Showing posts with label Morning Musume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morning Musume. Show all posts

Ok, so I'm not really a huge fan of SNSD, in fact their new track Gee is probably only the 2nd song of theirs I actually enjoy. Despite this, UFA management could learn a lot from how their latest release has been handled.

While I'm relatively happy with Naichau Kamo, Gee has that mainstream, new sound, that Morning Musume needs to constantly be sticking with. I'm not suggesting MM sing something like Gee - I personally don't think it would suit them at all - but just something a little less idol-fied than they've been doing. Still, I'm not worrying too much on this, since the latest tracks have been great, even if slightly idolish, but (bless Tsunku's soul) it would be nice to get some different song writers in to provide something more updated or at least a different approach. Tsunku seems to be trapped in this mesh of what he thinks is cool and hip and it obviously is not appealing to teens/early 20s who are the main buying public. That being said, Tsunku seems to be the only one involved in H!P who actually cares anymore.

Promotion wise, this single has been great. Commercial teasers, little tastes of what to expect, promo shots etc - it makes the unveiling of the single and the PV an event that everyone looks forward to. Naichau Kamo just happened to be played on Reina's radio show with no previous announcement and nothing else supporting it. We have the song, great, what else? UFA sucks at promotion.

Most importantly is the PV, something I think UFA fails at MAJORLY time and time again. Just look at the video for Gee (and keep in mind SNSD has 9 members, just like Morning Musume).



So, how great was that, yeah?!

The PV doesn't seem to have an extravagant budget but most importantly, it doesn't look cheap. Every recent H!P PV has looked cheap as chips and I'm so sick of it. UFA isn't exactly in debt, the H!P groups sell a decent amount and concert sales are great. On top of that, they're not really spending big on promotion, PV directors or song writers - it seems they're content on taking our money whilst spending as little as possible.

So what makes SNSD's PV so great?

~ It has a cute little storyline (UFA never does storylines of any sort)
~ Each girl gets a decent amount of screentime (UFA always has some girls getting little to no screentime - see Junjun, Kanna, Captain etc)
~ Everyone is in a number of cool, unique outfits (UFA has a habit of sticking the girls in COSTUMES, not outfits, and they're usually carbon copies of each other. They sometimes get it right - C-ute has had some good outfits like in TJ, NnI etc)
~ The dance is great and creative (Some H!P PVs have cool dances but on a whole they're pretty ordinary. Just seeing something like this can show you how uncreative waving your hands around and pointing up is)
~ The girls are having fun (Something I question when it comes to H!P. Reina for instance seems pretty unhappy with some of the crap she has to put up with and has been vocal about it - If the girls want to be in dramas then bloody hell let them audition. Urgh! - I'm sure she isn't the only one.)

I swear I'm gonna go berserk if the Naichau Kamo PV sucks and unfortunately it probably will.
I'm increasingly becoming more annoyed at how cheap and crap UFA is. So much so that I don't even want to be a H!P fan anymore. Of course, that won't happen since I absolutely adore a lot of the girls and you know, I'm in it for them. They always give 110% and it isn't their fault that UFA doesn't seem to care.

Anyway lol. This turned into a major rant and it wasn't meant to be. I was just gonna show everyone the awesome SNSD MV ^^; lol. Check it out and let me know what you think!

NEWS: Last night marked the beginning of the 2009 Winter Concert Tour, Wonderful Hearts Kouen ~Kakumei Gannen~ - All in all it went off without a hitch, minus the charismatic Wada Ayaka, who was absent due to illness (get better soon DAWA!). Thankfully BARKS has some nice coverage of the debut concert, with lots of pics that everyone can check out ->HERE<-

This run of concerts marks the lead up to the graduation of the Elder Club so soon Wonderful Hearts WILL BE the Hello!Project. Get used to it everybody!

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Presenting Wonderful Hearts!

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Morning Musume looking very cool performing their upcoming single Nai chau Kamo

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Berryz look very cute in their canary yellow outfits...

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...while C-ute are hot in their suits.

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Milky Way performs Tan Tan Taan! C'mon! How C-ute is Koha's outfit for Happy☆Happy Sunday ^_^!!!

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Buono! in their pyjamas costumes, performing Lotta Love Lotta Love.

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& finally Mano Erina, behind her YAMAHA.

