Hotzmic - Tsunku's Daughter?!

[Shoujo Q]

Tsunku released another Rhythm Heaven game recently. And a hot topic is a little girl with the name, Hotzmic. She's 6 years old and fluent in English.
 
Leave it to 2ch to NOT let well enough alone and speculation started flying that it was in fact Tsunku's daughter. 

More in depth info and other pictures here.
 
Fast foward to today and, Nikkan Sports did some digging and the rumors are true.
Translation from 910
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
 
◆The girl is the daughter of Tsunku,◆
<div>Sports paper Nikkan Sports announced. </div>
<div>There was the rumor but finally it's announced. </div>
<div>"Hotzmic I'm a lady now" is a song of the newest Nintendo game "Rhythm Heaven (tengoku)" which Tsnku has produced since 2006.</div>
<div>His daughter recorded the song in January.</div>
<div>The shooting took place in this spring.</div>
<div>In 16th, The office of Tsunku uploaded the MV on their H!P.</div>
<div>According to a staff , "Tsunku wanna make the song with the voice of child girl. He asked her to sing it once. It had a good reputations. It's become the product "</div>
<div>But Tsunku office and Nintendo refuse to talk about her,</div>
<div>「We don't wanna talk about the details of her」</div>
<div>Tsunku seems to be satisfied.</div>
<div>He praise her singing voice </div>
<div>"Her voice has pleasantly sustain , she has rich rhythm sense"</div>
</blockquote>
 
MV for I'm a Lady Now by Hotzmic.
Interview with Hotzmic.
 

[TicTacAnyone]

Honestly I never would've expected Tsunku's daughter to be fluent in English.

[momoirosaya]

I saw this a while ago and was surprised she has native sounding English. Like, can Tsunku even speak English?? Obviously they've been sending her to language school since a young age. Smart move though.

[Farrah]

I always felt like Tsunku must at least have an interest in English based off the English in H!P songs generally being much better than what you usually run into in jpop.  So, somehow, the idea of him having his children learn English doesn't surprise me much.
 
She's a cute kid but I have to say it felt a little uncomfortable hearing a little kid singing some of those lyrics LOL.  I'm happy to hear Tsunku and the company aren't really willing to say much about her - that tells me he isn't being all stage parent-y or anything.

[Anderei]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Saya" data-cid="189024" data-time="1434942045">
I saw this a while ago and was surprised she has native sounding English. Like, can Tsunku even speak English?? Obviously they've been sending her to language school since a young age. Smart move though.</blockquote>


He can't. He uses a dictionary for the English he puts in songs.

[kitaoji]

Well, I have to say that her english is even better than Nonaka's. Regardless of whether it's Tsunku or not, mad props for him for getting her to speak English. I can't imagine there to be many opportunities for her to practice.  
 
 
 

[momoirosaya]

^The article said she goes to an international private school.


And yeah, her accent is more natural than Nonaka's despite having never lived abroad.

[Meikochi]

[quote="Farrah"]
She's a cute kid but I have to say it felt a little uncomfortable hearing a little kid singing some of those lyrics LOL.  I'm happy to hear Tsunku and the company aren't really willing to say much about her - that tells me he isn't being all stage parent-y or anything.
[/quote]
 
I feel the same as you do. I also think it's good that we don't get to see her face clearly.
The song is ok and I like her voice.

[Madara]

Wow. That's a difficult song, musically, for a six-year old. But she pulled it off. I want to hear an album, with both English and Japanese songs, after her voice has changed in 9 or 10 years.
 
One thing I don't get: Hotzmic.  Is that her real name? How do you pronounce it? "Hots Mike"? Or "Ho-tu-zu-mi-ku"? And I'm guessing "Katzmic," who comes in at the end of the video, is her sister?

[Meikochi]

[quote="Madara"]
One thing I don't get: Hotzmic.  Is that her real name? How do you pronounce it? "Hots Mike"? Or "Ho-tu-zu-mi-ku"? And I'm guessing "Katzmic," who comes in at the end of the video, is her sister?
[/quote]
 
Since she is Tsunku's daughter, her real name should be Terada (Tsunku's family name) something. Hotzmic is just a "pen name" and I assume it may be pronounced as you said (assuming "Mic" stands for "microphone").
Her sister should be like 4 so I'm not sure if Katzmic is her sister.
 
 
 
I just watched the interview, her english is definitely good (and that pronounciation, wow !)

 

[momoirosaya]

It's pronounced in Japanese like Hotsumikku.


I wonder if the first character of her name is "Ho" though. Like Hotaru, Honoka, etc.

