HANA, a seven-member girl group born from an audition program 『No No Girls』 in which BMSG and Chanmina teamed up, continues to make great strides. Their debut, which was an overwhelmingly refreshing experience in which they were able to realistically understand the members’ profiles and thoughts on music from the starting point, as a document of how they faced and overcame “no” from themselves and others was shared on the program.
Their debut song “ROSE” was played 100 million times in just four months after its release, making them the fastest dance vocal group in Japan’s history, ranking first on the Billboard JAPAN HOT 100 (released on 4/9), and number one on various subscription services. Obtained. Proving that they are not a made-up entity, but a girl group whose audience has been waiting for them, HANA released their second single on Wednesday, July 16th, which includes “Blue Jeans” and “Burning Flower”.
A modern medium tune ＝Blue Jeans“ that expresses the sparkle and sadness of youth ”Burning Flower“, a flower that blooms hotter than anyone else ”Aggressive and sexy attack on the theme of sunflowers. Interviews were conducted with everyone about two songs with contrasting personalities. I hope this will serve as a guide for new singles that have the potential to make you think that what you are seeing now is just one side of HANA.
Interview & Text by Yuka Ishizumi
Photo by Maho Korogi
――First of all, I would like to ask you about the June release of Burning Flower“.What did you think when you first heard the song?
KOHARU :I thought, ”I’ve got a strong song.”.
NAOKO :We were really excited, and we hadn’t decided to choreograph it yet, so what kind of choreography was it? Or, the chorus stuck in my ears, so I was curious about the reactions of everyone at HONEYs (HANA’s fan name) when the song came out, such as, ”I think it would be great if everyone imitated this place.”.
JISOO :The moment I heard it, I thought it had a really catchy sound, and I especially liked the oriental and new feel of the song, such as “Flame, It Stops Forever〜”.
JISOO
MAHINA :I thought it was a very catchy song because it was similar to JISOO, and when I first heard my part sung this time, I was convinced that I would definitely sing it here (lol).
YURI :I had never heard this song in a group before, so I thought it would be amazing if we could sing and dance to it, and I wanted to record it as soon as possible.
CHIKA :There was a time when everyone would let me listen to the track for a moment before I received the demo sound source, and I just listened to it and said, ”Thank you! Good work!” (laughs). It was really that type of song, so I said, ”I want to do it quickly!” I was excited.
――I think you’ve been singing aggressive minor tunes before, but was there any music you found helpful for singing this “Burning Flower”?
KOHARU :There is a lyric called “I’m the hottest one”, but I decided to reconsider not only how I sing these lyrics, but also how I am and how I live my life, so that I can sing them with pride. I tried it.
――Can you sing this lyric with confidence, not to mention the specifics? That’s what it means. So, are there any people who have been musically helpful?
JISOO :I really like the artist Halsey, and I admire and respect the quality of her voice, the worldview of the lyrics, and the way she performs on stage with herself. He is an artist who listened to a song and thought, ”I want to sing too.”.
MOMOKA : This is Awich. I think this song had a lot of rapping, but I think the lyrics have a strong meaning and are aggressive, or rather, have a sharp, sharp content, but Awich’s lyrics are also strong, and I think it’s a song that I’m trying to understand within myself. I think he also raps about his unyielding feelings and backbone. I learned a lot from watching Awich perform to convey his strong will, and he’s someone I’ve always admired.
MOMOKA
MAHINA :I’ve been listening to everyone’s songs lately. The lyrics are great, and as an artist I have a lot of respect for him, so I enjoy listening to them while looking at them and imagining things like, ”I guess that’s what I wrote.”.
――So what’s the highlight of listening to both your part and the rest?
JISOO :It’s not the main melody, but it’s a small part, but there’s the sound effect “Charine” after “Wealth, fame, and money will follow” in MOMOKA’s part, and my “Kochikina My Hand”. “Nkma!” is included in the background of “kiss me” Kiss-throwing sound)”.
