Chapter 88: The Lead Singer
Kira was a little stunned. Makoto Hibikiya's firm attitude had caught him by surprise. He thought they were somewhat acquainted—Makoto had even given him a personal warning before—but now he was acting as if they were complete strangers.
Camie waved her hands nervously, forcing a laugh as she tried to speak up for Kira. "Hey, it hasn't gotten to that point yet, has it? Kira was just offering his opinion..."
Snap... snap...
The rhythmic sound of fingers snapping suddenly echoed through the spacious basement. Everyone looked up and saw Kira, swaying back and forth, snapping his fingers.
It was a rhythmic beat. The members of 'soul', who knew their music inside and out, exchanged a look. This was the intro to Queen's famous single, "Radio Ga Ga"!
"Kira, you..." Camie stared at him in disbelief, as if seeing him for the first time.
Makoto Hibikiya frowned but said nothing, just watching Kira quietly. What is he trying to do?
"I'd sit alone and watch your light," Kira began to sing as he walked around the room. He passed by the corner where a pile of instruments was stored and pulled out a microphone stand.
"My only friend through teenage nights."
"And everything I had to know,"
"I heard it on my radio."
Is he going to sing it a cappella? But that won't work without accompaniment!
Jodo Chenjie and Kansou Eruto exchanged a look. The sounds of a bass and a guitar rang out simultaneously, as if by telepathy. Dave joined in, tapping out the same rhythm on his drums.
"You gave them all those old time stars,"
"Through wars of worlds invaded by Mars."
Kira swayed over to Jodo's side and held the microphone to his lips. He wants me to sing along? Jodo thought with a wry smile, but he leaned his head toward the mic.
"You made 'em laugh, you made 'em cry,"
"You made us feel like we could fly."
Kira took the mic back. "So don't become some background noise."
After finishing the line, Kira spun around gracefully and struck Jotaro Kujo's classic Star Platinum finger-point pose, holding the base of the mic stand and offering it flatly to Kansou.
Kansou smiled and leaned in.
"A backdrop for the girls and boys,"
"Who just don't know or just don't care,"
"And just complain when you're not there."
Dave, who already had a mic clipped to his drum kit, leaned in and sang in a roaring voice.
"You had your time, you had the power,"
"You've yet to have your finest hour."
Next came the chorus. Kira stood in the middle of the three of them, turned around, and slammed the mic stand onto the ground, looking at Makoto with a challenging gaze.
"Radio!"
"All we hear is radio ga ga,"
"Radio goo goo,"
"Radio ga ga."
As the song ended, Kira lowered the upraised mic stand. He walked over to Makoto Hibikiya, his earlier passionate performance gone, and said calmly, "Mr. Hibikiya, do you still think I'm just here to cause trouble?"
"Kira, that was amazing!" Camie rushed toward him. Although Kira sidestepped and she missed, she still turned around, her eyes sparkling. "I can't believe you can sing like that! From this day on, I, Camie Utsushimi, am your number one fan!"
Kira knew that, in reality, his singing wasn't that great. To a professional lead singer like Makoto, it was probably just "listenable." The flaws were obvious: his breathing was unstable, his pitch was off, his voice lacked distinction, and the transitions between lyrics were clunky.
But—
After a long silence, Makoto asked, "Why does it feel so different when you sing it compared to when I do?"
Kira was clearly an amateur, yet he had a different kind of feeling. When he sang with Jodo and the others, it had felt like a real rock concert. But when Makoto sang, he felt like... a powerless narrator.
"It might not be my place to say this, but I have to," Kira said, looking him straight in the eye. "Your performance has no soul. You can't give people the kind of passion that Queen's music is supposed to ignite."
Kira could understand his stationary singing style; most singers performed that way, at most walking around the stage a bit but always staying in the center. But Queen was different. The kind of energy they had on stage wasn't something you could grasp just by studying a faded old recording.
The legendary Freddie, when he performed live, was like a king. The entire stage was his domain. He would appear everywhere, but the audience could always find him in an instant, their gazes always fixed on him.
"And Queen is a group. Every member is indispensable. Each of them had their own hit songs. They were all in the spotlight. They were all the lead singer. In a word, Queen has no lead singer. Or rather... everyone is the lead singer."
Is that so? Makoto thought back on their rehearsals. Although everyone was doing their part, filling in their section of the song, there was always something that felt a little off. But now he understood. So everyone was a lead singer...
"One last question. How did you learn all of this? You're not just making it up, are you?"
Once again, Makoto questioned Kira. He had gone to great lengths just to get his hands on a few of Queen's singles, some of which were even damaged. But how did Kira know all this? How could he know so much about Queen's live performances?
Kira was suddenly at a loss. What was he supposed to say? In my past life, I never saw Queen live, but I managed to get a DVD of one of their concerts and was obsessed with all their little habits?
But all rock music had been banned. They would never believe that he had seen such contraband.
Seeing Kira's silence, Makoto seemed to understand. He probably had his reasons. But regardless, it was an established fact that he understood Queen better than the entire 'soul' band did.
Makoto glanced at his bandmates, who were still buzzing with excitement from their brief collaboration, and sighed. Forget it. This is for them, too. I should let go of my pointless pride.
"Kira-kun," Makoto said suddenly, "I'd like to invite you to be the lead singer for our band."
"Eh? Does that mean I'd be Kira's manager?" Camie blinked, in disbelief.
The person with the biggest reaction wasn't Kira, but Jodo. He dropped his guitar, stood up, and said loudly, "Makoto-san! You've been planning this performance for so long! Why are you letting Kira join!? Even if he is my benefactor, it's not right!"
Makoto looked at him calmly. "The performance is the day after tomorrow, but we're still not perfect. Do you want the audience to see an incomplete version of us?"
"I've told you all many times. This isn't a stage for our own self-indulgence. It's about bringing these classic songs back to the world in their complete form. Isn't that what we're striving for?"
Jodo's mouth opened, but no words came out. He slumped back down onto his stool.
Makoto turned his gaze to Kira. "Kira, what do you say? But just so you know, even if you're the lead singer, you can't change a single word of the lyrics or a single note of the music."
Kira shook his head. "I can't accept."
"Why?" Makoto was surprised. Wasn't his performance just now a way of forcing him to admit his own shortcomings? Why would he refuse the chance to become the lead singer of 'soul'? "Is it because of what I said earlier? I apologize."
"Because this is your band," Kira said, looking up with a smile. "Your synergy is perfect. It's just your stage presence that's a little lacking. If you're willing, I can act as your stage director."
Kira knew that if an outsider like him joined, Queen would no longer be Queen. Although their impromptu collaboration had been perfect, that was just the emotion of the moment. If they performed on stage, their synergy might not be as good. And besides... there was only one day left.
"..." Makoto looked at Kira for a long time, then slowly nodded.
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