PREVIEW: The Tan Tan Taan! PV has popped up on Dohhh UP! and you can try your luck at getting it to load HERE or watch below:
I'm going to be brief with my thoughts since it's past 1am and I gotta get to bed.. but yeh, not a really flash PV to be honest. The big silver curtain is pretty horrid and the whole PV is like some giant rainbow threw up everywhere. Despite this, the girls are really cute and I love how they wave "BYE BYE" - Koharu looks especially nice in this PV. I like her hair and the headsets and star tamborines are always joyful to see. The song also isn't growing on me as much as I had previously hoped. I'm still gonna give it a shot, I really enjoyed MilkyWay's first single so I'm gonna give them a chance for this one. I'm sure it will eventually win me over.
PREVIEW: Covers for Ogawa Mana's upcoming debut single have been released on the TNX website.
Limited - Regular
Ogawa Mana is the lead singer of TNX's Canaria Club and her debut single will be the opening theme for the anime Hyakko.
I'm pretty excited for this release. The concert rip sounds great and I've always loved Mana since I first got into Canaria Club. I'd share the concert rip with you all but the place I host my files, Boxstr is down (as usual). I'm seriously considering switching to a more reliable hosting service, though I'm not really sure what is out there to host mp3s, with generous usage limits. If anyone knows of a good site please let me know :)
Suppin Rock is released on the 19th of November.
EDIT: Ok, boxstr is working now so here is the concert rip of Suppin Rock:
It's a cool pop/rock style song that seems pretty catchy and the audience gets really into it. Can't wait for a better quality rip to surface :D
PREVIEW: Kusumi Koharu's anime Kirarin Revolution featured a performance of Tan Tan Taan! in it's latest episode giving us a sneak peak at the upcoming MilkyWay single.
It's not nearly as crazy as their debut and I have to say it doesn't capture me immediately like the addictive Anataboshi did, still it's sweet and I like that Kikkawa and Kitahara get to sing quite a bit in this. The choreography is also very good and *YAY* for star tamborines ;) I think this one is a grower, since I like it even more on the second listen. Great that it's a different style too!
My copy of Pepper Keibu arrived (quicker than I had expected) and it's all full of awesomeness. I got the Limited B edition (I've been collecting those since Aruiteru) and the PB is really great, as always. You can click on the first pic to see a larger image :)
It was really difficult to get pics of the photobook (I don't have a scanner) so these are the best I could do :p
Also, I'm not sure if anyone noticed but I changed my blog header about a week ago to a new Pepper Keibu header (the girl's feet). I had previously had their feet from the Resonant Blue cover, before the last one I had. I don't have a foot fetish or anything, I just think it looks cool :p I hope everyone likes the new header :)
REVIEW: Over the past couple of months, Berryz and C-ute have performed some classic songs from way back when in Uta Doki segments for their Berikyuu tv show, which has sadly now come to an end. Thanks to Hello!°C-ute I got my hands on the segments and watched them all and was pretty impressed. So I thought I'd share my thoughts with you all. Enjoy!
My Revolution (originally by Watanabe Misato) Yajima Maimi & Tsunagaka Momoko
Aired 6th of August
We kick off the Berikyuu Uta Doki segments with this mismatched pair of sorts. The short, cute Momoko together with the tall, cool Maimi. These girls sound great during the chorus, I think their voices blend together so well. They also have lots of fun, smiling and giggling at each other, pointing at the camera, making faces. The song is pretty meh, but the girls make the best of it. This is a cute, little performance and it's nice to see these two members enjoying themselves so much ^_^
Hito Natsu no Keiken (originally by Yamaguchi Momoe) Sugaya Risako
Aired 7th of August
Risako gets a solo song (surpise, surprise!) and it's a really cool song which I think Risako does her best with. It suits her deeper voice but she sounds a bit shaky in bits and could have given it a bit more energy. She doesn't have anyone else to play off of though, so that can be forgiven. The chorus is done nicely, some nice powerful vocals from Risako especially during the closing stages. She ends the song with a bang!
