2017 was the year for the four members to act with a new structure. They have been performing new attractions through activities such as the TV anime, “THE REFLECTION”, the TV show, “Asakusa Bebi 9”, and concerts in other countries. “Quattro Formaggi” which is going to be held on December 26, 2017, is like the sum-up of this year’s activities. From four perspectives including “live”, “music piece”, “overseas expansion” and “bonds between the fans”, we looked more into the attractiveness of 9nine and their feelings toward the concert on December 26th.
In this part, we focused the discussion on their music, overseas expansion, and bond with fans- three of the group’s most engaging points.


9nine’s Four Fascinations #2 Produced by Trevor Horn
9nineの4つの魅力 #2 トレヴァー・ホーンプロデュース

The Evolution of their “Charming” Music
進化した「魅せる」楽曲

In 2017, “Why don’t you RELAX?” and “SunSunSunrise”, tracks produced by Trevor Horn, both became the embodiment of the new 9nine. “SunSunSunrise” especially earned the group high praise, in addition to a fiery stage performance that took the best parts of the group up until now to a whole new level.

ーHas anything changed among any of the members in regards to the way you approach performing or music, or have you learned anything since Trevor Horn began producing for the group?

Satake: First of all, having him collaborate with us felt like a dream, and unbelievable for Japanese people like us. (Editors note: 9nine is the first Japanese artist Trevor Horn has ever offered to work on a song with.) We were really enthusiastic about it. The songs were ones where we were aware of every single feeling that went into them from the people who helped worked on them, their weight, and the reactions from listeners.

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At first, whenever we were given a song, we would go into it with the feeling of wanting to do our best to make something good, and we didn’t understand the process (that goes into making a song from beginning to end). Only recently have we started to understand the story behind the process of creating music, and so we felt a greater sense of appreciation toward it.

Nishiwaki: The choreography is also unique. Ruu-sensei has been creating choreography for us since “SHINING☆STAR”. Even at the time we saw the choreography for “SHINING☆STAR”, we were totally blown away. But this time, the choreography she gave us went far beyond that. Of course the music was important as well, but in order to create a special, individual performance, we asked Ruu, who is currently working all over the world, for her help. We were pretty much lost when she gave us our first steps, but by us aiming for the next level, I really feel like it made these songs that much more special.

So not only were these tracks ones Trevor offered to work on, it feels like the answers we came up with while we were thinking about what more we could do as members also overlapped well on them. That’s why I think we were able to show the group in a way that people thought, “This is different from the usual 9nine.” when they were released.

Murata: We’re up to our eyes with the dance moves, so I don’ think we’ll stir up the audience excessively through “SunSunSunrise” although we’ve been doing so with other songs.

– It certainly feels like your expressions when you perform “SunSunSunrise” are different from any of your other songs.

Yoshii: Yeah, we’ve really put a lot into it.

– It also feels like it’s a song where the audience deliberately focuses their attention toward the stage over the usual idol concert excitement, in a different way from up until now, but does the reaction from the audience feel different from up on stage?

Satake: It really does. The audience bursting into applause and cheering during the dance part in “SunSunSunrise” after the first stanza before Hiro strikes a pose makes me really happy. It makes me really feel like, “They really get us!”

Yoshii: Kind of like, “We look pretty cool, right?” (laugh) So we really give it our all every time.

Murata: On the other hand, at first all of us were really nervous that there wasn’t the same reaction to it (like to our other songs up until now). While we were performing it we really noticed that, “Oh, everything is looking at us so seriously!” At first we were like, “Are they feeling it? Are they enjoying it?” but at some point that changed into, “Yeah! Check us out!”

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– Including the reactions from fans, the group’s shows have really evolved beyond just being fun into something engaging. We think even new viewers will be impressed that there’s a group like them out there, and are sure to see this newly evolved, charming side of the group at their solo concert.


9nine’s Four Fascinations #3 Their Expansion Overseas
9nineの4つの魅力 #3 海外展開

From Asia to Europe to America all in one year
1年でアジア、ヨーロッパ、北米へ。

– I don’t think there are many idols that, starting with L.A. Comic Con, followed by Spain and Shanghai, have traveled from Asia to Europe to America all in one year, so please tell us all about the memories you’ve made abroad.

Murata: Oh that’s right, Spain happened this year as well.

Nishiwaki: It already feels like it happened so long ago.

Satake: We fell in love with each country. All the people who came to see us were so warm and nice.

It was all thanks to “THE REFLECTION” that we were able to travel overseas. It happened during the period were thinking the hardest about what was in store for us next as a new, four-member group, and we were so happy that in the midst of this that they came to see us perform, understood our feelings, and said they wanted to work with us.

Because “THE REFLECTION” was an anime that was being made for a worldwide audience, and Mr. Nagahama said that he wanted it to have an international reach with Trevor Horn’s music, he arranged for almost all of our overseas events. Because of that, we were able to perform live, which is our strongest weapon. We were so glad that we were able to share our music at events that we normally wouldn’t have been able to participate in as an artist.

Yoshii: I was really able to feel the amazing power animation has. Since it was our first time in Europe, because we were unable to imagine anything (even about going at all), were really nervous about kind of people we would be coming, their reactions, or if they’d even pay attention to us. But they (the people there) knew about the tie-in songs we’d done with anime like “Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic”, and were dancing along!

