Taiki: # Dominator Toru Iwaoka crime coefficient 335. “Threat determination of the target has been updated. Enforcement mode, please eliminate the established subject with a Lethal eliminator. Carefully aiming”
Let’s continue with our short, individual member interviews ♪
This time it’s…
Yudai Ohno!
“Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora” was produced because of the fan requests saying “I want a song that can used for a wedding!”
What’s your ideal wedding, Ohno-san?
I think it would be fine to go along with what my partner wants. I would like to call together my loved ones, but as for the wedding ceremony, the woman usually takes the lead, so I would like to be respectful of her opinions.
“No matter what kind of weather, there is always blue sky through the clouds”
How can we overcome hardships or times when things don’t work out?
I try facing it head on, but when that doesn’t work, I do something to refresh. Singing, drinking, going fishing, spending time with people I care about. I reset to switch up my feelings.
The lyrics of B-side “Refrain” express the thought of “I am coward”
Do you think you’re a coward, or has there ever been a time when you thought that?
When something goes wrong, I tend to feel depressed I also feel like a coward when I do something I don’t normally do Ahh, I think I’m a weak person
Please market your new release to everyone who reached the end of the interview!
We are a five member group called Da-iCE. We are working with the goal of becoming a group that can perform at a dome in the near future! I’d love it if you came to one of our concerts. Our team will be united in waiting for you together! !
──Was the song “Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora” created with a specific theme in mind?
Sota: When we decided to release a new single, we all talked and decided upon the concept of creating a song that could be used at a wedding. So this was the song we created from that idea.
── It appears that Sota-san, Taiki-san, and Yudai-san were all involved in working on the lyrics, the first time they’ve done so for a single title song.
Sota: The lyrics were originally planned to be entirely what I wrote on my own, but I considered brushing it up along the way. However, because there wasn’t much time to complete it after the track was decided on and I thought it would be too risky with only one person managing it, I brought Taiki-kun into the process, and Taiki-kun also included Yudai-kun in brushing it up, and the three of us rewrote what I’d come up with. Because the theme of the song was centered on weddings, I first decided on the title “Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora (Blue Sky Through the Clouds)” and began writing from there. When I first listened to the instrumental track, I thought it was an optimistic ballad with a bright tone, so I wanted to make as optimistic of lyrics as possible.
──Where there any unexpected parts when Taiki-san and Yudai-san joined in？
Sota: I didn’t want to change the first three lines of the hook when we talked about it at first, but Yudai-kun explained to me why it would be good to change the 3rd line, and how we could take the song a step further from there. I actually did go ahead and change the lyrics, and personally I think it was good that I did so, because it changed it meaningfully. When I start thinking that I don’t want to change a part, aren’t I just giving up on it? Although I had decided at the time to keep it as it was unless better ideas came out, better lyrics did come out in our discussion, and there was no sense in keeping the concept fixed just for the sake of it. I feel if you have doubts, you’re always better off pursuing it further.
──By the way, what kind of lyrics were in the 3rd line?
Sota: Now it’s “shadowed heart illuminated by light,” but initially it was “treating a shadowed heart carefully”. “A shadowed heart” has a slightly negative image, and when it comes to “treating carefully,” you could be talking about yourself or your loved one, so it’s difficult to pin down exactly who you’re singing the line to. By changing it to brighter phrasing like “illuminated by light,” it made it more fitting to anyone you’re singing to, and the negative image is lessened and brightened up.
──What did everyone else think of this song?
Yudai: I was recruited to take a look at this composition with lyrics from various writers, and I was very interested to see the kinds of words and phrases used, like the curtain imagery related to “morning” and “waking up”. In the central melody, there are lyrics like “your sleepy words when you wake up,” which ties them all together in a unified direction. That melody in the song has a view of the world that matches with the words and also agrees with the one who receives it. Just like Sota, I also responded to the words and curtain imagery that emerged to represent morning, and I think that part of the song is strong. The song’s choreography is also linked to that imagery, and I think those phrases are the most drama-like in the song.
