#but also they could have released the solo songs from dome tour at any point so once again its just that thing of not really understanding

[faunandfloraas]

Sometimes I remember lee know saying he wants to do a song with Seungmin and I.N bc he'd like to be a part of vocalracha and then I remember that was well over a year ago and there's still nothing.... </3

[frozenmikan]

Love Live! Days x Nikkei Entertainment - Liella! ON Volume 1

Check out the original interview in Nikkei Entertainment June 2023, available for purchase on Amazon JP here.

Yuigaoka Girls' High School School Idol Club's Monthly Report

What she really wanted to say during the MC of the final leg of the tour

In this column held in collaboration with Love Live! Days, we follow the activities of Liella!, the school idol group from Love Live! Superstar!!. In this volume, Date Sayuri, the voice of Shibuya Kanon, shares what the group has achieved in March and April 2023.

Summary of This Month Final leg of the tour, new album, and new first-years

March 4-5 Final leg of the 3rd Live Tour at Belluna Dome

Now that I think about it, (the Saitama leg at) Belluna Dome felt really special. The setlist was different from the other legs, and we even performed Second Sparkle for the first time on Day 2. It was also special since I approached both days with very different states of mind. On Day 1, it just didn’t feel real, and my head was in the clouds from the rehearsal to the end of the performance. It felt like my memories of that performance went missing, like, did I even perform on that day?

Day 2 was also the final performance of the live tour, so I remember telling myself to make sure to commit the performance into memory. But, I ended up getting too excited and didn’t manage to say what I really wanted to say during my final MC… What I really wanted to convey back then was the frustration and disappointment I felt upon the realization that although Kanon-chan managed to overcome her worries and take the next step forward, I myself didn’t manage to hold my head high and grow when faced with the same worries.

I’ve received many encouraging words in response to what I said back then. There were people who said something like “You’re two different people, so it’s understandable that seeing Kanon-chan’s good points would make you realize your own weaknesses. You don’t need to try too hard to become Kanon-chan”. That made me think that perhaps I would be able to enjoy myself more and look towards the future if I didn’t fixate over becoming one and the same as Kanon-chan. I have nothing but gratitude for everyone who wrote those comments as they were the ones who brought me to this realization.

March 15 Release of 2nd Album, Second Sparkle

The title song of the album, Second Sparkle, was a song that the group really wanted everyone to listen to in full as soon as possible, so we were all ecstatic when it was finally released. Thoughts like “You’re all so cool!” and “I could go on all day about this song!” were ones that we could totally relate to (laughs). I think we managed to show off a new side of us in the music video as well.

On the other hand, the recording of my solo, Free Flight, came and went without me coming to an interpretation that I felt satisfied with… So, if I have the opportunity to perform the song in the future, I do hope that I’d be able to perform it in a way that I’d be satisfied with. Hopefully I’d be able to look back at this moment with some optimism in the future, and look back fondly at the time when I wasn’t quite sure how to approach the song.

We’ll be having a meet-and-greet event in May for the release of Second Sparkle as well. It’s my first time doing an event like this as the voice of Shibuya Kanon, so I’m really looking forward to it!

April 1 Release of April Fool’s video

A video titled Onifessional - Their Way of Work was released for a limited time on the official YouTube channel, in which the nine of us acted as employees of a fictional events company. I was definitely shocked that we’d be doing a live-action video when I first heard about it, but all of us loved projects that went all out on the ridiculousness, so I left behind any sense of embarrassment I had and dove straight in (laughs). When we received the script, we were told that basically, most of it would be ad-libbed. Both participating in a live-action production and ad-libbing were things that I’ve never done before, so I had a lot of fun.

Each of us had a character setting in the script that we received, and what I got was three phrases: “Has been in the company for three years”, “A moodmaker that’s always cheerful”, and “Loves using quotes whenever she can”. I therefore decided to look up people I could use as a reference, as well as quotes that virtually everyone would know. There was a part when I said something like “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’”, and the only instructions the script had was “act like something or someone”. I’m sure many of you have already noticed, but I did use that famous actor as a reference!

There was one thing I felt was quite difficult though. Even though I tried my best to put on an act, I received many comments that went “that’s basically just Date Sayuri”. That was somewhat frustrating (laughs). But, in the making-of video that’s currently available on Liella! Club, Emori (Aya)-chan said, “You’re going back to being Sayuri!”, and I responded by telling myself to get into character, so do check that out as well!

April 28 Announcement of new first-years and unit groupings

On this day, it was announced that Wien Margarete and Onitsuka Tomari would be joining Liella! as new first-years, and the group would be split into three units. Joining Kanon-chan’s unit would be Heanna Sumire (voiced by Payton Naomi) and Yoneme Mei (voiced by Yabushima Akane).

First of all, about the new first-years, I expected Kanon-chan’s younger sister, Aria-chan to join, given their age gap, but instead, we got Oninatsu’s younger sister instead, which was quite unexpected. I was quite surprised to learn that she even had a sister (laughs). I have yet to meet the voice of Tomari-chan, but since everyone in Liella! is very kind, I hope she has an enjoyable time here. As for the voice of Wien (Margarete), Yuina-chan, she has already gone on an entire tour with us, so I am really excited about the new first-years.

We heard about who would be in which unit after Day 2 at Belluna Dome, and I remembered being quite surprised at the size of the units, as well as the fact that Kanon, Sumire, and Mei would be in the same unit. Personally, I have the feeling that we were split into units based on our singing voices. I don’t know the concepts of each unit yet, so that’s something that I’m quite excited about (laughs).

Agenda for Next Month The theme song of SIF2

May 17 Release of new single, MIRACLE NEW STORY

Liella! was picked to perform the theme song of SIF2 [1], and it’s a song that makes me want to carry the weight of SIF2 when we perform it live in the future. There are a lot of lines that relate to “singing out loud together”, so not only is it a perfect fit for SIF2’s theme song, it’s also a perfect fit for Liella! now that we’re now able to hold performances where cheers are allowed. The coupling song for the single is also a song that’s quite conducive to cheers, so I’m hoping that it’ll become a song that’ll feel complete when the fans are performing it with us, and that it’ll help shape the new Liella!.

Also, I personally love the SIF game, and being able to listen to all kinds of songs from the Love Live! franchise is definitely one of its strengths. I’d be glad if it gave people who haven’t heard Liella!’s songs an opportunity to listen to our songs, to develop an interest in them, and to eventually fall in love with our songs.

May 27 BUSHIROAD ROCK FESTIVAL 2023

We participated in MEGA VEGAS 2023 on March 11, and we could tell that there’ll be a lot of rock fans in attendance just from what the venue looked like. Because of that, we thought we couldn’t lose to everyone else performing, and that sweating is part and parcel of the rock experience, so we definitely did sweat a lot more than we usually do on that day (laughs). It was quite liberating, in a way. I had a lot of fun imagining what a rock-inspired Kanon-chan would be like, which made me really grateful to receive the opportunity to perform at BUSHIROAD ROCK FESTIVAL 2023. The first time we participated in a music festival held outdoors was Bannam Fest last year, so this is our second time doing this. There was a moment when I felt infinitely small compared to the vast venue that we performed at last time, so I hope I’ll be able to overcome that feeling this time! It was also announced that we’ll be performing in this summer’s Animelo Summer Live 2023 -AXEL- on March 19, so I hope we’ll be able to show what it means to be Liella! at the various music festivals as well. 

[1] The official name of the game is Love Live! School Idol Festival 2 MIRACLE LIVE!, a smartphone rhythm game released on April 15 as the successor to Love Live! School Idol Festival, which had been in operation for ten years.

Translator: xIceArcher Quality Check: Yujacha (@yujachachacha)

[kobayashi-aika]

Before “a new departure”—Kobayashi Aika, Takatsuki Kanako, Furihata Ai’s five years with Aqours (Translated Interview)

For simplicity’s sake, each seiyuu’s line indicators will be denoted as either F(urihata), K(obayashi), or T(akatsuki).

TL: arb TLC: xIceArcher QC: Mega, Yujacha

All nine of us are a little different, but put us together and we become Aqours

—It’s the 5th anniversary of Love Live Sunshine’s school idol group Aqours. The “Aqours 5th Anniversary Jimo Ai! Take Me Higher Project” is now underway, including the series’ first dome tour. But first, please tell us your impressions about the Dome Tour’s theme song, “Fantastic Departure!”.

T: (joyfully) It feels like “the sea”! (laughs)

F: A whale?

T: A dolphin?

All 3: (all having fun) Yeah, yeah, yeah! (laughs)

K: That’s the part that leaves an impression on you, right?

T: It’s easy to think of what it would look like at the concert, right? Like, you...

K: Like getting beckoned by a dolphin to ride a whale? (laughs)

F: The new songs totally have a sea motif, which is something we’ve surprisingly never had before.

K: “Fantastic Departure!” has lots of back-and-forth lyrics, so the image of everyone [in the audience] singing comes to mind. It’s making me excited for the concerts.

F: It’ll definitely be a really nice song live.

T: It feels like every year, our new songs keep getting more difficult.

K: Right, right.

F: [This song has] quite a lot of low parts, right?

T: The A melody is low, but the chorus is high.

K: I think it’s also because we’ve become an Aqours that can take on these kinds of challenges. Our cooler sides can start showing.

T: Recently, our songs have stopped sounding anime song-ish, but in a good way. We’ve had a lot of songs that are somewhere in between anime songs and J-pop — a very “Aqours-like” place.

K: The genre is “Aqours”!

T: A stylish feel...?

K: Stylish sound!

T, F: Ahaha!

F: The lyrics are packed with an Aqours-like feeling, and the song has a stylish sound!

—What were some of your favorite lines during the recording?

K: I like Hanamaru’s “Where is it? Where is it?”

T: Hey! (laughs) Recently, my habit’s been getting worse every time we record...

K: You noticed? (laughs)

F: (while looking at K and T) Those two often record first. I listen to their voices while I record.

K: When I listen to Hanamaru-chan singing, I can find lots of parts that I really like.

T: I want to listen to all of the individual versions once. When we’re recording, we don’t know who will get which part, so there are phrases we approach differently. Everyone has their own unique ideas, so it’s exciting to hear them and think “Ah, so that’s how they’re singing it!”

K: They’re releasing the solo albums (Aqours First Solo Concert Album), right?

T, F: Right! That’s great.

F: I want everyone to hear how much we’ve all grown. The nine of us are all different, but the moment you put us together and we become Aqours is amazing.

K: And speaking of the “Fantastic Departure!” lyrics, the “A fantastic departure” phrase had a pretty difficult rhythm.

T: I know~. The rhythm was really tight.

K: Right. I could really get used to that.

F: It’s a little nerve-wracking thinking we’ll have to perform that live, huh?

Hata Aki-san’s lyrics really represent Aqours’ feelings

—In the B-side “Aqours Pirates Desire”, you have the “Dan-Da-Dan//We’ll steal it!” part. It’s a really addicting song.

All 3: (joyfully) Dan-Da-Dan!

K: You like that part, right, Kanako?

T: Right, I love the world view. I also love the “Dan-Da-Dan” and the “Da-Dan Da-Dan” parts.

—How was the recording?

All 3: (smiling) It was really fun!

F: There were a lot of “Dan-Da-Dan”s, so it was really fun.

K: But it feels like I’ll mess it up at some point, so I’m a little worried about the concerts. (laughs)

F: You might end up repeating the wrong one.

T: I’m excited for the choreography and the costumes! I want to have some accessories on it.

F: Some pirate accessories?

K: Oh, right! I thought we would have taiko drums! (laughs)

T: Just call them regular drums! (laughs)

F: There’s that line, “Beat the signal drum“. (laughs)

K: Everyone doing it together!

T: We might just have a performance like that (laughs).

F: I like the (singing) “The red flag of freedom//will part the wind for you to run“ part.

T, K: I know, right?

T: Then there’s “(A black skull and crossbones//The wild seas)//We’ll overcome it～～♪ “, and it gets really low after.

K: Is that the lowest Aqours has ever gone?

F: Maybe! Both songs are really cool. They’ve got a lot of really powerful lyrics like “Plunder” or “We’ll steal it! “.

T: “Fantastic Departure!” and “Aqours Pirates Desire” make for a strong combination. Both give the feeling of strength on the seas. I think they’ll be popular songs at the concerts.

K: They seem really exciting. [The fans] will probably like them.

—In what ways do you feel the charm of Hata Aki-san’s lyrics?

K: The lyrics often represent our feelings. In these two songs, there’s “A fantastic departure”, “A huge world//A vast world is waiting for us “, and “Search for it“. All of which really symbolize the current Aqours.

T: Recently, it feels like we’re walking down a path Hata-sensei created. It feels like she’s guiding us towards the future.

F: Even if we haven’t fully grasped the lyrics by the time we record, as time passes, we come to realize that “this is what Hata-sensei was talking about.” We sing a lot of songs about how we’ll feel in the future. Like, “Hata-sensei was already thinking this far into the future with her lyrics”. And as time passes, the appeal of those lyrics start to sink in.

K: Very deep.

T: Yup, very deep.

“It’s thanks to Aqours that we’re back” μ's words were really moving

—Going back in time a bit, Love Live! Fes was held in January 2020. You overcame the “walls” of the franchise to perform together with μ's and the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. In particular, you were all able to make the dream of standing on the same stage as μ's come true. Looking back, how was that? 

F: It was really... I’m glad we did it. (She seems deeply emotional)

T: (lost for words) Wow... It truly was...

K: (while deeply nodding) Yeah...

F: The thing we’ve always been wishing for these five years finally came true.

K: We've been wishing for it for so long... while it was a goal, we also ended up thinking it would be a dream that would never come true. So it made us really, really happy. 

T: The Love Live! series’ 9th anniversary project gave us a lot of chances to interact with μ's and the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, so we had a lot of chances to speak with them. μ's gave us some very kind words.

“It’s because Aqours has been doing these concerts and other activities that we, too, could come back here.” When they said that... it was so touching. They really were watching us. It made me so happy.

K, F: (nodding)

—If I might ask, were there any other happenings with μ's?

K: We had a sort of photoshoot after Fes, right?

F: Was it after Day 1?

K: We came on stage to take a group photo, and afterwards it turned into one.

T: And then it turned into free time?

K: Right. Photo time started. It was sort of like at a theme park, when...

—Sort of like when you meet the mascot characters?

K: That’s right. (laughs) Everyone was lining up, and going “Please take a photo with me”. Well, except for Aqours.

—Except for Aqours? 

K: Everyone in Aqours was a little gun-shy. μ's are pretty much goddesses... they’re like something out of a dream, so we all thought “Is it really okay for us to be this happy?”, and started acting really shifty. (laughs)

—To have them right in front of you...

K: We stiffened up. (laughs)

F: Even when they said it was okay, we still didn’t go. We turned into regular old otakus. (laughs). But I think Komiya (Arisa)-san took the initiative and went over to the other groups.

—When μ's came on stage, were you in awe?

T: We felt the mood in the arena change in an instant. It was the moment that so many people who came were waiting for; it felt just like a holy atmosphere.

K: I couldn’t stop my goosebumps. The arena started shaking. It really was.

T: It felt like it’d be alright if they just stood there doing nothing. At the end of Day 2, Aqours went after μ's, and after the audience was engulfed in orange light for “Snow halation”, we came out on our ship. We felt just like pirates.

K: When I saw that orange light reflecting off the ceiling, I thought “Ah...” And when we came out, it changed into a sea of blue, and I went “Ah...” again. It was really moving.

Eating natto rice... it’s freedom before the live starts!

—Aqours also debuted their new song “Mitaiken HORIZON” at Love Live! Fes. The trio units of CYaRon!, AZALEA, and Guilty Kiss also performed, right?.

T: Debuting a song, and especially as the first song at Fes, was pretty nerve-wracking. The “Mitaiken HORIZON” costumes are cute, and it’s really in sync with the PV, so we really wanted to kick things off with a “This is Aqours!” kind of performance. It really was an honor to be able to debut it there at Fes.

F: CYaRon! was the first subunit, and because there were a lot of groups performing at Fes, some people might not know CYaRon!. So we were really enthusiastic about giving it our all.

But when we got on stage, the entire arena was really warm and welcoming. So while we were dancing, we were thinking that “Love Live! is really amazing.” That warmth is one of the good points about the fans.

K: Some of Guilty Kiss’ songs make you want to do the “Guilty Kiss!” call, even if you don’t know us. (laughs) Even the first timers do the “Guilty Kiss!” with everyone. So I feel like everyone will remember us. Or at least their mouths will remember us from the calls. (laughs)

T, F: Just their mouths? (laughs)

K: Mouths that blow Guilty Kisses. (laughs) On the grand stage of Love Live! Fes, we were able to show the greatness of the Love Live! series as both the Aqours that worked so hard to get here and as our subunits..

—How do you spend your time backstage? Is there anything you always do before every live?

K: It’s just the huddle up, right?

T: We’re quite free, huh? And then there are people who eat a lot of natto. (laughs)

K: Natto and egg rice is the fad. Pretty much everyone is eating it, right?

T, F: Yeah, yeah.

K: On live days, you have to do that. My mouth will remember the taste.

T, F: (laughs)

T: Having the chocolate fondue from catering was so nice!

K: I was so happy! It was white chocolate, right?

T: I was like, “Do you think I can drink this chocolate?”, and Komiya Arisa-chan went, “I said the exact same thing earlier.” (laughs)

K: We’re all just talking about food. (laughs) Some things never change. But when showtime comes, we flip a switch, right?

F: That’s right. Our liveliness has an on/off switch. Speaking of which, (Osaka) Shizuku-chan (Maeda Kaori) gave us all chocolate. It was the kind with a message on the back, and she wrote messages like “Ganbaruby!” for everyone. It was really cute.

