Kikkawa Yuu announces new song

Kikkawa Yuu announced, via her Kikka Mail, the she will be releasing a new song. The new song is entitled Hapirapi~Sunrise~, but no other details about the song are known. Not even the release date, or whether this song is an upcoming single or just a B-side track to one.

Regardless of the information being pretty vauge as of now, I'm just really excited that we're getting new info on her music. Which means it won't be much longer until we get another single from Kikka. Which is great news because I absolutely love Kikka and I adored Kikkake wa You. She's only released one single and I already like her 10 times more than ManoEri. Since Kikkake wa You was released in May we probably won't get another single until September. But I honestly don't mind waititng a bit.

Sayaka's debut PV is just as I expected

The PV for Kitahara Sayaka's debut PV has finally been released. With only 2 weeks until the release date of the single.

The PV itself is fairly simple and boring. The PV preview a few days back pretty much showed the entire PV.  Most of the PV is really nothing more than close-ups. The first close-up scene is Sayaka standing on a set in front of a cloud background. It also flashes to the other close-up featured in this PV, Sayaka in her puffy dress in front of a laser background. And not even a cool laser background. It kind of looks like the laser backgrounds you used to take your school pictures in front of.
And then the rest of the PV is Yossie coaching her in various sports. Which are actually my favorite parts of the entire PV. It's the only time there's actually a bit of variety in the PV. But I actually don't get why she's gets coached so much. Despite Inazuma Eleven being about an anime about soccer, for some reason she gets coached in not only soccer but  baseball, volleyball, tennis, karate, and tug of war. It just doesn't make sense to me. I guess that was the cheapest way they could spice up the PV, so it was nothing but close-ups.
But this has to be the cheapest PV in the history of UFA. I mean, Sayaka is an idol and she doesn't even really dance in the PV. She does dance a bit in the video, but the choreography is so simple and lazy you can't even tell it is choreography. I had no idea her random movements were an actual dance until she was doing the same movements in both close-ups. Beacause to me it honestly looked like she was just doing random things with her hands that all idols do during close-ups.

I absolutely love the dress.

Sayaka looks pretty, but I can't get over how different she looks now

compared to then.

Apparently tapping to the beat is now considered dancing.

Everybody scream imi nai kedo.

This is pretty much like what the PV is like from here on out.

For some reason this is the only dance move I don't think is stupid. Even though it's only punching.

Volleyball practice, Koha would be proud. XD

Wow, this lighting actually makes Sayaka look really creepy and weird.

I just noticed this, but it looks like she fixed her teeth. They look much better now.

This face would probably creep me out more if Yossie didn't make similar faces all the time while she sang.

Dream Morning Musume announce 1st album!

On the 13th anniversary of Morning Musume's debut, Dream Morning Musume held a press conference. They announced they would be releasing an album and are extending their tour dates. The album is titled DoriMusu 1 (Which is obviously an abbreviation of Dream "Dorimu" and Morning Musume) and will be released on April 20th. The album will consist of covers of older Momusu songs but will also contain 2 new songs.I've never mentioned Dream Morning Musume on my blog before, so I'm going to explain what it is for people who don't know. Dream Musume is a group consisting of all the Morning Musume graduates. Of course only the ones still affiliated with H!P. And except for Kamei Eri, JunJun, and LinLin. They obviously graduated too late to be a part of this. And with them graduating from H!P as well, I doubt they ever would be part of it anyway. The current line up is Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi, Yasuda Kei, Yaguchi Mari, Ishikawa Rika, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Ogawa Makoto, Fujimoto Miki, and Kusumi Koharu. You may notice Tsuji Nozomi and Konno Asami are not part of the lineup. That's because Nono is busy taking care of her newborn son, and KonKon is busy being a TV Tokyo reporter.

I have to say that this is completely exciting news. It really seems like a dream to me. My absolutely favorite Morning Musume member, Kusumi Koharu, is back where I love her to be. Singing and dancing to Morning Musume songs. I'm also really happy that they are releasing an album. I thought their dream concert was going to be a one shot deal. Since M-Line has pretty much not done anything lately. This is a good indication of Dream Morning Musume's future as a unit. Releasing an album with 2 new songs means they are testing the waters to be a legit group. And calling it DoriMusu 1, means that there is going to be a second album. If not it would probably just be called something like Dream Collection or something like that. It also seems like future graduates will be shuffled into the group, assuming they want to join. Kinda like the Elder Club never stopped. Well, at least not the Momusu part.


To me it really seems like the fans responded really well to Afternoon Musume and wanted something official. Either way I am completely thrilled and look forward to what Dream Morning Musume will be up to in the future.

Tsuji Nozomi to release first album

On November 24th Tsuji Nozomi will be releasing her first album entitled Minna Happy! Mama no Uta. Which even with my limited Japanese I can translate it to Everyone Happy! Mama's Song.

