would be fun if we did a pop music collaboration.
Actually, to let you in a little on my ulterior motives, with pop music, idols, and bands, there are a lot of fans not only of the music but also of the artists that create it. You don’t see that kind of excitement with an orchestra. So I thought if we made the characters of the game into idols, we could not only produce musical excitement, but also make hit characters. Then we could sell those bands and groups in the game. We developed our plans with the twin goals of sharing Monster Strike in a new way, through music, and of developing new products for use within the game.
Masui: The characters in the game have their own personalities, and in the anime they’re voiced. The voice actors from the anime also perform the song vocals, and the music is sold on physical CDs, just like flesh-and-blood artists. The personal qualities of the characters are consistent across all the media they appear in. There have been artists that started out as anime characters, but what makes this interesting is that even before that, these characters were game characters.
In 2016, you started your XFLAG PARK live entertainment shows (now called “DREAMDAZE”). What was your aim with this?
Kimura: The phrase “content marketing” may sound a little dry, but there’s a certain passion that you just can’t generate with bought media. That kind of passion can only be generated by creating it through content.
Our idea was to reap the returns through the game, so we don’t aim to recoup the full cost through tickets alone. At a recent DREAMDAZE, we revealed the new Lucifer Transcension: Kai. After the event, the character sold exceptionally well. We can recoup the costs that way, so even if events are costly, we want to create new things people have never seen before.
Masui: The 2019 XFLAG PARK attracted 40,000 people and 340,000 people watched the live stream. That scale rivals many famous music festivals. I’d imagine that you did this to broaden the range of opportunities you’re presenting people to extend invitations to their friends. Have you had any difficulties in reaching fans who are normally focused on entirely different genres?
Kimura: I don’t think there’s very much conflict. Monster Strike is, essentially, about getting together with friends or family members, bringing your smartphones to the same place and having fun together. In that sense, it’s not so much an online game as an offline game.
Some people might not like a particular artist at first, but through the process of playing with friends, having a shared experience with them as they take in the artist’s work, many will gain an appreciation for the artists. For example, when people go to karaoke and everyone sings an artist’s songs, the songs become a shared language and everyone has a fun time. That’s why I think Monster Strike is a really good fit for music and artists.
Masui: What are your plans for overseas markets?
Kimura: I want to continue our philosophy of sharing the value of communication with people around the world. Right now, we’re focusing on Asia. Asia’s population is huge. India, in particular, is a population giant, home to 1.4 billion people. 25 million babies are born every year. The population will provide a powerful boost in the future, and I think we might see Asia developing a strong economic sphere that surpasses those of the U.S. and Europe.
Looking at smartphone communications alone, India has a 46% smartphone adoption rate, making it the country with the second highest number of smartphone users, behind China. Also, due to political reasons, Chinese apps such as TikTok are banned in India. I think that, as a country closed off to China, India presents tremendous business opportunities to us as a Japanese company.
—This interview by Yuuka Higaki first appeared on Billboard Japan
Ado continues to rule the Billboard Japan Hot 100 on the chart dated Oct. 18, with “Show” holding the top spot for the fourth consecutive week.
Downloads for the theme of Universal Studios Japan’s Halloween event are slightly down 0.9% down from the previous week to 15,394 units, but rises 2-1 for the metric. The “Zombie de Dance” number is also at No. 1 for streaming for the fourth straight week (14,227,857 weekly streams, also down 0.9%) and video for the second week. Meanwhile, “Show” shot up from No. 48 to No. 18 for karaoke, indicating that the song is beginning to reach a wider audience.
Ado also has another song in the top 10 this week, with her SPYxFAMILY Season 2 opener “Kurakura” hitting No. 9 on the Japan Hot 100. After the new season premiered on Oct. 7, the “New Genesis” singer’s brand-new banger is at No. 5 for downloads (8,979 units), No. 19 for streaming (3,971,190 streams), No. 8 for radio, and No. 17 for video. In related news. Vaundy’s “Todome no Ichigeki (feat. Cory Wong),” the groovy ending theme for the same anime, debuts at No. 22 during this chart week.
