“Kocchi no Kento on the viral hit ‘Hai Yorokonde’: Interview”

Kocchi no Kento, the creator of “Hai Yorokonde,” which is going viral on video-sharing platforms, recently sat down for an interview with Billboard Japan. Kocchi no Kento is a multimedia creator who started making music in 2022. He is also the younger brother of popular Japanese actor Masaki Suda. In this interview, he talked about his roots and what was behind the creation of his addictive music.

First, can you tell us what inspired you to make music?

When I was in my first year at university, I joined an a cappella club. We sang covers of existing songs and as an extension of that, I started writing my own songs in 2022.

What was your first experience with music that opened your eyes to how much fun and fascinating it can be?

There were two things that got me into music. First, because my dad loved music. He often played guitar and sang at home. There was always music playing in the car too, and that was often new to me. Second, because I played football in elementary school. Our offense was great, but that meant we had nothing to do on defense. Apparently I just ran around dancing. My parents said, “Dancing might be better for him than football,” so I started taking dance lessons. That’s how I started feeling music with my whole body and expressing it through movement.

Where do you think your individuality lies as an artist and singer and what do you consider to be your strengths?

One of my special features is my natural singing voice, but I also spent four years doing Disney cover songs in the a cappella group non-stop and developed the ability to sing with feeling without being too shrill. I think those two are my greatest strengths.

Where does the name “Kocchi no Kento” come from?

After graduating from university, I worked as a businessman for a year. When I put on that suit and tie, I felt like I had taken on too much. I wasn’t really myself, and when I wore my suit, I was “that Kento” (in Japanese, “achi no kento“). When I sang, however, I was more my true, natural self. I was “that Kento” (in Japanese, “cook no kento“).

Your first single, “Tiny,” is a heartwarming song. It’s the kind of song you’d love to hear when things aren’t going well. I feel that attitude in all of your songs. I feel like that’s what you want to convey and express through your music.

Right. Every time I release a new song as Kocchi no Kento, I think about how there are people out there who can draw strength from it.

Is there any feedback from listeners that particularly stuck in your mind?

When I released my second single, “Shinuna!” (Japanese for “don’t die”), I received dozens of comments every day. Some said they had decided to hold on, while others explained why they wanted to die. This flood of comments calmed my own troubled mind, and I was just happy to be able to help people in my small way.

“Shinuna!” has been generating a lot of buzz on video platforms. Is there anything you keep in mind or do in terms of the way you release your music?

After “Shinuna!”, I made dances for TikTok to get my music out to a lot of people. But more importantly, I want to make music that I can listen to and enjoy myself without ever getting bored of it. A lot of people have danced to “Hai Yorokonde,” but what I love about the song is that even now, I like it so much that I can listen to it anytime. If I get bored of a song, if I’m choreographing it with someone or singing it a cappella or singing an English version of it, then I can’t put my whole heart into it. Listeners can hear that. They’d say, “He’s just doing his duty,” or “He’s just clinging to this song.” I think the most important thing is that I really love the music I make, with all my heart.

On the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 chart on August 14, “Hai Yorokonde” reached a new high of No. 5. When did you first feel that this song was gaining traction?

On the day of the release, a lot of people listened to it. I hadn’t released a song in about six months, so I guess a lot of people were excited for a new song. Then when I released the dance video on TikTok, even though I hadn’t collaborated with anyone, it got a lot of views, and I realized, “Wait a minute, we might have something here.” I got Kazuya Kanehisa to make the music video. He turned it in about a month earlier than expected, writing in his email, “I just couldn’t put my pen down” and “The song is wonderful, so it was smooth and effortless to put my feelings into images.” When I saw what he had created, I knew it would speak directly to people.

What kind of song did you want to create in the beginning?

Initially, I had a slightly different theme in mind. I suffer from depression, but I chose not to kill myself. I chose to live. Someone told me, “Don’t die,” so I said, “Okay, I won’t,” and I lived. And everyone got used to me being alive, and one day I realized that they started demanding things from me. Like, “You’re alive and you have time, so how about a part-time job?” And I said, “No, no, no, my goal was to live, and by choosing that, I’ve already achieved my goal.” The song was like, “You said don’t die, so I didn’t die, but don’t try to make any more demands.” My goal was ultimately to come to the conclusion that “choosing to live is an option in itself. All you have to do is live.” But gradually it became more of an SOS song – more of a song about crying for help.

As if you did everything you could just to stay alive.

That’s right, that’s how it happened.

At the end of July you also released an English version. What was the reason for that?

The “giri-giri dance” (“dance when I’m at the end of my rope”) of the chorus was originally “get it get it done.” But the style of the music video was very Japanese, so an English chorus didn’t seem right, so I changed the transcription of the lyrics to “giri-giri dance.” Phonetically, they sound the same, but I thought it would be interesting if there were separate Japanese and English versions, and I always wanted to write an English version when I was still in the production stage. Fortunately, I got a lot of comments from foreign listeners, so I consulted with my record company and we decided to release an English version.

I’m sure the number of your listeners abroad is currently increasing rapidly. Did you think that the foreign audience would respond so well?

No, I didn’t expect that. Of course I hoped I would reach people overseas, but I thought my music would have to take off here in Japan first and then spread overseas. Instead, it happened almost simultaneously. I was just really, really lucky. This just shows how much we live in the age of social media.