Keita Interview (2010): Childhood and Fashion

This is for 18 Days to Michishirube.  I do not own this video, but thank you to antenacafe for uploading it!

I: Did you also take part in fashion shows [as a child]?
K: Yes.
I: And so here...
K: I'm right here.
I: on the right. And you're wearing sunglasses! You look very cool. _____ these children's clothing.
K: Yes. I was in this model club from when i was... five years old. And I'd do these fashion shows.
I: So then you'd see your mother's photos-
K: Yeah
I: and then do you remember what you felt?
K: I don't, actually. At this time I was in elementary school, and this kind of look was normal.
I: Really? The sunglasses, too?
K:_______. But you know, my brother was in the modeling club, and there were so many fashionable people. But when I went to school, people had different values. That was my sense.
I: At home you all were wearing this kind of fashionable clothing, so you were accustomed to that being 'normal.'
K: Yeah. I always thought my clothes were normal, but in grade six I realized I was wrong. Upon first seeing me, people would look at me strangely. In the first year of middle school, I bought my own clothes.
I: Oh. And all that time, in elementary and middle school, did you think you wanted to sing?
K: Yes. I was always listening to music and singing.
I: And when did you start practicing?

K: I started practicing by myself at first, and then I started singing lessons. The lessons were more like teaching you to be expressive in your voice. It was about how you express yourself when you sing. When I was practicing, it was my mother who helped me. She was strict in her teaching.
I: And how did your mother help you learn to express yourself in song?
K: At first, people get embarrassed when they sang and dance. They have those feelings, but I didn't. I didn't really.
I: ____________
K: You just look at everyone's eyes that are watching you, and they're saying, "Sing!"
I: Wow.
K: If you don't see it that way, you can't become a star. That's when I learned how important expression is. Around elementary school, high school... middle school... I thought, "It's not just about the song you sing." Now I think ____.
I: And what about the first time you felt you wanted to become a professional?
K: Waa...  that was when I was still a student. I'd watch the TV and think I wanted to sing.
I: You wanted to sing, and your mother supported you. Therefore, with that in mind, you wanted to learn.
K: I think my mom was more enthusiastic than I was. And she taught me a lot.

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