Before their debut, Perfume would spend nearly eight hours on weekends taking lessons, crying while laughing…the voice trainer who taught them in Hiroshima
2005: Perfume's major debut
"Open your throat more!" The voice of voice trainer Towako Tanaka, who teaches singing vocalization, echoes through the studio of the Hiroshima branch of Actors School Hiroshima, a talent training school in Minami Ward, Hiroshima City. Founded in 1999, the school has about 90 elementary school students with the aim of becoming singers or actresses, and the three members of the techno pop unit Perfume were among the first to train at the school.
The trio is made up of Nishiwaki Ayaka (A-chan), Kashino Yuka (Kashiyuka), and Omoto Ayano (Nocchi), all from Hiroshima Prefecture and all in the same year. They made their major debut in 2005 and gained popularity for their innovative dance choreography and live performances using the latest video technology, and are now active overseas as well.
The three entered the school in 1999 when they were in the fifth grade of elementary school. There were about 150 students in their class, and they were divided into classes according to their dancing and singing levels. Kashino was in the lowest class that Tanaka was in charge of. "She was tone deaf and not good at dancing," said Tanaka. But she had more guts than anyone else. She cried during the tough practice, but she continued to attend without missing a day, and she improved rapidly.
The group formed when they were in elementary school. Nishiwaki was always smiling, and Omoto was an excellent student with a strong singing voice. "We were all different personalities, but when we were on stage we were all looking in the same direction," Tanaka recalls.
Now that they are in junior high school, the three have the opportunity to perform in front of people from entertainment agencies in Tokyo. This is no longer the time when you can broadcast your activities to the world through social media.
And so the intensive training began.
On weekends they had lessons for nearly eight hours from morning to evening, and on weekdays they also practiced on their own for around three hours after school. When school was closed they rented a community center to practice at. The stress and hardships of the days made the three emotionally unstable, and at times they were laughing and crying at the same time. Tanaka also gave them private lessons at his home, and listened to their worries. "It may have been the first and last time I spent that much time with my students."
Tanaka barely remembers how this performance went. However, she is certain that the hard work they put in to make their dreams come true has supported the trio's subsequent success.
Even today, many children admire Perfume and knock on the school's doors. One such child is a third-grader from Hiroshima City (9). At the age of three, she was so moved by a live DVD that she enrolled in the school. "The lessons are hard, but I want to keep working hard towards my dream," she says, her eyes shining.
Tanaka met the trio Perfume when they returned to Hiroshima for work in November last year. Seeing how attentive they were to the staff, she felt that they had "grown up." "They're like daughters to me. If they have dreams they haven't yet achieved, I hope they'll work hard and achieve them," she said, with a warm gaze. (Shibayama Rin)
