Having incredible passion and energy, LiSA has taken the world by storm with her powerful performance and singing ability. The one and only aura of rock heroine who has sailed the oceans of her life as a singer, shines even brighter when she wears unique pieces, attracting many people.
ーーThis was your first appearance in GIANNA. How was the shooting, and please share your thoughts on the looks you wore for the shoot.
The clothes were completely different from what I usually wear, and I kept wondering where these items were founded. It felt like finding a new version of myself, which was really fun. The most impressed was the pink dress that looked like a hedgehog . (laughs) It was definitely a photoshoot-specific costume. While my looks for the live stage performance can be quite extravagant, ease of movement and singing comfort are really important to me, so I’ve never had the chance to wear such elaborate styles before.
ーーThe theme of this issue is “CHARISMATIC”. What does charisma mean to you?
I think it’s someone who makes others think “I want to be like them” – someone who inspires admiration.
ーーHave you ever met someone who you felt had charisma?
Yes. I was instantly drawn to Yuki Amami, who is an actor. From her aura to her conduct and how she interacts with people – I deeply respect her as a person in every way.
ーーDo you have any role models or people you look up to?
When I’m struggling, I often talk to Kumi Koda. I can talk with her about various things, both as a woman and as a singer. As I age, my body changes internally, so I can discuss these concerns with her, as well as matters related to my singing career. I’ve been her fan for a long time, but now she’s like a big sister and a life mentor to me, teaching me about both in music and in personal life.
ーーYou’re still in the middle of your Japan tour, and fans will get to see you as the final live concert of this year. How are you feeling so far?
Since this is a long-awaited arena tour, I feel very fortunate and happy to be able to produce and perform such large-scale concerts again. Although I was proceeding with some anxiety due to the many arrangements to handle, now that we’ve completed six performances, I feel like we’re creating this tour together with the audience as they mix in and get excited. We’re on this journey together, making adjustments as we go.
ーーWhat aspects are you particular about in this arena tour?
The tour is titled “LiVE is Smile Always ~ COCKTAiL PARTY~,” with the first day called “SWEET ” and the second day “SOUR,” offering different concert concepts over two days. It’s like mixing these two elements. Also, there’s a song titled “Black Box” on the single I released this year, which represents various elements mixing to become black, and creating something new from that. We’re building it together with the audience, and various elements combine to express this “Cocktail Party” – it’s really packed into the content! (laughs)
ーーWhich songs do you feel get the most excitement from fans during performances?
Among the songs I’ve performed at live concerts, “ROCK-mode” is probably the one I’ve played the most times. It’s a track from an early album, not a single or anything with a special title, but when it starts, everyone gets excited from the intro raising their voice “Woah!” The fans who come to my concerts are very expressive with their love, and they response me quickly. When first-time guest share their impressions, they often start by saying “Your audience response is amazing!” and that’s how quick the audience response is. So when I hear such comments, I feel that everyone comes with the attitude of “We’re going to give it our all!” I have many songs with call-and-response parts, and it’s incredible how fans remember them all for every song.
ーーWhat about your attention to staging and costumes?
There are a surprising number of costume changes in my concerts. This time, there are seven different looks per day, and different ones for both days. Since my songs themselves span various genres, one type of look isn’t enough to express everything, so after much discussion, we ended up with seven outfits. All pieces are designed for quick changes, and some can be changed on stage during blackouts, so live costume preparation is very quite hard. But clothes are very important for expression, and they’re created with consideration for colors, shapes, ease of movement, and many other factors.
ーーDo you have any favorite looks from your past lives?
For this tour, I really love the first look from the day “SOUR”. The performance from the first song is quite flashy, and when I move my arms, it looks like goldfish scales and also a kimono silhouette, made with a dense carpet-like fabric. I love both its pretty form and how it’s easy to move in while looking both flashy and grand.
ーーPlease tell us about your attention to the merchandise.
I’m surrounded by merchandise even today (laughs)! It’s really fun to create items that I think would be nice to have in daily life or things we can make specifically for the theme, and I’m very happy when fans use my products into their daily lives. Actually, I often make them that I want myself (laughs).
ーーDo you have any pre-show routines?
What are they? I have a lot of routines! (laughs) My schedule leading up to the performance is planned down to the five-minute mark, and I always get the concert place earlier than anyone else. No matter what, I always do kickboxing. I get extremely nervous, and for events where I might only have a 30-minute performance, I’d spend the entire time tense. I really don’t like that feeling, so by raising my heart rate before the event, it feels like I’ve already performed for 30 minutes when I sing the first song, helping me relax a bit during the actual performance. I also make time for voice training and alone time. For daily throat and body care, I put tape on my mouth every night and sleep with a mask to prevent dryness. Of course, I’m always careful not to catch a cold!
ーーWhat message do you want to share to fans through your tour?
My motto is “Today is a good day.” Whether it’s good days, bad days, sweet days, or bitter days – all these different days mix together, and I feel like I am meeting everyone here at my concert today. And we can make it the best day. As I mentioned earlier, the tour theme “COCKTAiL PARTY” includes the meaning of “mixing together,” which connects to this idea. I make these live shows to ensure each day is the best it can be, and hoping that everyone can treasure each day’s experiences and go to sleep thinking “Today was a good day!”
ーーCould you tell us about “QUEEN” released on October 13th? What feelings did you put into creating it?
