Morning Musume-Nanchatte Renai preview

The preview for Morning Musume's 40th single, Nanchatte Renai, is out. Which I am completely thrilled about! I was so ready for Momusu to be out of this slow pace single theme they've been having.

Even though the song is still slow paced, it's actually a lot better than Shouganai Yume Oibito. The musical is amazing, it took the good parts from Naichau Kamo and Shogania Yume Oibito and combined them. They even through in some old school Musume and rap just like in Do it! Now. I loved that Koharu got a solo line. She's been ignored for the past 2 singles. But so have the 8th gen, and their ignored again. Which is pretty sad. I'm tired of the overdose of Reina and Ai. It's getting a little old.

But overall I'm really happy for this song. Let's hope the PV doesn't disappoint.

Buono- Take It Easy preview

I completed overlooked this news. Apparently the preview for Buono's 8th single, Take It Easy, was released a couple of days ago. But I'm just finding out about it now.

A really like the sound of this song. It's got a soft rock instrumental track accompanied by the soft melody of the chorus. It's completely different than their last single My Boy, and pretty much everything else they've already done. Leave it to Buono to come up with something fresh.
I'm in love with Momoko's solo lines, they're just awesome. It also sounds like Momoko is taking the higher melody during the chorus. But I think it's just because I'm paying more attention to her voice.

Is H!P superior or am I just biased?

Many of you people know that I'm an avid Hello!Project fan. I follow their music almost religiously, which might not be as great as it sounds. H!P monopolizes a lot of my time, and I love H!P to death. But it feel like there's an entire world of idol music I'm missing out on. There's definitely more idol fish in the sea.

Let's take a look at my Japanese music taste pre and post H!P obsession.

Pre H!P.

And Post H!P.

Now that doesn't seem like a lot.
But lets see where that is in Jpop alone.

My potential bias doesn't stop there. H!P effects all the idol music I listen to.

Hinoi Team:

Hinoi Team formed around the same time I started getting in Japanese music all together. They were really cute and had an appealing sound. For a while I was obsessed with para para. And I even wanted to be ganguro. Thank god that passed.
I vowed to make them the first Jpop act I followed from beginning to end, and I did. I listened to everyone on of their songs. And know lots of things about the members. Especially Hikaru. I guess they kind of set the stage for me listening to idol music. Even though at the time I had no idea what an idol was. They were the only group I liked that wasn't directly influenced by H!P.

Perfume:

I found out about Perfume around the time I just got in H!P. Back when I only listened to Koharu's solo stuff. They had a similar sound to Hinochi. But instead of Euro beat they were techno. I though Perfume would ultimately fill the void from Hinoi Team's sudden and unannounced break-up. (Which I didn't even admit happened until they didn't release anything for a year.) But my love of perfume didn't really catch on. I like a few songs by them now and that's really about it. Instead I focused on Koharu and slowly the rest of H!P.

Scandal:

I've never even heard of Scandal before they were the opening theme to Bleach. I haven't really heard of most idols outside of Hello!Project. It took me almost 3 years of being an H!P fan to find out about JE. And if I wasn't in cover groups I probably still wouldn't know what JE is. Which would be pretty terrible. I can't even remember what it was like not listening to JE.

But even now H!P is indirectly the reason I like Scandal. I was drawn to Scandal because they are so different then H!P. They are leaning more towards being the new Zone then anything else. However I didn't really listen to Zone beyond True Blue. I really think Scandal has the staying power for me though. It combines my two favorite things. Jrock and cute girls singing happy music. Plus my love for anime. And yet, I don't know how closely I plan to follow them.

The sad truth is if Scandal lost the guitars, and was another idol group I'd lose all interest. Because to me they would be just another idol group that's inferiorly to H!P. Which is jacked up logic, and at the same time is sadly how I feel.

JE:

The main reason I was drawn to JE had less to do with H!P and more to do with hot guys. Even though H!P didn't effect the reason I gave them a chance, H!P is still the reason I like the groups I like. My favorite groups in JE are NEWS and Hey! Say! JUMP. And the reason for that is they are basically the male version of Morning Musume and Berryz Koubou.
NEWS and Momusu both focus around cute and happy songs, mostly about love. NEWS is the cutesy group within JE.
Berrzy Koubou and Hey! Say! JUMP both are the younger groups within their company, and have members around the same age. They both started out doing more childish songs and moved to more mature ones as they got older.



