Interview with Juice=Juice

Shortly before their Juice=Juice LIVE AROUND 2017 ~World Tour~ performance in Dortmund FZW on September 17th, JaME had the opportunity to ask the Hello! Project idol group some questions about themselves and about the tour.

Thank you Juice=Juice for this interview opportunity. Since this is your first time in Europe, what is your impression of the fans who are attending your overseas concerts? Are they like the fans in Japan?

Yuka: My impression of the European fans is that they really, really waited for us, and their handmade T-shirts are so cool – they are so fashionable. The single Romance no Tochuu, which we put a lot of enthusiasm and feeling into, is beloved by everyone.
Nanami: There are big differences in the cheering during the songs, especially during the encore. The European fans really sing along with us. It’s different from concerts in Japan where everybody says "Juice, mou ippai" (“One more Juice, please”). It's very refreshing to see everybody singing along with us during the encore.

Since you had concerts in big cities like London and Paris, were you able to visit anywhere in Europe outside the concert halls?

Akari: We went to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and it was amazing just looking at it and feeling all the culture and the history. Also, we went to a park and we saw really cute children. Of course, we don't speak the same language, but we communicated well together.
Sayuki: We arrived Dortmund this morning. We had some time, so I walked around the hotel. It is Sunday, so no shops are open, however, I felt that the season was different and the air was very different. I just kind of felt like “Okay, this is not Japan.”

You are singing a lot about feelings, about the wonderful things in the world. How important are feelings to you?

Ruru: I think the music is a universal language and there is no barrier for it. We like to communicate through our feelings and through our songs. Especially the song Wonderful World, it has such a huge scale of feelings. We really like to express our feelings through our songs.

When Miyamoto Karin developed problems with her voice, it came as a big shock. Is her voice healthy now? Can you all take part in the performances?

Karin: Thank you very much for worrying about me, and sorry about that as well. I couldn't really talk and I had no voice for a while, but I had a lot of support from the voice trainers and our management, and the rest of the team. Of course, we have to be careful about how we sing and how we perform on stage, however, right now I am very healthy.

Juice=Juice was a five-member-unit. Now, Yanagawa Nanami and Dambara Ruru have joined the group and you have seven members. Are there any differences in your approach?

Tomoko: Juice=Juice had five members for quite a while, so two really young members joined because Juice=Juice was a bit higher in the age group inside Hello!Project. It's been very stimulating and refreshing for us.

The fans in Japan know exactly how to behave during idol concerts, but it was very confusing for me when I visited an idol concert for the first time. Were you confused by the reactions of the overseas fans?

Sayuki: There is no confusion for us, only a feeling of excitement. For example, when we went to Mexico, even an hour before the show they started to chant for us with an “Oĺé olé olé” song, which was really new to us. It's not really confusing, but every country has a different kind of reaction, so it's really exciting.

As idol group, you have to do many different things, such as singing and dancing on TV shows, during concerts and in music videos. There are also photo shoots and acting roles in TV dramas. What do you enjoy doing the most?

Karin: Juice=Juice is a music group. We are doing a lot of live shows, and of course, there photo shoots and music videos as well, but everything should go with the music. We have lots of different opportunities and activities, however, we like to do everything with the music.

Where else would you like to perform? Or, is there a country you would love to visit again?

Yuka: The way that the overseas fans react to the songs is very different, especially in the middle of the song. We've just kind of felt where the Japanese fan react and how they react until now, so it's very refreshing to know and see how the fans overseas react to our songs. For example, we played the song Fiesta! Fiesta!, and they reacted by singing along so much. Regarding countries: every country is so much fun. We cannot pick just one. We would love to visit every single country again. Also, I heard that there are many other groups from Hello!Project who want to travel overseas, so I really like the idea that all Hello!Project groups might be able to visit each country.

When you return to Japan, are there new projects waiting for you like a new single or an upcoming concert? I can imagine that a tour like this must be exhausting...

Sayuki: It's not really exhausting. We even feel like “Okay, we can do the show, and we have time to do some shopping and sightseeing.” So, it's not really exhausting. We have a concert at Nippon Budokan planned for November, so after we go back to Japan we will definitely do the rehearsal for that show.

To close our interview, could you please leave a message for our readers?

Yuka: When we started with Juice=Juice we really wanted to aim for worldwide activities, so this is like a dream come true. It’s not only that, though. We really like travelling overseas to meet the fans. Even if we are in Japan, we really want to have great songs and great performances, and to connect with people from around the world.


JaME would like to thank Hello!Project and Juice=Juice for making this interview possible.