Friday, April 30, 2010

AKB48 Ponytail To Shushu PV [Short Version]


The highly anticipated promotional video for AKB48`s new single Ponytail To Shushu is here with mini previews. And like I mentioned earlier ,this is a summer swimsuit special.





Thursday, April 29, 2010

JunJun & LinLin Open Blogs



Morning Musume`s JunJun & Linlin have opened up Chinese Blogs .If you are able to read Chinese  or follow one of the Blog translation groups , you will want to mark these links down.

JunJun`s Blog

LinLin`s Blog

JunJun To Star In A Drama [Updated]


Morning Musume`s JunJun [Li Chun] ,will be staring in a web drama starting May 1st.

In  “Dreaming Places Makes Us Dream" JunJun plays Xiao Lian a girl who lives in Shanghai .One day while upset a cat approaches her and invites her to enter a dream world inside of a mirror . JunJun`s character accepts and enters the dream world.
Dream Places Makes Us Dream

EDIT: 

It is my understanding that the other main character is a cat as the word used is Kitty ,which is what often is used when speaking of a small cat.

However it could be another human character ,without a preview it is hard to say .

UPDATE

JunJun & Linlin have opened up Chinese Blogs , in her 1st post ,she mentioned the drama .She said it is based on a girl who is upset after breaking up with her boyfriend and that her character is invited into a dream world inside a mirror. She is very excited to be staring in her first movie and said the event ,is a big part of the Shanghai Expo events.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Is AKB48 On A Mission Part 2 ? The Answer



A few days ago , I posted a set of AKB48 swimsuit pictures and asked the question , is AKB48 on a mission to raise the blood pressure of their male fans ,with an AKBINGO! Swimsuit special.

Well here is the answer,

The swimsuits as was made known recently on a news show are from the new single`s video.

That’s right I said it, lol Ponytail To Shushu PV was shot in swimsuits . Don’t believe me ?

Watch, lol.


AKB48 Ponytail To Shushu Radio Preview


Here is the radio preview to AKB48`s new single Ponytail To Shushu .I will go on and admit it , for sometime now back in 08 , I got to the point that I like AKB48 more then Morning Musume and that is hard to admit as I saw Musume born .

I have many reasons , but now is not the time or place .

After liking the coupling tracks more to their last single , I really like this song a lot .It has a really good tempo after the piano intro and the vocals are spot on and well mixed.

AKB48 To Be Guest Of Honor At Amine Expo 2010


For our Western based fans of AKB48 ,some exciting news has come out of their offices .AKB48 will be traveling to Los Angeles to perform at Anime Expo 2010 .Just like Morning Musume last year ,AKB48 will be the guest of Honor.

The group will perform live in Nokia Theater on Thursday, July 1, 2010, at 4:30 pm Local Time . The members will also participate in attendee panels, meet-and-greets and autograph sessions.

If you have never attended an AKB48 live show ,I strongly suggest doing so .AKB48 is currently going through their Love Machine phase of popularity here ,with a wide range of fan interest ranging from the traditional wotas , students ,young adults and parents .

While it is hard to say how many of their fans will be making the trip to America as the bulk of their current fan base is made up of Middle, High School and University students ,it should be an experience that you will enjoy sharing with them.

For more on the Expo , you can go to their web site

Anime Expo 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010

Morning Musume`s Next Single Review



Morning Musume`s next single Seishun Collection has come out on radio.

First reactions are mixed for me and some other reviewers, first it reminds me of Nanchatte Renai in tempo . The song has a mainstream feel to it and if you’re a fan of Morning Musume ,wanting to see them catch AKB48 ,this could be a bad thing ,based on how wotas and mainstream fans view each other in relationship to Morning Musume.

With Morning Musume ,unlike AKB48 completely dependent on wotas to survive and their particular song tastes ,I have some concerns about how the sales response will be from those who support Morning Musume the most .

Seishun Collection is a good song for Morning Musume to start making the changes needed in fan base direction , however it maybe another example of a good song that is undervalued in mainstream sales ,based on the artist’s name on the CD and the company that they keep.

If this same release was done by AKB48 it would easily sale at the 300,000 + rate that they are currently enjoying for singles & albums .


Sadly I feel that Seishun Collection is a good song that will likely make some fans happy and others disappointed and it’s overall sales will reflect this conflict of interests.


Thursday, April 22, 2010

Is AKB48 On A Mission ?


 It seems that AKB48 is on a mission as of late and that is to cause their male fan base  to go on blood pressure and heart medication ,lol.

A few weeks ago on Shukan AKB , AKB48 played swimming pool games  ,we had three weeks of AKB48 & selected SKE48 members in swimsuits and water sports gear ,in a series of pool games as a way to promote an upcoming DVD.

Well it seems that AKBINGO! Wants to get in on this action ,so what do the girls of AKB48 and the producers AKBINGO!  Have in the works ?


THIS





Monday, April 19, 2010

°C-ute Campus Life ~Umarete Kite Yokatta PV




Sorry for the posting delay.

PV for °C-ute - "Campus Life ~Umarete Kite Yokatta~"

Morning Musume Japanfiles Interview






Sorry for the posting delay.

Morning Musume ,recently made a interview video for Japanfiles.com

There are several funny moments in this interview , my favorites are Risa trying to rap ,JunJun being herself and Eri saying FU towards the end of the interview.

This is a must watch interview , for non Japanese speaking fans.



Thursday, April 8, 2010

S/mileage Major Debut Single Radio Preview


S/mileage major debut single has hit the radio waves here and in my opinion its one of the better idol singles to come out recently .The music and vocals are upbeat and have a youthful sound that we experienced with Berryz Koubou and C-ute`s early years.

To be honest with you ,for sometime I have been unhappy with the overall product put out by Hello!Project ,apart from Buono`s Songs ,very few of the recent releases got more then one play after giving my support to them .

This single however I have played several times and it already has me interested .

I really would like to hear from our readers on this one ,what do you think ? And how well do you think it do ? Top 5 debut?


Monday, April 5, 2010

S/mileage Goes Major [Video Update]


S/mileage has accomplished their debut challenge by collecting 16,000 photos. The photos were turned into a very nice picture board.

16,000 Photos

S/mileage can now turn their attentions to bigger and better things ,with a major debut single ,a stage play in August ,solo concert tour in October .


Their debut single Yume Miru 15sai will be released on 5/26


UPDATE
Related Video

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Ogawa Saki New Ohasuta Girl




Today S/mileage`s Ogawa Saki became a regular on Ohasuta. This is a continuing building block to prepare for their major debut along with Fukuda Kanon, Wada Ayaka and Maeda Yuuka being members of the Lil Princess Anime cast.


Traditionally Ohasuta has been a launching pad to other great things in a cast member’s career, for example Idoling!!! Member Nagano Serina is also a former Ohasuta Girl.

With S/mileage in the age bracket if promoted correctly to draw a fan base from junior teens and pre teens, Ohasuta is nothing short of a win job for Ogawa.


Video of S/mileage from a recent morning show broadcast, and a look at their recent makeovers.