Morning Musume`s new single PV. This single is getting mixed reviews across the Morning Musume fan base. With longtime fans walking away from Morning Musume more often, having a single that split the fan base is not what they needed at this time.
The song is what I have come to expect from Morning Musume, a video that feels rushed for an average song, from a group without a clear direction.
I hate to sound so down about this single and I have waited some time to even post it , but as I will explain later , my feelings about Morning Musume or I should say their song writer has changed in the last couple of years.
This lineup deserved more then what they have been given over the years.
[Talking about idol history and not including this idol would be wrong of me .After this topic, we will return to brighter history]
Okada Yukiko
[August 22, 1967-April 8, 1986]
How could someone so happy on the outside, have so much pain inside? That question will forever go unanswered.
Okada was born in Nagoya, she loved to read books, paint and like many girls in the 80`s she dreamed of becoming an idol. Okada went to every audition large and small, only to see rejection after rejection, until her little heart and big dreams took her to Nippon TV and a show called Star Tanjo! Okada was able to capture first place and her dreams of becoming an idol became real .Okada Yukiko was Japan’s newest idol.
A year of training and planning ended on April 21, 1984 when Okada debuted with her first single, "First Date" a nervous Yukiko misspoke and Japan suddenly saw this smiling, yet scared girl introduce herself as Yukko. This would be one of the few mistakes that Okada would make as she raced up the charts. Okada would end up winning rookie of the year, best new artist and have three hit singles all in her first year.
In her second year, Okada landed the leading role on her first television drama Kinjirareta Mariko, and in her third year, her new single “Lip Network” reached #1 on the Oricon weekly charts on February 10, 1986.
Japan and the idol world seem to be hers for the taking, for this always smiling, always happy young idol nothing seemed impossible, which made the events to come even more confusing to understand.
On April 8, 1986 with the idol world in the palm of her hands, members of her agency Sun Music went to her apartment and immediately the smell of gas was through the apartment and a search for Okada started.
Okada was discovered at 10 o’clock in her closet, her wrist slashed and crying. Japan’s smiling sweetheart was in pain . Okada was taken to her agencies office and after two hours in the building at 12:15, Okada Yukiko jumped to her death . Her young idol career was over at 18 . News of the event broke across Japan with the announcement of the passing of the always-happy Yukko, as she was known, for her misstep on TV . Okada`s fans reacted in horror and over the space of the next two weeks 31 of Okada`s fans joined her. Instead of getting ready to buy her new single a nation was preparing to bury many of it`s young .
How could a girl who’s smile became so famous , be so sad ? . We often forget that in order for idols to entertain their fans ,they have to hide their true feelings at times ,for not wanting to let everyone down ,if we see that they are in pain. Was she worried that her fans might not understand ,if she said, “I need to rest” ?
For what ever her reasons, the smiling face of Okada Yukiko kept secret that her heart was in pain. Okada Yukiko in her short career released 10 singles ,two after her death and the last in 2002 . She released eight albums again two after her death and to this day remains an important part of idol history and was ranked by Nippon TV as the 17th most important and historical woman in Japanese history.
Yukko as her fans called her to this day is remembered every April 8 ,as she will never be forgotten .
My memory of Yukko is not of April 8 , my memory of Yukko will always be smiling .
When looking back at Okada Yukiko our memories should not focus on how she left us, but the wonderful treasures that she gave the idol world.
[In the 80`s the music industry was over flowing with idols and you would have several on one show . Here is Okada in Idol Sumo]
Okada Yukiko ,Thank you for the smile that you gave.
UPDATE
It was always said that Okada Yukiko had the most beautiful smile of the 80`s era idols .She really did have a magical smile and innocence about her much like Michishige Sayumi ,minus her cute gimmick as Okada was very humble as was most idols back then. Okada was always so happy and smiling in public, that she earned the name “smiling princess” As her popularity grew; she scored a number of product ads and even made a video in Switzerland titled “Yukiko in Swiss”. It was this public image that has always made her passing so difficult to believe, she was never a victim of tabloid scandals .She was truly an idol that everyone wanted to support.
