I spot Kusano!

As some of you may know I am completely a Kusano creeper. Mostly because I miss him in NEWS, both his face and voice. And he should have never been kicked out in the first place. I've seen the pictures, it's obviously soda! And of course my utter resentment for Uchi who actually did drink underage, but is nonchalantly in JE activities while Kusano does nothing. :/

And for that reason I like to keep updated on what Kusano is up to. Such as that modeling he did for that random store nearly a year ago! But since Kusano does virtually nothing, keeping updated on him involves creepily searching for tabloid pictures he's in. Where he usually has a black bar or pixilation over his eyes or face, which is completely frustrating.

So, when I saw DBSK's/TVXQ's JYJ's Jaejoong took a picture of his friends I honestly didn't care much. That is until I took a closer look. Beyond the always sexy Yamapi and Shirota Yuu, there's Kusano!

I'm sure a lot of people overlooked him because he's looking at the ground. But it's completely him. You can so tell it's him by the side of his face, and how that's the hairstyle he has a few years ago.

I am extremely sad that Johnny still owns his soul, and god forbid he ever show his shamefull face. I mean seriously, it's a picture with his friends and he has to bend forward. Will the insanity never end? XD Though, I am happy that he's back to a hairstyle where he actually looks attractive. I hated him with long hair.

But whatever, since Kusano is doing nothing I'll settle for some side face. You have no idea how excited I am over his side face. That's so sad. XD

Kusano and Kanna reappear!

It must be forgotten ex-member week in Japan, because pictures of forgotten members have surfaced. And because I must have incredible luck, it just so happens the pictures are of members I always complain about not seeing.

First up is new pictures of former NEWS member Hironori Kusano. When I first heard about new Kusano pictures I was pretty thrilled. I've expressed on this blog several times I want to see new things from Kusano. So I'm happy at any little new thing that surfaces about him. But it's hard to find pictures of Kusano that aren't unnecessarily blurred, or partying with some random foreign chick. But this is something official. Kusano modeled for some sort of store called Cailly*Coo. You can go here to see for yourself.

It's good to see Kusano doing something again. However, not with that hair. He looks pretty much disgusting. He's got this wannabe Johnny Depp hair going on, and I am not into it at all. Kusano is usually really adorable, but this hair completely ruins everything. :/
I wonder if this means Kusano will actually do something now. Wasn't it for the longest time he wasn't allowed to show his face at all? If he is now, apparently JE had something to do with it.


And the next person is none other than my favorite C-ute member, if she's officially one or not, Arihara Kanna! I literally gasped when I read that there was a new picture of Kanna. I haven't seen Kanna in over a year. Ever since she had her "bunion surgery." And I am beyond excited to see her again.

This picture is from Erika's blog, where you can check out here. Since I can't read or speak Japanese, I have no idea what is being said about Kanna. The only thing I can understand is えりかのBESTFRIEND, which pretty obviously says Erika's best friend.
I am so happy about this picture. Kanna is looking as adorable as ever. I definitely think Kanna should follow in the footsteps of her best friend and become a model or at least open a blog.

Kusano returning to NEWS in April?

All I can say about this is where have I been? I seriously just found out about this yesterday. But this info has been all over the web for almost a year! I really need to start following JE more. Currently all my time is spent religiously following H!P. But anyway, since it's getting extremely close to the rumored date this deserves to be posted.

Ex-NEWS member Hironori Kusano left for New York City last year around April 18th. He was said to have departed to study both dance and English in NYC. And it seems the extra nudge to leave was Kusano's lonely feelings he had when Jin spoke in English. There was also apparently a farewell party held for him. Which Jin attended and probably Yamapi.

I found this picture shocking at first look because I automatically recognized the girl in the picture. It's none other than Chelsea aka AmerikaJinMusume. I'm sure most of you will remember her, from either her youtube dance videos or her appearance on Haromoni@. She also has her own blog, if you want to check that out. She's also a little to chummy with them if you ask me. She also refers to Kusano has Hiro. But anyway, this is pretty much the most recent picture of Notti on the web. It also wasn't easy to find. It seems that Kusano has changed much, which is good. I wonder if he also kept his hair the same? Hard to tell when his hair is under that hat.

