In this series of articles, we will be talking about Ikuta Erina’s graduation, who is set to graduate on the 8th of July with “Morning Musume ‘25 Concert Tour Haru Mighty Magic DX ~Ikuta Erina wo Miokutte~” held at Nippon Budokan. In this first article, she will be talking about her childhood when she was fascinated by idols and talents, about the time she joined Morning Musume, the graduations of senpai and the turbulent times that lead to her becoming the sub-leader.
Memories of becoming a Morning Musume member, and meeting of the fellow generation members
──You used to be part of an agency back when you lived in Fukuoka. Do you have any memories about that?
I was scouted when I was just walking around in the Tenjin area, and joined the agency. I think it was around the time I was in the 4th grade of elementary school. After joining, I did participate in a few fashion shows, but I wasn’t that active, so it’s not like I had much experience. But my agency has always been very kind to me. When I decided to audition for Morning Musume, they checked if it was okay for me to do so since I already belonged to their agency. When I decided to part ways during the audition time, they told me I could always come back if there were troubles or if I failed the audition.
──Have you always been interested in the entertainment industry?
Yes! When I was in elementary school, I used to look up to Suzanne-san, and when I went to a handshake event she asked me “Why don’t you try it out?”. I loved idols, but I didn’t really have the image of me becoming one, if anything I just wanted to become a talent.
──Please tell us how you found out about and came to like Hello! Project and Morning Musume.
I wasn’t really aware of Hello! Project, but when I was little, I liked Minimoni and Matsuura Aya, like many others of my generation. I used to collect Matsuura Aya’s pink monkey cards, and I also liked the Minimoni games and played them a lot. I still have a video of me and my childhood friend dancing together on “Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~” and I remember we said to each other we wanted to join Morning Musume together in the future. In my elementary school graduation album, I also wrote “I want to become a Morning Musume member”. Actually, that same friend came to see the concert from my graduation tour in Fukuoka (on the 25th of May).
──When did your desire to become a Morning Musume member become firm?
Before I auditioned, I thought “I won’t make it”, but before I knew it, I made it to the training camp part. So when I was one of the remaining 6 participants, I had a strong feeling that I absolutely wanted to pass. In the end I was happy that I passed, but at the same time I felt strange about it. So I asked Tsunku-san “Why did I pass the audition?”. He told me “You can quit now and start over if you’d like” which also left a big impression on me (laughs).
──Are there any other memorable moments from during the audition?
I was scared to appear in front of the judges and often wondered what to do. But then I changed my mind and tried a strategy of targeting one judge I thought would be the right choice for me. If you can leave a strong impression on even one person, your chances of being chosen might increase. Of course there is a bit of luck involved too, but I personally recommend this strategy to anyone auditioning in the future (laughs).
I thought I was prepared for the training camp to some extent, but it turned out to be very tough. Later on the teachers and staff told me “We knew you came from the general public so you couldn’t suddenly learn how to sing and dance, but we were intentionally strict with you” and I felt a bit relieved about that. During the audition, I also met Takaki Yumi from LinQ, who is still a good friend of mine, and that was also a big event for me personally. Even before my debut, having like-minded people of the same age around me, including my childhood friend Motomura Aoi, who all came to be idols for a long time, gave me a lot of encouragement in my own activities as well.
──After passing the audition, you changed your hair from long to medium for the unveiling of the 9th generation at “Hello! Project 2011 WINTER ~Kangei Shinsen Matsuri~”. Tsunku was inspired by that situation to write the song “Otome no Timing”, and later wrote on his blog it was amazing and quite shocking you called your dad about this and not your mom.
Actually, there’s a bit of a backstory to this. To be honest, I didn’t want to cut my hair. So when I wanted to call my family to check about this, I knew my mom would definitely be okay with it, so I called my dad hoping he would put a stop to it. But he immediately replied saying “It’s okay” (laughs). Tsunku-san said he was impressed that I called my dad instead of my mom, saying “She must be a girl who was raised with love from her family”. In fact, my family is pretty close, so things like this happen.
There is one more thing I can talk about now, I was personally very scared to go on stage for the unveiling. I went to an AKB48 handshake event in my hometown and I was filmed and appeared on TV, and my behaviour was criticized online.
──At that time, unlike now, there was an atmosphere where idols and fans from different agencies didn’t really interact between each other.
