Interview with Imai Sachiko

We interviewed Sachiko Imai, she was a member of Qlair, a J-pop idol trio group. On September 1st, 2024, she will release her first solo single “Kokorokara arigatou”.

・This is your first appearance on JROCK’N’ROLL, so please introduce yourself.

Nice to meet you, I’m Sachiko Imai.
I made my debut with the three-member group Qlair on July 7, 1991 with the song “Hitomi Ippai no Natsu(瞳いっぱいの夏),” and was the member with the “vocal bass sound”.

・What made you want to become a singer in the first place?

When I was a kid, I loved music shows like “UTA no TOP TEN,” “THE BEST TEN,” and “Yoru no Hit Studio, “and I was shocked by the cuteness and singing ability of the 80’s idols who appeared on those shows, such as Akina Nakamori(中森明菜), Miho Nakayama(中山美穂) and Yui Asaka(浅香唯).

・What made you decide to resume your music career?

Former CoCo member Maki Miyamae(宮前真樹), who was a senior at Otomejuku(乙女塾) (a talent development course sponsored by Fuji TV), held “50th Birthday Live” on January 15, 2023, and at that time she offered me an opportunity to perform.
I hadn’t sung since my retirement concert on May 21, 1995, so I was in no condition to perform on this important milestone stage, and at first I declined the offer many times (lol).
But Maki-chan never gave up, and she sent me a passionate message that really touched my heart. First of all, I owe her so much, so I decided to accept the offer, even though it was a small contribution.

・Your first solo single “Kokoro ni Arigatou(心からありがとう)” (released on September 1, 2024). How did you feel when the idea of releasing a single came up?

In a nutshell, “It was a bolt from the blue!”

This was Maki Miyamae’s idea as well.
Looking back…
Maki: “Hey, Sachiko, why don’t you sing by yourself?”
Sachiko: “I won’t sing!”… I can’t sing (wry smile)”
There were several such exchanges that could be taken seriously or jokingly (laughs).

Around that time, the cameraman who had been helping me died suddenly. So we decided to do a live memorial on April 14, 2024.
I received an offer from Maki, who was the executive committee for the memorial live, and I replied that I was okay with performing at first, but the other performers were all solo artists, so I became anxious and thought, “What am I going to do…”
So I asked her if I could be involved as a backstage staff member, not as a performer. I thought she would agree, but instead she looked at me with a serious look and asked me, “Why don’t you write a new solo song?” and “Let’s make a CD!
When I told her about my fears and worries about singing, she encouraged me and said, “As long as you enjoy singing now, you’ll be fine. Everyone will be happy!” Although I was very grateful, I accepted the offer.

・This is your first release in 20 years, since “Eternal Boy(永遠の少年)” which was included in the Qlair Archives in 2005. Do you have any stories from that time?

My voice was shaking so much that I was just scared. I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to record anymore… I got into a negative mood and almost gave up many times (laughs).

The composer Tamura Shinji(田村信ニ) and the producer Maki-chan were very supportive and Maki-chan gave me the advice, “Why don’t you try singing with Tamura’s guitar instead of the orchestra?” I tried it right away and was able to sing relaxed, and the two of them praised me, so I was relieved. Tamura-san also guided me to a way that was easy for me to sing, and I was able to sing the whole song.

I’m very grateful to both!

・Please explain each song in detail.

“Kokorokara arigatou (心からありがとう)”

“What kind of song would be good if I could sing now?” I thought about it a lot…
Most of Qlair’s songs were written in three or two voices, and I was supposed to play the bass, so I didn’t sing the main melody very often.
I wanted to sing a song with a classic melody line that I’ve always longed for, that’s kind of nostalgic, that the people who supported me back then could relate to, and that has an easy rhythm to keep in touch with! So I consulted with composer Tamura Shinji(田村信ニ) and he wrote some candidate songs.
The song was exactly what I imagined and I fell in love with it the first time I heard it (lol).

Qlair suddenly went on hiatus, so we couldn’t have a farewell concert, and I always regretted not being able to express my gratitude to everyone who supported us directly…
The lyrics are filled with my feelings for everyone, my gratitude to the two Qlair members (Inobe Hiroko-chan(井ノ部裕子ちゃん) and Yoshida Aki-chan(吉田亜紀ちゃん)) who supported me at all times and my feelings from the time I was in Otomejuku(乙女塾) and dreamed of my debut to the present.

“Last Song(ラストソング)”
This song was one of the two candidates I received for “Kokorokara arigatou (心からありがとう),” and it was one of the two that caught my attention.

In contrast to the up-tempo “Kokorokara arigatou (心からありがとう)”, this is a medium-tempo song with a nostalgic and beautiful melody like a Qlair song.

