The idol group "Nogizaka46" held the "13th YEAR BIRTHDAY LIVE" (hereafter referred to as "Birthday Live"), a 13th anniversary live show, at Ajinomoto Stadium (Chofu, Tokyo) on May 17th and 18th. At the end of the second day's performance on the 18th, Aruno Nakanishi gave a speech.
Nakanishi performed a number of songs with Nagi Inoue Nagi, who is also the double center for the latest 38th single "Navel Orange." Nakanishi stated, "After performing up to this point, I've once again realized just how special the birthday live is for Nogizaka46. We've taken the positions of our (graduated) seniors, performed songs without original members... I think all of the members on this stage must carry the 13-year history of Nogizaka46 on their shoulders."
She continued, looking back on the announcement of the selection for "Navel Orange," saying, "After the selection was announced, I talked about various things with Kazu. I was feeling really unstable at the time, but Kazu said to me something I'll never forget. He said, 'But even so, I love Nogizaka46.' I believe that those incredibly straightforward and powerful words are what led me to this point, even though I was anxious. Thank you so much." She then exclaimed, "I wasn't able to say it that day, but I love Nogizaka46 too!"
Then, looking around at the members, she said, "We have such cool seniors, my favorite classmates, and cute juniors who have joined us. I only know a small part of the 13-year history, but even so, I can say with confidence that Nogizaka46 now is the absolute strongest!" Her emotions were overflowing as she teared up, and she called out to the fans, "We can still go up! We'll do our best in our 14th year, so please keep watching over us!"
Nogizaka46, which added new members of the 6th generation in February this year, held their first live performance since the new lineup. The two-day performance attracted about 110,000 people.