I'm not really sure what conclusion I was trying to draw or what point I was trying to make by witting this. Right now the only thing I proved is that I am definitely H!P biased. And maybe it also proves that I'll probably never find an idol company or group that I like as much as H!P or H!P's groups. Which in a way makes me less biased and more dedicated.
So is H!P superiorly? It depends on who you're talking to and what the criteria of being "superior" is. H!P's music is catchy, happy, and fun. Sure sometimes it's not lyrical genius, but whoever said it was. It's uplifting and entertaining, which is all I, or anyone else, should ask for from idol music
As for the idol world I missing out on, I guess I'm still on the fence about that. Maybe sometime in the future their be a group I like more than Momusu. But as for right now there's not.
I do feel a little left out when people get jazzed over AKB48 or Perfume. But I'm just not into it. It's like being the odd person out in game of Red Rover. You see it happening, you want to get involved, but you're just not invited.

Berryz Koubou's Thrilling Kingdom :UPDATE:

I perviosuly stated on this post that Berryz Koubou would be getting their own shown called Thrilling! Berryz Kingdom, but it turns out it's not a TV show at all. Rather it's a radio show on SKY PerfecTV. I guess I just assumed it was a TV show because the station is called SKY PerfecTV. You know what they say about assuming, and having misleading radio station names.

I'm sorry to any Berryz fans who got their hopes up over this post. I'm just as dissapointed as you.

Morning Musume's Nanchatte Renai cover preview

With over a month until Momusu's 40th single Nanchatte Renai's release date, we already have a taste of what the new single will be like. In the form of small picture of the cover.

I'm really liking what I see so far. The girls are looking cute and happy, instead of somber. Which makes me think that we're getting a break from their last two slow singles. And I'm definitely looking forward to. But you can't really judge the song style too much on the covers. Shouganai Yume Oibito's cover are vibrant and happy, yet the song is slow.
Morning Musume is also dressed pretty hot. They're wearing amazing black dresses that look like a mix between Osaka Koi no Uta mixed and Shining Itoshiki Anata.

I expect a lot from this single. Even though Shouganai Yume Oibito was massively popular, I found it boring. I want this new single to have a pizzazz the last 3 singles were lacking. I'm also hoping to see LinLin up front in this single.
Since LinLin is part of the new Mini Moni group and has a solo song on Chanpuru 1~Happy Marriage Song Cover Shuu~, I think it's finally going to be time for her to be featured more in Morning Musume. Maybe she'll actually get a solo line in the new single. She's already proved that she's an amazing singer. She's also already proved she has a lot of personality. LinLin is going to be getting a lot more popularity from Mini Moni, so why not promote her more now. Besides they are going to need some one to take Reina's place when Ai and Risa graduate, and Reina becomes the new leader. They haven't really been shoving anyone else up front lately. Sayumi doesn't have the vocal ability, and Eri will already be up front either because she's the new sub leader or because of seniority.

I kind of went off on a future of Momusu tangent there. So I'll stop before I get into the rest of the members.

A blast from H!P's past

Hello!Project's cover album Chanpuru 1~Happy Marriage Song Cover Shuu~ is being released on July 15th. Here's the full track list that was released recently.

1. Diamonds - High-King
2. Ai wa Katsu - °C-ute & Erina Mano
3. YES-YES-YES - Aa! [Tanaka Reina, Natsuyaki Miyabi, Suzuki Airi]
4. Tentou Chuu no Sanba - Shin Minimoni (New Minimoni) [Linlin, Kanon Fukuda, ???]
5. Kimi ga iru dake de - Pucchimoni V (Erina Mano, ???)
6. Heya to Y shirts to Watashi - Reina Tanaka
7. Mamotte Agetai - Risa Niigaki & Eri Kamei
8. Cosmos - Ai Takahashi
9. Mirai Yosouzu II - ZYX-α (ZYX alpha)
10. ONLY YOU - Zoku･Biyuuden (Sequel Biyuuden)
11. akai sweet pea - Tanpopo #
12. For You… - Linlin
13. Kanpaku Sengen - Berryz Koubou & Erina Mano
14. Sekai wa futari no tame ni - Sayumi Michishige, Koharu Kusumi, Aika Mitsui, Junjun


