Photographed by Shuya Nakano
It’s not everyday you get an artist that boasts international presence, but [Sena Kana](https://www.instagram.com/senakana_official/) does just that. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, the rising star recently achieved a milestone: becoming the first solo female Japanese pop artist to hit Gold status in the United States. Thanks to Sena’s 2019 breakthrough smash hit **_“_**[**_Up_**](https://youtu.be/_qPUHJ75COo)**_”_** featuring Sheppard and Wiz Khalifa, she’s able to showcase her desire to create meaningful, positive music for the rest of the world and beyond.
In describing herself, she states, “I'm originally from Japan, I've been traveling and singing in places like Europe and the U.S. My new single just came out, it's called [“Show Me”.](https://youtu.be/jsykRb_HfGA) I’d like everyone to enjoy the song as well as my voice.”
[“Show Me”](https://youtu.be/jsykRb_HfGA) was produced by Justin Beiber’s go-to collaborator Poo Bear, who enlisted Ty Dolla $ign to lend his standout vocals to the track. The lyrics unveil a message about not having the words to express your emotions, but understanding that it's crucial to showcase your intentions and commitment to your loved ones. The result? A fusion of all the artists’ diverse backgrounds, sounds, and auras coining together into one beautiful melting pot.
Flaunt caught up with Sena via Zoom, who was posted in New York. Read below as we discuss her sound, her roots in Japan, musical background, biggest influences, relationship with Poo Bear, how “Show Me” featuring Ty Dolla $ign came to be, making history with “Up,” her fashion sense, and more!
**How would you describe your sound?**
I’d consider myself in the main lane of pop, but my influences and being brought up as Japanese definitely plays a big part in my style, as well as the music I was brought up with, which was mainly musical themes and music I listened to like _Mary Poppins_ and _Sound of Music._ I really enjoyed a lot of the classic shows and movies growing up. Once going to college, I also studied music from the classical side. Together with the different various essences and styles of music coming together is the style I’ve brought up to this point. With all of that in mind, my music is being executed in the pop realm with an eclectic style.
**What was a young Sena Kana like growing up in Japan?**
First of all, one of the biggest parts of Japan is how the seasons are very definite. Japan shows a different side depending on the season. Of course, there are places in the world that have 4 seasons, but those seasons are each more prominent in Japan, especially Tokyo. Spring with the cherry blossoms, the summer with the sky so high, it's so blazing hot during the summer. Once autumn turns around, the wind changes and you feel a little bit of a breeze. Winter becomes cold and the snow falls heavily in Japan. Feeling those 4 seasons, it's really almost inspiring and influences a lot of the music that I like and create. Aside from growing up in Tokyo and experiencing the weight of these seasons, it's the center of culture. There's so much diversity and influences that come into play, especially the fads and the new things that come our way, it all really influences my music and my creation.
**When did music come into play for you?**
To be honest, music has been truly with me since I was born. From what my mother tells me, since I was 6 months old I’d listen to music and my mood would be so much better. Music surrounded me all the time. My family members all sang a lot too. Whenever we had gatherings, there’d be times we’d be together and singing. There’s a lot of memories of music and singing in my family as a child. Especially when I felt sad or down at various times, music made me feel more positive and lifted up my emotions a lot. Music but really the singing portion, I was really drawn into it and it really lifted my spirits up. Since a very young age that I can't even remember, music and singing has been a part of my life.
**Did you listen to any American artists coming up?**
Yeah, I like a lot of U.S. artists. There's a wide variety of ranges. From the classic side, I'm definitely heavily influenced by Michael Jackson. More older generation artists would be someone like Tony Bennett and Andy Williams. Some of the more relevant artists are The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes, Troye Sivan, and of course Justin Beiber. Justin has been a strong influence, especially because of my relationship with Poo Bear,
**How did you meet Poo Bear?**
The meeting started when I was working on my first single in the U.S. called "Up," which features Wiz Khalifa and Sheppard. After the first song, my team and I moved on to working on the EP, so when we were looking for the producers and collaborators to work with, that’s when I met Poo Bear who worked on the Serenity EP with me. Here’s the thing about Poo Bear, it wasn't only the great music he was producing, but it was really the message and that energy we created. My goals I want to accomplish through music really is in a very big sense to make the world a better place, to bring positivity and to bring light to my listeners through my music. Poo Bear had a similar view in terms of pursuing and creating music in that way, him and I really connected on that level. That’s how we got close and produced music together.
