r/Tommyfebruary6

I think she turned out such a cutie

I recently bought a scanner, which will finally allow me to scan all my magazines and upload a bunch of new Tommy images and translations to the internet! I hope you all enjoy them!

Now for the interview...

So this time, it was decided that a second single would come out.

Tommy: Yeah. Actually, after the first single (Every Day At The Bus Stop), we were preparing activities for The Brilliant Green, but it seemed like there was demand for this instead (laughs). We advertised it as a “summer-only project!” but things ended up changing completely. Plus, I really wanted to release an album, so I gave in to the temptation (laughs).

When it was suddenly decided that you'd make a second single, did you struggle coming up with ideas for the concept?

Tommy: As a visual motif, last time I used cheerleaders, so I wanted to do sports-themed stuff in general. Last time we did a guerrilla live show at a soccer stadium, and I got to watch the match too. I got so excited from that experience that I decided, “I want to make soccer uniforms!” Also, I got the chance to collaborate with AIBO-chan (Note: this release also includes the theme song for the TV anime Piropo, starring AIBO, Tommy Feb Latte Macaron), and that temptation was there too...

Sounds like it’s all temptations with you!

Tommy: At that point it felt like there was no other option. It felt like everything was naturally leading in that direction (laughs)

This time the songs also feel darker, or more bittersweet compared to the previous release.

Tommy: Right. Last time the songs had a strong “80s pop star” feeling, but this time it goes a little further back, into a New Romantic kind of style. But honestly, I didn’t know anything about that genre at all. Even when I was played the songs, I didn’t realize they belonged to that kind of style. We shot the promotional video recently, and only five days beforehand I learned, “Oh, this is New Romantic!” Then I thought, “Well if that’s the case, we have to do it properly!” so I had them completely redo the set in a rush. And in the background there are Black dancers holding golden pom-poms. Because, you know, it’s the ’80s.

An ’80s-style cheerleader!? And in the middle of all that, Tommy is still the girl wearing glasses?

Tommy: I’m dressed normally (says bluntly). If I went all-out too, it would become excessive. My policy is “I like creating elaborate worlds, but I don’t do it to myself” (laughs).

This whole concept feels like “a journey through time with Tommy.”

Tommy: Yeah. At first, because people had such a strong image of the brilliant green, it was difficult getting the staff to understand what I wanted to do. Last time there were tons of corrections to the storyboards, but this time even when I explained things only five days beforehand, everyone was totally okay with it. Even while writing lyrics, I was vaguely conscious of an “’80s feeling,” so I used phrases like “JUST IN MY LONELINESS” and “DON’T STOP THE MUSIC” . Expressions people nowadays don’t really use anymore. I was more focused on the way the words sounded.

Ahh, the way the lyrics suddenly switch into English really captures that era too. So when you expressed your own version of the ’80s through lyrics, this is what came out?

Tommy: A big part of it is that I didn’t actually experience that era in real time. So it’s more like a vague impression of it (laughs). If I had seriously studied it and written from that perspective, it would’ve become too authentically ’80s, and then I’d wonder, “Is there really any meaning in doing that now?” But if you work only from an image, it ends up feeling fake or kind of cheesy, and I thought maybe that’s actually what makes it good. That part is the same as last time.

Still, starting such an impactful solo project must’ve made people say all sorts of things.

Tommy: For a while everyone kept saying, “Does this mean The Brilliant Green is breaking up?” and honestly I thought, “Come on...” People seem to assume “doing a solo project = being dissatisfied with your current situation,” but I’m not thinking about it that deeply. If I took it that seriously, it’d just become exhausting.

So it feels more like “a form of play”?

Tommy: It really feels more like a club activity. Even if you love your home and family, you still sometimes want to try living alone, right? Emotionally, it’s close to that kind of impulse.

Yeah, it kind of feels like renting a room near your parents’ house.

Tommy: Exactly! Like somehow you still end up eating dinner back at your parents’ place anyway (laughs). Tommy february6 uses ideas that are all like, “You seriously went that far with it!?” If I did this as my main thing, it’d probably become really exhausting. I’m only able to play around this much because I still have The Brilliant Green. I just hope that atmosphere comes across to people outside of it too...

