Kate Higgins, known for a variety of voices such as Sakura in Naruto’s English dub and Lissa from Fire Emblem Awakening, voices Mario’s original love interest, Pauline in Mario Odyssey. She also sang the English version of Jump Up Superstar.

In an interview with GameInformer, Higgins talked about that her road to singing Jump Up Superstar. It seemed basically more straightforward than expected.

How did the role of singing “Jump Up Superstar” come about? Did you audition for something mysterious and learn what it was later? Or did you have a good idea what it was early on?

Well, I was asked by my friends at Cup of Tea studio, who were doing all the voice recording, if I was interested in singing a song for a Nintendo video game. They recommended me to the client in Japan, so Japan had me audition basically by sending them some samples of my voice. I don’t know if other women were in the running or not, but fortunately they liked what i sent them so they said, “Yes! Let’s do it!”

I can’t remember when I learned the song was for Super Mario Odyssey. It may have been a few days before the actual recording session.

She also talked about the honour of being the first spoken voice for Pauline.

She doesn’t do much speaking in the game, but do you play Pauline’s in-game voice as well?

Yes I do! Apparently it’s a pretty big deal because she’s never spoken before. It’s really an honor, and exciting to give her a voice.

In the interview, Higgins also mentioned the support from the Nintendo team in Japan

Was anyone from Nintendo present when you recorded? Did they have any specific feedback for you?

Yes, some folks from Nintendo were there, as well as the big guys in Japan via Skype. They were so nice and thankful and made sure to tell me I was about to record something big that would make millions of people happy. And it seems like it is! Of Course, I don’t take all the credit for that. It’s such a good song. I really give props to the writers and producers.

Mario Odyssey is now out in digital and physical for all Switch fans. For fans who want some Jump Up Superstar, it is also available on iTunes. You can also read the full interview between GameInformer and Higgins here.