I really hope this isn't a rumor because this is seriously the best news I've gotten all week. And all it makes sense now, why only Uchi was getting attention. It's kind of hard to have a solo concert if you're not in the right country. I think my previous posts make it pretty obvious that I'm a bigger Kusano fan than Uchi fan. He's supposed to be coming back in April, so I'll really be looking forward to seeing if anything actually happens. I've really missed Kusano's unique vocals, awesome dance skills, and his overall sexyness.

But I doubt Kusano will be placed back into NEWS just like that. They will probably do the same thing as Uchi and have solo concerts first. But it's pretty interesting that the Kusano comeback rumor overlaps with the Johnny's Entertainment shuffle groups rumor. So maybe we'll see the return of Kusano in a dream unit first. Who knows? As of today neither of these things have been confirmed by JE yet. It would really suck if both of these were really nothing more than rumors.

Uchi's possible comeback

Former NEWS and Kanjani8 member Hiroki Uchi, has just finished his first solo concerts in Yokohama on December 20-21. He will also being doing more solo concerts in Osaka on January 3-4.
Hiroki Uchi was involved in an underage drinking scandal on July, 16 2005 and suspended from Johnny's. And also was demoted to trainee in December of 2006. Uchi also made his official come back as an actor during the press conference of Isshun no Kaze ni Nare.
It has also yet to be decided whether he will remain solo or rejoin NEWS. It's obvious that these concerts would decide his fate in Johnny's Entertainment.

As for my take on the whole situation I have a very distinct opinion, which is I don't care either way. But if you have to do anything with him give him a solo career. And here's why.

Reason number 1: Probably the least legit reason of all. NEWS is better as a 6 person unit. It's been about two years since NEWS came back, so why change now? If they really wanted Uchi or Kusano back wouldn't they have already? They could have easily let them be on hiatus for a year, like all of NEWS, and had them rejoin in 2006 with a slap on the wrist.

Reason number 2: Uchi isn't that good of a singer. In my opinion Uchi's voice is very boring. And I have a lot of trouble even telling when he's actually singing. His voice fades more into the background. Even his solo lines come off as sounding weird and almost awkward.

Reason number 3: You can't have one without the other. What's the point of brining Uchi back without Kusano. They came into NEWS together. They both got suspended for similar reasons. They should both come back at the same time. If you only bring one person back it almost makes it seem like what Uchi did was ok or wasn't on the same level as what Kusano did. But it was the same crime. So that aspect doesn't make sense to me.

Reason number 4: Johnny's is playing favorites. This really seems like a big slap in the face to Kusano. It almost makes it seem like Uchi has been given special treatment. Kusano's future in Johnny's has always been very murky but Uchi has had definite plans. He has come back as an actor, while there has been no official word as to what Kusano's doing. If he wasn't in Shoentai Playzone with Uchi he wouldn't have done anything since being suspended.

Reason number 5: If they keep any member it should be Kusano. I can honestly say that Kusano is a better singer than Uchi. If you compare their voices in Teppen or even Fiesta Kusano's voice outshines Uchi's. Kusano is a very talented singer and was even given more lines in NEWS than Uchi got.

Reason number 6: Pairing madness. Most fans of NEWS know that the current members of NEWS are paired up for singing and fangirl reasons. The current pairings are RyoPi, KoyaShige, and TegoMass. Uchi being back in NEWS would throw off the whole balance. It really can't be RyUchiPi. Could it? This reason isn't really legit either, but it's just a thought I had.


There is still one aspect I am not clear of. Just how popular is Uchi? Uchi was in both NEWS and Kanjani8. But was that based on vocal ability or just the fact that he was from the Kansai region of Japan. I wasn't a NEWS fan when Uchi was a member, so I have no idea how popular he was or still is.
There is only one completely stupid and fangir-ish reason why Uchi should return to NEWS. And that reason is Uchi and Ryo were really good friends. And I think Uchi returning to NEWS would make Ryo very happy. I'M LAME!

If Uchi does come back as a member of NEWS, I guess I will just have to grin and bare it. And get used to seeing his bird face again. Sorry Uchi fans, he's weird looking. But if it was up to me I'd give him the boot. Or excuse me, I mean I'd give him a "solo career."