Interview with LADYBABY

LADYBABY only debuted this year with their hit single Nippon Manju, the video of which reached over three million views on YouTube in just three days. In the wake of Nippon Manju's massive success, they’ve performed in New York, Los Angeles, London and most recently, the German city of Cologne.

To start, why not introduce yourselves to our readers?

Ladybeard: We are the singing, dancing and (screams intensely) destroying kawaii-death-pop idol unit LADYBABY! Thank you for having us tonight!

You just debuted with your hit single Nippon Manju this year. Would you have ever imagined the huge success you’ve had since its release?

Ladybeard No, no and for the last time, no! It was never intended to be seen outside of Japan, so we are still amazed by this huge success. The freaking Internet makes it possible. But still, we are very happy about the huge and unforeseen response we’ve had to our debut single.

Your next step will be a full-length album. Can you give us any hints about that?

Ladybeard: (Laughs) Nope. I am afraid I can't give you any, zero. But I can say that our second single Age Age Money will be released on January 13th. So please look out for that. I’m afraid that's all I’m allowed to say. They keep us on a tight leash you see. (screams) It's like living in a cage! But jokes aside, you can look forward to that next single.

It is rumored, that Nippon Manju was meant as a possible theme song for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. May this be true to a certain degree?

Ladybeard: Now I heard this! I saw that someone congratulated us in the comments, that our song will be used for the Olympics in five years and I was like “what the hell is he talking about?!” But I can assure you, this is only a rumor. This is no confirmed information but it certainly would be awesome, fingers crossed.

Ladybeard, as a five-year old, how does it feel to perform on such a great stage?

Ladybeard: Well, it is fantastic you know. Obviously, the other five-year olds aren’t experiencing such great things. They experience things like sandpits, hissy fits and the occasional beating from their father. So I am very lucky to be in this situation. Let's throw this to Rei, she has just turned 15, so she is on a great life-stage as well.

Rei: That's right, I could have never imagined the huge success of Nippon Manju, and I still don’t quite realize what’s happening right now.

A JaME staff member asks: "I have a beard too, how can I achieve the same success as you?"

Ladybeard: Obviously, a beard is the foundation of success. In any field. So your team member obviously has also a very good start. I think, the next step is gonna be the real important part, which is harnessing the power of the beard for good, and not for evil. Because as we all know what Spider-Beard said: "With great power comes great responsibility." Obviously, beards with their earth-shattering potential for power have the ability to bring great joy, or extreme darkness and destruction over the world. So I would advise your team member to use his, or maybe even her beard, for good and not for evil. Rei is also working hard on her beard, to become as strong as me someday.

You have a unique appearance. Is it difficult to maintain?

Ladybeard: I obviously have no problem maintaining my appearance. I’m five years old, after all.

Rei: But no matter how hard I try, my beard just won't come out as great as his beard. So I do have trouble with a great appearance.

Since you are in Germany, what is your favourite German food?

Ladybeard: I would say Leberkäse. They make it really differently in Australia, so it is quite different from here. German Leberkäse is much meatier.

Rei: I like Wiener Schnitzel. And it is not really a German food, but I also like spaghetti very much.

Which countries would you like to tour next?

Ladybeard: For now, I am really excited to play in Germany. You know, I’ve been learning German for 20 years and I’ve even lived here, but it’s been a 20-year process to get to doing a performance in Germany. That is a big deal for me and I am very excited to be here. For me, where I want to play next is Finland. Because (screaming intensifies) the Finns are insane! The first Finn I met ate glass in front of me.

Rei: Europe and America were so great, I would like to repeat the whole thing all over again!

What are your major goals at this moment?

Rei: It sounds a little crazy, but I want to live up to BABYMETAL someday.

Ladybeard: Yeah, we like BABYMETAL. They really set the bar, haven't they? We are also planning to stop world wars. Peace through kawaii metal: that's the plan.

Do you have any messages for your German fans?

Ladybeard: Thank you so much for your support! It is really great to be here and I am looking forward to see you! We are so stoked to play for our German fans!

Rei: Same here, I’m also stoked to perform for you guys! Moreover, I am really looking forward to coming back next year, but this time together with Rie, so we can perform with the full line-up.


JaME would like to thank LADYBABY, Astan and Clearstone for making this interview possible.