#i know atsushi is vocalist but hes important too

[banqanas]

we need to bring back exile. like the whole group. With akira and atsushi and the senior members. everyone needs to come back on television and remind the people of how amazingly cool performers are and how much of a presence they bring on stage

[henshin-9]

Late 2019 I tore my soul in half and gave each half to a man I had never even met. Those men were Sakurai Atsushi and Fujisaki Issay. For four years they have owned those pieces of me, and in return they have blessed me with beautiful music and performances. Their work quickly took over my life, and now almost everything I do is related to them. They had given me a reason to live, something to always look forward to, something to love. Never before had I loved somebody nor their work so deeply, and I don't think I will ever love like this again.

I would have never expected them to die at such young ages. Issay, 61. Atsushi, 57. Neither would I have ever guessed they would die the same year, let alone so closely after each other. August 5th and October 19th. My soul is still divided, they each took their half of my soul to their grave with them, just like I am left with their works, now no longer in their hands.

I would do everything to return them to our world, even if they would then decide to retire. It is not only their work that was of importance to me, it was their lifes, knowing that they were doing well, happy, and having fun. I know death is inevitable and that it would have come for them eventually no matter what, but the time is not right. In ten or twenty years, maybe... Maybe then I could have accepted it, but not now, not while they were still so young, despite officially having been old.

Issay and Atsushi, both such inspirations. Issay, an openly gay man who felt like he did not necessarily have a gender. And Atsushi, a man who was not afraid to show his feminine side and affection to other men. The both of them were not afraid to show their emotions and speak their minds. They were truly people to respect and look up to. In a strange way, they were like parental figures to me, despite me also looking at them very... "respectfully".

Two men both beautiful in every way imaginable. Beautiful voices, beautiful faces, beautiful personalities/souls and for as far as I have been able to see, even beautiful bodies. Atsushi also had the best thighs I had ever seen on a man. Age had never taken that beauty from them, and they were both so kind and caring. Despite having been 57 and 61 years old they were both unbelievably stunning, not only on the outside, but on the inside too. In fact, I believe that their inner beauty shined through, and with every passing day it turned them more and more beautiful.

They have left us with so much to remember them by. Both BUCK-TICK as well as Der Zibet have such great discographies. BUCK-TICK, 23 albums, 46 singles, over 60 recorded tours and over 80 music videos. How many bands can achieve this? And if only Atsushi had lived longer, I am sure they would have done so much more. Der Zibet, 19 albums. Maybe they did not have as many singles, music videos and recorded tours, but their discography of music was surely not small. Besides that, Issay had so many projects on the side. PhI, Hamlet Machine, his solo album, ISSAY meets DOLLY, KA.F.KA.

And it was not only music that had become Issay's career, his life, it was pantomime too. His love for pantomime was undeniable as he often used it for performances with his band as well. I will always remember those little mime acts he would put up as they played the song Der Rhein. He also often talked about his love for pantomime. We may have only been able to see one performance of it, yet even through just one show you could see his passion. His mime career had started even earlier than his music career, and he actively worked on both until the day he died.

Sakurai Atsushi too had more than just BUCK-TICK. He had a solo album, SCHWEIN and The Mortal, growing his discography even further. Besides that, his special skill, that not many singers possess, was his ability to sing most of his songs even better live. And not only was he an incredible live vocalist, he too possessed a mesmerizing stage performance, gifting us either very magical, elegant and gothic performances, or something that could only be described as purely sexual. His moans will never leave my mind, and this is not a complaint. I only have to think about it and I can already see him ride a stage in thigh high stockings as he moans to either Sapphire, Mudai, or any of his other songs.

Something else I will never forget, for both Atsushi and Issay, is their smiles, their laughs and even how beautiful their voices were if they simply talked. They were both so cute with everything they did, truly adorable. Atsushi with his cats, they were his biggest love, his babies. Issay too was so cute with pets. Besides that they were both also funny, always able to make me laugh. They were just everything that was good.

Sakurai Atsushi and Fujisaki Issay, two very unique personalities that will not easily be found again, especially not in combination with their beauty, voices and skills. With their deaths, I have lost most of myself, and I feel empty. I hope the work they have left us with will be enough for me to fill this void that has grown inside of me, despite the fact that I want more, especially from BUCK-TICK as no other band will ever reach such perfection. It may be selfish and unrealistic, but I wanted them both to live and create forever.