Taiki: I thought the theme Sota first came up with was very interesting. The “blue sky” and “clouds” are old and long-used phrases, but I don’t think anyone has ever used anything quite like “Blue Sky Through the Clouds” before. They’re common words in our language, but made unique by how this phrase combines them together.
Hayate: As soon as I heard this song, the image of everyone crying and smiling when we perform it live was clear in my mind. Although they will be happy tears, I think I’ll probably shed some tears of my own when I’m dancing to it. I liked it straight from the intro.
Yudai: Today was SANNO FESTIVAL! ! Everyone at Sanno University, thank you! ! ^^ It was our last school festival of the Heisei era, and was really fun!!!!
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Sota: SANNO FESTIVAL
This will be Da-iCE’s last school festival of Japan’s Heisei Era. waha. It’ll be fun!
There were a lot of people waiting in line who did not seem able to be let in, which I’m apologetic about because I want to have fun with everyone.
If you have time, come check it out by all means!
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Hayate: Thanks for the SANNO FESTIVAL ☺︎
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Toru: Thanks for the SANNO University Festival! ✌️😆
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Taiki: SANNO FESTIVAL
Thank you everyone who came to the Sanno University Festival!
I was pleased that our last university festival for the year was so amped up!
Making their major debut in 2015, dance & vocal group Da-iCE is comprised of the five members Taiki Kudo, Toru Iwaoka, Yudai Ohno, Sota Hanamura, and Hayate Wada. On November 21, they will release the 3rd single of their 5th Anniversary year, “Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora.” In commemoration of their anniversary and upcoming single release, we conducted interviews with the five members individually.
The first is the only member to experience the professional workforce and study foreign language abroad, and supports the group as the #1 in mental powers…it’s Toru Iwaoka. Not only is he a performer, but he’s also involved in directing Da-iCE’s lives, and so on!
What has been the most impressive event during the activities of your 5th anniversary year?
We were able to perform at AAA-sempai’s countdown live, and I was so excited to be on the same stage with them right from the beginning of the year, and it made a lasting impression on me. I danced as best as I could, and above all it was just an incredible, awesome experience!
Your new song “Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora” is a warm ballad that is also perfect for weddings. Can you please tell us your ideal image of the kind of woman you’d like to marry?
A person who is calm and has inner strength. It would also be wonderful if their cooking was good.
What do you like to do during the holidays？
Things like sleeping, doing things around the house, watching movies, or shopping. I went sightseeing in Tokyo a while ago.
Tell me an aspect in which you are second to none compared to the other Da-iCE members.
We often receive towels tossed to us from the wings on the stage while we’re on tour, and I’m second to none in not messing up or fumbling them while passing them along to the members.
Please tell me what you like best about the member Sota Hanamura-san.
He was born to use his voice. He has a good MC sense during lives. I like the parts of him that are bright and free.
Please tell me your future goals or things you would like to try.
I’d like to be a lot more involved in videography work. I really enjoyed the time I spent on it previously. I’d also be happy to go on a private trip during my personal time.
Sota: I aimed to create a song that you all would want to send to your most precious person. Whether it’s one person or two people or ten people, it would absolutely make me happy if you spread this song to the people most important to you.
Da-iCE - “Blue sky through the clouds” Music Video @ YouTube
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Hayate:
I hope this reaches many people…☺︎
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Toru: Please check out the MV~
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Noriko Iriyama (MV actress): I appeared in the MV of 5 member dance and vocal group Da-iCE’s new song “Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora.” It’s a perfect love ballad for the winter
It will be released on 11/21! #daice
Give it a listen, please!
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Dori Sakurada (MV actor): Good evening everyone. I. Sakurada, appeared in the music video of Da-iCE’s “Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora”
First of all, please tell us what to listen for in the new single “Kumo wo Nuketa Aozora”
Sota: There are lots of things to listen for this time. The central melody is the same throughout, but since the backing track is different between the first and second verse, the way we approach this song is completely different. Three of us wrote this song together, so I would like for everyone to listen to it attentively after thoroughly reading the lyrics.