“QUEEN” was produced as the opening song for the first period of “Shangri-La Frontier” anime’s second season. The story is about a main character in a game who tackles various game battles with his friends to beat them. When I’m facing difficulties or breaking through walls myself, I feel it’s really fun to take on challenges while enjoying the process and aiming for victory. This resonated with the work, so I wanted to express this attitude of “having fun while challenging” in this song. The title “QUEEN” was given by MAQUMA who wrote the lyrics, so I sing it with determination to live up to that title.
ーーYou often sing anime theme songs. How do you approach creating these songs?
I haven’t created them alone, but I always make sure to read the original work or watch the series before creating. There are people who receive the songs under the name LiSA, and I believe I can’t just sing about the work’s feelings alone, so I make music that I can sing honestly myself.
ーーWhat do you have inspiration from when writing lyrics and composing?
For “QUEEN,” it’s for an anime centered around the gaming world, so we included game-like elements such as chiptune-style sounds. So I’m conscious of the way to be close to the original works when creating music.
ーーIt’s been 13 years since your debut. Is there anything you’d like to tell your past self?
“Your eyebrows should be a bit thicker” (laughs). Everyone had thin eyebrows 10 years ago, and so did I. But looking back, I feel they should have been thicker.
ーーWhen did you first become seriously interested in singing?
When I was 3-4 years old, I was very shy and would hide behind my mother when going to new places or meeting new people. But at home, I was very energetic, singing and playing around, so my mother enrolled me in a musical class. This was around the age of my final year in pre-school, and since then, I’ve been singing while clearly feeling my love for it.
ーーHow have you overcome walls when you’ve hit them?
I make sure to feel hurt and then face challenges head-on. Because I’ve done this, now when I face a wall, I feel I’ve developed the attitude to fight them. Like the experience I had at my first Nippon Budokan concert, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we suddenly couldn’t do things the way we used to or make fun times with everyone at live performances. Even in such situations, my way of getting over walls might be to keep slowly exploring for what I can do.
ーーWhat has been your happiest moment since debut, and conversely, what has been the most challenging?
While live performances are happy moments for sure, what remains most memorable is receiving the Japan Record Award in 2020. I think that was the day I received the most messages from people in my life. Being able to express my gratitude to everyone at that moment meant a lot to me. The most challenging was when shooting five music videos in two days right after my debut. Also, the journey of holding handshake events in all 47 prefectures around Japan before my first Budokan performance to receive “hand power” from fans was physically tough (laughs).
ーーWhat is your guiding principle for your future activities?
My principle is to keep fighting. When you continue something for a long time, you become capable of doing more things, and some things become easier without much effort. The challenge is how to properly fight within that situation. It’s similar to not telling lies – whether I can give it my all. I could create something by compromising with “this is good enough” in both production and live performances, but I try not to do that.
ーーWhat does music mean to you?
Looking back, I feel I’ve often found songs that have served as guiding, through experiences gained from music and discovering my true feelings through it. It may sound grandiose and cheesy, but music is my life. As a performer, it’s my life, and as a listener, it feels like I’m looking into others’ lives and learning from them.
ーーWhat impression would you like the public to have of you in the future?
I’ve always been the type who’d rather be reacted “cool” than “cute.” That probably hasn’t changed. I want to keep being a cool woman whole my life.
ーーAfter completing your “LiVE is Smile Always ~ASiA TOUR 2024~” that started in June this year, were there any experiences or events that influenced your future activities?
It had been 6 years since my last Asia tour, with quite a gap due to the pandemic. Since I couldn’t meet everyone during that time, I wondered how many people would still be waiting for me. At that time, my dream of “doing various things in different regions and countries” was put on hold halfway, so when I started the Asia tour carrying memories from 6 years ago, uncertain if everyone would still share the same dreams. When the tour finally began, I found everyone waiting with even more energy than before. In the past, many people knew me through anime and sang anime theme songs in Japanese, but this time everyone remembered non- anime songs too and sang them out loud together, which really surprised me. I was so happy they knew even my latest songs! There’s one song I sing with just a piano, and I was especially amazed that they sang along with it.
ーーAre there any differences between Japanese and overseas fans?
I feel that each country truly has its own way of enjoying the concerts. Overseas fans in particular sing all the songs they know in their full voices.
ーーWhat are you passionate about in your personal life?
I’m most passionate about fashion. I usually buy imported items that are only available online, but I also enjoy shopping alone, so I sometimes go out by myself to shop clothes on my days off.
ーーDo you have any trademarks?
Besides my pink hair, people often mention my sharp canine teeth. My grandmother’s friends know me as “Yaeba-chan” (sharp- canine-teeth girl) (laughs). Regarding my hair color, I’ve wanted to dye it pink since my debut. In my first anime work “Angel Beats!”, I sang for a character with pink hair, so some of my fans who like the character would use pink stick lights when supporting me. That’s how pink became my iconic color, and I’ve kept it pink ever since.
ーーGoing forward, what kind of person do you want to be?
I’ve recently decided that I want to give people words that make them feel lifted up. I want to use positive words for others and also for myself.
ーーAs a music artist, how do you envision your future?
I will continue my training so that I can keep singing all my life. I sing a lot of challenging songs that are extremely fast and high- pitched, but I hope to be a singer who can keep singing those songs respectfully, along with everyone’s memories.
Model:LiSA Photography:TAKESHI TAKAGI(SIGNO) Styling:KOSEI MATSUDA(NOBODCR) Hair:TOMOKO SATO Makeup:PANDA YE PENG Interview:YUHA KUSUNOKI Edit:SEIRA MAEHARA