That could have never been reality, but I would still have appreciated it if death could have waited 20 more years before it took the two most important people to me. It still feels unreal, how could they both die so soon? One of them was already difficult, yet both? It is as if I am a side character in somebody's horror fiction that Atsushi and Issay were the main characters of. It is worse than a nightmare, as a nightmare I could have woken up from.

BUCK-TICK's last album was Izora, an album with a cover art that symbolizes infinity. Their last music video was Mugen Loop, a video that truly was a loop, something that just went on forever. Despite the fact that BUCK-TICK will now most likely end, their music will exist for eternity, Atsushi’s voice will never disappear. The same counts for Issay.

I wish I could just tell them one thing, cause I want them to know how much they have meant to me. I know they can't hear me, but I'll still say the words and hope the wind carries them to wherever they are. All I would tell them is "thank you for everything you have done, for everything you have created." And I would tell them that the world misses them, and that I personally promise to always love them, even if I were to grow out of their music... which I am pretty sure will never happen. They will forever be my favorites, and their work will for always be part of my everyday life.

Sakurai Atsushi and Fujisaki Issay, thank you. I hope you both rest peacefully and without regrets. You have been perfect. I hope you two will take care of each other, wherever you are.

[nopperabounet]

Let’s all enjoy some ISSAY today~ as a treat!

I thought it would be nice to show how very loved Sakurai is today on his birthday~! And what better way than sharing ISSAY’s kind words, he just . . . glows with love for Sakurai and it’s beautiful to read.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

音楽と人- PHY vol.15 February 2020 Special Talk with ISSAY (Der Zibet) Parade III ~ Respective Tracks of BUCK-TICK~ Text by Kanemitsu Hirofumi Translation by Lola

 In my humble opinion, the song you did for the tribute album felt like it was made for you and Der Zibet didn't it? Even Sakurai-san said so, he told me, "'Ai no Souretsu' is perfect for ISSAY-san . . . . . ."

I am so pleased to hear that. When I was asked to participate in the tribute, my immediate response was, "Of course I will do it!" but then I became incredibly anxious about it you know.

Due to song choice?

Yes. Because when I was ready to try to select a song there is just such a vast amount to choose from as you would expect from a band that has been active constantly for the past 30 years . . . . . .

True *smiles*.

I spent several days listening to different songs but because they have so many good ones I ended up thinking, "Oh, perhaps I will do this one. But then again, this one is also good. . . . . . .ok, I'm lost." So I texted Atsushi-kun about it *smiles*.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

"I'm having a hard time," I wrote *smiles*. And then I get, "You could do things in this way, yes, but you could also choose by another means."

That was his advice?!

It was but I ended up ignoring it *smiles*.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Although at first, I did think I would give up on choosing a song in this way. Since there is such a great number of songs to select from, I decided to discuss with HIKARU (Yoshida Hikaru/Guitar) which ones might be interesting from the band's perspective. When it came to selecting songs in this way there were only two or three that I thought I would like to sing with Der Zibet even though there were a number of others that I wanted to try to sing myself without the band.

And which songs were those?

That's private!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

I could not even tell Atsushi-kun *smiles*. Anyway, so I sent those few songs to HIKARU and asked him which one he thought would be best, and he told me. "Ai no Souretsu" was in first place. In truth, I also thought it would be really interesting to try this song with Der Zibet because it was a song I wanted to try to sing, and so that is how it got chosen. It would seem as though my thoughts and HIKARU's were on the same wavelength.

And what was it that you were thinking, specifically?

I was thinking about the image the music of "Ai no Souretsu" possesses. The lyrics contribute to this as well, this feeling of loneliness, and isolation. In addition to that there is also a romanticism to both. This is something that we strive to portray through our perspective as well. And I guess it was about three years ago right? When I saw them perform this song in Budoukan, it left a deep impression on me, it's a memory that stayed with me. I thought that if we did this song, surely we could do so in a way that would express BUCK-TICK's views without fundamentally changing them while also being able to express Der Zibet's sound.