Here are the commercials that Okada made before passing away.
After Onyanko Club and before Morning Musume, the next major idol group was Tokyo Performance Doll. It is a belief that TPD was the true inspiration for Hello!Project recording artist Morning Musume and not Onyanko Club ,while Morning Musume does have some Onyanko influences ,they are nothing like the comparisons with TPD.
Why do I say that? Well TPD`s trademarks was the following.
Multi-membership. Graduations. Sub-units. Happy-poppy songs. Outrageous costume ideas. Smiling face dances, Energetic performances and sister units.
Did I mention that one of those sister units was from China? In addition, another was based in Osaka which Inaba Atsuko was a member of , why is Osaka important? Well H!P Kansai is based in Osaka , does this sound familiar ? It should ,you have watched the same thing in Hello!Project.
These are also all the things that have been trademarks of Morning Musume. Some Western fans may believe that Morning Musume started it all and that AKB48 is just riding the coattails of Morning Musume`s fame. In actuality, Morning Musume and AKB48 are not the original multi-member idol girl-groups , and certainly, the things that they do are not new either.
Epic-Sony Records formed Tokyo Performance Doll or TPD for short in April of 1990. TPD started out as a 3 member unit called “Golbies” they made up TPD`s core members, and future generations of TPD members were added in support [Sound Familiar?].
The goal of TPD was to bring about a "music revolution" within the entertainment industry.
[A music Revolution? Morning Musume, also had the same goal]
The initial concept of TPD was "the girls-next-door idols", but the concept was switched to "pro dancers" giving them a neo-Takarazuka look, causing TPD's popularity to soar to greater heights and attracting many more fans.
[Girls Next-Door Idols? Sound Familiar? ]
TPD's method of choosing a few core members, then building the group around them by recruiting more members was a new technique at the time and was later copied by other producers. Among them was Okinawa Actor's School from which many popular acts have come from, such as Super Monkeys (Amuro Namie and MAX), SPEED, D&D, Folder5, Y'z Factory etc. Hello! Project's Morning Musume also adopted this formula.
Morning Musume started of with five members, but the leads were mostly given to Fukuda Asuka and Abe Natsumi, while the others (Nakazawa Yuuko, Ishiguro Aya and Iida Kaori) provided the harmonies. With Fukuda's graduation, the main vocal was given to Abe Natsumi even though the 2nd generation members were recruited, the spark soon ran out, and a another ace was required, enter Goto Maki. The entire Morning Musume concept was built around the "aces" and "leads" as core members. Something that TPD had done yrs before the creation of Hello!Project .
TPD also had eight sub-units in the time that they were active ,Just like H!P would do many years later the core members and the "backing members" were shuffled together to form these units. One of those sub units was called TWO TOPS". Sound familiar? ,it should ,that's the nickname that Okamura Takashi of the comedy duo Ninety-Nine, gave to the "unofficial idol group" of the Mechaike Okajo Girls School series -> Tsuji Nozomi and Kago Ai.
As TPD developed ,they would set themselves apart from other idol units of their time with the use of “trainees” .These young hopefuls started out as backup dancers for selected TPD Lives and 1-2 times a year these “trainees” would have their own lives ,the set list by the way was TPD group & sub unit songs .
Again, sound familiar? It should, Hello! Project Eggs follows the same formula. These young talents in the Hello! Project “training” class are also used as back-dancers for Hello! Project concerts and they are given their own concerts.
This training class also brought Morning Musume two Chinese exchange students ,TPD had four Chinese members in a sister unit .
While AKB48 is all but a modern day Onyanko Club ,TPD certainly had an inspiration on Hello!Project and this is not a bad thing as the next generation of idols will be inspired by Morning Musume and the idols of today as the circle of idol life will continue.
There is some confusion going around both online shops and fan sites as to what the name is of Berryz Koubou`s new single.