K: We wouldn’t normally do something like that, huh? (laughs)

F: Right. So it was really cool.

T: The only thing we think about is eating. (laughs)

The first years’ strong point is being able to feel “at home”. We can be ourselves around each other

—There have been a lot of subunit activities recently, but this interview is with your year group. How would you sum up the first years’ strong point in a phrase?

K: (happily:) We get along!

T: (smiling:) Yup.

F: Like a place to come home.

—A place to come home?

F: We’re all in different units, but when we’re together as first years, I really feel at home and at ease. That’s the atmosphere when I’m with everyone.

K: It’s like you’re “at home”.

F: “At home”! Yeah, that’s it.

T: It’s simple, but fun. Enjoy!

K: We can just be ourselves.

F: We can mess around and have fun. The first years have lots of very energetic songs, and the three of us all play around with each other and enjoy, so concerts are always really fun too.

T: We’re like a box of toys.

F: And I think that’s great. The second years are very serious, and the third years give off this mature and calm vibe, and we have an energetic and casual style. But of course, I really respect the other year groups.

K: And we have that underclassman vibe.

T: We’re the moodmakers, too!

—I definitely can see that. While talking to the three of you, I’ve felt strangely relaxed and at ease.

All 3: (together) That’s great! (laughs) At home.

—Tell me about some times when you’ve felt the bond between you three.

All 3: Our bond, huh?

K: We’ve never had those kinds of emotional moments. (laughs)

T, F: Yeah. (laughs)

F: But when we debuted “Mitaiken Horizon”, I somehow felt... glad that we were the first years. (doing the choreography) Like in the “Let’s give today everything we’ve got”, where the three of us form a triangle and dance with our arms out, and we look into each other's' eyes as we sing. That part is really touching. It made me think, “Ah, we’ve really grown.”

K, T: Yeah, yeah. That’s true.

K: It’s nice that the first years are always in the center for “Mitaiken Horizon”!

T: I’m glad that the three of us are always together.

F: Our singing parts are also all together, and it feels really powerful.

T: Even so, in the chorus, we’re the ones who have to bring the energy. (laughs)

F: Right, the “More!” “More!” “Yeah!” parts. (laughs)

K: Usually, the first years (when dividing the lines in songs) are in charge of the extra lines. Like the “Fu!”s. Those energetic parts are very “first year”.

—Between the three of you, who’s the mature one, or the one who can help you when you’re in a pinch?

All 3: (together) Eh... none of us are really the mature one?

F: We really feel like we’re in the same year. That’s pretty much how we are with each other. But I’m the one who gets teased, and (looking at T) she’s the teasing type.

K: (while pointing at herself) I tease and get teased. Even when the other years are ignoring us, we feel like we’re always energetic. The first years are always just going off and doing whatever. (laughs) We pretend to be clueless, but we’re always watching our surroundings while we play around... I think.

T: And the helper... do we even have times when we’re in a pinch?

K: We probably just laugh our problems away. (laughs)

T: If I had to say, we’re the type to have fun even when we’re in a pinch. They (pointing at K and F) probably feel the same way, and it puts me at ease.

—What are your tics? 

F: Recently, it’s been “Right, right?”. It changes a lot, but before that it was “Yup, yup.”

T: She says it twice. (laughs)

K: All three of us do this, but I always say funny things a second time. (laughs)

T: It’s immediately after, too. We do it unconsciously.

F: What was your tic, Kanako?

T: “Water”, maybe? I really like water. (laughs) I drink about two liters a day, so I’m always looking for water. What’s your tic, Kyan (Kobayashi)?

K: Maybe when I always say “Oh no~”. I say it no matter what happens. (laughs)

I’m glad that we can be one with Yohane, Hanamaru, and Ruby

—Now, looking back on Aqours’ activities, can I ask how you feel now that five years have passed?

F: When Aqours first formed, the other eight members... I still really look up to and respect everyone... but when I compared myself to everyone, it was really clear that I had no experience. I couldn’t dance, I couldn’t sing well, and I couldn’t act.

But now, we’ve spent five years together, so I’ve come to realize my own place in Aqours, and I’m really glad that Aqours is the nine of us. If it wasn’t these eight members with me, I probably wouldn’t have felt like this.

—Five years is quite a long time.

F: Getting this close with a person for this long, as I have with Kurosawa Ruby, is the kind of thing that doesn’t happen often. But on both the outside and the inside, getting closer to her in my own way is something I’ve thought of as very important. It’s made me aware of a lot of different sides to myself, and I feel like my love for both the franchise and Ruby is stronger than anyone else’s. Of course, the other eight members probably feel the same way.

—What about you, Takatsuki-san?

T: For me, my natural voice isn’t very high, and I’m taller than Hanamaru-chan, so I don’t have much in common with her. So when we started our activities, on top of being Aqours, I was also worried about if everyone would accept me. During concerts and performances, I was focused on whether people were looking at me.... I had a period where I didn’t have much confidence in myself.

But now, no matter what I do, even if I’m just talking normally, people often say to me, “Oh, it’s Hanamaru-chan~”, so I’m really glad that I could become one with Hanamaru.

—When did that start to change?

T: Around 2nd Live. (2017′s Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 2nd LoveLive! HAPPY PARTY TRAIN TOUR) Up until then, I was afraid of people looking at me on stage, but since 2nd Live, it’s become just like a festival, and I’ve been able to do more and more things.

I wasn’t very good at dancing to start, but I felt myself slowly getting better, and I started to really feel the joy of Love Live! inside me.

—What about you, Kobayashi-san? 

K: Aqours had a few people who were new to voice acting, and I was one of them. Acting with your voice, and living Yohane’s life alongside her was a first for me. But by asking myself, “How can I get closer to her?”, I’ve been able to grow all the way until today.

Over these five years, I’ve learned to do a lot of new things, like learning how to use a low voice, how to sing in a voice completely different from my natural voice, and lots of other things.

By facing Yohane (Yoshiko) head-on, so many new possibilities have opened up; it feels like “a me that isn’t me”. Every day, I get the chance to grow alongside her. I’m so happy that this mysterious feeling can continue. It’d be great if Yohane and I, as part of Aqours, can do more and more and more fun things together.

—Takatsuki-san was talking about how she changed around 2nd. Live. So, Furihata-san and Kobayashi-san, when did your outlook change, and you started becoming more confident?

F: For me, it was slightly after 3rd Live (2018′s Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 3rd LoveLive! Tour ~WONDERFUL STORIES~).

At 3rd Live, we debuted “Awaken the power”, which had 11 people. (Saint Aqours Snow’s collaboration song with 9 of Aqours and 2 of Saint Snow) I felt a lot of pressure for that song. I was desperately giving it my all, and there are a lot of painful memories... But when everyone who went to 3rd Live was cheering, “I’m glad that Kurosawa Ruby is Furihata Ai”, it was a really big moment for me.

—The voices of your fans became your strength...

F: That’s right. Up until then, I didn’t have any self-confidence. And so for 4th Live (2018′s Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 4th LoveLive!~Sailing to the Sunshine~), I went in with the positive mindset of “Aqours made it to Tokyo Dome!”.

—What about you, Kobayashi-san? 

K: I think it was at 2nd Live. 1st Live (2017′s Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours First LoveLive! ~Step! ZERO to ONE~) was at Yokohama Arena, a place where I never thought I would be, even in my wildest dreams . And then 2nd Live was a tour. In my mind, I was thinking “Is this really going to be alright?”.

You have to really take care of your health, and because it’s a tour, you have to treat every venue with care and importance, while also making sure every performance is better than the last. And because we all overcame that together, and made each and every performance of the HAPPY PARTY TRAIN TOUR a unique one, I realized that my outlook had started to change.

—Thank you all for your stories. Now, the focal point of your 5th Anniversary Project is the series’ first Dome Tour, isn’t it?

F: It’s our first nine-person concert since Love Live!’s 9th anniversary’s first full-member Fes in January. Just like how the lyrics of “Fantastic Departure!” and “Aqours Pirates Desire” are, I want to bring out an even stronger Aqours.

I’ve always felt a sort of desperation, but for this tour, I feel a sort of calm from being more in sync with Kurosawa Ruby. I hope this can be a concert where we can show off what’s in store for Aqours.

T: The Dome Tour will probably have a lot of songs that we’ve never performed before. I’m excited to see the setlist, and I want to find all my favorite points in the staging, choreography, and costumes. I’m really looking forward to it!

K: When I look back, when we made it to Tokyo Dome for 4th Live, we sort of “burnt out” in a way... While we felt the relief of having reached our goal, it was also a day where we decided that we would keep on giving it our all. So this dome tour performance really feels like a dream. 

Up until now, for our tours, we always just made small changes to the setlist, but this time, I’ve been thinking, “What if every performance had a different setlist?” I feel like the current Aqours could pull something like that off, so I hope everyone can have fun with both our new songs and some of the songs that are important to us, in true Aqours fashion.

What are the charm points of each of the first years?

Kobayashi Aika -> Takatsuki Kanako

It’s amazing how she can brighten up everything around her so naturally. Her smile is contagious. Her charm point is her sleeping face; it’s really cute! It’s my favorite part about her. (laughs) The two of them (Takatsuki-san and Furihata-san) have this in common, but she pays close attention to her surroundings and says the right things. Her actions give off this air of maturity, and I love how she’ll always mess around together with me. (laughs)

Kobayashi Aika -> Furihata Ai

The fact that she’s created her very own genre. Her existence itself is a charm point. (laughs) The small things she says are amusing, and she has a lot of parts that are so cute that you just want to imitate her. The three of us are really close, and we have a lot of matching things. We have matching sweatshirts, and sometimes we wear things that we find together at a sale, but pick in different colors.

Takatsuki Kanako -> Kobayashi Aika

I love that Aikyan (Kobayashi-san) is so amusing, and she brightens up the dressing room. When I first met her, she seemed really mature and stylish, and her long black hair was really beautiful; she seemed like the picture perfect city girl. But we’re the same age, and as I spent more time with her, she opened up. Recently, it feels like we’re partners-in-crime. It’s amazing how she’s more devout than anyone for Yohane, too.

Takatsuki Kanako -> Furihata Ai

Furi-san (Furihata-san) is an airhead, but in a good way. (laughs) The things she says are funny, and I like how she’s always the butt of the joke. My first impression of her was that she really had things together, and since she's the eldest of three siblings, I thought she would be like a big sister. But she unexpectedly has some weird sides to her. (laughs) But she’s also my partner-in-crime.

Furihata Ai -> Kobayashi Aika

Kobayashi Aika-chan is our trendy fashion leader, and she’s really knowledgeable. I’m a tech boomer, so she’s the first person I turn to for help with games and social media. Also, she takes really good care of her image. She’s really good at singing and dancing, and it’s amazing just how multi-faceted she is.

Furihata Ai -> Takatsuki Kanako

Takatsuki Kanako-chan’s unique personality and vocabulary are really charming. She latches onto things that most people will let slide, so you can’t just deal with her like your average person. She works really hard at being a good singer, but she never shows that. I think she taught me how to be serious with my work. 

Kobayashi Aika’s Q&A!

Q1: Tell us what you really love about Tsushima Yoshiko-chan!

(sounding troubled) I love everything about Yohane...

I love how she’s honest about the things she loves. After meeting Aqours, she’s been able to be more open about the things she loves. She’s grown to be able to share that love with so many different people. I’m glad that she met Aqours.

Q2: What’s something you want to have or want to do?

I’ve always wanted to go to England, which is Yohane’s “World Image Girl” country. They have a “Magic Museum”, where they have a lot of pots and things that real witches used on display, so I want to go see that. I think Yohane would like it, too.

Q3: Have you read any interesting books or played any interesting games recently?

Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I even play in my dreams, and in one of my dreams I built a bridge. (laughs)

Q4: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A singer and a nursery school teacher. I’ve loved singing and dancing since I was a kid. And I love taking care of little children, so I’ve always admired nursery school teachers. I went to school and got my nursery school teacher’s license. Hopefully, my second dream will come true some day.

Q5: What do you do on your days off?

Usually I stay at home. I’m either sleeping or playing games. I play so much that it’s the only thing I think about. Like, “When I go home today, I need to do X in ACNH.” (laughs)

Takatsuki Kanako’s Q&A!

Q1: Tell us what you really love about Kunikida Hanamaru-chan!

How cute she is! (laughs) I fell in love with her from the moment I met her. She’s a shy bookworm, but she’s also super curious. And as the story progresses, she begins to feel more real. In season 2, she started becoming a gag character, but I love watching Hanamaru eat, so I was happy to see so much of it.

Q2: What’s something you want to have or want to do? 

I’m not actually a very materialistic person. So for now, I just want some inner peace. I hope the whole world can be enveloped in happiness soon.

Q3: Have you read any interesting books or played any interesting games recently? 

It’s actually a movie. I recently bought a projector, and I’m enjoying using it to watch movies or dramas. Ninagawa Mika’s “Followers” is really interesting.

Q4: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

A singer. I started wanting to become one around 4th grade, when we sang for our class recital. I didn’t have a particular genre I wanted to sing, so I just vaguely wanted to become a star.

Q5: What do you do on your days off? 

I’m an indoor-type, so I just play games or watch TV. Also, I like going on trips, so it’s a little tough right now, but I want to go to Hawaii one day.

Furihata Ai’s Q&A!

Q1: Tell us what you really love about Kurosawa Ruby-chan!

She seemed like a little sister-type from the moment I saw her, so on the flipside, how she’s very strong-willed. She might seem a little timid, but mentally, I think she’s just like her big sister (Kurosawa Dia). I love how much she loves her big sister, too. And like with school idols, I think it’s wonderful how dedicated she is to the things that she loves.

Q2: What’s something you want to have or want to do? 

To spend time with all the people who support me. When I take questions on Instagram, I get a lot of messages from overseas fans, too. And of course, there are plenty of fans from Japan, too. I just want to see them soon.

Q3: Have you read any interesting books or played any interesting games recently? 

Grand Maison Tokyo. I got hooked on the drama, so I read the novel, too. The scenes and food appear vividly in my mind, so it was an easy read.

Q4: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

I loved drawing, so I wanted to be a mangaka, artist, or something to do with art. But I thought that doing something I like for work might make it tough, so I started wanting to become an anime seiyuu.

Q5: What do you do on your days off? 

My little sister, little brother, and I all live together, but usually I’m with my sister. I’m also the kind of person who likes to go out in the rain, so I go out and end up buying something I don’t really need, and my sister usually gets mad at me. (laughs) I collect vinyl records as a hobby, so I end up buying jackets for them.

[ganbaramen]

Their intention is always to be by your side. The solid foundation of Aqours: Suwa Nanaka, Komiya Arisa, and Suzuki Aina (Translated Interview)

Translation: ramen Translation Check: xIceArcher Quality Check: arbshortcake, Mega-, Yujacha

In their new songs, Aqours is cooler and more mature than ever!

—Aqours, the school idol group from “Love Live! Sunshine!!”, is celebrating their 5th year since their activities began. Your 5th anniversary Dome Tour theme song “Fantastic Departure!” is releasing soon. How did you feel when you listened to it?

Suzuki: Like we’re setting off on a new adventure. It’s very Aqours-esque—like we’re reaching out to a more distant place.

Suwa: Right, it’s a song unlike anything we’ve had before, one with very strong undertones of a new beginning.

Komiya: We’ve had the privilege of performing at Tokyo Dome and MetLife Dome, but I feel like this song depicts us as we move a step beyond that.

Suzuki: I think people are wondering what will happen to Aqours from now on. This song conveys that Aqours is moving forward, that we aren’t disappearing.

—How did you feel when you were recording it?

Komiya: For this song, they said that it’d be good to sing in a more mature way than usual, right?

Suwa: Yeah. I remember them telling us to sound cool.

Suzuki: On the CD version, only Chika says the “attention please” line at the beginning, but actually, all of us had recorded it. They told us to say it in a mature way, so I got the impression that the song would have a mature vibe to it.

Suwa: I felt like Chika’s voice was really gentle on the CD version of “attention please”! It’s very Chika-like to be cool yet still be gentle.

—Any parts that you particularly like?

Suzuki: There’s a part where we each sing in turn, starting with Ruby, and the way it flows between us got me especially emotional. “Thank you, FRIENDS!!” starts with Chika, so everyone’s lines in the song flow together to connect to Chika. That gave me goosebumps.

Komiya: Until now, the 3rd years usually only got their own part once the song got to the second verse. But here, we sing our solos in the same parts across both the first and second verses. At the bridge (where the background music is quiet), each of us sings our own part, which I think is quite rare.

—How do you feel about the B-side, “Aqours Pirates Desire”?

Komiya: The singing range is really low!

Suzuki: Right? It’s low for Aqours.

Suwa: It thrashes from low to high, so I was wondering whether my own vocals would be in the low parts or the high parts. It turns out mine were in the high parts, so I was like “Ohh, I see!”.

Suzuki: The bridge part is quite low!

Komiya: Oh, and the lyrics in my part have “red” in them, so that’s probably why I got those lines. (laughs)

Suzuki: I really like the “one, two, one two three four” part at the beginning, as well as the parts that are a little “impish”. Maybe I should say we act a bit like pranksters.

Komiya: True, it’s the cool side of Aqours.

Suwa: Yup, very cool.

Suzuki: The instruments used in the song also give it a pirate-like feel, in a good way.

Komiya: I want to dance and wave a flag around to it.

The Dome Tour, made possible by everyone’s support.

—Details have yet to be released, but right now, what do you want to try during the Dome Tour?

Suwa: First of all, I want it to happen…

Suzuki: Exactly! The Dome Tour is something that absolutely wouldn’t be possible without everyone who’s been supporting us.

Komiya: You could say that before we knew it, we became something incredible.

