Formed by Japanese entertainment label LDH, pop trio Sweet Revenge made their debut in June with “Might Just.” However, their journey together began long ago when the three members — AGNES, ASAMI, and LARISSA — were selected as winners from the 2018 VOCAL BATTLE AUDITIONS ~THE GLOBAL STAR SEARCH~ held by LDH Europe. The audition was held in eight cities across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, attracting about 10,000 applicants. The members of Sweet Revenge shared with Asia Blooming their thoughts and experiences from auditioning to training through the pandemic, and releasing their debut single.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
Congratulations on your debut single “Might Just”! Your debut has been a long time coming. If we start from the beginning, what made each of you want to participate in “Global Vocal Battle Auditions”?
AGNES: I never saw myself pursuing music in Holland [but] I’ve always dreamt super big and wanted to become a global artist. I [also] looked up to Beyoncé. So when I heard there was a global audition, I knew I had to try it.
ASAMI: I’ve been training at EXPG STUIO TOKYO which is a dance school in the company from when I was 14. When I was 17, I saw a flyer in the dance school about the audition and my dream was to be a global artist, so I decided to take the audition!
LARISSA: I always secretly dreamt of becoming an artist but never really told anyone! My mom did know about it. So one night while we were watching TV, this audition came up and it said that you didn’t need much experience, but they were looking for potential! I didn’t have much experience with singing and dancing; I only sang in the shower and in the car. But my mom immediately said ‘LARISSA, you should do this!’ At first, I said no and got all shy about it, but then that same night I couldn’t stop thinking about it and since it wasn’t going to be on TV, I thought maybe I could try it without telling anyone so that if I didn’t pass, nothing happened! Then the next day I told my mom that I wanted to try it out and she was super supportive!! So, when I auditioned only my mom, dad and brother knew about it!
After passing the auditions, that was the start to four years of training. Can you describe what that experience was like? Is there a memorable mentor or artist from LDH that offered you guidance?
AGNES: Honestly, it was a real rollercoaster because when COVID-19 hit, a lot changed. ASAMI was living with us in Holland and had to move back to Japan. We were separated for around a year but just kept training at home with online classes to keep up the training, stay fit and keep developing our skills. It wasn’t easy because it would feel pretty lonely sometimes.
Thankfully, we got to reunite again end of 2021 in LA and continue our training. That time was definitely one of the most memorable since we missed each other so much and finally got to reunite and continue. In 2022, we were able to go to Japan again and continue training there. We trained 12 hours a day every day except Sundays! It was tough but so worth it because we had the best training and grew a lot.
When we would see artists from LDH during that time, most of them were very surprised to still see us, I think they thought we might have quit during COVID, so they were all so supportive and excited to see us back in Japan. That excitement and support meant a lot to us! During those years, we would have meetings with Verbal and Jon [of The Stereotypes], and they always checked up on us and gave us a lot of support.
ASAMI: It [was] a very very tough and mentally very challenging [time] because for me, I moved to the Netherlands right after I got the notice of passing the audition. Being away from my family in a country that I don’t know was very difficult, but because of that experience, I feel that I was able to really grow and work on myself.
I’ve thankfully had the opportunity to perform on stage as a backup dancer for some of the [LDH] artists and watch all them closely. I wish to be performing like them on stage!!
LARISSA: I was still in high school when we started training and didn’t have much experience in singing and dancing. I danced when I was young but forgot all about it, so I had to start again from 0. I wanted to train as much as I could, so I would travel six days a week back and forth from my hometown to Rotterdam after school. We started our training in Holland from the best teachers there! Sergio Reis, who taught us from the beginning, is now the choreographer of Troye Sivan! Then COVID-19 happened, and we stood still for a little while. From two years ago, AGNES and I started coming to Japan more often, and that really helped us grow! The first camp we did in Japan, we would train 10 hours every day for four months straight. It was very tough, but [it] really helped me grow as a dancer. So, I’m so grateful for that time even though it was so tough!
Let’s talk about your group name “Sweet Revenge.” Can you speak to how this name was decided on?
AGNES: When we started brainstorming for our name, I loved using a name which would show both our sweet and our savage side because I think when you first see us we come across sweet mostly! 😉 But when you get to know us better and when you see us perform, you can tell there is more than meets the eye. To show that contrast in the name, I came up with Sweet Poison. Hiro-san made the last call on our name and came with Sweet Revenge. It was the perfect mix of showing both our sides!