Sites are listing it as Honki Bomber or Maji Bomber, because the wording is similar, however the girls are saying Maji Bomba .So as the chorus is using Maji as in Maji de yo! , PIH is going to use Maji as the title.
The girls of AKB48 are back with another round of Dodge ball punishment.
This game has quickly become one of my favorites, AKB48 & Idoling! Right now are having some fun games on their TV Shows.
In yesterday’s episode we had everything ,idols screaming ,idols knocked out, idol eating bugs , idols protesting and a idol flag judge who losses her mind to total idol cuteness syndrome.
I will have a HQ download for everyone soon, until then here is a lower quality.
As Part of S/mileage’s debut promotions, they are doing something called “Augmented Reality” .AR allows you to create mini S/mileage in your own home if you have a web cam.
1) Go to their website (link above).
2) Click on the button that has the letters "AR" on the right upper part of the page.
3) The page will pop up a Flash applet.
4) Turn your webcam on.
5) Click "Allow".
6) Click? "Print" and print out the white "S"s on solid black squares.
7) Click "ON AR" and aim your webcam at the printed sheet, avoiding glare and shadows on the page.
8) Adjust the angle of the camera or sheet until S/milage appears and the music plays.
If you try this ,post your results here and any helpful hints so everyone can have mini S/mileage
AKB Ikkyuu Gourmet Stadium
Starting June 27 on Sky Perfect AKB 48 will have their own cooking show. AKB Ikkyuu Gourmet Stadium .In each episode 3 AKB48 members will challenge their cooking skills and have their dishes judged by a food expert.
Over the past few months AKB48 have developed a good working relationship with SMAP, even getting a feature episode on SMAP X SMAP, well the group was back last night to perform a medley with SMAP.
Side note this unit is getting a lot of promotional attention from the agency ,with a number of ads at train stations , 10-15 ,30 second CGI ads and a lot of print promotion.
The second single is being reported for a July 28 release and Maeda Yuuka is being listed as having her first solo DVD on August 4
One thing about AKB48 singles be it the main or coupling tracks, it`s hard not to find members who auditioned for Morning Musume, some as recent as 8th generation as this video has some, like all of their videos.
I sometimes wonder what if those members had joined Morning Musume instead of selecting Miracle Musume would things have turned out the same.
Videos for the Ponytail coupling tracks have started to come out.
Majijo Teppen Blues, returns AKB48 to their recently completed Majisuka Gakuen drama. This video continues to show top to bottom, why AKB48 are on top .The production values, song writing and music is right now better then anyone else.
This could have easily been the title or ending theme of episode 12.
Goo Hara of the KPop Group Kara “stripped” on Korean TV last night before performing a dance routine. The 19 yr old idol shocked everyone on the broadcast by suddenly “undressing”.
The following is unedited footage as it happened. Updated replaced video
This is a short TV promo for Morning Musume`s Seishun Collection Single.
This single from the previews looks like we will have some outdoor footage for a change.
That alone has me interested in the finished product, however with AKB48 coupling track being set on a soccer field, Morning Musume copying them as it appears could result in finger pointing. With the upcoming World Cup, it`s easy to see why Musume would want to take advantage and add that to the video.
This week’s Episode of AKBINGO! Is about doing two pranks, overall it`s a weak show compared to least week. Next week they return to dodge ball punishment games .This seems to a popular pick between the members, as this is the fourth time to play dodge ball punishment in the last few months.
AKBINGO! Is not filmed in order and is really filmed weeks and in some cases months in advance, as is Shukan AKB.
AKB48 films several episodes of the same theme per filming .The shows are then spread out over the season.
With that said, I didn`t really enjoy AKBINGO! This week , the pranks were simple and one was just a copy of played on JunJun on Haromoni@ Overall this episode feels more like everyone decided to take the week off .
After having a strong episode last week and one next week from the previews, they are due for a miss sometimes. For Maeda Atsuko fans, looks like she gets knocked out by a brief electrical shock next week.
Upcoming on Idol Flashback , we will continue our look at Onyanko Club’s TV show and a deeper look at their career and how they effected the careers of AKB48 and Morning Musume.
