Avu-chan

Avu-chan
アヴちゃん
Also known asAvu Barazono
Born (1991-12-25) December 25, 1991 (age 32)[1]
OriginHyōgo Prefecture, Japan
GenresRock, punk, disco kayō[2]
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, producer, actor
Years active2009–present

Avu-chan (アヴちゃん, born December 25, 1991)[3] is a Japanese singer, songwriter, producer and actor. They debuted as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the band Queen Bee in 2009,[4] and took on a side project as the lead vocalist and trumpeter of the supergroup Gokumontō Ikka in 2015. As a producer and songwriter, Avu-chan uses the name Avu Barazono (薔薇園アヴ, Barazono Avu, "Avu Rose-Garden"), and has written songs for Meg, Rina Satō, Ai Shinozaki, Hey! Say! JUMP, LiSA, KERENMI, and the SUPERNOVA sub-unit Funky Galaxy. They also produce the alternative vocal-and-dance boy group Ryugujo, formed in 2023 through the audition program "0th Class 0 - Avu-chan's Classroom" (0年0組 -アヴちゃんの教室-).[5]

Biography

[edit]

Expressing interest in music since middle school and inspired by the Japanese pop/electronic group Perfume,[6] Avu-chan formed the band Queen Bee in 2009 with classmates in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. They started performing at their school's cultural festivals and gained considerable popularity doing so, after which Queen Bee went on to perform at live houses in the Kansai region.[7] The band made their first major concert appearance at the Fuji Rock Festival in July 2010,[8] where they performed as a part of the very selective "Rookie a Go-Go" section, sometimes called the "road to success" for new artists.[7][9][10] Having released their debut album Witch Hunt independently in March 2011, the band signed to Sony Music Associated Records, and in September of the same year released their second album Peacock.[11][10] The band was called the "Japanese Hedwig" during their debut, as the gender identities of the members remain a secret.[12] Not long after signing a contract with Sony Music, Queen Bee found early success with their song "Desco", which was featured in the romantic comedy film Moteki (2011), where the band had also made a cameo.[10]

In 2013, Avu-chan had to pause all band activities, explaining the decision with burnout and technical inexperience.[7][10] Unsure whether to return home or stay in Tokyo, Avu-chan decided to continue pursuing music after being encouraged by a staff member at Avu-chan's record label, who insisted that Queen Bee's signing was not a fluke. Around this time, Avu-chan asked an acquaintance, a former Blankey Jet City drummer Tatsuya Nakamura, if the two could create something together, to which he immediately agreed and introduced Avu-chan to bassist KenKen of the band Rize. After spending some time in the studio, the three were later joined by guitarist Ryosuke Nagaoka from Tokyo Jihen, whose presence Avu-chan described as "essential", as it gave a sense of unpredictability to the group.[13] The newly formed supergroup, now known as Gokumontō Ikka, made their debut performance at the Rising Sun Rock Festival in August 2013.[14] Only touring and releasing demos online at first, the band then released their first extended play Jitsuroku! Gokumontō Ikka during their November 2015 tour.[13] During the hiatus, Avu-chan also collaborated with singer Mariko Gotō for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute in 2014, performing a cover of "Ai no Senshi".[15]

Queen Bee reformed in February 2014 after a one-year hiatus.[10] The band's comeback single, "Venus", was used as the theme song for the drama Spooky Romantics (2015),[10] which preceded their fourth album Kirei (2015). In the same year, Avu-chan collaborated with a South Korean boyband Supernova, writing and performing on the leading track "Jesus", from their sub-unit Funky Galaxy's debut extended play.[16] In 2016, Queen Bee and Gokumontō Ikka released a split single, "Kinsei" / "Shibō Yūgi".[17] The packaging for the limited edition of the split single was styled to resemble PlayStation fighting games, with the cover art illustrated by Kinu Nishimura, whose work on the Darkstalkers series has been considered a longtime favorite by Avu-chan.[18][19]

In 2017, Avu-chan debuted as a stage actress with a production of The Rocky Horror Show, in the role of Columbia.[20] The production toured Japan in late 2017.[21]

Queen Bee's sixth album Ten (2019) was released to commemorate the band's ten-year anniversary, and was also their first album to ever reach the top 10 on the Oricon charts in Japan.[22] It featured several tracks used as theme songs for anime, such as "Half" in Tokyo Ghoul:re,[23] and "Fire" in Dororo.[24] In 2019, Avu-chan returned to the stage, now in the role of Yitzhak in a Japanese production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.[25] In late 2020, Avu-chan produced the song "Ōkami Seinen" for an anonymous boyband called Honey Bee,[26] who were later revealed to be Hey! Say! JUMP,[27] and in 2021, collaborated with the singer LiSA on the song "GL", from her 10th anniversary mini-album Ladybug.[28]

In 2022, Avu-chan starred in the Masaaki Yuasa-directed animated film Inu-Oh as the title character.[29] In 2023, Avu-chan composed and wrote the lyrics for the song "8th Heaven" released by Shouta Aoi, which was used as the theme song to the live-action drama adaptation of One Room Angel.[30] Avu-chan had been close friends with Harada, the creator of One Room Angel, and had written the song specifically for the series.[30]