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INI’s “HANA” debuts at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 this week, selling 458,698 copies in its first week. The eleven-member boy band’s 5th single rules physical sales, while coming in at No. 4 for downloads (9,623 units). The music video has been viewed over 5.37 million times on YouTube as of publication, landing the song at No. 26 for video.
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YOASOBI follows, with “Idol” overtaking “The Brave” this week to come in Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. In addition to the release of the duo’s new album THE BOOK 3, increased media exposure including appearances on TV has reinvigorated “Idol,” the record-holder for most weeks at No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100. Downloads for the track is at No. 8 with 5,539 units (up 0.78 percent) and streaming at No. 2 with 10,620,712 streams (up 0.95 percent), which is about 1.26 times more than the weekly streams for “The Brave.” The long-running hit is also at No. 2 for video, No. 39 for radio, and holds at No. 1 for karaoke for the 21st consecutive week.
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“The Brave” is currently at No. 3 for downloads (13,397 units), No. 4 for streaming (8,402,399 streams, up 0.96 percent), No. 19 for radio, and No. 4 for video. The music video on YouTube has racked up over 13.98 million views at the time of publication.
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The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 9 to 15, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
Japanese punk band HEY-SMITH has announced that they were tapped to perform the ending theme for the Tenjiku Arc of the TV anime Tokyo Revengers. The song, “Say My Name,” is the band’s first new song in a year and its first anime tie-in.
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Formed in 2006, the six-piece band has undergone several changes in membership before settling on its current lineup in 2015: guitarist and vocalist Shuhei Igari, bassist and vocalist YUJI, saxophonist Mitsuru, drummer Task-n, trombonist Kanasu, and trumpeter Ken Iikawa. In 2020, it signed with veteran American punk label ASIAN MAN RECORDS and began streaming its album Life In The Sun World Edition around the world. HEY-SMITH is a melodic punk band with its own horn section. Their most famous songs include “Endless Sorrow,” which riffs on the melody of the Farandole from Georges Bizet’s “The Girl from Arles,” “Be the One,” which combines the heavy sound of metal with an energetic melody, and “NOT a TV show,” which they played on their first appearance on a music TV program in 2018. HEY-SMITH’s leader, Igari, is responsible for both the band’s lyrics and music. Through their music, the band has always shared the core ethos of punk, that people need to speak up and make themselves heard so they can continue to live free and have fun.
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HEY-SMITH performs almost 150 shows a year and is known as a dyed-in-the-wool live band. In 2022, despite the pandemic, they did a tour of all 47 Japanese prefectures. During the summer, they’re invited to play in festivals and shows with other bands across the country, performing almost every week. They also organize their own outdoor festival, “OSAKA HAZIKETEMAZARE FESTIVAL,” spearheading their own movement.
In 2017, they only played two solo shows. Even in their own tours, they almost always play with opening acts. The members of the band decide on their openers themselves, reaching out to bands that they’ve seen in shows and been impressed by. They choose bands that put on good shows, regardless of how long they’ve been playing or how well-known they are. This inspires HEY-SMITH and livens up the music scene.
Listeners aren’t the only ones supporting their blistering live performances and other activities. They also enjoy solid support from other bands, and there are countless episodes that show how they are truly a “band loved by bands.” For example, in 2019, while Igari was hospitalized for pneumothorax surgery, the rest of the band performed in a show called “Kyoto Daisakusen 2019.” The members of SiM, coldrain, dustbox, and 04 Limited Sazabys came together to help the band through this pinch. The show featured a tremendous on-stage collaboration of different artists.
HEY-JUMP is a powerhouse, a name familiar to everyone who is into Japanese bands, especially those who go to see live music. Now, they’ve created the ending theme to the TV anime Tokyo Revengers. This must have come as a surprise to a lot of people. When the announcement was made, the jacket of their new single, “Say My Name,” was also unveiled. The jacket features the members of HEY-SMITH replaced with Tokyo Revengers characters. People must also have been surprised by the new jacket — yet, at the same time, found it a perfect fit.