I have always loved idols and cute girls. I went to an AKB48 handshake event with the same feelings I had as with Suzanne, but I never thought it would cause such a problem, so it was a huge shock to me at the time. The announcement of the 9th generation was made in front of an audience, so I was really worried about whether everyone would accept me. I remember thinking I had to keep my cool, but inside I felt very upset. In the end, I was given a very warm welcome by the fans and made it onto stage without problems, but then I was surprised again when Fukumura Mizuki was called to come down on stage as a surprise addition.
──Please also tell us about your first impression of the three other generation members.
Suzuki: I met Kanon-chan for the first time in the 3rd round of the auditions. I thought “She’s a cute girl” so I went with my mother to talk to her, and she was very friendly. So I was very happy when I found out we were both going to the training camp. We were supposed to meet the other members for the first time after passing the audition, but when I saw Kanon-chan there, I was so happy that I blurted out “Kanon-chan!” without thinking.
Sayashi: I met Riho for the first time at the training camp, and I got the impression that she was stoic and didn’t talk much to anyone. She’s a really good dancer, and was often in the middle during lessons, so I watched her thinking “This girl will definitely pass”.
I met Mizuki for the first time on stage, and I was so nervous that my mind went blank, so to be honest, I don’t have many memories about it. The moment Mizuki’s name was called, the venue went crazy and it seemed like everyone knew who she was, but the three of us didn’t really know, so we were like “... Huh?”.
──In the non-no graduation web series interview with Fukumura-san, she talked about the moment you asked her “Can I call you Mizuki?”. Do you remember that moment?
Someone from the agency had told me “Fukumura comes from the Hello! Project Egg program (now called Kenshuusei), but from now on, you should treat each other as classmates”. The other two members were younger, so I felt they were having trouble on how to speak to Mizuki. So I thought I had to step in there, and that’s how I talked to her.
──At what point did you realize you became a member of Morning Musume?
I realized it when I went to school after the announcement had been made. I got so many text messages the day it was announced. I had only told one friend I was auditioning, so maybe a lot of people were surprised when they suddenly found out. I went back and forth between Fukuoka and Tokyo for a while, and after a while I moved to Tokyo for real. I had good friends I spent a lot of time with at the junior high school I went to, so I felt really lonely when I changed schools. Actually one of them suddenly said to me about 3 years after I passed, “Actually I always liked Hello! Project. I was watching the audition all the time.”. She didn’t tell me anything during the auditions or after I passed. I was surprised, but I felt happy to hear that.
The harshness of Morning Musume when she first joined
──Since joining, you must have had a hectic time with the first 9th generation event, your first tour and your first single all in one month. Was it difficult?
Nowadays, when joining the group, there is a certain period of time decided to learn Morning Musume songs. But in our case, we were suddenly told we would be dancing to “Tomo” in two days, and we had to practice hard. A week later, we were asked to do a pantomime at a fan club event. I thought “If it’s just mime, I suppose we can do it!” but then we started rehearsing for the spring tour and had extremely tough days (laughs). It’s quite a challenge for a group of elementary and junior high school students, including inexperienced members, to master 30 songs in just two or three months and perform together with senpai on stage, right? I think it was extremely difficult not only for us, but also for our senpai and the staff who supported us. So I think from that kind of experience the system we have today was developed (laughs).
──How was the first tour “Concert Tour 2011 Haru Shin Souseiki Fantasy DX ~9ki Member wo Mukaete~” after all that hard training?
During rehearsals, I was constantly getting told off every day, and the situation was so chaotic that I gradually didn’t even understand why they were so upset with me. In the midst of all this, the Great East Japan Earthquake happened as well. I was at school at the time, but my manager came to pick me up and I remember walking home together. Due to the effect of the earthquake, the March concerts were all cancelled, and we started the tour with the Omiya concert in April. The Omiya concert was also interrupted by aftershocks, and many other things happened. The shock of the earthquake that happened was huge, those were very emotional and turbulent days.
After all, the most memorable experience of my career is the first tour. Every time we got scolded during practice or rehearsal, our managers told us to discuss the issue with all of the 9th generation members, so we had a lot of discussions. Those times were certainly important, but if I could go back to those times, I would tell myself “You should wrap up the discussion and go home early to make time to properly memorize the choreography and lyrics” (laughs). I cried everyday during rehearsals, but once the tour actually started, I was really happy to see the number of fans holding penlights in my member color increase. I’ve had opportunities before to meet my fans, but during the tour there were so many of them, it was the first time I realized I have fans. There were still many things I didn’t understand during this tour, but I felt happy, joyful… and so many other emotions, I felt like I gained a lot from it.