And for your debut single, “Might Just,” how would each of you describe the track in one word and why?
AGNES: Teasing. The lyrics are very teasing: might just let you touch me; I might just let you love me. I mean 😉
ASAMI: Fun. Because it’s a very fun, energetic song and listening to this song makes the atmosphere very fun. And also, because we had so much fun creating and recording this song!! I still remember in the studio everyone was super hyped about this song and afterwards AGNES, LARISSA and I would just play this song in our house and have a lot of fun!!
LARISSA: Special. Special because from the moment this song got created, we knew it would be our first single! Our debut single after six years since our audition! To me, that’s very special!
Your music video hit 1 million views in less than a week. What’s your favorite part of the music video? Do you have any fun stories to share from when you recorded the music video?
AGNES: My favorite part is when we create our own avatars and when the three of us enter the metaverse. A funny story is when ASAMI was filming her rap part on the panda, she almost fell off the panda.
ASAMI: My favorite part is definitely LARISSA petting the cat robot in the restaurant. I thought it showed culture and in general the shots were just too cute!!
LARISSA: My favorite real-life parts are AGNES’ surprised reaction and ASAMI in the park on the panda! We still talk about it a lot and it just makes you smile! And my favorite virtual part is the avatar design by the super talented Ayaka Ohira! She made this music video so special!!
With the DDR and gaming elements in the video, we have to ask – who’s the most likely to hit up the arcade and why?
AGNES: I think ASAMI, because she is mostly the one playing video games. For example, she loves Candy Crush lol so she can be playing that on her phone for hours.
ASAMI: I think we all would, because we love to go to the arcade and do crane games, go to the Photo Booth, motorcycle games everything!! Once we start, we can’t stop!
LARISSA: I’d say ASAMI! We all love going to the arcade, but ASAMI also loves playing games on her phone! We always catch her playing at night haha!
The song and video together have a Y2K concept with a cute and dreamy vibe. What type of music style and video concept would you like to go for next?
AGNES: For the next one I would like us to show more of the revenge, savage side. In “Might Just,” we showed the sweet side, so the next one should show our cool side.
ASAMI: I would love for us to try out cool and sexy vibes!! I think dark and mysterious really fits us and though we do love to have fun and be energetic, but when we dance, we love the sexy aspect, so in the future I would definitely want to see us in that route!!
LARISSA: Definitely something cool 😉 We are actually more cool than cute if you see us in real life, especially AGNES and ASAMI! So definitely showcasing that more!!
This single will appear as the opening theme of the upcoming anime series “The Girl Downstairs.” Can each of you share what would be a dream movie/show OST feature for you?
AGNES: I would love to have a title song for the next Black Panther movie! Or a title song for a Disney movie!
ASAMI: I would love to listen to our song on an action film where there’s cars racing, people flying!! Something very lively and exciting!! I feel like our cool sound could add more spice to the scenes.
LARISSA: I watch a lot of movies and series, so anything would be amazing. But right now, I love watching Asian dramas so something like that would be super cool! Like the anime that’s based on Netflix’s “Doona”! I had watched “Doona” right when it came out so it’s such an honor that our debut single is now the opening theme song for “The Girl Downstairs” anime!
You also participated in labelmate CrazyBoy’s “Cheddar” music video. What was that experience like?
AGNES: It was a great experience because we had never participated in a music video as dancers before. I learned a lot from it, and I also really embraced this side of being in a music video. It made me understand a different role when shooting a music video. So when one day we will shoot a music video as the artists, I can fully understand how it is to be a dancer on set, and I think that is really important and valuable.
ASAMI: It was a whole experience of dancing the choreo and having to act a little in front of the camera. Watching Crazyboy was also a learning process, watching how he presents himself and having the artist aura.
LARISSA: It was an amazing opportunity for us, and we’re so grateful to CrazyBoy and his team for having us! It’s always great experience that we can take with us for our own music video shoots!
What’s next for SWEET REVENGE? Do you have any goals you want to reach by the end of year?
AGNES: I want us to start performing a lot so people can get to know us and so we can really show what we have been training for all these years. We are so ready to be on a stage! By the end of this year, I want us to already be fully booked for the first half of next year! 🙂
ASAMI: Releasing more music and content!! We’re still starting our career, so I would love for as many people to see and hear what we do and hopefully find interest!!
LARISSA: I hope we can perform a lot and meet as many people as we can! That’s my favorite part of being an artist! We will do our best to become artists that people want to follow and support!!!
