Japan's 'rock heroine' LiSA dishes on her favourite Singaporean food
By Flora Yeo
Dubbed Japan’s “rock heroine”, LiSA (real name Risa Oribe) was recently in town for her second solo concert in Singapore, LiVE is Smile Always, on 21 July during her Asian tour.
Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore caught up with the pop-rock singer to talk about her favourite local dish, her plans for the future and the secret skill that she is very proud of.
LiSA has performed to sold-out crowds in Japan’s Nippon Budokan and Saitama Super Arena, as well as overseas concerts in the US, Mexico, China and around Southeast Asia. She has made a name for herself headlining both anime and rock festivals, having sung the theme songs for anime series such as Fate/Zero, Sword Art Online, and Day Break Illusion, and regularly hitting the top 10 list on the Oricon chart (Japan’s music popularity chart).
When we asked her about a special skill that her fans may not know about, it took some prompting from her management before she exclaimed, “Cheesecake, I make a pretty great cheesecake!”
“I am confident that it’s better than any shops out there,” she beamed.
It has been three years since LiSA’s last solo concert here and her fondest local food is none other than Singapore’s national dish chicken rice. “Singapore equals chicken rice,” she quipped, adding that it was special because chicken rice in Japan meant an entirely different dish.
She explained: “When you talk about chicken rice in Japan, it is a dish where the rice and chicken are topped with an omelette, often served with ketchup… it’s really different from the chicken rice here. When I tried Singapore’s chicken rice for the first time, it was a whole different experience to see that the rice and chicken were separated, and it left a lasting impression.”
The singer-songwriter is known for her breakout hit for the anime series Angel Beats! and even though that was eight years ago, her fans here remembered the song fondly. “The moment I announced the song title Itchiban no Takaramono, the crowd’s reaction was so great and everyone could sing along!”
“The venue was packed and fans were singing along to almost every song! I was very happy to see it,” said the singer who was initially worried that not many people in Singapore would be waiting for her since her last solo concert in 2015.
Fans of LiSA who are following her Instagram will know that she is also an avid photographer who often likes to take pictures of cityscapes. “Whenever I’m overseas – like (right now) in Singapore – I like to take photographs of the beautiful sceneries and landscapes, but I am currently exploring taking more photos of people too.”
Her hopes for the future is to be able to tour more Southeast Asian countries as many of her fans have urged the singer to perform in their countries. “I know that there were many people from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand who flew to Singapore just to attend my concert, therefore I would love to hold more concerts in Asia.”
“I feel the love when the audience sing along to the songs even though (Japanese) isn’t their first language,” said LiSA. “To listen to people of different nationalities singing together despite the language barrier, it’s a great achievement for me!”
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