A music video of artist Kocchi no Kento singing the song "Beyond ~Koete Yukou~" from Disney Animation Studios' latest film "Moana 2" (directed by Dave Derrick Jr. and others) was released on December 13th.
A tribute collection project was recently announced in which popular artists will sing the song with their own unique arrangements, with participants including Hololive's virtual idol "Hoshimachi Suisei" with over 2.5 million YouTube subscribers, singer-songwriter Kawasaki Takaya, whose song "Magic Carpet" has been streamed over 400 million times, YouTuber, pianist and composer Yomii, and singer-songwriter Inoue Sonoko. As part of the project, the music video for the song sung by Kocchi no Kento has been released.
Kocchi no Kento sixth single "Hayorokonde," released in May, has been viewed over 14 billion times, including on social media. It has attracted attention by reaching number one on charts not only in Japan but also overseas, and is set to make his first appearance at the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve this year. His older brother is actor Masaki Suda, and his younger brother is actor Araki Sugo.
Kocchi no Kento expressed his joy about singing in this project, saying, "To be honest, I'm happy. I did a cappella when I was a student, and I covered Disney songs for four years straight. I never thought I'd be able to help out in this way, or be able to participate, so in that sense I'm really happy."
When covering this song, she was most particular about the chorus "I am Moana." Making use of her experience in a cappella, she used thick backing vocals to express Moana's determination and the grandeur of the song, and sang it with the hope that the song "will give everyone courage to take on new challenges."
It was also revealed that she will be making a line-up voice appearance in the Japanese dubbed version of the film. She will be voicing the islanders who are shocked when Loto swings down the axe to improve Moana's ship at the beginning of the story. This was her first attempt at voice acting, and she says it was full of surprises. She said that watching the tutorial (guide video), then practicing and recording in the same flow was like a work experience, and said, "Once again, I realized that dubbing is very difficult and requires experience. It was a truly valuable experience," she said, expressing her respect for voice actors.
"Moana 2" is a sequel to the previous film "Moana" produced in 2016. Three years after the previous film, the main character Moana, who has a special bond with the sea, is spending time with her family and friends, but when she learns a legend that "if she reaches an island at the end of the sea, the curse will be lifted," she decides to become the one "guide" in a thousand years that connects all the seas, and to embark on a dangerous voyage. The film depicts her embarking on another adventure with Maui, the demigod who adventured with her in the previous film, and new companions. In the Japanese version, China Yabiku will voice Moana and Matsuya Onoe will voice Maui, as in the previous film, and Yuta Koseki, Rio Suzuki, Sonim and others will also be in charge of the voice acting.
