Friday, May 27, 2011

℃-ute on @Motteco

℃-ute revealing their thoughts about their new single "Momoiro Sparkling" in a online, digital [Japanese] magazine, @Motteco.
Visit the @Motteco for images and original text. Click the bottom corners of the image to browse through the pages.


Cover
°C-ute
Going all out with the cuteness of °C-ute !
Page 01
Fresh off the release of their new single “Momoiro Sparkling”, we are joined this time by the members of °C-ute for a taste of their °C-uteness throughout the years. 
The girls will tell us all about the bits of appeal and all the little secrets packed into their new track.
°C-ute Profile
Okai Chisato
Born on June 21, 1994 in Saitama
Blood type: A

Suzuki Airi
Born on April 21, 1994 in Chiba
Blood type: B

Page 02
Nakajima Saki
Born on February 5, 1994 in Saitama
Blood type: O

Hagiwara Mai
Born on February 7, 1994 in Saitama
Blood type: AB

Yajima Maimi
Born on February 7, 1992 in Saitama
Blood type: O


Page 03
Momoiro Sparkling – 2011.05.25 Release
Page 04
Hagiwara Mai on the appeal of Momoiro Sparkling
Q: Tell us about your thoughts of the Momoiro Sparkling. Let’s start off with Mai-chan.
H: Unlike the previous single, Kiss Me Aishiteru, which was more of a cool and mature song, Momoiro Sparkling is all about cuteness.
It’s nice since it’s been a while since we had a cute song like this, and I was thinking about how cute the girl described in the lyrics of the song would be when I tried imagining.
Q: In the lyrics, there’s a part that goes like “even without make-up there’s nothing to be afraid of”. As the youngest member of the unit, you would be perfectly fine without make-up, right?
H: The dark circles under my eyes won’t be fine… (w)
Pages 05 / 06 / 07
The cuteness of Momoiro Sparkling, as experience by Suzuki Airi
Q: Airi, what kind of thoughts did you have of the song?
S: We hard parts where we would sing with cuter voices in the albums, but in terms of singles, it’s been a while since we’ve been told to “be cute with our voices” and “be ready to perform out of the ordinary”, so I could feel a little twinge in my heart when I was singing.
Q: You voice is already cute, isn’t it?
S: When I get excited during live performances my voice becomes rather powerful and really low. We have quite a few members with cute voices, and they’ve been taking care of the cute aspect, but this time around I also sang with a cute voice. 
Also, we each had a different primary color based outfit for this single. As you can probably tell from the cover, we were really colorful, and I think our colors gave off the same impression of cuteness that we had during our earlier years.
Q: How did you feel about the lyrics?
S: The terms and phrases like “eyeline” and “no make-up” within the lyrics make the song real and meaningful to girls around our age. Nowadays, I think all the girls are pretty much like this.
Q: Well, make up certainly does allow women to change their expressions.
S: Even though I do like make-up that allows you to become a little different than your usual self, it’s funny how sometimes it really ends up changing your expressions and appearance entirely. (w)

Pages 08 / 09 / 10
The cute reasoning behind Momoiro Sparkling of Nakajima Saki
Q: Saki-chan, what about you?
N: Since we’ve been continuing on with cool and mature tracks for a while, when I first heard Momoiro Sparkling, I knew a cute song had finally come. A really like this type of music, and it’s been a while since we’ve had a song like this.
We’ve were told to perform in a way to make the song perfect for the summer, so we went about it in an enjoyable and leisurely fashion. It’s a great song to have in concerts, and it’s really nice to see the fans following along and dancing with us. 
Q: It must be nice to be able to fire up the crowd at a concert.
N: When we perform our cooler tracks you can hear the “oi’s” the cheers from the audience, which is great, but for a cute song like Monoiro Sparkling, everyone is able to dance together in unison, which is also lots of fun. 
Q: Which parts of the lyrics do you particularly like?
N: My favorite parts are the ones where we imitate sounds like “shuwa shuwa”. Especially the “shuwa shuwa” in the melody – I think it’s really cute. 
I found the “chu chu” section during the interlude to be very cute as well when I was singing it.
Pages 11 / 12
The strong sense of positive emotions experienced by Yajima Maimi
Q: And next up we have Maimi-chan.
Y: Although we’ve had many opportunities as of late to perform mature and cooler songs, °C-ute actually started off mainly with charming and fresh tracks, and I was happy that we were able to return to the style we started off with for our 16th single. 
In terms of the lyrics, there’s a part that goes like “momoiro mood – take a ride on the breeze”, which is accompanied by the choreography that makes it appear as if we were actually riding on the breeze. 
Since the song is really refreshing, and we also feel invigorated ourselves when we are performing it, I think the lyrics make it possible to feel as if you were actually at the beach just by listening to it.
Q: With age and experience, it seems like the expressions of °C-ute have become more and more mature.
Y: It’s great to be able to challenge ourselves with different genres of music. We’ve had plenty of up-tempo tracks, but we’ve become capable of performing ballads and more mature and cooler tracks as well, and I’m glad that we are now able to work with a broad range of styles. 
I’m also glad that when we returned to cuter and fresher songs after the new experiences and styles, I felt like we have developed even more and am able to perform it better than before. 
Q: What impressions did you have of the lyrics? 
Y: The character described in the song is a very positive and strong individual, so the lyrics make me feel positive as well. 
Pages 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19
Defining the carbonated elements Okai Chisato finds in Momoiro Sparkling
Q: Last but not least is Chisato-chan. 
O: When I heard Momoiro Sparkling for the first time, I felt that summer has come, and I also though about carbonic acid.
Q: Carbonic… acid? 
O: For some reason, I think the melody feels kind of carbonated, so I thought I would have to be poppy and bubbly for this one.
Q: Are you not already poppy and bubbly?
O: Oh, right (w). 
About the lyrics, I can totally relate to the line “I made my eyes a little flashier this time”. There are times when you’re about to go out with your family, and you get really pumped up for it right? Whenever I’m in that kind of situation, I also go a little heavier on my eyeliner, so I completely understand the feeling behind that line. 
The same goes for the line about how “even without make-up there’s nothing to be afraid of”. When I get excited, I often end up feeling like I could go on without make-up. 
Q: You would be just fine without make-up though.
O: I also want to hide the circles under my eyes though (w).

