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sprinklesomekanyonlove · 7 years

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Kudo Haruka!

It was announced that Morning Musume ‘17’s Kudo Haruka will graduate from Hello! Project.

Kudo Haruka or Kudo for short is well-known for her husky voice, short hair and ikemen character not just within the group but with the entire Hello! Project. Everyone wants to be kabedon-ed by this handsome girl! But despite of her boyish look, we cannot overlook her cute-ness! Kudo is currently one of the main girls in the current line-up of Morning Musume, but her journey towards this essential position in the group was not that easy. Let’s find out how Kudo Haruka strived from ZERO to HERO!

Kudo started off as a Hello! Pro Egg way back in 2010 and auditioned for Morning Musume’s 9th Generation but she did not pass. Few months after she tried her luck again as a 10th generation member and this time she passed along side with Iikubo Haruna, Ishida Ayumi and Sato Masaki, all three of those members were not from Hello! Project, because of this, Kudo claimed to be the leader of her generation since she’s a senpai in terms of being under Hello! Project way before the other girls. After sometime, Kudo finally realized that having a generation leader was not necessary at all.

The 10th generation members’ debut song was “Pyoko Pyoko Ultra” in which Kudo received a solo line which was “Onnanoko” (what solo line?) which can be heard in the 2:25 mins of the song.

This line is sang AFTER the 1st chorus which then means, the chance of singing it live is just 0.01% (exaggeration but you know what I mean). During the second single of Kudo which was “Renai Hunter” she did not receive any solo line (cries) but atleast we got to see her cute face.

But luckily Kudo received a solo syllable in the next single, yes you heard it right, syllable which was “TE” in the song “ONE TWO THREE” (WHUT?!) and her voice was never heard again…. Just kidding, Kudo continued to receive little lines or words or syllables or sounds to the next few singles that they have released. Also, the beginning of the “ONE TWO THREE” Era signifies the beginning of Kudo’s Ikemen Era since she cut her hair very short and now she’s well known with this haircut and has been H!P’s crush ever since then.

On 2014 Kudo became part of a unit under Satoyama Movement “Triplet” together with Okai Chisato and Takagi Sayuki who were part of C-ute and Juice=Juice respectively. For the first time in forever, fans and non-fans heard Kudo’s voice clearly since she was able to sing legit lines.

Comments (from what I remembered) said that Kudo sounded like C-ute’s Suzuki Airi (you know Airi, every H!P fan knows AIRI)

In the 2014 HINAFES something amazing happened, Kudo was given an opportunity to perform a solo song and she sang “Moshimo” which brought her fellow generation-mate Iikubo Haruna to tears since she was so proud of her baby Kudo. Kudo performed with a smile and showing of her cool husky voice.

Despite not being featured most in their singles or concerts, Kudo continued to make her own name by releasing photobooks. Fans seem to love seeing this girl in photobooks. She released a total of 3 photobooks up to date(4th one announced already).

Although Kudo’s character is the “IKEMEN” of momusu, Kudo is actually a cry baby. She cried in one TV show because she thought that people were making fun of her, she also cried in the graduation singles of Sayumi Michishige (previous leader of momusu) and Riho Sayashi (previous ace of momusu).

In 2015, the twist of all twists happened, Kudo and her fellow back girl Kanon Suzuki a.k.a. Zukki, became centers of their single “Oh My Wish” fans were surprised and delighted with this. During this era, Momusu was able to perform this song at Music Station (popular music show were in popular groups were invited) due to some circumstances Zukki has an eye patch while performing and because this Kudo was more focused than Zukki. Kudo was then named in twitter and other social medias not sure but as what I can remember as the “Cute Short Haired Center Girl of Morning Musume.”

In the same year, Riho Sayashi, the ace of Momusu that time announced her graduation, in one of her graduation songs “Endless Sky” she co-centered with Kudo, fans assumed that this is a sign that after Sayashi leaves Kudo will take her ace position. After Sayashi left, I’m not pretty sure if you could call Kudo as the ace of the group (I can say it’s either Maachan or Fukuchan) but she did became the center of the group as a proof you can see her in the center position during group photos.

