The full PV for AKB48's 21st single, Everyday, Kachuusha, has been released. And if you ask me it was released extremely fast. The PV preview just came out 2 days ago, and I didn't even get a chance to post about that yet. Since I was on break from blogging because I was sick, I've been a little lazy when it comes to blogging. I seriously need to get back into the groove. XD
Anyway, the main storyline of the PV is AKB48 playing homage to their earlier PVs. Now on the surface that sounds like a completely interesting and unique idea. And it is. But I can't be the only one out there who also thinks it's extremely arrogant. AKB48 has only been around for almost 6 years and had one million seller, and already they are parading around like they are incredible. To me, playing homage to past PVs is basically saying, "Look at our humble beginnings and now look at the amazing success we are now." Morning Musume has released over twice the amount of singles they have, and have been around for over twice as long as they have. And yet there's no homage PV. Arashi has been really popular a lot longer than AKB48 has, and they haven't released an homage PV. It seems like AKB48 has to shove their popularity in your face, like "don't forget we're the #1 female idol group, ok." I don't know maybe I'm just over thinking things but that is the absolute first thing that I thought of. It just screams arrogance to me. AKB48 isn't nearly high enough in their popularity level to be doing this. And they haven't been around long enough to make a PV like this. This is a legit we've been around for 20 years so lets recreate all the good times, type of PV. While I do love the idea of recreating past PVs I just thing it's way too early for AKB48. The whole PV is premature.
Another reason why I don't particularly love this PV isI think it's also extremely lazy and unimaginative. It seems like they couldn't really think of anything to do for the PV so they decided to just recreate past PVs. And it actually seems more like an excuse for them to wear bikinis. Because even though it's supposed to be a homage to their past PVs, it basically focuses on Ponytail to Shushu. And obviously the sexier the PV is the better the song sells.
Since this single is devoid of its own PV, I'm just going to point out all the other PVs I notice.
Already this is going to be easy.
I think it's pretty obvious there was a similar scene in Ponytail to Shushu.
AKB48 actually ride bikes a lot in their PVs.
But since Acchan is riding along the beach I'm going to guess it's supposed to be the Aitakatta PV.
To me this looks like a direct reference to the Ponytail to Shushu PV.
However, you can argue that it can't be since they are dancing on grass and not a beach. In the Aitakatta and Iiwake Maybe PVs they dance on bare grass. But I still think it's supposed to be Ponytail to Shushu.
They made this incredibly obvious.
However, the original confrontation from the Iiwake Maybe PV is setup different.
Yet another nod to Ponytail to Shushu.
This is really starting to annoy me. :/
Here's Iiwake Maybe again.
Why do they keep using the same PVs?
Finally a new PV reference.
This time it's Sakura no Hanabiratachi.
Even something as simple as Acchan on the phone is a reference.
It happens shortly in the Oogoe Diamond PV.
I think this is supposed to be the fight scene from Oogoe Diamond.
However, in the original Sae doesn't hit Atsuko.
Peeking at dancing.
Is yet another reference to Oogoe Diamond.
Finally another new PV.
Which is obviously Namida Surprise.
Of course they just had to squeeze in another Ponytail to Shushu reference.
They just had to.
When I first saw flower petals falling I thought it was supposed to be Sakura no ki ni Narou.
But then I realized it was supposed to be Baby Baby Baby.
Obvious peephole is obvious.
Of course it's from the Heavy Rotation PV.
A scene from my absolute favorite AKB48 single.
Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou.
Sleepy Acchan.
Which is obviously from 10nen Zakura.
This has to be a nod at the fact that some of BINGO was filmed on a boat.
However, there was never a scene like that in BINGO.
Well there you go most of the homage parts of the PV. Obviously I didn't do every single one. Mostly because that would have taken even longer than this post already took to make.
A short radio rip for KAT-TUN's upcoming single White has been released.