“Say My Name” was released on the same day as the second episode of the anime was broadcast. The song begins with YUJI’s high-pitched vocals, a driving rhythm, and a melody played by the horn section. Igari then leaps in with a shouted vocal line. Listening to the song, it’s easy to imagine the scene of an audience going wild at a live show, kicking up a cloud of dust as the heavy sound of the music washes over them. The song’s theme of fighting for hope and freedom reflects HEY-SMITH’s own punk spirit. But, at the same time, the lyrics “You are my hero and you cry/I know I know I know I know/we defeat everything” evoke the story of Tokyo Revengers and its characters, such as Takemichi Hanagaki, who leaps back in time over and over to change a bleak future, and his girlfriend Hinata Tachibana, who maintains an unswerving faith in Takemichi. The song is perfect as a new HEY-SMITH song and as the ending theme of the Tenjiku Arc of the TV anime Tokyo Revengers. Clocking in at just 1 minute and 48 seconds, it’s a short tune without a moment of fat, an electrifying demonstration of the band’s talents.
On October 11, HEY-SMITH released the single “Say My Name.” This will also mark the major debut of HEY-SMITH on Pony Canyon. What’s more, they’ve announced that on November 1, they’ll be releasing a new album, Rest In Punk. This will be their 6th full album and the first in almost 5 years. Following their album release, on November 16, they will be starting their largest tour ever, the nation-spanning Rest In Punk Tour. They’ve already announced show dates up to April 10 of next year, but their tour schedule ends with “And more…” so new dates are likely to be added. Here’s hoping that the band’s major label debut will usher in an even more active period in the band’s history.
–This article by Chinami Hachisuka first appeared on Billboard Japan
Ado’s “Show” logs its third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Oct. 11, continuing to improve in various metrics in a balanced way.
On the chart tallying the week ending Oct. 8, the Halloween event theme for Universal Studios Japan holds at No. 2 for downloads for the second week with 16,486 units, increasing by 0.9 percent from the week before. The track also continues to rule streaming for the third week in a row with 14,258,058 weekly streams, also an 0.9 percent increase. In other metrics of the chart’s methodology, “Show” rises 2-1 for video views and comes in at No. 7 for radio and No. 48 for karaoke.
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YOASOBI dominate the next two slots this week, with the hit-making duo’s latest track “The Brave” rising 9-2 and former No. 1 hit “Idol” holding at No. 3. The former, the opener for the high fantasy anime Frieren, continues to rule downloads with 21,267 units. Streaming for the track soared by about three times the previous week to hit 8,139,175 streams, leaping 49-4 for the metric. The music video has currently racked up over 9 million views to rise 7-4 for video, and the song also soars 51-5 for radio.
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The latter, the 21-week record-holder for longest stay at No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100, is currently at No. 3 for streaming, No. 10 for downloads, No. 3 for video, No. 46 for radio, and logs its 20th week at No. 1 for karaoke.
NMB48‘s “Nagisa Saiko!” debuts at No. 5 this week. The girl group’s 28th single sold 262,542 copies in the first week — 67,657 more copies than its predecessor, “Sukidamushi” to rule physical sales. It’s a fitting send-off to popular member Nagisa Shibuya, who will be leaving the group after being featured in center position for the last time.
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Two tracks by BTS’s Jung Kook charts in the top 10 this week. His collaboration with Jack Harlow, “3D,” debuted on the Japan Hot 100 on the chart dated Oct. 4 at No. 17 after the single dropped Sept. 29, and climbs to No. 7 this week. The track is at No. 9 for downloads, No. 12 for streaming, No. 20 for radio, and No. 8 for video. His hit collab with Latto, “Seven,” is at No. 10 this week on its 13th week on the chart, coming in at No. 7 for streaming with 6,337,765 weekly streams, maintaining a higher count than “3D,” which logged 4,955,275 streams this week.
