Lotta Lotta Buono

 

I've been waiting impatiently for Buono's PV release and it's finally here! I don't know if I'm jumping for joy at this particular video. But Buono can do no wrong in my eyes. They defiantly delivered another hit. I think all of their songs are good but this is my least favorite single by them. The song is just as you'd expect from them happy and upbeat. With their first concert coming up I think we can expect Buono to be around for at least another year or more.

 

Surprisingly Airi and Miyabi stand out the most and Momoko kinda fades into the background to me. Airi looks adorable, she reminds me of Minnie Mouse. Miyavi looks gorgeous in this video. I am a very big fan of the curls she's sporting. But Momoko pretty much looks they same. They stuck a headband in her hair and called it a day. They should at least attempt to change her hairstyle up, like they did in the Honto no Jibun PV. I think the 70's TV show theme explains the Minnie Mouse poka dot dresses. That I wasn't a big fan of at first, but they are defiantly cute. The dances portion of the video kinda falls flat a little bit. But the close up scenes are amazing. Everyone looks so pretty in them. Especially Airi she dominates the cuteness of this video.The dance is pretty simple. It seems like Buono's dances have a pattern. They have a good dance then a stupid one.

So overall I think they song could be a little better but it's still an awesome song. And I'm in love with the video.

NEWS 3rd Color

Johnny's Entertainment group NEWS will be releasing their 3rd full length album, Color, on November 11th. The track list will include NEWS's last four singles as well as fan favorite song Snow Express. The CD will come in both regular and limited edition. Limited edition will include a 32-page booklet and a bonus song, Towairo no Koi. The regular edition will include a 16-page jacket.

Here's the full album tracklist.

1. Weeeek
2. Stardust
3. Summer Time
4. Snow Express
5. Forever
6. Mola
7. Kesenai
8. Ordinary
9. Minna ga Iru Sekai wo Hitotsu Ai wo Motto Give & Take Shimashou
10. Mura Risuto
11. Taiyou no Namida
12. Smile Maker
13. Happy Birthday
14. Fly Again

Korea vs. America

BoA's highly anticipated US single, Eat Up, has released two versions of the music video this past week. Also her American site is up and running you might want to check that out. http://www.boaamerica.com/
There's also a link to audition for SM USA. Which is too amazing for words.

All I can say is they made a huge mistake with the American version.
The Asian one just flows better. It's one consistent storyline in the video. And this version really shows off the dance moves. BoA also demands attention in it and shows that she's is "the best of Asia." And the chandelier falling causing a fire is defiantly an awesome effect. This version would have worked 100 times better in America. The cockiness in this video would work. Every American artist has that, I'm the greatest person on the planet feel.

The American one isn't all bad. It just really fails to compete with the Asian version. I'm not a big fan of everything in the American version being cg, it just makes it look weird. And in a good chunk of the video she looks like a vampire wearing orange lipstick. And dare I say it she might not be "flirtatious" enough. The come get me poses are nothing compared to the sex appeal that artist like the Pussycat Dolls have. They also had a little 10 second scene of BoA almost kissing some random American guy. Which could also be some indirect way of trying to make her more racialy accepted.

Now I'm all for BoA making it in the US, but I'm being realistic. It's very hard for a new artist to be welcomed with open arms, not to mention a foreign artist. And I honestly don't think this particular song is good enough to make any huge impression on American charts. Sorry BoA fans it will take a miracle for this particular song to launch her career overseas. Hopefully her next single will be more generic.

So here are her new videos. You make the choice of which one is really better.


Asian version



American version

Sayonara Elder Club

It was announced earlier today that H!P's entire Elder Club would be graduating on March 31, 2009. They will only be graduating from Hello!Project and will continue to be apart of UFA. They will continue as artists rather than idols.

The initial shock has not warred off yet. I still can't fully understand what has just happened. Can it still truly be called H!P without Nachhi or Kei? Or the 4th gen? Or without the mother of H!P herself, Nakazawa Yuuko? All the girls that made H!P rise to glory and made it what it is today are gone, just like that. Without a formal explanation. It's just a big slap in the face to fans if you ask me. Basically saying "Hey we're taking away all your idols and there's nothing you can do about it! Explanations? If you're lucky we'll explain it clearly in April." At least that's how I take it. It looks like Hangry and Angry will be the first official group not part of H!P.

Well at least with every con there's a pro. A few people have speculated that maybe they will form a new unit with UFA, an Elder!Project. Letting the respected members continue their career and be in the spotlight more. And letting Hello!Project continue to have the fresh and young feel.
What I think will happen is current solo artists and members will be able to leave UFA if the wish to or continue to remain a part of UFA but have more control over their career. I don't think all member will become solo artist, it's unclear who will be. So what happens to the rest of the members? I guess we'll hopefully find out in passing months.