Kudo continued to have a secured position in the group, receiving essential lines, being featured enough in music videos, being able to stay at the center during group photos, but then despite being on her peak, a sudden announcement was made… In 2017 Kudo announced that she’s going to graduate from the group. Everyone was surprised, especially this little ol me. (Time to rant) I mean girl she worked hard for that position and without giving any signs (such as being gloomy and not smiling anymore *coughs* Maro *coughs* Meimei *coughs* Riho *coughs* Zukki) she decided to graduate. But what amazed me is that she has decided to go to another path or another dream since she already achieved one (and here I am not able to achieve any of my dreams) in her young age. It’s amazing that Kudo felt satisfied already of what she had achieved and did not wait any longer to be able to move forward. I love Kudo and I respect and admire her decision, I’m a little bit bitter about this because I still think that she still has much more to show in the group but then it’s her life we can’t do anything about it but support her. I wish you all the best Kudo and I look forward to your future musicals and hoping for dramas and movies too.

P.S. I wrote this post early because during the time of Kudos graduation I’m not sure if I’ll be having a free time.

Disclaimer:

All media doesn’t belong to me. Dates were from Hello!Project wikia but other informations are not reliable since they were based from my memories.

#Morning Musume #Morning Musume '17 #Morning Musume '16 #Morning Musume '15 #Kudo Haruka #Graduation #Duu #Hello! Project

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hotarutranslations · 3 years

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Morning Musume '21's First Album in 3 years and 4 months. Ishida Ayumi talks about the current state of the group: "We've become pastel"

Morning Musume '21's 16th original album "16th ~That's J-POP~'' was released. It's been 3 years and 4 months since their previous album, it's a recording with 16 songs including their hit singles and new songs. We talked about the current group's changes and current situation, as well as the future outlook with sub-leader Ishida Ayumi.

2 People Graduated From My Same Generation and I Changed Myself

--"16th ~That's J-POP~" will be your first album in 3 years and 4 months, how is the response different from your previous album?

Ishida: 3 years and 4 months ago it was "15 Thank you, too", right? It feels like it was a long time ago, I don't remember (laughs). The members have also changed a lot.

--Do you think there is anything that has changed since then, Ishida-san?

Ishida: It's completely different now. 4 years ago Kudo Haruka-chan and Iikubo Haruna-chan were still in the group and we had a division of roles amongst our generation. Harunan (Iikubo) watched over the group as an older sister, Duu (Kudou) was very close to our juniors and they adored her. I was just paying attention to what was going on, but I probably wasn't looking around that much. In the last 3 years, those 2 from my generation have graduated, it was the biggest change for me. I've come to think "I have to do it myself" towards the things I relied on those 2 for. Therefore, I came to think about how to close the distance between my juniors like Duu did; Sato Masaki-chan told me "Ayumin, you've become kind. You've mellowed out,". That's where I've most changed.

Learning How To Let Your Eyes Jump Along a Curve

--As an idol, what was the biggest event you had in those 3 years?

Ishida: It was Rockin' (ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL). We were invited to RockFes, it was an amazing experience.

--You appeared in 2018 and 2019, in 2019 you were the first performance on the main stage.

Ishida: It's something I'm most proud of in my life, it was such a big event that I want to talk about it forever. We knew how to excite our fans but, we wondered how to excite those that aren't our fans; during Rockin' everyone really thought about that. Everyone knows "LOVE Machine" and "Renai Revolution 21", they'll dance to that. But, for like "Seishun Night", a song where everyone can make some noise and dance together, how could we convey that to those that are seeing it for the first time? To the guests in the back, how we can make it reach out; we really studied those kinds of things.

--What did you find there?

Ishida: It was our line of sight. Intuitively I thought the line of sight should be straight forward, but you can also curve it. Jumping over the people in front with a "I'm sorry", we learned the technique of jumping with our line of sight like "I'm looking at you". For us (in Japan) I think we did it when we stood at Budokan and Yoyogi (National Stadium).

How To Make It Resonate With Those That Don't Know The Previous Morning Musume

--With this album the single released last year "Junjou Evidence" was also included. In Tsunku-san's liner notes he wrote "you don't have to carry on with tradition" "Breaking free from the past, step up to what's next". Has Ishida-san also thought about that sort of thing?

Ishida: I've thought about it. But, those making the current trends, those in their teens and twenties, they don't know the previous Morning Musume, do they. It's different from us chasing after them, I've come to think about this a lot recently. It's better for us to make Morning Musume as the current us, I wonder if the current audiences would listen to it.

--It was the group's 20th anniversary in 2018, right?

Ishida: Certainly during the 20th anniversary, we sang "Morning Coffee" with our seniors, it was really a wonderful commemoration. I think that it was a big event for those that have always supported us. Of course we want to cherish those people as well, and while also respecting our seniors previous songs by singing them with the feeling of their importance. But, with our current songs it's not like "how would our seniors perform this", so it will resonate with those in their teens and twenties, I think it's alright to attack it with this expression.

