Angerme is an idol group from Hello! Project, which also includes Morning Musume '25. In June, Moe Kamikokuryo graduated, and Ise Suzuran became the new leader. In August, the youngest member, Nagano Momoha, joined the group, forming a new lineup. Their first album under the new lineup, "Keep Your Smile!", was released on November 12th and became the group's first to reach number one on the Oricon Weekly Digital Album Ranking (dated November 24th). On November 30th, they will perform "Angerme 2025 Autumn 'Keep Your Smile!' Final," the final performance of their autumn tour, at Nippon Budokan (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo). We spoke to leaders Ise and Nagano about their thoughts on the new album.
◇The thoughts behind "Keep Your Smile!"
--The album "Keep Your Smile!" is a two-disc set, with Disc 1 containing songs from the single "Aino Kedamono/Dousosei" released in June 2023 to the latest single "Androids Dream?/Hikari no Uta," and Disc 2 containing six new songs by the new nine-member lineup. What kind of album do you think this is for Angerme?
Ise: I've been involved in all of Angerme's albums up until now, but I think this album has a pop and bright feel to it, including the melody of the songs and the jacket photo. Whenever I've released an album up until now, I've had the feeling of "connecting" things, and when I thought about "connecting" things with the current lineup, I thought that that brightness could become the group's strength. That's why I think it's full of pop and colorful songs that will make you smile when you listen to them.
-Is that feeling also conveyed in the title, "Keep Your Smile!?"
Ise: That's right. "Keep Your Smile!" is a call that the band members make when forming a circle before a live performance, and it's a phrase that has been used since the beginning, so in that sense it feels like it's "come around again."
--This is Nagano's first album since joining the band.
Nagano: I'm on DISC 2, which contains six new songs. There are songs in a variety of genres, so I think it's an album that will allow you to enjoy different sides of Angerme.
--Which of the six new songs is your favorite?
Ise: I really like the dance choreography for "Gogo 3ji Scramble." The melody is pop, and it makes you want to stroll happily through town, but the choreography is cool, and everyone dances together from the intro. I also want to recommend the ballad "Migi Diagonal Behind You." ANGERME doesn't have many sentimental ballads or songs that are meant to be listened to for their vocals, and even if they do, they tend to be quite danceable. "Migi Diagonal Behind You" is a song that you can listen to just for the vocals, and it's also a love song. ANGERME has members of all ages and with all kinds of voices, so the temperature is completely different, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how everyone sings at the live show.
Nagano: I like "Celebrate! Celebrate!" and "Troublemaker." "Celebrate! Celebrate!" is probably my favorite of the new songs. When I first heard it, the whole song had a refreshing feel, and then it suddenly changed to a "fuwaa!" feeling, which I thought was really lovely. The lyrics are really about thinking about a friend, and the music playing in the background is sparkling and wonderful. "Troublemaker" is an up-tempo, catchy song with a lot of complicated choreography, so it's really difficult, but it's so much fun to perform live. When the fans call out to it, it really gets me pumped, so it's my favorite.
--The first song on DISC 2, "FAST PASS," is a song that has been performed on the ongoing fall tour.
Ise: We've been performing "FAST PASS" since the first day of the tour, and in a good way, it doesn't feel like a new song, and the fans are excited and getting used to it. It's really fun to perform this song live. Many of Angerme's songs have difficult or powerful choreography, but "FAST PASS" deliberately doesn't have any intense dancing in the chorus. It's a song that we value as being able to imitate, dance, and sing along, so even people who are completely unfamiliar with it will be able to call out and dance along after just one listen. I think it's rare among Angerme's recent songs, so in that sense, it's a song I really like.
◇60 times more excited: Ise Suzuran and Nagano Momoha's newness and adaptability
How was recording the album?
Ise: Every time I record, I approach it with the mindset of "discovering something new for myself" and "trying something new," but this time I had to challenge myself in areas that I wasn't good at. My voice is calm, so when I sing upbeat songs, I have to raise my energy level several times higher than other people, and for "FAST PASS," I tried my best to sing with about 60 times the energy I thought I had. Even so, when I listened to my own voice after singing, I thought, "I wasn't raising my voice at all," and I was reminded once again of how difficult it is to convey your own emotions through your voice.
--From there, what kind of ideas did you use to express a voice that was 60 times more excited?
Ise: Many of the members of Angerme have sparkling voices, especially Hashisako Suzu, so I used Suzu's recording voice as my ideal and worked on it while listening to the voices of the various members.
--This was Nagano-san's first recording experience.
Nagano-san was nervous and stiff, so it was very difficult to sing a bright song with high energy. The new song "Gogo 3-ji Scramble" is an up-tempo song, but after the interlude the atmosphere changes to a more mellow feel, so I struggled with changing the expression there and had to redo it many times. The expression in each song is quite different, so I think it's difficult, but I thought it was fun to think about it and try it out.
Ise: I saw Momoha's recording of "FAST PASS," and the first thing that struck me as amazing was that she didn't seem nervous at all. I'm sure she was nervous, but she had the courage to not let it show, and her strength was already apparent from the recording. When it was recorded, I felt that it was a new voice, but it wasn't a complete departure from the seniors up until then, and she had the ability to blend in. I don't think that's something she's even aware of, but I thought it was interesting that she doesn't seem to be straying from the Angerme of the past. Even in live performances, she's already changing the nuances of her singing, which I think is wonderful and shows that she's enjoying it.
Nagano-san, I was a little happy. Every time I perform, I think it would be interesting to sing like this, and I try to sing with a bit more of a smile here, so I'm really happy to receive such praise.
Continued in interview (2).
