Today, July 28th (Sunday), STU48 members Yuraku Ikeda, Aoi Hyodo, and Arisa Mineyoshi, who are based in the seven Setouchi prefectures, appeared as special guests at the premium acoustic live “Tsuruku Masaharu 60th Birthday Year Anniversary LIVE” held at the Misanokai Cultural Center in Ainan Town, Ehime Prefecture to celebrate Tsuruga Masaharu’s 60th birthday, and sang STU48’s 8th single “Whose Flowers Are?” and 10th single “What Do You Regret?”, both composed by Tsuruga Masaharu. The three special guests took to the stage with bouquets of flowers to congratulate Tsuruga Masaharu, who is celebrating his 60th birthday and 40th anniversary since his debut, having continued to spin numerous hit songs from his days with the Checkers until now. The venue for this event, Ainan Town, will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the merger of five towns and villages in Minamiuwa County in October of this year, so after enjoying a quiz about Ainan Town’s specialty products, the group sang the 8th single “Whose Flowers Are?”, a message song wishing for peace, released in April 2022, and the 10th single “What Do You Regret?”, released in November 2023, both written by Tsuruhisa. “Whose Flowers Are?” is included in the chorus version by STU48 feat. Hitomi Shimatani on the 1st album “Nostalgic Tomorrow” released in June, and has become a long-loved song, having won first place on the USEN request list on July 24th. Tsuruhisa also harmonized with the group on “Whose Flowers Are?”, making it a special collaboration. When asked about her impressions after singing, Ikeda said, “I’m not so nervous to sing in front of the composer, but I’m worried about whether I can sing it properly with Mr. Tsuruga’s image, so I’m nervous.” Hyodo said, “It’s the first time we’ve collaborated with the composer, and it’s only because Mr. Tsuruga created the song ‘Whose Flowers Are?’ that STU48 is attracting attention that we’re here, and I’m very happy to have been invited as a guest today.” Mineyoshi commented, “As an original member of ‘Whose Flowers Are?’, I’ve been singing this song, and it recently ranked first in the USEN request. Thanks to this song that has been loved for so long, it has become more well-known, and I’m very grateful.” Hiroya.T, who was in charge of arranging the song, joined the talk, and the conversation was lively with stories that can only be heard here, such as behind-the-scenes stories of how the song was made. Ikeda, who has become good friends with Tsuruhisa through their exchanges, made the audience laugh with comments such as “Please continue to treat me as the official grandpa of STU48.” The collaboration with Tsuruhisa Masayoshi this time was truly something that music brought together, and I realized once again that this is a song that I want to continue to cherish and sing, and it was a day to celebrate Tsuruhisa’s 60th birthday and to be grateful for music.
Today’s Event Summary[Event]Tsuruku Masashi 60th Birthday Year Anniversary LIVE
[Date and time]Sunday, July 25, 2024
[Venue]Ehime Prefecture, Ainan Town, Oshoukai Cultural Center
Address: 3063-1, Oshiro, Ainan-cho, Minamiuwajima-gun, Ehime Prefecture, 798-4110
Participants: Yuraku Ikeda, Aoi Hyodo, and Arisa Mineyoshi