And we may take a look at an Idol tragedy .The life and death of Okada Yukiko and a nation torn by a young Idol`s secret pain. 24yrs after her passing ,her memory still remains in her fans hearts.
[Updated]
I am selecting a list of past Idols to talk about ,including the first Idol to ever wear glasses on TV .
I am also looking up recent footage of past idols as members of Morning Musume have been on variety shows with them and it was never mentioned that they were members of Onyanko Club . O-Club had 52 members ,so today’s idols stand a good chance of being on a show with at least one member in their career.
Idol Flashback is a new feature to Pure Idol Heart. In Idol Flashback we will take a look at various idols that help shape the current generation of Japanese Idol genre.
Idol Flashback will be a mix of videos and article features .The goal of this feature is to bring at times laughter and at times an historic connection to the current days.
Japanese Idol genre has a rich history that dates back several decades and Idol Flashback will take a look at yesterdays stars ,today.
So please look forward to this new feature and artist recommendations are welcomed.
[Re-posting as topic has been picked up , so making it easy to find]
I came across an old Idol game ,that if brought back today ,would fit any idol group’s TV show.
The year is 1987 and the group is Onyanko Club . In terms of relationships today Onyanko Club was what AKB48 is today ,Japan’s super idol group .
In fact AKB48`s founder Akimoto Yasushi ,created the Onyanko Club and the similarities between the two groups are in almost everything that AKB48 does today.
Onyanko Club ,played a very important role ,for all idol groups that followed them. Hello!Project`s producer Tsunku was a member of their fan base and it has been reported ,that a number of the senior management of Hello!Project were supporters of Onyanko Club.
In this game members of Onyanko Club have to guess what just flew past them , if they guess wrong ,they suffer a penalty ,much like what AKB48 members face on AKBINGO!
When you watch any of your favorite idols , keep in mind that everything that you enjoy today ,Onyanko Club ,played a vital part in creating.If it was not for the Onyanko Club ,you may not have the idols that you enjoy so much today.
[Re-posting as topic has been picked up , so making it easy to find]
If you have only watched Utaban ,then you maybe thinking that Morning Musume was the only idol group that Ishibashi Takaaki has picked on . Well that is not true , Taka-san also picked on Onyanko Club .
AKB48 is the official Idol group of Team Japan. You can buy AKB48 World Cup Jerseys[Inside Japan] and 400 fans will win the right to watch a game with AKB48.
Idoling!!! Will be releasing their 12 single on June 9th.
Me ni wa Aoba Yama Hototogisu Hatsukoi
The single will be released in three editions ,type A will come with a random trading card and making of DVD . Type B comes with a surprise bonus item and the standard comes with a random member trading card.
The highly anticipated promotional video for AKB48`s new single Ponytail To Shushu Full Version is here . And like I mentioned earlier ,this is a summer swimsuit special ,but it also has a major fan service opening.
[Replaced removed video]
KPop Idols 4Minute have made a Japanese video version of their 2nd single Muzik . The video is a complete new version compared to their Korean version ,complete with their current look.
I think making versions of your singles in International versions is a great idea and makes the video stand out as being truly for that country.
Happy!Style Agency and Team Dekaris members Yui Kaori [Yui Ogura (14) and Kaori Ishihara (16), ] will release their first major single on May 12 .The single is titled "Our Steady Boy," and will be the ending theme for the upcoming anime series “Kiss x Sis”. The first edition will include one of four different photographs, with Ogura and Ishihara each autographing 100 of those pictures.
[Update:It slipped my mind that I had never went back and posted the longer version of the PV .Here is the full version. ,Sorry to their fans.]
Before this single , I only looked at S/mileage in passing .I have always had a hard time becoming a regular fan of junior idol groups ,however there is something about this song that I like ,making it hard to not want to support these young ladies .
I really feel that there is something special about this group , just like when Morning Musume first started and I think that we are only just going to see this unit grow stronger in the years to come. If more of the Eggs , have this potential ,then H!P`s future is in good hands.