Natsu Matsuri (originally by Jitterin' Jinn) Shimizu Saki, Tokunaga Chinami, Nakajima Saki & Hagiwara Mai
Aired 8th of August
Reject group #1 (sad but true) ... oh wait, I'll call them leftover group #1, that's slightly nicer. These are some of the weaker vocalists of the two groups right here but the song isn't extremely difficult so they still do pretty well. Saki S sounds particularly nice and everyone sounds really cute together in the chorus. The girls play up for the cameras which is always very sweet ^_^
Nagisa no Haikara Ningyo (originally by Kyoko Koizumi) Umeda Erika and Kumai Yurina
Aired 29th of August
Ah~, the giants get put together for a duet, lovely >.< ~ It's extremely cute from the get-go as they both wave to Manoeri before beginning. They have the cute hand moves down pat and the song is all round very cutesy and sweet. Erika plays up for the camera really hilariously at one point, she seems a little more comfortable than Yurina who has trouble figuring out which camera is filming. She figures it out by the end and gives us all a cheeky little look. Ah! Too cute from the giants!
Single Bed (originally by SharanQ) Suzuki Airi
Aired 18th of September
Airi sings a sweet ballad from SharanQ in this clip. Like Risako, Airi has lots of solo experience and she handles it well. I've perhaps heard her vocally better before, but the song is unlike songs she has sung in the past, no doubt. She does a good job for this slow ballad and she performs as if she's performing in front of a sold out stadium. Great stage presence.
Furare Kibun de Rock'n'Roll (originally by Tom Cat) Sudou Maasa, Natsuyaki Miyabi, Okai Chisato & Arihara Kanna
Aired 19th of September
Leftover group #2 (wait a second ... Miyabi ... huh?) - Anywho~, these girls sing a great, uptempo track (perhaps my fav from all the Uta Doki classics in this series). It really suits all four girls who totally play up and have lots of fun, pointing at the camera and being total fools. Chisato and Miyabi sound fantastic as usual. Kanna also sounds really good (she's a bit up and down usually), Maasa is a touch shaky but still good. Maasa stands out a bit much in this performance, she looks like the other 3 girls' bodyguard >.< Hell! She could probably even be my bodyguard! I wouldn't mess with her :p
Joukyou Monogatari (originally by SharanQ) C-ute
Aired 22nd of September
The final two performances are group performances from C-ute and Berryz, with C-ute performing the first, SharanQ's Joukyou Monogatari. This performance is really terrific. The girls sing in groups of two with solos from Airi and Maimi. I really enjoy the duos which are paired well with high and low vocals. Kanna/Mai sound particularly good and Airi/Chisato too ... well they all sound good. Airi is great vocally in this performance and Maimi is pretty good also. This really is one of their best performances as a group and I wish they'd sing this more mature style more often. Tsunku, pay attention!
Roppingi Shinju (originally by Anne Lewis) Berryz Koubou
Aired 23rd of September
Berryz close out the Uta Doki segments with this great, rocky number. Saki starts it out wonderfully: "1, 2, 3, 4!" Risako and Momoko do solos during the verse and Momo sounds WOW! Sing like that more often, enough of that cutesy crap, please (urgh, the pinky). The girls' voices blend in the chorus really well. I think some of the girls could have given a bit more attitude, but they all look really cool. Risako gets more into it towards the end and they all glare at the camera as it passes down the line towards the end. Eek! They're like the rebels who smoke in the girl's toilets at lunchtime. Watch out, boys! Berry cool performance ;)
~~~
So there we have it. As I'm sure you could see, I was pretty impressed and enjoyed these classic tracks and these cute shuffled groups. It almost leaves me begging for new shuffle unit singles but I doubt they're ever coming back. Hope you enjoyed the perfomances as much as I did :)
REVIEWS: I'm back to reviewing after missing out on last week's new releases. I didn't really have the time last week, and none of the releases sparked much of an interest in me so I just didn't bother ... sorry!
Anyway - onto this week's new releases:
Anata to ayaka X KOBUKURO
This ballad is the second collaboration between ayaka and KOBUKORO. It is a beautiful song and ayaka's vocals mix well with the KOBUKURO boys. Unfortunately, the song suffers from not being totally memorable and though pretty it just doesn't have that lasting appeal for me. I'm very particular on my ballads, so others may like this and I'm not disputing that it is a good song, but just not a favorite of mine. Also, while a different style, I don't think it's as good as last year's collaborative effort.
Rating: 7/10
The Birthday ~Ti Amo~ EXILE
EXILE's new track, is the birth of something called Chapter 1. I'm not certain what that means but I can only assume Chapter 2 is sure to follow (2 comes after 1, right?) The PV for this song is pretty incredible (check it out if you can find it - Nazi Avex have pretty much removed it from existance on the net), but the song itself isn't as great unfortunately. It suffers from a very laid back style which makes it sound like elevator music or something. There is no real variation or growth in the song. It's nice and could have been really good but it's a bit bland.
