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High School Girls Pursue Their Dreams in 'Highdol' Idol Contest

These high school girls recently squared off in a contest to make their dream of stardom a reality.

This past August 10 saw the high school summer idol contest known as "Highdol 2015~Summer Vacation~" take place at the Nippon TV Tower ("highdol" being an amalgamation of the terms "high school" and "idol"). The competition involves self-made idol teams representing their respective high schools as they take to the stage and perform pre-existing idol hits for an audience. The winner is decided through both the votes of said audience and a panel of judges and will have to potential to move on to true idol stardom.

This contest saw seven teams dance and sing their hearts out on stage.

Hakkou Otome 120 Yen from Chuo University Junior and Senior High School kicked off the contest with Momoiro Clover Z's "Bionic Cherry".

The nine-piece group N's~Kyūnin no Megami~ from Kanagawa Prefecture A High School came to the stage with a mix of songs from idol anime Love Live!.

Hailing from Honjo Senior High, the four-member kimono-clad Merci♡ performed songs by idol group Nogizaka46.

Kaho of Osaka High School for Music performed as the only solo act with a variety of songs by iDOL Street, Momoiro Clover Z, GEM, and and Idol College.

Appearing as an almost sentai-esque group, Kanagawa S Prefecture High's LiSA Kuro☆ performed several Momoiro Clover Z songs.

Petits Pois from Municipal K High School performed several different songs, including Buono!'s "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!", used as the third ending for the 2007 anime, Shugo Chara!. They also performed songs by μ's and i☆Ris.

Lastly, chouchou of Musashino Academia Musicae ended the contest portion with songs from AKB48 and Not yet.

The competitors and audience were even greeted with a special guest performance towards the end of the contest. AKB48's Team 8 section were in attendance and performed some of their idol hits.

"We feel so honored to have been able to watch everyone on stage today," the members agreed. "We hope that one day, some of you will be able to perform with us."

The competitors waited with bated breath over the impending results. When the time came, the top three were announced in reverse order. Third place went to chouchou, who also won the "Kimono Ondine Award", something that they were "surprised" to win.

Second place and the special Rakuten Ticket Award went to Petits Pois. Having lost by two points, the members were slightly frustrated at the results, but happy to have still won.

First place was awarded to the solo act of Kaho, who accepted her award with tears of joy. According to the judges, Kaho "performed like a true idol". As the winner of Highdol 2015, Kaho has earned the right to appear on the upcoming Japanese television special "Unidol".

"I would watch Unidol and start wondering about becoming an idol myself one day," Kaho stated in a proceeding interview. "Now being part of the show, I want to inspire that in others as well!"

From here, Kaho plans to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a true idol.

"I want people to know my name as I go out and perform on stages bigger and bigger than before!"

[Via Kai-You]