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The story
Hello! Project’s Yumiketa Akoto revealed during a talk show with comedian Sanma that, “My voice was already low to begin with, but lately it’s been getting lower and lower, almost like I’m going through a second voice change.” When she tested her lower range with a vocal coach, she reportedly hit notes rarely heard from a woman’s voice, prompting Sanma to quip, “Just make that your weapon!” The story made its way to a 5ch thread on the Hello! Project board, where reactions leaned positive overall — some said it was the lowest voice in the group since Morning Musume’s Ishiguro Aya, others hoped she’d cover a song by Tampopo (a Hello! Project duo unit), and a few offered blunt critiques of her vocal technique itself. On the whole, most commenters embraced the deep voice as part of her individuality.
What people said
Sanma: Whoa, really?
Yumiketa: And then, when I met with my vocal coach recently, we ended up just messing around to see how low I could actually go, and I hit notes that a normal woman really wouldn't—
Though with her singing ability, she might get turned away at the door.
https://i.imgur.com/dUWPaux.mp4
I hope she covers a Tampopo song someday.
Background and Talking Points
Yumiketa Akoto is a member of Hello! Project already known for her naturally low voice. The remarks in question came from an episode of a talk show with Sanma, in which she tested her lower vocal range with a vocal coach and described a shift, similar to a second voice change, that pushed her range even lower. It’s worth noting that a woman’s voice dropping in register due to growth or changes in vocal technique isn’t unusual in itself and isn’t a sign of illness or abnormality — a point that’s easy to misread. Reactions on the thread were largely favorable, centering on comparisons to Morning Musume’s Ishiguro Aya as the lowest voice since her, along with hopes that Yumiketa might cover a Tampopo song, though some commenters also offered blunt criticism of her vocal technique itself. In short, the thread contained both voices celebrating the low register as part of her individuality and voices that judged the technical side separately. Note that the original thread also contained numerous unrelated promotional spam posts, so this article excerpts only the portions that form a coherent conversation.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Good News] Yumiketa Akoto: ‘My voice was already low, but with what’s like a voice change it keeps getting lower and lower — I’m even hitting notes a woman normally can’t,’ Sanma: ‘Make that your weapon’.”
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