When I heard the short commercial previews of White and Perfect I was afraid that White would never be able to compare to Perfect. And than when I saw KAT-TUN's performance of Perfect on Music Station, and how amazing the song was, I was completely worried about White. And after finally hearing more than 30 seconds of the song I can officially say all of my fears and worrys were 100% justifiable. White is a completely lack luster, mediocre, excuse for an A-side that is in every way, shape, and form far inferior to Perfect. Perfect is simple and laid back and yet at the same time has completely upbeat and dancable music. Not to mention Koki's incredible rap section. I've never heard Koki rap that fast before. It was incredibly sexy. XD
At the end of White's intro there are these soft chimes that would be much better suited for a Hey! Say! JUMP song. And that pretty much sets the tone for the entire song. The song reminds me a lot of Ultimate Wheels where the song is sung pretty much on the same level the entire song, even the chorus. The chorus in White tries to act like it's actually picking up, but it's not really. If you listen the chorus is sung exactly the same as the verse except in the chorus they are singing signifigantly louder. They try to trick you into thinking the song is picking up however it never does. And I don't really want to settle for something like that. Yes, Perfect does basically do the same thing with their verse and chorus. However, there is a bridge thrown in there to make the song a little more interesting. The only redeeming qualities about this song are the high notes at the end of the chorus and that it sounds like just after where the song cuts off it sounds like there's a Koki rap solo. Which is always a nice addition to KAT-TUN songs.
A full radio rip of C-ute's upcoming 16th single, Momoiro Sparkling, has been released.
This song is worlds different than C-ute's last single Kiss Me Aishiteru. But after hearing their last album, Chou Wonderful6, fans should have been expecting a song like this. Because honestly this song sounds like it was ripped directly from that album. I'm a little bit upset that C-ute didn't release another single like Kiss Me Aishiteru just because I love when C-ute makes mature songs, they end up being some of their best. However, I am not completely dissapointed by this song as I completely loved their last album. And I feel songs like this are very cute and refreshing. This song to me reminds me a lot Shouchuu Omimai Moushi Moushiagemasu. Obviously Shouchuu Omimai Moushi Moushiagemasu musically is a lot more summer sounding than this song, but both songs have a very summery feel to them. And all of the background sounds reminds me of the background sounds Shouchuu Omimai Moushi Moushiagemasu. Even though they are less frequent in this song. Overall I really like the sound of this song. It's very airy and laid back. However, coming after a single as amazing as Kiss Me Aishiteru in just seems more lack luster in comparison. Like you know what C-ute is capable of so why aren't they releasing songs like that again. That type of feeling.
It was announced that Buono will be releasing their 12th single. For now the single is untitled, but it will be released on July 20th. This is another single that was announced a few months ago but I am just mentioning now.
I am really excited to see Buono releasing another single. Not only this quickly after their last single, but really at all. Last year Buono only released one single, and there was even some rumors of them breaking up. But I'm glad to see Buono going strong and releasing more frequently than last year. Buono is one of those groups who basically does no wrong. Nearly every single is amazing, and even the one or two that aren't the greatest are still pretty decent. There last single was pretty amazing, so hopefully this one will be too. Though this is Buono we're talking about, it's most likely going to.
H!P group S/mileage announced that they will be releasing their 6th single. Though the title is currently unknow, the single will be released on July 6th.
Just like I said above absolutely nothing, besides the release date, has been announced about this single. So we're justing going to have to wait and see if S/mileage is going to release another silly song like Koi no Booing Buu or have a repeat of their debut single Yume Miru 15sai, which was more on the mature side.
Hot off the heals of completeing her Egg training it was announced that Kitahara Sayaka will be making her debut as a seiyuu as well as making her official solo CD debut. Her debut single will be titled Yappa Seishun and will be released on June 22nd. Sayaka will be voicing Sorano Aoi, a character in the anime Inazuma Eleven, which her solo single will be used as the ending theme. This means Sayaka will be picking up where Berryz Koubou left off when it comes to ending themes for the Inazuma Eleven anime. Sayaka will be releasing this single under the name Sarano Aoi. Much like Kusumi Koharu did for her Kirarin Revolution single tie-ins.
I wish I could say I'm happy to see Sayaka doing this. I am happy for her in the sense that she hasn't really done anything since Milky Way, and good for her. But to have her debut as a solo singer while a lot of more talented Eggs have either left, been shoved into a dancing group, or are just sitting there makes me extremely sad. In my opinion Sayaka is one of the absolute worst singers in Hello!Project rigth now. Granted I haven't actually heard her sing since Milky Way, but I doubt she's improved that much. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what her song sounds like. We might get lucky and it might not turn out to be a train wreck after all.
It was announced that Berryz Koubou is going to be releasing their 26th single. This was announced a few months ago, but I haven't mentioned it on my blog yet. The single is titled Ai no Dangan and will be released on June 8th.
Other than the name and release date nothing else is know about this single yet. But I hope this single turns out to be actually decent. After their dissapointing and lack luster 7th album, Berryz for me have been knocked down a bit. So, I hope this song restores my faith in them. Their singles are usually consistantly good, but after their 7th album it could go either way now.
