“I want you to open your third eye, I want to give you spiritual enlightenment,” Awai told JP ALT.
In January, I found myself awkwardly standing alone at a chika idol line up in Shinjuku. I had bought a ticket to see 14th Generation Toilet Hanako San, a metal idol with a reputation for headbanging, screaming, soba noodles, and various forms of smacking. “Awkwardly” didn’t cut it— I observed my surroundings and acknowledged I was the only foreigner there, the only woman, and perhaps even the only person under 35. This was my introduction to idol culture in Japan.
After watching some salary men moan as they threw themselves over the barrier to get stepped on by a gothic idol group donning blinged-out platform boots, I was approached by an enthusiastic Awai who was handing out fliers for her idol group’s debut that coming February.
When meeting Awai, without a doubt, the first thing you’d notice is her infectiously upbeat personality, followed by her fully decked out pink-toned j-fashion coord you can usually find her in. She explained to me that she’d left her life in America behind to join OMNI666, an anti-establishment gothic punk underground idol group.
The level of improbability, to grow up in the US suburbs and throw yourself full-time into the depths of Japan’s idol culture, felt like something out of a fanfiction to me. I had so many questions, and so little time thanks to the restraints of a two-week-holiday itinerary.
So, enter October of the same year, I went to see OMNI 666 in action at Deepa in Otsuka where Awai answered it all at the merch table:
Early Days
Awai was born in Hawaii and moved to the mainland US along with her family when she was 10 years old.
“I was exposed to a lot of Japanese culture and music from a young age, especially the idol group Morning Musume, so I started learning how to sing Morning Musume songs. I actually learnt how to sing in Japanese before I learnt how to speak it,” explained Awai on her introduction to idol culture.
Before moving to Japan, Awai swung between studying Japanese and writing her own music, girl-in-her-room style: “I always knew no matter what I ended up doing, it was going to be music related. In that time, I ended up writing over 100 songs.”
“So I tried to study Japanese on my own as much as I could. And then when it came time to kind of leave the nest and go off on my own, I was like, Well, I want to try Japan”
Joining OMNI666
“So at the time, I was doing a lot of Tiktok vocal covers,” reminisced Awai on how she came to join OMNI666.
“I wanted to sing this song, Hikari no Ame. The lyrics were very poignant, so I couldn’t really find a direct translation, so I started translating it myself. And I was like, I can actually sing this in English. So I did a vocal cover in English. I put it on Tiktok, and the company that we are under found the Tiktok, and they basically messaged me saying ‘we’d love to have an audition, we’re actually looking for new members’”
The Tiktok video only had around 1,000 views by the time she was contacted by a recruiter.
After a series of Zoom auditions, Awai found herself on a plane to Japan, throwing herself head-first into the scene.
“I actually never got a chance to just casually see any idol concerts growing up. So the same day that I met Miyabi for the first time, she had a show. She was like, well, if you have time, come to the show with me. You can watch me perform. You can watch the other groups and kind of see what it’s like.”
“And I remember, I was in awe at the talent on the stage. I was shocked— this small stage, this small venue, but everyone is so bombastic on stage. And I’ll name drop, because I don’t care. It was Mozu that I saw. I saw two other groups: Crazed Brain and Satanic Punish. I was seriously like, oh my god. Everyone’s so talented.”
Idol Life: The Practicalities
I was curious about the routine an idol has— is there one? How often is training and practice? Seriously, what does an idol do when they’re not performing? Is there even a time when they’re not performing? Watching the OMNI 666 Twitter account, as well as Awai’s, from the other side of the world, you wouldn’t believe how many shows I’d see announced almost every time I opened the app.
“We practice once or twice a week, depending on how many shows we have… we sometimes have one show a day, sometimes two shows, sometimes three. I think the most I’ve done in one day is maybe four.. And all at different locations as well.”
How does that even work…?! Awai laughed as she answered:
“When you are kind of listening to the bigger, the major groups, they’re not performing more than once a day. They’re performing at a huge venue once a week, and they’re doing it more like a touring basis. Whereas, like, our bread and butter is live performance, it’s not streaming music, so we basically are constantly on tour.”