──So those emotions have been created as a result of having gone through a difficult time.
That’s right. But at the time, the policy was that even if you practiced hard, if you weren’t ready, you couldn’t perform it on stage. So there were quite a few songs I couldn’t perform. It’s not that I was shocked by it, but I think it was inevitable because I was in a state where I didn’t fully understand what I exactly wasn’t able to do.
──Ikuta-san, as you joined as someone from the general public, we imagine you had a lot of difficulties. Please tell us about anything you particularly worked hard on, or any changes you noticed within yourself.
If I had taken even one day off, I would have not been able to keep up, so I just tried not to take a break. I mentioned that I had several emotions appearing during my first spring tour, so it was around this time that I wanted to explore Morning Musume more strongly. Up until that time, I had been watching live videos of other artists and idols, but starting from then, for about two or three years, I spent my time watching Morning Musume videos only. The group has such a long history and there was so much to learn that I didn’t have time to watch anything else.
──What Morning Musume videos did you watch frequently?
I used to watch a lot of footage from the Platinum Era when Takahashi Ai was the leader. In our current tour, “Morning Musume ‘25 Concert Tour Haru ~Mighty Magic”, we are opening with “I’m Lucky Girl”. This is a homage to the performance I saw on the day I was announced as a member - the performance of the five Morning Musume members at the time: Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa, Michishige Sayumi, Tanaka Reina and Mitsui Aika. The fans noticed right away, which I thought was amazing (laughs). I also really like the dresses we had made for the current tour as a homage to “Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai”.
──Going back to when you first joined, after your first spring tour you were appointed as an Oha Girl, a daily assistant on the TV program “Oha Suta”. Was it difficult juggling your studies, your work with Morning Musume and your solo activities all at the same time in an unfamiliar environment?
I always loved “Oha Suta” and used to watch it often. I also loved “Oha Girl Maple”, with the former S/mileage member Ogawa Saki, so when I was told I’d be able to audition for the show, I was jumping up and down with joy. I wasn’t told the details, but I really wanted to be selected, so I showed off my geeky knowledge of Oha Suta at the audition. However, what ended up getting me selected was when I said “I love Oha Suta!” at the end of the interview.
By the way, I was told to keep my passing a secret from the other members, so during the Hawaii tour that year, I secretly practiced with the Oha Girl batton in my manager’s room. And as soon as I became an Oha Girl, rehearsals for the tour started, and at the same time I also had events for the new Oha Suta song. I couldn’t attend the rehearsals for Oha Suta at all, and I couldn’t keep up with Morning Musume either, so I was getting scolded a lot. It was very hard, but I was hardly ever scolded at the set of Oha Suta (laughs), so that was a sort of healing time for me. I was going to school at the time as well, and even now I realize I had such a crazy schedule, but it seemed like that was the norm, so I just did my best even when I got scolded.
──Since joining the group, the members of the 9th generation have been exchanging messages with the producer Tsunku. Is there any story that stands out in your memory?
At first I would send him messages about every day, but among us four I think I was the first one to stop doing that (laughs). Tsunku-san once wrote in the liner notes “Ikuta doesn’t really suck up to anyone”, so I think this situation showed him that. I was told that we could message him about anything, but when I think about it now, I only really sent him things that I rather shouldn’t have, such as things I didn’t like about today’s practice or things I didn’t do well (laughs). Of course I knew from the reactions of other adults around me that Tsunku-san is an amazing person, but it didn’t seem real to me, and at the time I just felt like “I’m exchanging messages with a celebrity!”.
──What was your relationship with the other 9th generation members like when you were going through such big changes?
Among us, Mizuki was the one who was taking care of everything, while Riho and Kanon would often have small fights and I was just watching them. Even now it isn’t much different (laughs). We never saw each other as rivals. We were four completely different people, and I think that’s why we fit into the atmosphere of Morning Musume at the time.
The complicated relationship with her first kouhai, and the strengths she honed through variety
──The 9th generation was the beginning for creating a new image for Morning Musume, were you aware of this yourself?
Of course we couldn’t really see it that way ourselves, but people who had been fans for a long time (back then) often told us “It feels like a new era has arrived”. I also remember being very happy when the senpai told us they were glad we joined the group. But during our first spring tour, the 10th generation auditions were announced. From then on, the atmosphere among us 9th generation members became gloomy, like “Maybe we’re not needed anymore”. Our manager had told us beforehand to not get discouraged as the 10th generation auditions had already been decided during the time the 9th generation audition was held. But we were all young at the time and constantly being scolded, so given the situation we could only think about it in a negative way.
