REPORT | The Strength of Singing Through Uncertainty — ラナメリサ Shows Where She Stands on Stage

Text by 矢島由佳子

On April 9, singer-songwriter ラナメリサ held her self-organized event, 「ラナメリサ presents 太陽に妬かれて vol.2」, at TOKIO TOKYO in Shibuya. Volume 1 had taken place in February with 十明, and this edition again featured two acts, with 穂ノ佳 as the guest. Although their musical directions differ, the two share an approach of expressing emotions arising from their own experiences through sound. Their performances, both unfolding as they search for what it means to be an “adult” or to be “mature,” taught us the richness of being hurt and of feeling uncertain.

The first artist to color the stage that day was 穂ノ佳. A solo artist who won the grand prize at a Victor Entertainment / Colourful Records audition in 2022, she has also established a presence in the alternative rock scene that has been gathering momentum in recent years.

穂ノ佳's set lasted 30 minutes and contained seven songs. There was no stage banter beyond “Please enjoy the show” and “Thank you.” From the very first note, a mass of sound poured down like a relentless flood: sharply distorted guitar, a thick, surging bass that seemed to reach the heart itself, and powerful drums that made the venue's walls shake with every kick, all carrying a voice that revealed both her fragility and her unwavering will. Bathed in the sound spilling from the stage, memories of all kinds naturally flashed through my mind. The music and singing, filled with pain and longing and sounding from a stage backlit in white, revived each listener's memories of emotional wounds left unattended before they had fully scabbed over, and of impulses to scream that they had held back.

Yet 穂ノ佳 showed an innocent smile—whether shouting in 「二人日記」, locking in with her bandmates on 「生きている」 and 「花咲く丘」, or during the session before 「彷徨わない」. It was a beautiful smile for which “extraordinary” felt like exactly the right word. Her final song was 「やさしい雷」. True to its title, the band's ensemble seemed to cut through pain, sadness, anger, and impatience alike with a “gentle thunder.” Along with warm orange light, the ending gently embraced us in 穂ノ佳's accepting warmth.

Host ラナメリサ had only made her major-label debut the previous November and had officially released just two songs, but she demonstrated where she stood through an 11-song set: ten original songs, including unreleased material, plus a cover. She opened with a solo acoustic rendition of 「エロス」. The song attracted attention on social media for its striking lyrics, but it is far from her only song imbued with eroticism and sensuality. The new song 「BAD愛」, which closed the set and was due for release on April 22, has a memorable, brisk chorus melody, yet sings of the narrator's “BAD愛”—a bad love—in which she is 〈整合性のないあなたに惹かれて〉.

While singing vividly of feelings and scenes one might want to conceal from others, she loosened the hearts and bodies of the audience gathered in front of the stage with the humorous, playful line 〈タクシーで酔って溢れ出す気持ちゲロって3万円〉 in the third song, 「街灯に恋したい」, performed after the band joined her. Her sense of balance as a live performer was impressive. What stood out throughout the set, moreover, was ラナメリサ's expressiveness as a vocalist. In 「電信柱さん」, performed midway through, the way she voiced the initial “ha” of 〈春に咲く〉 alone conjured a spring scene; in 「夏一辺倒」, the “yo” in the chorus's 〈戻らない夏よ〉 had the power to bring the end of summer vividly into view.

Another reason I am drawn to ラナメリサ is that she depicts a variety of women. Over music with elements of blues and jazz, she can evoke a woman walking through a Showa-era entertainment district, or sing of a woman of the present whom no one has yet put into a song. There is the protagonist of “DUMMY,” who resists anything obstructing her desires and reaches for what she wants; the protagonist of 「奪い愛」, who can say 〈隣に居るその子を今すぐに／私のために裏切って〉; and the protagonist of 「愛でてよベイベー」, which drew particularly loud clapping and voices that day, who, despite being pushed around by her partner, responds with the strong words 〈私のこと嫌い？嫌い？好き？／匂わせてんなよふざけんなガキ〉. I think these figures partly project her own ideals, but I sense in them a potential to show women whom today's listeners can relate to or admire, beyond the “girl crush” and “independent female figures” that have become widespread over the past few years.

With all those elements woven in, 「太陽に妬かれて vol.2」 shared a page of “uncertainty” in the story of life with its audience. As 「焼ける肌」, which sings of emotions drifting between adulthood and childhood, and an unreleased song she said was provisionally titled “Kurage” illustrate, ラナメリサ is a singer-songwriter who also turns her own uncertainty into songs. In her stage banter that day, she spoke honestly: “I've found myself asking, ‘What do I want to become?’ more often,” “I'm still exploring whether I'm putting on shows that satisfy me...,” and “I hope I can try all kinds of things along the way.” Watching her, what stayed with me was that, in an era when AI produces correct answers at extraordinary speed, a face revealing “uncertainty” shines as something human and sensual.

In the encore, after announcing that 「太陽に妬かれて vol.3」 would be held on August 23, she performed a cover of ベンソン・ブーン's “Beautiful Things,” which she said had made her think, “This song is incredible,” with an electric guitar slung over her shoulder for the first time since high school. At the end of the main set, she offered these words: “Please always be on my side. I'll be on yours too. Let's go together.” ラナメリサ accepts her own uncertainty and affirms that of her listeners. What scenes will the next chapter of this story bring?