Suwa: We’ve really been raised well. (laughs)

Suzuki: I think this tour is only happening because everyone has been looking forward to it, so when the day comes that we can hold it, I want to give a performance that’ll live up to those expectations.

—Aqours already has experience performing at Tokyo Dome, so what do you pay attention to when you’re on stage at large venues?

Komiya: Our 1st Live (Aqours First LoveLive! ~Step! ZERO to ONE~ in 2017) was at Yokohama Arena. Since then, our choreographers kept stressing that “because there are also fans in the stands, you should be conscious of not only the arena sections in front of you, but also those up in the stands”. Because of that, we haven’t had to wonder about what to do if the venue is really big.

Suwa: During our 4th Live (Aqours 4th LoveLive! ~Sailing to the Sunshine~ in 2018), we were hard to see when we were riding the Aqours Ship, so the staff told us to make big movements.

Suzuki: But when we looked at our rehearsal footage, our movements often looked small even when we were trying to make big movements!

Suwa: The studio is completely different from the actual venues.

Komiya: Yup. And sometimes we have no choice but to use a small studio for our rehearsals.

Suwa: Right, right. The member that’s supposed to be the furthest from you sometimes ends up right next to you because you have to loop around [since there’s so little space]. Also, the actual venue has a two-level stage, but we might have to rehearse at a studio that’s just one flat level.

Komiya: But because we had that experience with such hardships, for times like Fest where we couldn’t spare much time for rehearsals, we were able to say “Just tell us where to position ourselves, and we’ll be good!”.

During the photo session after the concert, a display of initiative despite their shyness!

—At Love Live! Fest in January, you crossed the borders of the series to share a stage with µ’s and the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. Did anything in particular strike you from Fest?

Suzuki: It’d have to be µ’s performing “Snow halation”—that was unforgettable. After “Snow halation” (on the second day), we were going to go out on the Aqours Ship. So while we were on standby backstage, we could hear µ’s singing. I ended up crying as we gathered in a circle, feeling like “we’re living in a dream”.

Suwa: Everyone was tearing up at that point.

Komiya: Yup. It was a really mysterious feeling.

Suwa: That moment was something we would have never imagined several years ago, so even we couldn’t picture it.

Suzuki: The fact that we would be performing with everyone from the Love Live! series at Fest… it didn't feel real.

Komiya: When I first heard about Fest, I almost couldn’t believe it! (laughs)

—What are your memories of Aqours’ songs at Love Live! Fest?

Komiya: Even though it had been a long time since we did a concert, we didn’t spend much time rehearsing.

Suwa: Not to mention that we did a lot of songs.

Suzuki: Not to mention that we did unit songs too. (laughs)

Komiya: Also, the stage manager had messages for us before and after our performance, like “do your best”.

Suzuki: Right, right. Things like “You’re the best!” or “That fired me up!”.

Suwa: I understand saying that to us afterwards, but it was inconvenient saying that before the performance because we’d tear up. (laughs)

Komiya: Besides that… they made a ditch in the stage so that the Aqours Ship could move. So we couldn’t be in our normal positions. But even so, we were able to adapt to it right away, which was amazing.

Suzuki: Yes. If this was a long time ago, we wouldn’t have been able to.

Komiya: I was kind of scared of myself because of how much better I could adapt. (laughs)

—How were the performances from the members of the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club?

Suzuki: They really had nerves of steel—just incredible.

Suwa: Because they were all doing their solo songs.

Suzuki: If that were me, I’d be so nervous, like “I can’t do this!”.

Suwa: Maybe the Nijigasaki girls were thinking that too!

Komiya: We started out as a 9-member group, so that’s what we’ve gotten used to, after all.

Suzuki: When we were performing solo at our 3rd Live (Aqours 3rd LoveLive! ~WONDERFUL STORIES~ in 2018), I felt fidgety. (laughs)

Komiya: At that time, I was concentrating so hard that I don’t remember whether the penlights the audience was waving were red or white…

Suwa: The colors were mixed!

—Did you mingle with members from the other units?

Komiya: Our dressing rooms were on the same floor as the Nijigasaki girls, so we ended up meeting in the bathroom. Aside from that, we only occasionally crossed paths after our rehearsals finished.

Suzuki: After the concert, there was time to take photos with each other!

Suwa: But Aqours has a lot of shy girls, so we were kind of paralyzed. (laughs)

Suzuki: I was just paralyzed in awe. But then Kusuda Aina from µ’s was kind enough to come up to me, saying that “we’re both Aina!” and “our colors are both purple!”. It was so hard to believe—I was screaming really loudly on the inside. (laughs)

Suwa: Arisa was the exception, though—she wasn’t shy at all.

Komiya: Yup. I went around getting photos as I pleased. With the Nijigasaki girls, it was like an entire photo session, and from µ’s, I got pictures with Pile, Nanjo Yoshino, and Emitsun (Nitta Emi).

Suwa: I took photos with Mimori Suzuko and Uchida Aya.

Komiya: Everyone was shy, but we took the initiative—”I’m not letting this chance slip away!” (laughs)

Five years of closing the gap between their own personalities and that of an idol

—As we look back on Aqours’ activities, would you mind telling us how you feel about these past five years?

Suzuki: I had never danced before, so I was worried about whether I’d be okay, and whether I’d be able to keep up. There was the challenging leapfrog (in “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?”) and most of all: the fact that while Mari is tall, I’m the complete opposite.

I thought a lot about how to make my movements on stage appear bigger and how to bring out the sexy aura that Mari has. I worried a lot about those differences.

—How did you overcome those?

Suzuki: Once the anime started, it was a lot easier to see Mari’s expressions. That enabled me to spontaneously picture what Mari would do. It felt more and more like she stood by my side.

It doesn't really feel to me like the gap's been bridged yet, but I've slowly become more confident in our closeness thanks to the fans who'd say “Mari was on stage!".

—Suwa-san, how about you?

Suwa: I really started from rock bottom: no experience in singing or dancing, much less dancing within a formation. It wasn’t that I was missing something—it’s that I was missing everything. We had girls who could already sing or dance, so I inevitably felt like I had to put my all into it—or else. The only solution was to practice hard.

—Did you become confident in yourself through that practice?

Suwa: Good question. I memorize choreography faster than I did before, and my experiences over this time catalyzed my growth. Kanan and I only share a voice, while our appearances and personalities differ. So for concerts, I make my hair blue and my eyes purple. This makes me feel closer and closer to becoming one with Kanan.

—And how about you, Komiya-san?

Komiya: “Love Live! Sunshine!!” was pretty much my first time taking on the role of a voice actress. I had no understanding of how to approach reading an anime script, nor how to move in front of a mic. So I worked myself up into a frenzy. But since none of the other members had much experience with recording, I was relieved that, in some sense, we were all positioned at the same starting line.

Besides that, since I originally worked as an actress, I was overwhelmed by how I didn’t feel “idolish” enough for the job. You could say that my pride led me to feel too embarrassed about being sparkly like an idol.

—Do you feel like you’re able to project yourself as an idol now?

Komiya: Up until around our 2nd Live (“Aqours 2nd LoveLive! HAPPY PARTY TRAIN TOUR” in 2017), the stronger feeling was that of obligation—”I must do this”.

But I realized that I couldn’t enjoy performing at concerts when I was being animated by this obligation. Once I started focusing on enjoying myself, my feelings shifted as well. Though honestly, I still don’t know whether I really sparkle or not. (laughs)

—Komiya-san seems very close to Dia in terms of appearance.

Komiya: When I first saw them, I actually thought “there’s one that looks just like me”. (laughs) Yet she’s level-headed and talented, so our personalities differ. But, just like Aina, I got to know her human side, thanks to the anime. From there, I’ve gotten to understand her more and more.

All three of the third-years are unexpectedly laid-back?

—What’s your impression of the relations between the third-years?

Komiya: Even though they find it hard to be fully honest with each other, they’re actually the ones that love each other the most!

Suwa: Though we only got to see that after graduation, right?

SuzukI: Yes, yes. They drifted apart, made up, and matured in Season 2 of the anime. Then in the movie, they finally became honest with each other.

Komiya: In the movie, I felt like their relationship went back to how it was when they were children, in a good way.

—You can feel how strong the bonds are between the third-years from how their childhood relationship continued all the way from their youth to now.

Suzuki: Since the third-years are childhood friends, they’re the ones that have known each other the longest, even among all the Aqours members. It’s really a great relationship—you can feel how strong their bonds are from watching the animated performance scenes.

—What’s something that the third-years will never lose to the other year groups in?

Suzuki: Maturity…?

Komiya: If we consider the anime, maybe it’s their ability to communicate their thoughts to each other, without saying a word. Aside from that, there are many scenes in which the third-years have to pull the first- and second-years back to reality, so perhaps the third-years’ strength is being grounded in reality.

Suwa: In real life, we worked hard for the third-year songs (“Tousou Meisou Moebius Loop”, “Yosoku Fukanou Driving!”) during 5th Live (“Aqours 5th LoveLive! ~Next SPARKLING!!!~” in 2019), and I think our performance was second to none compared to the other year groups.

Komiya: Also, we’re quite calm, and I guess more laid-back than the other year groups. We had plenty of standby time when we were performing for the 69th “NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen”. We had a narrow space separated by partitions, and the three of us got together, then wondered if we should prepare for the performance by taking a nap. (laughs)

Suzuki: Right, and not only that, but Suwawa (Suwa-san) went straight to sleep before me or Arisa! (laughs)

—So it’s characteristic of the third-years that you’re rock steady and ready at any moment.

Suwa: Yes, I think so. During the standby time, the first-years seemed like they were constantly playing games, so it was pretty lively over there. (laughs)

Komiya: Our ages aren’t even that different…

—What is your mindset as you approach this 5th anniversary year?

Suzuki: We now have the privilege of performing on a dome tour in our 5th anniversary year. Although we’ve evolved and the stages have gotten bigger throughout the years, my feelings haven’t changed from when we started, and I want to move forward while keeping them in mind. As we move ahead, I don’t want to be satisfied with our current abilities. If each of us keeps doing what we can, I’m sure we’ll continue to be loved.

We’ll keep trying our best, so I hope that everyone will keep warmly watching over us. Please continue to support “Love Live! Sunshine!!” and Aqours from now on.

Komiya: After passing our goal of performing at Tokyo Dome, it would be nice if this dome tour serves as a fresh start as we visit several places.

Also, I’d be really happy if this tour enables many people to meet us for the first time. For those of you that are already fans of Aqours: if you have friends or acquaintances that are even a bit interested in us, I hope you can get them to come to a concert of ours and fall into the deep end. (laughs)

Since the venues have gotten bigger, we might end up seeming far away to some people. But our intention is always to be by your side. So please rest assured of that and enjoy our activities.

Suwa: Maybe there are people who learned about Aqours for the first time through this article. Even as we enter our 5th anniversary year, we won’t stop moving forward. If we’ve sparked anyone’s interest, please watch our previous performances, and maybe we can walk forward together from now onwards.

The third-years cast tells all: what’s great about the other two?

Suwa Nanaka on Komiya Arisa

Arisa gets greedy for food! (laughs) Whatever it is, if it's got something to do with food, her going to check it out once we get there is kind of cute. While she seems like an older sister type, the gap between that and her easy-going pace is funny.

Suwa Nanaka on Suzuki Aina

Aina’s very good at singing in a genuine, straightforward way. Personally, I like her baby-like appearance (laughs)—it makes her really cute.

Komiya Arisa on Suwa Nanaka

Suwawa is always calm and collected, and she makes sure to pay attention to what’s around her when she acts. Her calmness in the face of anything, anywhere, is amazing!

Apparently, she also did some cooking during the shelter-in-place period. I usually don’t hear about her cooking, so that surprised me, and I think that part of her is quite cute.

Komiya Arisa on Suzuki Aina

Aina is kind and easy to work with. Because of that, I feel like she’s able to bring us together. She’s always smiling and brightening up the room, no matter where we are, which is also very charming.

Suzuki Aina on Suwa Nanaka

Suwawa is the one I hang out with most in private, and she’s reliable in taking the lead by saying “let’s go here” or “let’s do this”. Though that might just be because I’m indecisive. (laughs)

When we’re out on a date, she walks on the cars’ side of the sidewalk like it’s natural, and when I run into trouble during Aqours’ activities and the like, she comes to my rescue. Her casual kindness is really amazing.

Her best feature is her skin, which is as pale as snow. This is gonna make me sound kind of creepy (laughs), but it feels very pleasant to touch.

Suzuki Aina on Komiya Arisa

Arisa asks me “well, how about we go to a cafe?” whenever I’m troubled, and there, we talk it out directly—she’s the type to show rather than tell. Because she doesn’t like being indirect and she’s not two-faced, you can safely believe that she really means what she says.

But even though she seems reliable, she can be airheaded—she’ll do things like spill some food or space out. That gap moe is cute.

Q&A: Suwa Nanaka, voice of Matsuura Kanan

Question 01: Tell us what you really like about Matsuura Kanan!

She’s somewhat naive, but she’s very thoughtful about her friends. Her figure is great, too. I think she’s charming in many ways. In the anime, the third-years have many serious scenes, but in the movie you can see them brighten up and run free after graduating from high school—I like that as well.

Question 02: Personally, is there anything you want or something you want to do right now?

It’s not really a “thing”. It’s difficult in the current situation, but I have a hobby of traveling, so I just want to go somewhere.

If I could choose, I’d go to Europe, but what I really want right now is to travel, so I feel like anywhere is fine.

Question 03: Are there any media, like books or games, that you’ve taken an interest in recently?

“Mystery to Iunakare” [a manga series]. I already liked mystery and crime dramas, and my interest was piqued when I happened to see an ad for it. Every time, even though I try figuring it out, I can never figure out the culprit, and after it gets solved, I go back and realize there was actually foreshadowing. I take quite a bit of time to read it.

Question 04: When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A kindergarten teacher. I like babies, so up until around middle school, I also thought I wanted to be a nursery school teacher. Right after that, I started wanting to become a voice actress.

Question 05: What do you do on your days off?

I go on solo trips. Even if the next day suddenly opens up, it’s pretty hard to invite someone out, so I almost always go out alone. Sometimes I go to places I’ve been thinking about visiting for the longest time, but there are also places that I had booked a hotel at when my holiday was confirmed.

Q&A: Komiya Arisa, voice of Kurosawa Dia

Question 01: Tell us what you really like about Kurosawa Dia!

Everything, of course. (laughs) To be specific, in her roles as the student council president and as Ruby’s older sister, she always feels that she has to be reliable. But when she tries too hard to no avail—that human side of her is cute.

In Season 2, Episode 4 of the anime, you can feel that charm of hers gripping your heart. She hides her own feelings so that she can watch over everyone, but her own feelings slowly reveal themselves. It’s wonderful that she was finally able to act freely after that.

Question 02: Personally, is there anything you want or something you want to do right now?

The other day, I put on socks with lamé [fabric with metallic fibers] in them, and I noticed that my favorite black sneakers have a hole in them. I didn’t notice until now, since I’ve only worn black socks! I really want to get new ones as soon as I can.

Also, I’ve been buying more groceries that require freezing, and since I’ve noticed my freezer is small, I want a big freezer.

Question 03: Are there any media, like books or games, that you’ve taken an interest in recently?

I’ve always been buying “Kuroshitsuji” and “Kinou nani Tabeta?”. Recently, other than books and manga, I’ve gotten into the “Boku no Hero Academia” anime—I’ve watched through Season 4 of the anime as well as the movie. I like the Big 3’s Amajiki Tamaki.

Question 04: When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Sailor Moon. When I was young, since the classical ballet tutu looked like Sailor Moon’s uniform, I apparently thought that I could become Sailor Moon if I learned classical ballet. Though I completely forgot about that thought. (laughs) In middle school, I wanted to become a pharmacist, and in high school, I wanted to become a dietitian.

Question 05: What do you do on your days off?

I roll around and nap on the sofa, staring at the ceiling with no thoughts, head empty. (laughs) If I have errands to run or outings planned, I go out. But I don’t want my skin to get tanned, and when I wonder what reason there is for leaving the house if I don’t have a purpose in mind, I find myself not wanting to go out. If possible, I like to just stay inside my home and not do anything.

Q&A: Suzuki Aina, voice of Ohara Mari

Question 01: Tell us what you really like about Ohara Mari!

She’s a very positive girl—she shines, she’s positive, and she’s fearless. But I particularly like how thoughtful she is towards her friends. Even though she never puts it into words, she loves Aqours so much that she’s always thinking about the other members even more than herself. It’s not often that someone can do as well as Mari in “conveying her love to everyone”.

Question 02: Personally, is there anything you want or something you want to do right now?

I want a Nintendo Switch Lite~! The Coral Pink one. I already have a Switch, but I want another one to carry around.

Besides that, right now, I want to do a concert as soon as possible! Even though concerts are tough, I want to find a way to carry my voice to our fans.

Question 03: Are there any media, like books or games, that you’ve taken an interest in recently?

I’ve been reading [the manga] “Houkago wa Kissaten de”—it’s a comfy romantic comedy, and I can’t help but grin when reading it. It really makes your heart skip a beat! (laughs) I’m also into the game “Identity V”. I mostly play the Violent Struggle game mode.

Question 04: When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was around five or six years old, I would say I wanted to work at “a cake shop!” (laughs), but from late elementary school to middle school, my dream was to be a manga artist. I was pretty serious—one thing I did was taking a correspondence course on becoming a mangaka.

Question 05: What do you do on your days off?

Sleep, play games… to me, that’s the best way to spend my time. (laughs) I often don’t go out, but sometimes I go shopping with my younger sister.

[goldstarnation]

OCTOBER 2020 GOLD STAR MEDIA SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of November 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: September schedule posts are due by the end of October 7 KST. Please do not post schedule posts in the fmdschedule tag.