**What did it mean to get Ty Dolla $ign’s verse? What was your reaction when you heard it?**
When I first heard Ty$’s verse, it was very shocking and such a great verse that he’d sent over. Overall I’d been recording, listening to the song, creating the song, editing just with my own vocals and never had Ty$’s verse, but Poo Bear had reached out to Ty$ and he immediately wanted to be on it. I always wanted the perfect feature on the song so as we were shopping and asking friends around, Ty$ had already written his part and sent it over to Poo Bear. The thing about Ty Dolla $ign being on it is obviously you have a rap part that's a lot faster, in comparison to my verse which is more melodic and very legato. Ty$’s verse isn't just about being fast, it also has a lot of melody. There's a melodic essence to his verse also. It's almost like two completely different styles, but there's a lot of similarities between the two of them as they are fused together. Both sides of the creation coming together really made the song go to the next level. It brought depth to the entire song completely.
It also ties into the message of the song. The song’s about trying to convey this message and this feeling that I have about communicating your emotions, to keep on addressing the message to the person, whether it be a lover or a friend, a family member or whoever it is. It's about trying and not giving up in conveying the message to the person that you want to reach. Throughout the song, how I sing then Ty$ sings, we go back and forth and merge at the end by doing the harmony. Him and I doing the chorus, that whole section and how the song develops, it almost shows what the song means. The two opposite spectrums, the two features, two vocals and people start separately but merge at the end. It represents how the message I'm trying to convey gets passed through to Ty$.
**What did it mean to link with Wiz Khalifa on "Up"? Being the first solo female Japanese artist to go Gold in the West is huge!**
I'm super grateful the song has been heard by so many different people around the world, especially the music video getting the play counts and listeners all over the world. To be able to achieve Gold status through the process of having a lot of people around the world listening to the song was very fun and I'm super grateful. To get the recognition was mind-blowing and very surprising also. What I really felt from here was this could be a good goal for the next people, for the next generation of kids aspiring to become musicians in Japan.
In general, looking outside of Japan is huge because Japan is so secluded. It's definitely a developed country, but it's a small country in comparison to the rest of the world. With my Gold rating and status, I was able to let the kids and the inspiring musicians in Japan know that to be able to reach the world isn't too far out of reach. I’d like to keep on doing what I do so that these kids and the next generation can follow my path. I’m super grateful to have Wiz and Sheppard to be on the record and together have this song.
**How would you describe your fashion sense?**
If I were to describe my style, what I wear every day, I tend to wear a lot of black and white clothes. I tend to be very simple and minimalistic in my style. I really like the stars and the moon in general so I like to collect items that have those motifs. Whether it's a collared shirt, pants, or a necklace, I always have a necklace. I don't have it on right now but the necklace I always have on usually has a star and a moon. Aside from that, I like to wear pants a lot rather than a skirt, have a sweater or t-shirt on and keep it really simple.
Definitely, my role model is Audrey Hepburn, I’m heavily influenced by her. I definitely like her classy style. It's very chic. It's very classic. She's very gorgeous, but also not too flashy. In some ways, it can be very conservative. I’m not trying to copy her in any sense, she's just my role model, but I try to incorporate her as my inspiration into what's more relevant in the current trend and style. I’d consider my style to be that mixture of the classic chicness and a little bit of that edge from the current styles.
**What are you most excited for next?**
We still have a lot of things planned. There may be a couple songs coming out this year. I want everyone to be on their toes, keep on the watch for my new sets of songs or the new surprises we have lined up for my fans.
**Anything else you want to let us know?**
I hope everyone will listen to "Show Me,” especially for the people who are feeling down or sad. Hopefully the song will lift their spirits up, even slightly. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I'm looking forward to meeting the fans and listeners.
.jpg)