Personal life

[edit]

Avu-chan identifies with gender aspects of both men and women.[31][32] In school, Avu-chan related to characters who had non-traditional experiences of gender in films, such as Hedwig from Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) and the character of Angel in Rent (2005).[33] Avu-chan does not like people who categorize others by gender and racial labels.[34] Avu-chan's official website biography written in 2012 used she/her pronouns, as well as an article with MTV from 2015,[35][36] however as of 2019 the biography was updated to no longer use pronouns.[9] Often, Japanese language sources will use the Japanese pronoun kanojo (彼女) (the equivalent of she/her).[7][31][32][37][38]

Avu-chan is of partial African-American descent[39] and based the Queen Bee song "Half" (the ending theme song for the anime Tokyo Ghoul:re (2018)) on childhood experiences in Japan, when people questioned Avu-chan's ethnic background. As a child, Avu-chan wondered why people felt the need to ask about heritage and identity, and did not like the word hāfu ("half" the Japanese term for mixed race children), as Avu-chan did not feel like "half" of something.[23][40]

Avu-chan's younger sister is former Queen Bee drummer Ruri-chan. [41][37][23] Avu-chan identifies as a Buddhist.[31][42]

Discography

[edit]

Queen Bee

[edit]
Main article: Queen Bee (band) § Discography
  • Witch Hunt (2011)
  • Peacock (2011)
  • Snake Princess (2012)
  • Kirei (2015)
  • Q (2017)
  • Ten (2019)
  • BL (2020)

Gokumontō Ikka

[edit]
  • Jitsuroku! Gokumontō Ikka (2015)

Guest appearances

[edit]
List of non-single guest appearances with other performing artists
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Oshiete Jesus" (教えてジーザス, "Tell Me, Jesus")[43] 2012 DJ Baku —
"Ai no Senshi" (愛の戦士, "Guardian of Love")[15] 2014 Mariko Gotō Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The 20th Anniversary Memorial Tribute
"Jesus" (ジーザス, Jīzasu)[16] 2015 Funky Galaxy from Choshinsei Funky Galaxy
"Devilman no Uta" (デビルマンのうた, "Song of Devilman")[44] 2018 Kensuke Ushio Devilman Crybaby Original Soundtrack
"Dokugen" (独言)[45] 2022 Otomo Yoshihide Inu-Oh Original Soundtrack
"Udezuka" (腕塚)[45]
"Kujira" (鯨)[45]
"Ryū Chūjō" (竜中将)[45] Mirai Moriyama, Otomo Yoshihide
"Stayin' Alive" — Bullet Train Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Songwriting credits

[edit]
Song Year Artist(s) Album Notes
"Kimi ga Tame" (君が為, "For You")[46] 2013 Meg Continue Lyricist.
"Binetsu Annaijin" (微熱案内人, "Slightly Feverish Tour Guide")[47] 2015 Ai Shinozaki Eat 'Em and Smile First appeared as an acoustic piano version as a B-side of Ai Shinozaki's "Again" single.
"Hi no Umi" (火の海, "Sea of Flame")[48] Rei Hino (CV: Rina Satō) Sailor Moon Crystal Character Song Collection: Crystal Collection Lyricist. Queen Bee members perform on the song and composed the track.
"Ōkami Seinen" (狼青年, "Wolf Boy")[27] 2020 Hey! Say! JUMP Fab! Music Speaks Queen Bee performs on the song.
"GL"[28] 2021 LiSA Ladybug Queen Bee performs on the song.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Avu-chan (2020). Amphis Avuchan. E-Net Frontier Co., Ltd. ISBN 978-4862059369.[49]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role
2011 Moteki Self[50]
2021 Inu-Oh Inu-Oh (voice)[29]

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Spooky Romantics Villager Episodes 11 and 12[51]
2018 Devilman Crybaby Xenon (voice)[52][53] Episode 8
2023 Ya Boy Kongming! Maria Diesel Episodes 1, 8, 10

Theater

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2017 The Rocky Horror Show Columbia November–December 2017 Parco Stage production[54]
2019 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Yitzhak August–September 2019 TV Asahi/Nippon Broadcasting System production[55]