Are the members of °C-ute positive as well? 
Q: Do you also feel that you are positive like the girl described in Momoiro Sparkling? 
N: I think it depends on the setting and the situation. We’re pretty outgoing and out there when we’re together for events and interviews, but we also have times where we’re rather reserved. 
Y: Nakki is really mature when she’s with people she’s met for the first time or with kouhai (juniors). 
N: I can go on and on with our senpai (seniors), but when it comes to the kouhai, I can’t seem to figure out how to interact with them (w).
Y: Nakki isn’t very used to having others attend to and be too careful around her. 
You know how the kouhai need to be more careful and treat their senpai differently, right? That’s what makes it difficult for her to speak to her kouhai like she would to her senpai.
N: That’s right. Even when they start a conversation with me, all I can give back is a nod and something like a “yeah”. 
With those who are younger than I am, if they skip the formalities and just talk to me about something, I would be able to respond to them just fine. However, when someone uses more honorific terms and goes like “Nakajima-san, something something”, then things get difficult.
S: I know how it feels, though. For example, I can handle children in kindergarten just fine, but when people who are around my age with less experience in the field start using honorific terms, I also find it hard to come up with a response. 
They really don’t need to be that respectful…
Y: I’m the opposite actually, since I finding myself needing to pay more attention and be more careful around my seniors.
S: But you hardly even speak to your kouhai though. 
Y: That’s where my shyness starts to show. I usually don’t speak to people when I meet them for the first time, and it tends to take a while before I start to open up to them (w). 
H: Isn’t it a good thing to be on guard though? I usually start to get all silly right away (w). 
O: That’s because you’re a total chatterbox (w). 
When Maimi-chan decides that you might not get along too well with her, she won’t really speak to you at all. Things are completely different when she does get along with you, though. 
H: When I feel like I can get along pretty well with someone, I start telling them about just about anything and everything (w). 
O: I think I’m like that as well (w).

Pages 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 
The sense of a thrill sparks their interest even further?
Q: There is a line in Momoiro Sparkling that goes “it’s a little absurd but the thrill sparks my interest even more”.
H: The more I’m told not to do something, the more I end up wanting to do it – especially when I was younger. 
When I would go out and play at the park with my mom, she would tell me not to climb something because it was dangerous, I would end up climbing it, falling off and hurting myself, being punished for doing it, and then finally starting to understand what I had done. 
It seems like I’m the type that doesn’t learn until I do something and end up paying for it (w). 
O: That’s because Mai-chan is the naughty type that does exactly what she thinks she wants to do. 
Q: What about you, Airi-chan? What do you think about thrills?
S: It depends on whether or not the teacher will do it, but at my school the top ten students with the highest scores on exams have their names posted in our classroom. The thrill of possibly having my name posted up if I do well on my exams fires me up and gets me motivated. 
Q: That means you’re the type that finds motivation in visible results.
S: That’s right. Up until now, when there’s something that I need to do, whether there’s a schedule to follow or a deadline to meet, I seem to still be able to be more relaxed and control my own pace. 
When I’m put in a situation where I feel like I don’t want to lose to something or someone, I get really fired up, though. 
O: You’re pretty late with your paperwork though (w). 
S: I’ve been wanting to correct that, but I’m not that great at writing. 
Nakki dislikes losing just like me, right? 
Y: I think she’s a really hard worker.
N: Not as much as you might think, though. At first glance, it might seem like I’m more traditional and serious, but when I start talking, people start to change their perception (w). 
O: It must be the way you talk that gets people more relaxed and relieved. 
N: I get the feeling of becoming more motivated when there’s a sense of a thrill involved, since I can usually finish something in one take when the deadline is really close. 
Q: Maimi-chan, how are you with thrills?
Y: When I was young, I really enjoyed all sorts of thrills. Since I have two older brothers, when I went out to play it was usually with other boys, and I would often imitate the dangerous things that my brothers would be doing. 
I also really like roller coasters, but I think as I’ve become older, I’ve learned to control my urge to do things for the thrill. Back in the day, I was known for being strong-willed thrill seeker like the boys. 
Q: And you have totally become more feminine now.
Y: I’m not sure if I’ve become more feminine or not, but I know I’ve learned what kinds of things girls probably shouldn’t be doing (w). 
Q: Okai-san… seems to be quite the thrill seeker (w)
O: I pretty much love anything that’s thrilling. And, just like Mai-chan, whenever my mom tells me not to do something, I end up really wanting to do it. 
Q: There we go (w). 
O: My mom works at home, and sometimes she would ask me not to laugh since she wanted to concentrate on her work, but whenever she does that, even if there’s nothing funny, I still end up bursting out in laughter. 
And when she tells me that she can’t talk right now, I still end up trying to start conversations with her (w). 
Pages 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28
Those who are admired by these five girls

