Interview with Little Glee Monster

Little Glee Monster is a vocal group of six schoolgirls, gathered from nationwide auditions. Even prior to their major label debut with Hokago High-five on October 29th, 2014, they had already been featured on multiple live TV shows, performed at major summer music festivals and participated in various projects with many well-established recording artists.

Ahead of the release of their fourth single Suki da。, the teenage popsters spoke to JaME about covering hit songs, collaborating with Yu Sakai and more.

What’s the story behind your group's name?

MAJU: Little Glee Monster means we’re still young and inexperienced, but would love to be a big, monster-like presence and touch many people’s hearts through our songs.

Before Little Glee Monster was formed, did you have any formal training in singing, or was singing more of a hobby for you?

SERINA: At first, I just loved singing, but once I decided to become a singer, I focused more on vocal training.

How do you balance your singing career with school?

manaka: I’m not sure how I balance it, but I’m enjoying both!

What are your best memories of your sellout spring tour earlier this year? Did anything funny happen?

KAREN: I was very happy our shows sold out in big cities like Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo! One funny moment was when we surprised the audience with a short skit. We pretended to get mad and start yelling at each other during the show. We just wanted to make the show different and have fun with the audiences!

You’ve appeared on TV several times since your major label debut last year. Can you share any of your experience with us?

ASAHI: So far, the most memorable thing is that we were able to sing a medley with The Gospellers on Music Fair. I was very nervous but everyone was very kind.

Which of your songs would you recommend to people who don't yet know about your band? What is the song about?

MAJU: Of course I’d like everyone to listen to all our songs, however, my favorite is Jinsei wa ichido kiri. This song says that “life is not easy and sometimes you get hurt, but don’t give up. Be positive and focus on the bright future.” So, if you listen to this song when you are having a hard time and down, this song will encourage you!

Your "Cups" track Sora wa miteiru has exceeded 1.7 million views on YouTube. Tell us more about it. Why did you choose to do a song like that?

MAYU: We saw many “Cup” songs on YouTube and we wanted to do one of our own with an original song. We chose Sora wa miteiru because it’s very rhythmical and popular at our live shows.

You made a guest appearance on Yu Sakai’s song Bara to Rose, which was used in a TV commercial. How did this collaboration come about?

SERINA: Sakai-san came to an event to see another a capella artist, but he saw our performance at the same time. After that, we got the offer of a chance to collaborate with him! It was the funniest recording we’ve ever done. We discovered a new side of Little Glee Monster during this session, so it was very special. Sakai-san bought us some cake, too! (laughs)

You covered Dreams Come True's classic song Asa ga mata kuru for the tribute album Watashi to DreCom 2 DreCom Wonderland 2015 Kaisai Kinen Best Covers. Are you fans of Dreams Come True? How did the recording go?

manaka: We are huge Dreams Come True fans! This was our first recording for a cover album, so it was special for us anyway, but especially so because we were very happy and honored to be part of a Dreams Come True tribute release! For our version of Asa ga mata kuru, we made the arrangement a lot different from the original, so we had fun recording this song.

You’ve uploaded many cover songs to YouTube. Which cover was the most challenging to record?

KAREN: The most difficult one was Let It Go from the Disney film “Frozen”. I was singing with SERINA, but the key was bit higher for me and the English pronunciation was very hard.

Besides singing, what activities do you enjoy?

MAJU: Watching and observing people, and collecting photos and “Lips” goods.

What is the best part of being in Little Glee Monster?

ASAHI: I learned to enjoy harmonizing. Also, we can challenge to sing the songs I have never sung before.

You’ll be going on a nationwide tour from September to October this year. How are preparations for the tour getting along?

MAYU: We will have shows in thirteen different cities, so I want to enjoy it and make the best of each day with the fans.

What is your ultimate goal?

SERINA: We always bring our songs to the whole world. So we would love to do a world tour.

Do you have a message for JaME’s readers?

manaka: I would love to see all JaME fans in all the different countries on our world tour someday soon!

JaME would like to thank MediaLab and Little Glee Monster for this interview opportunity.

You can watch the music video of Little Glee Monster's "Cups" track Sora wa miteiru below: