I apologize for making you wait this long.
As many of you might already know, I won the Animax Anime Song Grand Prix (2008) of Japan on sunday (September 21st, 2008).
I’ve been wondering how I should announce it and what kind of words to express along with it.
I provide you with links that I was given by various sources. thank you SO much to everyone who informed me of these things :
http://animaxshop.air-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/09/22/09_22_04.jpg
http://www.mainichi.jp/enta/mantan/news/20080922mog00m200025000c.html
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g89/DenkouNova/aoimenoanisonkashu/2008-02-22_The_birth.jpg
(a translation made by a friend, for the sake of people who can’t read the japanese text)
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-09-22/27-year-old-canadian-wins-aniplex-singing-contest
(I’m sorry that you have to learn about my age if you had no clue I was so old. I didn’t lie about it, I just avoided mentionning it because people usually think I’m younger)
Actually I signed up when I was still 27 years old, but I turned 28 on July 20th, so nobody knew and it didn’t get changed. But at this age, I’d rather stop counting anyway. I’m very young in my heart and you all know it! (which is both a good and bad thing) Please don’t treat me any differently if you just learned my age today, ok? I decided I am 20 years old, ok? 
There are other articles and pictures, but in the end, I think this should be enough at the moment.
Of course it wasn’t something easy.
My emotions were very mixed during the past month.
And yet…I didn’t want to go to the finals with a half-hearted attitude.
It wasn’t all about winning or losing.
I wanted to make sure to do give my best, despite my incredible nervousness.
I wanted to touch people’s hearts, even just with one song.
To have had the chance to stand on that stage, having all these people listening, industry people as well… and meet all these incredible finalists, I feel blessed.
I have to say that I really loved everyone.
All the finalists were SO nice. And talented of course.
There are some that I spoke with less, but I’m still so grateful for that experience.
I wish I could have had the courage to try to speak more with them.
Shimizu-san… who has such a strong passion… I admire him very much. He was very powerful.
Yuri-san. OMG. I love her voice so much. I wish I could have heard more….
Hikari-chan. She was adorable and SO nice to me, despite the fact that I’m just an old lady next to her! Her mom was also so kind to me.
Airi-chan. Wow. She sure was popular in the audience. She was the same age as Hikari. They were both so cute.
The ST-AWAKE guys. Wow. They were SO funny. One of them kept joking around the whole time. Of course my level of japanese isn’t that high that I missed a lot of the things that were meant to be funny, but whatever I could understand really made me laugh. They were also VERY good. I wish they could have made it to the next round….I wanted to hear more.
Tanaka Tarou-san. I loved his voice too. He was really the visual jrock-ish type. I’m not sure what I loved most though…his voice? or his looks? Haha. He was very nice too.
Konomi-san was also very lovely. She was so cute in her dress. I still can’t believe japanese females can have such petite bodies. I’m so envious! It looks like she made her dress herself. WOW. Sewing talents too.
Oota-san. T_T I’m so sorry I don’t have much to say because I really didn’t speak with him much, but he was also another powerful singer. Way to go!!!
And last but not least…. Tagami Satoshi-san. T_T …………………….. T______T
I….. *cries* I’m so sad.
He was just _SO_ nice. Honestly. He said ‘please come to Hokkaido!!’ ……I wanted to ask him his e-mail but…. I was too shy. ._. *sniff* My heart hurts a little bit. I wish I had the courage to speak with him more.
AAAAH!!! But other than that, he was a great singer as well. I think he got unlucky to be the first one to sing. Obviously the judges will not give a high score to the first one because they have to start their base off. Since you don’t know how good or bad the other contestants will do, you can’t give such a high score to the first one. But then the first one might get forgotten a bit as the other ones move forward and so it’s highly possible that the scores will raise for the later people. I don’t think he did bad. I don’t know how far he would have made it if he wasn’t first, but I really hope that he won’t give up.
Aaaaah maybe I’ll never see him again!! nooooo!!!