PREVIEW: Managing to sneak in as the last big surprise of 2008 is Morning Musume's upcoming single Nai Chau Kamo. Tanaka Reina graciously played it on her radio show this evening and let me just say it is great. Along with that we have a low quality pic of the girls for this single and I'm really liking the image. It seems my prayer of more mature, mainstream songs was answered ^_^

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-> DOWNLOAD <- right click + save as






Thanks to amp at jpmforums for the radio rip

Firstly I'm LOVING the sound, which seems Latin inspired, along the vein of Irropoi Jirettai - it's definitely a cool, mature sound that suits the current Morning Musume. Ai & Reina lead as usual but with more variety in vocals than past singles. I hear some Sayu, Eri and Risa and lots of harmonies and such from the others. I'm very happy with this track, what a perfect way to end 2008.

Everyone have a great NEW YEARS! See you in 2009!

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...my true love gave to me MORNING MUSUME,
a celebration,
something a bit naughty,
a rise to fame,
10 years of bliss,

an anniversary trio,
a group of amazing vocalists,
a hit single,
a stunning voice,
the sweetest song,
a deliciously creepy new artist,
and a WINTER PARTY!

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Firstly: MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone! I hope everyone has a great day filled with lots of joy and memories. What better way to celebrate this Xmas than with my personal favourite group, Morning Musume! Though they've only released 2 singles this year, I think many were blown away by the enigmatic Resonant Blue, a song which surprised and brought plenty of joy to lots of people this year!



When I first heard this song it was via a pretty ordinary radio rip and I was truly transfixed. It was something totally different to what MM had done before and I was in love with Resonant Blue from the first second. Around the web, there was definitely a sense of excitement about this release, the vast majority of people LOVED it and everyone was trying to find out who sang what lines (because everyone sounded so different and great) and then eventually we learnt it was all Ai and Reina lol, but whatever. From the 4 PVs to the kick ass covers, for me, this was one of the greatest releases MM had produced in years.

The new, more mainstream, image was very welcomed by a lot of the fans and one we had gradually seen MM nudging towards in recent songs. I can only hope that Pepper Keibu (which I did really like) was a slight deviation from this new direction (due to the remake album) and that MM will return to this style with their next single. I really think it is what MM needs to maintain the current fans and win new ones, we need MM to stick around for many more years! ^_^

I hope you've enjoyed reading these 12 Days of Christmas segments. I know a few people have discovered new artists through it and I hope many of you enjoyed at least reading my own thoughts on the songs. Now, I purposely only decided to use 1 H!P track for the 12 Days since otherwise there would be far too little variety lol. As a result I'll list my 10 fav H!P singles of the year:

10
Fujimoto Miki
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Okitegami

09
Athena & Robikerottsu
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Seishun Love Lunch

08
Berryz Koubou
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Dschinghis Khan

07
Buono!
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Lotta Love Lotta Love

06
MilkyWay
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Anataboshi

05
C-ute
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Namida no Iro

04
High-King
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C\C (Cinderella\Complex)

03
Buono!
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Renai Rider

02
C-ute
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Edo no Temari Uta II

01
Morning Musume
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Resonant Blue

All in all, I'd say it's been a pretty good year for H!P in regards to actual songs. I've quite liked a number of the releases and hopefully 2009 is even better! Once again, have a great day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS
Stardust!

PREVIEW: A small handful of upcoming 2009 releases were announced today, sure to get all H!P fans anticipating the new year!

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Morning Musume's 38th Single
泣いちゃうかも
Naichau Kamo (I might cry)
11th Feburary

It's a new Morning Musume single and it isn't a cover - always something to get excited over. While I did enjoy Pepper Keibu and COVER YOU sounds promising so far (I'm waiting till my copy arrives) - it almost feels like we haven't had a NEW MM track since Resonant Blue. Naichau Kamo sounds like it could be a ballad, but tracks that sound like ballads usually end up totally different lol. I'm hoping for more of that cool sound we heard on Resonant Blue.

C-ute's 4th Album
4憧れ My STAR
4 Akogare My STAR (Longing 4 My STAR)
28th January

What a cool title ^_^ I adore C-ute, they have such a broad range of music styles and a strong set of singers. Their last album 3rd LOVE Escalation seemed to get mixed reviews (though I loved it) so it will be interesting what sound My STAR takes. Tsunku described in one of his blog entries that the new album has some sexy/fun/cute songs but overall a very cool sound to it. Sounds great!

Matsuura Aya's 6th Album
想いあふれて
Omoi Afurete (Overflowing Thoughts)
21st of January

I'm not sure if that translated title is correct since I did it myself and my Japanese track record is dodgy at best :P Either way, Omoi Afurete will seem to be Ayaya's last release as a member of H!P. It's almost the end of an era, Matsuura being H!P's most successful soloist. I never really got into her last album Double Rainbow - and her latest singles haven't bowled me over - but I'm hoping for a great send off for Ayaya.