I am extremely happy that Nono will finally be making music again. I just complained recently on my blog that I would love to see Tsuji making music again. And of course as soon as I heard about this the first thing that came to mind was, what kind of music will Tsuji be making? Will she continue to release the W type music she used to or will she start releasing more mature music now that she is a mom? The title of her album kinda makes it seem like she'll be making music geared towards children. Which I hope is not the case.

I also really wish Nono was still part of H!P. I can totally see her touring with S/mileage. Especially since she was just in their PV. Maybe they'll at least perform together sometime.

I also wonder if she'll be releasing a PV to promote the album. Japanese artists hardly ever release PVs for album tracks. And she doesn't have any singles currently, so she'll have to release something to promote the album. Since it's being released in November perhaps she'll release a single right before the album. But it seems to close for that, and she would have announced the single first. I really don't know right now. This new is giving more questions than answers.

Afternoon Musume Georgia coffee CM

Several OG Morning Musume members have formed a new unit called Afternoon Musume to promote Georgia coffee drinks. The units consists of Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi, Yasuda Kei, Yaguchi Mari, Fujimoto Miki, and Ogawa Makoto. In the commercials they sing an original song entiled Gohoubi no Afternoon Coffee. AKA an enka version of Morning Coffee. It is still unconfirmed if this will be released as a single.


I gotta say this CM and song aren't exactly my cup of coffee tea. I absolutely hate the overly Japanese theme of it. Mainly because I don't find enka music to be all that appealing. However I find the geisha outfits to be adorable. I also am incredibly sad that KonKon isn't a part of this at all. But I'm super excited for OG being pimped again. Even though I'm not an OG fan at all. It's nice to know every once in a blue moon UFA lets them do something other than gather dust.

If it sings like a new member and acts like a new member

UFA & BS-TBS held a press conference to announce auditions. But not the auditions every Morning Musume fan has been holding their breathe for, for over 2 years. Nope, it's not the Morning Musume 9th generation audition announcement at all. Instead they announced they will be holding auditions in 5 cities to find an actress to stage in Morning Musume's stage play in June.

Well an acting audition, that has nothing to do with a new Morning Musume member at all. Expect that that's exactly what it could mean. Morning Musume is looking for an actress for a stage play, which means she won't only have to be able to act she'll probably have to sing as well. Well let's say this winning girl ends up being a good singer. And let's say this winning girl interacts well with Morning Musume. Then Tsunku could put together that "Hey, this girl will fit together nicely with Morning Musume!" I tend to overanalyze things but this seems in the realm of possibility. I mean Tsunku does seem to make spontaneous decisions. Like when he added LinLin and JunJun and when he formed Coconuts Musume. People should pay close attention to this audition. We might just be seeing the next Morning Musume member in this stage play. You never can tell with Tsunku.

Hangry & Angry - Sadistic Dance preview

To commemorate their first performance in the US, Hangry & Angry are releasing a brand new single entitled Sadistic Dance. This single is however just a digital single. Japanfiles has released a preview of the song.

At first listen I didn't really think I'd like this song because the music and singing started off really soft. And it's completely different than their last single, Kiss Me Kill Me. But the music picks up really quickly. I love the overall sound of the music, it's sweet and still rock like. And the guitar solo towards the end of the song is juts awesome. Singing wise, it's really great. Yossie and Rika blend great together. And they sound really cute while they are saying Sadistic Dance. The song ends up being really great, but it's not a song I'd have to have. It's really catchy though.

Bring on the M-Line

 Graduated members from H!P will have their own separate fanclub called M-Line. Melon Kinenbi and Aya Matsuura will also have their own. But Yuko Nakazawa, Iida Kaori, Natsumi Abe, Mari Yaguchi, Kei Yasuda, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Rika Ishikawa, Nozomi Tsuji, Asami Konno, Makoto Ogawa, Miki Fujimoto, Mai Satoda, and Ongaku Gatas will all fall under M-Line.

Now we've know about M-Line for a few months, but it's not until recently their own website launched. And it seems instead of being called Elder!Club it's going to be M-Line. It would have been cool for it to be H!P and E!C. But also kind of stupid.

It's nice to see that the girls didn't disappear forever and have some sort of plans for the future. But it seems like Aya Mastuura and Melon Kinenbi have a brighter future since their fanclubs are separate from M-Line all together. But I'm still pretty excited for this.

I want to see KonKon and NoNo being very busy and working like there's no tomorrow. I'd also like to see Makoto do something too. Since she came back to H!P suddenly and was graduated shortly after. Besides KonKon, NoNo, Makoto, and Ongaku Gatas are really too young to be in this. They were even too young for Elder Club. But just because once you graduate from Momusu you are now lumped into Elder Club. I always found something silly with that.

Anyway, go M-Line! Try and be a little more popular than you were in H!P. And here's the link to their site. http://www.mall-city.net/m-line/

A tearful goodbye to Elder Club

On February 1st, H!P's Elder Club graduated and preformed their last concert as members of H!P. It was the largest H!P ever with 72 members in total. The end of Elder Club also marked the end of the song Love Machine. They will be retiring the song from further concerts. It really is sad to see all the members leave, everyone who made H!P what it is today.

