It has been revealed that Sasaki Osamu of the rock band "MOON CHILD," known for their 1990s hit song "ESCAPE," will be making a guest appearance in the seventh episode of the drama series "ESCAPE: It Was Supposed to be Kidnapping" (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.), which will air on November 19th. Apparently, the offer came about because of the "ESCAPE" connection, and Sasaki commented with delight, "If I was approached through that connection, I'm really glad that I wrote this song. Thank you very much."
MOON CHILD's "ESCAPE" was released in 1997 and became a huge hit as the theme song for the TV drama "FiVE" (Nippon TV) that aired that same year, becoming a legendary hit that is still beloved today. Sasaki, who wrote the lyrics and composed the song, is still actively involved in music activities today, and in the karaoke segment of the variety show "Chidori no Oni Ren-chan" (Fuji TV), his high-pitched singing style that makes use of head voice was teased by the MCs, and his pairing with Hoi Kenta has also attracted attention.
The collaboration came about because the production team of the drama "ESCAPE: It Was Supposed to be Kidnapping" is a big fan of MOON CHILD's "ESCAPE," and they wanted to "do an ESCAPE collaboration with Sasaki Osamu, the original ESCAPE artist!", so they offered him the role as an actor. For Sasaki, this was his first time taking on acting, as it was a full-fledged drama role, but he gladly accepted, and his dream collaboration became a reality.
In episode 7, Sasaki plays a man in a suit who is driving around on a sales call. On the way to a business meeting, the man's car gets a flat tire and he is in trouble, when by chance Hayashida Daisuke (Hayato Sano) passes by. Daisuke offers to repair the car, but the man is wary of Daisuke's suspicious appearance... This is how the story unfolds. Sasaki commented on his acting debut, "It was really fun to be able to do so many things that I don't normally experience. I was surprised to see how dramas are filmed. I was also really moved to learn about the hard work the staff put in."
