First-term student selection

After returning from Xia Mo's house that day, Fei Niao tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Hua Hua's words, "Sony is going to form a new idol girl group," kept echoing in her ears like a fishing line with bait, swaying back and forth in front of her.

The next morning, Mom brought breakfast and woke up the still-sleepy Fei Niao.

Looking at her daughter's dark circles, she didn't ask any questions, but simply poked the yolk of the fried egg with her fork.

"Didn't sleep well last night? What were you thinking about?"

The egg yolk broke, and the golden liquid flowed out, dripping onto the white rice, making it shiny.

"Mom," Asuka said, a little embarrassed, as she came to her senses, "I want to participate in the idol audition."

The mother bird paused as she poured milk, tilting the bottle slightly so that the milk pooled around the rim of the cup without spilling out.

She stood the bottle up, then put it down, and watched the birds fly by.

"What audition? AKB48?"

Asuka repeated everything Hana had said. Sony was going to create a new idol girl group, something different from AKB48.

We are recruiting the first batch of members, but we don't know when to start accepting applications yet.

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head, staring at the bowl of rice that had been dyed golden yellow by the egg yolk, and did not look into her mother's eyes again.

The mother bird didn't answer immediately. She sat down, took a sip of milk, and put it down.

Yes, the temperature is just right.

"Do you want to go?" she asked.

The bird raised its head and looked at its mother, whose eyes shone with light.

It's not the kind of expectation that says "You can definitely do it," but the kind of quiet feeling that says "I will support you no matter what choice you make."

"...I want to go," Asuka said.

Mother Bird nodded. "Go ahead. Sign up first. We'll see if you get selected later."

Feiniao paused for a moment. She thought her mother would hesitate, and she had prepared a whole host of reasons and excuses, but before she could even speak, she realized they were no longer needed.

"You don't object?" Asuka asked, somewhat incredulous.

The mother bird glanced at her and reached out to tuck the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear.

"You've always been shy since you were little, and you never said anything even when you were bullied. I've always wondered when you'd be able to stand up for yourself."

She stood up and cleared away the empty plates. "Now it seems like we've finally gotten what we've been waiting for."

The bird lowered its head and ate the bowl of rice, which was stained yellow with egg yolk, bite by bite.

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In July 2011, Nogizaka7 held its first book review.

Feiniao put the application form, full-body photo, half-body photo, and personal resume into an envelope.

In the hobbies section, she wrote "music," and in the special skills section, she wrote "drumming and piano."

The characters were written neatly and precisely, stroke by stroke, as if afraid that if they made a mistake, they would never have another chance.

The moment she handed it out at the post office window, her palms were sweaty, and the corners of the envelope were sore from gripping it so tightly.

Nearly 36,000 application forms were sent to Sony from all over the country, filling the entire conference room. Staff members flipped through the documents and photos one by one, without conducting interviews, only looking at the papers.

Some people were rejected because their photos were not good, some were rejected because they made typos in their resumes, and some were rejected because they were over the age limit.

Of the 36,000 people, less than 800 were left after the screening.

At the end of July, Feiniao received an email saying, "First review passed."

She slammed her phone face down on the table, her heart pounding. That night, she called Huahua, but Huahua's voice was so loud that she had to cover her ears with her hands.

"Eight hundred people! We made it to eight hundred! Don't you think we're amazing?!"

After thinking for a moment, the bird said there would be another round.

"I know! The next round is the interview! August 6th! Let's go together!"

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On August 6, the second round of interviews was held at the Tokyo venue.

The venue was a studio owned by Sony Music. Feiniao and Huahua met at the station, both accompanied by adults. Huahua's mother stood next to them, and Feiniao's mother also came.

Hua Hua's mother held Hua Hua's hand and said "Don't be nervous" several times. Hua Hua said "I'm not nervous", but stepped on Fei Niao's heels several times when she entered the building.

While waiting, the waiting area was crowded with girls.

Some people were practicing singing quietly in a corner, some were checking their makeup repeatedly in front of a small mirror, and some were muttering incantations with their hands clasped together and their eyes closed.

The air was filled with a mixture of perfume, foundation, and the scent of tension.

Hua Hua's mouth kept moving, not singing, but muttering softly, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay—"

"Hua Hua," the bird called to her.

"Hmm?" "You've read it ten times."

"I'm nervous." Hua Hua turned her head, her eyes sparkling. "Aren't you nervous?"

After thinking for a moment, the bird said it was alright.

She was telling the truth. It wasn't because she wasn't nervous, but because she had already considered the worst-case scenario before coming to this building.

But Hua Hua is different. She really wants to go; she's a very serious person.

Since the start of summer vacation, Hua Hua has been talking about the selection process every time we meet.