What did you think of "Ai no Souretsu" the first time you heard it?

It was absolutely Atsushi-kun's style. I mean it has this immense feeling of . . . . . .becoming lost along your way, and it calls to mind an empty landscape. What he depicted in his world is also incredibly close to my own perspective as well. While he and I might cope with this feeling of solitude differently, it is something I understand all too well.

And how do you cope with that ISSAY-san?

Rather than coping, it's more that it is a basic part of who I am. So rather than confronting it, I acknowledge that this has always been a part of who I am so there's nothing to really be coping with. It is just something that is there.

You don't think Sakurai-san feels the same?

Well, I think he might. Otherwise, he could not do what he does. It's just that with him, when he sees this part of himself, his heart wavers about it, and it's like he needs to change it, and I feel as though this pattern of his differs from my own.

In what way?

The thing about Atsushi-kun is . . . . . .and this is just my impression but, for instance when I first saw him I was utterly astonished by him, by that feeling of being lost and of having a wavering heart. And I could not help but wonder what was it that caused his heart to be so? What is it that he keeps searching for with all of his heart? That is the gap between us that fascinates me.

I see. Even though it's sad, you can't help but wonder what the sadness is about, and what the loneliness is about as well, and you end up worrying about it until the very end.

Yes. And when it comes to his heart, I feel that he is a perpetual question mark.

A question mark?

Yeah. May I say that? *smiles*

I am asking you to explain *smiles*.

Various people have varying interpretations of him, and I realize that is not quite an answer but, the thing about being in doubt of his feelings is that of course you cannot say with certainty what it is not without a doubt, and it is this constant vacillation that makes me question why in the world he is like that, and that is why to me he is a question mark.

Is this why you feel you are opposites?

I am someone who by nature my songs are a performance, but in his case, he is the opposite because he is being sincere. That is the slight difference between us but as far as I am concerned because it is something I understand well, it is easy for me to get into it.

I see.

But you know for a number of years now, his strength has felt incredible to me.

His strength?

I could feel his sheer strength to stand there on his two legs, that took guts.

How did you find the sound side of things with this song?

We finally finished the track down but all in all, everything went rather smoothly. As I was just saying before, I wanted to take care to have that romanticism along with the solitude and loneliness, but I was aware that it could end up having a very bleak sound. But I think that's where HIKARU's sense made a difference so that it came out rather well didn't it?

It did.

We have songs with similar outlooks right so because of that we had the same approach but while being aware that this is also a cover. I kept wondering what to do about that, and that's when HIKARU had the idea to have it be a tango . . . . . .even though the song isn't a tango at all *smiles*. I think it really suited the song. It's like you're in a different era. Within that sort of sound I could really allow myself to sing freely *smiles*.

You sang freely? *smiles*

Yes. Because this time the image was clear in my mind when it came to singing so I figured I would do so honestly. Without anything extra or gimmicky, or any weird vibrato either *smiles*. Once I knew this is what I wanted to do, I thought I could stand up and sing it frankly.

What did the members think of it?

We talked about it the other day at the after party for the Yoyogi show. I got quite drunk you know but *smiles*, I do remember Atsushi-kun complimenting me on it like, "It was so good."  He also asked me, "So . . . . . .you didn't find this song difficult to sing did you?" *smiles* And when I told him, "I did, actually." He said, "Of course, it is a very difficult song after all."

Ha ha ha ha ha.

You know even our way of writing lyrics is different. When it came to writing this song, Atsushi-kun is very symbolic in his imagery and he uses these impactful words and phrases in the refrain. I do not really have that ability with my writing, and as a singer, these sorts of lyrics are incredibly difficult for me you know. I feel that is what makes him incredible as a vocalist. So you know . . . . . . I absolutely couldn't mess up! *smiles*

But you did make it work as a Der Zibet song, ISSAY-san.

If that is what you think, then I am happy. Because it's a song that I really love I think I'd like to try singing it during my own lives as well. No matter how the arrangement is, I would love it if one day I could sing it with Atsushi-kun, as a vocalist that would make me incredibly happy.

I would absolutely want to hear that. While it's true that your outlooks are very similar, you also filled the song with incredible love.

