On September 29, 2011, at a concert at Nippon Budokan, which was part of "Morning Musume Concert Tour 2011 Aki Ai Believe: Takahashi Ai Sotsugyō Kinen Special", it was announced that Masaki Sato passed the auditions alongside 3 other girls: Haruna Iikubo, Ayumi Ishida, and Haruka Kudo.
29 сентября на концерте в Nippon Budokan в рамках концертного тура Morning Musume Concert Tour 2011 Aki Ai Believe: Takahashi Ai Sotsugyou Kinen Special были объявлены победительницы прослушиваний в Morning Musume.