Translation: KAT-TUN Live Document Photobook "Break the Records" - Part 2
Done! The other half of the interviews. Dozo!
「Music saves my life, so I can't lie to music.」
I am a total junkie for live performances, so the sense of achievement this time was really high. I spent even more time at the Dome than at my house, yet I still was not completely satisfied. For me, being completely satisfied means the end, because then there’s no need to do anything anymore. That’s why, keeping on being half-satisfied is fine. Never reaching full satisfactory is fine too; I feel lucky just by having something to challenge. Therefore, even though I do have the sense of achievement, I can’t honestly praise myself yet. Rather than getting all excited, I want to sit down and reflect on things I’d done. I always want to climb to new heights; I even want to die while climbing, just like that. People usually reach the top without even thinking about it. That way, it’s better for us not to pay attention to too many things, right? Colliding with each other is fine, falling down is fine too. If there's something you couldn't do last year, try to do them again this year; it's good enough if we can keep on moving forward.
That’s why, for me, it’s no different whether a single person or 50,000 people come to the concert, because I consider it an artist’s mission to perform. Even if you are able to entertain 10 people at the same time, making 50,000 people go wild is a much different story. There’s no end if you keep thinking like that, and that’s exactly why it’s fun, the live performance, that is. You have to pull yourself together no matter what kind of situation you’re in. If you’re left alone, you just can’t feel the fun anymore. I think that’s also the reason why the fans come to see us. Even when there are some guys who hate us and make a ruckus at the concert, I would appreciate their honest feelings and consider it a victory on our parts.
Really, I have been saved by music many times. Therefore, I never want to lie to music, because that would mean lying to myself. Music can make you happy even when you’re in no mood to have fun. Thinking about that, I really want people to listen to our sounds and feel happy. Music indeed always has a place in our memories, right? The song for when we are in love, the song for when we are heartbroken, the song for when we go to the sea, all of those moments. If our songs can have such special meanings in people’s hearts, I’d be incredibly happy. Music is sometimes capable of making you cry or cheering you up in just 3 minutes, isn’t it? That’s why I think it’s okay to try even if I suck at singing. The kind of people who never put their hearts into singing is the worst, no matter how well they can sing. It doesn’t matter what kind of art you perform, the essential thing for an artist is the ability to touch people’s hearts. That’s why, thinking back on it now, I’d have liked to go on a little longer. Another consecutive 10 days is fine too. But then, I’d be dead (laugh). Maybe I could do with one more week?
「I was finally able to understand what I should do.」
As usual, I had the feeling that I was able to build up the live concert with all that I wanted. However, this time, facing the 10 days at Tokyo Dome, I found in myself a special fighting spirit. Of course, to KAT-TUN, ever since our debut, Tokyo Dome has surely become the place of our destiny, the home ground where we can shine like nowhere else. Because of that, before we were fully conscious of the record-breaking, what we thought about the most was how to improve the quality of our performance; we talked about this nonstop, even in the dressing rooms. Of course, I never could have done anything on my own, and if any of these worries was shown on my face, then there was no way I could entertain the audience. That’s why, at first I would carefully set the target for my ideal performance, then slowly build up my confidence before showing myself on the stage. Only when I get the acceptance from the audience could I attain a sense of achievement for the first time.
Therefore, concerning my solo, I absolutely refuse to compromise on anything. I want to compose music that would get thousands of people to comment “It’s such a good song”, and the solo performance is the place where I can give a shape to all of my thoughts. Beyond that, there’s also the feeling of wanting to present myself in a way that gets everybody’s acceptance. That’s why I can always devote everything I have to the performance. Moreover, in the two years of 2008 and 2009, I have had the chances to work in my solo concert, stage play, and drama; utilizing all these various experiences, I was able to make my performance at the live concert much more colorful. I feel like I was finally able to fully understand what I should do. Of course I did go through a lot of troubles, but there was nothing that left me any regret. I do every of my jobs with the necessary confidence, because I always make sure to connect all that I’ve done to the presentation of myself today.
Isn’t what I’ve said kind of different from my usual characteristic as a musician? Honestly I don’t think there are any other 6 people with a group personality as egoistic as KAT-TUN has (laugh). Of course, inside me there’s a part of that personality too. Even when standing alone, I think that I’m pretty much dyed in this color called KAT-TUN. If that color is black, I would be dyed black to the point where I can’t see anything. Conversely, you can imagine that when I am Ueda Tatsuya, my color is white. Those two halves are totally different, so I can have double the fun. Because we are a group that owns such different colors, there are some parts in ourselves which don’t really understand what the true color of KAT-TUN is. Probably, as we go on without that full knowledge, there are times at which we have broken through that color of our own. That’s exactly why I think the existence of KAT-TUN is really interesting. We were able to stand on that stage, surely because all 6 of us were there, right?