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Three-man band shy taupe reached a new career-high on the Japan Hot 100, with “Rendez-vous” breaking into the top 10 at No. 8. This song bowed on the chart dated Aug. 23 at No. 66, then made its way to No. 14 two weeks later. It spent the next five weeks in the top 20 and hit its current position this week. The track is powered by streaming, which increased by about 0.9 percent from the previous week at 7,235,586 weekly streams, coming in No. 6. It’s still rising in other metrics, with downloads moving 67-54, video 50-33, and karaoke 56-52 on its 10th week on the chart.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 2 to 8, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
LE SSERAFIM is the latest artist in Billboard Japan’s monthly feature interview series which presents various artists and works that have caught its eye. Making its debut in May 2022, they are the first girl group produced by SOURCE MUSIC and HYBE, the label behind BTS and countless other global artists.
In January of this year, LE SSERAFIM released their first Japanese single, “FEARLESS,” and held a showcase event to commemorate it. In May, the group released its 1st studio album, UNFORGIVEN. The album took the top position on Billboard Japan‘s “Hot Albums” overall album chart, the “Top Albums Sales” weekly album sales chart, and the “Download Albums” chart.
A Japanese version of the album’s title track, “UNFORGIVEN,” was released in August as their second Japanese single. “UNFORGIVEN (feat. Nile Rodgers, Ado) -Japanese ver.-” features Ado, and a Japan-exclusive track, “Jewelry (Prod. imase)” was produced by imase, generating buzz in Japan. Billboard Japan spoke to LE SSERAFIM about what’s happened in the year since their debut, their well-received album and latest single, and their first solo tour. (Due to scheduling issues, HUH YUNJIN was not able to take part in the interview with the rest of the group and was interviewed on her own at a later date.)
It’s been roughly a year since your debut. Could you tell us where each of you thinks you’ve achieved the most personal growth over the course of this year?
KAZUHA: My greatest growth has been in how much my Korean has improved.
What about you, KIM CHAEWON?
KIM CHAEWON: Before our debut, and right after our debut, I wasn’t yet in the right frame of mind to enjoy myself while I was performing on stage. Now, though, I’ve become comfortable enough to have fun on stage. I think that’s an area where I’ve grown a lot.
Could you talk a bit about what makes LE SSERAFIM unique and what your strengths are?
SAKURA: A lot of our lyrics are based on our actual life experiences, so I think our songs can encourage and resonate with people who are going through similar experiences. I think our strength lies in the fact that we sing about our philosophy of how you can live your life.
What about your live performances?
KIM CHAEWON: When we get up on stage, we try to create a live show together with all of our fans, as a group effort. For example, we put in call & response sections so that the audience can respond.
In May, you released your first studio album, UNFORGIVEN. I’ve heard that you recorded several of the songs in Japan. Did you have any insights or discoveries during the recording process?
SAKURA: On this album, there were a lot of songs in genres that I didn’t have much experience with, for example, “Fire in the belly” which has a lot of Latin-influenced sounds. So when we were recording, I discovered new voices I didn’t know I had. Sometimes it was hard, but I think with UNFORGIVEN, listeners will be able to enjoy all kinds of genres through the entire album.
What did you do to prepare for recording?
KAZUHA: We began recording “UNFORGIVEN (feat. Nile Rodgers)” in Japan, and my approach was to sing the opening words “Unforgiven, I’m a villain, I’m a” in a kind of dark, cool way. But I got some advice to try singing it with a bit of a lighter tone, and when I tried it out, the producer was also like, “right there, that’s it.” That part sticks with you, and the producer said he wanted to make it an addictive hook, so I’m glad I was able to pull off that part so well. I think the recording of this album allowed me to experience the best possible recording process, despite the time limitations we were under.
KIM CHAEWON: We didn’t have that much time for recording, so I took a lot of care to make sure my voice was in its best condition.