Rating: 6.5/10
Can't Stop The Disco Suzuki Ami
Suzuki Ami's new track is a techno/pop dance song with synth vocals. I'm not a fan of the genre and this song doesn't change my opinion. I'm not certain if Suzuki usually synthesizes her vocals (the few tracks of her's I've heard in the past haven't had synth vocals) but I personally feel the song would have been better with normal vocals. Apart from this, the chorus is OK and the beat is pretty decent.
Rating: 6.5/10
POLARIS no Namida Onsoku LINE
POLARIS no Namida is a new ballad from Onsoku LINE and though I do somewhat enjoy it, it's bland with a capital B. It's almost like they toned down what could have been an amazing chorus just so that it would be very laid back and I think that ruins the song. Bland chorus = bland song. Nice backround music, though.
Rating: 5.5/10
Sayonara Baby/Koi Shiteru Kato Miliyah
Kato's new double A-side features the upbeat Sayonara Baby and the happy-go-lucky Koi Shiteru. Sayonara Baby is a mid tempo dance track. This song is actually pretty good; better than I had expected it to be. It's not hugely memorable but it's a good dance track with a catchy chorus and good vocals. Koishiteru on the other hand is a fun, poppy song but I have to admit, I find the chorus REALLY annoying. It repeats throughout (obviously) which makes me unable to like this track. Even if I did like the chorus, the whole thing is still nothing special... at all.
Walk Over the Rainbow is a funky, pop/rock track with some strange vocals. The vocalist's voice is really odd and will probably put some people off but I do think she provides the interest in this song- without the vocals it would be a mess. Hmm... Despite this, it doesn't leave much of an impression on me at all.
Rating: 5.5/10
Single of the Week
Sekai wa Odoru/Shakunetsu BREAKERZ
DAIGO's group BREAKERZ have begun branching out into singles territory after a couple of albums last year and had moderate success (top 10) with their first single SUMMER PARTY/LAST EMOTION. Their second single Sekai wa Odoru/Shakunetsu offers more of the cool, rocky edge that is seeing them continue to grow in popularity.
Sekai wa Odoru
Sekai wa Odoru opens with some really beautiful strings and bursts straight into the chorus which is the highlight of this track for me. The chorus is quite catchy and DAIGO's vocals are pretty awesome. While the verses lack the punch of the chorus, they provide a nice contrast of energy and allow that all important growth that I'm always harping on about. The instrumental is really great with the inclusion of strings in the rock track. There isn't a bridge in this track, the group instead opting for a guitar solo which was a good choice (though both could have been accommodated I suppose). The solo leads on to a really soft chorus, beautifully sung over a nice simple piano instrumental which then launches back into the rocky chorus. I really love how the rock song slowly fades out as the strings are reintroduced to close out the song; It's a really lovely ending.
Shakunetsu
Shakunetsu is a bit more hard and rough compared to Sekai wa Odoru, which is a great contrast of rock styles for this single. It is the Japanese theme song for Wanted (starring Angelina Jolie, among others). Interestingly, compared with the previous track, I find the verses in this song to be the strongest factor. They're really catchy, with a dark moodiness and DAIGO's vocals are once again, very good. The pre-chorus builds really well to the high-energy chorus which is great but short. I really like how DAIGO sings this song, he puts everything into his vocals and the final note of the chorus is great! Once again, there is a rock instrumental section of the song which leads onto the final choruses.
I think the thing I enjoy most about BREAKERZ is that their songs really do feel like they are done by a group, rather than a DAIGO solo song. This is difficult to accomplish with such a popular frontman, but the rock instrumentals and guitar solos allow the other two members their time to shine. The more intricate style of Sekai wa Oduru matches well with the uninhibited Shakunetsu and the single makes a lot of sense as a double a-side.
ORICON ROUNDUP: It's like alphabet soup on the charts this week as V6 tops the singles chart whileB'z The Best “ULTRA Treasure” topples Hamasaki's A COMPLETE from the top of the album charts~ >.<
V6's LIGHT IN YOUR HEART/SWING! sold a pretty reasonable 81K, pretty much on par with their last single's debut sales (Chou with 80K), marking their 21st #1 single of their career - a nice achievement for a group who has only had 35 singles. Last week's no.1 HANABI was quite a way behind selling 48K to come in at 2nd place while new releases from Angela Aki and Nightmare also placed in the top 5. Gake no Ue no Ponyo climbed up to no.5 - once again refusing to die. ARASHI managed to keep a high position in the top 10 at 6th on their 5th week in the charts while GLAY dropped from 2nd position last week, to 7th. New releases from Lil'B, Tamio Okuda and Kazuyoshi Saito rounded out the top 10.