So here's a full list of the graduating members.

Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi, Yasuda Kei, Yaguchi Mari

Ishikawa Rika, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Tsuji Nozomi, Konno Asami, Ogawa Makoto

Fujimoto Miki, Inaba Atsuko, Satoda Mai, Maeda Yuki

Saito Hitomi, Murata Megumi, Ohtani Masae, Shibata Ayumi

Miyoshi Erika, Matsuura Aya, Okada Yui

Korenaga Miki, Noto Arisa, Sengoku Minami, Sawada Yuri

And here's a video to remember them by

Kowabunga Berryz

The preview for Berryz Koubou's 18th single Madayade is out. It's got that 60's surfer vibe to it. I actually really like the chorus part. At first listen the song sounds weird, but it's growing on me. And it's nice to hear almost everyone get a solo line. And it's only 1:30 in. But the lyrics sound kinda weird. It could just be my bad Japanese.

I can't wait to see the video. I think the surfer dances they do in those old beach movies would be cute for this song.

When I say shotgun you say wedding

Twenty two year old model, singer, and all around gravure idol, Leah Dizon, had a shocking announcement for fans at her October 14th show in Shibuya. Right before her final song she revealed she was four months pregnant and has been married since the 10th. Her husband is said to be a stylist in his 20s. She met him a year ago while taking photos for CD jackets. The wedding was held on the 10th in the Hilton Hotel in Shinjuku. A press conference will be held on the 15th, in my time zone it probably already happened. She said she is going to take a break from her career but hopes to return to it someday.

I guess this is shocking news for a lot male fans, but to me I kind of don't care that much. I'm not the world's biggest Leah Dizon fan and don't claim to be. I like Koi Shiyou and that's about it. I've always held a certain dislike for her after I found out Nishikido Ryo had a huge crush on her. A stupid fangirl reason for hating someone. But I certainly think this is goodbye to Leah forever. Her singing career was less than impressive. Only her first two singles made it to the top ten and her last single, Vanilla, was her least selling single. Only peaking at #26.

I kind of think 22 is a little young to be pregnant and getting married. But if Tsuji can do it at 20, then Leah can too. But I do wish her the best of luck. And if she does return to singing maybe she'll have better songs this time.

Punky Charmy

Ishikawa Rika was in the fashion sow for the clothing line H. Naoto. However I am not sure of the exact date of the show. She was cosplaying as Angry to promote her new unit with Yossie. Aside from Rika, Konno Asami and Yajima Maimi were also in the show. This fashion show was great exposure for both H.Naoto and H!P.





In case you didn't know, Hangry and Angry are the mascots for the H.Naoto clothing brand. They even have their own line of clothing. Which is more of punk and lolita style. While H.Naoto as a whole blends together, modern Japanese clothes, lolita, punk, and visual kei. The clothes are really cute but I think they are too similar to the Japanese brand Putumayo. And also similar to Japanese punk brand Sex Pot Revenge. So I wonder what brought about this decision to blend together a fashion label and music? And not just any music H!P.

In any case, here are some links you might like.

http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/s-inc/Categories?category=HANGRY+%26+ANGRY
http://www.putumayo-home.com/
http://www.sexpot-revenge.com/

Kiss me Hangry & Angry

A new unit was formed within H!P called Hangry and Angry. The two members will be Yoshizawa Hitomi and Ishikawa Rika. I was completely thrown off guard by this. I would never expect something like this to happen in Hello!Project. I aslo didn't think Yossie and Charm would sound so good together. I know they were in two groups together but they didn't really do duets. I am really excited to see the PV for this. The song is amazing! I had to have listened to it at least 6 times already. It blends together my two favorite things Jrock and H!P. I think this is a good direction for H!P. They have never done anything like this before This will really increase the fan base. It's like a darker side of H!P, it's really good. This is the best songs H!P has had in a while. Their debut single is called Kiss Me Kill Me. Which immediately mades me think of Dir en grey. Because in Diru's song Child Prey the lyrics to the song is kiss me kill me love me. But that's good it just brings out the Visual Kei vibe more. This group is just win!

The outfits are equally amazing, but the hair is a little over the top. I think Yossie outfit is better, hands down. It's very VK. For Rika's it looks like they wanted to give her a lolita dress. But it just ended up looking weird and tried to much to match Yossie's dress too much. And does anyone else notice the eye mask Rika is wearing? It looks strangely similar to the one Koda Kumi wore in one of her photo shoots.