She researched all available information, listed more than a dozen pieces to practice, and finally chose aiko's "Star".

It's an old song released in 2006 with a beautiful melody, but it requires extremely high pitch accuracy. She practiced it for two hours every day at home until her voice became hoarse.

The interviews were conducted in groups of five to ten. When it was Asuka's group's turn, she followed the girl in front of her into the interview room.

The room was small, and three people were sitting behind a long table. The person sitting in the middle was Yoshio Konno—the head of operations for Nogizaka46 and the actual executor of the entire selection process.

He had a serious expression, a thick stack of forms spread out in front of him, and his pen never stopped moving.

Part 1: Brief self-introduction.

"Saito Asuka, thirteen years old, sixth grader at Katsushika Ward Municipal Kazuchiba Elementary School, Tokyo."

Part Two: Sing a song of your choice a cappella.

Asuka sang Kana Nishino's "if", starting from the chorus.

Her voice wasn't loud, and her breath control wasn't very steady; the high notes were slightly strained, but thankfully she didn't sing off-key.

She simply sang each note honestly, without any technique or embellishment, like a primary school student standing in the corner of the music classroom, singing an etude to the piano.

Yoshio Konno wrote on the form, "His musicality is acceptable, but his vocal foundation needs improvement."

Section Three: Q&A with the Judges.

Yoshio Konno looked at her: "Why do you want to be an idol?"

After thinking for a moment, Feibiao said, "I want to stand on the stage and let many people see me."

"Do you want others to take you seriously?" Yoshio Konno's tone wasn't harsh, but his question was direct.

Asuka paused for a moment, but did not deny it.

"……Um."

Konno Yoshio paused for a moment, then wrote on the form, "The motive is genuine; the person is not a speculator."

Section Four: Simple Physical Expression

Asuka followed the instructions and performed several movements. Her sense of dance and coordination were clearly outstanding among amateurs. Her movements were clean and crisp, with a good sense of rhythm. Her extension and control of her limbs were unlike those of someone who had never been trained.

Yoshio Konno added a few more strokes to the form, noting "good dance foundation, excellent coordination".

After the interview, Yoshio Konno marked "guaranteed for final review" on Asuka's form. She was one of the few people at the Tokyo venue to qualify for the final review on the spot.

When she walked out of the building, Hua Hua was already waiting for her outside, her eyes red, but she said "It's okay".

Feiniao didn't ask any further questions, and the two walked out of the building side by side.

Hua Hua later told her that during the Q&A session, when asked "What if you don't get selected?", she said in front of the judges, "Then I'll try again." She was stunned after saying that.

In mid-August, the results of the second round of interviews were released. Out of 800 applicants, only 56 were selected for the final review. When Hua Hua called, her voice was trembling: "Fifty-six people! Fifty-six out of 36,000! We all made it!"

Fifty-six girls, from all over the country, ranging in age from twelve to their early twenties.

Some people receive special attention in their local competition areas, while others are simply picked out from the vast sea of ​​people.

Some people were so nervous in the interview room that they couldn't speak a complete sentence, while others sang off-key so much that the judges laughed.

Feiniao overheard bits and pieces of names from Huahua's phone call.

Mai Shiraishi, from Gunma Prefecture, made a strong impression on the staff during the local interview. Her striking appearance made her stand out in a crowd.

Some people say she's too beautiful, so beautiful that she doesn't look like an ordinary person.

Feiniao had never seen her before, but Huahua's voice carried a subtle emotion of "have we come to the wrong place?"

Nanami Hashimoto is from Hokkaido. Her name is being mentioned more often now.

Asuka didn't know what she looked like, but she heard that she came to participate for a simple reason—

My family is too poor.

She came to Tokyo alone from Hokkaido to study at university. The tuition and living expenses were overwhelming. She heard that she could get free meals while filming on location if she joined the entertainment industry, so she came.

She sang off-key during the interview and introduced herself by saying, "I never thought about becoming an idol, I just came to experience life."

When the judges asked her why she came, she frankly replied, "I heard I could get a boxed lunch."

The interviewer said her temperament was "unique".

When Hua Hua recounted the incident over the phone, her tone carried a complex mix of emotions: "People like this... they're just born to do this kind of work."

Asuka didn't respond; she didn't know what "unique temperament" meant.

Nanase Nishino is from Osaka. Someone in the group said that she was so nervous during her interview that her voice trembled, she forgot the lyrics while singing, and her body stiffened.

Feiniao didn't know what her face looked like, but Huahua said that she "had a lot of feeling when she was spacing out".

Asuka couldn't understand what this feeling was.

These names drifted in and out like a gust of wind from the other end of the phone, leaving behind only a few blurry, indistinct shadows.