During an event held to celebrate the release of the 1st album Momoiro Clover Z member said that if their album doesn't reach number 1 she will cute her hair. Which is following suit to Passpo's recent announcement that Yukimi will go bald if their single doesn't get to number 1.
What is it with idol groups lately putting their hair on the line? Not only that, what's it with them putting their hair on the line when they are obviously going to lose? There's no way in the world ViVi Natsu will beat AKB48's Flying Get. And there's no way Battle and Romance will beat Bz's album C'mon. At least Momoiro Clover Z's punishment is less severe and a lot more mundane. Obviously when they lose it won't be a big deal that Shiori cuts her hair. She'll most likely look cute with a shortcut anyway. I understand that idol groups do this to get attention and to inspire a few more sales. But if idol groups do this all the time, it will lose all it's meaning. They won't be unique anymore. And it will become one of those rituals new idol groups do when they form or just to survive in the AKB48 dominated idol world.
It was announced that Avex idol group SUPER GiRLS will be releasing their 3rd single. The single is called Joshiryoku Paradise and will be released on October 5th.
I've been follwing SUPER GiRLS pretty much since day one, so I'm excited to see them release another single. Their last song and PV were upbeat and fun, so I'm curious what kind of song this will turn out to be. Also, since their last PV was a summer and bikini themed PV I wonder what direction this one will take. Hopefully this song will have a nice chunk of Ami like the last one did.
It was recently announced that Morning Musume will be releasing a 12th album. The title is still unknown and it will be released on October 12th. Which is almost a month after Ai officially graduates. That seems like an odd date to me. Fantasy Juuichi was released 2 weeks before LinLin, JunJun, and Eri graduated. I don't get why this is getting released after the fact.
It makes sense to release one final album with Ai-chan. She's the strongest vocalist in the current lineup and she's a cash cow. It only makes sense to squeeze every last drop from heartbroken wota. Just like they did with their 11th album. But I really hope that this isn't a new thing Morning Musume is going to do. Release one final album before members graduate. Because you can say all the remaining girls (Minus Aika. :/ ) are popular enough to have their own last album. But I don't really want that to happen. When you rush an album like this, the music suffers. Fantasy Juuichi did have it's gems, but it was still, in my opinion, one of their weakest albums. And that's because the album had to be rushed. Perhaps, this album will be a little better since Ai-chan's graduation was announced months ago, maybe Tsunku has been writing songs for it ever since. But that seems like a long shot really.
It was announced a few days ago that S/mileage will be releasing their 7th single. The single wil be entitled Tachiagaaru and will be released on September 28th. One month and 25 days after the release of their 8th single, Uchouten Love. This will also be the first single to feature the new 2nd gen member or members.
I am actually really surprised that S/mileage is releasing another single so soon after their last. And a single featured new and untrained members to boot! The new members will be announced on August 14th, giving them only a few weeks to train and prepare for their debut. Morning Musume's 9th gen was announced in January and their debut single came out in April. That's a good 3 months more time the 9th gen will get to prepare compared to the 2nd gen. I sure hope Tsunku knows what he's doing. This all seems a little premature. I understand they have to be thrown into the new S/mileage concert, but a new single as well. Talk about pressure. I wish I could say I have high hopes for this single, but I don't. I don't think the new member or members will be anywhere near ready for this. Could you imagine what Zukki would have done if she only had weeks to learn the Maji Desu ka Ska dance?
The full PV for Passpo's 2nd single, ViVi Natsu, was released yesterday.
When I watched the PV preview I was pretty shocked that Passpo felt the need to release a bikini PV. So, I was a litte apprehensive about the full version. But I am actually really happy with the PV. While there are 2 different setting where they are wearing bikinis, the bikinis aren't in the main focus like I thought they might be. Instead they are pretty much just a footnote in the PV. The rest of the PV just shows doing random cute things together. Like eating and sitting in a bed together. The PV seems to mostly focus on the dance scenes. Which isn't really a problem because the dance is cute and I absolutely adore their main outfits for this PV. And can I also point out that this is the first time that Passpo is wearing normal clothes in a PV. Well, if you don't count the pajamas from GPP. The pajamas seem more like a costume anyway. But my absolute favorite part of the PV is when they eat the summery foods. They are just adorable scenes, and they just scream summer to me. The only real fault about this PV is I wish they used the summer theme better. They could have went all out and done every single summer cliche known to man. That would have be cheesy, but it would have made for an incredible idol PV. Or they could have taken the summer theme and made it unique like Not Yet's Naminori Kakigori. You can see that little added elements in the PV like the sunflower, tropical drinks, picnic tables, and the bikinis are supposed to give a clear message that this is a summer themed PV. They obviously do have some elements to let you know it's summer, but I just wanted more. A clearer picture painted. I guess I'm just being picky. Also, I never noticed until I watched the PV how unfair the line distribution is. Mostly because I'm not all that familiar with Passpo's individual voices yet. However, my 3 favorite girls Kaho, Shiori, and Mio sing most of the song. So, I honestly can't complain too much about that.
