Cheeky Parade is an Japanese idol group consisting of 9 girls. They were formed on February 19th 2012 as the second artist from AVEX idol label, “iDOL Street”, under the group name that stands for “Cheeky=saucy, rambunctious” + “Parade=entertainment parade.”
Cheeky Parade debuted with their 1st single “BUNBUN NINE9′” on January 9th 2013, which ranked #4 on the Oricon weekly chart. The 2nd single “C.P.U !?,” released on April 10th, ranked #5 and the 3rd single “Mugendai Shoujo ∀” ranked #4. Ranking in the top 5 for all their first three singles, the girls pursue their own unique styles and become an idol group like no other. In 2014, Cheeky Parade made history as the first Japanese act to ever perform at the CBGB Music & Film Festival in New York; in October of 2015, they performed in Los Angeles for the first time at JAPAN EXPO held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Kawaii Kakkoii Sugoi got the chance to sit down with three members of Cheeky Parade, and had an interesting conversation with them over topics from their overseas performances to their dreams in ten years. Make sure to check it out!
KKS: Hi we are Kawaii Kakkoii Sugoi from Los Angeles. Nice to meet you. First, can you introduce yourselves to our readers?
Yuuna: Hi I am the leader Yunna. Nice to meet you.
Asami: Hi I am the dance leader Asami. Nice to meet you.
Momoka: Hi I am Momoka, a 16-year-old high school girl. Nice to meet you.
KKS: Can you tell us about your group concept?
Yuuna: Our group concept is actually represented in the group name: Cheeky Parade. “Cheeky” means naughty, saucy and lovely, which shows our life attitude and unique performance style. Meanwhile, we have nine members and kinda form a “Parade”, generating freshness and excitement for the entertainment industry. I believe you will understand the “Cheeky” style through our live performance, so please come to our show if you have a chance.
KKS: Cheeky Parade made history as the first Japanese act to ever perform at the CBGB Music & Film Festival. Congratulations! How was that performance back in 2014?
Asami: We were so excited to perform at CBCG Music Festival as the first Japanese act ever. My heart beat so hard since we were sharing the stage with many famous artists. When we started our set, the fans who followed us all the way from Japan cheered for us as usual, while the local audience who saw us for the very first time, although they might not understand our language, also raised their hands up high and had great fun with us. Their support was so important to us and motivated us to do the best we could during the performance.
KKS: Did you find any difference between Japanese fans and American fans?
Asami: I think the message “to have fun together at the show” transcends languages barriers. Even though our foreign audience may have problem understanding our language, they are still able to have fun with us, smile and applause for us, which is no difference with our Japanese fans at all. Moreover, the fact that we cannot express ourselves well in English, is exactly what makes us realize the importance of being expressive with our performance. For example, we put on more exaggerated facial expressions and dance moves than usual. We also changed our voices from time to time to make our singing sound more dramatic. All of these were challenges we took to highlight our performance overseas.
KKS: How was the experience in Paris where you performed at MOSHI MOSHI NIPPON FESTIVAL?
Momoka: A lot of fans from France had known about us from before. Although I read their twitters and started looking forward to Paris since before, I didn’t expect to see our fans welcoming us at the airport. They held boards in their hands saying “Welcome to Paris”, which made me really really happy. A lot of them learned Japanese to understand our lyrics and talk with us. Some of them were so excited to see us that they even cried. All of our fans there were so awesome and I love them so much. We had a super fun time during our the stay in Paris.
KKS: Did you go sightseeing in New York and Paris? Where did you go in these cities?
Momoka: We visited Times Square and Brooklyn Bridge. And enjoyed a memorable view of the Statue of Liberty riding the ferry. We had so much fun in New York; just by walking in the city we were so excited. As for Paris, we went to the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. We also went to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum.
KKS: Before you set out for your showcase in Los Angeles, can you share a message about this new challenge? (*The interview was done right before the group left Japan for their performance in Los Angeles)
Yuuna: This will be the first time for us to visit Los Angeles and we are looking forward to a different experience compared to the visit to New York in 2014. We are very glad to see Japanese culture being spread in Los Angeles, and of course it is a great honor for us to perform as the guest at Japan Expo. We know that most of the audience there probably haven’t heard of us before, but just like how we got those fans who waited for us in France, we expect to win new fans in Los Angeles, which is one of our goals this time. We will do our best for this challenge and show our audience our special performance.
KKS: What hobbies do you have in your leisure time?
Asami: I love shopping. My mom and I have a very close relationship. She gives me really good advice on fashion when we go shopping together. I would get worried if there is no one to offer me suggestions when I pick up clothes, so hanging out with her is a great choice and helps me a lot.
Yuuna: I love outdoor activities. I used to love staying at home when I was younger, but started to become more outgoing since I turned 20. Rather than playing sports, I am more interested in meeting with people and talking with them. But there is also time that I prefer to spend only by myself.
Momoka: I am searching for hobbies recently (laugh). Let’s see… I do love animals since before. I enjoy going to pet shops and observing animals in there. I also visit cats’ cafe once in a while to meet those lovely babies.
KKS: How did you feel about appearing in the TV drama “Mutsuu ~Mieru Me~” (『無痛〜診える眼〜』)? I was very excited when seeing you guys performing a live show as part of the drama story.
Yuuna: Thank you for watching it! It was a very fresh and interesting experience for us, although I was so nervous when acting with so many famous actors. Since I am interested in acting and performing myself, I would love to appear in more of this kind of TV dramas in the future also.
KKS: Have you dreamt about yourselves in ten years? Any changes in ten years you could think of for now?
Asami: I want to become a successful talent/idol as a member of Cheeky Parade in the future. All our members dream of performing at Tokyo Dome one day and I do wish to realize that dream in ten years.
Yuuna: I want to stay in the entertainment industry for my whole life. Besides singing and dancing, I am also interested in acting and fashion modeling. So I wish to challenge in these fields in the future.
Momoka: I’ll probably still be working in this industry. I dream of getting married when I turn 26 or so. It’ll be great if I could balance well between my family and career.
KKS: Finally, what do you think are the most Cute, Cool and Amazing things (people)?
Yuuna: Girls’ Generation is my favorite music group and one of the biggest influences to me. They always put on amazing shows with cool dances and cute appearances. They definitely have all three aspects of ‘Cute Cool and Amazing“. They are inspiring role models for me.
Momoka: I really love animals, so I’ll choose an animal to answer this question. I think lions are “cute, cool and amazing” (laugh). A lion is small and cute when it’s young, and turns cool and powerful when it grows older, which is a very abrupt change.
Asami: Cheeky Parade are the most cute cool and amazing (laugh)! My fellow members are just like my sisters and we are like a family. We always spend relaxing time together, joking, and always noisy (laugh). But whenever they take the stage, they become so attractive and perform with so much energy and power. They show me so many possibilities and encourage me to do better every time.
Special Thanks To:
Avex Group
for making this interview happen on KKS!
Related Links:
Cheeky Parade Official Facebook
Cheeky Parade New Single “SKY GATE” Release on Feb 24, 2016
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