#ask satoru

‘Who’s your favourite artist?’ Framed by the ornate woodwork of the Chokushi-Mon, Satoru tips his head forward again, flashing all his teeth at the camera. ‘Getō Suguru, obviously.’ ‘I was going to ask if you've met them, but that answers that! In which case, who's your celebrity crush?’ ‘You're trying to get me in trouble.’ He's smiling, but from front on, it's hard to tell what Satoru is thinking beneath the dark glasses hiding his face. ‘Let's say Jisoo? She has cute bangs.’

As he powers through the cover shoot for Vogue's September issue, K-pop icon Satoru answers 73 questions on location in London. This was "filmed" between chapters 8 and 9 of Over the Threshold — read on AO3 ♥

In order shown in video, art by:

@fushiglow

@14th-lulullaby

@hugbin

@80hd-selkie

@/uotuok (on Bluesky)

@genderjester

Music.

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Although there’s many upsides that come with being a singer of your caliber, there are also some downsides (hectic schedule, unwanted attention, industry practices, etc).

If you could change one thing without impacting your career in any negative way, what would you choose?

Thank you.

One thing... Mmm, I guess the travel? I love touring, but I spend waaaay more time on the road than I do on the stage, and it's such a waste of my youth. I'm not getting any younger, guys!

I wish I could teleport. Wouldn't that be cool? Imagine if I could just blink into existence at the next destination instead of cramming myself in the back of a van. Or hitting my head every time we go over a bump in the middle of the night. I'm telling you, sleeping on a tour bus isn't as fun as it sounds. Those beds are not made for people over 180cm.

And it would totally eliminate my carbon footprint! Especially if I didn't have to fly any more! I could probably singlehandedly solve global warming!

I'd be able to go home whenever I wanted, too. Just zip back to Japan whenever I'm having a bad day and need some comfort food. Sleep in my own bed between shows, too. Although if I think about it, I guess I wouldn't be able to do that very often. Can you imagine what would happen if my company found out I could travel to any location in a matter of seconds? Ha!

Yeah, I'd definitely keep that a secret. So maybe teleportation would be pretty useless in reality. And that would suck, knowing I could be home in a heartbeat and constantly having to hold myself back. Just having that temptation hanging over me all the time, honestly.

Oh, without impacting my career in any negative way? Nah, everything comes with a price. You gain something in one area of your life, you lose something in another.

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You have your signature hairstyle, but is there a different style or color you would be open to trying?

I'd consider going shorter someday, yeah, but it holds semi-permanent colour super well. That suits my stylist just fine.

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This question was included in 73 Questions with Satoru on AO3.

Generally speaking, what would you say contributes more into a song becoming your favourite? The meaning/lyrics? Or is the melody more of a decisive factor?

Thank you so much!

From the new stuff, it's Sugar. Easy.

Well, not easy. Sugar is actually really challenging. When I'm singing it live night after night — and I always sing live, always — those high notes are exhausting. It's definitely hardgoing, but that's what makes it rewarding. Yeah, I love Sugar.

Singing it, I mean. And the rest. I can't separate the lyrics from the melody from the harmony from the production. It's the whole package for me. That's what makes Sugar my favourite.

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How long have you liked gunpla? I saw your collab video with Linkl Planet and i died it was so cutieful! Do you know why they never showed off your finished gunpla? it looked to me like a unicorn gundam but they cut the video so weird that i couldn't quite tell 😢

This is a funny story actually. Years ago, a SWEETIE wrote a fanfic where I was, like, super into Gunpla. It had a bit of a moment on Twitter, but honestly, the characterisation needed some work.

"I’ll have you know that assembling models takes serious discipline and patience"? I wouldn't f***ing say that.

Shut up! You said the same thing!

Anyway, it became a bit of a running joke. My fans started bringing Gunpla models to fansigns and the rest is history!

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This question was included in 73 Questions with Satoru on AO3.

Easily. It comes with the hair.

I wear SPF 50 every day so I don't have to deal with the peeling.

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This question was included in 73 Questions with Satoru on AO3.

It sucks when fans think they're my friends.

Don't get me wrong, my fans are the best in the world. I have a very special relationship with my SWEETIEs, but some people disrespect that relationship. Some people cross a line. They attend my shows, they watch my livestreams, they come to my fanmeets, and they start to feel like they know me.

That's when things change. After taking everything I give, some people decide they deserve more. They develop unreasonable expectations, then feel disappointed when I don't meet them. They come into my space uninvited, then lash out when I enforce my boundaries. They withdraw their support, they make accusations about me, they type in secret like rats.

Those people are forgetting that I'm here to make art. Hell, they're forgetting that I'm human. They forget that they're taking out their anger on a person they don't know.

I want my audience and my supporters to know that I'm an entertainer. I'm an artist. I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to perform. All I want to do is to put on a good show.

That's all.

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