[2008.05.14] Ayaka's new single - "Okaeri" Interview

[gloomybear]

http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/interview/080514_02.html

Only two months after Ayaka’s previous single, “Te o Tsunagou/Ai o Utaou” (Let’s hold hands/Let’s about love), she releases a new one called “Okaeri” (Welcome Back). She was asked to write the theme song for the current drama, “Zettai Kareshi ~ Kanzen Muketsu no Koibito Robot~” [The Flawless Perfect Robot Boyfriend]. This song captures the pure heart that experiences happiness well deserved and undeserved of everyday life that we forget.

Thinking through the important parts of the drama

[Oricon] I thought “Okaeri” was an especially warm, feel-good word (expression).

[Ayaka] Probably because it’s a word that people hear and naturally accept everyday. I certainly have people that say “okaeri” to me so it’s natural to reply with “tadaima” (I’m back). There’s some kind of joy in having someone waiting for you. You feel it again and again.

[Oricon] Because you’re currently living by yourself, right?

[Ayaka] Well I moved away from my family home and family for awhile now… I can understand what it’s like. It was a little lonely, but I’m grateful to have someone say “okaeri”. It makes me feel like I can take on any challenges that may come. Since there is someone waiting for me, the things that frightened me, no longer did.

[Oricon] There’s a revelation in the interval of your lyrics.

[Ayaka] I wanted to capture the moment when you hear words that stand out in the melody. Then later it all steadily comes in.

[Oricon] That’s the kind of thing we notice from the drama “Zettai Kareshi ~ Kansen Muketsu no Koibito Robot~”

[Ayaka] Yeah. I read the manga that the drama was based on and wrote the song after. The story is about the protagonist that is a robot that learns human emotions one by one. I started to think for the everyday things we take for granted after I read parts in the story where he was happy about really small things that she did, such as her returning or her smiling.

Singing as what an 20 yr old girl feels

[Oricon] The story established the robot, but if you look at it, the robot also acts like a newborn child.

[Ayaka] Yeah, I think so too. That’s why this robot had an innocence we probably had when we were born. On the contrary, he experiences happiness despite his new experiences, struggles, and wounds. We forget about his innocence. I was kind of like that too. When I return to my family home, I think about the sort of happiness that comes with knowing someone is waiting for you and also knowing that there is a place to return to. This time around, it wasn’t that I wanted to “send out” my feelings, but more like I wanted to sing about this genuinely. I didn’t want to write as the artist, Ayaka, but as a 20-year-old girl.

[Oricon] Also in your lyrics, you expressed one’s feelings

[Ayaka] Of course I’m happy to be able to sing on a big stage and release CDs. But what makes me happier is the fact that I have family who are close by, waiting for me. It’s not the places where many people are waiting for me to perform… It’s the place where I can go home as me, not the artist. I didn’t sing only about the purity of the robot. I sang about the things we should and shouldn’t be happy about... things that were important to me.

Here's the Okaeri MV.
And check out her official website!