Kiara Takanashi Billboard-japan.com Interview

https://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/4123
Deepl.com translation

<Interview> Kiara Takanashi of HololiveEnglish, Reasons to Speak Your True Self / First Album "Point of View" Contains a Variety of Expressions

Kiara Takanashi, a VTuber belonging to Hololive English, has released her first album "Point of View". The album contains 10 songs, 5 of which are newly recorded songs prepared for the album.

　The lead song, "Pineapple," is a tropical summer song, and the music video shows a fun dance performance. On the other hand, "The Great Wanderer" and "Retrospective" foreground Kiara Takanashi's inner conflicts, sadness, and negative feelings.

　She debuted in 2020 as a member of "Hololive English -Myth-," the initial group of Hololive English, and made her 3D debut in February of this year. We interviewed her about her passion for music and her feelings for her fans.

Auditioning for Hololive, where I felt like I was destined to perform
--Ms. Takanashi made her debut as an early member of HOLOlive English in 2020. What were your thoughts when you started your activities at that time?

Kiara Takanashi: Probably the same as my fellow members, I didn't expect to be so successful. Although Japanese hololive was well-known at the time, I don't think it had attracted much attention overseas yet. For example, Japanese anime is popular overseas, but many people want to watch it with Japanese voices instead of dubbed voices because they feel uncomfortable with English. If that is the case, I think VTubers who speak in English would also feel uncomfortable. But when I debuted, I was surprised that so many people paid attention to me. It changed my life in a flash.

--You were not that well known in the English-speaking world as a VTuber?

Kiara Takanashi: Yes, it was. But when Hololive English -Myth- debuted, I got a lot of "I've been waiting for this" responses, which made me realize that I could do it in English as well. I often talk with VTubers outside of Hololive, and many of them tell me that they decided to become a VTuber because of Hololive English -Myth-. So I am proud of the existence of Hololive English -Myth-.

--What VTubers do you admire or are inspired by?

Kiara Takanashi: The first person who made me aware of the existence of Hololive was Fubuki Shirakami. I liked Fubuki's senior illustrator, Mito-sensei. Then I thought, "What is a VTuber?" and I watched it and found it very interesting, and I was hooked all at once. At the time, I was living in Japan on a one-year limited visa, and the Corona disaster had just started. However, if I went back to my home country, I would not be able to come back to Japan, so I had no choice but to wait until the Corona disaster settled down, and I was quite depressed. That's when I fell in love with Pekora Usuda, and I went back to the oldest archives and watched all of his videos. I went back to the archives and watched all of her videos, even the oldest one. Every day I was getting energy from her, and when the audition for HololiveEnglish started, I thought, "This is my destiny," and I applied for it.

--How confident did you feel about auditioning?

Kiara Takanashi: I had watched many hours of Pekora's videos, so I thought I had some idea of the skills needed to be a VTuber. Also, I had been working on my singing and dancing skills, so I knew I would be fine if I had the opportunity to perform. I also had confidence in my speaking and language skills, so my motivation was very high. I finished the audition documents in one day, and finished shooting and editing the video.

--How did you hone your singing and dancing skills?

Kiara Takanashi: I have always loved Hello! Project. Project. There was a time when I wanted to become an idol myself. So I was practicing singing and dancing.

--What do you think is the appeal of VTubers?

Kiara Takanashi: I was never really interested in regular distributors. I don't know, maybe they were too realistic. But the VTubers on Hololive are always energetic and soothing, and the fact that they have the anime-type visuals I like was probably a big factor. Pekora-senpai, in particular, tells various stories even when she is playing games, is always 100% excited and never gets tired of watching her, and is just adorable. I have the image that holo-live talents don't talk too much about sad stories in real life, don't they? I think that kind of professionalism is also very nice.

--So, Kiara, looking back on your three years as a VTuber, what are some of your most memorable memories?

Kiara Takanashi: This year, I was in Japan for a while preparing for my 3D debut with the members of Hololive English -Myth-. We lived together in the "Hololive English -Myth- House," went to the studio, had dinner, went to convenience stores in the middle of the night. Members of Hololive Japan and Hololive Indonesia live in the same country, so we often see each other, but the English-speaking world is a big place, so it is rare to see everyone from Hololive English. So this time in Japan was an important time for us to get closer to each other.

