RADIO BERRY FM Tochigi On the radio program “IZ*ONE Honda Hitomi’s World Get You” (every Thursday from 21:30 to 21:45) broadcast on June 18, 2020 (Thursday).
IZ*ONE’s Honda Hitomi answered questions about “Merry-Go-Round,” a song she wrote herself, from her new album “Oneiric Diary.”
“What was difficult about writing the lyrics?” and “What should I pay attention to?”
Honda Hitomi: Next is from a person with the radio name “Jurujuri.”
Listener email: This time you wrote the Japanese and Korean versions by yourself. Please tell us about any difficult episodes or things you would like us to pay attention to.
Honda Hitomi: That’s right. This time I did both by myself, but the first thing that was difficult was the time…the deadline was quite short. I didn’t have much time…finding time between filming and lessons to finish the lyrics was a bit difficult.
Also, there are expressions that are only in Japanese and expressions that are only in Korean, so choosing the words was very difficult. So, I hope you will pay attention to the difference between the Japanese and Korean versions of the lyrics.
Another thing I want you to pay attention to is that in the Japanese version, there is a lyric that says… “Hitomi”… yes (laughs). I would be happy if you remember me there.
Which lyrics were written first, Japanese or Korean?
Honda Hitomi: Next is from a person with the radio name “Lilymint”.
Listener mail: Which did you write first, the Japanese lyrics or the Korean lyrics?
Oh. I get asked this a lot, but… you know, this one is Japanese.
First, I wrote the Japanese lyrics to fit the song, and then I wrote the Korean lyrics to fit it.
But, somehow, the Japanese version has more “characters”… how can I put it? For example, in Korean, “I” is three characters. But in Korean, the single character “na” means “I.” So when I write Korean lyrics, I have to use more characters or words than when I write Japanese lyrics…
I had a hard time putting all my feelings into them.
What was different from when I wrote lyrics before
Honda Hitomi: Next is from a person with the radio name “Manju.”
Listener email: Was there anything different from when you wrote “Really Like You”?
Honda Hitomi: Yes, that’s right. About a year ago, I wrote the lyrics for a song called “Really Like You” with Minju… At that time, to be honest, I had just started studying Korean, so it was difficult to express the feelings I wanted to put into the lyrics in Korean, and to be honest, it was frustrating, but this time I’ve gotten a little better at Korean than I was then, so I feel like it’s a little easier.
Also, since we made “Really Like You” together with Minju, it was really reassuring to have her by my side… beside me.
I guess that’s how it felt…?
I said I was going to talk about the album, but it ended up mostly talking about “Merry-Go-Round,” so I’m sorry (laughs). As I said earlier, this album really is a song written by all 12 members… that’s right. This album is really filled with “the members’ thoughts,” so I would be happy if you listen to all the songs a lot.