Kirari Tsukishima starring Koharu Kusumi (Morning Musume) 6th Single
はぴ☆はぴサンデー
Hapi☆Hapi Sunday
4th Febuary

Koha's last Kirarin single BOMBED big time but I'm glad she's coming out with another one. Koha is one of my fav MM members (sometimes my least fav - love/hate y'know) and I tend to really enjoy her solo stuff. I'm hoping for happy, addictive and koha-tastic!!

ORICON ROUNDUP

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CHARTS:

Singles:
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01 Last Christmas EXILE 200,255

02 Everyday/Can't Get Back w-inds. 48,303
03 Jigsaw Acid Black Cherry 42,896
04 Hakanaku mo Towa no GALAXY UVERworld 27,275
05 FOREVER LOVE C-ute 26,603
06 Sunao ni Naretara JUJU feat. Spontania / I can be free JUJU 25,736
07 24 Xmas time Kuraki Mai 21,002
08 Hurry Xmas L'Arc~en~Ciel 20,381
09 Aino Mamade Akimoto Junko 17,420
10 Bouken Suisei Kurumi Enomoto 13,697

Albums:
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01 VOICE Nakashima Mika 155,502

02 Umbrella Shumizu Shota 56,442
03 ai no Uta 2 Various Artists 51,498
04 Unreal flumpool 45,203
05 Chinese Democracy Guns N' Roses 39,095

27 COVER YOU Morning Musume 9,824

NEWS: The list of performers for NHK's 59th Kouhaku New Years' Celebration was released today with Morning Musume notably absent from the Female Red Team (Akagumi) list. It is the first time they have not been invited to perform since they began appearing at the event in 1997. Last year they were joined by C-ute and Berryz in a joint H!P performance to commemorate MM's 10th anniversary.

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Satoda Mai will be H!P's sole representative, perfoming with Pabo and Schuuchishin on the White Team (Shirogumi).

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Debuting Artist Press Conference

Artists performing at Kouhaku for the first time this year include Aoyama Thelma, ikimono gakari, GIRL NEXT DOOR, Perfume, KIMAGUREN, Jero, Tohoshinki and Mr.Children.

NHK 59th Kouhaku
PERFORMERS
numbers indicate tally of past performances

Akagumi/Red Team
aiko(7)
Aoyama Thelma(DEBUT)
Akimoto Junko(DEBUT)
ayaka(3)
Angela Aki(3)
ikimono gakari(DEBUT)
Ishikawa Sayuri(31)
Otsuka Ai(5)
Fujioka Fujimaki and Oohashi Nozomi(DEBUT)
GIRL NEXT DOOR(DEBUT)
Kawanaka Miyuki(21)
Koda Kumi(4)
Godai Natsuko(15)
Kobayashi Sachiko(30)
Sakamoto Fuyumi(20)
SPEED(4)
Tendou Yoshimi(13)
Nakashima Mika(7)
Nakamura Mitsuko(13)
Perfume(DEBUT)
Hamasaki Ayumi(10)
Hitoto You(5)
Hirahara Ayaka(5)
Fuji Ayako(16)
Mizumori Kaori(6)
Wada Akiko(32)
Special Performance
Enya(DEBUT)

Shirogumi/White Team
Aqua Timez(2)
Akikawa Masafumi(3)
Itsuki Hiroshi(38)
EXILE(4)
Kitajima Saburou(45)
Kitayama Takeshi(4)
KIMAGUREN(DEBUT)
Kiyama Yusaku(DEBUT)
KOBUKURO(4)
Jero(DEBUT)
shuuchishin with PABO(DEBUT)
SMAP(16)
Tohoshinki(DEBUT)
TOKIO(15)
Tokunaga Hideaki(3)
Hikawa Kiyoshi(9)
Hirai Ken(6)
Fuse Akira(24)
PORNO GRAFFITI(7)
Maekawa Kiyoshi(18)
Migawa Kenichi(25)
Mr. Children(DEBUT)
Mizutani Yutaka(DEBUT)
Mori Shinichi(41)
Moriyama Naotaro(3)
WaT(4)
Special Performance

Miyazawa Kazufumi ingannga・ZUMBA & THE BOOM

Morning Musume is in the latest issue of BLT Magazine with a little feature on Morning Musume's history and some cute gen shots of the girls ^_^

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click to enlarge




PREVIEW: Morning Musume's Aku Yuu tribute album is out in a few weeks time and we have some more in depth track list info for all those waiting in anticipation! The new info reveals an Ai/Risa duet, an Indigo Blue Love reunion and a 6th/7th/8th gen song, aswell as Ai's previously reported duet with Itsuki Hiroshi.