There Are Many Songs About Dreams and The Future It Makes Me Almost Cry

--There are a lot of positive songs on the album like the new song “Junjou Evidence”, right.

Ishida: There certainly are. There are a lot that talk about dreams and the future, I think.

--There is the appearance of love songs like “Renai Destiny ~Honne wo Ronjitai~” but, you’re singing <Let's do it all, do all of it>.

Ishida: I love this song. It feels like it has the passionate message of “Break through the status quo. Do what you want to do”, it makes me almost cry. The tears especially come when singing the hook that's in a high key, it's really dangerous (laughs).

--Are there others songs that resonated?

Ishida: With the ballad “Nakimushi My Dream”, I straightforwardly feel “it's wonderful,”. With the current coronavirus, I think dreams like opening up a shop collapsed. Since recently it's like <dreams are disappearing one by one without a sound>, I think this song can reach those people. <It's ok to be an honest crybaby> also resonates, right. It's not like “Do your best while looking forward,” its teaching “It's alright to look back on things too,”. I’m also like that when I’m feeling down.

Do you cry secretly too?

Ishida: I do. But, on the other hand, if it's too painful tears won't come out right? When those kinds of people hear this song I also want their tears to flow. it's better to cry because it's refreshing. I really want everyone to do their best.

Its Unsatisfying To Always Spend Each Year The Same

-- “Hey! Unfair Baby” is like <Break free! Break free!>.

Ishida: It feels like “Break it! Break it!”, right.

--Do you think the current Morning Musume needs that kind of mode?

Ishida: Through all of the songs on the album, Tsunku-san was saying “Let's move forward, lets change,” I don’t know whether that was a message sent to us, or if it was towards the situation in the world. The time when I was saying “I must change” may have passed a bit. Now, I’m already enjoying various things already. Rather than forcibly changing, if it doesn’t work I’ve realized I’ll continue like “Well, let's do this”.

--When was your “I must change” period?

Ishida: I thought, “Is this ok as is?”, it was about my performances around 2015. I had been in the group for 4 years, I was always feeling like “I can’t lose in dance!” But, I started to worry like, “You can’t impress people just by dancing precisely”, and I thought I wanted to become more mature.

--Did you get over it?.

Ishida: As I got older, it was something I learned naturally. It was recent, before the coronavirus. I’m having fun doing all the concerts I get to do for work but, I wanted to bring something out like “let's do more interesting things,”. I’ve been active in Morning Musume for 9 years, I thought “I’ve been spending every year the same,”. I get to do concerts all year, and I do birthday and Christmas events, it doesn’t change every year. With that, from January of last year, I did a solo play for my birthday event.

--It seems like it was well received.

Ishida: Since then it's been like, “If I want to do something, I’ll be able to if I work hard,” and, I’ve changed myself from within. Before I was embarrassed to say what I wanted to do, I would end up giving up like “it's probably impossible,’ but, I’ve come to think “Let’s say it,”.

Euphoria is The Most Charming Thing About The Members Now

--Tsunku-san named this album “That’s J-POP” but, how has Ishida-san taken in the music?

Ishida: I feel like a lot of the songs really stir my emotions. Now, it's hard to talk about dreams with this situation, you’re not able to do things you want to do, I think from listening to this album, you’ll certainly be able to do your best to stay positive. Something that I really like, the kind of passion from our seniors in Morning Musume that has been passed down, I feel like that's apparent in this album.

--What do you think is something good about the current Morning Musume ‘21?

Ishida: There is an image of pastel colors. Around 2016 and 2017, I feel like it was more primary colors. Individually we’re strong, everyone was on fire. When you watch a live video of Morning Musume ‘21 from a birds eye view, the members' euphoria is the most charming thing. Compared to when we were doing formation dances, there were places where we were all matching, but honestly there were places where we weren’t matching. We really had to dig into it. But, recently Tsunku-san also told us, “It's not necessary for the juniors to be exactly the same as the seniors,”; I realized that the charm of everyone being the same was the Morning Musume from a bit ago. Now if there is a cute song all of the members try to get along with each other, it’s charming. It feels like the air is suddenly brighter. The fans will smile towards us, the whole space looks like its pastel. I think that's Morning Musume ‘21.

The 15th Generation Changed The Color Of The Group

--Were the pastel shades brought in largely from the three 15th generation members that joined in 2019?