──So what did it feel like when the 10th generation joined?
The senpai and staff had just experienced handling children with the 9th generation (laughs) so they seemed very tolerant towards the 10th generation. In fact, I don’t think the 10th generation got scolded at all compared to us. Perhaps it was because we told them what to be aware of which they could get scolded for.
──When the 10th generation joined, Takahashi Ai who was the leader at the time, also graduated and this marked a big change in the group.
Yes. As soon as we joined, our manager told us “Don’t expect the senpai to stay around forever”.
──As 9th generation, you quickly got kouhai members, so your time as the newest members was rather short.
That’s right. But on the other hand, we were often grouped together with the 10th generation. Recently, Sakurai Rio from the 16th generation was in a similar situation. When it was decided we would be getting a 17th generation, I told her in advance there is a short span until kouhai members will join, so you might often get put together as one. And because I personally had that experience, I try to deal with both Sakurai Rio and the 17th generation separately. Even if I make the same suggestion to both, I talk to them separately.
──As Fukumura-san mentioned before, the 9th and 10th generation had a complicated relationship due to their close age.
Harunan and Ayumi-chan are older than me, so it was strange to hear them use honorifics with me. Morning Musume decides on senpai and kouhai based on order of joining, so even if there was only a six-month difference, our manager said we should make the hierarchy clear. But I think outsiders probably would think “There’s only a six-month difference, and they’re older, so why would they need to use honorifics?”. It’s not that anyone is in the wrong, but we were always afraid that we might be seen as rude depending on how you look at it. And MaaDuu were only children after all! There was also an incident where Satou-chan left her nail clippings in the company car, got totally scolded for it, and all of 9th and 10th generation had to take the responsibility for it as a group and we weren’t allowed to ride the car to the venue anymore (laughs). Among the 9th generation we thought “Why we as well?”, we couldn’t really say it out loud, so those small incidents happened often.
──It seems like you were appearing on a lot of variety shows around this time. Everyone, including the new members, seemed to be really pushing forward, but what was that like?
In the past, when we had work in media, our managers would get mad if we didn’t speak at least three times. So I think that’s where we developed that kind of pushing forward spirit. Even now, I try to encourage our kouhai, saying things like “Let’s each try to speak once today” or “When you have jobs outside the office, if you don’t talk, you won’t make any headlines”. I think there is meaning in speaking up on the spot, and there may be people who want you to speak up regardless of whether it is interesting or not. I make a distinction between what should be said and what should not be said based on what I have learned through my own experience, and I would like to share what I feel is meaningful to the kouhai as much as possible.
──Ikuta-san had the image of someone who uses magic on variety shows, but is that something you came up with yourself?
I did come up with it myself. It was an idea that came out of nowhere, like “I have to make them like me, what would be good to use… I have to make it interesting… What about magic!”. The response to it turned out bigger than I expected. In fact, I was invited to many programs such as “Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!”. The staff gave me a lot of guidance for the part where I would repeat “I’m Ikuta Erina, aiming to be the number one idol in the world”, and Okamura Takashi-san made fun of it. As well, Yuusuke-san declared himself to be a fan of mine. This led to me being able to appear on “Pussuma”, but not only solo, even with the group. And he would always favor me (laughs). I met Kusanagi Tsuyoshi-san at the FNS Musical Festival the day after we went squid fishing for “Pussuma”, and was asked “Eripon! Are you okay after yesterday? Wasn’t it cold? Haven’t you catched a cold?”. I went to a SMAP concert with my mother when I was about 3 years old, so I was deeply moved I had the opportunity to work with him. At the time, many people learned about me through these shows, and even other girls I became friends with later told me they had a strong impression of me, talking about using magic and all (laughs).
──We have the impression you were always the one getting picked on in media, did you ever find that difficult?
Once I understood that was kind of my role, it wasn’t really hard at all. About half a year after I joined, Michishige-san teasingly skipped over me when asked what she thought of the 9th generation, just saying “That’s it”. I started crying, but my manager had told me I really couldn’t cry about it. But I wasn't crying because I was teased, it was because I created a situation where I couldn't respond well and people around me were trying to support me, and I ended up in a position where people were worried about me. So if there is anyone who thinks it was because I was teased by Michishige-san, that is not true at all! But this incident did make me understand my role in variety shows.