The preview is up, so enjoy. :D

Rockin' Aibon

Ai Kago is starring in a commercial for an motor vehicle auction site. The site is Kagofied, well at least her featured page is Kagofied. She's sporting a cool rocker outfit, that looks like something Buono would wear or Morning Musume on a show they used to have. Her boots are amazing. Anyway she looks really adorable in the commercial and she sings a little bit in it which makes me happy. There also a making of video which is great for Kago fans. Here's the site. http://auction.goo-net.com/kago/


So I've been waiting for Aibon news that I would actually blog about so I can talk about her.

I just want to say I am a huge Aibon fan. She's is my all time favorite member of H!P. I miss W like crazy. And I actually cried when I found out she was making a comeback. Because it broke my heart she was fired. Even though the news of her comeback is about her becoming an actress I still hold a pipe dream that she will sing again. I mean an actual single not singing at an event. I guess it's stupid to think that, but I can still hope.

Also I read on some ones blog that Aibon wasn't the same person she used to be. She's not Aibon at all anymore she's Ai Kago. And I agree 100% with that. She isn't the slightly chubby, overly sweet, childish girl that H!P almost forced her to be. You may disagree with this and she still acts that way but she doesn't, she more mature. And sure everyone grows up and matures. But I can almost guarantee that if she didn't get kicked out W would still be kicking. And she would be back to being the overly cutesy "twin" of Nono. She might act a little more mature but not to the extent she is. Because W has to be marketed a certain way.

Even her appearance was no longer Aibon like. She cut off all her and hair was wearing less make up. In a way she was almost unrecognizable. She seems to be like any fallen star, desperately trying to step back into the lime light. I am still on the fence about her whole situation. On one hand I'm thrilled that she is continuing her career, I truly wish her the best. But on the other hand she seems different even though she's the same person. I guess I'm really upset because I still can't accept the fact that she got fired. I'm holding onto a dream solo career that most likely won't happen. I can't accept the fact that Aibon will never truly exist again.

I might have gotten a little carried away, but I really wanted people to know how I feel about her. I will still continue to support her.

Full remix

Just as speculated that wasn't the full version of the Dschinghis Khan remix. The full PV is less weird and more watch able. It's a completely different version entirely. So I guess the other one is the crazy sheep version. Even though the full PV has sheep they are cuter cartoon sheep. I think it's awesome that Maasa is the one with cape. It's a good way for her to subtly stand out more. At one point in the video it where they are dancing with the German group it just looks weird to me. And for literally 5 seconds they dance in different outfits, which is hardly enough time to even notice them.

So check out the PV you sheep loving weirdos.

My heart leaps for An Cafe

So An Cafe's new PV for the song My Heart Leaps For 'C' is out! I am super excited about this.

But yet this song is a slight disappointment. I have a reason though. This song doesn't really pop. It's not that energetic, which is what I like/expect from them. Which is an almost shallow reason. If you like a band you like them for their music as a whole. But, if your music isn't diverse you're essentially listening to the same song. That's honestly how I feel about An Cafe. Their slower paced songs don't leave that big of an impression. Like Snow Scene the lyrics of the song are good but I don't like the slow pace of it. The song is still good just not my favorite. The same with this song. The only part that really sticks out is the chorus. And Takuya's awesome guitar solo. But overall the song is worth listening too because almost every song An Cafe makes is good.

As for the PV, it's as bland as the song. I understand An Cafe is indie and doesn't have a large budget but this PV lacks imagination. They have had cheap videos that are still cool, like Escapism. But I really love the outfits for this PV. Miku looks super adorable. And I must say my heart beats for Kanon. And he always seems to have the best clothes, even with the weird feather in his hair. But I can't complain I mean it looks like Yuuki got strangled by feathers.

Oh and sorry for all the entries about An Cafe. You might not care about them, but they are one of my favorite bands. And I'll probably do more posts about them so bear with me.

Rottara Rottara preview

So I decided not to make a post for Buono's new song preview when it made it's way on youtube about a week ago. Thinking the PV would be out already. Since whenever I make preview posts the PV is released practically the next day, but of course it didn't happen that way. And now my preview post is old news being a week behind. I give up I'm just going to post previews from now on. I'll post my actual review of the song when the PV comes out. So here's the preview. Like you haven't heard it before. ;]

An Cafe fifth anniversary

 

An Cafe is releasing a new EP, Koakuma Usagi no Koibumi to Machine Gun, to commemorate their 5th anniversary. The EP includes four new songs and the music video for My Heart Leaps For "C". It's set to come out October 29.
Among the new songs is Nyappy in the World 4. I honestly think the first Nyappy song was the best so I'm excited to see how the 4th one sounds.


The EP has a cute cover, I'm pretty sure the name translates into English as little devil rabbit's love letter and machine gun.

The band also took some pretty snazzy promo pictures.