HONG EUNCHAE: I sang a somewhat long part in “UNFORGIVEN (feat. Nile Rodgers).” It was my first time doing that, and I wanted to do really well, so I practiced to show the best version of myself.
I feel like your first studio album, UNFORGIVEN, was made with this desire to pave your own way, without being held back by how other people see you or what they think. The album has gained support from a lot of fans and reached the top of the hit charts. What do you think that means for you and how do you feel about the response to the album?
KIM CHAEWON: Our goal wasn’t breaking into the charts when we were preparing for the recording. We just wanted to do what we could and to express ourselves through music. That’s what we were focused on when we made the album. We figured that people would see what we accomplished and recognition would follow.
SAKURA: UNFORGIVEN dropped the day before we celebrated our first anniversary, and you can see the hard work we put in over the course of that year. A lot of people discovered us through “ANTIFRAGILE,” and I think the expectations people had for us had a good impact on us. The real test will be where we go from here. I want us to continue making the kind of music that only we can.
HUH YUNJIN: I can feel the love that so many people have for our songs and performances, and I’m so happy that the message we’re trying to share is reaching people. I want us to be a team that has a positive influence on people who see us perform, helping them courageously join hands and keep pushing forward.
Could you talk a bit about your second Japanese single, “UNFORGIVEN?” One of the songs on the single is a Japan-exclusive produced by imase titled “Jewelry (Prod. imase)” What are the highlights of this song?
KIM CHAEWON: The lyrics are beautiful. A lot of LE SSERAFIM songs have a cool, sophisticated atmosphere, but “Jewelry (Prod. imase)” is a bright, cheery song.
SAKURA: I think it’s a real ear-pleaser, perfect for listening to on late-night drives. A lot of LE SSERAFIM songs are rap-oriented songs, but when we recorded this song we tried to make our voices really shine.
KAZUHA: Usually, during recording, I break things down very precisely, like, “in this part, I’ll do this, and in this part, I’ll do this.” With “Jewelry (Prod. imase),” though, I just felt the energy and had a blast singing.
HONG EUNCHAE: The word “sparkling” appears a few times in the lyrics, and when I sang the song I envisioned beautiful, sparkling scenes and vibed as I sang.
HUH YUNJIN: I love the city pop genre, and both the music and lyrics are wonderful.
The title song, “UNFORGIVEN (feat. Nile Rodgers, Ado) -Japanese ver.-” features the Japanese singer Ado. How did you feel when the decision was made to collaborate with her?
HONG EUNCHAE: I knew that Ado was a very well-known artist, so I couldn’t believe it when I found out she’d be collaborating on one of our songs.
KAZUHA: Ado has a truly unique singing voice, so I was excited to hear how she’d sound on her collaboration with us.
HUH YUNJIN: It was so unexpected, I couldn’t believe it. I remember being impressed with what a wonderful artist Ado was the first time I heard her. I never expected to be able to work with her.
You started your first solo tour, 2023 LE SSERAFIM TOUR ‘FLAME RISES,’ with a performance in Seoul on August 12. In Japan, you played in Nagoya, Tokyo, and Osaka. Where did the “FLAME RISES” in the tour name come from?
SAKURA: It refers to us burning the path we walked behind us so there would be no going back, our only choice would be to keep going forward. It’s also because we wanted to put on a blazing hot show.
What has the response been like?
KIM CHAEWON: Even before we debuted, we had our eyes set on putting on concerts. I was so glad to be able to put on our first LE SSERAFIM tour. I’ve had a hard time even believing it. We’re making sure to take good care of our health, and hopefully we can bring the tour to a successful conclusion.
SAKURA: A lot of concerts end with a quiet, soulful song, but we’re ending our concerts with a really exciting song that gets the audience amped up. Like the image evoked by our tour name, “FLAME RISES,” we want to be on fire up on stage. At our shows, we’ve seen the audience enjoying the show with every fiber of their being, so it’s been a thrill for us, too.
HUH YUNJIN: It’s been so fun. I’m so grateful that people have taken time out of their busy schedules to come see us. I want us to keep enjoying ourselves in our shows, staying healthy and putting on impressive performances.