If this were your main project, it’d probably start feeling kind of painfully over-serious.

Tommy: Like having really intense eyes or something (laughs). Or seriously going abroad to study in America. I’d never do that. At the end of the day, I’m just a normal person. I guess people just have different definitions of what it means to be serious. I’m only “seriously playing around,” the same way someone seriously plays sports. I think it’s good if the playfulness feels dynamic and over-the-top. But at the same time, there’s also a little part of me that wants to “win,” which makes it kind of complicated (laughs).

tommy february6 fue la artista asiatica con más posiciones en itunes argentina el 4 de mayo del 2026 a las 3 de la tarde! 👏🏻

From left to right: Shunsaku Okuda (Tomoko Kawase's husband and member of the brilliant green), Tomoko Kawase, Tommy February6, Tommy Heavenly6, Albert1-32 (dedicated Candy Pop In Love to his wife in a yt comment), Leonardo DiCaprio (Tommy's ultimate crush).

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Gossiping with friends, it’s those kinds of ordinary things that I actually love.

Tomoko Kawase-san

Tomoko: Since middle school, I’d been helping out as a vocalist for my friends’ band, but I never thought about becoming a musician, and can you believe I hardly listened to music at all? But it’s true. After all, the first record I ever bought was Dr. Slump Arale-chan! There’s something wonderfully ordinary about having such a typical first record experience. I really love fortune-telling, and when I had my fortune read, they told me that whenever I try to make things happen myself, I fail. But if I just sort of go with the flow in life, the people around me will move things forward for me. Though that’s kind of lonely too, because it means I’ve never really had dreams of my own (laughs).

In truth, she never even wanted to leave her hometown of Kyoto, but reluctantly moved to Tokyo after being told, "We can’t debut without you." She says she only started writing lyrics because ‘the other members kept saying, “Come on, just do it as a joke, as a joke.”’ Kawase really does seem to live exactly as her fortune predicted. In fact, when it comes to lacking ambition, she might be a truly rare kind of musician.

Tomoko: The three of us are just a close group of friends making things we like, and since people are willing to release them for us, we just say thanks and keep going. I don’t really have any awareness of being a musician, and I don’t even feel like I’m in a band. I’m a woman, after all, so there’s this sense of security that I could just get married someday and that’d be fine. If the guy could support me, I’d retire immediately, of course. Just spacing out with close friends, gossiping about people and stuff… I think that kind of thing is nice. Ordinary is best. I never really liked being in front of people to begin with.

As for songwriting, she says, "There’s no message in it, and I don’t write about myself." She explains that she matches up vowel sounds and pieces words together like a puzzle, yet it’s amazing that lyrics like those can come out of that process. Even her casual reply "Well, that’s because I’m a pro" was funny.

By the way, the biggest thing on her mind lately is their first-ever live tour, which will take place in November.

Tomoko: I think it’d be fun to do something like bingo during the show (laughs). Since we’re not that confident in our playing, it could be a way to communicate with the audience. Well, that’s just my hope, anyway. And maybe an open Q&A corner too (laughs). We’ve got to make it fun. Since it’s our first time, I think the audience will probably be nervously watching over us too. We’ll probably be totally stiff on the first day. And then the moment it’s over, the three of us will burst into tears onstage together. I think it’ll probably end leaving everyone with a really good impression, though (laughs).

The three members of the brilliant green are incredibly close, love complaining, aren’t pretentious at all, and genuinely seem to have fun together. I hope they never change.

Tomoko: Because we complain so much, people think we’re unserious, but actually we’re three very earnest people who never spare any effort, so we’ll keep doing our best without forgetting where we started.

Tomoko Kawase Born February 6, 1975, in Kyoto. She was scouted as a vocalist by the current members, Shunsaku Okuda (bass, leader) and Ryo Matsui (guitar), and together they formed the brilliant green in 1995. They made their debut in September 1997 with the single Bye Bye Mr. Mug on Sony Records. On September 19, they released their first album, the brilliant green. Her hobbies include karaoke, and her go-to songs are by Namie Amuro.