OVERALL COMPANY

Entering the fourth quarter of the year, the company is beginning to put the final touches on what they plan for their artists in 2021. Gold Star’s position as the current top company is viewed as more perilous to both company heads and investors than it may look from the outside, and they’re looking to solidify their status more before the end of the year. Media reports about the company’s performance so far this year steadily trickle out throughout the month and reflect both Gold Star executives’ and investors’ opinions of Origin, Femme Fatale, and their first soloist being the backbones of the company’s public image at the moment. This could lead to continued mismanagement, but internally, the company is trying to work out a way to keep everything from becoming a mess in the new year.

Important dates:

(September 30)-October 2: Chuseok vacation (no activities save for any individual schedules).

October 31: Gold Star Halloween Masquerade Ball.

GOLD STAR SOLOIST 1

After preparing for so long, she embarks on the beginnings of her new tour this month. She’ll be around the country this month before she departs to other parts of Asia next month. She’s adored enough that there’s little doubt the audience will be packed and each night is fully expected by management and fans alike to go off without a hitch. She has a little more freedom in her concerts than some of Gold Star’s other artists do, allowing her to more room to decide her own ments between songs.

Important dates:

October 3: Love, Poem tour concert at Woman’s University Universiade Gymnasium in Gwangju.

October 4: Love, Poem tour concert at Woman’s University Universiade Gymnasium in Gwangju.

October 10: Love, Poem tour concert at Incheon Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon.

October 17: Love, Poem tour concert at Sajik Gymnasium in Busan.

October 24: Love, Poem tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul.

October 25: Love, Poem tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul.

GOLD STAR SOLOIST 2

She continues to gear up for the dual release of the Korean and English versions of her holiday single this month. She’ll have some more concept meetings about the overall feeling they’re going for as well as the final storyboard for the music video that is scheduled to be shot next month. In the meantime, this month, she’ll need to go in to get the teaser photos for the single successfully shot on the 16th.

Important dates:

October 16: Comeback teaser photo shoot.

GOLD STAR SOLOIST 3

After finishing music show promotions, he takes off to the United States to do a limited run of press in the country in the form of YouTube videos for the channels of American fashion magazines (Elle, Allure, and Glamour) and as well as a performance set at the YouTube Space in New York. This set of promotions is aimed toward earning him new English-speaking fans that aren’t yet familiar with him or his music, especially ones not already interested in Korean music artists. Next month, he’s set to begin preparing and rehearsing for his next world tour.

Important dates:

October 24: End of music show promotions.

October 26: Elle Song Association video, Allure video, and Glamour fan fact check video filming.

October 27: Performance [1, 2, 3, 4] at YouTube Space NY in New York, NY, USA.

SILHOUETTE

After shooting the teaser photos for their special edition repackage at the beginning of the month, the members are asked to focus on anything and everything to be able to give their best vocal performance during promotions since they’ll be singing with very little backing track and they have a reputation as strong live singers to live up to. As the comeback is mainly marketed as a special gift to fans, there won’t be much additional promotion besides music shows. The members are also informed this month that Gold Star has arranged for them to hold a 19+ only concert, a first for idols and an attempt by the company to help market them as a step beyond typical idols to help their longevity as artists, at the start of the new year which they’ll begin rehearsing for next month.

Important dates:

October 5: Comeback teaser photo shoot.

October 25: Release of “Cleansing Cream” & Sixth Sense Special Repackaged Edition repackaged album, music show promotions continue through November 25.

ARIA

For the final month of Queendom, the group must prepare and release a new original song. They’ll be recording “Moonlight” in the first week of the month. In the second and third week, they’ll learn the choreography and attend fittings for the outfits they’ll be wearing. Full details of Queendom filming for this month can be found here. The members are also informed they’ll begin real comeback preparations next month and their next album will not include their finale song from Queendom.

Important dates:

October 1: Episode six of Queendom airs.

October 8: Episode seven of Queendom airs.

October 15: Episode eight of Queendom airs.

October 19: Stage outfit fittings.

October 22: Episode nine of Queendom airs.

October 29: Queendom episode ten live filming. (original song: “Moonlight”)

ORIGIN

As everyone expected, “On” was a success, even if not matching the massive hit they had on their hands last year with “Boy with Luv”, and the end of music show promotions comes on a high note. They’re done with new music releases and promotions for the year, but that doesn’t mean time to rest, as they’ve been chosen to become new ambassadors of FILA and have a promotional photo shoot and video to film that will be used to announce their new partnership.

Important dates:

October 18: End of music show promotions.

October 20: FILA photo shoot.

IMPULSE

PULS2 continues working on their debut, but after returning from Chuseok, all of the members of Impulse are tasked with beginning to rehearse for the end of the year fan meeting they’ll be holding. The themes of the fan meeting will be looking back on their debut and their relationship with their fans. Accordingly, they’ll be shooting a teaser photo for the fan meeting this month that remakes their debut teaser photo. They’ll also be in the dance studio refreshing themselves on some old songs and will be pulled aside to film interviews talking about how they look back on Who’s Next?: Origin Story, their debut, and their journey so far at this point in their careers that will be used for the VCRs of the fan meeting.

Important dates:

October 8: Fan meeting debut photo recreation teaser photo shoot.

      ↳ PULS2

Their debut is fast approaching next month, so on top of continued practice for their first stages as a unit, they’ll be in front of the camera a lot this month. Not only do they have to film the music video for their title track , but they also have to film short track films for each of the songs on the album. Teaser photo [2, 3] and fittings have to be fit in this month as well before the potential chaos of a Gold Star Media’s first ever sub-unit debut comes next month.

Important dates:

October 11: MV and stage outfit fittings.

October 17: Track films shoot.

October 19: Teaser photo [2, 3] shoot.

October 20: “Focus On Me” MV filming.

FUSE

After their extended Chuseok break comes to an end, the members of Fuse return to group schedules without much on the books for this month. They’re still riding on the success of “Psycho”, as it’s too early to begin preparing another comeback and they won’t continue their tour for a couple more months. Instead, as the new year gets closer and closer, they’re tasked with shooting their Season’s Greetings for fans. For the upcoming year, the photo shoot is themed after each member posing with a stuffed animal representing them (admin note: muns may choose what animal is assigned to represent their muse, but there shouldn’t be any overlap between members!).

Important dates:

October 3-6: Extended Chuseok break.

October 19: Season’s Greetings shoot.

ELEMENT

Element’s schedules slow down again as the weather begins to turn cold with no promise of when their next comeback will happen. While the company is fielding any songs submitted with creative involvement by the members, they also do continue to look to outside and in-house producers despite the rarity of existing songs written for co-ed groups. In the meantime, the company has arranged for them to collaborate with a popular dance cover group in videos for both Element’s Youtube channel as well as the dance cover team’s Youtube channel for a joint dance performance of “Dumb Litty”.

Important dates:

October 12: “Dumb Litty” dance cover crew collab [2] [3] filming.

FEMME FATALE

The time has come for the members to hold their first ever fan meeting (where they’ll be performing their assigned solo stages they’ve been rehearsing)..Compared to other months this year, October is more relaxed outside of the practice they have to keep up with ahead of the fan meeting.

Important dates:

October 24: Private Stage fan meeting at Olympic Hall in Seoul.

[bccity]

AUGUST 2020 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of September 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule.

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: July schedule posts are due by the end of August 7 KST. Please do not post schedule posts in the fmdschedule tag.

OVERALL COMPANY

Last month’s photo sessions for the base Culture Complex were a success and it seems like the project is off to a solid start, although some idols may be called back in for reshoots, especially for the 3D imaging, as necessary this month. All of the idols under BC, Dimensions, and Gold Star have been tasked with a new duty for the building this month: filming videos that will accompany some of the museum exhibits. The videos will be once again filmed in a studio, this time in front of a green screen, and the idols will be asked to talk about their feelings about important career events like their trainee days, debut, song releases, and major achievements. They will be given all of the subjects they are expected to talk about beforehand to rehearse their answers, and the director may request different wording or delivery of their answers as seen fit. (admin note: Muns have freedom about the specific topics muses are asked to talk about here within the guidelines given above, but any talk about scandalous or negative occurrences will be avoided.)

Important dates:

August 1-August 31: base Culture Complex museum intro videos filming (admin note: muses may encounter idols from other companies while there).

BC SOLOIST 1

“Love U” promotions continue with fan signs, music show promotions, and an appearance on Weekly Idol to film. After her promotions end, she has two festivals squeezed into the very end of the month: one in Incheon and one in Los Angeles (KCON). She will fly straight out from Incheon following the conclusion of her performance at that festival in order to arrive in Los Angeles in time to check into her hotel and get in rehearsal before her performance at KCON on the thirtieth. At KCON, she’ll perform a special dance cover of Ariana Grande’s ‘God Is A Woman” that’s she prepared throughout the month and the dance practice, filmed before KCON, will be released the following day for fans.

Important dates:

August 2: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

August 5: Filming of Weekly Idol appearance (to be aired: August 12).

August 16: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

August 29: End of music show promotions.

August 29: Performance at Incheon Airport Sky Festival (also performing: Fuse).

August 30: Performance [2] at KCON LA (also performing: Knight, Alien, Lucid, and Gold Star Soloist 3)

August 31: Release of “God Is A Woman Cover” dance practice.

DECIPHER

Music show promotions end on the thirteenth, but there’s a quick turn around on their comeback and the members are told before promotions even end that they’ve already been confirmed to make another comeback in November. They’ll hear the demos of the confirmed tracks shortly before “Love Paint” promotions end and then almost immediately after they do, they’ll be expected in the studio to record for their next mini-album. The album only contains two full-group songs, and the other four are solos for four of the group’s members as follows:

Maknae/main dancer/lead vocal: “Paradise”

Lead rapper/lead dancer/vocal: “Good Love”

Main rapper/vocal: “With”

Main vocal: “Happy Until Now”

Important dates:

August 13: End of music show promotions.

August 25: Performance at Korea Times Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, USA (also performing: Gal.actic, Unity, and Fuse).

         ↳ Decipher R & V

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A.

         ↳ CHAMPION

As Decipher finishes promoting their comeback and Unity makes their own comeback, a hold is put on touring, but BC and Dimensions have managed to land the members of the sub-unit a deal with Korean Air and they’ll be recording a special CF song for a music and safety video collaboration to bring more international attention to Korean Air following CHAMPION”s success overseas and to bring more domestic attention to CHAMPION, who are still not wholly accepted as a unit by fans of their main groups.

Important dates:

August 27: Korean Air x CHAMPION “Let’s Go Everywhere” MV and Safety Video filming.

BEE

In the final two days before their comeback, BEE is in Hong Kong for the last of their Live Concert: B concerts. They return to Seoul on the tenth and go to their press showcase venue immediately from the airport. It doesn’t come as a surprise to most anymore that “Darling” does well on the charts and wins over the hearts of the public and neither fans nor the public seem all that opposed to the brighter sound in comparison to BEE’s most recent releases either. Fan signs and music show promotions continue for the members through the end of the month.

Important dates:

August 8: Live Concert: B concert at Star Hall in Hong Kong.

August 9: Live Concert: B concert at Star Hall in Hong Kong.

August 10: Release of “Darling” & Everyday 4 mini-album, music show promotions continue through September 10. 

August 16: Fan sign in Songpa, Seoul.

August 23: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

August 30: Fan sign in Yeouido, Seoul.

         ↳ 2BEE

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

KNIGHT

Their new sub-unit makes their debut this month, but work on their comeback doesn’t cease since the members of CHAMPION are in Seoul this whole month. With the album recorded, August is designated as the month to learn and practice the choreography of the title track and b-side “Jekyll” until the group has them down by memory. From August 28 to August 31, all of the members will be in Los Angeles for their performance at this year’s KCON LA.

Important dates:

August 30: Performance at KCON LA (also performing: BC Soloist 1, Alien, Lucid, and Gold Star Soloist 3)

         ↳ White Knight

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

         ↳ CHAMPION

As Decipher finishes promoting their comeback and Unity makes their own comeback, a hold is put on touring, but BC and Dimensions have managed to land the members of the sub-unit a deal with Korean Air and they’ll be recording a special CF song for a music and safety video collaboration to bring more international attention to Korean Air following CHAMPION”s success overseas and to bring more domestic attention to CHAMPION, who are still not wholly accepted as a unit by fans of their main groups.

Important dates:

August 27: Korean Air x CHAMPION “Let’s Go Everywhere” MV and Safety Video filming.

        ↳ Knight Light

Knight Light makes their debut this month and while they may not have the digital appeal of the main group or White Knight, their album sales are the top of the top for a sub-unit, which had been more BC’s aim with the unit anyway. Three title tracks is a lot to promote nearly every day on music shows and since public appeal isn’t BC’s priority with this unit anyway, their debut promotions are limited to music shows and fan signs.

Important dates:

August 3: Release of “What A Life”, “Closer To You”, and “Just Us 2″ & What A Life mini-album, music show promotions continue through September 3. 

August 4: Fan sign in Jongno, Seoul.

August 9: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

August 16: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

August 23: Fan sign in Seocho, Seoul.

August 27: Fan sign in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

LIPSTICK

Queendom takes full priority for Lipstick’s schedules in August. The show hasn’t begun airing yet, so it’s hard to tell how it will due in ratings beyond the buzz it’s steadily creating in online communities, but BC hopes the show can bring a new surge of life into Lipstick’s fanbase before they make their next comeback. This month, the task is cover songs, and Lipstick will be covering the famous “Coming of Age Ceremony”, a song they’ve actually covered before, which could be a risk if their fans are bored of it, but has also been a crowd-pleaser when they performed it before. Full details of Queendom filming for this month can be found here.

Important dates:

August 24: Queendom episode three & four filming (cover song stage).

August 27: Episode one of Queendom airs.

         ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules this month.

Important dates:

N/A

CHARM

CHARM continues to tour in the middle of the month, this time in Europe. The concert has been a success so far and this only seems to be continuing as the group wraps up their tour. The Berlin date marks the final one of the tour and BC doesn’t have plans for them to tour again until next spring, at which point they’ll embark on their first dome tour in Japan, at this point. Staff encourages CHARM to give their all for their final tour dates instead of letting the repetition get the best of them.

Important dates:

August 18: Ode To You tour concert at WiZink Center in Madrid, Spain.

August 20: Ode To You tour concert at La Seine Musicale in Paris, France.

August 23: Ode To You tour concert at The SSE Arena in London, England.

August 25: Ode To You tour concert at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany.

         ↳ CHARM U

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

WISH

WISH’s tour continues with two more dates in Japan in August. Though they don’t have any more comebacks planned for this year, BC has decided to have them release a special single for their fifth anniversary that they won’t be promoting: “Downpour”, to accompany a special concert only open to official fanclub members they’ll also be holding around their anniversary. This month, they’ll record the song in the studio.

Important dates:

August 25: WISHlights Tour concert at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

August 26: WISHlights Tour concert at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

[alethia000]

[Interview Transcription] 190302 [FujiNext] NICHKHUN Premium Solo Concert ‘HOME’ - Nichkhun’s Special Interview

Interviewer: Congratulations on your first solo debut and first concert.

Nichkhun: Thank you.

Interviewer: How do you feel when you hold your first solo concert, your first project?

Nichkhun: It was actually because of me that this started. I promised my fans on stage at Tokyo Dome that I would have a solo album out when my members go off to the army. That’s how it started. I think, 2018 around March, we had the first meeting about this album, how we wanted to do this album, how many countries it was going to be released in. It started from there.

Actually, at first, I didn’t really get the feel of me having a solo album. I was just like, Okay. I need to write some songs and get ready. As time went by, I started to feel that it’s coming closer to the deadline and the concerts as well. 

I was so nervous. I was so worried. I was shaking all the time at the thought of me standing up there on stage by myself after all these years, after 10 years of performing with 5 other guys. 

That thought really shook me to the core. Can I do this? Can I do it well? Is my performance and my concert going to be good and enjoyable? Is it going to be boring and mediocre? I didn’t want that so I had to prepare myself a lot for this concert and this album.

Interviewer: Did you tell other 2PM members and did they say anything?

Nichkhun: Yes. Well, in the process of making this album, I tried not to talk to them too much because I didn’t want to get ideas from them. I wanted to make it my own album. That’s why I wanted to call it ME. It’s just the songs that I like, the songs that I would listen to on a daily basis. 

When I was making it, I didn’t think about what people would want me to sing for them. I was thinking about what I wanted to sing for the people if they wanted to listen.

I am satisfied with how it turned out. I am not saying it’s the best album out there and I am not saying it’s the best I could do. But it’s all I could do right now and I am really satisfied with the result.

Interviewer: How is your family’s reaction?

Nichkhun: My mom is really proud. That makes me even more proud of myself for being able to do that. She came to my concert every day, every time. She looked really happy. That makes me really happy. It gives me the drive, the inspiration to keep improving myself and making better music and performance. I have a great job. What can I say? = ]

Interviewer: As you were saying, the solo project shows a different side of you from when you are with 2PM. How do you want Nichkhun as a solo artist to be perceived?  

Nichkhun: For many years, we have been called the Beastly Idol. It’s a good title to have. It’s very unique and only we can pull it off. But as a solo artist, the style of songs I listen to is very different from what 2PM music is. As an individual solo artist, I wanted to showcase my style of music and what I like.

That’s why during the meeting about this concert, the first thing that popped into my mind, something that I can do different from other guys in 2PM is instruments, the piano and guitar. I didn’t know how to play that well at that point but I learned for this album and this concert. So that came into my mind and I always wanted to become a musician.