During a recent AKB48 handshake event at Nagoya Dome, AKB48 member Maeda Atsuko she will be releasing her first solo single. The single is entitled Flower and will be released on June 22nd. The song will also be used in her movie Moshidora.
I'm sure most of the AKB48 fandom is absolutely thrilled by this announcement since Acchan is one of the most popular members. I gotta say I'm surprised that she hasn't released a solo single before. She has the perfect mix of popularity and singing ability. I'm not really a fan of Acchan but I am excited for her debut. She has one of my favorite voices in AKB48 and I'm really excited to hear what her song is going to sound like. Apparently the song is going to be a ballad, which I'm not too happy with. But if the song sounds anything like 7ji 12fun no hatsukoi I'll be happy.
The full radio preview of Watarirouka Hashiritai7's new song Mama, Grazie has been released. And even though the full song has been released I'm still not 100% sure if this is going to be a legit single or not. Mayu even introduced the song as a campaign song. However, I think previewing the song on the radio a week before the commercial is supposed to air probably means it is going to be an official single.
This song is a lot more laid back than Watarirouka Hashiritai's last few singles. I was a littled dissapointed by that because I prefer their more upbeat and energetic singles to their more subdued ones. The music for this song also never changes through the whole song. It stays nearly identical in both verse and chorus. Which I find to be absolutely boring, I hate when songs hardly pick up when the chorus hits. The song itself does sound pretty cute but it's not really that catchy in my opinion. It's actually kind of forgetable, and sounds more like an A-side than a B-side. It might not be my favorite song by them but it is still miles better than Akkanbe Bashi. But pretty much any song they release would be better than that song. Also, you gotta love how the Japanese pronounce the word grazie. How gurache is supposed to sound remotely like grazie is beyond me. XD
I also don't see why they bothered to briefly add 2 more members to the group, they are hardly used at all in the song. Pretty much only the original 5 members actually get lines in this. They did the same exact thing in Valentine Kiss.
Here's the preview. This preview is also pretty low, sorry about that.
A PV preview for AKB48 sub-group French Kiss's upcoming single, Kakkowarui I Love You has just been released. The preview is only 35 seconds long, but it's enough to get the overall feel.
The PV looks pretty much like I expected. Since the single isn't featuring a drama like their previews singles have, this PV follows the standard idol PV formula. The only thing we see in this PV so far are close-ups, dance shots, and a scene of the 3 of them sitting on a couch. And that's basically it. The background during the dance scenes looks like something Perfume would dance in front of. There a random shapes cut out on the floor in front on a line of circular lights. It has a very futuristic feel to it. Like it would be the inside of a space ship, which I think is really awesome. The background being so interesting on its own, does distract you from the fairly simple dance French Kiss is doing.
But since the PV preview is so short that's basically the only comments I can make on the PV so far. There's nothing else really going on. I mean, the girls of course look cute, especially Yuki, and the outfits are cute. But that's pretty much all that's going on for now. However, during the last second or two it does show Yuki bending next to a chair. Which seems like they are going to be mixing sexy elements in this PV along with the cute ones.
AKB48 member and solo artist Itano Tomomi announced at a handshake event, that in addition to her already announced 2nd single she will also be releasing two digital singles. Her first digitial single is titled Wanna be Now and is being released on May 11th. The second single is titled Ai Ai Pierce and will be released on June 1st. These digital singles will only be available through the moble phone downloading site Recochoku. Meanwhile, her still to be untitled 2nd single was supposed to be released on April 27th, but has been pushed back until July 13th.
Maybe it's just me, but doesn't this seem a bit like overkill? I understand that Dear J was pretty popular and sold over 200,000 copies, but to basically release 3 singles after another just seems like too much. And I am not being biased. I find it just as ridiculous when Arashi frequently does it, and find it ridiculous that Kanjnai8 is doing it now. I guess they are having so many single at once for 2 reasons. Obviously the first is it seems like the earthquake effected her releases quite a bit. Since her 2nd single was supposed to be released on April 27th, it seems like at least one of those song was intended to be used as her 3rd single. And the other reason being simply: she sells well, so why not get all the money they can out of her in her peak popularity.
Coming from someone who didn't really want to see her release a 2nd single, I obviously am not to happy about basically 3 more. But there's nothing I can do about that. Also, it really sucks for foreign fans that these digital singles can only be purchsed through Recochoku.
