Shimabukuro Hiroko talks about why SPEED disbanded

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In an interview with CHANTO WEB, Shimabukuro Hiroko who was one of the main vocalists of the popular ’90s girl group SPEED, talked about why the group disbanded during their peak.

When asked in the interview of why the group disbanded, Hiroko explained, “There was not just one reason, but several, and I was the one who moved first to have a discussion with everyone. I was worried about becoming an adult because I hadn’t experienced most of the things that other teenagers around me had experienced, and I didn’t know about society. I don’t like the word “normal feeling”, but I didn’t know how to ride the train, and I couldn’t go to the convenience store because there were so many people. My popularity won’t last as it is, but I thought there were more things I should have felt while I was in my teens. I love singing, and I still think that I am very grateful to have been given a lot of work. But I was too busy to keep up with my emotions, and my throat would have been overworked by singing in a high voice every day, and my voice would have changed. Thinking about it now, there might have been other ways of doing things, and I think there was a time when I learned about society even if I didn’t like it. I guess it was unthinkable at the time”.

When asked if she felt they were at the peak of their popularity when they disbanded, Hiroko said, “Probably, I was exhausted. What I can do now, I have nothing left now. Because I have nothing to give. I think I was able to put out all my thoughts, values, and performance as a human being. I debuted in the 6th grade of elementary school and started thinking about my life from the 3rd grade of junior high school”.

When asked if she wanted to return back to Okinawa after the group disbanded, Hiroko said, “well, rather than wanting to go back to Okinawa, I wanted to do something completely different, whether it’s in the entertainment industry or not. I wanted to do something completely different, but I didn’t really know how to do it. However, when the group disbanded, the weight on my shoulders suddenly dropped, and I decided to do everything I wanted to do first, so I decided to dye my hair blonde (laughs). For example, I went to a family restaurant with my friend for the first time outside of work and got absorbed in conversation, or my girlfriend’s mother came to Tokyo and we went to the supermarket together. I’ve never done “Which one to buy? Buy that one?” That was my daily life, and I was doing things to satisfy my small desires”.

Click here to read the rest of the interview (in Japanese)

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