--What kind of music did you grow up listening to as a child? Project, what kind of music did you listen to growing up?

Kiara Takanashi: My parents influenced me to listen to the Black Eyed Peas. I listened to "Don't Phunk With My Heart" and "Don't Lie" all the time. Then there was Paramore and Kelly Clarkson. Those are the mainstream artists that everyone knows that are on the radio. The song "Retrospective" on this album was written with Paramore in mind. I wanted to make it a little rock-ish. But when I put a song on it, it ended up sounding more like Evanescence (laughs).

(laughs) -- So your old musical roots are reflected in this album. How about recent artists?

Kiara Takanashi: Right now, I'm most into K-pop artists, like TWICE and NewJeans. I think that K-pop today is influenced by American music, but I think that I have added my own flavor to it. It's gaining popularity around the world, and I myself have fallen in love with it, so I wanted to make a song like this as well.

--There are indeed K-pop-like songs in the album. This album "Point of View," what kind of concept did you have in mind when you created it?

Kiara Takanashi：Previous singles "HINOTORI" and "Heart Challenger" were Japanese-language songs, and they were written with J-POP, anime songs, and idols in mind. I personally loved that kind of music. But since it was in hololive English, some people wanted me to sing it in English. Also, there were many other VTubers in Hololive who sang songs that sounded like anime songs or idols, so I decided to challenge myself to create a song that was different from that kind of music, but still suited me.

--I was wondering if you could tell us about the new songs that you have recorded.

Kiara Takanashi: Yes, they are. However, many people liked "HINOTORI" and "Heart Challenger," and I myself love those songs, so I wanted to include elements such as my appreciation for my past history and activities, and to present a collection of songs from various perspectives and "points of view" of Kiara. I also love it myself, so I tried to include elements of my past history and gratitude for my activities, and to make it a collection of songs from various "points of view".

--I would like to talk in detail about the newly recorded songs. First of all, let's talk about the second song, "Love Rush. It is a song with a very positive mood.

Kiara Takanashi: This song is similar to "Heart Challenger" in terms of atmosphere. However, while "Heart Challenger" was a song about love, the lyrics of "Love Rush" express gratitude to listeners, saying "Thank you for supporting me all this time" and "I couldn't have continued to do this without you guys. It is a song that moves me when I sing it, and it has a very deep meaning.

--What do you think of the sound?

Kiara Takanashi: I rely on Shimonori Gojo, who wrote this song, because he can write both cool and cute songs. This time, I told him I wanted to try again with a cute song like "Heart Challenger. But I also wanted a different atmosphere, so I wanted to incorporate elements of the Japanese fhana style. The violin sound is exactly what I imagined from fhana.

--The next song, "The Great Wanderer," has a different, more serious worldview.

Kiara Takanashi: When I first heard the instrumental, I felt a bit of a sad atmosphere, so I decided to write lyrics about that. I think it is life that makes us feel lonely and sad, and that is why I thought people who listen to the song would be able to relate to it. However, there is another point of view in this song. I often feel that VTubers are virtual beings, so they cannot meet their fans in real life. That is quite lonely, isn't it? Of course, the fact that you can only touch them through the Internet is a good thing for VTubers, but sometimes I feel like breaking down that barrier. I tried to include those problems of the VTuber world.

-- "Did I lose my way/I can't see the day" -- phrases such as "Did I lose my way/I can't see the day" also reflect your own frustration, conflict, and depression.

Kiara Takanashi: Of course, I have had many happy memories during these three years, but there were also days when I felt lonely. It is a little embarrassing, but I wanted to write lyrics about my own feelings. I also wanted to express my feelings toward the members, listeners, and the world of VTubers.

--The vocals are also very emotional.

Chiara Takanashi: In my previous songs, I didn't have to sing so emotionally, but in this song, I wanted to create the right atmosphere, so I sang in a calm way before the chorus. When the chorus comes in, the beat gets more exciting, so I tried to sing the vocals with a lot of emotion.

--Retrospective" follows. You mentioned Paramore's name as a reference earlier, how did you proceed with the production?

