A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 2, NENE of the idol group “Meme Tokyo” appeared on the show, introduced by two members of the brother-sister unit Peropero Kyande. We asked her about her unexpected debut, how she joined Meme Tokyo, and her grand dreams for the future.
INDEX
High school days when I played the guitar because I couldn’t do my nails
Takano (MC): NENE, yesterday the two members of Peropero Kyande said “Hitori Powerpuff Girls”.
NENE: That makes me incredibly happy.
Takano: Celeina, you like Powerpuff Girls, don’t you? You must be really looking forward to it.
Celeina (MC): Yes! I would like to know a lot about you, NENE. You auditioned at the beginning of your career, didn’t you?
NENE: Yes, I did. I like Western music a lot, so I wanted to cover it and write songs with that kind of atmosphere. When I was in my third year of high school, I wasn’t sure whether to go to New York or Tokyo, but I thought I might be able to climb the ladder faster if I absorbed the Japanese culture I had and then went abroad, so I auditioned for Tokyo first and was told, “You got in, so come,” so I went.
Takano: That was sudden (laughs). Was that like an idol audition?
NENE: No, it was half like a school. There is a place where you study and do various activities, and I auditioned there.
Takano: Now you are doing a lot of things like dancing, aren’t you?
NENE: I have been going to a dance studio since I was in the third grade, and I was involved in dance battles.
Celeina: What genre of dance do you dance in?
NENE: I have always been a rock dancer.
Takano: Besides dancing, did you also play musical instruments?
NENE: Yes, I did. When I was in high school, I couldn’t do nails yet, so I played guitar. When I graduated, I was able to do nails, so I went to …….
Takano: So you have nail standards (laughs).
NENE: I wanted to play the guitar, but I thought I couldn’t because I couldn’t do my nails, so I thought I could play the piano.
Celeina: It’s difficult when it comes to chords (laughs).
NENE: That’s how I got started as a trackmaker. With the piano, you can record one chord at a time by playing it and recording it, then playing it and recording it. I could also do chords by pressing my fingers one at a time.
Takano: You can also cut and paste.
Celeina: I see, so you started track making because you wanted to get your nails done (laughs).
Takano: That’s a good reason (laughs).
Celeina: But, NENE, you said you can’t play guitar with nails. I play guitar but I want to wear nails. I keep my nails short only on the left side to hold down the strings, and I extend the right side for finger picking and stuff.
NENE: (touching her fingers) Cute.
Takano: They are touching each other’s fingers.
Celeina: Sorry. I was doing a gal (laughs).
INDEX
Joined Meme Tokyo by DM from a producer.
Celeina: Let me go back to one question. What kind of Western music did you listen to?
NENE: I really like Jamiroquai, James Brown, and funk. I like rock dance performances such as “get-down” where you get down on your knees on the floor, and I also like artists who dance around at live shows. My idol is Beyonce, and I thought that if I added Japanese culture to that energy, I would be invincible. I mix various things together and the result is like the original me.
Celeina: I see.
Takano: Also, in 2021, you joined “Meme Tokyo,” the sister unit of Denpagumi Inc. as a new member.
NENE: That’s right.
Celeina: Isn’t that a great opportunity, too?
NENE: I received a DM from the producer, Mofuku-san, asking if I would like to join. Before that, my Instagram reel was going great. I was getting all kinds of DMs, and I thought, “Here comes the fake one again,” but it was the real one (laughs).
Celeina: What was the reel about?
NENE: It’s just a regular dance video. It started just as TikTok was about to start and the reel was about to begin, and it was going around 3 million times or something like that. I was invited to join, we had meetings, and before I knew it, two years had already passed (laughs).
Celeina: Ne-san, you also write lyrics and music in the group, don’t you?
NENE: I was asked, “Would you like to try writing? I said, “I’ll write it,” and wrote it.
Takano: Is it a mass of talent (laughs)?
NENE: I did a lot of different things.
Takano: After hearing this much, I’m sure you’re wondering about songs and such, so let’s play a song by Meme Tokyo, for which NENE wrote the lyrics. Please introduce the song.
NENE: Please listen to it then. Please listen to the song “Sweet Dream” by Meme Tokyo.