It is a tribute so would it not be terrible if I did it any other way? It would ruin the whole essence of it from the start. After all it is my very love for the piece and for them as musicians that made me unable to do it any other way, and I think that is what made it so enthralling. We may not be the same as people but, I think it's important to accept that about each other, and our differences in how we do things is something that I thought about a lot as a vocalist.

You created a wonderful tribute.

Because I sang with love for BUCK-TICK as a band, and with love for Atsushi-kun *smiles*.

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Given 5

Title: Given 5 (ギヴン－given－5)

Release Date: 2020/02/25

Author/Artist: Kizu Natsuki

Cast:

Furukawa Makoto + Saitou Souma

Hino Satoshi + Takumi Yasuaki

Tamaru Atsushi

Masuda Toshiki

Hamano Daiki

Enoki Junya

Yashiro Taku

Synopsis: Adaptation of the fifth volume of the series of the same name.

Review Proper

Why am I so weak when it comes to Mafuyu and Uenoyama’s relationship??? Not even a few minutes in and they already show Uenoyama’s anxiety. I JUST WANT MY CHILDREN TO BE HAPPY. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO IN ORDER FOR GUSARI TO JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE??? This is quite ironic seeing as how I was praising Gusari for adding some realism into their relationship in 4. 😂 But I’m honestly so beat up from Itsuka Koi ni Naru Made and Saezuru that I wanted my heart to take a break. Who the hell even made this log list and why the hell is Itsuka Koi ni Naru, Saezuru, and Given right next to each other??? I was initially going to put SuzuMinta’s works before Saezuru and Given, but did I really want to put Saezuru and Given before Therapy Game and Love Nest? That’s gonna be total heart ache after total heart ache! 

Anyway, the voice work and sound direction here was phenomenal as usual. Shout out to MSG for most of the sound work, Misa Sasa for the Ugetsu’s violin, and Yohei Matsui for the lyrics. It’s so sad that all the cast and staff of the BLCD were never brought in for that anime adaptation. I mean, what was the point in getting rid of all of them? Everyone absolutely loved the series and working with each other, so I don’t think any of them would ever refuse appearing in the anime, busy schedule or not. 

Scratch that. I’m gonna say it. I absolutely hated how they scrapped all of the VAs. Where was the need? Are my boys not good enough for the anime adaptation??? When they’ve got a solid fan base that’s about four years old now??? Is Saitou Souma not good enough of a singer for you that you replaced him with some inexperienced VA to voice Mafuyu instead? I know that prods tend to hold cast auditions for anime adaptations, and I don’t have any beef with Yano Shougo and I’m sure he did his best, but the audacity of Blue Lynx to even hold them and not pick Saitou Souma...

I’ve heard the anime version of Fuyu no Hanashi and I dislike how it’s so polished and commercialized when Given’s just an indie band with an inexperienced vocalist. Who y’all fooling? And the lyrics...it completely took away the most important point of the song which is the “fingers getting cold” which is a very vital part of the series because the act of hands slipping away is featured in ALL of the characters’ relationships. If they changed Yoru no Mukou in the movie, I will be livid. Now, I personally don’t care about the anime cast using different tones for their characters so long as they are able to bring their characters to life just as well, but were they really able to do that? Mafuyu was supposed to have “a beautiful husky voice” as per Gusari, but Yano Shougo was more light and sharp which makes his sound less mature and more emotional as compared to Saitou Souma’s more distant and low-key tormented Mafuyu. I definitely prefer Saitou Souma’s soft yet heavy tone over Yano’s because I think that it encapsulates the manga Mafuyu more, but Yano Shougo’s was decent enough for a rookie actor regardless. Yuuma and Nakazawa Masatomo did well in their respective roles even though the former is higher and the latter is lower in pitch than their BLCD counterparts. Yuuma had nailed Makonyan’s Uenoyama down to a degree without going down to his pitch which was nice—UNLIKE SOMEONE. What was the point in making Egu try and replicate Hino Satoshi’s obviously more lower voice??? Egu’s Akihiko might be two to three pitches lower than his Kaburagi and you can clearly hear him strain his throat when he does it—and he goes flat while he does it, too! Please stop making Egu do that, that can’t possibly be good for his throat. I don't want him to go through what Okamoto Nobuhiko did. If Blue Lynx wanted that type of Akihiko, then why didn’t they just cast the original cast in the first place??? If y’all retained all of the Saezuru cast members, then why couldn’t you do the same for Given???