Hayate: I agree. This our first time having a single the members wrote, so it’s a song with a lot of strong feelings attached in that aspect as well. I work on the performance side of things, so I would like to convey the charms of the song to our audience through dance.
Taiki: While it’s not uncommon for us to release warm-hearted ballads, it is really rare for one of them to end up as our title track. But our theme this year is to challenge a lot of different things. All of the songs we released this year have been songs we’ve challenged ourselves to because we’ve never released anything like them before, so we tried to give releasing a new type of ballad a shot with this song. When you listen to it while comparing it to the other ballads we’ve released, I think you’ll better understand the difference.
Toru: Definitely. Because we’ve released a lot of ballads with themes of heartbreak, I think this kind of warm, gentle ballad is rare for us.
Yudai: We don’t appear in the MV this time. This is also the first time we’re trying this, but we did it because we really wanted to focus on the story of the song. This let us focus on the lyrics first and foremost, then work on the choreography later. The dance incorporates really nice choreography, so I really want you guys to see it.
Toru: When it comes to Da-iCE’s music, we believe our songs are only complete through the choreography, and the lyrics and performance of this song all match well together. It’s a song with a deeply emotional dance.
The lyrics were written by Hanamura-san, Kudo-san, and Ohno-san. How did you three put the lyrics together?
Sota: First of all, the concept of the song was that it would be something that could be used even at a wedding. Because I’d heard we’d decided to make a bright, warm ballad out of it and there might be competition when it came to who would write it, I told the staff that I would to participate in writing and enter into that competition. (Suddenly, Yudai begins to tie his shoelace together with Taiki’s as if they’re about to participate in the three-legged race, and Sota pauses) …what are you doing? (Laughs)
Yudai: I’m just tying up some laces… All right! I did it. (smiles)
Taiki: Thank you very much. Can we continue?
(Laughs) Hanamura-san was talking about wanting to participate in the competition…?
Sota: That’s right. So, I decided to do it… (Yudai is now beginning to tie Hayate and Toru’s shoes together, and the four of them are now completely prepared for a paired three-legged race. The expression on their four faces seems completely satisfied) Sorry, but my head is going a bit blank thanks to this act of randomness (laughs).
Taiki: (Ignoring Sota’s distress) Since Sota wrote about 80% of it, rather than collaborating from scratch, we used what he wrote as the foundation and decided to make changes based on that framework—I changed it a bit, then Sota fixed it up, and then I worked together with Yudai to fix it up a little more. It went through a lot of steps through the different stages, so I think it’s the longest we’ve taken with a song up until now.
How did you feel when you first read Sota’s lyrics?
Taiki: I thought it was a nice and pure theme. Sota is good at writing that kind of thing. After that, we just changed around the phrasing into something we could all we agree we liked.
What’s your favorite part?
Sota: There are lots of things, but if I had to choose one, it’s the line “We’ve been as two up until now, from now on we’re as one”. This was suggested by Yudai-kun, since originally I wrote the lyrics as “I’ve been just one up until now, and now from on it’s the two of us”. When I got to thinking if that phrasing would be unusual or not, Yudai-kun pointed, “There are a lot of things that join together as one.” Things like surnames, and two houses joining together. I think that’s a wonderful thing, using words I wouldn’t have expected.
Yudai: I appreciate you saying so. The things we wanted to say were the same, but I approached it thinking about the nameplates families put at the front of their houses. You switch to just having one name there, right? That’s what inspired the words I chose. Because I enjoy singing, I offered various suggestions based on the feelings I thought should be included while singing that were missing, and made an effort to include my own words, even if just a little. It was my first time doing that in this way, but I thought it was a lot of fun.
Taiki: It was the first time the three of us had worked on lyrics together, and I liked the story of the lyrics. There was fitting intro and development, and since it all led up to scene Sota had originally envisioned, the overall process was solid. It can be hard to coordinate that kind of thing when co-writing, but we were able to match together quickly. I wonder if it’s because they’re fellow members.
Hayate: I like this song a lot. I liked the lyrics starting right away from the central melody. It was like “Haaa! I’m already happy!” (laughs). Because there are many parts that are easy to relate to, I think it’s the kind of song that will imprint itself on someone’s heart.
