Morning Musume Leader Takahashi Ai Talks About Her Plans After Her Graduation

Morning Musume's leader, Takahashi Ai, was interviewed with Yahoo!Japan where she talks about her plans after graduating from the group.
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Interviewer: I’ve heard that Morning Musume’s new single ‘Only you‘ is your forty-sixth single overall…

Takahashi: When I received my demo tape (for ‘Only you’), I thought it was so cool, but Tsunku-san told me ‘Sing with a smile!’ When I got curious and thought about the lyrics, I realized that it was a song to cheer people on. It’s a song that Tsunku-san wrote after the earthquake, so it’s not really a complex love song. It’s a song that’s easy to express and understand. I think we can send out a cheer with our facial expressions and performances.

Interviewer: What a level-headed response, as one would expect from the leader. Takahashi Ai-chan, you’ve been in Morning Musume for ten years and are preparing for your graduation this fall.

Takahashi: Wow, it’s been ten years since I’ve debuted… But I don’t have the time to think ‘I’ve grown up’ since I’m thinking ‘It went by all too fast!’. I’ve been (in Momusu) longer than I’ve been in school, but it really passed in the blink of an eye.

Interviewer: Even so, I’ve heard your attitude towards works has changed a lot.

Takahashi: When I became leader, I felt like I had to run and pull everyone else along with me. I came to Tokyo and have been living here since I was fourteen, so even though there’s a part of me that’s (still) a child, when I think about the seniors who’ve graduated, I understand that I’ll be graduating soon enough. Now that I’ve decided to graduate, I’ve fallen in love with Morning Musume even more.

Interviewer: Well, tell us about your career after you graduate.

Takahashi: I still haven’t really decided what I’m going to do in the future, but what I’ve decided for the time being is that I’ll be doing musicals at the end of November. I love the stage~ I especially like (the all-female musical theater troupe) Takarazuka Revue, so I go see them on my days off. I look from a career point of view and say, ‘I could take that!’ After graduation, I always want to continue acting… movies, dramas, stuff like that.

Interviewer: Ai-chan, your acting skills have been recognized. By the way, on the day we were having this interview, you were busy performing in ‘Hamlet‘, but you say that work is your hobby.

Takahashi: I’m nervous about graduating from Morning Musume and doing things alone as ‘Takahashi Ai’, but of course I want to challenge myself. I don’t want to stop expressing myself, and although I don’t know how my future will turn out, I hope I can find something by keeping my eye on the stage and various other things.

Sources:

Tokyohive Article

Yahoo!Japan