From another thread…
Jessi wrote:Are they testing [Karin] out as a soloist. I still don't understand whats happening.
I assume they're testing to see if she could be the next Airi.
Hello! Project used to have several soloists but most of them went away with the Elder Club, leaving only ManoEri. And then female soloists completely fell out of fashion during the *48/*46 and K-pop booms.
Those booms have dissipated and now the pendulum is swinging back. I think Sayu's and Airi's successes surprised everyone at Up-Front, and they're wondering if they can reliably reproduce that success with other popular OGs, especially since haven't done so well with the niche units (LoVendoЯ, PINK CRES.) and variety talents (Yaguchi, Okai).