Web

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Das x Auris Buttocks Drive Self Toyota-sponsored video directed by Kensaku Kakimoto for the Daikanyama Art Street festival[43]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "女王蜂・アヴちゃんが初となる生誕祭ライブを開催へ". Spice (in Japanese). October 3, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "ディスコ歌謡＆強烈ビジュアルで話題の「女王蜂」、今秋メジャーデビュー". Cinra. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Wright, Tillet (August 30, 2011). "Notes From the Underground | Ziyoou-vachi". New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
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  6. ^ Amano, Fumiaki (May 18, 2017). "女王蜂アヴちゃん×Mikiko 対談 「人」の力を信じる表現者たち". cinra.net (in Japanese). Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Tsuchii, Aya (April 11, 2017). "新たな岐路に立った女王蜂". i-D (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "10 周年のフジロック「Rookie a Go-Go」。出演者15組が決定". Pia (in Japanese). June 1, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Ziyoou-Vachi Official Site | Biography". Archived from the original on July 20, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
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  11. ^ "女王蜂、2011年秋ついにメジャー・デビュー". Barks (in Japanese). June 13, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  12. ^ Hasegawa, Aya (July 16, 2019). "年齢や性別で人を判断するのって、つまらない――"女王蜂・アヴちゃん"という生き方". Livedoor (in Japanese). Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Tanaka, Hirokazu (July 16, 2019). "女王蜂VS獄門島一家「金星 / 死亡遊戯」アヴちゃん×KenKenインタビュー". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved June 1, 2021.
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  24. ^ "女王蜂、TVアニメ『どろろ』に書き下ろしたOP"火炎"のMV公開". Rockin' On (in Japanese). February 7, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  25. ^ "【インタビュー】女王蜂・アヴちゃん 舞台『ヘドウィグ・アンド・アングリーインチ』待望の日本公演！". Tokyo Headline (in Japanese). August 5, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
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  27. ^ a b "Hey! Say! Jump アルバムにアヴちゃん、Ayase、清水翔太、岡崎体育、まふまふ、橋口洋平参加". Natalie (in Japanese). November 11, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Lisa、ミニアルバム『Ladybug』収録楽曲が解禁 B'z松本孝弘に加え、女王蜂・アヴちゃん、ゆず・北川悠仁らが参加". Spice (in Japanese). March 19, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  29. ^ a b "アヴちゃん、湯浅政明監督のアニメ映画「犬王」で森山未來とW主演". Natalie (in Japanese). July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  30. ^ a b "「ワンルームエンジェル」主題歌は蒼井翔太　はらだの親友アヴちゃんが作詞・作曲" [Shouta Aoi to perform opening theme song to One Room Angel, song and lyrics composed by Harada's close friend Avu-chan]. Natalie (in Japanese). October 5, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  31. ^ a b c Iida, Neo (November 19, 2018). "「違うところにぶっとばして差し上げるものでありたい」：女王蜂アヴちゃん interview". i-D (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2020.
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  33. ^ Kawaguchi, Milli (August 30, 2019). "女王蜂・アヴちゃんの心の旅。バンド結成から今に至るまでの10年". Ginza Mag (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  34. ^ "『東京喰種トーキョーグール：re』EDテーマ「Half」発売記念！ 原作者・石田スイ氏×「女王蜂」ボーカル・アヴちゃんSP対談を大公開". Animate Times (in Japanese). May 8, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
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  36. ^ St. Michel, Patrick (August 31, 2015). "Ziyoo-vachi's Triumphant Return to Fuji Rock, as Zombies". MTV 81. MTV. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016.
  37. ^ a b Mimiman (February 7, 2017). "あのバンドのボーカルが明かす"姉妹愛"がステキ！「最強」な2人に称賛の声". Livedoor (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  38. ^ Amano, Fumiaki (February 16, 2020). "女王蜂を取り巻く熱狂はなぜ加速しているのか？ 『十』と新作『BL』で洗練された音楽性". Real Sound. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  39. ^ Freedman, Maxwell (June 28, 2020). "Meet Avu-Chan, the Black Trans Singer of Rocking Anime Music". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  40. ^ "【インタビュー】女王蜂・アヴちゃん、アニメ『東京喰種:re』ED曲について「どヤンキーサウンドだと思います」". Cho Animedia (in Japanese). May 14, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  41. ^ Egan Loo (September 4, 2023). "Queen Bee Drummer, Co-Founder Ruri-chan Leaves Band". Animenewsnetwork. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  42. ^ Amano, Fumiaki (May 18, 2017). "女王蜂アヴちゃん×Mikiko 対談 「人」の力を信じる表現者たち". cinra.net (in Japanese). Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  43. ^ a b "アヴちゃん×DJ Baku, Das 上映のショートムービーでコラボ". Natalie (in Japanese). August 20, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  44. ^ "Devilman crybaby Original Soundtrack" (in Japanese). Aniplex+. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  45. ^ a b c d "女王蜂アヴちゃん＆森山未來が熱唱する「犬王」本予告、大友良英が手がけるサントラも発売決定". Natalie (in Japanese). March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  46. ^ "Meg 新作よりtofubeats、アヴちゃん×Deco*27曲先行配信". Natalie (in Japanese). November 27, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  47. ^ "篠崎愛、ソロ歌手デビュー予告映像公開". Barks (in Japanese). March 9, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  48. ^ "火の海". MySound (in Japanese). Retrieved January 5, 2021.
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  50. ^ "モテキ : 作品情報" [Love Strikes!: Work information] (in Japanese). Eiga.com. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  51. ^ "女王蜂・アヴちゃん、テレビ東京『怪奇恋愛作戦』で気迫のドラマ初出演". RockinOn.com (in Japanese). Rockin'On Holdings. March 13, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  52. ^ "Staff & Cast". Devilman crybaby (in Japanese). Devilman Crybaby Project. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
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  55. ^ "ヘドウィグ・アンド・アングリーインチ 2019" [Hedwig and the Angry Inch 2019] (in Japanese). Ticket Pia. 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
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