The other day in conversations between the staff ,I mentioned to them that i`d like to see Morning Musume return to the system that made them popular during their first five years and that was yearly new member additions ,this of course also went along with graduations. I explained my reasons to the staff and plans got underway to write a set of articles making the case for the addition of an 11th generation.
It seems that Tsunku-san also had this on his mind as well. On a night that saw Mitsui Aika and Niigaki Risa graduate and the crowning of Michishige Sayumi as leader
Tsunku-san announced that Morning Musume will be adding an 11th generation and signups have now started.
In regards to Sayumi ,If your surprised that she is leader , you shouldn`t be ,Sayumi was going to be leader to start with ,unless she didn`t want to be leader.Reina will follow her unless they graduate together , Fuku-chan will lead after Reina.
Michishige Sayumi said at the graduation concert, that she did have some worries, but will do her best and asked the crowd for their support. While Reina was not officially named sub-leader, she is expected to work beside Sayumi to provide needed support and scoldings.
In regards to how Sayumi will view other “rival” groups, she recently said in an interview
Q. Idol groups have been multiplying rapidly. How does Morning Musume intend to fight on?
A: They call it the Warring States Period for Idols, but rather than fighting anyone, I'd like to go forward by showing everyone all of Musume's good points. Like when I watch Momoiro Clover Z I can't help but want to support them, so I don't really want to forget that feeling. I love watching idols, and in the end that becomes a way for me to study.
Following this announcement Tsunku-san announced the addition of the 11th generation. The audition is called “Morning Musume 11Ki Member ‘Suppin Utahime’ Audition!!”
Tsunku-san said that the reason that the 11th generation was going to be added was the following.
“I decided on this audition to make Morning Musume fresher. To liven up the group with this new member[s]. I want Morning Musume to beat other girl groups!”
Has Tsunku-san seen the same fire that I have in 9th and 10th generation, that same feeling we once had in 1998-2002?
There is specialness with the 9th and 10th generation, which has long been missing in Morning Musume, Look for Sayumi and Reina to bring the best out of them.
This new Nagoya idol group's concept may not be that special, but I still think they have a lot to offer! "dela", short for "Delightful Enchanting Lovely Angels", is comprised of 9 members and was formed to the west of Nagoya Station. Their name is also short for "Deluxe" and derived from the Nagoya slang "Doeryaa" which means "very".
Nakamura Kouichi, the group's creator, set up an office exclusively to the west of the station, as this was "the origin of a subculture. Of the Gundam bar, the Neon Genesis Evangelion bar, and many doujinshi stores...this place was fit for taking root [the group's] activities". Nakamura has already managed a group in 2010, so he revived that experience by having the same choreographer and composer etc., learning the know-how and assembling a creative staff.
Taking applications by magazine advertising and leaflets distribution, there ended up to be 615 applicants that could potentially be the "Class of Japanese representatives". In the application requirements, nationality was left out, in which Nakamura explained, "With the 2nd and 3rd generations from places such as Brazil, China, Korea, I thought that I'd like to branch out from the road of "Japan Idol"."
After passing the documents selection, 23 trainees went to Bic Camera, west of Nagoya Station, on March 31, and appeared at Esca on April 1 for an audition exhibit. It was at this exhibit in which they would find out who made the group through a web voting poll. The poll collected ~20,000 votes, more than half the votes being collected from Tokyo, which made their home area of Nagoya disappointed that they weren't the majority of the votes. The results revealed 9 girls making the group, including one who passed specifically for her "model frame". On April 28, they performed for the "Mammoth Flea Market" in commemoration of their CD debut. As for future plans? "From local, we can start in Asian countries before getting to the world. And if we can, something like a reimportation back into Japan.", Nakamura has said.
As said previously, there are 9 members in dela. It seems that each member has some interesting background to her, including a Miss Teen Japan finalist, karate champion and national dance competition champion. There are also two teams associated with dela, named Team Reserve and Team Model, each made up of two members. There's not a lot of information on these two teams, but I'm assuming that Team Reserve is a trainee group aiming to make it into the main group, while Team Model is a group specifically made for modelling.