UGH. Way to ruin a franchise. Let’s not even get started with the general animation.

Anyway, back onto the topic of the BLCD, all of my boys slayed their parts as usual. Looking at the cast now, I just feel so proud that they’ve all made names for themselves in the BL industry and have blossoming careers ever since the first BLCD. I would’ve never guessed that Saitou Souma and Makonyan would rise to the top of the industry in just a short span of time. Man, I’m getting emotional. They’re like my children whom I’ve seen grow and robbed right before my very eyes. 😭😭😭 I feel like it was just yesterday when Saitou Souma made his very first appearance as Noiz’ or Hino Satoshi’s younger brother in the DMMD special CDs and now he’s chil-chil’s top 1 BL seiyuu. 😭😭😭 Bless. 

No, we’re not going to talk about Haruki and Akihiko’s relationship here because you really can’t talk sense into someone’s who’s marupok. Anong siya pa den sa hule? MAHINANG NILALANG. If he’s happy being a clown, then let him be a clown. Let’s just hope that Akihiko doesn’t hurt him anymore (even though he’s said that he might hurt him again in the future). 

Red flags: *exists*

Haruki:

This adaptation stuck closely to the manga, so reading it along would be easy. Yoru no Mukou was amazing. I was tearing up while listening to it and I think I like it more than Fuyu no Hanashi (Saitou Souma’s version), but Fuyu no Hanashi is just a different sting yo. These days I just find myself listening to both just to cry myself to sleep at night. HAHAHAHA. I definitely recommend getting the Live Edition instead of just the normal version because you just have to listen to the whole song! 

[retsuyachan]

Bibiri exerpt by EXILE HIRO

Before reading this, I advise readers to watch Kinsuma SP from this video onwards (in 10 parts) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw2Elj-TYOo&t=92s, because I feel that what I’ve transcribed may not fully capture the road leading up to the decision to hold the first VBA. There were a lot more difficulties than what was written in Bibiri, so I hope the videos will present this visually. 

Cheers.

Commencing the audtion

 I think the reason why I was told EXILE would end was because we were top ranking artists, and I agreed with that reasoning. Our team was well loved by almost a million fans, so if someone from the all-important vocalists’ section left, we would never be able to regain that former glory. In the history of the music industry, this was a common fact.

When I was in this dilemma, I would always go back to where we started.Back to why I did this in the first place. What did I do this for? How much faith did I have to go back to basics?

What was the motto of EXILE?

These were some of the things that came to our minds when the staff were brainstorming about the audition.

[The importance of holding on to your dreams]

From the moment we formed EXILE, we held on to this motto and went on with our activities.So what would happen when we have an open recruitment for a vocalist in this top-ranked group? We would be choosing a new vocalist for EXILE from a pool of people who can take up the challenge regardless of skill. The person chosen would become a member of this top-ranked group overnight. He would be able to stand alongside Atsushi, singing in front of thousands of other spectators.This sort of dream must sound like an impossible feat.

“How would you be able to use this audition to pick out a new member?”

This was a serious question I posed to the gathered members. At first, I thought the members would not be in great favor of this idea. While there was no opposition, I felt that the idea didn’t stick clearly into their minds.

In spite of that, I had absolute faith that I would be able to stir something up among the members.

At any rate, this was a modern day Cinderella Story. The story of a normal guy who was suddenly chosen one day to stand in front of millions of people in a dome arena. If we manage to open this up to the public, the fans would willingly open their ears to this audition. In addition, the winner of this audition would probably receive a lot of support. I felt that it was a very EXILE-like method to promote the idea of the importance of holding on to your dreams.The reason why losing a member of our team hit us so hard was because of the love our fans had for us. That was even if we did get an amazing new member. Or rather, the more amazing the member was, the harder the backlash might be. For those who put EXILE close to their hearts, they can be uncomfortable with a new member. EXILE feels much like a family, so if one of the family is replaced by someone else, people would never say things like “Yay! We’ve got a new member in the family!” Once there is a hole left behind, no one else can fill it up again, even if that person was Michael Jackson. I feel that the fans will never be able to come to terms with it.