In album sales, Bz's newie lived up to expectations selling a whopping 413K to steal the no.1 spot from Hamasaki Ayumi. ULTRA Treasure is their 23rd no.1 album, making them the top artist in Japanese chart history for #1 albums. This is their second BEST album of the year, their first ULTRA Pleasure is the current 6th highest selling of the year. Hamasaki's A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~ had good sales of 119K, despite being bumped from the top, to bring her total sales to 658K. Ne-Yo (USA) dropped to no.3 while Amuro Namie continues to sell well at 4th (27K) and Metallica (USA) fell from 3rd to 5th.
Berryz Koubou struggled on the charts this week with their new (special) single Genghis Khan Tarutaru Mix failing to make waves, selling only 2.8K and charting at 35th. Their album also failed to rank well, dropping outside the top 50 (from 11th) with sales of just 1.8K.
CHARTS:
Singles: 01 LIGHT IN YOUR HEART/SWING! V6 81,719 02 HANABI Mr.Children 48,302 03 Tegami ~Haikei Jugo no Kimi e~ Angela Aki 31,419 04 Lost in Blue Nightmare 23,524 05 Gake no Ue no Ponyo Fujimaki Fuijioka & Nozomi Oohashi 14,852 06 Truth/Kaze no Mukoe ARASHI 11,449 07 Aka To Kuro To Matadora/I Love You Wo Sagashiteru GLAY 9,690 08 Kimi ni Utatta LOVE SONG Lil'B 9,139 09 SUN no SON Tamio Okuda 8,933 10 Ya Mujo Kazuyoshi Saito 7,571
Albums: 01 B'z B'z The Best “ULTRA Treasure” B'z 413,038 02 A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~ Hamasaki Ayumi 119,351 03 Year of the Gentleman Ne-Yo 41,913 04 BEST FICTION Amuro Namie 27,163 05 Death Magnetic Metallica 22,853
NEWS: Some exciting news today as the official Hello! Project site announces that Takahashi Ai will be starring in the upcoming drama series Q.E.D. - Shoumei Shuuryou, based on the manga of the same name. The drama is set to air primetime on NHK during the 2009 Winter drama season.
Ai is said to be playing the character of Kana, the female lead. Kana and close friend Sou solve crimes together, with Sou being the brains while Kana is the brawn. She is described as athletic, brave and pretty. Ai will play opposite Nakamura Aoi (17), who has acted in both film and television before. Also starring in the drama is veteran Ishiguro Ken (42).
I gotta say this is extremely exciting news that a member of H!P is branching out into a prime time drama series in a lead role. Hopefully Ai-chan can open the doors for more H!P artists who wish to follow this career path (I know quite a few do), it's great that Ai is finally getting this chance as a lead. I can't wait to watch every week! Congrats Ai-chan!
My copy of Ayu's new best album FINALLY arrived. Here are some quick pics of my A COMPLETE ~ALL SINGLES~:
The cd set comes in this nifty box which is adorned with a collage of Ayumi's singles around the sides.
The set contains a lyrics booklet + mini photo booklet with alternate covers of all Ayu's singles + 3 CDs + 1 DVD. Very nice package for the price I paid.
I can't wait to check out the DVD, I *might* do a review here with pics and such if I get around to it... Anyway~ *off to listen to Ayu* ^_^
NEWS: The earth is shaking this morning as one of the NEW STAR finalists leaks the previously unreleased Ame no Furanai Hoshi de Aisenai Daro onto the web. Zeng De Ping (pictured below) has used this song on her personal website, which begins playing automatically for all visitors. The finalists of the NEW STAR auditions had previously learned and performed the song at their boot camp so they likely received CDs of the song to learn it. Ame no Furanai... had recently been performed at the latest Wonderful Hearts concert.
Oops!
If Ping has indeed leaked this song without permission, then it may mark her end in the NEW STAR auditions. I'm sure UFA wouldn't look upon this lapse in judgment lightly, though interestingly the song is still up on the website at the time of writing this. To be completely honest, she didn't stand out much to me anyway and was one of the lowest scoring girls the week before last. I wouldn't miss her much.
