We Still Subbing

  Sakurazaka46’s 4th single "Samidare yo" has been released!  With “BACKS LIVE !!” and "Samidare yo" as starting points, we will take a closer look into the personality of Uemura Rina. Uemura Rina, with her sweet mask and transparent character, was fittingly described as a "fairy.” Strangely enough, when I read the interviews she had so far, I felt that many of the questions were about the group's situation or about the other members, and there were not many articles that delved into her, personally. This time, she talked about her performance at "BACKS LIVE!!" which was performed exclusively by the members of the third row of the song formations, and the 4th single "Samidare yo", which was her first shot at becoming a title song member after becoming Sakurazaka46. The 10,000-character interview lasted about an hour. She is surprisingly straightforward, and honest, and doesn't try to use fancy words. The more I tried to get to know h...

Q How did you feel when you first heard that you would be performing at Tokyo Dome? Kobayashi: I felt genuinely happy to be able to stand on the Tokyo Dome stage once again as Sakurazaka46. Q Instead of feeling that it was perhaps still too early with the current system? Kobayashi: It has only been two years since our renaming, so I did have the feeling that “Perhaps it’s too soon” as well, but with members leaving and others soon joining, I wanted to be happy about being able to perform at Tokyo Dome with the current members. Q And then it was decided that Sugai Yuuka would graduate at Tokyo Dome. Did you know about Sugai-san’s graduation before she told the group? Kobayashi: No, I learned about it at the same time as everyone else. But I sort of had an idea already, so I accepted it like, “I see”. Q The Tokyo Dome concert was also the final leg of “2nd TOUR 2022 “As you know?”. Kobayashi: More attention to detail than ever before was given to the setlist and production of the tour re...

Looking back on the bond with her best friend who have been by her side this whole time.  Seki Yumiko has announced that she will graduate from the group after the 5th single activities. This time we will talk about Seki’s graduation along with her best friend Inoue Rina. The bond between the two who are always together in trouble and joy is unraveled.   ーSeki and Inoue who have similar thoughts during “10 Gatsu no Pool” Q: Seki-san, what made you make up your mind to graduate from Sakurazaka46? Seki: Perhaps it is not obvious, but it has been more than 4 years since the 2nd generation joined the group. When I sent off our seniors on their graduations, it made me think about various things. That is the reason why I decided to graduate. Q: Are you currently in the process of making memories with the others? Seki: Since I have yet to encounter a circumstance in which I strongly feel my graduation, it still hasn't set in right now (laughs). But I guess I will feel it more with th...

  To reach the world   -How did you feel when you first heard that you would be going to Tokyo Dome? Yamazaki: I felt that it might have been too soon for Sakurazaka46 to stand on Tokyo Dome's stage. While I felt happy for Sugai (Yuuka)-san's graduation and that we'd be going to Tokyo Dome, I didn't feel like we'd done enough to be there. Only around 3 days before the performance did my feelings change. In the middle of all the Tokyo Dome rehearsals, I was reprimanded countlessly by TAKAHIRO-sensei and the production staff. It really made me fire up, so to say, it made me want to work harder. I think the other members also changed their mindsets. -What did you feel was lacking? Yamazaki: The tour this time has the major theme of “world class concert”. We put a lot of details into the production, sounds, and lighting, and we created the stage while synchronising with the staff members. However I felt like we, the members, were lacking the spirit of wanting to do our ...

  The new frontier of “idols who don’t smile” She has always been aware of her shyness, speaking in a gentle tone with a humble personality. She’s not the type to talk about herself with confidence, but it seems that her 2nd PB “Igaisei” has given her a positive feeling as “the expressive Kobayashi Yui”. “In my first PB, I was able to take pictures that I could only have taken in my teens. More than three years have passed since then, and since I was given the opportunity to release a 2nd PB, I took it on with the desire to show how much I have grown as a model. Being an exclusive model for “with” has broadened the range of my expressions and posing, and in fact with the many different sides of myself I’ve shown, I think it has turned out into a photobook worth seeing, if I do say so myself (laughs).” In a picture taken in the majestic nature of Yakushima, she shows an innocent, unrestrained smile. Drawn by her happy aura, an unexpected guest also made an appearance. “I took a pict...