This is just a news flash , earlier today the submembers of S/mileage became full 2nd generation members of S/mileage as all members passed their entry test.
Tsunku has decided that the fresh faces have to take an entry test for full membership .The sub members have take on a test called “Smile Upload Campaign” to get full membership into the group!
What this means is that the new members have to go out, take peoples pictures, just like their big sisters did, and they have to ask people to upload pictures of their smiles and send it to them via twitter, Facebook, mixi.
This is an interesting test as the members not only have to go out and have to take pictures of people, with that person's cell phone, but also get the person to upload that picture to his/her blog or twitter and post that they have done to using the S/mileage twitter tag. It`s a test of determination and courage.
The results are expected October 16
[uploader by the way has poster entire concert in their account]
38,934 girls auditioned for Akimoto`s self created rival unit for AKB48 of those 38,934 hopefuls 56 made it to the final round and 36 members were selected. In order to get this unit into the fight quickly 16 members were selected as short-term senbatsu members.
Akimoto in the press event declared Ikuta Erika the face of Nogizaka46, claiming that she carries a Maeda Atsuko presence about her.
In addition, keeping true to their declaration the new unit declared AKB48 their main rival’s .Member Matsumura Sayuri has targeted Mayu, claiming, “I love movies and anime. I definitely won’t lose to Mayuyu-san (Watanabe Mayu) who shares the same interest as me.”
Yoshimoto Ayaka declared, “My rival is Itano Tomomi-san. Right now, I can only say that I’m happy.”
Akimoto went on to explain that Nogizaka46 having their positions determined from the start will allow the new unit to have a clear focus. Unlike AKB48, this new rival unit will not at least for now have their own theater .Instead they will become a unit that will reflect upon the fans’ voices.”
Akimoto said that Nogizaka46 will announce new senbatsu members after their first half of performances and that the members will get new positions in the second half of their opening performance period. Akimoto compared it to holding an AKB48 yearly election everyday [ fans will have a senbatsu vote at every performance] . When asked about the groups future activates and style, Akimoto said, “They will do things that AKB48 cannot do“.
Nogizaka46 will start a national TV show in October and will release a CD and start a national tour before years end.
The new generation idol units are debuting at such a rapid pace ,the genre is shifting and only those willing to play the game will rise up.Nogizaka46 while being run by AKB48`s founder is willing to join other units in playing the game.
Nogizaka46 which is named after the area they will be based, mainly the SME Nogizaka Building are made up of the following members
Side notes- The 48 family`s SDN48 quickly responded by making declarations to not loose to this unit ,expect the other units to follow quickly ,so battle has officially been joined ,giving a new meaning to the words idol war. This news is wide spread ,no fewer then 10 major news services are reporting on this new unit.
Pre-Idols
Kawamura Mahiro is a former H!P member Kansai office .
Yamato Rina, is a former member of SPL∞ASH
Hatanaka Seira is a former member of CHIMO
Kashiwa Yukina is a former member of Momoiro Clover
Etou Misa is a former leader of CHIMO
Kawai Hina is a former member of Seishun Joshi Gakuen
Nakamoto Himeka is a former member of SPL∞ASH and is the sister of Sakura Gakuin member Nakamoto Suzuka
Asou Ririko is a former member of Seishun Joshi Gakuen
Having a sub team is something that I hope as PIH moves forward we can put in place as I get mail asking if there are any subbed versions of shows or clips from time to time.
Anyway, all credit goes to the team that created the subs for this clip, so if you have a YouTube account, give them a word of thanks for their hard work.
In related news New S/mileage, are finishing a USTREAM show as I write this up. They played games, laughed and had the best time. So have no worries over the group and don`t be surprised if by the end of the fall tour the sub label is dropped . The new members are clicking just fine ,like they been in group for years and gen 1 S/mileage had the best time laughing and playing with them. Not sure what was funnier the new line up or their manager wearing a mask when getting on camera to hide her face.
