When Mari first left Morning Musume I wasn't sure she'd be able to cut it as a solo singer, but her recent performances on Uta Doki (particularly the most recent one) has shown an improvement compared to last year. I'm hoping this means something, like maybe she's had a bit of voice training to prepare her. In a way, Uta Doki is a bit like an audition where they're trying out people like Mari, Tsuji, Ayaka and Kei, and I hope we get something more permanent out of this.