The New Paper
Monday, Feb 20, 2012
SEXY Japanese pop girl group SDN48 was in town to perform its final concert here last night.
But there were many restrictions when it came to the interviews its members gave yesterday afternoon.
For one thing, the girls were not allowed to explain to local media why the entire cohort - all 39 of them - will be "graduating", or leaving the group, from April.
This is up to management to reply, The New Paper was told by SDN48's local PR company.
SDN48, which stands for Saturday Night 48, is the sister group of the ultra-popular J-pop collective AKB48. It was formed in 2009.
The group also clammed up on questions relating to its latest music video Yaritagariya-san.
The New Paper reported last month that the video, released at the end of last year, caused an online stir for its highly erotic and controversial content.
Twelve girls from the group performed a risque striptease in the music video and also photographed themselves in various states of undress, leading netizens to call it soft porn.
In our earlier report, SDN48 and its management declined to reply to our questions - and continued to do so during the stopover here.
Draconian measures perhaps, but the girls hardly showed any signs of discomfort.
During the interview yesterday, they were the epitome of kawaii - with their pretty lit-up faces, excited chatter and short frilly skirts.
With the orderliness the Japanese are famed for, one girl was pre-assigned to answer each of our pre-approved questions.
Only 12 girls from the group came for last night's performance at *Scape - Seara Kojo, Reiko Nishikunihara, Yuki Aikawa, Masami Kouchi, Yuki Kimoto, Saemi Shinahama, Chen Qu, Haruka Kohara, Yukari Sato, Serina, Yumi Fujikoso and Sayaka Kondo.
Kimoto, 25, told The New Paper through a translator she would miss "everything" about SDN48 after they split, from her fellow members to the staff and the fans.
"(The girls) and I were always together and we shared many emotional moments. We were happy, angry, sad, and we cried together, which made us closer," she said.
Kohara, 23, added she would always remember performing at concerts, especially at the annual AKB48 Request Hour where fans vote for their favourite songs by SDN48 and AKB48, as well as their sister groups SKE48 and NMB48.
The girls spent many happy times chatting backstage before the concerts, said Fujikoso.
The 22-year-old, who's the frontwoman in the Yaritagariya-san video, said the time she spent with the girls was precious.
She said there was once, for fun, the girls gave a nickname - Gorilla - to Konan, another member of the group.
China-born Chen, 25, may speak fluent Japanese now, but she recalled when it was difficult for her to pronounce the phrases, especially katakana, a syllable-based form of the language used for foreign words.
She said: "Our songs are sexy and the lyrics sometimes contain words that I can't find in the dictionary. I had to check the Internet to find out what it means."
Future plans
Serina, 26, said she has no concrete plans for what's ahead, but reckons she might try to break into modelling and acting.
In contrast, Kojo, 24, just wants to spend more time with her boyfriend.
She recalled an awkward incident at the immigration area at Changi Airport when she arrived without make-up.
She said: "I look very different without make-up. Even our co-workers couldn't recognise me when I went for training once without make-up.
"When I was at the airport, the immigration officer was puzzled because he couldn't reconcile (the fact that) the person in the passport photo was actually me!"
This article was first published in The New Paper.
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