I grew up in Thailand and we don’t have a lot of idol groups. We mostly have bands, jamming live music and everyone is enjoying, singing along, and dancing to rock songs. That was what I wanted to do and I am glad I got the chance to do it. The preparation for this concert… I think I have practised more than I ever practised for any concert ever.

On Lucky Charm

Nichkhun: Lucky Charm was one of the first songs that I wrote with these 2 guys called Hot Sauce. They are a composer group, a duo. I tried to make it very easy-listening. I tried to write the lyrics so that it’s not so easy to understand or interpret. I wanted it to be a song you want to listen to in the morning or right before you fall asleep.  

Before Lucky Charm became the title song of this album, Lucky Charm was competing with Bridge. Because I’m 2PM, I’m supposed to be doing something fast, a little energetic. But I told my company that if I were to go with Bridge, it would be no difference between when I’m in 2PM and when I’m not in 2PM. So I said Lucky Charm would describe me the best. I would like to go with Lucky Charm.

I put a lot of ideas and thoughts in the music video. We made it happen which I am really happy about.

On playing the guitar

Nichkhun: It started off because of Lucky Charm. I wanted to be able to play Lucky Charm on the guitar and sing at the same time. This was even before I was thinking about this concert. So I was learning from one of the Hot Sauce guys. He’s the guy who played the guitar on the track.

I thought to myself that the fans have seen me play the piano so many times. It would be a little boring if I would just sit there and play the piano the whole time. I wanted to add a little more flavour to this concert. So I learned a couple more songs. I have been practising until now. I still practise every day.

When you play instruments and sing at the same time, you only have one brain and you have to think about the chords, the placement, the lyrics, the tune, the pitch of the song. So it’s a lot going at once. I have to make sure that these (raising his fingers) know the song, not this (pointing at his head).

But I’m still not there yet. (laugh) I still have to think so much when I play.

Interviewer: And you also have to think about your expression too.

Nichkhun: Yes. I can’t be like this (focusing on the piano) the whole time because they are watching me. So it’s a lot of things at once that I have to do.

That’s why this concert is not physically tiring but it’s tiring all up here (pointing his brain).

But it’s really fun. It’s fun to be able to play your own music, perform it, and sing it at the same time. Watching the fans enjoying it is one of the best feelings.  

On Umbrella

Nichkhun: Umbrella was one of the last songs I wrote. I got the track from Song Jiwook hyung. He thought of me when he wrote this track and he sent it to me. As I was listening to it, I was like, Should I make this romantic? The first title that came to my mind was Candles. But that’s too much of a cliché.  

So I thought I have Let It Rain for many years and no next step after that. So I said to myself, Umbrella. That’s how I started writing the lyrics after I thought about Umbrella.

It’s a form of saying Thank you, expressing my gratitude to the fans that have been with me for so many years, forever, through good times and hard times. They are always there for me. I just wanted to give them something back. 

I even shot a very simple music video for it. I’m glad the fans like it because that day was like a whole day of me walking around and the camera following me. It was a very fun day. This song is very special to me. I’m sure it will be special to Hottest as well.

In Let It Rain, I was hiding under their umbrella. Now I will be the man. I will be your umbrella. I will protect you.

On Home

Nichkhun: Home, the intro song on the album, was the last song that I wrote. We were talking about the title of the tour and the title of the album. I thought let’s make it simple. I was going to call it THIS or THAT. This album can be THIS album and the next album can be THAT album. (laugh)

This album is personal and it’s about me. So why not call it ME? The word HOME has ME at the end as well. I was going to design something that showed HO and ME on the bottom. But that didn’t come out. (laugh) 

On the design with the crown, the eye, and the word ME, the eye was going to be an O and I was going to put an H on the crown, so it would be HOME. But it’s just a little too much.

When I decided to call this tour HOME, that’s when I thought I need to have a track called Home which will be the opening of this tour. That’s why in the track, there’s the sound of a door opening. I was planning on doing that during the concert as well.      

On live music

Nichkhun: I think music should be played live and should be listened to live. It’s more lively, energetic, and enjoyable. You can feel the vibration of each instrument in your bones when you listen to it. I really enjoy going to jazz bars or live cafes. Those places where you just sit there and watch them perform. They seem happy. I want to be that person.

This time I asked the bandmaster… He’s a bass player. Very new. Usually, it’s either piano or guitar. I asked him to rearrange some of the songs. I told him, Just make it close to the original but you can do whatever you want with it. You guys are like the main attraction of this concert. So you guys do you. Be cool. Do whatever you want to do with this music. And they did such a good job. I’m very happy. When I am on stage, I’m listening to my own music but I feel like I am a fan watching them play on stage. It’s cool.

Interviewer: They play the introduction when you come out of the door. And also when you change in between, it would have the music video on for Lucky Charm but they play a different version. I think the fans really love it.

Nichkhun: That actually was my idea. I didn’t want the music to stop. It’s a concert. People should be here for music, not for a video. And I wanted it to keep going. So I asked the band, Can you play this live? I have to change and redo my hair. And I don’t know how long it’s going to take. So can you play until I come out? (laugh) On the first day in Osaka, I came out really late. They were playing the music and looking around for me wondering, Is he going to come out? (laugh)

It’s not repetitive because it’s live. They just keep going with whatever they feel like doing. That’s why it’s special. I really enjoy that part. When I am changing, I have my in-ear in. I’m just listening to them play. People would be like, Hurry Up! Change! and I’m like, OK. Sorry. Sorry. (laugh)

Interviewer: And when you do come out, they are still playing. You hold your hand up as a signal for them to stop playing.

Nichkhun: I want this concert to be as natural as possible. Not like, OK. I’m going to perform now. Tada~! I wanted it to be like, Oh he’s here. When is he going to play? Oh he’s playing. I wanted it to be as natural as possible. I want the viewers to not be nervous or wondering when is he going to come out.

I want them to enjoy. I want them to have time to enjoy everything; the atmosphere, me on stage, or the music when I am not on stage. I want them to enjoy everything. If it’s like always after one song, dark! It’s not continuous.

I would love to try to do something that is deeper, something that is more sophisticated. But because of the skills that I have, I am not there yet. (laugh) I have a lot of good ideas but I am not able to express it out into music. Even with drawing as well, I have a lot of good ideas in my head. But when I draw, it looks like crap. (laugh) I have a lot of good ideas but I can’t make it into a thing yet.

Until then, I have to keep learning; the piano, the guitar, how to compose songs by myself, how to make tracks by myself. Right now, I am getting tracks from other composers and writers. And I am writing the melodies and the lyrics on top of that. Or in some songs, I played the piano myself or made the melodies myself and then I go to the composers and ask them, Can you make this track for me in this way?

A lot of things to be challenged. It’s going to be a busy year. I am sure I am going to have a lot of other jobs alongside in different countries. So it’s not going to be easy.  

I am aiming to release another album maybe at the end of next year. We will see. I have to make it good. I don’t want to make it mediocre just because I want to release an album. I want to make an album that I am satisfied with.          

Interviewer: Any new instruments?

Nichkhun: Not for now. No please. (laugh) I want to learn the drums. It looks really cool and playing it releases your stress. But not yet. Maybe later.    

On asking for advice or help from other 2PM members 

Nichkhun: It’s something that you can’t ask anyone for help. You have to figure it out yourself. It’s all in here. It’s not like, I just work out and everything will be fine. Or I just take some supplement and I will be fine. It’s not like that. It’s something you have to take care of it yourself. You have to solve it yourself.  I get nervous every time before I go on stage or before I do a song that I’m not that comfortable with, a song that is kind of hard for me. So I didn’t really ask them for advice. 

This time (in Tokyo) I have to do 3 days. I went to see JUNHO THE BEST. He did 3 days as well. He told me, Be careful. On your second day, don’t go all out. (laugh) Just go slow and then you can go all out on your last day. I was like, Okay. I got you. Because I went to see him on the last day and he was like, The second day was better because I went all out. (laugh) But he was still good. He sent me some fruits. He’s a really cute guy.

Interviewer: We want to ask you for your 3 top favourite 2PM songs. It can be any songs that were released in Korea and Japan.

Nichkhun: First, always, is Heartbeat. It was the song that was a turning point for 2PM. Second, for some reasons, I like 想像してみて (Imagine). It was the opening for our last tour (Galaxy of 2PM). Wooyoung was the one who wrote it and designed the costumes for us. It hypes you up. When you hear the drums, Oh it’s going to happen now. 

Number 3 is a hard one. I like 離れていても and 一緒に過ごした時間 (Time Spent Together). I think I would have to pick 2 for this last one. They are both really meaningful to the fans as well. It describes the relationship between us 2PM, and Hottest as well. These are my top 3. But there are so many good songs.                      

On plans for the future

Nichkhun: Right now, I am just working towards the comeback of 2PM. That’s all I am aiming for right now. I am trying to be a better artist altogether; singing, dancing, instruments, composing, everything. I am conditioning myself for 2PM when we have a comeback. That’s all I am aiming for right now. After that, I am not sure.

When we come back as 2PM, we will probably do a tour, in Japan, in Asia, maybe in the world too if possible. But that’s all I am aiming for right now in the future. I can’t wait for it to happen.        

Interviewer: And your fans too.

Nichkhun: Yes. I am sure my fans are waiting for that moment. Every time I see other idol groups on TV, I miss 2PM. Every time I am on stage or hearing a 2PM’s song, I miss 2PM. I am just waiting for that day. It’s going to come and it’s going to be epic. It’s going to be great.  

Message to his fans

Nichkhun: Thank you. Thank you for always loving and supporting me; whether it’s good, whether it’s bad, whether it’s just okay. With the love that you give me, I’m not going to take it for granted. I’m going to try to improve myself always.

I’m going to be a better artist for you guys so be patient with me. These things take time. The next time I come back to sing or perform for you, you will see me as a new person, a better person. Thank you. = ]

[Transcription by Daffodil0624]

MAY BE TAKEN OUT WITH PROPER CREDITS

[hylukotranslations]

Pati Pati - vol 76, April 1991 Album: Kurutta Taiyou (Mad Sun) 2nd picture is a visual representation for the track: My Funny Valentine  

Yutaka Higuchi (Bass) Interview by Yoshito Kubota

How do you consider yourself the album "Kurutta Taiyou" ?

Maybe I should say it's an album that doesn't deny what I was before... We've completely changed our impression with the album "Taboo", right ? Since then, our fans were divided in two : the ones who like the latter album and "Aku no hana", and the ones who like our first and second albums. I have the impression that these fans who were listening to us in that selective way were united again with our new album.

So this album isn't a sequel of "Taboo" and "Aku no hana".

No. How to say, about this album, I think no one would say : "it became excessively joyful", neither the contrary : "it gives an extremely miner impression". Because the two are true. It's like if all the tastes we've been having so far were mixed in this album. But I won't go up to say that it's a general anthology (laughs).

Just like Sakurai-san wrote lyrics evoking his mother who died, is there a role that you, Yutaka-san, confided to this album ?

Personally, I didn't have anything of that domain. As always, I was only thinking about making something of a better quality than what we did previously, and that would satisfy me. But if there was something particular this time, it's that I cared very much about the sounds. Even if there were bass lines that I perfectly played and I was told : "nothing to say, that's ok", if I thought : "the sound isn't correct", I completely changed it. It's something basic, but I didn't agree with the idea : "since I played to that extent, I will let the mixing arrange the rest". I've always been keeping the exigency of : "I'll be rendering this sound perfect, especially that one".

And in the end you got a satisfactory result.

Yes, this album is my favourite one among all what we've done so far. You know, I tend to think that all our albums are master-pieces (laughs), but this one gives the impression to be a brand-new album.

For you, the most big point for this album was the fact that you have used a fretless bass, right ?

Not only that. I used a fretless because, at the beginning Imai-san said he wanted to give a floating impression. Since he said he will use a fretless guitar, I thought, then me too. You know, I spent a whole day thinking about the sound, so I was convinced about it. I somewhere think that maybe I could give more range to the phrases for example... But well, I think I can give the mark of 80 (note : out of 100) to the result.

What about other points ?

I used a synthe-bass in "MAD", and there is the song "Speed" : we never did that kind of rhythm before. The phrase of the bass is very simple, but it didn't mach at all with the rest. I really worked hard on that one. From the point of view of the play, there are some parts where I don't completely feel satisfied with, but I think I succeeded from the point of view of the sound. It's wild but we can clearly feel the sensation of detachment. And the quite audacious change of the rhythm patterns of each song worked fine too. Anyway, what is big is the fact that each song gives a different impression.

Concerning the composition of the songs, you didn't participate to it this time.

That was unconsciously but, there is for sure characteristics for an album. That was also the case of "Aku no hana", I was afraid to break that with what I myself have... And this time the patterns of the rhythm weren't easy, so I thought it was better to renounce it. Well, it's like if I and the band didn't synchronise well.

Then, don't you think you could do what you want in a solo album ?

Well, not at all. Even if I did it, I think it would be boring. I think that if I do that know, it would still be self-satisfaction (laughs). If I had to release a solo album, I think it would be better after I've reached Satori (note : the Awakening in Buddhism) being in the band (laughs). Today it's so interesting playing as five members. And there are still so many stuffs we can do. By the way, I think that with this album we could strongly pull out the aspect of being a "band". Maybe that was the biggest result.

Then the songs which were the closest ones to Buck-Tick's image were Hoshino-san's ?

Yes. Hide's songs in "Aku no Hana" had a great effect. But then, Imai-san's songs are breaking them, right ? I think that this subtle interlacing is well done. So, for the listeners it must be......

A delightful album (laughs)

Absolutely (laughs)

What about the lyrics ? They've become quite straight, right ? Maybe the fans would feel disoriented ?

From the beginning we asked Acchan if he could write them all... It's true there isn't almost any term in English, and in "Speed" he says "girl, boy". Ordinarily we would feel embarrassed saying that, like : "what, is it Go Hiromi ?" (laughs). But the fact they could feel disoriented is interesting for us. Just like when we released "Taboo" and people said : "Oh, what's that ?". Even the ones who think that the lyrics are weird will certainly remember that phrase, right ? It can be interesting that way.

I see. I change the subject, for what reason did you chose again a Japanese engineer ?

At the beginning we had a certain number of ideas, like doing the recording session abroad, or asking a famous engineer to come in Japan, all these things. But then time would have been severely limited, right ? We couldn't permit that. So we decided to choose a Japanese.

Do you think it's easier to work with the one or the other ?

I would say with a Japanese from the point of view of the communication... But since the sensibilities are totally different, we can't compare at all. In Japan people try to record big sounds in a place which is perfectly soundproofed, but it's completely the opposite overseas. They rather record sounds in a noisy studio and then try to arrange them. But for this "Kurutta Taiyou", I think our choice was right.

I've heard that despite of that, you hadn't enough time.

We (note : U-ta and Toll) are the first ones to have our sounds recorded, so it's Acchan and the others who have the disadvantages...... The release date is decided at first, right ? like it will be released on such day of such month of such year. So it's like : "the tour has ended, so it's time for the recording rehearsals, after that the recording", it's calculated upside down and then they decide "the last delay". What's that "last delay" (laughs). There are so many obligations in Japan...... If I say it audaciously, we would rather like to decide the release date after we have begun the recording (laughs). But in Japan only 3 or 4 bands can do that.

Would you like to go back at your indie time where you were free about time (laughs) ?

Our label Taiyou record was even worse at the time we belonged to it. Today in the contrary it can happen many good stuffs. It's the same thing as : "which one is better, the livehouses, the Loft or the Dome ?" And it's difficult to give an answer (laughs).

Do you want to play again at the Loft ?

Of course ! Since we are a live band, I think we should be able to play anywhere. We will never say something like : "Now that we are accustomed to big halls, the livehouses have become a bit...". Even if we had to play in a place where there would be only one light, we should be able to show our talent at 100 %.

I see. Then how will be the next tour of Buck-Tick ?

Since we haven't begun the rehearsals, nothing precise is yet decided. I will probably play a fretless bass. Well, it won't be something like, we play the eleven songs of the album and "it's all over" (laughs), we'll have to chose among the songs we've played so far. But since this new album can match, I think, any song, the lives would be more strengthened than the previous ones.

Then, what do you wish for the band after "Kurutta Taiyou" ?

When we released our first indie album, I think that no one thought we would make an album like this one. And in the contrary, I can't think it was to make this "Kurutta Taiyou" that we've been doing all this so far. We've just been doing passionately what we were able to do. We moved to Tokyo from our country and even when we had only 3 persons in the audience, we played with passion. So I think we will always be keeping preciously that sensation. No matter if we can't see the result, we'll be doing feverishly what we want to do. We don't want to twist our style to be accepted. And we especially don't want to be imprisoned in a scope, it would be like falling into our own trap. I think that we don't want to be influenced by the others, we'd rather like to be always on the side of the ones who influence the others.

Which kind of persons do you want this "Kurutta Taiyou" to be listened by ?

Actually, by everybody. Japan is really a weird country. Saying rock, people think about too many stuffs. If it's the bands that are like that I won't say anything, but from the moment the band doesn't think that way, this is music before being rock. It doesn't belong only to the young. It shouldn't be weird if 80 or 90 years old persons listen to it, right ?

This would be the band's final aim ?

For me that's the principal aim. We wish we could also become "Taiyaki-kun (note : apparently an old hit song ^^)" (laughs). Since we are doing music as well.

--fin

translation: hyluko [livejournal] scans: tigerpal [livejournal]

NOTE: these translations are not mine also might not be very accurate. i took them from hyluko’s site using the wayback machine. thought they’re great to share. if the owner is around and wants me to take them down i will!

[amisbro]

Soooo Broccoli

Apparently the boys over at Brocc decided it was a good idea yesterday to drop some big news on us and then ,like they are apt to do, walk out of the room and leave us a speculation NIGHTMARE Fortunately for y’all...I’m here so we are going to go over the items that Broccoli mentioned and things are going to be interest going into the next DECADE and there is a phrase we need to learn the meaning of So in the immortal words of QUARTET NIGHT at the beginning of “The Dice are Cast” READY... SET... GO!!

10th Anniversary focus So according to a translation I have from a tweet here they said they will be focusing on the TENTH Anniversary which is next year.  I don’t THINK they are gonna leave us hanging on the 9th because that would be pretty bunk but the big anniversary is 10 years so they are going to want to put a focus on that.  If we don’t get A LOT of big time announcements this year I don’t think we need to be too upset (Like I was last year when it was all music related) but what will they announce for this Anni? WELL New Mystery game and console decision So its been announced that they have a new game coming out which...is interesting and its even MORE interesting because the console/device has not been decided. To sort of understand this we have to go back almost THREE YEARS to when Broccoli announced “Dolce Vita”.  This is important because remember at the time when they announced the game on the SIXTH Anniversary the characters that would be in the game are the Senseis ,Shining and then QN and STARISH respectively right? Well when 7th Anniversary happens it gets announced that they were making an update to the cast and that update would BE...Raging Otori and the 7 “Renegade Princes” from HEAVENS so there was THAT announcement.  Remember though that this was in 2017.  For two years there was no update or even a screenshot for the game and I want to say when we got close to 2018 it would be announced that the VITA was stopping production in Japan.  THIS is a big deal because of the fact that the game was to be on that system AND there was supposed to be a “port project” where all the games UP TO DOLCE were supposed to be released in sequential order starting with Repeat and ending with After Secret. SPOILER:  That project got abandoned Well...there was a good reason...kind of We have to remember that around August in 2017 Japan was starting to get Shining Live.  That game would end up coming out IN ENGLISH in 2018 in January.  I remember that because it was around then that I had to get my current computer when it completely crapped the bed on me which sucks but what can you do right?  Now this still led us to a situation because in 2018 we still didn’t get any update on Dolce right? WELL... 8th Anniversary becomes a thing and when it happened it was focused solely on the music (which DOES kind of make sense since the series’ literal translation is “Prince of Song”) but we hadn’t heard much about Dolce and at this point we are at 1 year since the HEAVENS announcement and 2 years since the game was announced AT ALL...what was going on? To be honest I don’t know but if I had to completely speculate what happened with the game it was a # of things and one was writing and recording HEAVENS’ parts (not sure about routes) for the game.  Well during the time they were doing this Sony announced stopping the VITA and the game card production outright. Because of THIS I think this caused them to pivot and they started to figure out if they were going to take the project and move it to a console or just outright scrap it!  I THINK when we get to 9th Anniversary we might learn the fate of Dolce and I think it has to do with this new game.  If I HAD to hazard a guess the console it was going to be on...THAT’S TRICKY! See the PS4 is on its way out (or at least games will slow production probably for 2020) so the idea would be to put it on the PS5 when that releases BUT they also could drop the game on the switch and make the game the first that I think would be on a Nintendo system (NOTE:  There WAS a theme for the 3DS but no actual games were made for a Nintendo console I don’t think) so we have to think about that.  I think it would do Broccoli well to put the game on the PS4/5 AND the Switch because UtaPri has been a staple in the Sony library in Japan so if it just up and left then I don’t know how fans in Japan would feel.  It would also be an interesting situation for HEAVENS fans because ,if we assume that this game will have them in it, then how many fans will get it for the switch beit domestically OR Internationally (NOTE:  The Switch is NOT Region Locked so importing is easy to do) so that is something to look at.  There are a lot of questions to deal with JUST on this subject and its why it took a bigger bulk of this post because of ambiguity but I am going to guess we will learn more at 9th Anniversary and I think it WILL RELEASE before the 10th Anni! Now another interesting part of the notes is that they are going to be focusing on Seiyuus and Lives...not sure what that means yet but we will find out in time This next part is SUPER IMPORTANT After the 10th Anniversary they will focus on making UtaPri “Everlasting Contents” Alright...I THINK I need to explain something I forgot to at the beginning here So when this tweet came out that someone was kind enough to translate EVERYTHING I am mentioning here was going UP TO 2022 so that’s a little over 3 years or so from now right?  Things have started to get more interesting here! So NOW the question becomes this “What will the plan be as far as an Anime goes?” If I am 100% honest...I don’t know...I know what my plan would be for 2021 and 2022 if they wanted to put one final bow on the Anime and wrap it up with one more 2 season arc but MY IDEA would be drastically different probably than that of the fandom...but I’ll share it in the future. You know what’s crazy about all of this as far as the timing of the news goes? THIS It had recently been announced that ,at the showing for “Maji Love Kingdom” (Or I guess more appropriately now called “Maji Love LIVE Kingdom” if you saw the second PV) they will have the cast there for a special talk...usually when something like that is gonna happen some stuff is gonna go down and IT MAKES ME WONDER if there isn’t something behind this...could we get a 5TH SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT or could it just be for a social thing?  If there is one thing I have learned about Broccoli’s methods in the years I have watched what they do with April Fools and so forth I wouldn’t put it past them to do that...it should ALSO be noted that at this time (and for the past 3 years) the 4th season website is still up!  There is a part of me that STILL BELIEVES if they were done with the Anime Project they would have outright taken down the website and used the official site to redirect to the movie...that hasn’t happened yet! Now someone will say (and I can see this in a reblog ,reply or message already) that “Doing a 5th season AFTER doing the Tokyo Dome in MLKingdom doesn’t make sense from a story perspective” and I hear that...but not quite right! IF we are to assume that I’m right and they do one more two season arc what could they do? WELL I’ve been told there is a place BIGGER than the Tokyo Dome called “Nissan Stadium” and so they could do THAT but if they did THAT then the idea would be “Well next for them would be a world tour” and then you run into the idea of “Do we do ANOTHER TWO SEASON ARC (although that might be 3) or do we finally put the Anime to bed?”  Remember the current plan is for AT LEAST 2022 but they ALSO want to create “everlasting content” too right? I have wondered this Since the “STARISH Solo Series” was announced was that Broccoli’s way of “closing the book” on that group?  If it WAS (and I don’t think it was objectively speaking) then you could do a two season arc with HEAVENS and QN and the STARISH boys could make cameos?  Hell I think I proposed an idea once where Otoya took over the school from Shining and then QN would become HEAVENS’ mentors but that part requires HEAVENS to break off from Raging and I don’t know if that would happen considering that the universe is currently built to have two different Agencies so...there IS that! Here is another interesting tidbit that might interest you I once looked up the largest stadiums in the world and like EIGHT OUT OF TEN OF THEM ARE IN THE US!  YES KIDS IF YOU WANTED TO DO THE BIGGEST STADIUMS A BUNCH ARE HERE?! Gets better too because like a bunch of them were College Stadiums...ponder that! (Although real talk:  I wouldn’t mind seeing UtaPri in America for an episode...THAT’D BE COOL!) So now we have to ask this question at the end of ALL OF THIS “Alright Joshua...WHAT do you make of all of this?!” Here’s my answer Broccoli has like ZERO intention of killing off the series!  I know the plan is up to 2022 but I have a feeling in the next 3 years they are going to really work on building it up even more and making the Lives that they do reach farther beyond the boundaries of Japan.  I think that was their plan from the start when they announced “Expanding the world of UtaPri” and they knew that was going to take some work.  They are just revving up the engines and stopping it cold NOW would make a lot of people upset as far as fans IN JAPAN and OUTSIDE of the country.  Broccoli HAS to know that their properties are getting popular outside because it wasn’t that long ago that they took off the lock for their YT channel in the US!  I think they are starting to see the value in expanding to the west and they are now looking at what to do to keep the “Foreign Market” interested. I will also say this DON’T be surprised if the next game gets some kind of localization with how SL has done outside of Japan.  Okay its about 100K people that downloaded the game in the US but that might have given Brocc some pause and go “Wait a second...maybe we got something here” And who knows...MAYBE they have a plan to get the game over here!  We probably WON’T KNOW until maybe a little past 9th Anniversary but I’ve been surprised before Alright alright one more thing With Idolish7′s second season looming in the distance and with I-Chu getting an Anime Adaptation soon I could see that as a big reason that Broccoli DOESN’T want to kill off the Anime Project yet.  They know their stronghold that they have and giving up the spot of “King of the Idol Anime” is NOT something you do without a fight and by God they have a plan to do it and now we are going to be in for one of the craziest 3 year periods (and beyond) in the history of a genre that I stepped into back in 2014 and now here we are in 2019 and its looking like a good fight kids...I’m just happy to have a front row seat! NOW...Imma ask you guys and gals Based on the announcements we got from Broccoli now what directions do you think UtaPri could go into and where do you WANT to see it go?  I got a lot of ideas in my dome for sure but the question is...what say you Oh and I almost forgot to link the tweet that was the source of all of this so do be a friend and check out the tweet...here’s the link https://twitter.com/ohayaho_news/status/1117801981517627392 take care lads and lasses

[japanessie]

MY FIRST STORY MMA Tour Final The Premium Symphony 2017 in retrospect

On 23rd December 2017, MY FIRST STORY made another milestone by performing at the same venue which was supposed to have been the place where their rival brother band ONE OK ROCK was originally scheduled to perform with Linkin Park in November. Looking at the visuals presented to us so far, it was a roaring success.

Photos by Masanori Fujikawa and Taka Tallman except *

Here are my thoughts .... for my reader who requested. Basically a continuation of what I had said in a previous post before.

1. The stage looks like something inspired by Jules Verne novels combined with the Parthenon. 

That’s impressive!!

Then, similar to OOR, they also used a runway heading out to the audience. OOR normally use this for their acoustic set where the band members would gather together with their instruments. MFS used the end platform for Hiro where the digital piano was mechanically raised from below the stage. For a rectangular concert hall, you have to have this kind of setting for the audience's optimal viewing.

Look at the laser lighting! It was among the elements that worried the s**t out of their boss GEN back in the Shinkiba Studio Coast show because it was expensive. But looks like he’s not worried anymore based on this elaborate display.

Ready to go “Around The World In 80 Days” or “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”! XD

2. The attendance at Makuhari was higher than the Budokan.

From the TV clips shared by Japanese fans, 18,000 people came compared to 12,000 for the Budokan. Reading through fans' reports, it looked like Blocks A & B were the most packed or the crowds consisted of the hardcore fans. One girl in Block B said she wished she could transfer to Block C where she could breathe.

Looking at the crowd placement, I started to feel doubtful whether choosing a seated ticket for this venue is worth it for someone like me (154cm tall) because unlike the multi-tiered Budokan or the Makuhari Event Hall, the Makuhari Hall 9-11 are flat. They're exhibition Halls after all. How high were the seats raised from the main floor if they were raised at all?

* Photo: Makuhari Messe Hall 9-11 when empty. Making me wish that it had a premium ceiling seat XD

3. It was MFS first attempt at using a full orchestra + a full choir

When they first announced the MMA Tour Final, they said this would be MFS as we had never seen them before. The ALL SECRET TRACKS album obviously had been arranged for this. The Live was not named The Premium Symphony for nothing. To me MFS music from the start has always been heavily layered. It was inevitable that they would arrive at this point.

Photo: The moment the curtain came down. Aaaahhhh!!! That’s 終焉レクイエム (Shuuen Requiem) making its debut everyone \(^^)/

  When MFS did the acoustic set for Itsuwari NEUROSE Final at Shinkiba Studio Coast, my mind actually wondered whether they would one day tackle the violin-cello string arrangements. Would have been slammed with the "OOR copy" moniker big time if they did it back then, wouldn't they? The difference is MFS actually created songs with orchestration right on their album rather than pick a few songs and re-arranged them with a string section for the Live show.

You know what’s beautiful about the above photo? The backup musicians were smiling as they looked at the band members giving it all. Despite the different genres they come from, all artists know passion when they see it.

4. The Surprising setlist :-o

More like shocking to me!

The most striking thing about the setlist is the fact that they had excluded their signature Live songs Second Limit, The Story Is My Life, 最終回STORY and Awake :-o. Seriously?? WTF! You know what this means??! This means they were signalling the beginning of a new era. Up to this point, an MFS show would not be complete without those songs. This is them presenting the fans the new-phase MFS!

The Setlist

1. 終焉レクイエム (Shuuen Requiem) 2. ALONE 3. Black Rail 4. 悪戯フィクション (Itazura Fiction) 5. Missing You 6. REVIVER 7. この世界で一番の幸せ者にはする事など出来ないかもしれないけど... (Kono sekai de ichiban no shiawasesha ni wa suru koto nado dekinai kamoshirenai kedo...) 8. 失踪FLAME (Shissou FLAME) 9. See you again 10. Love Letter 11. monologue 12. 虚言NEUROSE (Itsuwari NEUROSE) 13. LET IT DIE 14. "BOOM" 15. Zero Gravity 16. The Puzzle 17. CHiLD -error- 18. Tomorrowland 19. モノクロエフェクター (Monochrome Effector) 20. 不可逆リプレイス (Fukagyaku Replace)

(Encore)

-Nori Ohtani marriage proposal- EN1. 「花」 -0714- (Hanarenai yo) EN2. Merry Christmas EN3. REVIVER

While I understand their wish to move forward with their music, it's sad for me to see 最終回STORY go because that's the song through which I fell in love with MFS (T_T). 

5. Hiro debuted his piano solo performance

My wish came true \(^^)/! Back in 2014 when MFS released their Taylor Swift remake We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, I told another fan on my friend's MFS FB fanpage that I hoped to see Hiro perform with a piano. 

I guess it wasn't the right timing for it then because it was the time when Hiro was still so heavily criticized and ridiculed as being Taka's copycat. Hiro with a piano onstage would be a bad move a few years ago. Nowadays, the comparison with his famous brother is much kinder as MFS music is speaking for itself more and more. So I think Hiro picked the right time to finally do it.

By the way, Hiro played See You Again solo. For Love Letter, he played solo halfway and then joined by the others. Can’t wait to see these (^^)

6. Hiro’s vocal performance

You see this one coming. My MFS concert commentary wouldn’t be complete without me talking about Hiro’s vocals, would it? True that I wasn’t there at the Hall BUT I have come to the point were I can slowly trust him to nail it around 90 to 95%. While I wasn’t expecting perfection, I know Hiro had worked really hard as he was confident enough to again include the song I directly and openly criticised him for through the band’s social media back in 2016, 失踪FLAME . Though they did not respond to me directly but Hiro did acknowledge on STORYTELLER that the song was hard.

When I saw this visual for 失踪FLAME , I felt good because I knew he still kept his determination to get that song right. I believe he handled it well. He wouldn’t have made this visual display if he couldn’t do the song right, could he (^_-)?

7. Former drummer Masaki came (^^)

Their friendship remains solid and Masaki once again showed that he wouldn't miss his former bandmates' big moment for the world. He tweeted saying it had been awhile since he went to see them, how awesome the show was, apologizing that he was giving an impression of an elementary schoolkid’s excitement and then attached his old photo wearing his underwear with producer Nori with a congratulatory message. Because that’s the only two-shot photo he ever had with Nori XD

8. "Men In Black" (^^)

Who wasn't taken by the fact that the band performed fully in suits? 

I think rather than setting themselves apart from the backup orchestra + choir members, the look they chose tied the whole thing together. The formally attired orchestra + the choir that coloured the overall feel of ALL SECRET TRACKS and their visually impactful LET IT DIE MV from ALL LEAD TRACKS. It was "MFS The Premium Symphony" and not "MFS with some guest musicians for some songs".

Oh, yes. To me Teruki Nishizawa is the most dashing of them all in black suits. They’re all cute guys but Teru actually has that “prep school + white collar” aura which transcends well with that outfit. I don’t think I’m biased at all. Just look.

9. Hiro & Blouson Chiemi

I'm a bit blurry with this one, did he do something like her comedy skit onstage or what? I saw a few Japanese fans mentioning her name along with Hiro’s. Knowing that Hiro likes her, I was hardly surprised. But MFS always edited out extra things like this when the concerts went to DVDs. So, if he ever impersonated any celebrity at all, it probably wouldn't go on the official release (-_-)

But at least we had seen Hiro posing like her during VAMPS Halloween Party 2017 XD

*Photo: From BREAKERZ Daigo’s blog

10. Sho Tsuchiya did not perform with them this time

Though he did appear here and there on the MMA Tour, he did not perform at the Final as I previously had expected. Well, they already played up his surprise appearance to the MAX at the Budokan. Anyway, I'm glad I wasn't at the Budokan because I swear I would have pissed in my pants the moment I saw his face on the screen XD. But it wouldn't have the same impact doing it the 2nd time around, eh? The only way Sho’s re-appearance can top the Budokan is if they actually announce him coming back to them.

* Photo from iTony Entertainment (it’s JMS subsidiary too!)

11. The biggest surprise of the night ..... Nori's getting married!

Their producer Nori Ohtani proposed to his girlfriend and after which, the band launched into their wedding anthem 「花」 -0714- . The fans, including yours truly XD, flooded the band's social media with messages congratulating him and wishing him well.

My thought :

Dating a rock band's manager / producer has its perk, eh? If things go well, you may get an epic marriage proposal with an orchestra, a choir and 18,000 eye witnesses too XD

Overall

One fan commented on IG that after watching the Makuhari show, the Tokyo Dome now doesn't seem like a dream anymore. I agree with her. I mean, if a band or any artist can hold a packed show at a venue like Makuhari Messe, with glowing reports and feedback afterwards, then the Tokyo Dome is not a dream but already a given.