Do you have any final message for our readers or your fans?
KIM CHAEWON: I hope you put our second Japanese single, “UNFORGIVEN,” on heavy rotation, and if you come to one of our shows, I hope you have the time of your life.
SAKURA: I’m so glad to be able to experience first-hand the love people feel for our music. We’re going to keep putting on great shows for the rest of this tour, and then achieve even further growth in preparation for our next tour, so we look forward to your ongoing support.
Tokoyami Towa debuted in 2020 as one of hololive’s fourth-generation group of virtual YouTubers, and currently boasts more than 1.3 million subscribers on her channel. The VTuber whose main draw is gaming livestreams also releases videos of herself singing covers and original music, showing off her signature strong, husky voice and wide vocal range.
Tokoyami — her name is stylized in Japanese order, surname first — recently dropped her first album called Aster, a highly anticipated project that showcases her potential as a vocalist through tracks written by a team of distinctive creators. The Startend VTuber shared her thoughts on her 12-track debut set and its production process, including how the rare collaborations with other VTubers and streamers were made possible.
What motivated you to become a VTuber?
The reason I joined hololive was because I wanted to make friends. I enjoyed watching and playing first-person shooters from around that time and although hololive is a group of “idols,” I thought it’d be interesting to be an idol and a gamer at the same time. The nice thing about gaming livestreams is how you can watch the players improve. They exchange ideas and work hard with each other to compete. I want to convey through my activities that working hard isn’t something to be embarrassed about and that the accumulation of your efforts up to that point is more important than winning or losing.
In a sense, your debut album Aster embodies the accumulation of your career up to this point. Tell us about its concept.
I wanted it to express who Tokoyami Towa is. This album also has a hidden theme that I encourage everyone to speculate about. It took me a long time to decide on it. I looked back on things like what I was feeling at the time and the work I’ve done over the years.
The lead single “ANEMONE” was written by music producer Yuyoyuppe (Mamiya Takehiro). Why did you choose this song as the face of the album?
It was really hard to decide. I thought it’d be okay to not have a lead single at all since there are so many different genres of songs on the album. But I felt that “ANEMONE” was the one that showed Tokoyami Towa’s strengths that separate her from other VTubers, both from hololive and elsewhere, so that’s why I chose it.
Could you elaborate on what you mean by “Tokoyami Towa’s strengths”?
First, I have a good vocal range. I can keep my voice steady when I hit high notes, and that’s also one of my strengths. Blistering heavy metal numbers like “ANEMONE” aren’t common in the VTuber industry, so being able to sing such songs with a strong voice is Tokoyami Towa’s signature style.
What thoughts went into the lyrics?
Over the course of my career, people have said nice things to me, and also not-so-nice things as well. I get hung up on the negative stuff sometimes, but in the end I want to decide what I want to do and live my life as I am. When I told these feelings to Yuyoyuppe, he was like, “That’s really great, let’s incorporate it.” That’s how the phrase “I want to live as I am” came about as we worked on the lyrics.
So your usual livestreaming activities and musical ones like this project closely influence each other?
It’s like of like, “Let’s use music to express the stuff I usually can’t say.” For the song “Taidana Wonder” on the album, I wanted to convey feelings like “what a drag, I don’t wanna do anything, I feel lazy, I’m sleepy” in an endearing way. I didn’t think a solid rock band sound would fit the lyrics, so when I heard Botchiboromaru’s “Otose Thunder” on TikTok, I thought the light, fresh style would be a great fit, so I asked them to write it for me.
“Antares” features nine guest vocalists. The lineup isn’t limited to your colleagues from hololive, but also includes VTubers and streamers from other agencies.
I’m an outlier in hololive in that I have a lot of opportunities to collaborate with people from other organizations. My management has given me its blessing regarding this and I think it’s one of my selling points, so I wanted to do collaborations on this album as well, which is why I approached various people from other companies and also other hololive VTubers. “Antares” was written with the collaboration in mind. I wanted to do a singalong. I thought it’d be nice to sing it together with the audience at a live show.
