14 y/o Kumi audition video
 

Has this been posted yet?

Here is Kumi singing at an audition @ 14 years old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUhfo2y14HI

Damn. She has GOT to be glad that phase is over. Look how awkward she is! She doesn't show any emotion on her face at all. The "whoa!" at the beginning of the song really scared me... I didn't see it coming.

It's so amazing to me, though, because... look how fluent Kumi is now. She takes the nicest pictures - her face and body are both so expressive. In this video she is just stiff and flat. Her voice, too, is so well-honed and rich now, and it was really nothing special back then. Really, from an auditor's perspective, the only things Kuu had going for her here were spunk and a cute boyish rasp hidden in her voice.

Then there is her appearance, which I think we can all agree has changed since then. The awkward years really hit her hard, it seems. She is, if nothing else, a total swan now. So gorgeous.

Honestly, kudos to Kumi. I'm not even a big fan, but you can tell she has been busting her butt to become what she is today. Voice, movement, appearance, the whole package has come lightyears from where she was before her debut. It's so cool.

On a sidenote, I knew that her name is actually Kumiko, but I didn't know that she changed the way her name is written.

In this video, she is credited as 神田來未子, whereas we all have known her as 倖田來未(子). I suppose the Kanji 倖 looks/sounds cooler...? (神 relates to "god", 倖 relates to "joy/luck", for those unsure)

So many changes to turn in to the star she is today.

Well, this was way before the Avex - training / etc. you know? :/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLNh...=koda%20musume

There's this one too. Even worse looking due to the scary droopy hat.

lol her dancing in the beginning

wow that really wasn't great... but definitely goes to show her training paid off o_o

I wonder why she took the "ko" off..

She sounds cute though :) Thanks for posting!

THat first clip looked totally horrible. No wonder max matsurra made that rather rude comment, because frankly, it was true.

She looked better in that second clip, but still .. Morning musume already had Kei chan at the time. And her voice dose't really fit morning musume. I think it's better she became a solo artist, than join the cute competition. It's seems more natural to her. Nothing about her voice appearance etc is cute in that way.

thanks for posting. Its interesting to see how she changed from then to now. :p (it was a pretty big change XD)

x_________X that voice... (and she looks fine to me, not really ugly or fat at all. She's normal.)

Well, compared to clips of f.ex ayu at the same age (pre avex days), or audition clips of f.ex aya matsuura, I don't think it's strange people diden't think she had any potential at all. Like someone else wrote, her voice is emotionless, her face is the same. Point is that you have to look at least a bit special or stand out if you're to be noticed. Beauty is mostly about preferances anyways, but normal just wont do in showbiz. =P The only thing I found positive is the fact that she hits the notes firmly and has some control of her voice. (I'm talking about the first clip). It really ineresting to see how much she's changed, cause she really looks like a totally different person. (I'm not just/mostly thinking of her physical appearance, but her charisma etc. )

^ It's true. I think she reeked of potential in those clips, but was so far from the full package (which she has been since her debut). I think that's what got her the job, ultimately: her potential and strong will. Listening to the way she talks in those videos makes you smile, because she sounds so determined, like there is nothing more in the entire world that she wants. On her application, she wrote "I'm gonna make it to Tokyo, even if it means I have to quit school." During her interview she says that if she got in to Morning Musume, she wouldn't want to sing in the back; she wants to break out front and sing. Her final comment is "I want to make my debut. I want to sing."

Two more videos from around the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydcAVCnoRTc <-- continuation of the first clip, but sung with another girl (Kurome Rumi ??). This makes Kuu look better... hahaha. The song is kind of cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuAs0rz0aTU <-- here she sounds beautiful, much more similar to what she sounds like now. Her body has loosened up much more here. I really like this song, too.

Was DAT out when she was auditioning at all or no? D:

Misono's semi-success probably made Koda all "GRR WTH" :3

Koda has said that she's lost quite a bit of weight since her debut. You can see that it's still her but the baby fat in her cheeks has since gone away, making her face less bloated looking.

Wow... she's improved quite a bit...

Gee, I envy young Japanese talents, they have soooooo many auditions, casting calls, talent shows and contests, so many labels make their own calls...

Everywhere else it's now only this Idol-fashion, go-on-the-stage-we-make-you-look-like-an-idiot-and-have-a-laugh...

do u realise she had a mole just between her upper lips and her nose??
i was shocked~ hahahaha...

but her voice back then, is the same and very unique. Lucky she did not join morning musume or else her talent would have been shadowed by soo many wannabe gals....

Really interesting.

big surprise!!