[tenshi no hane]

Originally Posted by Love Shine

Interesting to see that Kuu's ero-kakkoii style was her own invention. People say she's a sell-out or just doing what avex wants to sell albums, but she's doing what she wants.

Yeah, I was happy to read that ^-^


More translations~ 2005+2006:

Spoiler:

2005年
　
Dreams definitely come true one day!!
“I’m glad I didn’t gave up”
I thought so from the bottom of my heart

2005 was a year in which I got a big response whenever I released something, and in which I became more confident. After my years of struggling in my “winter years”, I could finally see a stage sparkling in the spotlight… That’s how I felt at that time. That’s why no matter how tired I got because of the increased work-load, it was endlessly fun!!

My new songs topped the charts one after another.
I was invited to music shows
And got featured in female fashion magazines.
And, most importantly, people were listening to my songs…
The scenery that I had pictured in my dreams
Was unfolding before my eyes!!
Every single day felt like a dream (laughs)

That year was filled with an endless number of happy events, but was made me the happiest was being invited to the Record Awards and to Kouhaku for the first time. By being awarded prestigious prizes and being allowed to perform on prestigious shows, I felt like I could finally repay all the people who had been supporting me.

The one who stood out among the ‘people who had been supporting me’ were my parents. My clothes and performances which were dubbed “ero-kakkoii” sparked my popularity at the time. I felt proud of that title, but the “kakkoii” would often be left out and I would just be talked about as “ero”… my heart hurt whenever that happened.

“Won’t mom and dad feel bad about this?”

I was the one who chose the style of being cool and sexy, but to be honest, I felt guilty when I thought about my parents. So when I saw my parents smiling happily, I was able to think “I’m glad I stuck with my style!!” from the bottom of my heart for the first time.

About 14 years had passed since I auditioned for the first time
And 5 years since my debut…

It took a long time to reach my dream destination. When I look back on the road I’ve taken, I am reminded that making your dreams come true isn’t an easy thing. But it’s exactly because I know how difficult is that I think, “you must never give up on your dream”. I want to send these words to my current self and to everyone:

“Your dream will come true one day.
If you keep chasing after your dream, it will definitely come true.
So please don’t ever give up on your dream!!”

Spoiler:

2006年

Never-before-seen “ero-kakkoii” boom

I couldn’t really believe it
I didn’t feel real

The year 2006 was filled with happiness. The single from my “12 Singles Project” all ranked in the Oricon top 10. My 2nd best album “BEST ~second session~” also topped the charts. And I received many awards. Also, besides performing I got to release my first photo book… It was a year filled with new challenges.

But when I look back at that time, every day was so busy that I can’t remember the small things anymore… It must have been really hard on my staff, but I was having the time of my life. Whenever I went over my schedule for the day, I thought “Ah, what a star schedule~♥“ (laughs). And I suggested even more things, saying “I want to do this” “I want to do that”. That way the workload increased even more (laughs).

In my “winter years” people would tell me “that’s too soon for you” when I said I wanted to do something. That’s why I was so happy that I could do what I wanted to do now. Did my circumstances change when I attracted attention? I certainly got the ‘star schedule’ that I had been dreaming of in the past, but I was totally unconscious of the fact that I was a ‘star’ (laughs).

On my days off I would go shopping in the city with my friends, mingle with other guests when eating and would go to the movies like normally. I would fall in love like normally (laughs). I hardly changed so I ended up getting scolded by my friends to “wear sunglasses already!” and “don’t wear such flashy clothes, you’re standing out too much!”. That still hasn’t changed (laughs).

Well, people did call out my names and wanted to shake my hand. Those kind of opportunities increased and the name “Koda Kumi” appeared frequently in magazines and newspapers. I won awards like ‘Best Jeanist Award’ and ‘Nail Queen Award’. People often told me “this is a never-before-seen ‘ero-kakkoii’ boom”. I knew in my head that I was attracting attention and it made me really happy, but inside myself I thought “Koda Kumi is really great~” as if she wasn’t me, but a different person.

I can’t explain it well, but… it didn’t feel real. So I also revealed my private life without hesitation. Ah, but that still hasn’t changed much (laughs).

I was in a position where girls would copy my style just like with “amuraa” and shinoraa” and that was a truly amazing experience. But, when I look back now, I only have one regret… That is, it would’ve been better if my own name got linked to it instead of being called “ero-kakkoii” (laughs).

For example like “kumiraa” or “kuuraa” or “koudaraa”? This was my chance to leave my name in the history books, but I failed (laughs)



T/N: “Amuraa” and “shinoraa” refers to girls copying Namie Amuro’s and Tomoe Shinohara’s fashion style.