They have really added a fresh spark to the group, which I think in time everyone will notice.
S/mileage 2nd Gen Video look + Future Speculations
S/mileage staff has uploaded video of the new member announcement on their YouTube channel. First thing, you will notice ,S/mileage is crying before the first member was ever announced .This was a hard sale for them , but will make them better , much like when Morning Musume first expanded.
Future Speculation
Are the girls that were not selected being saved for Morning Musume 10th gen? After all the rules said clearly, you could audition for both groups or are these subbing members and the unpicked members in the plans for a new unit?
New Unit?
Well Tsunku opened that door .When Tsunku made the new member announcement, he also muddied the waters bysaying, that if one or more sub members does not fit the missing part for S/mileage as full members, that the option was there for a new project.
Now is the new project that he hinted to a new unit? Including the unselected members.
Whatever the reasons for adding these five girls, the industry now has five new idols to get to know and more questions then answers.
The rest of this year, is going to be one if your an H!P fan worth watching as something is in the works at H!P and it could go a long way in tipping the hand about the future of this agency.
Earlier today, S/mileage grew by five members with the addition of what is being called sub members. Question number one; with S/mileage now being as large as Morning Musume does this mean that the agency views this unit to have more value then Berryz Koubou and C-ute?
For this new experiment ,these new sub members are not full card carrying members of S/mileage just yet. It seems that Tsunku wants to take this idea for a test drive to find that missing piece to complete S/mileage and also hold the fear of demotion over their heads of the original members to make sure they don`t take things for granted.Really it`s not demotions ,the wording makes it out to believe that S/mileage is becoming like AKB48 ,were subs can fill in at times.
In regards to the sub-member concept ,Tsunku mentioned that the group is missing something and these five will be given first shot at finding it.Meaning Gen 3 auditions are possible.
Tsunku also went on to say the following :"Based on their activities, I will decide if they will become official members”. Call them what you want the S/mileage fan base at the live gave them overwhelming support and cheers and it`s only an issue of time before the sub member label gets dropped at least by fans.
So just who will make up S/mileage 2nd generation ? They are Katsuta Rina, Kosuga Fuyuka, Nakanishi Kana, Tamura Meimi, and Takeuchi Akari.
Rina
The ever Egao [smiling] Rina is a newly promoted H!P EGG .Rina is from Tokyo and is 13 and is good at gymnastics .
Fuyuka
Fuyuka is from Kanagawa and is 13 ,she is good at karate and performing the Tea Ceremony
Kana
Kana is from Osaka and is 14 ,she is good at impressions and sports
Meimi
Meimi is the youngest of the new members at age 12. Meimi is from Gunma and her special skill is room arrangement
Akari
Akari is a genki newly promoted H!P EGG. This energetic idol is 13 and is from Saitama .She should be a fan favorite of Morning Musume`s next leader Niigaki Risa as she can do impressions of Mickey Mouse.
She also is the cousin of C-ute`s Yajima Maimi
Of the five that joined some faces that drew fan attention across the world are missing . The popular Ribbon-Chan is a member of the Avex Academy Idol group DELUXE COLORS! ,much like Riho was an academy performer before joining Morning Musume .
The very popular and wota top choice Karin is still in play for Morning Musume 10th gen .
When asked about the new members,the first generation members said the following: Ogawa said, “Honestly, at first I didn’t like the idea of having new members.”
Wada who was the most outspoken when the audition news broke , claimed that she did not want to baby sit any new members ,that maybe another member should be leader . She later explained that the other three members were already a handful for her at times . Wada now has had three months to think about this and offered her views on the new members . Wada responded by saying “I want everyone to become official members.”
I am not really surprised by Wada , change is hard , and as leader she will rise up and meet this new challenge .In time Wada will help S/mileage grow to become a new powerful family .
While S/mileage didn`t get their wish of getting sexy members ,they loaded up on cuteness and that is hard for wotas to fight off ,the results should payoff nicely for S/mileage.