Do you think these collaborations are connected to what you said about first becoming a VTuber, being motivated by wanting to make friends?
Yes. As a VTuber and streamer, I want to incorporate good influences as much as I can, and before anything, I want to do fun stuff. As I always tell my fans, I don’t want to do what I do out of obligation. I want to communicate how I’m having fun and get people to have fun watching me do that. So the way I see it, the companies my collaborators belong to don’t matter, as long as what we do together is enjoyable.
You collaborate with Nekota Tsuna, who belongs to VSPO! (Virtual eSports Project), on the last song on the album called “Nininsankyaku.” How did this one come about?
Singing and playing first-person shooters are Tokoyami Towa’s two mainstays. I often get to participate in FPS gaming competitions, and when I teamed up with Tsuna, we cried and laughed together and deepened our friendship. We share good memories together and she’s now one of my best friends. That’s why I wanted to sing a song with Tsuna and asked the management about making it happen. I think our fans probably know about our relationship, so I hope we can perform together on stage someday. I’ve been listening to the song at least once a day lately. It moves me every time I hear it while I’m doing something. [Laughs]
Did Tsuna have a say in the song’s creative process?
Before the song went into production, Tsuna and I wrote out these lengthy memos about what we thought about each other. Even cheesy stuff like, “I’m stronger now thanks to you.” [Laughs] We prepared these letters, I guess you could call them, and sent them to the songwriters, who then reflected them in the lyrics for us. I think the song really captures that spirit. There’s this part where we take turns singing, and we had a great time recording it while expressing our feelings to each other.
Your first solo concert called Break your xxx is set for Friday, Oct. 13. What will the show be like?
I’ll be performing with a live band, so it’ll be a wild, fun show. I’m working hard to prepare for it right now because I want to make sure my voice won’t be overshadowed by the band’s sound, and that my feelings will reach everyone, and that both the people who come and those who join the livestream will think, “That was awesome.”
What’s the meaning behind the title of the show?
There were times I felt anxious and depressed over the course of my career, but thanks to my fans and the management, I’m able to do live shows like this now. The meaning behind “Break your xxx” is that I wanted to overcome my gloomy feelings and gain confidence, overcome myself. I’m sure everyone goes through times of pain and hardship, but I want to invite people to break those things together at my concert. What goes into the “xxx” is up to you. Everyone is building this concert together.
Tell us about your vision for the future beyond your debut album and first live performance.
I’d love to do a second concert, of course, and I’d love to stand on stages outside of Japan. My fans in other countries were also very supportive of me when I was faltering, so I want to go express my gratitude to them.
Tomohisa Yamashita‘s latest album, Sweet Vision, is now available for streaming. Yamashita, who began his career in 1996, has achieved a fabulous level of stardom. He’s a household name in Japan and a famous musician and actor throughout Asia.
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He has appeared in shows streamed around the world, such as Netflix’s Alice in Borderland, Max’s TOKYO VICE, and Apple TV+’s Drops of God. Although he has recently focused on acting, he has taken a step in a new direction as a singer with the release of Sweet Vision. What kind of future does this album depict, and what kinds of hope does it convey?
In the early 2010s, you performed a lot of songs written by other famous Japanese artists. Your sound changed dramatically, though, with your last album, UNLEASHED, which you released in 2018. You wrote the lyrics for almost all of the songs on the new album, right?
Tomohisa Yamashita: By taking part myself, I was able to create songs that I felt more comfortable with, and the process was more enjoyable. I wanted listeners to get a bit of a sense of where I am now. When I’m filming TV series or movies, I don’t really have the time or energy to think about anything else, but with this album I was able to devote time to working on the music. I’m happy to have been able to focus on preparing the music to perform in future concerts. I really wanted to share the music and concerts as a single, combined set.
What kind of message did you set out to share when you made the album?