「I’m really happy to have managed to agree upon an image with all the fans.」
First of all, I want to express my gratitude to all the fans who came to the Dome for our sakes. More than the record, the thing that made me the most happy was that we were able to share with our fans the joy of standing on the stage of Tokyo Dome for 8 consecutive days. Of course, when we appear on TV or radio, there are a much greater number of people watching us, but it’s different from having the audience in front of your eyes. We received so much power from each and every one of the 55,000 fans who came to the Dome to attend our concert. That’s why, while trying not to indulge ourselves too much with all the cheering, we couldn’t help feeling elated after each performance. That kind of conflict actually became the motivation that pushed us through all 10 days. With my voice percussion performances, each day I tried to change the arrangement a little bit in order to get closer to the image I wanted. After all, I think the concert will reach its epitome only when I manage to accomplish my ideal performance and make all the audience go wild. The image I want to achieve and the image everyone expects of me just happen to meet, and because of that, I’m incredibly happy. Perhaps this time though, with all the trembles I went through at the heights of my bungee jump challenges, my voice percussion went pretty frail (bitter laugh). My conditions those days were quite under the influence of my feelings I guess. But then again, that’s what live performance is all about, isn’t it?
Concerts are really different from TV and radio. We perform solely for the people who are at that place, at that moment; it’s okay for us to plunge ourselves forward thinking only about the present. When I sing or when I’m performing voice percussion, I’m all following the condition of that day and that moment; the MC too, it is all about the flow of time at that space. That’s why in my case, without thinking about unnecessary things, I just keep on singing, dancing, and presenting myself freely. It’s good enough if after that, everyone can return home happily. Therefore, for me, very simply, live concert = having fun from the beginning till the end.
The members of KAT-TUN have all already become closer to me than my family. Standing on the same stage, seeing everyone trying their best together always gives me so much motivation. Thanks to the 5 of them, I’m able to see clearly what it is that I want and what I need to do. Kame’s self-confidence, Koki’s strength, Ueda’s passion, Akanishi’s music sense, and Taguchi’s positive personality - because each of them is unique, at the MC, we can enjoy talking in our own way, which, I think, is really interesting. Rather than trying to entertain a whole lot of people, sometimes it’s just us having all the fun by ourselves, isn’t it (laugh)?
「Music saves my life, so I can't lie to music.」
I am a total junkie for live performances, so the sense of achievement this time was really high. I spent even more time at the Dome than at my house, yet I still was not completely satisfied. For me, being completely satisfied means the end, because then there’s no need to do anything anymore. That’s why, keeping on being half-satisfied is fine. Never reaching full satisfactory is fine too; I feel lucky just by having something to challenge. Therefore, even though I do have the sense of achievement, I can’t honestly praise myself yet. Rather than getting all excited, I want to sit down and reflect on things I’d done. I always want to climb to new heights; I even want to die while climbing, just like that. People usually reach the top without even thinking about it. That way, it’s better for us not to pay attention to too many things, right? Colliding with each other is fine, falling down is fine too. If there's something you couldn't do last year, try to do them again this year; it's good enough if we can keep on moving forward.
That’s why, for me, it’s no different whether a single person or 50,000 people come to the concert, because I consider it an artist’s mission to perform. Even if you are able to entertain 10 people at the same time, making 50,000 people go wild is a much different story. There’s no end if you keep thinking like that, and that’s exactly why it’s fun, the live performance, that is. You have to pull yourself together no matter what kind of situation you’re in. If you’re left alone, you just can’t feel the fun anymore. I think that’s also the reason why the fans come to see us. Even when there are some guys who hate us and make a ruckus at the concert, I would appreciate their honest feelings and consider it a victory on our parts.
Really, I have been saved by music many times. Therefore, I never want to lie to music, because that would mean lying to myself. Music can make you happy even when you’re in no mood to have fun. Thinking about that, I really want people to listen to our sounds and feel happy. Music indeed always has a place in our memories, right? The song for when we are in love, the song for when we are heartbroken, the song for when we go to the sea, all of those moments. If our songs can have such special meanings in people’s hearts, I’d be incredibly happy. Music is sometimes capable of making you cry or cheering you up in just 3 minutes, isn’t it? That’s why I think it’s okay to try even if I suck at singing. The kind of people who never put their hearts into singing is the worst, no matter how well they can sing. It doesn’t matter what kind of art you perform, the essential thing for an artist is the ability to touch people’s hearts. That’s why, thinking back on it now, I’d have liked to go on a little longer. Another consecutive 10 days is fine too. But then, I’d be dead (laugh). Maybe I could do with one more week?