Team Dragon
AKB48 members Takahashi Minami, Maeda Atsuko, Oshima Yuko, Watanabe Mayu Kojima Haruna, Itano Tomomi, Kashiwagi Yuki are coming together to form a new super unit called Team Dragon .
Team Dragon will be recording the ending song for Dragon Ball Z Kai : Kokoro no hane (wings of the heart) scheduled to be released on June 9 .
This unit will be made up of some of the front girls of AKB48 ,creating a powerful AKB48 super unit and one which has like many other things related to AKB48 a connection with Morning Musume.
The connection this time is Kashiwagi Yuki .Kashiwagi made it to the 3rd round of the Morning Musume 8th generation auditions before being rejected by Tsunku .
This story will be updated as news comes out.
Edit: I left out the Kai in Dragon Ball Z , the title has now been fixed .
When I was a part of H!P Non-Pro Hour , there were times ,when we broke away from music coverage to just write what was on our minds .This trend will continue with Pure Idol Heart.
When I was thinking about returning to blogging ,one of the questions that I had was should this blog be written in English or Japanese . I decided on English because working with H!P Non-Pro Hour was such an enjoyable time ,having visitors and comments from all over the world and not just Japan .
Because I decided on English a series of events happened the other day that is a mix of ,funny ,odd and other things .
The other day ,several local Japanese media outlets decided to reprint , my post on AKB48 going to America. They did this without asking me first . Who the outlets are is not as important as the reason why they did it.
The outlets were looking for any information in English about AKB48 going to America and the Western fan reaction. Because I decided to have this blog in English and not Japanese , and with the editors belief that I was a foreigner , they decided to reprint the entire post as part of a much larger story and included the blog's address in the story along with comments from the Expo's CEO.
I guess the editors who ran the reprints have never heard of Utada Hikaru ? Unless something has changed in the last 15 minutes ,Utada Hikaru can speak fluent English , yet she is Japanese . Just because someone can speak or write a blog in English ,doesn’t make them a foreigner . As they never contacted me in advance ,it was easy for them to make that mistake.
As a result of their belief that the author was a foreigner, pockets of interest have broken out across Japan ,leading back to this site . As happy and grateful as I was for the interest ,this event was a lot like being a fan of Idols , sometimes we only like something because of what we think it is and not what it really is.
For a time ,this new found fame and excitement left me questioning if returning to blogging in English and not Japanese was the right choice.
So that is the behind the scenes drama for at least one post,lol . Next Behind the scenes drama ?
Next Topic : Where in the ---- is Pure Idol Heart Co-Owner Jinryuichi ?
JunJun`s web drama has started ,however I feel that I must prepare readers before going to view it. The drama is not what the promotion leads you to believe or what you would expect in a web drama .It’s not a Mano Erina type drama .
There are only two parts in this episode that are actually video ,the beginning and the ending , from the time that JunJun enters the mirror , it`s little more then Java flash photos of her ,promoting places .
If you are expecting a traditional style web drama ,then your going to be greatly disappointed .
Momoiro Clover or Momokuro as their fan base calls them ,is one of the new wave of junior idol groups that have entered the scene. Momokuro may also be one of the few idol groups to have 5 members graduate in 2 yrs before their major label debut .Two Ikura Manami and Fujishiro Sumire transferred to a group called Creamy Parfait and Takai Tsukina transferred to SKE48.
As an Indies group Momokuro released three singles and went on two concert tours .In their Independent period they were much like AKB48 sporting a costume theme , while AKB48 went with the school girl costumes ,Momokuro decided on the traditional yukata .
Before going major Momokuro was able to land a weekly radio program ,two web based shows and one show on Enta!371 .
The mobile version of S/mileage’s major debut is out . I don’t know about the rest of you ,but this song is so fun to listen to.
The dance doesn’t look like it would be very hard to do at lives .If you watch closely there are a number cute little moves ,that it’s going to be fun watching wotas try to do.
