Meet the S/mileage 2nd gen!

After months of waiting, and a hands on audition experience, the new S/mileage 2nd generation members were finally announced at the Hello! Project 2011 Summer ~Nippon no Mirai wa Wow Wow Live~ concert.

The 5 members who were selected are:

Katsuta Rina

Rina is 13 years old and her nickname for the group is Rinapuu. I have to say I am completely excited that Rina passed the auditions. She was one of my favorites and I was rooting for her. She has a cute voice, and seriously is mini Nono to me. A lot of people seem to think she's ugly. My poor Rinapuu is getting haters already.

Kosuga Fukuya

Fukuya is 13 years old and her nickname for the group is Fuu-chan. Now, I'm not really the biggest fan of Fukuya. I didn't like her voice in the auditions. And it wasn't bad or anything, it just lacked energy. That's something she really needs to work on.


Nakanishi Kana

Kana is 14 years old and her nickname in the group is Kanana. I am actually at lose for words about Kana joining the group. I absolutely did not like her one bit. She had the worst voice in the entire audition. I can't fathom why she joined. Her personality didn't pop to me, like Zukki's did. Zukki was the worst singer in the 9th gen but her energetic personality sold her to me. Kana did seem to smile a lot suring the auditions but she didn't seem to burst with energy to me. It seems she was only picked because she's pretty. And she is, she's absolutely adorable. Hopefully, her personality makes up for the things she lacks. Because right now a KonKon moment happened with her.


Tamura Meimi

Meimi is 12 years old her her nickname for the group is MeiMei. I am ecstatic that 13 made it! She was an obvious fan favorite, and was one of my personal favorites. Her voice was so cute and kind of strong. Her whole image just fit S/mileage perfectly. I couldn't be happier that Meimi was picked. The only real draw back for Meimi is she isn't that great at dancing. Hopefully, something like that won't effect her chances of joining.


Takeuchi Akari

Akari is 13 years old and her nickname for the group is Take-chan. And Maimi's cousin passes the audition. I wonder if things like that helped her pass? Maybe I'm just being cynical. And if it did she probably would have debuted a while age. Akari wasn't really my favorite auditioner. But her years of Egg training has put Akari at such a high level of singing and dancing that she deserved to join the group.


Even though these girls were announced as the winners of the auditions they are not out of the woods yet. Every single girl, yes every single one of them, are not official members of the group yet, instead they are all sub-members. They will appear in the S/mileage's upcoming 7th single and will take part in S/mileage's fall concert. And their performance in the concert will determine their permanence. Apparently the new members have the chances becoming a full member, entering the Eggs, making a new unit, or being dropped completely. Which is a complete 180 from what Tsunku had originally said. He said that if 6 members joined 2 would become members, and the other 4 would become trainee members. It seems Tsunku (or conceivably who ever is really in control of H!P) changed his mind and decided to have the new members tackle yet another hurdle. At first I thought this was a bit harsh, and even a slap in the face. But after I think about it more it almost seems fitting. S/mileage themselves had to get 10,000 smiles just to be able to make their major debut. So, why not make the new members go through a similar ritual? And besides that, it's even more press for S/mileage. Regardless of the outcome, you can be sure it's going to be mentioned somewhere in the media if the members are becoming permanent or not. Which just shows how Tsunku is handling the auditions perfectly to give S/mileage maximum exposure.
As for my reactions to the winners themselves, am I 100% happy? Of course I'm not. I wanted first and foremost, the lovely Miyamoto Karin to win. That girl seriously had everything. She was the best singer, the best dancer, and she is absolutely adorable. I am completely devastated that Karin didn't win. But there's nothing I can really do about it. As a fan, you can't expect to have your favorites picked every single time. Anyone who watched the Morning Musume 8th gen auditions knows that. I am honestly lucky that Suzuki Kanon got picked at all. Having my favorite picked again would obviously be incredible, but obviously incredibly unlikely.
After Karin my favorites were: Miyazaki, Yamaga, Rina, and Meimi. So, I actually didn't make out too bad. Since there were so many good singers in the auditions I secretly hoped that they would add 5 members, and I am actually thrilled they did. I can also hold out the hope that my other favorites auditioned for both the S/mileage 2nd gen and the Morning Musume 10th gen. Karin was talented enough to make it to the finals of both. Despite the general consesus of the fans, I actually don't think she would work that well for Morning Musume. She just fits S/mileage better. But that ship has sailed, and I'd rather have her in Morning Musume than not in a group at all.

