Suzuki: But indeed, the pressure really does mount on you. When it suddenly turned out that no one from ℃-ute besides myself would be singing 'SHOCK!', I was in a panic. Even though it was our first single as a 5-person group, and we put up a lot of resistance to it despite it already being announced...
Didn't it make you feel like 'I've made it!'?
Suzuki: Not at all! Instead, it honestly made me want to quit. It makes me wonder now. 'Why did Tsunku♂-san do something like that?'... When it was first announced at Yomiuri Land, it felt like the fans were abuzz in chatter. Since it wasn't really my own solo, I had no idea how best to present it, and I was kind of in a panic... After that, I went to consult with Takahashi (Ai)-san while crying...
Takahashi-san, she really drew together the groups, didn't she.
Suzuki: That's right. Like, since it's Takahashi-san, she'd understand. Of course, 'SHOCK!' is a precious ℃-ute song, so even now I still treasure singing it. It's just that, at that time, why was I in such a panic?... I lost my confidence, and I became even more unable to do it... I strongly remember putting myself under the impression that 'That's enough!!', and making myself be confident.
You turned against it?
Suzuki: Once, I exploded with emotion. Like, 'Just do what you want!' At the time, I was often told, 'If Suzuki doesn't do her best, it'll make ℃-ute as a whole look bad'. It was mentioned by Tsunku♂-san, it was mentioned by our teachers... And I couldn't discuss it with the other members. So I went 'Arrgh....That's enough!' But letting the piled-up emotions burst out with such a bang, I somehow regained my spirit (laughs). Thinking about it now, that might have built up my mental strength a little.