Everyone looks pretty awkward in the beginning. I suppose they where just told to ad-lib. Shiori looking up unnecessarily is just a lol moment.
Dreaming Mio. She's so adorable. *O*
Cute. Obvious Mio bias is obvious. Sako looks cute in the background too though.
Awkward way to start the dance.
Natsumi is pretty.
Nice hair Yukimi, you shouldn't get used to it. XD Look at Sako looking all gorgeous next to her.
Adorable.
This is too.
Lolz at Shiori. XD
Shiori is so cute.
Ai looks pretty here.
Lolz.
Anna, Ai, and Makoto looks gorgeous here. Am I the only onw who thought it would have been cute for their bikinis to be their group colors. It kinda looks like they almost are. But Makoto's and Natsumi's aren't right. XD
I love Mio's bikini.
Adorable!
Cute! And Naomi looks great.
Anna looks super pretty.
Lol.
Mio!
Makoto is just so cute.
Kanpai!
Look at them try to seductively eat. Lol.
Reminds me of the Heavy Rotation PV.
Cute. But why is Sako just staring off into space? She kinda looks angry. XD
Shiori's face is priceless.
Probably the 2 cutest members. Shiori being a close 3rd.
Lol.
Dramatic running.
The embedding for this PV is disabled, so please click here to watch it.
There is yet another 15 second commerical for KAT-TUN's upcoming single, Run For You. I actually think this commercial came out the same day as the dwango one, but I think I just completely missed it. XD
Since this PV preview is only 15 seconds long we hardly get to see anything. But unlike the other PV preview that was nothing but dancing, this PV preview shows the close-ups. And everyone can take a sigh of relief that this PV will not become another Ultimate Wheels. The close-ups are a little confusing. I'm not exactly sure what's going on in them. We see Ueda in a solid white room with tons of electrical equipment, and speakers. And also there's a hospital looking bed in the background. In Maru's close-up there's only a hospital looking bed. And in the very beginning of the PV there's this door that's bolted shut. Which leaves only one conclusion, that KAT-TUN is either in a hospital or a mental institution. Which on the surface is a pretty cool idea. However, that storyline lost all it's appeal when I remembered one thing: wouldn't that theme be too much like N*SYNC's I Dive Myself Crazy music video? And you know what, it competely would! I feel slightly embarrassed just thinking the 2 could have similar videos. XD
A 30 second commercial for Berryz's upcoming single, Aa, Yoru ga Akeru, is beginning to air. Giving us fans yet another sneak peek at the PV.
Most of this PV preview is the same as the last PV preview. Where is shows Berryz Koubou singing on stairs à la the Very Beauty PV.But beyond that we also get to see the close-up scenes, where everyone looks absolutely gorgeous. And from that we can see that it seems like the PV is set in a mansion. Which is a nice setting actually. A big improvement from the Ai no Dangan set. Let's hope they utilize the set to their full advantage. Because even though the setting is good, they could still mess up this PV. Like focusing too much on the stairs. XD
Having S/mileage stream their audition process is one of the most exciting and hands on experience that can happen in the idol world. Sure, you can watch any audition show you want, and it could be 6 hours long. However, nothing really compares to watching it live before your eyes, as if you're the one judging the girls. To pick your favorite girls in real time, and then watch the next round to see if your favorites made it through. It's just one of those things that happen that make me an idol fan, and make being an idol fan so much fun. And because the audition stream is exciting I made sure that I didn't miss it this time. Last time I feel asleep, and ended up watching the 2nd round maybe a week ago. And I have to say, it's one of those idol experiences I'll never forget and look back fondly on. It also makes me secretly hope that the Morning Musume 10th gen auditions will be streamed live. But that's probably unlikely.
I thought the auditions this round were pretty good. Better than the last round. There were so many girls last time it was impossible to focus on and remember every single girl. Most of them got swallowed up by the sheer amount of girls present. This time, since there were only 12 finalists it was extremely easy to follow every girl and pick personal favorites. The only realy drawbacks for this was the short awkward wait in the beginning, and sometimes throughout the auditions. And also, the amount of talking going on. It's great to ask a lot of questions, and to get a small peak at their personalities, but as someone who can't speak Japanese. I found the amount of talking to be boring, excessive, and unnecessary.