I'm sure most H!P fans were shocked by the track list. I definitely was. I was really surprised to see H!P reviving so many old groups. ZYX, Tanpopo, Mini Moni, V-U-DEN, Pucchimoni, Aa!, and High King are all making a comeback. H!P really seems to be pulling all the stops. There's even a LinLin solo! Which is beyond amazing.
I can't wait to see who's going to be in each group. The perfect Zoku V-U-DEN would be Ai, Risa, and Reina. Just look at Take Off Is Now, no one else could be that sexy. I think JunJun would be perfect for Pucchimoni. I also wonder if previous members are going to return to their groups. There's still time for Ai to be in the new Mini Moni.
I hate waiting for things like this.


Even though I'm mostly excited for this, there are some negatives I can't get over. Feel free to tell me if I'm over thinking too much.

Over the last couple of years Morning Musume has been declining in sales. They are not the powerhouse and phenomenon they were all those years ago. The H!P kids are growing in popularity, and yet that's still not enough for H!P to be on top. Sure Shouganai Yume Oibito ranked #1 and Seishun Bus Gus/Rival ranked #4. That's great and everything, but can this current spurt of popularity really last? Tsunku is trying to by bringing back Mini Moni and possibly these other groups.

Honestly this kind of looks like an act of desperation to me. He's trying to recapture H!P's glory days. Which is fine to do, but do it in the right way. Instead of copying the past so much Tsunku should worry about making the current H!P better. He should be making new groups and subgroups. Look how well Buono does. One shot groups like Guardians 4 and Milky Way just aren't cutting it. When need another S/milage group so it can be like Berryz Kobou and C-ute 2.0. And it's definitely time for new Momusu members. I think the current line up is great, but they haven't changed in 2 years. I'm getting impatient for new faces.

I am happy to see these groups revived. And even though they are more than likely only being revived for this CD, I don't really think they should be revived at all. Leave the past in the past. H!P needs to more on to move forward.

Spin the globe with Mano Erina

ManoEri's new song, Sekai wa Summer Party, is being released July 29th. And yet the PV was released already. I guess H!P is trying to keep the attention on her since she recently made her Music Station debut.

The PV itself a little boring and cheap looking. For her dance scene she dances in front of a giant globe in a plain white room. Which is one of the cheapest sets in all of H!P. Ice Creamusume has the cheapest. I understand that the title translates as The World is a Summer Party, but is it really necessary to have that big of an Earth in the background. It's just awkward looking and takes focous away from the Eggs Erina.
Then the other aspect of the PV is the room she plays piano in. And it's just styled as the typical H!P room. This room could have been used for the Chance PV or the Tropical Koishiteru PV. That's how generic the rooms usually are. The room actually reminds me of her Hajimete no Keiken video.
Throughout the PV there's also a lot of weird sparkles randomly placed, for no apparent reason. I sure hope the lyrics have something to do with sparkling, or that would just be stupid.
The upside to the PV is the outfits she wears. Her school looking dress couldn't get any cuter.


Cheap set :/

Dramatic close up of her fingers

I like that she has the Eggs in her video again.

And look at those insanely easy dance moves

I spot a Yuuka

A snorkel how practical

I think I liked this dance move a little more than I should have

And the pixie dust starts. It's makes her suitcase enchanted XD

Now there's a way to use sparkles!

It looks like she's doing the Charleston

I think Erina just got laid. It HAD to be said.

I spot a Kanon

The never ending suitcase leads you to a world of ominous

sparkles

Erina's staying alive. And somehow Yuuka made that move

look adorable

Yeah. That pose is really showing off her rabbit cheeks

What's over there? Is it more sparkles?

They're even doing tap dance moves.

Quick something useful, like a pineapple! LOL face.

Of course she winks stars

Doo kyacchi shiyou ka? oh wait wrong group.

You spin me right round

I've never loved the letter E more in my life

Now act like you've never seen bubbles before


I'm starting to really like ManoEri's songs. I really didn't like her indie singles or her first major single, but her last two singles were surprisingly good. I'm even starting to tolerate like her singing.