This concert showed the return of several things. Tanpopo, Pucchi Moni, Sakura Gumi, and Otome Gumi. But most importantly it marked the return of Tsuji Nozomi. After a year and nine months she is finally back on stage. Tsuji said how she was nervous about dancing again, but after the music started it all came back to her. 

Yuko hands over H!P to Ai. Makin Ai-chan the oldest member at 22. I wonder how long it will be before Ai is too old and graduated from H!P completely?

Anyway, here's a few pics from the concert.

Nono's back! Pinch me!

 

Former 4th gen member of Morning Musume, and the other U in W, Tsuji Nozomi is back in action with a snazzy new blog. It was only a matter of time before Tsunku let her out of the dark. She can finally show her face publicly again. So, maybe she can finally be seen on her husband's blog. And not just her hand randomly seen in a picture. But whatever Nono is finally back! And I thrilled for it! I would have liked to hear news about her a little sooner. Tsunku waited until the last minute. With the Elder Club concert coming up she'd be in the news eventually.

I am waiting to hear more news of her career, that seems to be back in full swing. But just how well will Nono sell without Aibon? That's what I've been asking myself since Aibon left. I mean she's been practically attached at the hip to Aibon her whole career. And after Aibon got suspended and fired she hasn't done anything. She voiced an anime character but didn't release any singles. Aside from singing the theme for it. She was also in Gyaruru for about 5 minutes before she got married and announced her pregnancy.

But this blog points in the direction of her starting a solo career or being part of a new group. Which is really exciting. The blog it's self is very cute and pink, just like you'd expect from Tsuji-chan. She has 2 posts and I'm not 100% sure what the blog says since I can speak really little Japanese and can't read any. Horrible translation sites say she has been busy taking care of Nao who turned 1 in November. She talks about cooking things and interest in fashion. She also mentions being nervous about returning to the stage for Elder Club concerts.


It's about time to have official Tsuji news. Tsuji fans, like myself, have been waiting a long time for this. And hopefully Nono has something big planned for the future.

Aya's chocolately treat

Aya Matsuura's 21st single, Chocolate Damashi, is being released on Feburary 11th. And it's meant to be a Valentine's Day present to her fans. Which kind of makes me laugh because it's like indirectly only meant for male fans because in Japan only guys receive gifts on Valentine's Day. Women receive gifts a month later on White Day. But I don't Aya even thought of it that way. This single will also be her last single as a part of H!P.

I'm not really a fan of Aya's more mature music, I only really liked her first few singles. But this song seems genuinely sweet and fun. And the music sounds like something Puffy would be doing, but just a dash more pop. Aya's voice and image are so mature it's really hard to believe she's in her early twenties. Her voice sounds really sweet in this song but that's not really enough to make me love this song. I think this song is mediocre at best. Even vocally Ayaya has sounded better. But I do love the playfulness of it but I prefer her older stuff. It was more cutesy and more over the top.

The first thing that really pops out about this video is her outfit. I mean it's practically clashing. A pink and with striped dress with blue polka dotted stockings. Tsk tsk didn't anyone teach Aya not mix patterns. Her shoes, as fabulous as they are, they just don't match. Well they almost do but it looks awkward. And what's up with her mini Lolita hat? If you're not wearing a puffy lolita dress, those hats are just never nice to wear. Even though her outfit is practically a fashion disaster. I really like it. It's put together so oddly enough that it just works.

I don't think this video could get any cheaper. She's covered wall to wall with boxes of chocolate. There's a random bed, lamp, and table but that's it. She doesn't do much more than just sit there. This song is a little fast paced couldn't she dance a little? Or do something? There's also not even close ups of her face. The closest it gets is her torso. Which fits more for this type of song, but still I'd like to see a little something special. I mean, it's her last official under H!P shouldn't she have gone out with a bang? This single should have made them regret the Elder Club graduations not prove it was a smart idea.

Hangry and Angry come stateside?

The highly anticipated Hangry & Angry PV is out. And I couldn't be more excited for it! The song is just amazing. I can't stop listening to it. It really is one of the best things to comes out of H!P in a long time. I think it's UFA rather. The single will be released in Japan and the US on November 19th.

The PV is very anime like to me. It feels like it should be Hangry & Angry starring Yoshizawa Hitomi and Ishikawa Rika. But that's really my only complaint for it. I love that Yossie is being really evil and rockerish. It's a side of her I really like. Weird faces and all. And Rika acting sweetly, they really balance each other out. They couldn't have picked two better members.

Also the second outfits are awesome. Especially Rika's white dress. It's so pretty and it's finally an actual lolita dress. In this video it looks like they are picking up were come together left off. They come close to kissing and Rika basically feels up Yossie. Wotas are rejoicing now.

In more important Hangry & Angry news, according to their myspace they are planning a tour in the US and Europe. And on their offical Japanese myspace you can listen to a preview of two of their songs off the CD. http://www.myspace.com/hangryandangry

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