hiro releases her new album and reflects on the 25th anniversary of SPEED

SPEED vocalist hiro (Shimabukuro Hiroko) and also solo artist, was interviewed by Real Sound to discuss her new album “0” and also reflect on the 25th anniversary of SPEED.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

I think that the appearance of SPEED had a great influence on the girl groups after that, but what about hiro-san’s view?

hiro: I couldn’t see from the outside what the national feeling of SPEED was, and I didn’t know. Certainly, I think it was the forerunner of a girl group where young teenagers sang and danced.

Nowadays, even though it’s a girl group, it’s clear that genres such as dance groups and idols are segregated, but I think the great thing about SPEED is that they took on both elements at once.

hiro: There is that. The record company also said, “SPEED has elements of dance vocals and idol.” Turn on the artist mode when singing and dancing while giving the childishness peculiar to teenagers and making them look like idols. I think I was thinking about the balance of how to show it, and that’s why it was also friendly.

The first time you appeared on TV was “Yoru no Hit Parade” (Nippon Television) in 1995. You were 11 years old at the time, and was talking with a smile, but behind the scenes, I heard it was quite strict.

hiro: Originally I was in a talent training center in Okinawa, where a group of elementary school students was formed, and four of them were selected and headed to Tokyo. In Tokyo, I had lessons every day from morning till night for the appearance of “HIt Parade”. When I first appeared on “Hit Parade”, the office said, “If it’s not good, we can always go back to Okinawa.”

There was a lot of pressure.

hiro: Even though I was a kid, I felt that I was being tested a lot, and I knew that this was an opportunity, so I sang and danced hard. Also, it was not decided whether or not it will be called next, so we have to get results anyway. At that time, when I was called to record, I was doing lessons for songs that I would perform all day long, one week before the actual performance. When I appeared on the program several times, a record company came to see the scene and was called right after the recording. I was taken to a place like a rehearsal room on a TV station, and when I performed a song in front of a record company, that led to my debut. Thankfully, for respecting our style, “Let’s show them our usual style”, we decided to wear sneakers and rugged American clothes.

The debut song ” Body & Soul” released in 1996 had sold a total of 600,000 copies and suddenly became a smash hit. How did you perceive this result?

hiro: The ranking was easier to understand than the number of sales. I was in elementary school, and even though I was told that it was 600,000, it didn’t really affect me. That’s because the music industry in the late 90’s had million-seller hits. “Body & Soul” wasn’t a million, but I think it was a tremendous debut song even now. Because all the lyrics are straight. The staff at that time were in their early 30s, and it must have been a considerable challenge. I would like to ask the staff at that time whether they thought, “OK! This will sell!”, Whether it’s a song or four people singing and dancing.

“Body & Soul” is sharp even now.

hiro: It’s really sharp! At that time, Komuro Tetsuya was one of my seniors, and while rock bands were also popular, “Body & Soul” was sung by children dressed in sagging clothes. That way is amazing. That’s why the 2nd single “STEADY” became the first million. From that point on, the situation changed so rapidly. –

Four girls, aged 12 to 15 have become important people at that moment.

hiro: Not limited to SPEED, CDs were selling at that time, and everyone listened to the same song, sang it, and imitated it. The phenomenon that all the people know about hit songs is rarely born, but at that time it was born relatively, so I think it was a great time.

You mentioned earlier that “million hits were coming out in the latter half of the 90’s”, but for SPEED, double millions and triple millions were also released. Songs were playing everywhere in the city.

hiro: (Nodding) It really was.

Not only music, but in 1998, the movie “Andromedia” starring the members was produced, and won the “Nikkan Sports Film Awards” rookie award.

hiro: I don’t know why I wanted to make a movie, but the subject is in the near future and the director is Mr. Miike (Takashi), and each element is amazing, so I was very excited when I heard the story of the movie. It seems to be fun, or I definitely want to play a good role.

After that, the big change of the group was that each of them started solo activities in 1999. I wondered if you thought that you had to start your next life after finishing SPEED at that time.

hiro: That’s not true. Now that SPEED has been loved by many people, the next step is to expand their individual talents by starting solo activities. Rather than disbanding, I think it was a development to extend the life of the group.

The following year, in 2000, SPEED disbanded. How was your feeling at that time?

hiro: It was a complicated feeling. No one knew if disbanding was a good choice, much less a teenager with little life experience. But I knew well that it wasn’t a pleasure and that I had a great responsibility. In my story, I haven’t had a day off for three years since my debut. I went to school in the morning, worked after school, and had a tour until autumn when it was summer vacation. The schedule was always full, wasn’t it?

Everything in your life was SPEED.

hiro: I’m happy that my dream of becoming a singer has come true since I was little, but I don’t have any personal experience or private time. Since my debut was as young as 12 years old, there are few standards for thinking about things at all. Also, all four of them have said that “the popularity will not last forever”. The solo activity started when I started thinking about such various things, and as I had more time to think alone, I began to calmly think, “Where is this going?”

I was happy that your dream came true, but did you think that you were being reborn?

hiro: That’s right. Am I good as it is? How long will this situation last? What about the next destination? What? When I grow up to a certain extent, I think I can maintain a good balance of mind, but because I was a child, everything was managed. I personally wonder if there was a slight sense of crisis or anxiety. That said, there are opinions from the other three people, as well as the ideas of the company and various people. Everyone, including the president, had a discussion and had the choices of “dissolution,” “rest,” and “pause,” and finally chose to disband. It was a conclusion after thinking a lot

What would have happened if SPEED hadn’t been disbanded at that time?

hiro: I don’t know. However, there is nothing so scary afterwards. Stopping or letting go of such a big thing was a traumatic event. Since the announcement of the disbandment, I have been feeling a lot of tension every day, and I have been feeling a lot of pressure. Therefore, the day after the last performance at “Music Station” (TV Asahi) on March 31, 2000, I remember that my whole body was weakened.

You were really busy holding the 4 major dome tours, releasing the album “Carry On my way”, and performing at “Music Station”.

hiro: I think my emotions were paralyzed. If you’re so busy, there are things you can’t do without being a little insensitive. The moment I put “SPEED’s Shimabukuro Hiroko” next to me, it was a little easier. However, I’m still SPEED and Shimabukuro Hiroko, and I’m still living it . I think I didn’t realize that feeling until time passed.

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