Singer Keiko Masuda, also known as KEI of the female duo Pink Lady, appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi), which aired on January 22nd. She talked about Miyuki Nakajima's "Bojou" and her memories of her debut.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened to Nakajima's "Moujou," and I wondered what it was all about. I wanted to cover it and sing it at my own live shows, and no matter how hard I tried to sing it, I would end up crying. My brother's wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and before she passed away, she cried into my arms, saying, "Keiko, Hajime, you're going to be all alone." "I thought 'Moujou' was a song about the feelings of an older brother and sister, about regret and grief, so when I sang it as if it were my brother's wife and my brother, I was able to sing it without crying." Two years later, her husband was in the final stages of the same pancreatic cancer, and "I thought maybe God had given it some deeper meaning."
Her husband passed away from pancreatic cancer in August 2024. He was 70 years old. She thought she would never be able to sing again, but "after practicing a few times, I realized that this was the greatest love letter I could ever have to my husband," and "I will sing it without crying anymore."
She entered her third year of high school without being able to make her debut. She tried out for the audition program "You Are a Star!", singing and dancing enthusiastically in a miniskirt and boots, but was rejected. So she aimed for another audition program, "Star Tanjo." She came up with a "sly strategy" and got rid of all the reasons she was rejected on "You Are a Star!", such as not looking amateurish, appearing cocky, feeling used to the situation, and lacking freshness, and "cut 95% of the choreography, stopped showing any skin, and acted a little timid when asked questions." Eight companies held up placards at the final competition, and she finally made her debut. "Of course I was very happy when I was selected to debut, but I also felt a bit deflated."
