Zy 52: heidi

heidi. made their major debut with their release of single Yokan on May 26th. The title song has been broadcast as the ending theme of TV anime "Kaichou wa meido sama!" and many people may have heard it already. Here we have personal interviews with four of the band members where they talk enthusiastically about their hopes for the future.


Did you have any special feelings when you produced Yokan?

yoshihiko: Not really. But the song was very fresh. I had the impression that is was much more open than Tsubasa.

You didn’t change your feelings?

yoshihiko: What was different from before was just the lyrics. I tried to write lyrics that matched the story of the anime, and the title was determined already, so it was different from what I did before.

So you wrote the lyrics of Yokan keeping the story of the anime in mind.

yoshihiko: I started writing the moment I finished reading the book. It was kind of like that. I read about what kind of characters they were as I started writing. I made the lyrics from them, but made the main melodies last. I had never done it like that before, but it was unexpectedly easy. I noticed it was easier to write after I decided the title.

Was there any difference in putting the story into the lyrics and singing them, as opposed to writing a song normally?

yoshihiko: I made the lyrics to be honest and straight, so it was just as easy to put my feelings into them. As the lyrics were honest, I could sing honestly. It felt good.

Has your range as a vocalist became wider?

yoshihiko: Yeah, a bit. I think that now I can sing honestly from the beginning to the end smoother than before. Even though the song was a new challenge, it became a song of heidi., so overall I think that was a really good thing.

Did you write the lyrics of the coupling songs of Ikkoku andUrban garden 203 while thinking about the theme too?

yoshihiko: Yes. I wrote these two songs while I thought of the theme. I wrote Ikkoku from my point of view. I wanted to send a message to listeners that whatever difficulty they have we will stand by them. It was the first time that I could just write lyrics and send them just as they were.

The title Urban garden 203 was unexpected.

yoshihiko: I asked nao to decid the title, but it didn’t mean so much.(smile)

Did you write about yourself?

yoshihiko: I thought about this a little bit. It will be released in May, so I thought about writing lyrics about a new life in which one month has passed. It wasn’t based on my real experiences but I wrote it as I imagined that.

So it’s a message for people who started a new life like that.

yoshihiko: I had never written lyrics like “I’ll support you.” However, I think that it maybe be an expression of my increased confidence that I can express myself more now. As I listened to it, I thought it was good. I like the lyrics..

So you wanted to express yourself more to fans?

yoshihiko: It’s not interesting just to sing. We want to send our messages when we do lives. Before, I thought it was good to sing our songs hard, but it wasn’t enough. I feel like the audience pays to see us so we should make them happy however hard it is. So it was more about the lyrics rather than about the singing. But then I noticed that if I wrote the lyrics, I could send more messages. And then it became more fun to write lyrics.

Now your expression looks bright, but was there something that prompted you to change?

yoshihiko: Yes, I came to dislike lives in the later half of our one-man tour Tsubasa in June last year. Something I can't forget is when I couldn’t sing at the Okayama live and I remember feeling like I couldn’t breathe. Since then, I became very nervous standing in front of the audience. After that, we released Panorama and we had a one-man tour again, but I was very nervous all the time. But the audience would read magazines and send me supportive letters, telling me that “yoshihiko is not alone, take it easy.” Then I gradually relaxed. I think that as long as people cheer me on, I’ll answer those cheers as best as I can. Gradually I re-built my confidence and I managed to completely dispel my fears around three days before the live at C.C.Lemmon Hall at the end of the year. It was like a switch inside me and it was very sudden. Now I’m not afraid at all. I am who I am now because of that trigger, so I think it was an experience I needed to have.

Why did that happen, what was the reason for it?

yoshihiko: I wonder why. I don’t really know. However, I didn’t think of giving up, even when I couldn’t sing.

You never thought about giving up.

yoshihiko: Yeah, but I thought I didn’t want to do lives anymore. I wonder why. Looking back I really remember that feeling.

Well you got over that and made your major debut, so the timing was good.

yoshihiko: I think the flow was just the best. I really feel members’ will to progress now, and I think it was good timing. I have wanted to be a singer for a long time, so I’m happy. Of course, I have had a lot of fears, but since then I have built up my confidence and I’m in very good shape.

You look full of hope.

yoshihiko: I’m happy. (laugh)

Can you see an even bigger dream from now?

yoshihiko: I’m more conscious of the need to improve myself more as a vocalist for heidi.. I want to answer our fans who cheer us on, and I want more people to listen to heidi.'s music, so I’ll work harder.


For the full interview, please refer to Zy 52.
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