MOMOKA :The people who sing the chorus, “Achichichichi” and “I’m the hottest one”, are different, and I think the sounds overlap even in those details to create depth. Also, there are quite a few pitch differences from high to low, and CHIKA’s singing is very high, but my singing is low, so I think that kind of pitch difference is also an interesting point. Also, the JISOO part has gentle lyrics, and the good voice gives it a nice flavor, so I thought it was a really good structure.
Each person thinks about “Burning Flower” punch line
――The voice of the rap person will make the lyrics more persuasive. So what is the punch line that each of you thinks?
KOHARU :CHIKA’s part “This music yeah we do music”. ” I thought it would be a good idea to emphasize the obvious, ”We’re making music.” It’s a simple word when you look at it in a sentence like “I’m going to make music”, but by emphasizing it, I can feel the strong will that “we’re motivated and doing real music.” I really like it.
YURI :I like “You know my name, you know / who’s hottest one” sung by MOMOKA and I. ” You know our names, right?” You know who’s the hottest, right?” I really like the way you’re asking that question.
YURI
――Performance seems to get you in the mood.
MOMOKA :It’s especially fun here.
CHIKA :I’m “We working so seriously”. First of all, we really take this seriously every stage, and the fact that everyone has written it down in the lyrics makes us feel even more deeply, and the lyrics make us think, ”This is HANA.” I think so.
MOMOKA :I really like all my parts so much that I can’t choose. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . What I like most about the members singing is ”I will repay the favor I received twice as much.”. After all, being able to be here now means meeting a lot of people, so I realized once again that I want to do my best and double the amount of gratitude I receive from such important people. I thought about it.
――It’s an aggressive lyric, but it’s filled with gratitude.
MOMOKA :The lyrics are very gentle, but even within that kindness there is a dignified strength. I really like the image of him standing with his feet on the ground.
NAOKO :To be honest, I like them all, and I would be in a lot of trouble if I was asked to choose. .. .. .. .. .. But I think that ”I just have to do what I do without chasing after it” is my way of life. My mom told me, ”Always practice at 120 percent.”. That way, you can get 100% out of the actual performance in a calm state while still having plenty of time to spare. When I think about how I have followed that teaching and practiced all my life, I think, ”You should just do what you do without pursuing it / you know.”.
――Oh, apparently NAOKO.
NAOKO : “I practice like this!” I’m too embarrassed to say that, so why don’t you just say “You Know” here? ( LOL )
KOHARU :It feels good (lol).
――How about JISOO?
JISOO :I’m talking about ”a billion that I’ll earn someday, but the money and love that I’ll share.” Money is really important after all (lol), but what we want to convey through music is a lot of love.“ The same goes for ROSE ”“Burning Flower”, “Blue Jeans”, but I want to convey various forms of love through music. I love this line because I don’t want to forget that mindset.
――Maybe it’s only natural since I’m a producer, but these lyrics also include HANA’s stance and mindset that everyone wants.
KOHARU :We always ask them to put what they think into it. I think that’s why I approach the lyrics honestly.
KOHARU
“Sing with each loved one in mind” ── Advice from Chanmin
――We’ll also ask about a completely different type of new song “Blue Jeans”. It was a surprising tone, but what did you think when you heard the demo of this song?
MOMOKA :Everyone was confused ～lol).
ALL: (Laughter).
KOHARU :The difference with “Burning Flower” is amazing. I feel like I’m going to catch a cold due to the temperature difference (lol).
――What kind of mindset do you want people to approach this song with?
CHIKA : “Sing with each loved one in mind”, everyone said.
――Was there a musical reference point? How should I sing it?.
MOMOKA :In the sense that I strongly convey my intentions through rap, this time I’m more of a fan of everyone than myself. I learned about the part where there is a lot of breath and the part where she sings smoothly and gently by listening to everyone’s singing style and flow.
――It’s a song with modern rock elements, so personally I think it’s typical of JISOO.
