Yui Yokoyama: The Girl Who Gained Respects From Mariko Shinda and Minami Takahashi

-She was told that one of a coupling for Suika Baby may be her solo song in the end of April. But she couldn’t believe it’s true at first.

“Because they said “may“, I’d rather been thinking about how much I would be shocked if it turned out to be false. She I didn’t want to tell my mother about this until I was told it “will“.”

-She was like Honmayan who talks “You’re absolutely lying~…. uhm? Honmayan!? (Oh it’s real!?) ” when her buddies are caught by enemies.

“(About the mood of the song, May) I thought it’s mysterious, something I’ve never tried yet. But I think it has a good mood.  Well… it reflects my character? Maybe…lol”

-The song May sings sentimental feeling of a man who has been separated with a girl by the name of May.

“My impression on this song is…. it’s adult… Because I’ve never experienced separation like this, I had no idea how I can deal with this song at first.”

-Because in AKB48, relationship is banned, so naturally she’s never experienced the worldview of this song.

“Because this song has a lot of parts that I can’t relate myself to. I guess I can feel more natural with this song when I become able to relate myself to the feeling of the man in this song. It seems a deep song, so as I grow older, this song also grows, I guess….”

-She has rarely sung solo onstage including performances at small theaters.

“The only solo performance I’ve done so far is Kashiwagi-san’s song. That the only one. I have a high-pitched voice, so when I sing with other members of Not Yet, I think it somehow neutralizes the characteristic of my voice. But I sang this song, May, with a stress accent, so I think it’s alright.”

-She started dreaming to become a singer when she watched the performance of male duo Chemistry.

She went back and forth from Kyoto to Tokyo during her early days as a trainee right after she passed the audition of AKB48 in September of 2009.

Her never-spare-effort attitude captured original members’ hearts, as Minami Takahashi praised her by saying “超Hard Working person”, and Mariko Shinoda said “I respect Yui the second most after Takamina.”

There were two moments which changed her life after she joined AKB48. Promotion to a regular member in October of 2010, and the kick-start of Not Yet in January of 2011.

“I was not good at speaking in front of people. But I got used to talking with people because I’ve been surrounded by people who talk a lot. Because they know I’m not good at talking to people, usually 3 members (of Not Yet) start conversation. Yuko-san is especially good at summarize stories. I have a lot to learn from her.”

-The goal she wants to realize now the most is to hold solo live concert of Not Yet.

“Because Shibuya AX was the place we debuted , I hope that we will hold a concert there. “

-She says that she has a feeling that she wants to make her solo debut, but she also understands it’s too early for her. That is the reason she put her effort all the more into theater performances and activities of Not Yet.

“I’m not satisfied with my present performance. So I don’t wish to do solo act now. I want it after I’ve made necessary preparation. I think we have to hold our own dream if we want to be a singer who can deliver dreams to people. No matter how small it may be, I want to always hold my dream.”

After she continued running with this burning passion, the moment her dream comes true will come….

Source Sponichi