Remembering my own experiences, I try to ask my kouhai "What do you want to work hard on first?" when they join the group. If someone says "variety shows and talking", we can do that, and if someone says "I'm not good at talking," we can feature them in other areas they’re good at. There are things I can and can't do, but I'd like to support them as much as possible in the areas they want to work hard on.
The experience of turning a crisis into an opportunity, and the changes she felt after becoming top senpai
──Ikuta-san has the image of someone who turns adversity into opportunity. For example, in "One・Two・Three" you only had one singing part, "Ru", but you took advantage of that and made it into a conversation piece.
I was quite shocked when I got zero singing parts in "Only you", so I was honestly grateful that I was even given that small "Ru" part in "One・Two・Three". However, since it's in the second verse of the song, I knew it would be cut a lot during lives. So I thought about how to make this situation more interesting, and started saying things like "The other members get to sing a lot, but I only have that "Ru" part in the second verse of the song, so I can't even show it on TV!". Whenever I had the chance, I would bring it up. People really found it amusing, so this one time we appeared on "Kanjam Zenpennen Show" (now called Eight Jam), Yokoyama You-san and Murakami Shingo-san sympathized with me saying "I understand how you feel!". The other members also got on board with it, so it felt like everyone around us made it more exciting as well. During my last tour we're holding now, I thought it was a must to sing the "Ru" part in "One・Two・Three", so I asked to include it in the setlist. But because I use in-ear monitors, I couldn't really hear the reactions from the audience. So when I asked the staff at the end of the first day "How were the reactions?", I was relieved when they said "They were the most excited!" (laughs).
──It was also impressive that your member color changed midway through the group. At first it was purple.
Actually, when I was given purple, I didn't really like or dislike it. But before I knew it, I came to love it. Later, my member color changed to yellow-green, but even after the change I still see fans bringing along purple goods which genuinely makes me happy. When I occasionally wear purple costumes, fans seem to be happy about it, so I guess it was a color that suited me well.
──We're sure this story is already well-known with the fans, but can you tell us how you came to inherit the yellow-green member color from Niigaki-san?
I just simply love Niigaki-san. When I first joined, we had a regular senpai-kouhai relationship, but as I watched Niigaki-san's attitude towards her work and her cool acting on stage, my feelings for her grew and grew, and before I knew it I became a huge fan. Even though we are members of the same group, I collect Niigaki-san's goods and even had a keychain with her autograph on my cellphone. I once asked the agency if I could join her fanclub tour. All of this is documented in the DVD magazine "Ikuta Erina ga 5 Gousha ni Niigaki Risa Fan Club Tour in Shizuoka", and during this time Niigaki-san told me "I would like to give the yellow-green member color to Ikuta (after I graduate)". And our manager at the time encouraged the idea saying "When a new member joins, there's a chance they'll end up with yellow-green, so you should change it before that happens". So my member color changed from purple to yellow-green.
──It was around this time that your hobby of golf turned into a job as well.
That's right. There was this time we decided to freshen up the skills listed for the 9th and 10th generation members, and when I told them "I"m good at golf!" they said "Show us how good you are". So I went to a driving range with a staff member and they said "You can really play golf!". From that time on I started getting golf-related jobs. Thanks to golf, I have had the opportunity to work and regularly meet with great senpai in the entertainment industry such as Sakai Masaaki-san, Kurita Kanichi-san, Kanou Mika-san, Matsuoka Mitsuru-san, ... I have also been a model for BEAMS GOLF. I was even given the opportunity to get my own golf show "Ikuta Erina no VS Golf". It has been airing since 2018 and has been going on for 7 years, so I am truly grateful for everything that has happened.
──Was there anything you gained from having your own show and being the titular character?
I learned how to interact with people. I often welcomed guests who were active in fields I had never been involved in before, or with whom I was working together for the first time, so I was always thinking about how I could speak well. I felt comfortable because I was hosting the show with Higuchi-kun, but I also felt that I had to do things myself as it was my show. So gradually, I started asking about people I wanted to invite as guests.
──While you had a fulfilling outside job, there were years when you were absent from the Engeki Joshi-bu stage productions. Was there a division of job responsibilities in the group at that time?
