Nakazawa Yuko: "We can't lose" to AKB48

Dream Morning Musume, Nakazawa Yuko who is a former member of the ORIGINAL line-up of Morning Musume and is considered to be the most popular MM leader, plans to celebrate her 38th birthday with her fans on June 19 during a special live in Tokyo.Yuko-chan talks about her career and their current rivals in the idol scene.

“It’s been (over) a decade since I graduated from Momusu and became a soloist – which was a big turning point for me – so I’m happy. Being able to have a fresh start as a 38-year-old with my fans at a live performance means a lot to me.” She continued, “I don’t think too negatively about my age (either). I want my fans to see a ‘life-sized’ Nakazawa Yuko.”

Nakazawa was also asked about her role as a leader to which she replied “Basically, I haven’t left behind (my position as) leader although we’ve each had our own responsibilities in our activities (since graduating)… It’s like I’ve become in tune with the members’ thoughts and feelings.”

When asked about AKB48, who is currently taking over the idol scene, she honestly said with a smile, "Personally, when I listen to their songs, I think that they’re such cute girls. Their great efforts are good motivation for us. And besides, we’ve been at it for a long time. We can’t lose!"

To me, her comments were honest enough and I admire her spirit as she's quite an optimistic person not minding about her age and saying that they can't lose to AKB48. I'm sure she doesn't mean it negatively but just a simple implication that the idol world is a complex wheel, and it will take alot of effort to stay on top. She's simply wants to tell everyone that although the golden era of MM is over they're not giving up. And I wish to see that on the near future when HP will be back on top of the female idols.