I understand that very well myself. Even if there was a way to heal this sense of loss, I would feel the same way as the fans do.

In other words, when it comes down to it, everyone would the same feeling of loss while trying to search for the new member….If we continued to think like this, EXILE would no longer exist. That’s why, we couldn’t just stop there. Similar to how Shun chose his own path in life, we also have to move forward with our own.

That’s why, we needed to find that new member.

In order to convey our intent to our fans, we had to think of a way to make the audition easy to understand. Based on our situation at the time, we thought it would be safe to choose the new member within our own confines without telling the rest of the fans, and then choose a day to make the official announcement. I felt that if we do that, the new member would be beaten with a lot of criticism and end up becoming powerless.

….well, with this in mind, I took every opportunity to talk to the members.

While I did say that, it’s not like it was very hard to talk to them. Our conversations went something like: “Won’t it be nuts if a normal kid suddenly became a top selling artiste?” and “If we open the audition to the public, won’t everyone would come and support it?” We were in the process of trying to get the members to get a spark going in this idea.

Although we weren’t sure if this was going to work, by the end of it the members and the staff were all enamored by the idea of choosing a new member.

I’m not entirely sure what happened, but it might be because at this point, everyone felt like they wanted to ride on the idea. I felt that way as well, so we had no other choice but to go for it. Since everything has gone well up to this point, we could feign composure a little. However, we had no idea if we would be able to go through with the audition well or even be able to find a suitable talent for this role. If we weren’t able to find a good vocalist, it would mean there would be a high chance that EXILE would end its run.

As I said the first time, I was really scared to death.

Others have told me that my ideas are too daring or naïve or absolutely off the hook, but that is completely beside the point. To put it crudely, because I was wet behind the ears, or rather, ignorant about the ways of the world, I couldn’t go about this too confidently. I was nervous to the core. I didn’t have complete confidence that this audition would be successful, so I really had no room for error. I didn’t want to fail, so I did all the necessary arrangements that I could and took all measures.

Feeling that this period was unstable, Akira joined us formally as a member, and with that, that was the current state of things within EXILE. I was always wondering when Akira would join EXILE.

While it was great we were open with the fans about beginning the audition and the process of choosing the new member, more importantly, we needed to become an impressive, captivating form of entertainment at the same time. We were first and foremost, entertainers. No matter what we did, we must hold true to that role. Also, if we had a new member that was chosen after a lackluster show, the fans won’t be inclined to support them.

We decided to hold the final audition battle for the new member at the Budoukan, the place where special memories were made.

We needed to hold the final live as a raw sort of entertainment that would make the crowd overflow with emotion, or else we would not achieve real success. To establish this kind of entertainment, we had to take extreme care with our plans.

My biggest worry was, even after gathering the fans together at the final audition and giving an emotional performance, whether or not the winning candidate would stay. We could say big things about appealing to the public to scout for a new vocalist, but from the beginning, we didn’t even have the slightest idea how many applications there would be. If you ask me, I didn’t believe we would be able to find a candidate who would be blessed with the kind of talent Atsushi’s partner had. Or rather, would it even be simple to find such a person? I was rather uneasy. Even if there was a candidate with that kind of potential, we wouldn’t know if such a person would be able to make it past the preliminaries. And even if he did make it past the prelims, we wouldn’t know whether the candidate would be able to stand on the actual Budoukan stage and perform up to expectations. If this candidate was bad, then that would be because we were reckless about the whole audition.

Similar to that of a sports competition, we had seeded candidates like Nesmith and TAKA (from DEEP) who were experienced artistes, so it wouldn’t be strange if they became part of EXILE, but the reason why we had people with such abilities in the midst of this audition was because it was necessary for the Budoukan’s final audition become the best and most exciting form of entertainment.

I had the mindset that we would be able to hold the final battle at the Budoukan as a form of entertainment, no matter how many were left behind, because we wanted to recognize their talents and support their goals.

However, though we worked hard to prepare the perfect event, the moment the floodgates were opened, the audition was successful beyond anyone’s imagination.

The number of applicants for the audition amounted up to almost ten thousand people.