It was announced recently through Twitter that H!P solo artists Mano Erina will be releasing her 10th single. The single is titled My Days For You and will be released on June 29th.
Honestly, when I first heard the name of the song it completely reminded me of Gazette's song Anata no Tame no Kono Inochi, because it translates to my life for you. However, I doubt the songs is going that creepy or even similiar at all. XD Anyway, I wish I could say I was really excited for this release. ManoEri's singles are either hit or miss for me. And I find her album songs to be pretty boring, what I've heard of them anyway. I will admit I have been starting to like some of her songs a lot lately. But I still think they are on the bottom half of what H!P is releasing.
Of course with the release date so far away, we don't really know anything else about the single. But I will keep this blog updated on the news as it comes.
On today's episode of Shounen Club Hey! Say JUMP performed their new song Ai ING ~Aishiteru. I was completely thrilled to finally hear a clear version of the song. The choppy concert rip made the song sound completely different. I am also unsure what this new song is going to be used for. Lots of people are saying it's going to be a new single, but that's highly unlikely since nothing was officially announced and they just performed it and didn't say it was their new single. This song is most likely going to be used in an upcoming single or album. However, Hey! Say! 7 and Hey! Say! BEST also have new songs that they've been performing at concerts. So, these songs might actually be filed away as unreleased songs like the 10 or so odd songs that HSJ haven't officially released yet.
I gotta say, when I first heard this song I wasn't really into it. Mostly because it's a completely different sound than anything Hey! Say! JUMP has done before. They song is completely laid back, and the music is so soft at some points you don't even notice there actually is background music. HSJ usually has really loud over the top energetic music. There are only a handful of songs that actually have soft music. But even those songs pick up eventually or have much more intense music to begin with. So, of course it was a bit of a shock to be thrown something different. But after listening to the song a couple of times I actually do like the overall sound. Even though it's more subdued then us JUMP fans are used to, I think it does sound pretty good. It's not my absolutely favorite song by them music wise, but it is pretty cute.
The lyrics themselves are pretty much HSJ and JE standard. They are a kind of all over the place though. Sometimes it's about being destined to be together, sometimes it's about longing for the other person, and sometimes it's about wanting to stay together forever. I guess overall it's just supposed to be a song about loving someone so much. But trying too hard to have a story in the lyrics makes the lyrics have 3 at once. XD
I'm glad that Hey! Say! JUMP is trying to make the line distribution fair. When, I say fair I mean, they could pull another Hitomi no Sceen for future singles and songs, but thankfully haven't. However, they aren't really doing a good job of that. Pretty much since HSJ was formed the same people have been singing every song. And they are Ryosuke, Daiki, Chinen, Yuto, Takaki, Yabu, and Hikaru. Sometimes the distribution changes slightly. Where it's just Ryosuke singing. Or in their first album where it was basically Chinen, Ryosuke, Yabu, and Hikarus' album featuring Takaki, Daiki, and Yuto. And Ryutaro, Inoo, and Keito just didn't exist. I think they got like 6 lines between them. While I do consider the members who always sing to be the best singers. (Minus Chinen and Yuto. I'm Yuto biased but I'm not going to pretend he's a better singer than he is.) I would love to hear the other members once in a while. Especially Ryutaro. His voice is the best of the forgotten members. I can understand not featuring Keito and Inoo much because they both sound like frogs when they sing. But Ryutaro makes no sense, he can actually sing. I guess it's because those members are shoved down your throats. Hopefully, HSJ being rotating hosts of Shounen Club and being rotating members featured on Yan Yan JUMP will help the other members get more lines. However, I doubt it.
Here's their new song on Shounen Club. I suggest you watch it ASAP. This will probably be taken down in a few hours.
Of course the embedding is disabled so click here to watch.
It was just announced that former KAT-TUN member Akanishi Jin will be making his Hollywood debut through the Hollywood remake of the Japanese movie 47 Ronin. Jin will star alongside Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves and Japanese actors Sanada Hiroyuki, Tadanobu Asano, Kikuchi Rinko, and singer Shibasaki Kou. And as of right now it's set to be released on November 21, 2012. But that's obviously not set in stone. Movies get pushed back and release dates get changed all the time.