[yasukuansoni]

Winter poll analysis - Part 1 (extras only)

Winter 2016/17 poll Analysis (part 1) I wasn't planning on releasing these as the first part of the analysis but since Nogizaka are announcing their new senbatsu this week I rushed it ahead of the other pieces. They're all the parts that pertain to future senbatsu, including building Senbatsu, Centre hopefuls, and Predictions for 2017. These will receive some changes as the rest of the analysis is completed and published. Future Senbatsu Respondents were asked to make their own senbatsu. They were asked which members should stay and which should be added. With the option to choose none for each of the senbatsu members, unders/hiragana and, in Nogizaka’s case, new members. Asking “which senbatsu members should stay” is more difficult and time consuming for respondents (sorry for that) but it helps keep the scores consistent with the other questions and keeps the polls positive rather than negative. Senbatsu were formed 3 ways. The first is a pure popularity contest, the second and third take into account how much rotation the respondents asked for by analysing how many “unders” the average respondent choose to add, etc. 1st: the n number of members who received the most votes. Where n is the senbatsu size of the previous single (19 for Nogi or 21 for Keyaki). 2nd: for each group (senbatsu, unders, new members) find the average number of members chosen n1 n2 and n3. Add the highest scoring n1 of senbatsu members, and so-on. Answers of “none” are kept, adding zeroes to the total, reducing the averages for each group. 3rd: the same as the 2nd method, but removing “none”s to decrease the totals and increase the averages, just to see the results.

Nogizaka 17th – simple senbatsu 1. Ikuta Erika (228) 2. Nishino Nanase (225) 3. Shiraishi Mai (219) 4. Saito Asuka (205) 5. Sakurai Reika (203) 6. Eto Misa (196) 7. Wakatsuki Yumi (194) 8. Hori Miona (190) 9. Takayama Kazumi (189) 10. Ikoma Rina (172) 11. Akimoto Manatsu (168) 12. Terada Ranze (167) 13. Nakamoto Himeka (154) 14. Matsumura Sayuri (154) 15. Hoshino Minami (152) 16. Inoue Sayuri (129) 17. Ito Marika (113) 18. Kitano Hinako (113) 19. Watanabe Miria (94) There’s not much change here. Shinuchi Mai is the only drop, excluding Hashimoto Nanami, and Terada Ranze and Watanabe Miria are added in their place. This method does not take into account how many members were hoped for in the new senbatsu, and it is unlikely the actual 17th senbatsu will have 19 members. Nogizaka 17th – complex senbatsu 1. Ikuta Erika (228) 2. Nishino Nanase (225) 3. Shiraishi Mai (219) 4. Saito Asuka (205) 5. Sakurai Reika (203) 6. Eto Misa (196) 7. Wakatsuki Yumi (194) 8. Hori Miona (190) 9. Takayama Kazumi (189) 10. Ikoma Rina (172) 11. Akimoto Manatsu (168) 12. Terada Ranze (167) 13. Nakamoto Himeka (154) 14. Watanabe Miria (94) 15. Higuchi Hina (81) 16. Kawamura Mahiro (68) 17. Yamashita Mizuki (63) The responses had an average of 12 members kept from senbatsu, 4 from unders and one the 3rd gens, resulting in this senbatsu. If answers of “none” were removed, there would be an average of 2 members from the 3rd generation and Ozono Momoko (61) would take the 18th spot. The other groups would not be notably affected. Keyakizaka 4th – simple senbatsu 1. Hirate Yurina (195) 2. Imaizumi Yui (193) 3. Sugai Yuuka (187) 4. Watanabe Risa (187) 5. Shida Manaka (184) 6. Watanabe Rika (183) 7. Moriya Akane (177) 8. Nagahama Neru (177) 9. Kobayashi Yui (175) 10. Suzumoto Miyu (167) 11. Koike Minami (165) 12. Uemura Rina (152) 13. Nagasawa Nanako (144) 14. Habu Mizuho (144) 15. Yonetani Nanami (144) 16. Satou Shiori (140) 17. Harada Aoi (128) 18. Ozeki Rika (121) 19. Ishimori Nijika (117) 20. Oda Nana (117) 21. Saito Fuyuka (112) This senbatsu is made of the top 21 members (emulating the senbatsu size of the previous single) and features zero changes. But the respondents did show, including “none” votes, respondents wanted one member from Keyakizaka added, thus: Keyakizaka 4th – complex senbatsu 1. Hirate Yurina (195) 2. Imaizumi Yui (193) 3. Sugai Yuuka (187) 4. Watanabe Risa (187) 5. Shida Manaka (184) 6. Watanabe Rika (183) 7. Moriya Akane (177) 8. Nagahama Neru (177) 9. Kobayashi Yui (175) 10. Suzumoto Miyu (167) 11. Koike Minami (165) 12. Uemura Rina (152) 13. Nagasawa Nanako (144) 14. Habu Mizuho (144) 15. Yonetani Nanami (144) 16. Kakizaki Memi (69) This includes the top 15 senbatsu members (the average amount chosen) and the top Hiragana member (by average votes with nones, included, the score was just 5 votes away from rounding up to 2). Keyakizaka 4th – Complex senbatsu without nones 1. Hirate Yurina (195) 2. Imaizumi Yui (193) 3. Sugai Yuuka (187) 4. Watanabe Risa (187) 5. Shida Manaka (184) 6. Watanabe Rika (183) 7. Moriya Akane (177) 8. Nagahama Neru (177) 9. Kobayashi Yui (175) 10. Suzumoto Miyu (167) 11. Koike Minami (165) 12. Uemura Rina (152) 13. Nagasawa Nanako (144) 14. Habu Mizuho (144) 15. Yonetani Nanami (144) 16. Satou Shiori (140) 17. Kakizaki Memi (69) 18. Kato Shiho (51) 19. Saito Kyoko (47) “None” votes had a bigger effect on Keyaki’s senbatsu and removing them added one Kanji member and two Hiragana members. While this very undemocratically ignores the wishes of the fans who voted to add no Hiragana members to the next single’s senbatsu, I wanted to do it as a thought exercise, mostly because Keyaki’s senbatsu was so small with them. Centre According to the votes above, Ikuta Erika and Hirate Yurina are the main centre choices. As they are the most popular members, this should surprise no one. But this question didn’t ask about who should be the centre, and how votes change when that is brought up is a very interesting aspect of the CH question. Generally, the responses do match well with popularity, but they’re far from 1:1. Who fans would like to see centre a single in 2017 (so could be 3 or more centres): Nogizaka Ikuta Erika took first, by far. With 56.6% of fans giving her a vote, that’s enough to justify two solo centres. Shiraishi Mai (3rd) got 33.8%, Hori Miona (3rd) 26.1%, Nishino Nanase (4th) 25.4% and Eto Misa (5th) 23.5%. Despite competing for first in the popularity questions, Nishino loses points here likely due to having the 2nd most centre songs in Nogizaka, though her scores have been rising as she hasn’t taken the role for over a year now. Saito Asuka (18.4%, ties for 6th with Sakurai Reika) also has less points than her popularity otherwise suggests, likely due to being the only member remaining in the group for the 17th single onward who centred a single last year. Other notable scores include 8th through 10th: Takayama Kazumi, Ikoma Rina and Wakatsuki Yumi. Despite never being in senbatsu Terada Ranze got votes from 11% of respondents, managing 11th place, and all 3rd gens got at least one vote, with 13.8% of respondents giving at least one vote to a 3rd gen. Out of these Yamashita Mizuki’s airdrop has the most support with 5.1%. Keyakizaka Hirate Yurina is a clear first, but not as clear as her popularity would suggest, with only 42.3% of respondents picking her. 2nd is Imaizumi Yui (34.6%), neck-and-neck with Nagahama Neru (34.1%). The only real competitor with these three is Sugai Yuuka (30.9%). Shida Manaka and Kobayashi Yui tie for 5th with 24.4% followed closely by Moriya Akane with 24%. Even the highest ranking new Hiragana member, Kakizaki Memi (4.5%) doesn’t have much support for an airdrop. It’s still difficult to see Keyakizaka being centred by anyone but Hirate, but there is support for passing the baton to other popular members. Predictions Poll respondents believe we will see a 2017 like this: Nogizaka Nogizaka singles will be centred by Ikuta Erika (62.1%), Nishino Nanase (56.1%) and Shiraishi Mai (54.4%). Possibly also Saito Asuka (28.3%) and Hori Miona (21.6%). Nogizaka will reach 1,035,000 in Oricon sales (using mathematical weighting. With just the median answer it is between 950k and 1m). Yamashita Mizuki (42.2%) Ozono Momoko (41%) and Yoda Yuki (32.3%) will be promoted. Kubo Shiori (23.15%) and Ito Riria (19.1%) also have good chances but they rank after “none” (30.3%). 2 (2.4) members will graduate, most likely to be Shiraishi Mai (42.2%), Eto Misa (30.6%) and Shinuchi Mai (24.8%). Following 'none' (16.3%) include Kawamura Mahiro (13.2%), Matsumura Sayuri (11.6%) and Nojo Ami (10.9%). The following are very unlikely (-2 to -1) unlikely (-1 to 0) likely (0 to 1) or very likely (1 to 2) for Nogizaka: 1.11 maintain/improve music quality 0.4 member has solo single/album debut 0.67 mainstream hit 1 a new centre 0.33 a new drama 0.17 a new variety show 0.93 a new contracted model 1.1 a new member gets a first photobook (other than Saito Asuka) 0.47 a new album 0.86 another 46-hours TV 0.44 a scandal free year 0.88 a Tokyo Dome performance 1.43 a return to Kouhaku -0.03 a 3rd gen centre airdrop -1.25 4th gen auditions Keyakizaka Hirate Yurina will centre again (72.7%). Imaizumi Yui (42.3%) and Nagahama Neru (42%) may centre but it’s unlikely for anyone else, except maybe Sugai Yuuka (24.5%). Keyakizaka will reach 620,000 in Oricon sales (median: 550-600k) Kakizaki Memi (47.8%) will be promoted this year (in some way). Kato Shiho (32.3%), Saito Kyoko (25.4%) are also seen as likely to be pushed but failed to outscore ‘none’ (32.8%). 0 (0.42) members will graduate this year but if any do, it would be Sato Shiori (7.2%) or Ishimori Nijika (5.3%). No others received notable scores. The following are very unlikely (-2 to -1) unlikely (-1 to 0) likely (0 to 1) or very likely (1 to 2) for Keyakizaka: 1.28 maintain/improve music quality -0.02 member has solo single/album debut 0.86 another mainstream hit 0.62 a new centre 0.57 a new drama 0.58 a new variety show 0.81 first contracted model 0.72 first photobook (group or solo) 0.08 first album 0.51 a scandal free year 0.87 a tour 0.98 a return to Kouhaku -0.4 a Hiragana centre other than Neru -0.98 new auditions Comments I personally think we're underestimating both groups' sales records but I'm not certain. Scores were very low for promoting Hiraganas but that can't really be blamed as we don't know what promoting them means, yet. I'm not expecting graduations from Keyaki but by the end of their second year 4 Nogizaka members graduated (Iwase Yumiko, Ando Mikumo, Kashiwa Yukina and Miyazawa Seira) so I'm not all that hopeful we'll get through a second year without even one. Regarding the predictions given a numerical value: Keyaki has more hopes for a new drama and variety show. By a big margin. I can see drama, as TokuDare was far better than Bemars (though more time has passed since Bemars). I'm not so certain about variety shows though. Nogizaka has more confidence for new photobooks than Keyaki for any (including a group one). I can understand why, as Nogizaka has been pumping out PB like clockwork recently. However, I am expecting a Keyakizaka photobook this year. Nogi had one in their second year. And their average age was 18.5. Keyaki's will be 19.5 if they follow the same time scale (next October). Neither is hopeful about a new album. I guess that's because Toumei na Iro (Nogi's first) took so long to release. However, if they use the same schedule as Sorezore no Isu, we could get a new Nogi album 4 singles (summer) or 72 weeks (October) after their 2nd album. And there's no reason to believe Keyaki will stick to Nogi's album release schedule. That said, I'm not ready to put money on either. (Maybe a little on Nogi) Finally, the scandal-free year predictions were so low! Where is your faith in your idols?! :P

[the-hindu-times]

December 2016 Reviews Roundup

After a Courteeners’ New Slang appearance was cut short by Liam Fray being unable to continue from being struck by a plastic bottle on the first day of the month, the following evening saw a full [mainly] solo performance by Mull Historical Society at St Pancras Old Church. Combing pure acoustic renditions, with piano and cello duets, and playing along to self made backing tracks, in-between book readings from his novel ‘The Letters of Ivor Punch’, the natural reverb in this intermate setting enhanced the moments of delicate beauty whilst simultaneously making the big songs even fuller. Turning down encore requests for 2003 ‘US’ highlight ‘Asylum’ (a song that defines MHS; with his Police styled trademark of repeating the same line and melody over different chords in the chorus. Colin MacIntyre’s ability to pull out an uplifting middle 8 within this tune here gives the listener something stronger than alcohol to enhance their current mood of either wanting to break down and cry or smash up a phone box before jumping for joy and punching the air) in favour for fellow album track (and sequel to ‘Barcode Bypass’) ‘The Supermarket Strikes Back’ on his new Martin acoustic - an instrument that offers the potential for a more professional and clean cut future in live performance, from which his shambolic past will be sorely missed.

The Arts Depot (a small theatre we had visited before; travelling to North Finchley for a Ricky Gervais ‘Work In Progress’) was, this afternoon, hosting the stage production of ‘Mr Popper’s Penguins’ before its move to the Criterion Theatre (where we reviewed Nina Conti) in central. Parents with young toddlers in hand, the straight through run (no interval) may not have provided the children with enough light gimmicks to hold their attention... until the fake snow fell from the ceiling, distracting the youngsters away from the stage and their seats. The show is certainly aimed at all age groups, with original songs and the highest form of acting making it a strong competitor along with any other West End show.

I’m not sure why Cast keep choosing to play at Shepherds Bush Empire every year. Apart from when we saw them at Brixton Electric a couple of winters ago, they’ve always chosen this joint yet never have enough interest to even put tickets for two of the balconies on sale. This is surprising when timeless classics such as ‘Walkaway’ and ‘Live The Dream’, which could easily be mistaken for a Beatles’ hit, still can’t be beaten in the world of songwriting and production. Like many bands from the ‘90s ‘Britpop’ era, that is very much where Cast have remained. Groups like Shed Seven and The Lightning Seeds strongly stick to their hits from back in their hayday in their live set list, yet bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Dodgy and Cast insist on writing, releasing and performing new material which is tolerated... but not welcomed, like at a Charlatans or Paul Weller gig. Tonight, there’s a girl down the front who seems like she’s at completely the wrong gig altogether; dancing away to everything - new and old. But the rest in attendance just seem to want a trip down memory lane to when the likes of ‘Sandstorm’, ‘Finetime’, ‘I’m So Lonely’, ‘Flying’, ‘Guiding Star’, ‘Free Me’, ‘History’ and ‘Alright’ would have been exciting, fresh new future classics. The new songs tonight don’t leave any space for standard set highlights ‘Beat Mama’ and ‘Magic Hour’ but this is no ‘90s revival, and guitarist ‘Skin’ still treats things the same as when they were at the peak of their success;  swapping different guitars after every song whilst sporting the same effects rack as U2′s The Edge.  The last time we saw Cast at Shepherds Bush Empire was actually the first time I ever got around to seeing them play live since they reformed; They were on a joint tour with declining Brummies, The Twang, and many punters were there just for that band, leaving just one row of people at the front by the time the headliners got to their unrequested  encore. Tonight everyone is with Cast until the final note... yet, being a Sunday night, they flee for the exits before the band can even finish taking a bow.

A few days later, and Kula Shaker were in town; performing at one of the best venues around - Guildford’s G Live. This was definitely a better option than seeing them at Kentish Town’s Forum, where they were to play for two nights on this tour, and would have been a similar experience to their Roundhouse show at the beginning of the year. Tonight’s venue could surely contend with being as good as seeing them at Walton’s Music Hall in Shadwell back in the summer. Support for this run of dates came from Folkestone trio, Rudy Warman & The Heavy Weather, with singer/songwriter, Rudy,’s brother on drums, and dad on bass (who was concerned about his vintage amp smoking during soundcheck), championed as “the best band we’ve ever played with” by 44 year old (on 18th Jan 2017) Kula Shaker main man, Crispian Mills.

It’s the first time I’ve seen G Live set out like this – the seating spanned diagonally all the way down to the ground, whilst leaving plenty of room in front for those wishing to be on their feet, rather than only having top level balcony seating or floor standing - and it made every aspect of the event better for it, . Unlike Kentish Town Forum or a mile away at The Roundhouse, G Live has such a perfectly clear sound; truly representing the instruments through the PA speakers. For the first couple of Kula Shaker’s songs (a take on ‘Sgt. Peppers’  Lonely Hearts Club Band’, made relevant to their carer, and latest 7” single ‘Let Love B (With U)’), the mix was absolutely shocking – this may well have also been the case when they played the Chalk Farm venue but the muffled sound in the former train depot would have made it difficult to tell either way. After a ropy start, the rest of the set was complete perfection, just in time for ‘Hey Dude’, making one of the best shows of the year. Billed as performing their debut album ‘K’ in its entirety, marking its 20 year anniversary, they do play every song from this album but not in order, with B sides from that era, (including the original version of hit single ‘Shower Your Love’) and tracks from other albums played in-between. Fan favorite ‘Mystical Machine Gun’ and usual set opener ‘Sound Of Drums’ are absent tonight in order to make way for a ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing / Shakermaker’ cover as a finale.