With that being said it's on to my review. I want to point out that I have not watched the stream since it aired. So, I'm writing this post from memory. Also, my video was lagging a lot during the dance scenes. I was going to download the show because the stream completely cut out during Karin's group. But since I found a video of her dancing on youtube, I have no need to download it now. I also want to point out how heartbroken I am that Ribbon-chan did not make it to the final round. She had everything going for her. She was adorable and could sing and dance. She was also the only one to sing and dance during the 2nd round! I seriously hope she auditioned for both S/mileage and Morning Musume.
Miyazaki:
This girl was completely a stand out to me. During the second round I became interested in her becuase she was absolutely adorable. I, however, couldn't for the life of me remember what she sounded like when she sang during the 2nd round. XD But I heard her sing here and she was just incedible. Her voice was so sweet and so adorable, that it would be absolutely perfect for S/mileage. While she was singing she looked very unsure of herself, almost frightened. But you know how Tsunku loves to pick girls who are unsure of themselves. The only real problem with her is that she is a bit too old in my opinion to join S/mileage. She's 17, and while that isn't really that old it is too old, in my opinion, to start out as an idol. If she joined she would be the oldest member of S/mileage. Be that as it may, I would still be excited if she got picked.
Kosuga:
This girl did not stand out to me one bit. The only thing I can really remember saying about her was, that I didn't like her voice. Her voice wasn't bad, it was just extremely flat. There's was no passion or energy behind what she was singing. She seemed to not even be trying. I don't know if it was nerves, or trying to remember the lyrics. But she was just not one my favorites.
Yamaga:
When the auditions first started all I kept thining was she has weird teeth. (Which by the way you can't notice when she's smiling, it's more of a weird thing with her gums. XD) But once she started singing I changed my mind. Her voice is completely different than the voices of S/mileage. It's deeper, and it's not exactly cutesy. Her whole image is cool rather that S/mileage's cute image. I'm not sure if that's going to ultimately help her or hurt her. But regardless, I like this girl. There's just something about her. I was also very impressed with her dancing. It's not mind blowing, but for being an amature she's at a pretty high level. All she really needs is a little fine tuning and to be a little bit more polished. The only drawbacks to her is her range. She seems to be to low for S/mileage. They had her sing Best Friend by Nishino Kana (I seriously hope it was this girl, and I'm not getting mixed up) and she couldn't really hit the high notes. S/mileage usually does kinda have a high range in songs. So it might be a problem for her.
Takeuchi Akari:
And Maimi's cousin makes it to the finals. But I think it was obvious she was going to make it. The pipes on this girl! Her voice is incredible. Her voice is not only cute, but at the same time it is strong and stable. And as an Egg of course her dancing is also strong. She would be a great addition to S/mileage. But amazing vocals aside, Akari is still not one of my favorites. I don't know, she just doesn't jump out at me.
Miyamoto Karin:
All I can say about her is, KARIN! I love love love, Karin! Everything about her just screams S/mileage. I honestly can't fathom why people think she would work better in Morning Musume. Ironically, I never really liked Karin before. I didn't particularly like her in Shin Mini Moni, and I didn't understand why all the fans were making such a fuss about her. But then I heard her in the 2nd round, and I was blown away. I didn't realize Karin was that good of a singer. And believe me she is. She killed it in the 3rd round. Her version of Uchouten Love was the best in the entire round. Her dancing is also at an incredibly high level. She was also the best dancer in the entire 3rd round. There's just no way Karin will be passed up! Besides her talents, Karin is almost too cute for words. She looks a bit like Yuuka. And has these adorable bug eyes that may seem a bit weird at first.
Katsuta Rina:
As soon as I saw this girl I was drawn to her. I didn't even find out she was an Egg until midway through the 3rd round. (Like I've said a million times before, I don't follow trainess in any idol agency.) The girl is adorable. She seriously looks like a young Tsuji Nozomi. I can't stop seeing Nono everytime I look at her. If she gets added her and mini Aibon (Fukuda Kanon) should become best friends. XD Rina is also a pretty good singer. Her voice is cute and it's kind of strong. Her voice does need a little bit of work though. Nothing major, just polishing really. Also, her Egg training really pays off when it comes to dancing.
Tamura Meimi:
Meimi, the girl with the theather background. The Sayashi Riho of the auditions. She seriously is. Riho was in Momusu's stage play Fashionable before she was a member. And Meimi was in the Shugo Chara musical. I love this girl. Her voice is incredible. It is absolutely adorable and perfect for S/mileage. She has the best singing voice of the "normal girls." However, having a musical background doesn't really help her when it comes to dancing. She is surprisingly weak at dancing. I seriously hope if doesn't hurt her chances of joining. She is too talented and cute to waste. And she looks a bit like Ogawa Saki.
