Umeda Miyu

Umeda Miyu (梅田みゆ) is a Japanese idol and member of CUTIE STREET, where she represents the color light blue. Before joining the group, she was active under the name Ukon Miyu (右近心優) as a member of A♡Z and later Lapilaz, and was also part of the trainee project KAWAII LAB. MATES. She officially debuted with A♡Z on April 24, 2021, after becoming one of the finalists of MISS JK CONTEST 2020. In July 2024, she was promoted from KAWAII LAB. MATES to CUTIE STREET.

Miyu grew up in Kumamoto and was often described as extremely competitive from a young age. Although she is the eldest child in her family, she tended to take on a “little sister” role among friends because of her small height and soft atmosphere. She spent much of her childhood involved in activities ranging from cheerleading and basketball to swimming, calligraphy, English lessons, and even competitive karuta during middle school. Rather than seeing herself as naturally talented, she has repeatedly described herself as someone who succeeds through effort and persistence.

One of the strongest emotional influences on her early life was TWICE. Living far from major cities made opportunities to see live performances rare, but attending concerts left a deep impression on her. Watching idols perform from the audience made her begin wondering what the view looked like from the stage itself. At the same time, she was heavily inspired by fellow Kumamoto native Risa Furusawa, long before they ever became groupmates. During middle school, Miyu followed Furusawa’s modeling and social media work closely, even setting her photos as both her lock screen and home screen. Seeing someone from the same hometown succeed in entertainment made her believe she could pursue that path too.

Her idol journey began through the MISS JK CONTEST, where she was later invited to join A♡Z. She quickly fell in love with idol activities, especially the combination of singing, dancing, and making people happy through live performance. However, the experience was not glamorous at first. She has spoken openly about performing at tiny live houses where there were barely any fans in the audience, sometimes feeling unsure whether she truly belonged on stage at all. Over time, as people gradually started coming specifically to support her and the group, she began understanding the emotional fulfillment that comes with being an idol.

A major figure throughout this period was fellow future CUTIE STREET member Ayano Masuda. The two had worked together since their earlier idol days and were extremely close, even living together as roommates for a period. Miyu often describes Ayano as both her emotional support and her greatest motivation. Seeing Ayano attract large numbers of fans pushed Miyu to work harder herself, handing out flyers daily in places like Shibuya’s Hachiko area because she wanted to contribute more to the group’s growth.

After Lapilaz disbanded in 2023, Miyu made the difficult decision to leave her agency and pursue a new opportunity through ASOBISYSTEM’s KAWAII LAB. audition. The audition training camp became one of the most difficult experiences of her life. Because she struggles with memorizing choreography quickly, the intense schedule—learning dances in a single day and performing them immediately afterward—placed her under enormous pressure. She practiced constantly while sacrificing sleep, only to find exhaustion making it even harder to remember routines.

During the camp, producer Misa Kimura told her, “This isn’t the usual Miyu,” after noticing how overwhelmed and emotionally drained she had become. That comment became a turning point. Miyu decided to stop focusing only on her own fear and instead tried to brighten the mood for the people around her. She later described this as the moment she truly changed, realizing that encouraging others also gave her strength in return. According to her, if she had stayed trapped in her negative mindset, she likely would not have been selected for the final lineup.

When CUTIE STREET’s final members were announced, Miyu said she felt overwhelming relief and happiness, especially because the selected members were people she genuinely trusted and respected. She was particularly emotional about debuting alongside both Ayano Masuda and Risa Furusawa—two people who had deeply influenced her journey long before the group existed.

Since debuting with CUTIE STREET, Miyu has described her life as nonstop and overwhelming in the best possible way. Among all their experiences so far, the group’s debut stage at TOKYO IDOL FESTIVAL remains the most unforgettable for her. Years earlier, she and Ayano had promised each other that they would someday stand on the TIF stage together again as idols. Learning that CUTIE STREET’s first performance would happen there felt almost unreal to her.

Within the group, Miyu sees herself as someone who quietly supports others rather than dominating attention. She often takes notes during meetings and helps organize discussions behind the scenes, earning playful nicknames from members for being unexpectedly reliable despite her younger age. Personality-wise, she tends to balance the atmosphere around her, instinctively trying to lift spirits whenever others feel down.

At the same time, she remains highly self-critical and constantly focused on improvement. She openly says that dance is still her biggest challenge and believes that if she improves individually, the overall level of the group will rise as well. Receiving praise for her singing improvement from instructors who had known her since her trainee days became one of the proudest moments of her career, especially because she once felt intimidated by them.

More than anything, Miyu views being an idol as her true calling. She has repeatedly said that there is no greater happiness for her than turning the things she loves—singing, dancing, and performing—into something that can emotionally support and encourage other people. Her current goal is simple but deeply important to her: to make every fan who supports her feel genuinely happy, and to bring them with CUTIE STREET to even bigger stages in the future.