Sakurazaka46’s defining appeal has been their expressive live performances. They put a lot of focus into it, the group’s Rena Moriya said. “And there’s a lot of people who say they’ve become our fans after watching our live shows.” For the past few years, the idol group has visited overseas to perform for events in the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea. And last summer, they made their debut appearance in the U.S. for Anime Expo’s J-POP SOUND CAPSULE concert. Before their first show in America, we got to talk with select members from the group about their music, performances and their experiences playing overseas.
What are you excited about for your first show in the U.S.?
Rena Moriya: We’re very excited. We’ve been invited to perform overseas a lot, but we’re excited to see what the responses from the U.S. fans will be like.
Who are some of your favorite American artists?
Hono Tamura: I love Taylor Swift. I was listening to her songs today when I was heading here to the U.S. I like to play her songs to hype myself up when I’m getting ready or when I’m with the members in the hotel.
What was your first impression when you first heard your new single “Make or Break”?
Ten Yamasaki: I thought it would be a really cool song when I first heard it. I thought it was perfect for the center Mio Matono and her low voice.
I want to ask this to everybody, but what’s a Sakurazaka song that you most relate to?
Karin Fujiyoshi: I’m not on the song, but I like “Boku Wa Boku Wo Suki Ni Narenai.” I love the lyrics, and the choreography is a bit of contemporary dance. I’m jealous about that.
Hono Tamura: There’s a song called “Sonia.” I really relate to the lyrics from how it reminds me of my childhood. When I was little, I also had a lot of those moments when I used my mom’s lipstick and make-up without her knowing and felt all grown up.
Rena Moriya: I like “Saishuu No Chikatetsu Ni Notte.” There are sad and bittersweet parts in the lyrics, but there are also parts that give you strength to move forward. I listen to it a lot for that.
Ten Yamasaki: I love “Itsu No Koro Ni Modoritainoka.” I really relate to the lyrics, and it’s really fun hyping up the crowd through the song.
Hikaru Morita: I love “Sakurazaka No Uta.” We always sing it during our encores. The lyrics have these emotions you feel in your day to day, and even though it’s really based on daily life, the lyrics still can make you feel warm inside.
What’s a song that changed from your first impression?
Karin Fujiyoshi: When I first heard “UDAGAWA GENERATION,” I was a bit unsure because I thought it didn’t feel like a Sakurazaka song. But when we shot the music video, we built our expressions together from scratch, and it became a song I enjoy and go all out in.
What’s a song that you’re not a part of but wish you could perform?
Hikaru Morita: The third generation has a song, “Seijyaku No Bouryoku.” The music isn’t something we had before, and I think it’s a bittersweet song that goes out and speaks to you. The performance of it changes every time depending on the mood and emotions of the members. I want to participate in it one day.
Is there a concept from past singles that you’d like to bring back and try again?
Hono Tamura: The main singles give us a lot of opportunities to share our music and performances to people who don’t know us, but the coupling song “TOKYO SNOW,” a lot of our fans – we call them Buddies – tell us they really like it. And a lot of our members say they like it too. The concept of it feels like we’re formally presenting a song, and the music is mellow with this melancholy feeling. I would like to try something like that for the main single.
You’ve already performed for audiences in multiple different countries, but are there any noticeable differences compared to yours in Japan?
Karin Fujiyoshi: In the past two or three years, we’ve been performing more and more overseas at festivals, and there are definitely different ways people appreciate the music. For my performances in Japan, I focus on how to express myself on stage, but overseas, I want to hype up the crowd. We get to perform my center song “Start Over!” a lot, but I try to make my performance different and put on a happier expression.
Is there a particular song that gets a really good reaction overseas?
Ten Yamasaki: People get excited whatever we sing. But in the song we performed this morning, “Start Over,” everyone aside from Karin in the intro is jumping in place while facing our backs towards the crowd. And it makes me happy to watch the video of it afterwards and see people jumping with us. It’s one of our goals in the U.S. to get more and more people jumping in our shows.
Is there anything the second generation wants to share with the third generation now new members have joined the group? Is there anything you wish you knew when you had new members under you?
Hono Tamura: I’m also not the kind of person who’s good at starting conversation, so when I first had the new members under me, I didn’t know how to talk to them and got worried. But when they started conversation with me, I realized that I could just talk to them normally, and from there, I was able to talk to them not as the older member but more like person to person. You don’t have to worry too much. But the third generation and the fourth generation are already getting along, talking to each other casually, messaging each other. So I honestly don’t have much to say. [laugh] It’s exciting to see the third generation be the older person while being themselves, and I hope we can make Sakurazaka even better together.
What’s something unique about your group that you personally think stands you out from the rest of the pack?
Rena Moriya: We put a lot of effort into our performances, and there’s a lot of people who say they’ve become our fans after watching our live shows, so our performance is definitely the strength of Sakurazaka. We want to keep utilizing it more and more, and turn more people into new fans.
And a message to your American fans.
Ten Yamasaki: We’ve been invited to visit other parts of Asia, but it’s our first time in the U.S., and we are really happy to have people finally come see us at Anime Expo. We’re really happy to see you too. And I hope they love Sakurazaka even more after seeing our show.