And here's a completely unpopular opinion, but a part of me actually wants all the girls to get kicked out. Not for any malicious reason. I am actually really excited by the possibility of another group being formed. Ever since S/mileage first formed I've always wanted S/mileage to be in a Berryz Koubou and C-ute type of situation. Where the groups were formed a year apart and are pretty similar to each other. However, as time keeps passing that possibility gets further and further away.

S/mileage to release yet another single

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?

Reactions to the S/mileage 3rd round auditions

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.

Filled with ecstasy over S/mileage

The full PV for S/mileage's upcoming single, Uchouten Love, was just uploaded tot heir official youtube channel.

When I first saw the previews for the Uchouten Love PV I wasn't all that impressed with the PV. And after seeing the full PV I'm still not 100% impressed wit the PV. Mostly because the PV is one the cheap side. Which is pretty unlike S/mileage. S/mileage has always been pretty interesting PVs that appear to be a high budget. They've only released like 3 that weren't. So, of course it's a bit of surprise that this PV is below average, and under the bar that has been set for S/mileage PVs. The PV is basically exactly like the 30 second commercial showed. If you watched the commerical it's the same feel as watching the PV. This PV is mostly just dance shots and close-ups. Which is little boring. Their Koi ni Booing Boo had that same formula, but they still managed to jazz it up and actually make it interesting to watch.
I am happy that there is another element to the PV that I wasn't expecting. Besides, the standard dance scene and close-ups the PV also has the girls in a school setting wearing school uniforms. Which could be awesome, but is only half way their. Perhaps if the school setting consisted of more than just 4 desks I would be more excited about it. aMa no Jaku was an indie PV and that was actually filmed in a school. It reminds me a lot of the Otona Narutte Muzukashii where there are just 4 rand desks. A lot of the PV reminds me of the Otona Narutte Muzukashii PV. The group close-ups in both PVs are nearly identical. I guess it's hard to come up with a theme for a PV. But if you're going to steal an element from a PV, what's the point of stealing that element from yourself?
The only redeeming aspect of this PV is the girls themselves. They look gorgeous. And they remain adorable and incredibly sweet throughout the PV.

Even though most of my comments for the PV were pretty harsh, I do like the PV though. I find it incredibly adorable. Do I think it's the greatest music video I've ever seen? Of course not. Is it even the best idol PV I've ever seen? Of course not. Does that really matter? It honestly doesn't. Idol PVs are 7 times out of 10 times cheap and disapointing. Maybe other people will think PVs are better than I do. But I have pretty high standards. Maybe even ridiculously high standards. Over the years of being an idol fan I've been learning to just accept this as a fact, and a part of idol culture. Usually during PVs I tend to just focus on the idols themselves. But even though I focus more of the idols then the PV, that's not going to really stop me from judging the PVs as harshly as I see fit. Afterall, I do still have high standards. And I do still hold out for the few PVs that are both entertaining, and the idols look good. Which are actually pretty hard to find. Well, they are for me anyway.

Saki looks super adorable.

It's cute that there are hearts in their eyes.

But it reminds me too much of the Renai Rider PV.

The set is cute, but it reminds me too much of the Aisu Kuriimu to My Purin set.

It's not 100% the same. But it's pretty similar.

Of course this is very similar to the Otona ni Narutte Muzukashii PV.

Granted the Uchouten Love PV's effects are much better and have a wider variety.

I still can't get over how good Saki looks. *O*

When Yuuka first cut her hair short I completely hated it. I didn't think it suited her at all. But with this style I think it completely suits her.

Cheapest school setting ever!

Kanon is so cute.

Hey macarena Aha!

Adorable.

Ok, this is pretty cute too.

Why does Ayaka's book have to be upside down? I don't really find stupidity adorable.

I didn't think it was cute with Momoko either.

Kanon being her cute self. Ayaka's face next to her is priceless.

Saki just looks beyond adorable in this PV.

Chu.

Cute.

How is this not like Ai no Dangan?

It's exactly the same.

All these balloons are starting to remind me of the Chu Shiyouze PV.

There were way were way more balloons in the Chu Shiyouze PV tough.

Adorable.

Lolz.

Saisho wa guu, Janken Pon!

Cool effect, but it's been done before.

Of course if you copy off of my beloved Koharu I'm going to remember.

Cute.

Saki! *O*

Um...what? Are they seriously doing the wave but just sideways?