Q: In the coupling track titled FARAWAY, you sing about how you want to be “just like that person”. 

So, who do you admire?

O: There are quite a few people that I admire. Within Hello! Project, I really admire Fujimoto Miki-san, I like the personality of Yoshizawa Hitomi-san, and I also like the way Ishikawa Rika-san speaks. 

The vocals of Matsuura Aya-san are also amazing – there just, lots of them. 

Q: It’s nice to have people like that around you, isn’t it?

O: It sure is. So, whenever I have the chance to cover their songs, I try hard to study the way they perform. At the same time, I also attempt to come up with my own way of singing the song so I don’t end up being exactly like them. 
Y: There are also lots of people that I admire and respect in our group. Also, I really admire my mom, and I want to be just like her in the future.
Q: What makes you attracted to the people you admire?
Y: She tries really hard to understand me, she’s always there to help me out, and although I’m sure it she must find it difficult to get through her daily routine and chores, she’s always there for me, and when I become a mom someday I want to be a mom like she has been to me. 
N: I really like Rinka-san – the model. Her facial features are great and she’s really cute, and I really admire the lifestyle she leads. 
Cooking is probably easy for Rinka-san, and she can do make her dishes delicious and visually appealing at the same time. She even changes her plates and dishes according to what she cooks.
She has a great figure, and her sense of style is excellent, so, to me she’s like the perfect person.
Q: She seems like someone with quite a distinctive personality.
N: That’s true, but that’s another thing that I like about her. Even her smile that tends to be a little messy at times is really cute – I think that’s something she can do because she’s cute from the inside.
S: The person I admire is Utada Hikaru-san, even though we have completely different lifestyles, and the things we know are probably totally different as well. 
Even though she has a voice and an aura that is truly unique and unlike anyone else, her sensitivity towards what other people are experiencing or feeling is incredible. As an artist, she’s able to create heart-warming performances, and I really want to become someone like her. 
H: I really admire Wakatsuki Chinatsu-san. She has her own label titled WC, and I really like that brand. 
The coordinations of clothes and looks that Wakatsuki Chinatsu-san comes up with are unlike anything else, which makes it possible for her to show off her own personality and style so effortlessly. Being able to dress like she does is really difficult. 
I think it’s admirable how she can stay active as a talent as well as a fashion brand designer at the same time. 
Q: Do you also want to start your own brand someday?
H: I want to challenge myself in the field of clothing someday. 
Page 29
The appeal of Momoiro Sparkling
Q: To conclude, please tell us about what makes your new single, Momoiro Sparkling, so appealing.
H: Having an adorable track like Momoiro Sparkling coupled with a song like FARAWAY that’s a little different than our previous works really shows off different sides of °C-ute, and I would be really happy if everyone could see the difference.
S: On June 1, Momoiro Sparkling will be released as a single V, and it will contain a music video filled with smiles that we haven’t had in quite a while. 
We were all-out during the shoot, and each of us has a wink scene as well, so I would definitely like everyone to watch the video and have a taste of summer through Momoiro Sparkling.
N: I would also like everyone to notice our music video. We had our lip-scenes shot with a pink backdrop, we were jumping around on trampolines, we had our winks and water guns, we tossed a beach ball around, and we had a great time with the video. 
The video presents us in ways that really resemble who we really are, and it would be nice if everyone could watch closely and enjoy it. 
Y: While Momoiro Sparkling is a bright and upbeat track, the coupling track FARAWAY is a mature track where we tried out various different expressions.
The video for Momoiro Sparkling has plenty of scenes where we were just out there having a good time, so everyone will be able to see what we’re really like. It would be great if everyone could enjoy both pieces and experience the different sides of °C-ute.
O: If possible, I think it would be nice to watch the music video for our previous single, Kiss me Aishiteru, together with the video for our new single, Momoiro Sparkling. It would be a success for us if you could see the difference between the two singles, since an aspect of our appeal is being able to present ourselves in various styles and moods. 
It would be nice if more and more people come to understand our appeal and enjoy °C-ute as we are.
----


credits to 
You can watch the full MV of Momoiro Sparkling from their ocutechannel !

No comments:

Post a Comment