1st Press ~ Regular
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1. 渚のシンドバッド - Nagisa no Sinbad
2. どうにもとまらない - Dou ni mo Tomaranai
3. 居酒屋 - Izakaya ~ Itsuki Hiroshi & Takahashi Ai
4. ペッパー警部 (ALBUM Ver.) - Pepper Keibu (ALBUM Ver.)
5. 白い蝶のサンバ - Shiroi Chou no Samba
6. 青春時代 - Seishun Jidai
7. 林檎殺人事件 - Ringo Satsujin Jiken
8. ロマンス (ALBUM Ver.) - Romance (ALBUM Ver.)
9. 街の灯り - Machi no Akari ~ Takahashi Ai & Niigaki Risa
10. 恋のダイヤル6700 - Koi no Dial 6700
11. ピンポンパン体操 - Pinpon Pan Taisou ~ Kamei Eri, Michishige Sayumi, Tanaka Reina, Kusumi Koharu, Mitsui Aika, Junjun & Linlin
12. わたしの青い鳥 - Watashi no Aoi Tori
13. ジョニイへの伝言 - Jonii e no Dengon ~ Niigaki Risa, Kamei Eri, Tanaka Reina
14. UFO

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click to enlarge

Being a 5th gen fanatic, I'm really pumped for the Ai/Risa duet. It's about frekin' time! (concerts and musicals don't count :P) - Jonii e no Dengan should also be good with Risa, Eri and Reina. I loved Indigo Blue Love and while the song isn't very similar, I still enjoy the mix of vocals.
This album should be good; I can't wait!

PREVIEW: Morning Musume's COVER YOU is released later this month (My copy is already pre-ordered! ^_^ ) and we have our first preview of the album with the remake of Pink Lady's UFO.

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->DOWNLOAD<- (right click -> save as)
It sounds pretty frekin incredible :D I can't wait for some of the other tracks. I'm especially looking forward to Koi no Dial 6700. I've always loved that song ^_^

It's finally the 31st of October, HALLOWEEN: the day where the spirits awaken and the dead walk amongst the living ... ok well maybe not - But it gave me a nice excuse for some Photoshop fun!
There are two links for each picture. B/A contains a before and after side by side comparison of the pictures I used and Large are full sized versions (1030x1330pixels - less than 1MB each).

The girls are split into 3 groups of characters. First up are the vixens of forbidden magic and enchanting spells... WITCHES ~

KAMEI ERI & MITSUI AIKA
THE WICKED WITCH & THE GOOD WITCH

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B/A Large - B/A Large

The second group takes inspiration from Alice Through The Looking Glass, where Alice deals with the QUEENS OF THE CHESSBOARD, frivolous, nonsensical women.

KUSUMI KOHARU & LINLIN
THE WHITE QUEEN & THE RED QUEEN

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B/A Large - B/A Large

The third group of characters take inspiration from the Elements: Chilling ICE, Electrifying LIGHTNING & Burning FIRE.

NIIGAKI RISA
TANAKA REINA & MICHISHIGE SAYUMI
THE ICE MAIDEN
THE LIGHTNING WARRIOR & THE FIRE PRINCESS

B/A Large
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B/A Large - B/A Large

The final pair is the antithesis of good and evil. The greatest good and the darkest evil: DEMONS & ANGELS.

TAKAHASHI AI & JUNJUN
THE DEMON & THE ANGEL

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B/A Large - B/A Large

So there we have it. Morning Musume in their 2008 Halloween costumes. I hope you all like my work, it took quite a while all up I guess (cause there were 9 to do *lol*), but I really enjoyed it. If you want to post these pics on other sites that's fine, but please give a link back to Stardust for credit. Also I have to give my own credit, I used TON of brushes that I picked up from deviantart so here are all thing things I used: CREDIT.
Please leave a comment letting me know what you think. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts ^_^ HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Halloween is tomorrow! So here is my last sneak peek (I'm trying to create a buzz, I don't think it's working ^_^ lol). I'm revealing all the characters, which hopefully some of you will find exciting. Like I said earlier, nothing TOO ghoulish. Enjoy!


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