「I was finally able to understand what I should do.」
As usual, I had the feeling that I was able to build up the live concert with all that I wanted. However, this time, facing the 10 days at Tokyo Dome, I found in myself a special fighting spirit. Of course, to KAT-TUN, ever since our debut, Tokyo Dome has surely become the place of our destiny, the home ground where we can shine like nowhere else. Because of that, before we were fully conscious of the record-breaking, what we thought about the most was how to improve the quality of our performance; we talked about this nonstop, even in the dressing rooms. Of course, I never could have done anything on my own, and if any of these worries was shown on my face, then there was no way I could entertain the audience. That’s why, at first I would carefully set the target for my ideal performance, then slowly build up my confidence before showing myself on the stage. Only when I get the acceptance from the audience could I attain a sense of achievement for the first time.
Therefore, concerning my solo, I absolutely refuse to compromise on anything. I want to compose music that would get thousands of people to comment “It’s such a good song”, and the solo performance is the place where I can give a shape to all of my thoughts. Beyond that, there’s also the feeling of wanting to present myself in a way that gets everybody’s acceptance. That’s why I can always devote everything I have to the performance. Moreover, in the two years of 2008 and 2009, I have had the chances to work in my solo concert, stage play, and drama; utilizing all these various experiences, I was able to make my performance at the live concert much more colorful. I feel like I was finally able to fully understand what I should do. Of course I did go through a lot of troubles, but there was nothing that left me any regret. I do every of my jobs with the necessary confidence, because I always make sure to connect all that I’ve done to the presentation of myself today.
Isn’t what I’ve said kind of different from my usual characteristic as a musician? Honestly I don’t think there are any other 6 people with a group personality as egoistic as KAT-TUN has (laugh). Of course, inside me there’s a part of that personality too. Even when standing alone, I think that I’m pretty much dyed in this color called KAT-TUN. If that color is black, I would be dyed black to the point where I can’t see anything. Conversely, you can imagine that when I am Ueda Tatsuya, my color is white. Those two halves are totally different, so I can have double the fun. Because we are a group that owns such different colors, there are some parts in ourselves which don’t really understand what the true color of KAT-TUN is. Probably, as we go on without that full knowledge, there are times at which we have broken through that color of our own. That’s exactly why I think the existence of KAT-TUN is really interesting. We were able to stand on that stage, surely because all 6 of us were there, right?
「I’m really happy to have managed to agree upon an image with all the fans.」
First of all, I want to express my gratitude to all the fans who came to the Dome for our sakes. More than the record, the thing that made me the most happy was that we were able to share with our fans the joy of standing on the stage of Tokyo Dome for 8 consecutive days. Of course, when we appear on TV or radio, there are a much greater number of people watching us, but it’s different from having the audience in front of your eyes. We received so much power from each and every one of the 55,000 fans who came to the Dome to attend our concert. That’s why, while trying not to indulge ourselves too much with all the cheering, we couldn’t help feeling elated after each performance. That kind of conflict actually became the motivation that pushed us through all 10 days. With my voice percussion performances, each day I tried to change the arrangement a little bit in order to get closer to the image I wanted. After all, I think the concert will reach its epitome only when I manage to accomplish my ideal performance and make all the audience go wild. The image I want to achieve and the image everyone expects of me just happen to meet, and because of that, I’m incredibly happy. Perhaps this time though, with all the trembles I went through at the heights of my bungee jump challenges, my voice percussion went pretty frail (bitter laugh). My conditions those days were quite under the influence of my feelings I guess. But then again, that’s what live performance is all about, isn’t it?
Concerts are really different from TV and radio. We perform solely for the people who are at that place, at that moment; it’s okay for us to plunge ourselves forward thinking only about the present. When I sing or when I’m performing voice percussion, I’m all following the condition of that day and that moment; the MC too, it is all about the flow of time at that space. That’s why in my case, without thinking about unnecessary things, I just keep on singing, dancing, and presenting myself freely. It’s good enough if after that, everyone can return home happily. Therefore, for me, very simply, live concert = having fun from the beginning till the end.
The members of KAT-TUN have all already become closer to me than my family. Standing on the same stage, seeing everyone trying their best together always gives me so much motivation. Thanks to the 5 of them, I’m able to see clearly what it is that I want and what I need to do. Kame’s self-confidence, Koki’s strength, Ueda’s passion, Akanishi’s music sense, and Taguchi’s positive personality - because each of them is unique, at the MC, we can enjoy talking in our own way, which, I think, is really interesting. Rather than trying to entertain a whole lot of people, sometimes it’s just us having all the fun by ourselves, isn’t it (laugh)?