Here is a preview of the new Hello! Project television show. While it is only a short preview, at first glance it sort of has the feel of a mix of the early days of Haromoni@ and AKB48`s Nemosu. My initial reaction is one of slight disappointment as I was hoping that we would see more of a comedy show ,however without seeing the full product yet ,it maybe wrong of me to judge the show without at least looking it over.
So I will toss the question to the readers and ask how do you feel about the new show, given only what you see in the preview?
Morning Musume`s Michishige Sayumi along with former member of Morning Musume Yaguchi Mari and former member of Country Musume Satoda Mai have been named as cast regulars for the TBS Midnight Show "Aimaike!" (Ambiguous) .The first episode will air on April 9
Watarirouka Hashiritai, the unit made up of AKB48 members Oota Aika, Nakagawa Haruka, Hirajima Natsumi, Watanabe Mayu and Kikuchi Ayaka has entered the Oricon daily charts at #1 with their new single Akkanbe Bashi.
Akkanbe Bashi has a classic children’s song feel that is written in a way that is not only fun to listen to, but supports the individual members voices perfectly .The dance is cute and simple to follow.
If one didn’t know better this could have easily been taken from the pages of the old Hello!Project unit Minimoni as Akkanbe Bashi definitely has that type of fun & cute vibe to it, that can appeal to a cross section of listeners and ages . Watarirouka Hashiritai is a fun unit, which is worth the time to check out.
UPDATE- The single will also take the weekly #1 spot on Oricon
The S/mileage girls have posted in their recent blog posts that they are 2,000 short with only 3 days left. Second hand reports put the number at 1,000 short after their recent fan event.
This is the last chance to get the word out or send in your pictures. Yuuka-chan feels that if they fail, they will not have a debut .My feeling is that they will reach their goal in the last seconds, just as Meetan [Ohori Megumi] of AKB48 reached her challenge on the final day.
Morning Musume`s Tanaka Reina has become the first member of the current lineup to score a regular TV position. Tanaka will be a part of the cast for TV Tokyo’s Uta no Rakuen starting April 4.
Uta no Rakuen is a viewer’s request singing program, where viewers send in song requests for the cast to sing in a theme style setting.
The Idol Queens AKB48, have added another weekly variety show to their programming list.
The new show is called "Ariyoshi AKB Kyowakoku"[“Ariyoshi AKB Republic/Commonwealth"] and will air every Monday night at 25:25-25:55.
With this new program AKB48 will now have weekly national variety comedy shows airing on Mondays,Wednesdays and Fridays on three networks ,TBS,NTV and TV Tokyo along with 1/48 AKB48 Yonjuuhachi bun no ichi show on Enta 371
[UPDATE]
The show will be centered on the AKB48 trainees ,each week five trainees will be shown going on missions for Ariyoshi Hiroiki ,while AKB48 regular members will appear in the show's studio to provide commentary and support . Should the trainees fail in their mission , they will have to endure a penalty game.
Cast Hosts- Ariyoshi Hiroiki, Kojima Haruna
Ishiguro Atsuki, Shimazaki Haruka, Shimada Haruka, Takeuchi Miyu, Mori Anna
The current Queens of Japanese Idol genre AKB48 also picked up a Japan Gold Disc Award, winning the Special Award honoring their overall achievements to the Japanese recording industry for the year 2009. With very little effort coming from other idol agencies to try to dethrone AKB48 , their firm control of the female idol genre , rapidly growing sales and rising mainstream popularity look set to see no end. Look for AKB48 to make winning awards a routine event.
Solo idol Mano Erina has won the prestigious Japan Gold Disc “Best 5 New Artists”
Award. The Japan Gold Disc Awards is one of six yearly award programs that music artists can be nominated to receive awards. Being nominated for this level of award is an important accomplishment for any artist even without winning and it really sets the artist apart in the eyes of industry top brass from others in the industry. Mano joins Jasmine, Super cell, Big Bang and Hilcrhyme as this year’s winner for their 2009 body of work.
A little about the Japan Gold Disc Award
The Japan Gold Disc Award was established in 1987 and honors artists and their works for their great contribution to the Japanese recording industry .The awards are intended to let music fans recognize the achievement of their favorite artist’s actual sales for the past year.
AKB48 sister unit SKE48 will be releasing their second single on March 24 .The new single is called Aozora Kataomoi and the promotional video features them performing on the roof of a high-rise building. Now I will be the first to admit that I have not followed SKE48 as close as I should have, saying that there is just too many idols in Japan and to some degree Korea to cover everyday is not an excuse and it has only been recently that I have taken a real interest in this unit.
Aozora Kataomoi features SKE48 members Matsui Jurina, Matsui Rena, Yagami Kumi, Kinoshita Yukiko from Team S and Mukaida Manatsu, Takayanagi Akane, Ogiso Shiori from Team KII.
Each member brings their own special charm to this video especially front girls Matsui Jurina [it`s hard to believe she is just 12] and Matsui Rena, who knew that behind that cute smile lives Gekikara, the lunatic Queen from Episode 8 of Majisuka Gakuen. The double Matsui`s are definitely stars on the rise and look set to have popular careers. I apologize to SKE48 fans for not spotlighting the other members in this article; however, each one did have moments that caught my attention from a talent standpoint.
As for the members in this video, the thing that I am reminded of in the presentation, is how much more talented they are as idol singers as compared to other idol groups. This however is to be expected from any unit created by the legendary Onyanko Club founder Akimoto Yasushi.
As for the video itself ,it`s really just a standard idol dance/close-up shot that you see coming out of most idol companies ,however what sets this apart is the overall package. It`s refreshing and impressive to see what a company can do to a standard idol dance video, when the company supporting them cares more about turning the group into a franchise and not a fan service . The rooftop setting ,the helicopter flyover shots ,the member shots, the music and the performance, along with the cheering crowd all gave the impression that this was an AVEX group and not idols and that is the point of this presentation to show the viewers that SKE48 like their big sisters AKB48 are pop groups 1st and idols second. It`s the little things that are worth the short term loss in production costs, that sets groups apart from others and leaves the viewers impressed and wanting more.
It takes a lot for me to be impressed by any music video or group, from the standpoint, that I will watch it more then once or recommend it to idol fans. My standards have changed over the years, and what I am willing to accept from companies and groups has changed, and SKE48 with the release Aozora Kataomoi went a long way in impressing me and is worth the time to check them out on video or in their live events.
Aozora Kataomoi is a homerun in terms of quality and will help SKE48 in the years to come to pass other idol groups and it definitely will not be the last time that SKE48 appears on this site.
[Update-Replaced deleted video and added CDJapan sales link]
AKB48 members Itano Tomomi and Kasai Tomomi have come together to create a dream collaboration unit known as Queen & Elizabeth. The double Tomomi`s are representing their Kamen Rider W drama characters, for a likely one off single Love Wars.