After a massive Biffy Clyro gig at the Millennium Dome (known better for its mobile phone sponsorship), where people were lucky to make their way to the front of the ticket collection que (let alone the que to get into the gig!) before the show was over, we were back a Guildford’s G Live for Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls. Disappointingly the venue was back to its usual lay out of floor standing and balcony seating. The overall sound seemed to get a bit lost up on the balcony, possibly because of this – echoing around and not being as on point as usual at this venue.  Not only being the closest venue on this tour to his home town of Winchester, it’s also the closest to London, so a lot of Frank’s family, former band mates and friends are in tonight – one of which he forces to crowd surf (after he’d first had the experience in this very venue at a Carter USM gig years before). Slightly changing the setlist every night, especially during the 3 song acoustic interlude, unfortunately meant that ‘Mittens’ – a highlight from the new album ‘Positive Songs For Negative People’ - was left out altogether. After a slightly hypocritically naive rant of “it’s not all about what’s going on between your own two ears”, it was back to business with just over half of the night dedicated to the most recent 2 LPs. Maybe FT has set the bar too high, and he’ll certainly never go under the slightly lower bar but his voice wasn’t quite there tonight – caused from the way (and how often) he sings, and appearing to be more noticeable up on the balcony; as you a sat listening, rather than mainly hearing the sound of your own voice screaming along. This is still one of the best feel good shows around with big choruses about negative topics that make you feel positive with the acknowledgement of agreement, whilst proving that the excitement generated from the passion in the voice will always outweigh a ‘prim and proper’ technique. 

Another regular venue for us is the New Victoria Theatre in Woking – and tonight it’s press night for the pantomime. The main attraction of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs is the appearance of Warwick Davis, who had turned down going to the Star Wars premiere this evening to continue to act and direct in the Panto, who’s dwarfs all featured in his Ricky Gervais sitcom ‘Life’s Too Short’. Chris Cox’s interlude of magic and mind riding was good enough for its own show but the starring role came from usual Bristol panto regular, Andy Ford, who’s Lee Evans stylings lead people to want to book tickets to his own stand up night there next month, which he managed to get a mention in whilst on stage.

After a Busted acoustic set at New Slang, almost as brief as The Courteeners, we returned to the Millennium Dome to visit the smaller ‘Indigo’ venue for The Darkness’ only UK Christmas show. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in the main room, once again the ticket collection que situated outside in the freezing cold made us glad we were not attending that show. Those who had bought tickets off the venue’s official distributor ‘StubHub’ were unable to collect their tickets altogether as the machines (the only way to collect these types of tickets) were out of order – forcing punters to shell out another £100 at the box office with no come back. The venue make sure they have no staff to help with these machines but instead employ security who’s main job is to turf those out who are looking to offload any spare tickets to genuine fans. There’s already a mechanism on these StubHub machines that makes it so you can not purchase tickets once doors have opened to the actual venue, allowing the company to keep the money for the unused tickets as well as taking more money at the box office for those who’s only option is to buy from there. Having been impressed with The Darkness at Portsmouth’s 2015 Victorious Festival, we traveled down to the area again for their Christmas show at Southampton Guildhall that same year but viewed it as a disappointment in comparison, mainly due to the poor sound quality. It was a similar story tonight, sounding like there was too much reverb on everything, echoing around the circular building. The design of the huge balcony is one of the reasons not to return to this venue, with even the front few rows being restricted view seats and situated right next to the PA system. With the best venue inside the Millennium Dome complex, The Brooklyn Bowl, now closed for business, there will have to be a very good reason to bring us back there.

words: Nic Bennett live pictures: Tasha Luckhurst

[bccity]

JULY 2019 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of July 31 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly limit).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on the monthly schedule.

Threads and solos do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Overall Company

BC artists are again encouraged to attend WISH’s concerts again this month, especially once news regarding Goeun’s case drops. The success of WISH’s concerts will be one of BC”s two main media play defenses. Thankfully, the news won’t lead to too big of a stock drop like the initial lawsuit news did, but all idols under BC are still forbidden to publicly speak about the case to the press or fans.

Post-July 8 update: All idols are still forbidden to talk about the case and it seems that the higher-ups that know more about what’s going on have been told not to be open with people about more details as well. The general atmosphere of the company this month is a little tense, with management on high alert to keep all of their charges out of trouble. Any questions raised about Goeun will be dismissed and those questioning will be told to focus on their own schedules instead of other people’s business.

Important dates:

N/A

BC Soloist 1

Now that her debut is imminent, she has a packed schedule this month. The album has already been fully recorded and choreographed, but the music video still needs filmed. She’ll also make a special surprise appearance on an episode of Weekly Idol with senior soloists that will air a week before her debut to introduce her to the public.

Important dates:

July 8: Release of pre-debut single “Week”.

July 15: Why Don’t You Know MV filming.

July 16: Special appearance on Weekly Idol Soloist Special filming (also appearing: Dimensions Soloist 1 and Gold Star Soloist 3, to air July 24).

July 31: Release of “Why Don’t You Know” & Hands on Me mini album/debut showcase, promotions continue until August 31.

Decipher

Along with the company’s two other boy groups, Decipher is being sent off to KCON NY this month. Decipher is a bit less popular than their two junior groups overseas, but they still have a number of fans that will be attending just for them. The week before KCON will be packed with group and individual English lessons packed in to provide the members with, at the very least, memorized lines to recite. They’ll have a hi-touch, a meet and greet, and participate in the second concert day.

Important dates:

July 7: Performance at KCON NY at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, USA (also performing: 7ROPHY, Knight, & CHARM).

              ↳ Decipher R & V

After the meeting last month with Decipher V, the members will be called into concept meetings this month and record the single for their comeback at the end of the month. It’s a song that had originally been in consideration for a full group comeback but has been repurposed for the unit after management deemed it more fit for them after deciding Decipher V should make a return.

Important dates:

N/A

BEE

After music show promotions end on the fourth, they get the news from the manager that they’ve been gifted almost two weeks of vacation time from the 6th to the 18th thanks to their successful comebacks since re-signing their contracts. The members are free to leave Seoul or the country as long as they remain on their best behavior. Once they come back from vacation, they’ll be met with the news of a new brand deal with hair care brand Mise En Scene, which they’re scheduled to film a CF for straight away. At the end of the month, they’ll hold a fan sign for the brand deal.

Important dates:

July 4: End of music show promotions.

July 19: Mise En Scene CF filming.

July 28: Mise En Scene fan sign in Jung, Seoul.

Knight

Management is confident that this comeback falls comfortably into Knight’s image and artistic niche, but the results after the mini-album drops might say otherwise. It could be the numerous albums BC has made Knight pump out every year for the last few years catching up to them with the fan base, poor marketing, a song a bit too dark for the season, or the fierce competition from groups like Femme Fatale and Fuse for digital points and music show wins hurting their chances with casual fans, but this comeback under performs much more noticeably than the last in physical sales, digital charting, and music show wins. They’re still clearly going to end the year in the top three selling groups of the year physically as always, but with BC more concerned with building up CHARM, it becomes obvious BC doesn’t plan to have them come back again until next year and they’ll be relied on for second half of the year concert profits instead.

Important dates:

July 6: Performance at SBS Super Concert at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong (also performing: CHARM).

July 7: Performance at KCON NY at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, USA (also performing: 7ROPHY, CHARM, & Decipher).

July 9: Release of “Now or Never” & Sensuous mini album showcase, promotions continue until August 9. 

July 13: Fan sign in Yeouido, Seoul.

July 14: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

July 27: Filming of “Now or Never Suit Version” choreography video.

July 27: Performance at Boryeong Mud Festival in Boryeong.

              ↳ White Knight

No schedules for the month.

Important dates:

N/A

Lipstick

Music show promotions continue to go well though BC doesn’t have them promoting too extensively. As soon as promotions end, the members will be hopping on a plane for their Taiwan concerts, then returning to South Korea where they’ll be shooting for a summer-themed photo book and behind the scenes video on Jeju Island that will be released near the end of summer for fans (admin note: if you want to reference exact outfits/concepts/photo pairings, you may use the respective AOA line distribution with the maknae aligning with Choa since Chanmi is absent from the shoot). After that, they’ve got one last tour stop for the month in Malaysia. They’re asked to keep attending pole dancing classes in preparation for their Japanese music video as well and, in general, avoid putting themselves too much in the public eye this month following the news on Goeun’s case.

Important dates:

July 19: End of music show promotions.

July 20: Prima Donna tour concert at National Taiwan University Sports Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

July 21: Prima Donna tour concert at National Taiwan University Sports Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

July 23: Lipstick Hot Summer photo book shooting day one in Jeju Island.

July 24: Lipstick Hot Summer photo book shooting day two in Jeju Island.

July 25: Lipstick Hot Summer photo book shooting day three in Jeju Island.

July 27: Prima Donna tour concert at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

              ↳ Lip Gloss

No schedules.

CHARM

This month, the members will only be in Seoul for around a total of two weeks, from July 5-6, 9-12, and 18-25. The rest of the time, they’ll either be doing their Japanese concert and fan meeting tour or performing at the SBS Super Concert or KCON NY. This means English lessons the first week of the month and expectations to be studying Japanese if needed the rest of the time. Time when they are in Seoul will be spent learning and recording for their Japanese single album Happy Ending and in practice learning the choreography for it so the music video can be filmed and released next month.

Important dates:

July 2: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

July 3: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

July 6: Performance at SBS Super Concert in Hong Kong at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong (also performing: Knight).

July 7: Performance at KCON NY at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY, USA (also performing: 7ROPHY, Knight, & Decipher).

July 13: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Ecopa Arena in Shizuoka, Japan.

July 14: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Ecopa Arena in Shizuoka, Japan.

July 16: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

July 17: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

July 26: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 27: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 28: CHARM 2019 Japan Tour ‘Haru’ concert at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 29: CHARM Japan Fanmeeting - ‘Hana’ at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

July 30: CHARM Japan Fanmeeting - ‘Hana’ at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

WISH

The stricter diets and curfews and additional practice time don’t let up this month, but their public schedules do at least. Their tour begins this month with dates in Seoul and Bangkok. The rest of the time, they’re scheduled to film a Pocari Sweat CF and record for their Japanese releases for next month. The double title tracks for said Japanese comeback will be filmed at the end of the month with contrasting concepts, one more typical bright pop WISH and one more in the vein of their latest Korean comeback.

Important dates:

July 6: WISHlights Tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

July 7: WISHlights Tour concert at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

July 11: Pocari Sweat CF filming.

July 25: Happy Happy MV filming.

July 27: WISHlights Tour concert at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. 

July 31: Breakthrough MV filming.

[bccity]

JANUARY 2018 BC ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Note: As always, individual schedules are up to roleplayers within reason. Any major individual schedules, especially those related to points claims, should be cleared with the main first. These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

*This will be updated as more items are announced.

Overall company

BC Entertainment plans to partner with Dimensions Entertainment and Gold Star Media to produce a documentary show following the idols within each company. This is known to all artists as preparations for arranging filming schedules have begun, but is not public knowledge and should not be leaked.

January Company Schedules:

January 7: Meeting for company artists and those who work directly with them (managers, PR, etc.) headed by CEO Kim Byungchul. BC Entertainment’s mission statements and overall plans for 2018 will be delivered. Clean images will be a frequent topic, and hints will be made that the company has a focus on WISH, Knight, CHARM, and to a lesser extent, their soloists this year.

tw: diet mention // Various dates: All groups and soloists will meet with company nutritionists, personal trainers, and PR teams to shape diet and exercise plans for the new year, as well as PR plans for the year.

Decipher

Decipher will have a Korean comeback this month for the first time in over a year. BC considers this a crucial comeback to decide the frequency of future comebacks or if it would be more beneficial to focus on profits from merchandise and touring.

January Group Schedules:

January 6: Group meeting with group’s PR team.

January 7: Individual meetings with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

January 8: Release of Top Seed & album showcase, group promotions continue until February 8 with variety show and music show appearances.

January 9: Morning radio show.

January 10: Airing of Weekly Idol episode.

January 14: Fansign in Gangnam. 

January 20: Fansign in Yeouido.

DECIPHER V & R

Early planning is underway for a possible Decipher V comeback in 2018.

January Group Schedules: On break.

BEE

Vague talk of an eventual comeback continues as occasional recordings continue. There are no public group schedules for the month, but BC encourages members to do their own activities and would also like to push visibility of BEE with currently promoting groups like Decipher and WISH through social media.

January Group Schedules:

Sparse studio recordings for potential comeback.

January 9: Individual meetings with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

January 11: Member Rocket releases non-promoted pre-release single “You, Clouds, Rain”.

January 17: Group meeting with group’s PR team.

January 18: Member Rocket releases debut solo album + music video for title track “Star” + has album showcase and begins solo promotions, solo promotions continue until February 1.

January 25: Member Rocket releases music video for b-side track “Sleep Tight ft. Taeyong & Julien Shin” off of solo album.

(February 1: Member Rocket releases music video for b-side track “In the Time Spent With You” off of solo album, ends “Star” music show promotions.)

Knight

With a comeback and concerts this month, as well as the continuation of awards season, BC wants Knight in the media only for their music and award wins and will go to great lengths to ensure they start 2018 off with a clean slate. Their public image has improved somewhat lately.

January Group Schedules:

January 2: Member Taeyong releases music video for b-side track “Tonight” off of solo album.

January 5: Group meeting with group’s PR team.

January 6: Individual meetings with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

January 7: THE KNIGHT WAR concert in Taipei, Taiwan.

January 8: Recording of Weekly Idol episode.

January 11: Golden Disk Awards Physical Ceremony.

January 12: Member Taeyong releases music video for b-side track “Anymore” off of solo album, ends solo album promotions.

January 13: Release of Knights of the Sun & album showcase, group promotions continue until February 13 with variety show and music show appearances.

January 16: Dubai Fountain Show appearance.

January 17: Airing of Weekly Idol episode.

January 23: Member Dax releases BC Portal song “I Am You, You Are Me”.

January 25: Seoul Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome. cancelled appearance

January 27 & 28: THE KNIGHT WAR concerts at Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.

January 31: Release of Japanese album “Countdown”.

White Knight

There is talk of plans for a White Knight comeback in 2018, but BC remains focused mainly on Knight’s upcoming releases.

January Group Schedules: On break.

Lipstick

Lipstick begins preparations for a comeback starting this month with an undetermined date. BC will leak hints at an upcoming comeback to the media to test the public reception of a full group comeback while the Goeun drama is still ongoing before finalizing a date. In the meantime, members are encouraged to stay out of the press in a negative light and to pursue individual activities in their areas of specialty.

January Group Schedules:

Early studio recordings for potential comeback.

January 1: Group meeting with group’s PR team.

January 4: Individual meetings with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

(February 1: Member Nana releases music video for debut solo single “Don’t Say No” + begins solo promotions, solo promotions continue until March 1.)

Lip Gloss

Public reactions to Lip Gloss’s drastic concept change are mixed. The negative seems to be outweighing the positive with many people pointing out how Remember could have easily fit as a Lipstick song, but it’s charting fairly well and a repackage is planned..

January Group Schedules:

Early studio recordings for repackage.

January 3: Airing of Weekly Idol episode.

January 13: Fansign in Gangnam, Seoul.

January 19: Fansign in Busan.

January 20: Fansign in Daegu.

January 27: Fansign in Suwon.

January 29: End of Remember music show promotions.

CHARM

After a busy 2017, CHARM is in full swing preparing for a comeback that is tentatively slated for February. The month will be spent finishing recording and shooting the photos, with the music video being filmed at the end of the month.

January Group Schedules:

Final studio recordings for comeback and music video filming.

January 3: Group meeting with group’s PR team.

January 10: Individual meetings with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

January 11: Golden Disk Awards Physical Ceremony.

January 15: Idol Star Athletics Championships recording at Goyang Gymnasium.

(February 2: Fanmeeting at Jamsil Arena.)

(February 3: Fanmeeting at Jamsil Arena.)

WISH

WISH’s January schedule will offer the members very little down time. Promotions for Heart Shaker will be in full swing until the end of the month, but many appearances will be pre-recorded earlier in the month to make the frequent trips back and forth between Japan and South Korea as they generate hype for a new upcoming Japanese single easier. They’ve also already begun to work on their next comeback.

January Group Schedules:

Early studio recordings for next comeback.

January 1: Member Mia releases BC Portal song “Rain”.

January 2: Individual meetings with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

January 4: Group meeting with group’s PR team.

January 10: Golden Disk Awards Digital Ceremony.

January 11: Golden Disk Awards Physical Ceremony.

January 13: Fansign in Seocho, Seoul.

January 15: Idol Star Athletics Championships recording at Goyang Gymnasium.

January 19: Candy Pop showcase in Seto, Japan.

January 22: Candy Pop showcase in Fukuoka, Japan.

January 23: Candy Pop showcase in Hiroshima, Japan.

January 24: End of Heart Shaker music show promotions. 

January 25: Candy Pop showcase in Osaka, Japan.

January 26:  Member Wren releases debut solo mini-album + music video for title track “Free Somebody” + has album showcase and begins solo promotions, solo promotions continue until February 26.

January 29: Candy Pop showcase in Tokyo, Japan.

January 31: Candy Pop showcase in Saitama, Japan.

(February 1: Candy Pop showcase in Saitama, Japan.)

Soloist 1

Along with the end of promotions comes a break for her. Meetings will be conducted sparingly throughout the month as plans for her 2018 are formulated.

January Schedules:

January 4: End of Lip & Hip music show promotions.

January 12: Meeting with personal PR team.

January 13: Meeting with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

Soloist 2

Meetings will be conducted sparingly throughout the month as plans for her 2018 are formulated.

January Schedules:

January 14: Meeting with personal PR team. 

January 20: Meeting with company nutritionists and personal trainers.

Soloist 3

His latest single is doing extremely well, giving BC high expectations for his upcoming album. Preparations for the release of his new album are in full swing. 

January Schedules:

January 8: Meeting with personal PR team. 

January 19: Meeting with company nutritionists and personal trainers.