Erika's Oricon Style Interview

The "Revival of the cold and blunt Erika" or similar are the headlines at "Rakuten" and other news pages. What are they talking about? They are talking about the interview in the "Oricon Style" (issue 12/10, released: 11/30) magazine.
Now Oricon Style published a very long 9pages special about ERIKA this month. In the beginning everything is normal and nice. You have the nice pictures and a very interesting interview. Here a quick translation of some parts of the interview Oricon published on their website.

The lyrics for her new song "Destination Nowhere" have been influenced by her trip to the desert. The whole song is somewhat based on her experience there. She talks about the complete emptiness and how gradually the whole scenery changes with the sunrise and sunset. Especially the sunset left a really great impression. The sunset alone already is an amazing spectacle in the desert, but once you witness the clear night sky and all the stars..it's just great. "You completely forget the time while watching such a clear night sky", she explained.

This impression also continues when it comes to the case jacket design. She describes the theme as being "psychedelic" and somehow resembles the feeling you have in an empty desert. Erika herself wanted it to be this way and for the PV it is the same. You can find similar images like on the cover in the PV, making the "psychedelic" theme complete.

Oricon also is interested in her feelings towards her first live performance of the song.
"When thinking about performing on stage, I am really in high spirits." There are a few small concerns like how is it going to be and whether she will present it the best she can, but she is really looking forward to it. Erika thinks a lot about the performance and therefore often seems to be completely absent. "People often ask me 'Hey, are you okay?' Actually I am 'super' happy right now. Well, there are a few things to be concerned about and I also have to think about some other concrete things, but I still want to do it at any rate."

Hydetetsu already wrote about the press event of Kanebo's new cosmetic brand "COFFRET D'OR" and that Erika has been pretty cold there already. However, she still kept a smile on her face and talked about things like her shopping habits. All in all it was still a somewhat normal interview back then.
Now Oricon Style published a very long 9pages special about ERIKA this month. First everything seems to be nice. You have the nice pictures and a still normal interview during the first pages. When asked about 'Led Zeppelin', Erika answers "Of course I will go. To see Zeppelin is...unbelievable!," still in a very nice mood.
The magazine then comes to a corner where fans are able to ask artists, Erika a questions. This is when the bad thing begins. For 11 of about 24 fan-questions, Erika only answers in very cold way, often even with one word only. A few examples:

"What kind of (casual) clothes do you usually wear privately?"
Erika: "Rough."

"Do you treasure something (a personal item)?"
Erika: "I don't."

"When do you have the most fun?"
Erika: "Bed time." ["...and I enjoy to work", she adds later.]

"Erika is really beautiful, but has she already been popular during Junior High School?"
Erika: "No."

"Is there a message in your songs." [or: "Is there a message for the people who listen to your songs?"]
Erika: "Not really. You can feel whatever you want to feel."

Erika should really think about what she is saying. Such feelings towards your own music and towards your own fans can easily be described as 'exploiting'.

From HPriest