SCANDAL’s Haruna is a fan of SHINee’s Taemin

Text & Photos: Dang Hui Ling
Video: Tay Yixuan

After two exciting years of chart-topping releases and concert tours in Asia, J-rock girl band SCANDAL is finally back in Singapore for two gigs this weekend!

During the interview with xinmsn yesterday, the quartet exclaimed that they could hardly wait to show off their improved side on stage. Though the girls seemed clammed up at first, they soon regained their quirky personalities when asked to dish out each other's 'secrets'.

Vocal-guitarist Mami got the ball rolling by gleefully spilling the beans on her member with the help of an interpreter - "I can never understand some of the 'mysterious' actions that Tomomi does!"

"There are times when [Tomomi] will start stretching her legs after sitting down on a chair because she feels 'tight in her knees'," she continued, demonstrating the move with animated expressions.

The atmosphere in the room noticeably lightened as the girls broke out in chuckles whenever they agreed on a point that was brought up.

While Haruna made fun of Osaka-born Rina's habit of speaking in Kansai-ben (dialect), the latter 'retaliated' by teasing lead guitarist Mami about her diction.

"Instead of saying 'atashi' ("I" in Japanese feminine speech), Mami likes to use 'boku' and 'ore' ("I" in Japanese masculine speech)," she quipped.

Laughing in agreement, the other members added that the 22-year-old Mami often ends her sentences in an old-fashioned manner, rather than using the latest slang words that people of their age do these days.

But when it comes to music, SCANDAL shed the playful stance and confessed that they were lacking in direction when they first formed the band seven years ago.

"We had no idea what kind of music we wanted to make at the time," said Haruna.