Ishida: It largely was. The 15th generation changed our color.

--Did you play a central role in educating the 15th generation as a sub-leader?

Ishida: That’s right. I taught them various things. In particular dance but really only in the beginning. Now I’ll give them some advice if they’re having difficulty dancing, but I don’t tell them detailed things like “have your hand angle like this,”.

--Is that the policy of growing at ease?

Ishida: If we get to have another solo concert tour, since it's important for us to be in an arrangement, I think I’ll teach them. Now we’re doing Hello! Project concerts and it's important to have fun. Since that fun will certainly be conveyed to the fans, that's what they should focus on.

Knowing They’re Not Only Wholesome But Also Silly

--For each of the three in the 15th generation, could Ishida-san give us their good points and things to improve on?

Ishida: Yamazaki Mei-chan is always lively, and her singing voice is really cute. Standing on stage, she seems to be having fun even during cool songs. It's healing for us as well that she brightens the space just by her being there, I want her to always have that kind of presence. Earlier this year for the ballad concerts, Kitagawa Rio-chan found her own way of singing, it's really good. Since it's probably because she is confident in the song, as it is, I want her to keep moving forward.

--Kitagawa-san’s photobook came out last year, and she was recently on the cover and had the opening gravure for “Young Magazine”.

Ishida: Since we haven’t been able to do a lot of events or concerts with the 15 generation, I don’t think the fans know a lot about Kitagawa. With the feeling of wholesomeness like, “I’ll do my best to not lose to the seniors,”, she came in with the simple approach but, she's really a funny girl. I’m hoping that everyone will come to know about that later.

--Also, for Okamura-san?

Ishida: Homare-chan has a funny side. That humor will come out when she is with her seniors. Talking with her, it's like “Eh, isn’t that strange Japanese?” and “on the contrary, isn’t that rude?” she’ll say something by mistake like that, it's silly. I want her to show that sort of thing, since she is a cute girl that's like a baby (laughs), I want to watch her grow.

I’ll Light The Fire Before It Becomes Pale

--Do you have any thoughts about the future image of Morning Musume?

Ishida: Ideally, whatever happens, I want the root of Morning Musume to remain. If we go on like the current pastel, we will end up becoming an uninteresting group. It's good right now. But, if we continue with it for a long time and we end up becoming a pale color, I might not like that. If the members don’t color it properly, I’m worried it will get paler and paler, you’d have to add a deeper color at some point. From now on, I want to keep the fire burning.

--With the “root of Morning Musume”, originally it was a group that was formed from those who lost an audition and they competed with each other, is that that group's genetic origins?

Ishida: That's right. When the time comes there's like a “lets do it!” kind of enthusiasm. Like during Rockin’, everyone was really cool, I felt the air of Morning Musume that I like. I know that the current members are cool too, so I hope to have another time where we can turn on that switch.

I Want To Challenge Various Things I Think Are Interesting

--In Tsunku-san’s line notes for “Jinsei Blues” he wrote “Fukumura and Ishida could stay active till they’re 40, I want them to walk a new life that will blow people's minds,”. For Ishida-san, do you feel motivated to stay in Morning Musume till you’re 40?

Ishida: I don’t know but (laughs), if I stay a long time in Morning Musume, it may feel like “it's because Tsunku-san said that,”. If I can continue finding things interesting with my activities I’ll continue; l’ve said before that if I think something like “this is interesting!”, I may go that way in the future. It's important to maintain the status quo but, it's a bit boring isn’t it?

--Recently you sold “Ishida Bread” at “HinaFest”, right. You also did a solo play at your birthday event; with Ishida-san’s high dance skill, do you think you want to go into musicals?

Ishida: I like plays but, I think it's different than just going with plays. Since I’m greedy, I want to dance and sing. I don't want to just be an actress like Kudo Haruka-chan. I want to challenge various things, I’d be happy if you’d watch over me.

Profile Ishida Ayumi Born January 7th, 1999, hometown is Sendai, Miyagi. Passed the 2011 “Morning Musume 10th generation member “Genki Jirushi” audition”. Her first single release was “Pyoko Pyoko Ultra”. In December 2018 she became a sub-leader. She appears in a once a month corner “Ishida Ayumi Goes!” on “Ara Ara Kashiko” (Sendai Broadcast).

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/saitotakashi/20210403-00230490/

#Ishida Ayumi #Morning Musume '21 #Morning Musume #Hello! Project #Translation #Interview

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