Aogi:
I don't really remember this girl too well. She was another one who didn't jump out at me. All I can really remember about her is saying her voice was unexpectedly cute. Her dancing isn't too bad either. She just doesn't have that star quality to me.
Nakanishi:
There is not one nice thing I can say about this girl. She was the worst singer there. And she was just awful, terrible, horrible! I can't imagine how she got so far in the competition. Her singing was off key and not in tune at all! I seriously don't want her anywhere near S/mileage. Shove her in the Eggs like Mogi.
Jang Dayeon:
AKA the Korean H!P audition winner. Poor Dayeon to win the auditions just to be shoved to the Eggs and have to fight to debut in a Japanese group. (Because serioulsy, didn't she win to debut in Korea, like the Taiwan auditions did?) It seems like her nerves got the better of her during these auditions. She looked very sheepish from the get go. And she hardly spoke during the questions portion. Dayeon's singing has improved greatly since the Korean auditions. She was terrible in the Korean auditions. But now she's actually not too bad, but obvioulsy there's still a lot of room for improvement. Dayeon is also kind of pretty. She looks a bit like a young Kusumi Koharu. Her dancing on the other hand isn't that great. But that's to be expected since she hasn't been training that long. I honestly don't want Dayeon in S/mileage. I think she would work better in Morning Musume.
Fuji:
I love this girl! She seems very positive and happy. She's also really adorable. Her voice is also pretty cute. It's not the best, but I think it would fit in S/mileage. What I'm really impressed with is Fuji's dancing. For an amature she's amazing! She is seriously at the Egg's level. Which is just amazing.
Ota:
I wish I could say if I love or hate this girl, but I simply cannot remember her one bit.
The full PV for SKE48's new single, Pareo wa Emerald, has been released. My PV rewview of this PV is just a tad late. But it has been extremely hot lately, so I've had to put blogging on hold for a bit.
I was pretty enamored with the PV preview when I first saw it. I was nearly half of the PV, so I thought there was going to be a good chance that I would like the PV. But after seeing the whole PV I'm kinda indifferent to it. While I do like the first hald because there is a lot going on. Dancing on the beach, watching a basketball game, an Alice Cooper-esque School's Out mad rush out of the school, rowing, and other summery activities. While that is fine and dandy, and even down right adorable, the rest of the PV lacks the same pizzazz. A good chunk of the rest of the PV is nothing more than cliff diving. Which was a cool element to the PV the first time, but the 8th jump just wasn't as exciting. I also realize the diving is just an excuse to wear bikinis. Well, more bikinis then they are already wearing. But as a female fan, this doesn't really do any thing for me. And instead I find it kind of boring. And there's also this odd side story where Rena watches everyone happily cliff diving in sadness. I guess it's supposed to mean she's afraid to jump off the cliff. But have no fear, just like every other cliché, Rena pulls through and eventually jumps. But in her dress, so no shamless Rena bikini shot for you.
chool's out! Ok, maybe this isn't exactly a mad rush. But it's close enough.
And then practically out of nowhere, there's just intense arm flailing. Which is supposed to pass as dancing
Not even 30 seconds in and Jurina is creeping me out already. XD
I love their uniforms.
Random butt shaking dance move.
This girl is cute. Too bad I don't know SKE48's member's names. There was a time when I did my friend. However, they were all puhsed out of my head when I remembered Passpo's and SUPER GiRL's names. XD
Seriously? A peek-a-boo dance move.
I find it a little sexist and stereotypical that they are cheering on the sidelines for "cute guys" rather than playing a game themselves.
This girl is pretty cute too.
Creepy smile!
Let the excessive bikini shots begin.
I guess everyone wearing the boy short bikinis are the young members. However, they kind of look like actual shorts. XD
I've been noticing purple bikini the whole PV. She's the prettiest member of SKE48.
Overly excited, it looks too fake.
Ok, waving is officially the worst move I've ever seen in an idol dance.
The girl on the far right reminds me of Okai Chisato for some reason. XD
Why are so many idol PVs shot in America?
Um..what?
Ok, this is actually cute.
My god, she has old face. O_O
I love this bikini. XD
This girl is super cute. *O*
Rena is always watching.
This gave me wicked flashbacks.
To Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou.
And of course Everyday Kachuusha.
So much fanservice in one frame. XD
Hey would you look at that, it really was shorts. XD
