Interview] What was Minori Suzuki's challenge in "Yozora," a ballad full of twinkling stars?

Minori Suzuki is releasing her gem of a ballad "Yozora" as a new single, the ending theme for the TV anime "Koisuru Asteroid," a song that is closer to the world of the work than ever before, and one that she says is a song that comes through her ego as an artist.
The coupling includes a song provided by Yoshiaki Dewa, whom he admires and respects, and a song in which he challenged himself to write lyrics on the lyricist's own terms, as well as other songs full of individuality. This single shows the growth of the artist.

Yozora" is a song that has helped me grow as an artist.

─ What was your first impression of "Yozora"?

Suzuki: It has been a long time since we released a ballad single since "Crosswalk," and I thought we were given a very emotional ballad. Crosswalk" was written by Katsutoshi Kitagawa (composer and arranger) and Maaya Sakamoto (lyricist), and it is a song that is loved by fans and has a great meaning for me. This time, since it is a ballad that follows the previous one, I wanted to make sure that it was a good one, so I had a lot of input during the production process. For me, this song has helped me grow as an artist.

─ ─ In what areas did you feel you grew as an artist?

Suzuki: I talked with the director and we decided that the ending theme for "Koisuru Asteroids" should be a song that is closer to the work than ever before, and that's how the production process started. The song "Yozora" was born from this process, but the lyrics were difficult to draw from my own experiences and feelings, so I went into the recording session with a blurred feeling of "How should I sing this song? As I sang the song over and over again, I thought, "I can't go on like this," so I asked them to stop the recording once.

─ So you made your own decision to stop the recording.

Suzuki: Yes. Then, I thought about how I could put my feelings into this song. Then it occurred to me that the relationship between Mira-chan (Milla Kinohata) and Ao-chan (Ao Manaka) expressed in the lyrics might be similar to the relationship between the fans and me. With that in mind, I was able to pick up my pace and sing the song with an honest heart. Also, after everything was OK'd, I asked her to sing the first chorus, and she sang it again.

─ So that was another area where you gave your own opinion.

Suzuki: I wanted to sing the entire first chorus, which will be aired in the anime, in one take from beginning to end. So I sang the song until I was satisfied with it.

─ When I listened to the finished song, I could hear your unique flavor, and I had no idea that you had gone through such hardships.

Suzuki: Thank you very much. The fact that I don't have the experience described in the lyrics was the biggest problem for me, and I think it was good that I was able to overcome that.

───The music was composed and arranged by h-wonder. What was your impression of the melody?

Suzuki: I have heard h-wonder's music sung by Valkyrie and Maaya Sakamoto's songs, and I have always felt that he writes songs that suit his own voice and are easy to sing. Each melody of "Night Sky" is beautiful, and I thought it would be nice if I could enhance the song with my vocals.

─ ─ The arrangement is interesting, and the sound impression is quite different between the first and second choruses.

Suzuki: The lyrics are the same, but the arrangement of the first chorus expresses Mira's feelings when she was still alone, and there are fewer notes. The second chorus is characterized by the presence of Ao-chan and her friends from the earth science club next to her.

─ ─ What are your impressions of the ending of "Koisuru Asteroid"?

Suzuki: I thought it was a really wonderful use of the music. Compared to other works for which I have sung tie-up songs, this work has a particularly large everyday element, and I thought it was unusual to hear a ballad as the theme song for a Kirara-style anime, but I found the quiet ending theme to be very well suited to the work. I recorded the song while imagining Mira and Ao holding hands, so I was especially happy that the first episode matched the music.

───The music video (MV) for "Yozora" was shot in a theater. How was the shooting?

Suzuki: After a break with our first album "Fly Before You See! I wanted to show the new me again, so I worked with a director whom I had never met before. It was the director's idea to use the backstage area for the theater shoot, and he suggested the concept that there is tension and a bit of anxiety backstage, but once you get on stage, the world opens up and shines brightly. I was happy to think that this idea was connected to the world of the anime and my relationship with the fans.


─ ─ The electric decorations set up in the audience seats were very beautiful.

Suzuki: Yes, it was really beautiful from the stage as well. This time, we also used electric lights in the jacket photo, and we were able to match the jacket with the music video more than we have done for previous singles.