The B-sides include “Kono Kyoku no Sei -5 Voice&Acoustic Version-.” It seems you’re releasing a new version of the song from 2015 featuring all five vocals?
Taiki: Yes. The original release was in 2015, but I feel like the song has grown and matured through our lives since then. We thought it would great if the five of us could challenge reproducing that atmosphere of everyone singing it together happily with us at our shows. It was also our first time challenging five part harmonies.
How did it feel to sing it again?
Hayate: Recording was fun. I think it was and will continue to be enjoyable for everyone.
Toru: I agree. It’s one of those songs that brings a sense of unity to the audience when we sing it live. Singing it together with all five of us is really special, isn’t it?
Sota: It was the first time the five of us did a harmony. Since the recording was separate and we did it one by one this time, I actually wanted to try having us sing it together with all five of us in the booth, the way we’d usually do it at a live. It might have been fun if we’d done a big chorus like that with all five of us together.
Yudai: There was only the part we all yell “Say!” together where we recorded it with all of us in the booth.
Sota: That’s right. “Say!” was the part we sang together. We did it so many times, so at the moment we have this rough mix made from mixing all the versions together that sounds really funny (laughs)
Yudai: Depending on the “Say!” that gets chosen, we might call to mind Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi-san in the drama “Bodyguard” [a popular martial arts themed drama from the 90s where the main character tended to shout out sounds like “say!” when fighting]
Sota: Who again? (laughs)
Yudai: (Stabs the sky with his fist) Say! Say!
Everyone: (Bursts out laughing)
Sota: As we go into the second half of the song, the feeling gets higher. At first I was singing “Say!”, but as I went into the second half, the energy was so high that I forgot whether I was supposed to be singing “Say!” or “Hey!” I think either could be interesting either way, but when it comes to the message of the song…it’s a bit~ of a troublesome place.
You have to pay close attention to “Say!”
Yudai: Yes, this song is all about “Say!” (laughs)
Sota: Aha! Because it’s “Kono Kyoku no SEI,” right?
Everyone: (laughs)
Taiki: We should have made the song title “Kono Kyoku no SAY”
Yudai: But it’s too confusing (laughs)
Da-iCE is currently in the middle of a nationwide tour, correct? (Interview took place in mid-October)
Sota: We’ve finished our shows in Chiba, Osaka, Tokyo, and Niigata
Yudai: I’m really glad we kicked it off properly.
What do you mean?
Yudai: We’re trying out a lot of things because it’s our 5th anniversary, and I kept thinking “Perhaps we won’t get it all in time!” It’s the most nervous I’ve ever been.
Sota: This time, not only have our sound and staging changed, but also a lot of our live staff changed, so there was seriously a lot going on, but I was able to absorb a lot of new things in response, and it was a year of true growth for us.
What impressed you about the four different areas you went to? Were you able to eat a lot of delicious food in the local areas?
Sota: Our tickets sold out in Niigata, thankfully, and the catering there was really luxurious. There was ramen and curry.
Toru: Curry! It was seriously delicious!
Sota: There is famous curry that was being catered even in the bus center. It was delicious. “Niigata Sold Out” was also written on the whiteboard as well.
Taiki: It was nice to have sold out the biggest venue in Niigata.
The climax of all of this is the 5th Anniversary date. Do you have any plans or special meetings for just the five of you celebrating the anniversary?
Yudai: That’s right…I guess we should discuss what’s going to happen after this
Everyone: (Laughs)
Taiki: How about having a gathering in the summer in three years or so?
Yudai: It won’t be our fifth anniversary anymore! (laughs)
Do you count down regularly to your debut anniversary?
Yudai: We do it every year, right?
Toru/Hayate: Yeah, we’ve done that
Toru: It gets us pumped up. We do it while wrapping our arms around each other’s shoulders.
Sota: Ah ha! I don’t do that! (laughs)
Toru: But we’re friends
Hayate: Yes ♪
Sota: Well, considering this (nods to the 4 members and their three-legged race laces) it would be surprising if you weren’t on good terms