The members, in order of the picture from left to right and bottom to top, are:
Inuzuka Shino (犬塚 志乃) (Captain)
Birthday: April 2, 1993
Blood Type: O
Background: Winner of 2007 Super Fighting Zen Nihon Karate Michi Senshukentaikai
- Also takes the Chinese art of self defence
- 2010 Race Queen for Super Taikyu, being the youngest ever at (then) 16 years old
Yumi Sayaka (弓 彩也香)
Birthday: December 8, 1993
Blood Type: AB
Birthplace: Osaka
Background: Champion of "DANCE STAD!UM" 2011
- CM Model for "Lakanto" (Zero Calorie Candy)
Kawai Rika (河合 リカ)
Background: Miss Teen Japan 2012 finalist (Nagoya representative)
- Model for Nagoya Culture Collection 2011
- Does flower arrangement
- Skilled in Chinese
- Has played the trumpet for 5 years
Ainami Ai (秋波 愛)
Background: Appeared at NFCC Collection 2011
- Has played the trumpet for 3 years
Kataoka Kazusa (片岡 かずさ)
Birthday: March 3, 1996
Blood Type: O
Background: In 2006, ranked 3rd for Gifu karate tournament
Ayase Reina (綾瀬 麗奈)
Birthday: December 13, 1994
Blood Type: O
Birthplace: Aichi Prefecture
Background: Has taken rhythmic sports gymnastics for 3 years
- Has taken Yosokoi for 9 years
- Pick up model for "Domatsuri Walker"
Morimoto Chiemi (森本 チエミ)
Background: Has done samba for 4 years
- Has taken Capoeira for 3 years
Matsushita Konatsu (松下 小夏)
Birthday: May 1, 1995
Birthplace: Aichi Prefecture
Background: Has taken ballet for 11 years
- Has played flute for 7 years
- Has done street dance for 4 years
- Has 3 years of experience in tea ceremony
- Rank 2 in English proficiency test
Kano Aimi (架乃 愛美)
Birthday: April 21, 1995
Blood Type: B
Birthplace: Gifu Prefecture
Background: Has done hand-ball for 3 years
- For Rank 1, was a runner-up for a karate tournament for the Gifu sector
Team Reserve
Hayami Sae (早見 紗英)
Birthplace: Mie Prefecture
Background: Has taken soft tennis for 2 years
- Rank 2 in Abacus Calculation
- Rank 2 in Mental Arithmetic
Kiara (稀亜羅)
Birthday: September 16, 1999
Blood Type: A
Birthplace: Nagoya
Background: Performed in "Dance Dynamite" in 2009
- Performed in "Disney Live!" from 2010-2012
- Has done Hip Hop and Jazz
Team Model
Buluna Yumi (ブルーナ・ユミ)
Sawai Rina (沢井 里奈)
Birthday: October 5, 1993
Blood Type: A
Birthplace: Aichi Prefecture
Background: Has played basketball for 6 years
- Has done track-and-field for 3 years
- Won 400m hurdle at Hokkaido University track meet
It's Monday again, which means it's time to view the results of the weekly poll!
The Question was (Submitted by Shurastriker) What's the ideal number of members for idol groups?
6-9 people is the winner of the poll. It got 44% (31 people).
This is also the answer choice that I picked. For an idol group, I definitely think that 6-9 people is the perfect number. It's not too small and not too large. In a group like this, it is a reachable goal to match every members names with their faces, and even sometimes learn what their voice sounds like. You can't do this is a group with 15+ members. Berryz Koubou has 7 girls, and I know every members names, faces, and I can tell who's singing. I'm also getting to know PASSPO☆ members.
2-5 people came in second place with 27% (19 people).
This was also my second choice for the number of people in an idol group. 2-5 people is the ideal number if you really want to know the members well. Momoiro Clover Z, for example, has 5 members currently and just like berryz, I know names, faces, and singing voices. Each girl can show their own personality and have singing lines because the group is much smaller.