Nishiwaki: The way the audience was when we began singing “With You/With Me” was amazing. They were like, “Magi!!” Someone dressed in clothing with Magi on it suddenly rushed to the front and during the first stanza he was dancing along, weren’t he?
In Spain we were really on the move all day to different places, and that there were people in such a far away place knew or songs or the dances perfectly felt so strange… more than happy we just felt incredibly amazed!!

Murata: They really sang along.

Satake: Our songs don’t show up on YouTube or iTunes. We thought that there was no way for them to see them, so we were so glad

– Out of the 17 songs from when you were a five-member group, 8 of them have been anime tie-ins. I don’t think there are any other idols that can top singing that many anime songs, so we hope that you’ll be making more and more appearances abroad.

Nishiwaki: I want to go to so many more countries. I want to be able to reach them.

Murata: Of course, most people don’t know about us. I feel like people are curious when they look at “idol” itself. So I noticed that one difference between Japan is that their excitement was freer. Everyone expressed their enthusiasm in their own way. Despite that, there were comments on our SNS that they had enjoyed seeing us and we realized that we could express ourselves with Japanese music. Even if they didn’t know our songs or the lyrics, they still felt something fun about them. The mood was really good.

Nishiwaki: I feel like it’s made our hearts stronger (through performing more abroad).

Satake: They really had no clue who we were. But so many times this year it really felt like they got us, even though we didn’t understand each other’s language.

Nishiwaki: We did everything we were supposed to do, so it was like, just how much will they enjoy it? I think it’s like that overseas, and we became slightly more aware of that. The more we go abroad the stronger we feel this way.

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– Actually, it seems like there’s been a steady rise in people seeing 9nine for the first time at joint events and commenting on how good you were after.

Nishiwaki: We’re glad to hear that.


9nine’s Four Fascinations #4 Their Expansion OversTheir Bond with Fanseas
9nineの4つの魅力 #4 ファンとの絆。

It’s kind of like being in a long-distance relationship.
「遠距離恋愛をしてる感じ」

– 2017 marked Live.me and the live streaming program “Bazuri-sensei”, as well as the revival of F9GBP. And with much like with the #ilove9nine t-shirt project from just a few days ago, it seems like this year has brought the group much closer with their fans.
Please tell us how you felt about the tweets you got from fans as part of the #ilove9nine t-shirt fan project gearing up toward December 26th.

Murata: We actually read all of the tweets that we got.

Nishiwaki: Each and every day we were checking them. We liked the tweets that we felt were especially touching. It made us wish we could tell everyone, “Thank you!!” directly.

Satake: Everyone took the time to think of something and write us.

Nishiwaki: There’s been quite a lot of time between our solo concerts and it’s been some time since everyone has been able to see us. Of course, we want to see everyone as well, and we’re always thinking about it. We believe that when we’re able to see everyone the love between us grows deeper, and also bigger as we’re able to connect more. So that’s why when we go long periods without performing live we like when we’re able to connect with fans.
During the next solo concert, we’re hoping to put on a show that will make each member of the audience explode with the love they’ve brought for us.

Satake: People who weren’t fans of ours even knew about the #ilove9nine project, and they were whispering things like, “9nine really share a strong bond with their fans,” or, “projects like this are really cool,” which made us happy to hear.

Yoshii: It’s kind of like being in a long-distance relationship. We really love all of our fans. But because we didn’t have many solo concerts we only had a few times to meet everyone directly. But despite that, we want to feel connected to everyone by this feeling of love we share. Isn’t that kind of sound like being in a long-distance relationship? Both sides are active and we want to always be conscious of that.
So likewise, we’re really looking forward to our solo show. It’s like, “We can finally meet everyone!”

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Murata: We’ve only been able to see the shirts in pictures, so we want to see all of your shirts in real life soon. If I write something myself, surely everyone will be happy, right?

– I think they’ll be very happy. Reading everyone’s words on their shirts in the hashtag, I can really get a sense of how thrilled they are to be your fans. You’ve also gained quite a few new fans from Asakusa Bebi9 and THE REFLECTION, and for those fans that may not be able to see you in concert yet, I think this project was a good chance for them to see and get a sense of how you communicate with your fans. And even for those fans that always go to your shows, it’s another way for them to support you besides showing their enthusiasm during concerts and buying your CDs and items, which I’m sure got them really excited.


Including their expansion overseas, 2017 has been a year of increasing momentum for the new formation of 9nine. We’re looking forward to their December 26 show, of course, and to seeing what future progress they make in 2018 as well. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more of their activities to come.

Once again, 9nine Solo Live 『Quattro Formaggi』Interview : Part 1 is here!

9nine Solo Live 『Quattro Formaggi』Interview “Looking Back at This Year’s 9nine. Four Personalities Creating Brand New 9nine”


Event Information

9nine Live 2017 “Quattro Formaggi”
【Date】 December 26 2017 (Tue)
【Time】 Open 18:00  Start 19:00
【Place】 Zepp Tokyo
【Price】 Door 5,000yen w/o drink
【Special Site】http://www.lespros.co.jp/special/9nine/quattroformaggi/live/

9nine ワンマンライブ 2017- Quattro Formaggi-
【日程】2017年12月26日(火)
【時間】開場18:00 開演19:00
【場所】Zepp Tokyo
【料金】5,000円(別途入場時ドリンク代)
【特設サイト】http://www.lespros.co.jp/special/9nine/quattroformaggi/live/


Related links
9nine Official site : https://9nine-fan.lespros.co.jp/
9nine Official Twitter : https://twitter.com/lespros_9nine

Translated by Jamie Koide

Author
TokyoGirls'Update

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