JISOO :I also love this song, so I didn’t think too much of a challenge when recording it this time. It’s always been my favorite genre, and ever since I heard the demo, it felt like I was humming it naturally.
――YURI also sings in a natural way?
YURI : Right. I sang it the way I wanted (lol). Personally, I think this song is easy to express emotions, and I sing it in any way I like depending on the emotions I feel at the time, such as crying when I feel like crying or sad when I feel sad.
――There are many points that will make you cry, but what are your favorite lyrics?
KOHARU : My part’s “Trust me even during midsummer”. I was very happy to be able to sing this part, and I put a lot of emotion into this phrase and carefully sang the nuances.
MAHINA :I really like the chorus, and the story comes to mind, or rather, it makes me squirm.” “Collapsed makeup” doesn’t often appear in the lyrics. It’s just my imagination, but when it comes to songs like this, it’s like “Prince.”.
ALL: (Laughter).
MAHINA :When I fall in love, I want to be in a very cute state, but I was really moved by the way she dared to express things like “collapsed makeup at 1am” in very straightforward and realistic terms.
MAHINA
CHIKA :The image of a prince is interesting (lol).
MAHINA :Also, ”Don’t talk about the future/Don’t just say it now.”. When YURI sang these lyrics, everyone melted (lol).
――(Laughs). The flow of this “Blue Jeans old sneaker” has meaning and is pleasant in sound. How about NAOKO?
NAOKO : ”Blue Jeans old sneakers” are people I love, and I think of them as the names of albums from my youth. Everyone said, ”It’s like a name, you’re calling the other person.”. You’ve called me that many times in your songs. So I imagined that my thoughts were stuck, or rather, how much I was thinking. I really like the chorus the most because the members’ voices come in.
――What is the core of what you want to convey with this song?
CHIKA : “Even if the sun rises / Stay with me for a while / Don’t say anything about the future / Don’t say anything about the present” means that I’m really enjoying the present, but I know this will end, and there’s a sadness to it. I think so, so I feel like I’m still young.
CHIKA
The current seven people think of “No”
――I think everyone has more time to spend together, so is there any music you didn’t listen to before, but have started listening to due to the influence of the members?
MAHINA : I fell in love with Sakanaction because of CHIKA. When I first heard it, I thought, ”There are people who write such unique lyrics,” and the way they create rhythms is also unique. The music I listen to has changed due to the influence of the members.
――CHIKA previously cited Sakanaction’s “identity” as her roots. Musically, but also the lyrics?
CHIKA :Of course I love the lyrics. That’s exactly the song that saved me when I was in “No No Girls”.
――listen to the band, too?
JISOO :listen. I also quite like Japanese bands, and when I moved to Tokyo with 『No No Girls』, I went to a live house by myself. I have fond memories of enjoying SIX LOUNGE’s live performance by myself (lol).
――Finally, if there is a “no” for you now, what is it? It doesn’t matter if you want to go beyond this or change this.
JISOO :This is quite light content….no, it’s quite heavy for me, but “No sweets” (lol). I’ve tried to live a no-sweets life over and over again, but I failed every time, and today is the first day of many times.
MAHINA :I’m “No curling iron” lol. It can also cause hair damage, so I’ve stopped using a curling iron and lately I’ve been blowing it with a hair dryer, but I end up using a curling iron only for hair that I can’t do anything about.
NAOKO :I’m fighting stiff shoulders.” Why is it so hard?” So, I’m always rolling my shoulders (lol).
NAOKO
――Serious No, no more?
KOHARU : After making my debut and starting to play music professionally, I started thinking about a lot of things. I’ve always loved music and thought I was studying it, but when I decided to face music properly one more time, I wanted to learn from the fundamentals of music, such as culture and background. I’m still learning though.
――I think HANA’s music will continue to expand in the future, but as KOHARU said, by digging deeper into more different types of music, HANA’s songs will likely become more profound.
KOHARU :really so. After all, as an artist, I want to have responsibility and pride, and continue to keep my feet on the ground and do my best.
