Winner Of Adult AKB Is A 37 Years Old Mom With 2 Kids Named Mariko Tsukamoto(塚本まり子)

As part of the Ezaki Glico Papico campaign, the search to recruit a 30+ years old new member for the idol group AKB48 is finally over. The winner to the adult AKB48 audition has been unveiled on April 17th, 2014 in the city of Yokohama and her name is Mariko Tsukamoto(塚本まり子) (37). She is going to debut in the center position for the Papico CM that will be released on May 14th, 2014.

The mother of two was chosen from among over 5,000 applicants. She said, "I want to send energy to other moms that are also raising kids like me." From a limited time, Tsukamoto is going to be the main focus for Papico's spring campaign.

Organizers said the reasoning for her selection is that she matches the image of AKB48 as well as the brand "Papico" while being over 30 years of age.

For the adult AKB audition, no experience was require if the applicant's age is over the age of 30. The first round of selection was selected by applicant's application and resume. The second round was by face to face interview which took place on April 5th. The final round of selection was dancing and vocal audition which was held on April 12th in Tokyo.

Two days ago, former morning musume member Sayaka Ichii(市井紗耶香), who was an early favorite to win the audition, said through her blog that she was cut in the final selection of the audition. 





Source: papico.glico.com/otona, sponichi.co.jp