There were applicants lining up all the way up to the edge of town.

And among those applicants was Tasaki-kun (TAKAHIRO).

In all my years, because I’ve come across many walks of life, I had built up data and my baseless confidence. So when I saw Tasaki-kun, I thought he was the one.He was just some ordinary guy, but at the moment when I first heard his voice during the first round of audition, I thought it couldn’t be anyone but this guy. He had the atmosphere that I had always dreamed of.

When I asked around, he coincidentally turned out to be a friend of a friend, meaning that he got here via connections, but that didn’t mean I could go and give him special treatment. I remember that throughout the 2nd and 3rd judging round, whenever Tasaki-kun started singing I was praying hard that he wouldn’t lose.

No matter how good one is, there was still a chance they won’t make it. I felt that this guy would definitely do well if he became part of EXILE, but there was no telling if the other members would feel the same way as I did. But then, I’m just a paranoid kind of person, and at the end of it he hung on and did his best to become a member of EXILE.

That person was Tasaki Takahiro, or whom we know as TAKAHIRO.

I said stuff like “Won’t it be nuts if a normal kid suddenly became a top selling artiste?”, but as I watched over TAKAHIRO’s growth I once again started getting concerned whether he would be able to stand on the stage at the dome, in front of a few million people, with that huge amount of pressure.

TAKAHIRO managed to put all of that out of the way excellently, and he became the new wave of change in EXILE. From the time of the audition to the present, his growth was surprising to even himself, and his addition to the team brought about a huge evolution in EXILE. Following his entry into EXILE, making up 7 of us, another reaction started to take place, like the metamorphosis of a pupa into a butterfly, and something else new was born.

You could say that our lives have been changed through the audition.

The audition allowed us to have a chance to get close to our fans and our contribution to society. The members of EXILE had decided to hold a face-to-face audition, regardless of the number of applicants. So when the nationwide-held first judging came around we met all 10 thousand of the applicants. The same was also applied to the second and third round of judging. We believed that we couldn’t just choose one person out of the thousands of applicants to be EXILE’s vocalists. We just had to meet every single one of these applicants.

It took a really long time, but that was an amazing experience.

There were many sorts of people who applied for the audition. Naturally, there were also some who applied as a joke, but there was a greater meaning to that once we met up with these people.

The rumors of the audition had created such a huge impact. The news and mass media might have picked up on the audition, but it was surprising how this news was spread word-from-mouth, independent of the mass media. Thinking about it now, this was to be expected.

“I wanted to sing in front of EXILE”

Said one applicant, but I wonder how many friends he shared this with. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that these friends have shared this to other friends too.

“My friend is also attending this audition”.

That friend might have told their friends, and that set of friends might have told other friends, and so on.

“My friend’s boyfriend is going for the audition too.”

If you consider this chain of friends, a single applicant could share this to about a 100 other people.

That means if you have ten thousand applicants, they can spread the news to almost a million people solely through word-of-mouth.

Also, this wasn’t like any ordinary news. This meant those standing at the audition venue and the raw emotions of those singing their hearts out in front of us will be broadcasted to a million people.

If the criteria for entry was something simple like “Males 18 years old and up”, there’ll definitely be all shapes and sizes of people coming to audition. There would even be a considerable number of people coming in wheelchairs.

Many people came, holding on to their various dreams, to let us hear their voices.

I was truly happy about this. At the same time, we were really encouraged by their dreams and passions. This also made us discover our roots and our substance once again.

In the end, deep within ourselves, we all held on to the importance of having a dream in mind. It’s not that we weren’t encouraged by the initial success, but by being able to work together with so many people, this went on to become a more regular and larger event.

In 2010, we held an audition to search for the vocalists for Sandaime J Soul brothers, and in 2011 we held auditions for female vocalists and dancers. We collected nearly 30 thousand applicants. Through this, the vocals for Sandaime J Soul brothers, and many other female vocalists and performers for the current E-girls were born.

Then in 2013, we launched an audition to scout for artistes who could do activities around the world. The applicants who made it would have the privilege to spend 3 years in New York to learn about the music industry. It was very exciting to have a not-so-distant future on our minds, and to produce artistes who can contribute to the world around them.