an weekly
I can do my best because I like it. That’s how a job should be!
A little, energetic and cute girl who laughs a lot. Morning Musume’s leader Takahashi Ai is a 21 year old girl who’s exactly like her image suggests. Despite her little body she has a huge dream in her heart and sings and dances with enormous energy.
Breaking the “Karaoke prohibition rule”!? A secret story from the time she joined Morning Musume.
Since I was small I loved singing and dancing and admired Takaradzuka and Morning Musume. The first CD I bought was “Memory Seishun no Hikari”. I wasn’t able to afford “LOVE Machine” which was popular at my school, but I managed to buy “Koi no dance site” with saved up pocket money…
The “ASAYAN” audition took place at that time, but things get broadcasted a bit later in my home town Fukui. When I found out about the audition, the deadline was already very close. I made a phone call to Fukui TV and asked the person in charge “When is the deadline?” and that person went out of his way to ask TV Tokyo for me. Then without a delay I got a call and he said “The deadline is tomorrow!”. So I hastily looked for a karaoke box which can do MD recordings, went there with my mother in a hurry and applied for the audition with 3 songs including Utada Hikaru-san’s “Automatic”.
Actually I was a member of the chorus club at that time and wasn’t allowed to go to Karaokes. I was told that it’s because “The way you sing in karaoke etc., it’s all totally different from chorus.”. At that time I knew I wasn’t allowed to, but I wanted to challenge myself after all and went to a Karaoke box for the first time. I think that was the turning point of my life. I’m very grateful for the Fukui TV official who was in charge at that time. One day I’d like to appear in Fukui TV in order to pay the debt of my gratitude. (lol)
Following the tradition which is relentless and merciful at the same time - From being a new member to becoming the leader
After passing the audition and becoming a member, even a while after my debut I still hadn’t really realized it yet. It was like.. even though the camera was running I didn’t have the feeling that I was being filmed, but later when I watched TV, I saw myself on the screen. I also had the strong feeling that it’s different when I watch it on TV. On TV you only see the person who’s singing for example, but during the actual performance all members still have to dance strictly following the choreography. I only knew about the shiny surface of it all and what was hidden behind it became visible to me. Like doing dancing and singing practice everyday with everyone wearing jerseys. I think when I got confronted with actually natural things like that, I got to know the truth behind this job and the strictness of it.
It was very difficult to catch up with our senpai. We had a live concert planned one month after our debut was decided, so we had to learn all songs until “The Peace” until then, ie about two songs a day. We were also often compared to the 4th gen members and told that we don’t have any personality. In the end I got homesick in Tokyo where I didn’t have any friends.
But I was very happy when I got letters from Abe Natsumi-san and Gotou Maki-san saying that “It’s something everyone has to go through.”. I also got scolded a lot by our senpai and cried a lot, but when I managed to do something right they properly praised me too. That’s the reason why I could do my best. What helped me the most were of course the members from my generation who felt the same way as I did. Being together with them was very reassuring and saved me. Having wonderful senpai and members from the same generation is one of the good things about Morning Musume.
It’s been exactly one year since I’ve become the leader last year. I had never thought that I would become the leader one day and to be honest I thought “I can’t!” at first. It’s not my character, I don’t have the authority to keep the members together and I’m not the type to tell others what to do either…. There was a lot of pressure too and I was very anxious, but Nakazawa Yuuko-san and Yoshizawa Hitomi-san sent me mails saying “It’s ok if you do it in a way that’s like you, in a way that’s like Aichan.” and I’ve felt a lot more at ease.
Since becoming a leader I’ve come to understand many things. For example shortly after my debut I used to think “Why do we have to get scolded like this?”, but now it’s like “Ahh, so this is why they had to point it out back then.”. Maybe that’s a proof of my growth too.
The 7 years where she’s improved on the stage she loves
7 years have passed since my debut. Variety shows, dramas, photobooks etc…., I’ve taken on various kinds of jobs. Each one of them is fun in it’s own way, but what I like the most is singing after all.
Tsunku-san is a great person after all. His lyrics often deal with topics you end up overlooking in everyday life, but understand when you sing about them. I often think to myself “Ahh, that’s right..” while I’m singing.
I love live concerts more than anything. I can hear the voices of the fans, I can see the expressions on their faces too. They all dance together, combine their voices and sweat for us. Live concerts are a lot of fun.
But live concerts are also the most exhausting among my jobs and they’re often very tiresome for your physical strength too. However they’re also a kind of test or a training and I think I’ve grown thanks to the concerts I’ve performed in every year since my debut. The spring tour this year was also really tough. We’ve performed all 36 of our singles and I thought to myself again and again that Morning Musume is amazing and felt it’s great history. 1 or 2 t-shirts weren’t enough as change of clothes either. (lol)
In the future I’d like to treasure live concerts and try to have fun doing my job in my own way. I’m sure I’ll graduate from Morning Musume one day, but I want to find my own future prospects and leave in a cool way like Yoshizawa-san and Ishikawa Rika-san. At graduation concerts of my senpai, I used to break out in tears because I was so moved and felt lonely. But I will not cry at mine! Maybe. (lol)
Q: From me to me ~A word to myself~
Become stronger.
You’re weak. When things don’t go well at work, you directly start crying. But no one will know what you feel when you only cry, you have to express it in words. Take pride in your job like the senpai you admire and do your best! /Takahashi Ai 2008 JuneT