This is extremely exciting news for a couple of reasons. Obviously the first one being that Jin will grace theaters worldwide and will get worldwide exposure from this movie. The second reason is this is a Hollywood movie in English. I'm sure most Jin fans, or anyone who reads his twitter, know that his English isn't the best. But since this is a Hollywood movie probably with a big budget, I bet there will be someone on set to help him with his English a bit. Granted it doesn't seem like anyone has been helping Ken Watanabe with his English all that much. But that hasn't hurt his American career in the least bit. And of course the third reason this is great is because of the exposure this will give Jin's American career. Everyone knows that Jin is going to release his first American album. But so far a release date hasn't been announced which means the album is no where near ready. So, that makes me assume that his album will be released late 2011, like November or December, or early 2102, like January or February. Now, a movie being released that late won't give Jin that much promotion for the actual release of his album but it will probably pimp Jin enough to get people interested in his music. Depending how popular the movie is and how well Jin comes off to American audiences. Since Jin is going to be in the movie he will probably be doing some of the promotions. Especially on semi-big late night shows. Since a lot of shows have to settle for secondary actors in the film if they can't book the big names. Like Jimmy Fallon or George Lopez will never get a huge actor who's movie is currently in theaters. But they might get Jin. Also, Jin could possibly get a tie in song. Since he's an American singer, or will be soon, they might pimp his music. Movies always love to feature the actor's music in movies. So, if we're lucky one of his songs will be playing while the credits play.
You also gotta love how the Japanese tabloids were almost right. Back when Jin first decided to take a break from KAT-TUN to do his solo concerts a Japanese tabloid said he was doing so to audition for Pirates of the Caribbean 4. And he would be unable to do KAT-TUN's concert and audition for the movie. Well, it seems that they were half right. They just got the movies mixed up. It also seems like Jin really did leave to audition because it was also said that Jin went and auditioned for the movie on his own. So, to me it seems like he did just that with JE's permission. And once he actually got the role Johnny thought it would be an absolutely perfect idea to have him also debut in the US as a singer. Which is why they didn't announce he would be debuting in America until after his concerts were over, when he was supposed to come back. And not before then, in case he didn't get the part. And if he didn't get the part there would be no reason to have him try to debut in the US. That's just my two sense though. Perhaps I'm just overanalyzing the situation like I always do. XD
Good luck to Jin though. I hope this movie becomes a success. Even though Jin will probably end up getting like 10 lines. XD
AKB48 sub-group, and what was thought to have been a one shot group, Watarirouka Hashiritai7 announced that they will be releasing a new song for Mother's Day. The song is entitled Mama, Grazie, and will be used as the commercial theme for the 7-11 Ito-Yokado's nationwide campaign. The song will be available on Recochoku on April 27th. The short version will be released on Chaku-Uta and it will be released in full on May 4th.
I'm a little confused on this whole situation. The information I posted above points to nothing more then a song for a commercial. Along the lines of what Kis-My-Ft2 did. Last year they were in a commercial for dwango. In the commercial their song FIRE BEAT was used and was available exclusively through the dwango site. It seems to me that Watarirouka Hashiritai7 is doing the exact same thing.
But despite that, lots of fans are still saying that this song is going to be used as a legit single. So, that makes me extremely confused. Is this song going to be released as a legit single? I honestly have no idea. But it actually could. Watarirouka Hashiritai7 is a sub-group of AKB48, that alone would make the song sell fairly decently. Watarirouka Hashiritai usually sells about 50,000 copies of their singles. But their last single as Watarirouka Hashiritai7, which was also a holiday themed single, sold over twice as much. It seems like management is trying to get as much bang for their buck while they still can.
Wether this song is just a commercial theme or is going to be a legit single, is still unknown for now. But either way, I'll keep this site updated on all the news for this song.
Yesterday Momoiro Clover's sub-leader Hayami Akari graduated from Momoiro Clover. (It's horrible is it that my favorite member left on my birthday. :/) To comemorate Akari's depature from the group Momoiro Clover is dedicating their new song Akarin ni Okuru Uta, to her. Momoiro Clover also announced that the group will also be changing their name to Momoiro Clover Z.
It is extremely sad to see Akari go, when she was a refreshing addition to the group. Adding a cool element to MomoClo among all the cuteness. I wish her all the best though. And when she gets more confidence I would love to see her doing something again.
I have to say I completely don't see the need for a name change. I understand that they are an idol group that doesn't add new members. But they didn't really need to change the name to reflect that one did. When Maiha left did they become Berryz Koubou Z? Of course not. And if they were going to change the name wouldn't they want a completely new name to reflect the seperation? Instead, they lazily changed the name by adding one letter. It honestly reminds me of when Tsunku decided to revamp the shuffle groups and made names like: ZYX-a and Pucchi Moni V.