The roles were divided in the way that the members who weren't cast would be doing outside work instead. I think was considered a member of the variety team. There may have been members who were dissatisfied with that sort of division, but I really enjoyed appearing on variety shows, so I took the fact that I wasn't performing on stage very positively.
──We get the impression Ikuta-san has been making headlines recently with some fan service, such as allowing fans to take high-quality 2shot cheki's at fan events. We'd also like to hear about your interactions with fans.
When it comes to the cheki sessions, my priority is to look cute (laughs), so I try to tell the staff the best angle and distance to take the photo at. That way the fan next to me can look good as well. And because they came all the way to the venue, I try to keep the distance as close as possible without getting too close, while still following the rules (laughs).
──Are there any memorable moments from the fan events?
At first, I was just so happy to have people come to my booth, and I expressed my gratitude to each and every fan very loudly. But one day, I kind of felt a bit more rebellious, and it really came out on the surface. Suddenly the number of people coming to my booth really decreased, and I was shocked about it and couldn't really change my feelings about it for a while... I'm really sorry for the fans who came to see me during that time. But when I was able to interact with fans who wore the same things I liked, danced with me at concerts, I realized again how amazing it is they try so hard to like something they didn't know before just "they like Eripon". The regret about my behavior I felt made me think hard about how I could make the people who come to our concerts happy. From there, I went through a process of trial and error, and recently, I'm very grateful to say that more and more people are saying the fan events are very satisfying to them.
──A few years after you joined, the ZDA (National Simultaneous Handshake Events) started. It was an innovative idea to take charge of a handshake event in one city by yourself, but did you ever feel any pressure?
Besides the regular fans, local people often participate casually in these as well, which I think is the best part about it. But there is always a lot of pressure to sell out the event. So the presence of the "usual" fans who do all events is very important and a big help. It was a huge relief in my heart. But to be honest, when we do these events, I prefer going with multiple members so I don't have to do it all by myself (laughs).
──In the spring of 2014, then-leader Michishige Sayumi announced her graduation for the fall tour the same year, and it was decided that the 9th generation would become the top seniority.
When it was decided we would be on the top, all of the 9th generation members discussed it together. It felt early in terms of time and age, so looking back on it, I felt we became the top without having fully grown up. As for Mizuki, she became the leader at the age of 17, carrying the history of Morning Musume on her back. Amazing right. Our biggest fear at the time was that without the senpai, Morning Musume might no longer be what we always admired. We were trying to figure out how to present ourselves better in order to have Michishige-san's fans keep supporting us, trying and failing in our own way. Someone at the agency also had told us "Michishige-san's graduation concert will be a place where more people than usual will be watching, so you should perform in a way that will make as many people as possible interested in you". So we were really fired up for the graduation concert. Furthermore, I was appointed as sub-leader when Michishige-san graduated.
──Did being the second highest in seniority change you personally, Ikuta-san?
Around the time Michishige-san graduated, I finally started to understand several things, including what I like. For example, the type of costume that fits me, expressing the worldview of a song, including the lyrics. Since I joined, I was always told to "understand the meaning of the lyrics and perform it that way" and I think it was around that time I finally came to understand that. As my inner self changed, I suddenly started to like heartbreak songs and songs even more than cheerful ones (laughs).
But the interpretation of a song depends on the person, and it's difficult to understand it suddenly. So when I talk to kouhai who are not sure about their performance, I don't try forcing it onto them like "its this kind of song" but I try to talk to them about my interpretation of it like "this is what I think". I also try to tell them not to just like the songs, but try to like it for the lyrics. It might be easier to understand a song by looking at the lyrics you like, not only liking the rhythm and groove. And even in songs you don't usually listen to, there might be lyrics you can really resonate with. Anything that works is fine, but I think going that step further will lead to a better interpretation of the song, so I want the new members in particular to value that aspect.
──What about the performance aspect?
After Michishige-san graduated, I ended up taking a lot of her parts, so my singing parts increased a little. To be honest, I still can't say I'm great at singing, but I've been studying it in my own way. At first, I just watched a lot of performance videos from my previous senpai. I tried to imitate how they sang and how they used their voices, and I learned to understand little by little how Morning Musume presents themselves and what the fans like. I also had voice training lessons, but it took quite a while before the results of that showed on stage. When I focused on singing, I would be conscious and my throat would close up, or I would neglect the rhythm and my performance, so I tried and tested it through failure and experience.
Original article: https://nonno.hpplus.jp/entertainment/interview/246423/
Translated by: ©Eriponderful World
