Our first entry of 2023! Thank you for reading our Mini Kawaii Interview series! We have so many great entries and it's always so interesting learning about different brands, artists, creators, ect.! I love having the chance to showcase others, as I get to learn about what they do and what makes them happy!
February is black history month. GHOST GIRL GOODS is a supporter of all race, all gender, all identities. But this month, we want to focus on highlighting black kawaii creators! It's the perfect time to support black creators, artists, designers, ect., and continue to do so moving forward!
To kick off this month, we have a fully packed interview with a talented singer and songwriter, who has traveled from a planet far far away to perform across America (and even in Japan!)
Galaxy Girl PAiDA- J-Pop Singer
I first met PAiDA in 2019 at Tekko in Pittsburg! I watched her performance during the idol showcase and have a memory of walking around the dealers hall with her and 1 other individual for a little bit afterwards. I was excited that she was also attending A-Kon as a performance guest, but our schedules were so busy, we didn't get a chance to hang out or chat much. Luckly at Sin City Anime, we did! During that event, we were both part of the J-Fashion Luncheon~ (alongside colourful queen cybr.grl!)
Throughout my travels to the US, I've met so many wonderful people, and I hope to continue to meet many many more! (I also hope that the lovely people I meet can come to Canada sometime and hang out with us here at GHOST GiRL GOODS!)
Firstly, I asked PAiDA what made her want to start singing, producing songs, and appoint herself as an idol.
"To be honest, making my own music was always one of the end goals for me. At the start, I just wanted to sing bc the songs that I loved just filled me with love and made me feel so empowered, but it was such a niche back then (and sadly still is), that I really wanted to share them with the world along with slowly getting the courage to put myself out there. Even though I'm not the best singer in the world, I'm not afraid to get on a stage and pour my heart out, so naturally the next milestone is to make a million songs that express who I am while still spreading my love of the genres that inspired me."
(A photo I took of PAiDA's closing ceremonies performance at Sin City Anime)
I used to work for a dance costume company, so I had to ask PAiDA her her favourite part about styling herself up for a performance was. She has such cute, space themed performance costumes/outfits!
"Thank you so much! At this time I think my favorite part of getting ready for shows is definitely my hair. My fit as a whole is usually decided well before the event of course, but my hair could look like anything the night before. Whether it's diligently going through the many hair accessories I could use and their placement, or the variety of shapes and moods my wonderful 4C hair can become in a matter of minutes, I can really play around with the final touches of my look just with my hair it's pretty great!"
I also asked what an important aspect of fashion is to her!
"An important aspect of fashion for me... I love when fashion is a perfect blend of expressiveness and comfort. It doesn't matter how amazing I look in something, if I'm not comfortable in it then I'll wriggle out of it like a moody cat haha!"
Did you know that PAiDA was an idol in Japan as well?! So not only is she capturing the hearts of people in North America and Japan, her music and magic touch is circulating the globe! I wanted her to share more about that experience with us and tell us the struggles she faced, perhaps as a young black performer or in the grand scheme of it all.
"Of course! So I'm not sure how many people know, but I was an idol in Japan as well! I had virtually no issues working as an idol in Japan actually, I feel like the fact that I was not Japanese was so plainly obvious that... there was no reason to point it out? The focus was on my work ethic and skills, and I was always met positively in that regard. A few years ago I auditioned for an idol group produced by ex-Momusu member Sayaka Ichii, for me at least it was a big deal, and a dream come true to even make it to the final rounds!!! Sadly this all transpired right during a height of the pandemic, there was a lot of tension at that time so I didn't advance. I think if things were able to proceed as originally planned things might be a different story right now, but at the same time I wouldn't have taken the plunge into my solo career with my own music. I'm very happy with where I am now! That all being said, to be frank I've only faced struggles related to the color of my skin outside of Japan, but the immense amount of racist comments and DMs I receive from anonymous kpop(??) accounts is easily drowned out by the love and support I receive in the thousands these days. I think the worst I got in Japan was that I should lose some weight... and I was extremely thin at that time, clearly it didn't stop me haha! I don't know about being an inspiration to people, but I just hope that the efforts myself and my peers put forth help bring Jpop and idols into the light a little more regardless of your background. This is not the same industry as Kpop, especially coming from an indie point of view whose worked in and out of Japan. Anyone with the right heart and the willpower can do this!"
