Interview to celebrate the release of Shoya Chiba’s first single “Contrail”! “I put my feelings of wanting to show the trajectory of my progress into the lyrics”Voice actor Shoya Chiba, who made his solo artist debut in January this year with the five-song EP “Blessing,” will be releasing his first single!

Following on from his previous work, the title track “Contrail,” which he wrote himself, is a guitar rock song full of passion and speed. In addition, it includes the danceable “Liar Game” and the happy “Steps,” making for a total of three songs with a rich variety of variations.

We spoke to him about this must-have work for fans, which also includes a lottery serial number for the earliest advance application for the band’s first talk and live event, “SHOYA CHIBA 1st FAMILY SESSION” (held on October 26th)!

–Since your debut EP “Blessing” came out in January, you’ve already released your first single and you’re off to a great start as a solo artist.

Shoya Chiba (hereinafter, Chiba): In between our debut EP and this single, we had “KING SUPER LIVE 2024” (hereinafter, Kinspa), where we introduced ourselves again to our fans and senior colleagues at our label, but until then, I felt like I was unsure of my feet.

I had always thought of the team that had been working for me as “Team Chiba Shoya,” but when that team intersected with the larger world of KinSpa, I felt more determined to make my debut as a solo artist.

Witnessing my senior voice actors and artists creating history, I thought to myself that one day I too would like to stand on this stage with an anime tie-up in mind, and I wanted to be able to proudly call myself an artist.

Since we started producing the single from there, I think we had a strong desire to approach the song with a broad perspective, rather than just focusing on what was in front of us.

–Kinspa’s performance was so imposing that it was hard to believe it was their first appearance.

Chiba: It was only one song, but when I asked everyone to “yell out loud!”, they yelled back at me more than I expected. When the song first started, I could feel the atmosphere in the venue that “a stranger has appeared,” and I was really nervous.

But as I clung to the lyrics of my song and sang desperately, I felt that little by little everyone was turning their feelings towards me, and by the end of the song I was able to explode with more emotion than I had expected.

It was a lot of fun, but there was a pressure I’d never felt before. I felt like I was going to melt (laughs).