Kato Shiho - Nikkei Entertainment 2017

A sharp-looking girl aiming for a solo song after managing to improve her singing ability…

We can say that Kato Shiho’s charm point is the gap between her sharp looks and henyo-henyo speaking style. In Keyakizaka46’s 1st album “Masshiro na Mono wa Yogoshitakunaru”, her high-level singing ability on the track “Chinmoku shita Koibito yo”, however, has drawn people’s attention. In recent handshake events, most of her fans have expressed their surprise.

Singing isn’t my strength, I was really bad at it. When I was in high school, I used to  karaoke with my friends, where we only sang Nogizaka46’s songs for 5 hours. Singing their concert setlist, waving our hands as if riding on the truck. Despite doing such a thing, my singing couldn’t get any better. That’s why since joining Hiragana (Keyakizaka46), I’ve been struggling with voice training. I don’t like speaking loudly in the first place. It feels like, throughout my life, the only time I’ve shout is when I’m riding a jet coaster. I can’t even do the lip rolls where I have to jiggle my lip, it started from that point.

I was so surprised when I heard that I would sing the first part of “Chinmoku shita Koibito yo”. I wondered why did it have to be me. I was overflowing with confusion, but I was really happy as well. During the recording session, we were told that this song has a Nogizaka46-ish vibe, and I got very excited as soon as I found out Sugiyama Katsuhiko-san was the composer.

I never properly listened to my singing voice before, so when I listened to this song, “So this is my voice”, that was the first time I heard my own voice. Whenever I speak, my intonation becomes weird, but my singing voice doesn’t have such a problem, so it made me excited.

I didn’t have much confidence. I was very anxious singing “Chinmoku shita Koibito yo” at the concert, however, it feels like I’ve started to sing more consistently.

Members and fans even told me, “I like your voice”, it made me go from disliking my own voice to liking it a little bit. However, when people commented “Please sing for us” on SHOWROOM, I still don’t have enough confidence, I can’t sing straight away without any preparation

I have a dream that someday I would be able to sing my own solo song. It might be impossible, but I think that making a declaration is important, so I will keep saying that. I’ve often said that I really like Naako-chan, and so when we could finally do a magazine photoshoot together, I came to realize that making a declaration is an important thing.

Not only in singing, but people often say “You have sort of a gap” in other things. I think many people already knew it from “KEYABINGO!”, that I’m a fast runner.

I’m a high-spirited person, but I have trouble showing it. I’m such a coward, I can’t even say my opinions during evaluation meetings with members and so I always stay silent.

During September, Kato became the first member of Hiragana Keyakizaka46 to walk on the “GirlsAward” runway. Also, her individual jobs, like appearing in fashion magazines, are increasing. For Hiragana Keyakizaka46 that had just entered a new phase after Nagahama Neru’s kennin cancellation and 2nd generation members joining, her existence must be big.

When I heard that I would be appearing on GirlsAward, I had mixed feelings about it, “What should I do?” and “I’m very happy”, I couldn’t stop crying. I was so anxious during the event since there weren’t any Hiragana members there, but Habu (Mizuho)-san and Berika-san (Watanabe Rika) approached and talked to me, “Kanji members are so kind”, I was touched.

I was really frustrated as I couldn’t make use of the things I learned in my walking training. I was taught how to walk in the coolest way, but I was so nervous that it made me really want to go to the toilet, and I ended up looking like a creepy person.

Habu-san has beyond-model sense of fashion, she also walked magnificently in such a cool way… Since it’s difficult to get taller, I want to show better expressions and get revenge on it.

When I first heard Nagaru’s (Nagahama Neru) kennin cancellation, I was so sad and wondered “Why?”, however, I was relieved when she told us the reason a day before the Zepp Sapporo concert. If she hadn’t tell us the reason, even though it was already decided, I would have said “It’s lonely without you”, and I would be crying. Without our ace Nagaru, I thought that we would face big troubles, however, since we have the 2nd generation members, I can move on and say “Let’s do our best”.

I don’t even know how a shy person like me could get along quickly with 2nd gen member (Watanabe) Miho. I can’t think of the 2nd gen as my juniors. I have to behave more like a senior, and I hope I can communicate with them naturally without overthinking.

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*Note: Thanks to Seri & Han (WTS) for the QC :))