Sayonara, Aki no Akogare! (haha, probably only Lisa will get that one)
I just want to say that I’m very very grateful that I was able to get this opportunity.
I know that some of you who read this might think ‘bah, I knew you’d win’ and such….
But it was honestly not like that. It was nothing easy.
And even after winning this wonderful contest, things won’t be easy either.
Neither for my living, nor financially, emotionally, etc.
I am given this chance, but I need to earn the respect of japanese people by my own efforts.
People won’t just accept me without me making more efforts than the average.
I know that. And no matter how weak I always seem to be, I came to Japan with this determination.
Why do I say ‘the japanese people’ first? Well, obviously because I came to Japan.
Because I chose to come here of my own free will, so I have to make the effort that is required to prove myself to them.
But I want to let you know, the people from all over the world as well (all my friends in Quebec/Canada, the ones in the United States and the ones from various countries that have gotten to hear me sing online or become my good friends…), that your support means just as much to me.
Everyone is important in this. I can’t be so selfish anymore. This isn’t just my dream. This is something that includes all the people who listen as well. Which means… all of you out there.
I need you all. And I will do my best, with the options that I can find around me, to make you smile.
My goal has always been to touch people’s heart with my singing. If I can move people, or make them smile… I will be extremely happy and satisfied. For me, it will be one of the best happiness in the world. I know that life isn’t easy for anyone, we all have trials to go through and sometimes unfair things happen. But I hope that I can somehow sing for the sake of people who need a bit of comfort. Because I was also given a lot of comfort through music as well, and I’m thankful to the great artists that I was able to listen to.
Most importantly, I want to thank my close friends, although I think it might be a little insulting if I start naming a bunch of people and then omit some and hurt people’s feelings.
You probably all know what kind of place you have in my heart anyway, each of you, so don’t worry, your respective places are safe in my heart. I love you all SO much.
こんにちは。
優勝の後から、ブログは凄く「あそこ」からのクリックありますよね。
英語だけで今までブログしたけど、今は別のブログ、日本語で作ろうかな～と思って、どうですか？
確かに日本語はヘタだけど、今から、英語のブログだけを書いて、多分失礼です、日本人に。。。
私はカナダから日本に来て、日本語で歌うために。。。だからもっと頑張りたいと思います。
もちろん心から日本語を上達したいから、よろしくお願いします！
アニソングランプリは本当に楽しかったです。
みんなと一緒に同じ夢を目指すのは素敵な事だと思います。
みんなは夢を諦めないで下さい、本当に。
難しくなったり、大変なことがあったりとか当然だけど、本当の「負け」は諦めることです。
だから、これからも、頑張って下さい。今は最後のチャンスじゃありませんから。
私もアニソングランプリでその意見を持っていました、ずっと。。。
みんなはアニソングランプリで上手だったと思います。
お願いします、頑張って下さい！！
これからも、自分の道も色々な事情があるけど、強い意志を持って、本当に本当に頑張ります。
応援する人に感謝しています。
神様にも凄く感謝しています。歌うことが出来るなんて、とても嬉しいですよ。歌うことが何よりもしたいです。人の心を癒すために。。。幸せにあげるためにも、神様がくれた歌声で、ものすごく感謝しています。
ブログはまだだけど、作ったあと、チャンとここにリンクをあげますから、しばらく、もうちょっと待って下さい。
ありがとうございました。
これからは始まりますね。
Before I conclude this post, I just want to say a HUGE thanks to Nano, Momo and Tamami who came to cheer me on and who are all dear friends to me. You girls are the best. Really. T_T <3 I was so happy you all came after all. Your support means the world to me.
And Nano…if you are reading this. You know that if I never met you on the internet 2 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far. You gave me courage and hope and you made a huge change in my life.
I am cheering you on with the same feelings you cheer me on.
Together…
-HIMEKA/Catherine St-Onge/カトリーヌ セント・オンジュ