Ping's mistake is our salvation as now we have a HQ rip of the new song (listen to the song above). The vocals are lovely except for the usual criminal vocalists (Koha, Sayu - learn to sing Pinkus ... please). I enjoy Jun and Lin's Chinese lines though to be 100% honest I still think that Lin is capable of much more. She sounded better in those pre-MM vocal trainings to me. Reina's vocals are improving immensely, she doesn't sound like a wailing cat anymore and it's annoying me as I'm startin' to like her (more) *grrrr*
I wonder what this song will be used for now. Many were guessing it would be the new single before Pepper Keibu was announced but now it is sort of in H!P limbo. It will probably show up on MM's next album (the non cover one) or this year's Pucchi Best.
NEWS: Once again the news breaks before the episode airs on Taiwan Television, and the winners of the NEW STAR auditions have now been revealed on the official H!P Taiwan website.
The Winners (L to R) Zao Guo Rong / Lightbulb, Zeng De Ping, Wu Si Auan - TSUNKU - Gu Yun, Wu Zhao Xian, Lan Ai Zi
Now I immediately have to throw insult to the exclusion of Su Lin Xin or Risafan as she was well known; The girl had so much talent, was well liked and an obvious fan. I'm pretty annoyed she wasn't chosen. I'm also disappointed that Su Luo Yu, Fan Qin Yu and Chen Mei Xuan weren't chosen but those I don't care as much.
Onto the actual chosen participants:
Zao Guo Rong / Lightbulb (16)
Lightbulb was an obvious choice. She is very popular and has a very endearing personality. No doubt Tsunku would have loved her quirkiness. Her singing is ok, and she plays the piano. She seemed slightly uncoordinated so she probably needs to work on her dancing. Overall it's a good and not surprising choice.
Zeng De Ping (17)
Now Ping is the girl who leaked Ame no Furanai Hoshi de Aisenai Daro onto the web. She must be thanking her souls that she got picked before it was discovered (if indeed she wasn't advised to, to create buzz or whatever). In regards to her pick, it is slightly surprising for me. She didn't stand out much to me. Her singing seemed very average and she didn't dance in the latest set of eps. She does have a unique look though and a good personality, she did impressions for the judges last episode.
Wu Si Auan (20)
YES! There is a God!! This girl is incredible and I'm so happy she was picked. She's been my favorite from the very first episode she appeared on. She is so outgoing, attractive, a great dancer and a decent singer. She acted in the latest set of episodes, she has experience in this line of work, she is the all around package. Front girl Tsunku, FRONT GIRL!
Gu Yun (12)
Yun was another who didn't totally stand out for me. She seems to be the youngest of the winners, but she certainly is above her years. She is a great dancer, that's for sure. It seemed to be her specialty from what I could see. I never heard her sing so I can't comment on that. I think there were better 'dancer' choices but Tsunku obviously has his reasons for picking her and I think she's a good choice.
Wu Zhao Xian - Lan Ai Zi
Now these two I know NOTHING about. I don't remember them from the show. They definitely weren't part of the top 15. I'm guessing maybe pre-picked contestants from the initial auditions? Or they got lost along the way, or Tsunku had chosen them before these auditions and wanted to find other girls to make a group. Either way I look forward to seeing what they have to offer.
~
The girls will apparently go to Japan in November for training, returning to Taiwan to record and release a debut EP. This leads me to believe that they will in fact be a Taiwan based group just like I had hoped. The two youngins, Frances and Aiko (below) were not in the running to be chosen by Tsunku but have apparently been offered something else (what it is is anyone's guess).
The episodes for these selections are being aired today and tomorrow and even though the results are now known I'll still probably do some recaps.
NEWS: I had previously reported a new H!P Egg group for the Shugo Chara anime about 3 weeks ago, and we finally have some more info to report! Shugo Chara Event in Odaiba today announced not only the group lineup, but also their debut single.
The members of Shugo Chara Egg are (from L to R) Saho Akari, Wada Ayaka, Maeda Yuuka (High King), Fukuda Kanon. The girls each represent a character from the Shugo Chara anime named after the suits in a deck of cards:
Spade ~ Diamond ~ Hearts ~ Clubs
Their debut single will be titled Minna no Tamago and is due to be released on the 10th of December. The group also has an official website where you can find further information.
UPDATE: Sanspo has an article about the event which includes pictures of the performance. Warning: Cuteness OVERLOAD!! (click for larger pics)
Posts
