We have a direct face-off with Juice=Juice, a Hello! Project idol group that just released their new single 'Jidanda Dance / Feel! Kanjiru yo' on the 26th of April.
Firstly, please introduce yourself to the readers! Tell us something about yourself that you would like the readers to pay attention to!
Miyamoto Karin: I often say this myself - I am an 'angel'.
Takagi Sayuki: Hey, stop that~
Miyazaki Yuka: Are you all right? This is our first time working with this publication... (anxious look on her face)
Miyamoto: It's all right! I'm in this to bring smiles to the faces of lots of people. I'd like to become a person who can heal those around me just by being there. So, I'd like to further refine my cuteness! Please keep an eye on me, to see how much I'll grow from now on!
Kanazawa Tomoko: I want you to watch how I move my hips while I'm dancing. My goal for the year is to polish my seductiveness. So I'm studying up on how to move and swing my hips. I'm working on increasing the range of my hip motions. So I hope you won't take your eyes off me at concerts.
Miyazaki Yuka: I often get told that I'm a vixen. So I'd like to treasure that 'cute and cunning' genre that I find myself in!
Takagi: I love singing, so I want to become good enough that I'll be acknowledged even by myself. At the moment, I'm not at the level where anyone listening to me would say that I'm good, so I should try to learn more things. I'd like to grow in that way, so I hope that people will observe that.
Uemura: I'm currently growing out my bangs, so I want you to observe that! Pay attention to my bangs!
So, please tell us about your latest single 'Jidanda Dance' that was released on the 26th of April.
Miyamoto: I got a surprise when I saw the title. (laughs) Listening to the song and looking at the lyrics, we agreed amongst ourselves that it's an interesting song.
Takagi: It was shocking. There's a phrase that goes 'Jidanda Dance Dance Jida Dance Dance', which pops out from nowhere. But when we were recording it, I sang it in a cool way. Maybe I was unconsciously resisting the style of the song.
Miyazaki: At first, I sang it in the usual cool Juice=Juice style. But since I was asked to speak out the lines rather than sing them, during the rerecording, I placed more importance on saying the lines with more emotion. My goal was to sing the lines without paying too much heed to things like how accurate my rhythm was.
Miyamoto: As we were going through with the recording, I was told to do it in a more amusing way. So there was a lot more activity. At the end of the first part, there's a scene where we sing and dance going 'Jidanda Jidanda♪' following a Bon Odori-esque melody. That wasn't there at the start.
Takagi: They didn't tell us that it'd be that amusing. I was imagining that they'd turn it into a cool song like the ones we've had so far. When it was done, they'd added a lot of sounds. It was completely different that what I'd expected. (laughs)
Uemura: There's no time to take a break in this song. The choreography has us constantly stamping our feet. This song uses up more stamina that any of our previous songs. By the end of it, we're really out of breath. With our major debut song 'Romance no Tochuu', I'd immediately get out of breath at first. But after going through a lot of performances and practices, I could pull it off calmly. But I don't think I'll ever get used to 'Jidanda Dance' on the stamina aspect. So I've got to build up my stamina!
Kanazawa: At first, I wasn't sure if Juice=Juice could pull of this song. But since we've had so many mature songs so far, doing this kind of song lets us expand into something new. It must have come as a surprise to the fans who have been supporting us for a long time. But I don't find such surprises to be regrettable. I'd like to use it to move in a different direction and make the fans smile.
Miyamoto: That doesn't mean that we'll be going on that direction from now on. But 'Jidanda Dance' is a challenge for us, to show you the charms of a new Juice=Juice. I hope that seeing us in a new light will make you like us even more.
Takagi: When you become an adult, even when you're in the dumps, you don't stamp your feet, right? So, I'd like you to listen to this song and enjoy yourself, feel refreshed. I wouldn't mind this song being used as a way to release your stress!
Have you ever stamped the ground recently?
Miyamoto: I have a cat named Jasmine, but she doesn't let me hold her. When I called for her this morning, she didn't come to me, but she instead went to my mother... That made me want to stamp my feet in frustration. After that, I had some happy happy Jasmine time (contact time with Jasmine) and played with her, but she immediately went off somewhere. That made me want to stamp my feet, but I was so frustrated that I couldn't.
Kanazawa: I don't know if I scare children, but kids don't come near me...
All: (Burst out laughing)
Kanazawa: We had a photoshoot in a park just now, and there was a group of kids. So I watched them with Takagi Sayuki-chan, commenting on how cute they were. There was a cheeky kid, who was like 'What are you looking at~'! But all of them just looked at Sayuki. Even though I was next to her, no one interacted with me.
All: (Burst out laughing)
Kanazawa: At handshakes, some fans bring along their babies, but even then, they cry when I start shaking hands with them. Even though I like children. It's strange. It makes me want to stamp my feet. Yet, when I look at myself in the mirror, I look like such a sweetie, plus I've got such a good personality...
Takagi: You don't look sweet!
Miyazaki: Maybe it's because some of the parts of your body are large? Like your eyes.
Miyamoto: Maybe they feel like you'll eat them up? Because of your big mouth. Little kids would see it as being huge.
Kanazawa: It might be my big mouth. But I'll be careful to not eat them. (laughs)
Well then, please tell us about any highlights of the other song, 'Feel! Kanjiru Yo'.
Miyazaki: I liked this song from the very first time I heard it~. The melody really streams through the ears, it's a perfect fit with spring grasslands.We shot the music video in Izu, surrounded by the great outdoors. It was the first time we had a shooting where we used a drone, in a place where there were no buildings around.
Uemura: This song marks a contrast with 'Jidanda Dance'. It's pretty hard to catch the rhythm. We don't move during the bridge, we just move our hands. It's a really relaxing song. Since it's calming, I want all sorts of people to listen to it.
Miyamoto: There isn't much movement in this song, and the rhythm is hard to catch, so I wondered if it would fit the atmosphere of the songs we've had up until now. But it feels like there isn't any choreography to the song. Maybe the lack of dancing is made up by how the lyrics get conveyed directly. A large part of the lyrics express gratitude, so I'd like to convey our gratitude to the fans.
Kanazawa: It might be good to listen to when you're feeling down in the dumps, or are worried about something. It's not one of those songs that tells you to do your best, it just gently gives you support.
Takagi: Just as Tomoko said, this song would be a good listen for people who've hit their limits, people who have no more energy. It'll bring out your energy. We too would like to understand the song and properly convey it through our singing.
Miyamoto: Yeah. We hope that through this song, we can get our gratitude across to the fans who have continued to give us their support.
Takagi: When we sing songs like 'Ten made Nobore!' or 'Wonderful World' live, the fans will get pumped up from listening to the intro. I think it'll be the same for this song. At the end, there's a part where we sing 'La la la'. I imagine that we'll sing it together with the fans at live shows.
Interesting post, such posts always keep interest of audience as it gives view of others and gives what they think of. Good post, thanks for sharing it
ReplyDelete