“When we first went to Nagoya we Miyabi rolled out like this huge itinerary. She’s like, 8am you should grab breakfast and then come back. Hair and makeup should be done by 10am. We’re going to be on stage by 11:30 then it’s off to the next venue. We’re going to be on stage at 10, at 12:20 then it’s off to the next venue. And then you’ll have a little bit of time for dinner. Then you have a little time to take a shower, then go to sleep.”
“We wake up and do it all again!”
Idol Otaku: A Curse Or a Blessing in Disguise?
From the few idol shows I had been to, it felt like a lot of (if not most of) the time, attendees were paying for the experience of talking to a woman as well as the music. How does Awai and OMNI 666 differentiate themselves as performers who are serious about the music, and not a cog in the machine for the Girlfriend Experience?
“We definitely have these conversations in my group a lot, because all three of us, the Tokyo members, we really, really love music. We’re really passionate about our artistry and what we’re putting together on stage. Not saying that other groups aren’t like that, but you kind of remember that this is also a bit of customer service, right?”
Awai stepped to the merch desk, shifting her voice up a pitch, “Like, hi! Don’t you want to talk to me? You want to buy my cheki…!?”
“I do struggle with doing that, I’m not really like a salesman. I would love people to come see the show because they like my voice, or they like our songs, and they might want a photo for a memory. But for me, it’s not really about hypnotizing you to think that there’s more than what’s happening.”
“I think a lot of the lyrics to our songs kind of poke fun at idol otaku culture. We’re produced by dancho from a band called no God. It’s a Japanese visual K band that’s dancho. And so he wrote our lyrics, and so like our song, Kaigan no Susume, that song is basically like, ‘Hey! You think that you’re gonna fall in love with you or something? No, not at all. I want you to open your third eye, I want to give you spiritual enlightenment.”
(Ningen Kitanai) Humans are so filthy
Are you dreaming of something in this self-centered idol industry?
Maybe if you keep pushing hard, you’ll eventually connect with them?
I’ll be honest with you!
Just kidding! Keep that to yourself!
Kaibutsu Chan (Little Monster)
Everything in this world is at your disposal.
Hey! All men are ATMs! Hey!
I’ll satisfy your needs, but I’ll beg you with a sweet voice.
Your capacity will exceed its limits, right?
“We’re a little anti-establishment. We’re definitely calling things out for what they are. And I think all of us, we definitely like to see ourselves as artists, not only idols.”
“Basically our message is: you guys are disgusting. We’re gonna call you out for it.”
Za Future?
“I’m hoping that we can start to perform at larger venues, and we can get an even larger following. And I’m actually hoping that we can spread past the basic idol otaku. I mean, of course, not to discredit them, but I would love to reach an even wider audience.”
“I think a lot of our music is good for teens and all ages, and I would love more women to come to our shows.”
Ladies in Tokyo, now is your time. OMNI666 is waiting patiently!
Final Messages (aww…)
“For anyone who’s reading this, I am proof that the loftiest goals or dreams can come true. So no matter how crazy or outlandish you think your goals are, you can definitely achieve them. The only way you can guarantee it won’t happen is if you give up. So don’t give up. Keep going and come see OMNI666 if you happen to be in Japan!”
A message from Miyabi, OMNI666’s supreme leader:
全世界の皆さん、こんにちは！OMNI666の雅です！ OMNI666に興味を持ってくれてありがとうございます。 私たちの世界を楽しんでいただけましたか？ 私の夢はいつか世界中をライブツアーしてOMNI666を愛する人たちに私たちの歌を届けに行くことです。 いつかきっと、この世界のどこかでお会いしましょう！
English Translation:
Hello everyone around the world! This is Miyabi from OMNI666! Thank you for your interest in OMNI666. Have you enjoyed our world? My dream is to one day tour the world and share our songs with all the people who love OMNI666. Let’s meet somewhere in the world someday!
OMNI666 are performing regularly in Tokyo, and you can find them on Twitter here.
JPALT 
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