Suzuki Airi was the central figure of C-ute, and had become the ace even of the whole Hello! Project by that time. Still she confesses herself to be unfit to those roles.
Airi: I’m kind of person who would prefer to stand in the end of a row if we’re to be photographed in a group unless they direct me to be in the center.
SHOCK!, released in 2010, must have been painful for the kind of person Suzuki. They gave Suzuki almost all the line in the song, even though it was the first single after the band lost some members and to express the determination that they were going to restart the band with five remained members.
The other members obviously got frustrated. Even their fans booed at the stage where C-ute performed the song for the first time.
Airi: I wanted to quit the band at that time, I was a third year student in junior-high. It was tough to perform almost like a solo act even though we were on stage as a band. I still can’t forget those booing.
Expectation and pressure rested on her shoulders. In a dance training she was even told “You’re making the band looking plain. Coz you’re so plain.” In those hardest times as an idol, Suzuki depended on Takahashi Ai of Morning Musume she had always been admiring.
Airi: I remember that day I visited Takahashi-san’s room in Nakano Sun Plaza crying. I admired her since she’s my senior and the central figure of Hello! Project as well. She was just listening to me, rather than giving me some advices.
In 2011, when Takahashi was graduating, Suzuki begged Takahashi for advices “After you graduate, whom should I look up to?” Takahashi replied “Now you got to be the one your juniors would look up to.”
Airi: If someone you admire gave you such words, you’d have no choice other than to try to do your best to keep Haropuro going. Since I wasn’t the leader of band nor Haropuro, I got determined to try to suggest for my juniors through my own deeds, what kind of behavior, performance, and mentality the idols of Hello! Project are supposed to have.
C-ute succeeded to have its own solo concert at Nippon Budokan in 2013, which was their long-cherished dream. Followed by the one at Yokohama Arena, and the final concert at Saitama Super Arena.
Airi: Looking back now, I think that might have been a task that Tsunku-san gave to me; to perform all by myself in such tough situation back then. Or a message; Don’t give in the adverse circumstance. I don’t know. But I think there would have been some purpose in performing the song all by myself.
Necessarily, Suzuki chose SHOCK! for the solo act in the C-ute’s final concert in 2017.
Airi: I thought “I got to sing this song.” Actually I had many songs in my mind that I wanted to sing solo at the final concert. But I knew I couldn’t avoid to sing SHOCK!, to get over my traumatic memory of that shocking experience. We had once performed the song with the five of us ever since then. But for the last time as C-ute, I performed the song proudly all by myself.
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