[Madara]

[quote="Meikochi"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Madara" data-cid="189089" data-time="1435072071">
<div>
One thing I don't get: Hotzmic.  Is that her real name? How do you pronounce it? "Hots Mike"? Or "Ho-tu-zu-mi-ku"? And I'm guessing "Katzmic," who comes in at the end of the video, is her sister?
[/quote]
 
Since she is Tsunku's daughter, her real name should be Terada (Tsunku's family name) something. Hotzmic is just a "pen name" and I assume it may be pronounced as you said (assuming "Mic" stands for "microphone").
Her sister should be like 4 so I'm not sure if Katzmic is her sister.
 
 
 
I just watched the interview, her english is definitely good (and that pronounciation, wow !)

 
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
The girl at the end of the video could be just four years old. That looked right to me.
 
And, yes, Hotzmic's pronunciation was pretty damned good. She spoke English with something of an American accent. I wonder if her teacher is American.

[showraniy]

[quote="Shoujo Q"]MV for I'm a Lady Now by Hotzmic.
Interview with Hotzmic.
[/quote]
 
Awwwww. She's so freaking adorable! It's really weird 'cause it seems like her spoken English in the interview is fluent, but she stumbles a few times with pronunciation in the song itself. Of course, she's still leagues better than even some native English speakers her age, especially considering how young she is to be so fluent with a second language!
 
And yeah, I think Katzmic could've been her sister, since she looked about right height-wise.
 
Oh, and wtf Tsunku for saying you envisioned a child singing this song. There's nothing all that inappropriate in there other than that dance move at 1:07 and the fact that a 6 year-old is talking about love in general (/old fart), but even just the title of "I'm a Lady Now" on a 6 year-old is just... not computing.

[star]

I can somewhat understand him sayin he imagined a hold signing this. It's like children who demand to be treated like adults. I can also see it as in the little crushes that kids get and they are quite naive about them. That's not to say I really agree with her singing about it, but either way she did a good job. I'd imagine her English teacher is probably American because she has a tendency to say "like" as a filler in the interview. To my knowledge, that is something a lot of Americans do, myself included. I don't really know that someone would specifically teach her to use it but that it just got picked up in conversation.

[aine]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Star" data-cid="189117" data-time="1435116276">I can somewhat understand him sayin he imagined a hold signing this. It's like children who demand to be treated like adults. I can also see it as in the little crushes that kids get and they are quite naive about them.</blockquote>
That's basically the impression I got from it. Kinda like a little girl shuffling around the house in her mum's pumps and pretending to be a grown up. I don't see it as inappropriate, just a cute childish thing to do. Also Rhythm Heaven songs were always this kind of mix between cute and quirky so I think it matches the style of the game perfectly.


<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Star" data-cid="189117" data-time="1435116276">I'd imagine her English teacher is probably American because she has a tendency to say "like" as a filler in the interview. To my knowledge, that is something a lot of Americans do, myself included. I don't really know that someone would specifically teach her to use it but that it just got picked up in conversation.</blockquote>
Yeah, she does sound like a natural bilingual child, which is great for her. But she has to be immersed in English-speaking environment to pick up all those nuances, I doubt any number of hours of tutoring could have gotten her to this level. Whoever is looking after this aspect of her upbringing is doing a damn fine job there.

[yuzuriha]

Yeah, I took it as a little girl playing dress up.  And the part where Katzmic ran up to her at the end was my favorite part how cute was that.

[Pi Mako]

Can't stop listening to this song.  Whyyyyyyyyy.  And wow, does she look like Tsunku.  Shoot, who needs to see her whole face? Just looks at her mouth while she sings during the profile shots.  It's identical to Tsunku's.  Cute voice and very impressive that she sings/speaks nearly flawless English!

[aisasami]

[quote="aine"]
 


Yeah, she does sound like a natural bilingual child, which is great for her. But she has to be immersed in English-speaking environment to pick up all those nuances, I doubt any number of hours of tutoring could have gotten her to this level. Whoever is looking after this aspect of her upbringing is doing a damn fine job there.
 
[/quote]
 
I work at one of these "private international schools" where most kids there can hold a decent conversation with you in English by age 4 or 5. I know a kid who can sass back in English like how American kids sass back. You just need the money and the interest, which Tsunku has a lot of both. 
 
I wouldn't be surprised if Tsunku took her along when those H!P groups went overseas, took the family to international trips, made her memorize the entire Beatles discography, exposed her to Western media, and/or hired a private English coach for this song. He got the money, anything is possible.