I'm happy to hear that, even with those negative goblins who roam the internet, that PAiDA continues to shine stronger than them and not let it bother her. I think its very important for everyone putting content out in the world that, no matter what you do, someone is ALWAYS going to say something, and they may catch you at a bad time. But remember why you started your journey, remember why you put your content out. YOU want to achieve YOUR dreams! YOU want to bring smiles to people and YOU can do it! Remember to believe in yourself always!
With that being said and similar to some of the answer above, creating any sort of original content can be hard when people are always ready to criticize. What keeps PAiDA motivated when people try to discourage her?
"I really just immerse myself in what interests me and I forget about all the negativity. Listening to whatever I'm working on, looking at what my peers are doing, watching some nostalgic idol content from my favs, that kind of stuff really fills my heart up with love and excitement, and gets my blood pumping then then I'm ready to get back to fighting for my own dreams!!"
A question I love to ask is "what is something that you are most proud of?" I think its really great when people celebrate their wins, whether it be big or small. Not only is PAiDA just proud of herself for getting through each day, she also has many other things to highlight for us:
"Lately my single Future Town has been gaining a lot of traction, I'm very happy for it but I'm not sure if I should be proud, I think the internet gods just randomly chose me for once lol. Still, I'm very proud in my vocal performance for that song especially because it was recorded in my closet! I've hit a lot of milestones lately so I'm very grateful, but I think I'm most proud of the live shows I did last year. They weren't perfect by any means, but it was my first time trying out storytelling in my shows and really letting lose onstage, and I even got to share the stage with some huge artists like DEMONDICE, who was so kind and supportive to me and has helped me reach some very precious personal goals of mine."
(PAiDA's 1st Single Future☆★Town! You can check out more on her YouTube channel here)
Besides singing and performing, I also wanted to know what other things bring PAiDA joy and happiness.
"Spending time with my loved ones really keeps my heart spinning, I don't do it enough but when I'm cozy with friends and family I feel like a little leaf just floating along in the ocean with the vastness of life and its worries way beyond me."
What is PAiDA's biggest goal or dream in life?
"Oh my gosh, it keeps changing!!! I just really want to keep working towards this and see how far I can go. It would be really cool to be recognized in mainstream western music industry somehow, maybe get signed lol I don't know! Performing at Budokan is a big dream for me, I'd absolutely cry if I ever got the chance. Even putting on a successful one man live would be a dream come true for me! Honestly my biggest goal is just to find enough success with my music that I can take care of my mom and my loved ones with no worries."
I asked PAiDA to share with us some of the people that inspire her.
"So so so many people, I'm constantly inspired by so many great artists. Lizzo, Rina Sawayama, Remi Wolf, KOTO and femme fatale.... just yes. Groups like DADARAY and Frederic have styles I absolutely adore too, and I get so much sound and stylistic inspo from Michael Jackson, I hope it will become more apparent with time. I really am inspired by too many artists from many genres though, if I made a list it would wrap around the planet twice haha!" (GHOST GiRL says that maybe someone living on Saturn made a list of everyone who inspired them and thats how it got its rings! You thought it was made up of dust and rock when actually....its just so many pieces of paper from so many inspired people!)
It's so exciting to hear that one of her idols saw her video and picked it to be part of hers. Im sure PAiDA was very excited about that!
And lastly I asked: Do you have any upcoming projects, songs, or events you'd like to share with the readers?
"Well I'm currently working on releasing... SO MUCH MUSIC oh my goodness! I'll start sharing those with the public very soon... this month soon oohhh... so please keep your eyes on me! I'll give your readers a hint for the next release; changes in tides, moving through phases, the cycles of life and love. I hope to release a lot of my songs this year, but it really does take time, and my wallet doesn't match my ambitions haha, so I appreciate everyone's support and patience!!!"
Thanks for your responses PAiDA! And thank you all for reading. Be sure to check out PAiDA's social networks and like/follow, and check out our other blog posts on events we've attended, KAWAII INTERVIEWS, and more!