Kiara Takanashi: "Retrospective" is the song that most expresses my depressed feelings in this album. There is no positive ending, only worries about past failures that I want to redo but can't, things I lack, and so on. But I think it is good to have such songs once in a while. When you are sad, sometimes you want to listen to a song that makes you stay sad, not one that cheers you up. I hope listeners will listen to it when they are in that kind of mood.

--How was the recording?

Kiara Takanashi: I often get compliments when I sing songs like Paramore and Evanescence at karaoke distribution. They say, "It fits your voice so well. Incidentally, the melody of the song was originally completely different. I wanted to create a more Western-style melody that could be sung naturally in English, so I asked monii-san, who wrote the lyrics, to come up with a new one. As a result, the song became very Evanescence-like and dramatic. When we were recording the song, even the expression on my face looked like I was in pain, and it was fun to sing with so much emotion in my voice.

--I think music is a unique way of detoxifying negative emotions and experiences, rather than converting them into positive ones. Kiara Takanashi: Yes, that's right.

Kiara Takanashi: Yes, it is. I think VTubers are supposed to help people heal, but for this album, I wanted to show my real self, and I wasn't afraid to try. I am the type of person who shows my emotions rather openly, but it is still difficult for me to show these feelings. But when people liked songs like "Retrospective," I realized that it is okay to talk about those feelings in music, so I hope to continue expressing my personal story in the future.

--I hope I can continue to express my personal story in the future.

Kiara Takanashi: Actually, "Sleep Talking" is not the only song that was written for this album. They sent me several demos. One of them was "Sleep Talking. I was like, "Oh, wait, I really like this one! I really like this one! I said, "I really like this one!" and I ended up singing it as the base song for this album.

--So, this is the oldest song among the newly recorded songs on the album?

Kiara Takanashi: Yes, it is. It was last year. I wanted to try R&B-like songs like this. The lead song on the album is "Pineapple," but I think "Sleep Talking" is also a lead song in a sense. We are planning to release a music video for it as well.

--Pineapple" is the first song that opens the album. It is a fun pop number.

Kiara Takanashi: It's a summer party kind of song, the kind of song you would want to listen to on the beach. The music video also has a beach party theme, and for the dance scene, I went to the U.S. and had my colleague Watson Amelia shoot the motions in her studio.

--Are there any particular points that you would like people to pay attention to as highlights?

Kiara Takanashi: The choreography was quite difficult and I had a lot of trouble with it, but I uploaded a short video of the chorus dance so please take a look. I uploaded a short video of the chorus dance, which I hope you will enjoy. The movements are very fast, and it was difficult to dance each choreography in a big way.

--The first half of the album consists of five newly recorded songs, and the second half contains the previously released singles. Which of those singles do you find particularly challenging?

Kiara Takanashi: Both "SPARKS" and "DO U," which inspired the English songs, were written by the same team, but "SPARKS" in particular required a lot more singing than the other songs. Especially "SPARKS", compared to the other songs, we had to record a lot more vocals than in the other songs. It was a lot of work, but I think it made the song pleasant to listen to, and it was a discovery for me.

--What do you think are the characteristics and strengths of your singing voice when you look at it objectively?

Kiara Takanashi: I can sing high notes quite well, but on the other hand, I am not good at low notes. I think songs like "Pineapple" are suited for me. But for this album, I tried a more mature voice, so I hope you will enjoy the various moods of my voice.

--Is there a singer you admire?

Kiara Takanashi: Recently, I admire K-pop artists such as NewJeans, and solo artists like Sonmi and Chungha. I was glad to hear someone say in a previous comment that "Kiara is like a K-pop group all by herself. I think I am still lacking in quality, but I want to do my best to get as close as possible to the level of the singers I admire so much. I also think this is a genre where I can make the most of my individuality because I can also show off my dance moves. I want to be able to express myself as K-pop.

--I am also looking forward to live performances.

Kiara Takanashi: I really want to do solo live performances not only on YouTube but also in real life. I have choreographed all of my songs and I am ready to perform anytime, so I will try to appeal to the audience so that I can be on that stage someday. But first I want everyone to listen to the album, even those who aren't really into VTubers. I hope I can reach everyone in the world as much as possible.