10-13 came is third place with 21% (15 people).
This was my third answer choice. I think that 10-13 people is actually still a bit too much. With this many members, it's hard to know exactly who's who. With 10-13, If I like really like the group, then I will take the time to know the members, like Morning Musume. However, If I'm not really into a group that much, then I'll usually just pick favorites. SUPER☆GiRLS, for an example, has 11 girls. As they release more singles, I'll know more about them, but I only know 2 or 3 girls right now.
14 or more came in last place with 7% (5 people).
This was also my least favorite choice. 14+ girls in one group is just too much. Idoling!!! has 21 members, and I've been into them for a long time, yet I only know 2 or 3 members! Half of it is my fault, for not taking the time to learn the member's, but half of it is because there are too many members, and too many lineup changes in a short period of time.They say that a lot of members means you have a lot of personality to pick from, which is true, but when the company promotes the same select girls every time, it's useless to like the less popular girls since you never see them. The best thing to do when groups have a lot of members is to just pick out your favorites, and keep it moving, unless you really like that group.
In total, 70 people voted! That is a huge jump from the last poll.
Don't forget, you can send in your weekly poll. To find put how, click the weekly polls tab at the top of the page.
A few days ago, I mentioned that FullMooN had under gone several changes ,one being a change at singer, here is a preview of their new singer. The lineup may have changed but their style remains the same.
This is the subbed talk segment from last week .The guy tends to make it private during work hours and then cuts it back off private in the late night early morning JST hours
This next set of 5 lives we have started with the gloves off , first with Dorothy Little Happy scoring 5 with each vote ,they still need a few more votes to enter top 5 ,so please watch their live over the next three days and vote .
Tonight we are bringing to our outdoor stage Sizukaze & KIZUNA
While Alice Juban stage dives, Sizukaze & KIZUNA crowd walks and does so with a live backing rock band. In these ranks Sizukaze & KIZUNA is a steamrolling beast of energy, with some of the loudest and dedicated wotas in the genre.
While Alice Juban is better singers, the show that Sizukaze & KIZUNA puts on more than earns the cost of the tickets.
To have an idol trust her fans enough to let them lift her up in the lives to sing to the crowd and to crowd walk shows the level of connection the group has with their fans.
Plus any group that opens their show paying tribute to a mobile suit is getting on this site.
Just so you know Sizukaze is two members, KIZUNA [black/white shirts and skirts] is the other girls on stage
We simply cannot have a concert feature without Dorothy Little Happy.
As we start week two of live house group voting. What rank will you give this group and will they break into the top five and become regular coverage on PIH.
Same rules as last week give them 1-5 tickets when Candy posts the voting poll. This week`s five will battle last week`s five for the PIH Rankings Positions and regular coverage slots.
Will Alice Juban Hold on to this top spot for a second week?
7 song live w/Back Dancers and select songs live band
One of the things that I love about idol genre both major and Indie is that it gives the girl next door a chance to become a celebrity be it a major or local by becoming an idol .As long as you have a company vision and girls with dreams, it doesn`t matter the size or level of your company, girls just want to become idols.
Here in the world of Indies you won`t find the Tsunku legion of 1,000`s of hopefuls, instead you get 100`s just doing their best to reach their idol dream.
Instead of the Tsunku`s and Aki-P`s who make everything they touch earn millions. You have, small Independent producers, wotas [yes they create idol groups], self-created groups, singer/song writers such as myself taking our money and giving girls a chance to live their idol dreams.
Everyday more and more groups are starting as there is no better time in the genre to be starting groups as the media and sponsors sees value in the genre again.
Here is a look at two of the many units nationwide that are getting underway and the all hands on deck style this level is.
FLAP GiRLs` ScHooL [Yes it`s spelled that way] has been holding auditions to find its members and will be making their debut on June 3.
The girls who reached the final staged auditioned in front of wotas