Tomohisa Yamashita: I always wanted to convey a message of hope, and in creating the new album I wanted to make music that provides people with a brighter vision of the future. If you don’t have a clear vision in your mind, you can’t make that vision a reality. I’ve turned my own visions into reality. I believe that what’s important is how clearly and powerfully you can conceptualize, and I hope through the new album to provide an opportunity for people to create their own wonderful visions. If I didn’t want to put on a concert, or if there weren’t people who wanted me to put on a concert, these shows would also never become realities. There’s a lot that I can’t achieve all on my own, but I’ve done what I could to turn my ideas into reality, and all kinds of miracles have occurred to help make that possible.
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The lead single from the album, “Sweet Vision,” includes the lyric “People cannot stay free of blemish.” What do you mean by that?
Tomohisa Yamashita: If you’re 100% unsullied, you won’t even notice that you’re pure. When you get hurt — when you get scuffed and scratched — you get stronger. It’s better to be hurt, because it strengthens you. I think that taking on new challenge after new challenge, without seeing failure or pain as negatives, ultimately leads to love.
You’ve talked about failing multiple auditions. Honestly speaking, wouldn’t you rather make it through life free of damage?
Tomohisa Yamashita: You get used to being hurt. You lose your fear of pain and of failure, and when you lose that fear, your likelihood of succeeding improves. I’m a voracious learner, and I feel like taking a proactive stance also makes me better on an emotional level. It provides me with greater depth as a person, and I think it’s important to keep going forward, without fear.
Are there any rules that you apply to your own activities?
Tomohisa Yamashita: I always try to stay honest to myself. Also, over the years, I’ve really come to feel that maintaining this level of activity is no easy feat, so I’m constantly trying to take on challenges so that I don’t give up on myself.
On the Amazon Prime show SEE HEAR LOVE, you played a blind character. Considering that role and your own life experiences that have been in the album, “vision” is really a word for what you’re talking about.
Tomohisa Yamashita: The album has a lot of different elements and a lot of different influences. It’s a collection of all kinds of things I find pleasant at this point in my life. It also has an element of serendipity, and it flows naturally.
The first song, “Anima,” felt like it was announcing that the album was going to provide a window into you. What were you trying to convey by making this the first song?
Tomohisa Yamashita: I thought it would be a good opening number for live shows. I also thought it would be perfect for expressing the atmosphere and concept of the album. The song’s title is Latin for “soul,” and in my recent work, that word, “soul,” has come to have a special significance for me. I need to do things that bring my soul joy, and this song is the best song for expressing where I am now, and my desire to love again from the bottom of my heart. Everything is so convenient in the digital society of modern Japan. I feel like people’s souls — their passion and their excitement — are getting weaker. When I deal with people overseas, I feel their passion for life — their soul. It feels like they’re living with every fiber of their being, and that’s given me energy and stimulated me. It’s also made me recognize that I’ve been getting weaker. When I wrote the song, I felt this spirit of, “Okay, here we go!!”
In July, you travelled to various countries in Asia to promote SEE HEAR LOVE. What were the reactions from local fans and media like?
Tomohisa Yamashita: I was welcomed really warmly. I felt grateful and also felt a strong desire to visit even more places. The whole atmosphere of the shows I appeared on during the promotional tour — the tempo, the language, the structure, the background music — felt different than Japan. It was a good experience. I hope to be able to visit countries in Asia again and to really bond with my fans there.
So Sweet Vision is your first step to becoming a border-spanning musician.
Tomohisa Yamashita: It (going global) will take a lot of energy and time, but I’ve got the determination, so I’ll keep sharing what I have with the world, led by this powerful ambition.
Going forward, what kinds of projects would you like to take on as an actor?
Tomohisa Yamashita: I’d like to maintain a good balance of sweeter works and more evocative works. If all you do is make sweet works, it just becomes sugary. You need to add a little spice. I’d love to be able to work on all kinds of projects in all kinds of locations with all kinds of directors.
–This interview by Mariko Ikitake first appeared on Billboard Japan