Persona 3 Reload is right around the corner and music lovers are in for a treat. But who’s the new singer doing the vocals for Persona 3‘s old and new songs?
Remaking a classic such as Persona 3 is a hard task to tackle. Though, as Metacritic shows, the reception for Persona 3 Reload is amazing, coming in at 89. One thing that many returning players will notice is that the singer, Azumi Takahashi, isn’t the one from the original. So who is she and what can we expect?
To give some context, the original singer in Persona 3 was Yumi Kawamura. Her cadence and range matched the genre-blend of hip-hop, pop, and jazz. Many of her performances have become fan favorites, in particular, “Burn My Dread“, the opening theme for Persona 3 (which ranked 3rd in my Best Persona Opening Movies list).
While she still works in the business (and did the openers for the Japanese Persona 3 films I just wrote about), she’s absent from the remake. No official reason was given for this, but one can assume that the development team wanted to truly remake the 2006 classic (which included the cast). So, this brings us to our new singer, Azumi Takahashi.
It’s Going Down Now
Azumi Takahashi is a Japanese singer who’s a fairly new face in the music industry. She rose to stardom by winning The Apollo Amateur Night, a famous talent contest held in New York’s historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. Previous winners include Academy Award-winning singer-songwriter H.E.R and Grammy winner and pop icon Ne-yo. Her musical range goes from R&B to soul and more, which fits right into Persona 3‘s themes. And, as expected, she’s doing an amazing job, especially with the newer songs like “Color Your Night” and the new opening song “Full Moon, Full Life“.
However, there’s still one musician on Reload who remains from the original: Lotus Juice. The rapper/singer is a staple of early Persona games, specifically Persona 3. He’s done vocals (mostly raps) for songs like “Mass Destruction“, “Unbreakable Tie“, and “Deep Breath, Deep Breath“. Lyric-wise, he wrote songs for Persona 5 Royal like “Take Over” and “I Believe“. Bringing Lotus Juice back is a win for classic fans and it seems he’ll play a big role in Reload‘s soundtrack.
Persona 3 Reload launches on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass on February 2. If you want to know more about the game, check out our guide on everything you need to know here.