I felt like I was singing the continuation of Qlair, so I was happy when that song was decided.

After thinking about the lyrics in my own way, I thought, let’s make this one CD a “song of gratitude”! I thought, since it’s a good opportunity, it might be fun to “play with words” instead of just listening to it… and a genius idea came to me (lol) so I sprinkled the titles of Qlair’s songs into the lyrics.

This is a fun thing for those who listen! So I hope that Qlair fans and those who don’t mind listening will find it.

By the way, not only are the titles sprinkled in, but I also put my thoughts about “you and me” into the song.

・You’ve been on stage a few times since your return, but how was it performing on stage after such a long time?

The first stage I returned to was on January 15, 2023, at Miyamae Maki’s “50th Birthday Live,” held for the first time in 20 years. I sang with my senior at Otomejuku(乙女塾), former Ribbon member Matsuno Arimi(松野有里巳), and Maki.

Since it was my first stage in 28 years, I was so anxious and nervous that I was on the verge of tears until just before the performance, but when I went on stage, the cheers and smiles from the audience and the nostalgic scenery took me right back to “those days” and it was a wonderful time that I really enjoyed.

I am so grateful to Maki for inviting me.

In March of the same year, I was invited to “60th Birthday LIVE” by Keralino Sandorovich. He helped me with the Nylon 100℃ play “1979”.

Maki-chan, Arimi-chan and I, who had appeared in the play, had the humility to sing with a live band, but the warm looks of the audience made it fun to sing.

In October, Maki-chan, Arimi-chan, and I held the “Makiami Sachi Talk Event(まきあみさちトークイベント)”, where we talked about Otomejuku(乙女塾) and each group, and gave a surprise song as a gift. It was an unbelievably happy 2023.

・Your first release event will be held at Only You in Ikebukuro on September 1, 2024. Tickets for both the day and night performances were sold out on the same day. Reserved seats also sold out in a second. How did you feel when you heard that?

No way!? … I still can’t believe it (crying)

My name was the main title of the event for the first time since my retirement concert., and to be honest, every time I opened my mouth, I had negative things to say, like, “Is it really okay for me to sing? Will people be happy? Will the audience come?”
So even though I announced the event, it didn’t seem realistic, and I was really scared about the ticket release date… I was prepared for a worse ticket sale and that I had to sell them by hand (laughs)

When the tickets went on sale, I was communicating with Maki-chan and the staff in a group LINE, but I was half believing it and wondering what was going on when they sent me a message saying “Reserved seats sold out in 1 second!”…I was skeptical.
When I saw Maki-chan’s stamps showing how happy she was, I was overwhelmed with emotion and burst into tears. I remember that my fingers were shaking so much that I couldn’t even reply to their LINE messages (tears). I am so grateful to all of you.

・What kind of music are you listening to these days?
I guess you could say it was recently… I really love “Qlair” and I listen to it a lot in real life (laughs).
Aki-chan’s strong singing voice and Hiro’s clear high notes are soothing. I’m really happy to have debuted as a member of Qlair!!
I will continue to listen to “Qlair” with pride, so please listen to it when you go out or relax.

・Please tell us your enthusiasm for the release event.

Initially, we only planned to have an evening show, but thankfully the tickets sold out quickly, so we decided to add a daytime show. This has doubled the amount of time we can have fun. (laughs)

For the additional daytime show, former “Hakoiri♡Musume” members of the limited unit “RAMUNE” Hoshi Rina-chan(星里奈ちゃん) and Yoshida Manyo-chan(吉田 万葉ちゃん) will appear, and I will sing a nostalgic song from my favorite “Qlair” that I can’t sing by myself.

Although it is a bit of pressure to have such wonderful singing voices from these two young people, I will do my best to enjoy it to the fullest!

And! My admired senior, Miyamae Maki-chan, will be the MC for both the day and night performances. (I feel very honored)

The conversation with Maki-chan will probably… no, definitely! I think you’ll be able to see my true self, so look forward to it!

・Please leave a message for your fans and readers.

First of all, “JROCK’N’ROLL”. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the request for this valuable interview. Thank you very much.

And to all of you readers, I think this is the first time I’ve met you.
My name is Imai Sachiko, and I was in a three-member group called “Qlair” in the ’90s. For all of you who got to know Qlair back then and after we went on hiatus, it’s been a long time.
I’m pleased to announce that I will be releasing my first CD in about 20 years, as well as my first solo single, “Kokorokara arigatou (心からありがとう)/Last Song(ラストソング)” on September 1st.
It’s a playful album full of the feelings I wanted to convey to everyone, so I hope you’ll give it a listen if you like☆.
I look forward to hearing from you all.

Imai Sachiko