Masatoshi Ono:Declaring his intention to remain active for the rest of his life! What is the secret to maintaining his high-pitched voice? Overseas fans go wild for anime songs

取材に応じた小野正利さん
1 / 3
取材に応じた小野正利さん

Singer Ono Masatoshi gained a reputation for his high-pitched voice, and in 1992 his ballad "You're the Only..." became a million-seller. Currently, while continuing his solo career, he is also active as the vocalist of heavy metal band GALNERYUS. This year, GALNERYUS released a commemorative album in September to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their major debut, and are currently on a nationwide tour. We spoke to Ono about his thoughts on his own voice, the secret to maintaining his high-pitched voice, his current activities, and his future plans. (Part 2 of a two-part series)

◇The reason why I can still sing the 32-year-old song "You're the Only..." in the original key

Ono says that she can still sing her signature song, "You're the Only...," the theme song for the TV drama "What I Can Do for You" (Fuji TV), in the original key. For this reason, in special programs looking back on the great songs of the 1990s, she makes sure to sing it in the same key as back then.

"I want to sing it while preserving as much of the original image as possible. That's why I think being able to sing it in the original key is a big deal. When I hear other people singing it in a different key or adding an arrangement, I sometimes feel a sense of nostalgia, as someone who listened to it back then. As my signature song, I feel I have to treasure it after all."

Although she can sing "You're the Only..." in the original key, she says, "Of course my voice has changed a little with age, so I guess it might still be considered high-pitched, but since I started touring frequently both as a solo artist and with GALNERYUS, I've learned firsthand the importance of taking care of my voice."

First of all, he says, "Get enough sleep."

"When I was performing solo, I was still young and didn't really think about what to do after singing or what my routine would be on the day of a live performance. But when I joined GALNERYUS in 2009, I came to the conclusion that the key to taking care of yourself after a live performance was to get enough sleep. The throat is a muscle that causes fatigue, so the only way to relieve fatigue is to sleep. It's the same as Major League Baseball player Shohei Ohtani. Sleep a lot, no matter what."

"The other thing is not to push yourself too hard," he says.

Ono-san said, "When I first joined the band, I wanted to change the way I sang from my solo style to metal, so I was pushing myself a bit too hard." He also said that there was a time when he relied on herbal medicine when his throat was not in good condition, but now he tries to sing naturally, saying, "I've always sang in my own way, and in my 20s, I was able to push myself because of my youth, but now I do what I think is the right way to sing and vocalize, and I think this is the right way."

Although she says she doesn't push herself, she also says that doing nothing is not good either. "By joining GALNERYUS, I was able to do serious live tours with the band throughout the year, and I'm grateful to have live shows as a solo artist, so I think the frequency with which I've been able to continue singing has been good. It's tough when you go overboard, but it's been a good way to relax. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the number of singing jobs decreased, and I thought I could finally take a break. I stopped singing and just stayed at home, and my voice started to get hoarse. When I went to the doctor, I was told that my vocal cords and the muscles around them were thin. If I use my voice properly, it will return to normal, so I should use my voice. I thought that made sense. So I sing properly and sleep properly."

◇While exchanging energy with the audience at live shows, "I want to keep singing for the rest of my life"

"I probably have a strong voice," he said, "and I think I've been blessed with that. But as I've gotten older, I've listened to different singers and tried out different methods that I found worked well."

"For example, a metal vocalist I know said that on the day of a live performance, he wakes up early and doesn't talk until he arrives at the venue. So recently, on the day of a live performance, I don't talk until I'm at the venue. Even when we go to a venue in the countryside with other people, I wake up two hours before the meeting time, take a nice long bath, get ready, go to the lobby, and say 'good morning' for the first time two hours after waking up. I'm trying to keep that in mind as I get older."

Ono sang the opening theme "Departure!" (2011-2014) for the TV anime "HUNTER×HUNTER" (Nippon TV) solo, and the ending theme "HUNTING FOR YOUR DREAM" (2012) with the band "GALNERYUS", which became a hot topic. When he is invited to overseas anime festivals and sings these anime songs, the audience goes wild.

"I was invited to perform solo at events like the Japanese Anime Festival in Poland this year and in Chile last year. When I was asked to sing about eight songs at karaoke, I thought that people must like anime, so although I was invited to perform solo, I also sang band songs. Everyone knew the songs, so they got into it. They got so excited that they thought they might faint, with the same energy as when Hirao Masaaki sang during the rockabilly boom, and when I see that, I feel really grateful."

GALNERYUS is currently on a nationwide tour to celebrate their 20th anniversary. "We're performing the songs from the 20th anniversary album that was released this year. We also conducted a survey of our fans to ask them which songs they wanted us to play at a live concert and which songs they liked. We're sprinkling the selected songs throughout the show, so I think you'll enjoy a good balance of old and new songs," he said, talking about the highlights of the tour.

32 years since her debut. When asked about her future plans, she declared, "Since I've come this far, I don't want to be 60 or 65... Shigeru Matsuzaki said that his voice won't change even at 75, so I don't know how much everyone expects, but if I can keep going like this at least until I'm 70, I think it would be cool. When I sing at a live concert, I really feel everyone's "ki", and although I do get tired, it really energizes me. The upcoming GALNERYUS final will be held at a venue with a capacity of 3000 people (December 22nd at Tachikawa Stage Garden in Tokyo), so I'll get "ki" from 3000 people, and everyone's support will give me strength, and I'll sing with that, and then everyone will be energized again. By exchanging energy with each other, I think I can continue to be active until I'm 70... no, for the rest of my life."

This site uses machine translation. Please note that it may not always be accurate and may differ from the original Japanese text.

Latest Article List