I have a bittersweet memory
associated with “The Black Eagle,”
which premiered at the 2021 ice show “LUXE.”
I had once been invited to an ice show
and sung on a cloth laid over the ice,
but I never dreamed
that the day would come when I would sing
while wearing skates myself.
My first challenge was “Hyoen 2019 — Like Moonlight” in 2019.
The singers and actors had two or three
private lessons with an instructor for the show.
“You’ll get better the more time you spend on the ice,”
I believed the words of my co-star, Kazuki Namioka,
and on my days off, I spent the entire day
at the ice rink’s public skating sessions,
skating from opening to closing.
With the center of gravity used in classical ballet,
I was prone to falling, so while retaining the best aspects of ballet,
I trained my body to adapt to the skating style’s center of gravity.
I fell over and over again,
and the large bruises on my knees
were such a beautiful color that I wanted to take pictures of them.
While the singers and actors worked hard at skating,
the skaters worked hard on their singing and acting.
The performance date was fast approaching.
The ice laid at Yokohama Arena
felt strangely warm,
and before I knew it, I stopped falling.
You realize it when you sing on the ice.
Just how much easier it is to sing on a non-slippery surface.
However, when the work on the ice suddenly stops,
my body seems to feel a bit strange for a moment,
and I even find myself wondering,
“Why isn’t this surface slippery?”
That is the frightening magic of the ice.
Following 2019, the 2021 ice show “LUXE”
marked my second time performing in it.
I know that holding it during the COVID-19 pandemic
was an incredibly difficult undertaking,
but no matter what happened to me,
it didn’t matter to me at all.
As long as my father’s illness was cured, nothing else mattered.
In every single moment, I kept praying for my father’s full recovery.
“Your fingers, your melody—you’re free now”
When I was offered the chance to write the theme song for “LUXE,”
I poured my heartfelt wish into this song—
that my father might be able to play the saxophone again.
Since I’d heard that Daisuke Takahashi would be skating to this song,
I included the character for “Dai” in the lyrics.
Daisuke Takahashi and Kana Muramoto
“Kanadai”
I watched the two of them—who had just started skating together at the time—
practice during breaks in their ice show training camp
from the glass-walled room on the floor above.
I could see their practice from the private room
where I was rehearsing my song.
I stopped what I was doing many times to watch over them.
The ice show producer had told me,
“This time, we’re using a non-slip floor!”
But far from a non-slip floor, there wasn’t even a floor.
I was suspended in the air. (Gondola)
As the singer of “Diamond,”
I sang while looking down on the two of them from above.
That was the staging for “Black Eagle.”
It was no different from how I usually watched them practice.
It was a production that had been loved by many audiences since its premiere,
and the two of them at Kanadai also loved the song.
My father and mother were happy too.
After “LUXE” ended, there was a time when I was working
to fulfill their request: “We want you to record ‘Black Eagle.’”
But the world was swallowed up by COVID-19,
and in the end, that opportunity vanished.
The reason my heart aches when I hear “Black Eagle”
is because of the regret that I couldn’t make their wish come true.
Speaking of “Black Eagle” and “rainbows,” I have a strange experience to share.
This was back before I received the offer for “The MELT” in 2026.
While working in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture,
as soon as I arrived at the Bikan Historical Quarter,
a rainbow appeared right before my eyes.
It was such a huge, huge rainbow
that I felt as if it were saying, “Welcome.”
After that, the rainbow’s welcome
continued in a variety of places,
in a way that was almost uncanny.
This happened during a trip to Hokkaido
that my mother and I took together,
visiting Sapporo, Otaru, Lake Toya, and Hakodate.
As we retraced memories of my father
and looked out at the lake from a hotel
with a panoramic view of Lake Toya and Uchiura Bay,
a huge rainbow appeared.
It happened again and again during the three days we stayed there.
And without fail, a large black bird would fly by.
Whenever I spoke of my father, my glasses case—which shouldn’t have moved—
would make a clicking sound.
On the day we headed from Lake Toya to Hakodate,
after saying our goodbyes and expressing our gratitude
to the staff at the Windsor Hotel where we were staying,
the butler presented us with a photograph.
“I took this photo hoping to show you both
the Pacific Ocean stretching out beneath a beautiful blue sky,
and in my field of view,
a bird appeared, flying freely and happily
ahead of us toward Hakodate.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt
that this must have been Makoto-sama.”
A few months later in Kyoto,
while walking through the city with my mother and talking about my father,
there was a bird that followed us the whole time.
Near a gap in the shopping arcade,
the bird circled around.
Looking closely, I saw it was a black eagle.
A few days after that series of experiences,
I received an offer for “The MELT.”
The producer said,
“I’d like you to perform ‘Black Eagle’ again.
And I really want you to sing ‘Beyond the Rainbow.’”
Sooooo scary!
Joking aside,
thanks to a series of such coincidences,
I was successfully invited to “The MELT.”
So...
How did you like “Black Eagle” after five years?
Just like last time, the concept involved being suspended in mid-air,
but this time, surprisingly, the choreography had me
skating alongside Kanadai.
Kanadai has been amazing since five years ago,
but I think this was an ice dance performance
marked by even more mature skills, as well as a deep bond and trust.
As for me,
it was a complete departure from the sparkling white costume
I wore five years ago as the singer in “Diamond.”
The color changed to black, and I had eagle-like wings on my shoulders.
The punchline—or rather, the landing—was:
“The eagle was actually me (^_−)−☆”
I’m actually quite fond of that costume.
If they want me to,
I’ll record it anytime.
And if there’s ever
another chance to perform this again in the future,
I’m sure I’ll be the one getting lifted. The End
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣
Ice Show
“The MELT -Cross of Roots-”
M16 “Black Eagle”
Daisuke Takahashi, Kana Muramoto × Ayaka Hirahara
Choreography: Daisuke Takahashi, Kana Muramoto
During the warm-up scene—Kana and I were...doing a final check of the choreography
for the group dance in the opening number, "LUXE"! 
#TheMELTMomentsYouMightMiss: My Favorite Details
Personally, this was such a blissful moment for me. 
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), but I'm very intrigued to see the program.
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I’ve absorbed from Kana-chan 
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