Idol News #2: チィキィパレード, エビ中, パレット

Cheeky Parade's debut single BUNBUN NINE9 has sold 23,522 copies! I'm so proud of the girls! After an awesome indie single, I really expected Cheeky Parade to come back strong with a good single, and they really reached my expectations. SUPER☆GiRLS has been in a slump lately (in song quality, bot sales), and if they don't step it up, Cheeky Parade could become iDOL Street's best group. Congratulations Cheeky Parade!

 

Also, Shiritsu Ebisu's third single, Ume has sold 41,423 copies, landing third on the weekly oricon charts! This a huge jump from their last single, which sold around 20k. I think that ebichu is getting some attention, because momoclo has gotten really popular. I think that this is a good thing because I want them to be popular with the international fanbase, like momoclo is. They have so much talent and craziness. Let's hope they keep aiming higher!

Palet, PASSPO☆'s sister group will be releasing their second mini album, SEVEN DESTINY.  I haven't really seen any performances from then, except Mune no Button, which was off of their first mini album, Hello, Palet. It's scary how radically different Palet is from their sister group! Hopefully, the girls debut soon with a single of their own!

Tracklist

1. Shouri no Shiiru
2. Celebration～Tokimeki Good Time～ 

 3. My First Lover
4. Sugiteiku Subete ni
5. give you love♡
6. Runner
7. Namida Hitotsubu 
Mune no Button

Idol Spotlight:Oshimen , Idols the Memory Creators

I am not one who really likes to write about my life ,while my friends say that I should be proud of things that take place in it and with my daughter’s music careers  and be more open.

 For some time now my two daughters have been preparing for their music career debuts ,something that is important to me to see them follow my career path.

This made me think of how they can one day be someone`s oshimen. Well that`s not completely right as the oldest is entering rock music ,while the younger is walking the Idol  group road ,so I guess really one can be an oshimen. While both are on different roads of Independent music ,it`s the oshimen road in Independents that I want to discuss.

 I have made it no secret that when it comes to Idol genre or music in general ,I  love supporting Independent small known groups, it`s just something special about these little known ,a challenge to follow groups that make makes them more exciting to me.

When I think about how my youngest could now become someone`s oshimen ,I end up thinking about the whole Idol-wota dynamic ,and how fans will be buying her merchandise and collecting Idol memories.

You know ,to this day I still remember the smiling face that was Okada Yukiko  more than I do that tragic last day of her life. That is the memory I hold on to.

If   Idol fans are memory collectors , then surely that makes oshimen ,Idols the memory creators, yet it is much deeper than that in many ways.

The road to fame for Independent artists can often be difficult , if you were not successful first and then decided to go back to your Independent roots. One only has to look at this recent show with Steamgirls to see the road can have many difficulties along the way. Yet you can`t judge every group by this example or the reasons they face difficulties by it.



When you’re supporting a group such as Steamgirls or any Independent ,the system is designed so that you feel that you’re directly helping their success. You’re asked at the door which group your tickets is for , after lives the groups sell their merchandise themselves ,not some merchandise company or agency staffers as the Idols leave the arena by some backdoor. So you’re buying CDs ,shirts ,towels and so on from the members you support, from their own hands ,allowing you to create better friendships, while respecting that magical border between Idol and fan. Your voice , your actions have meaning to these groups.

The Idols become our little or in some cases big sisters . Independent  Idols and fans are banded together like rampaging armies for Idol microstates moving from venue to venue in a meaningful ballet march  as one .With our Idols  leading the way ,the memories they create that night and the memories we collect are treasures to claim at journeys end.

[The Ballet of Idol Armies]


Every Idol microstate has its own story to  tell and its own tribe of followers and in some ways that hurts the overall growth of Independents as a genre, but that is a story for another time.

I don`t know the outcome of the road that my daughters will take on their music careers or anyone`s daughter entering music . Both are talented and whatever their career results, their experiences will be something special to both of them and  the fans that decide to support them.

How do I know that ? well it`s simple , where there are oshimen and Idols the memory creators ,there will be the fans ,the battle scarred knights collecting those memories ,until the final curtain call, and there is no more memories to create.

PASSPO☆ Sakura Komachi

I'm late, especially for a group I love, and follow, but PASSPO☆ has released the PV for their 7th single Sakura Komachi.

Sakura Komachi means cherry blossom town, and it follows the popular idol trend of having "sakura" in the name. The b-sides are NO. 1 Boy, and Wish on a Star. PASSPO stated that this single is supposed to be a sad love song, and I agree! Next to their thrid single, Kimi wa Boku wo Suki ni naru, this is as idol-ish as PASSPO☆ has ever gotten. But I don't really mind because Sakura Komachi isn't bad at all!

The beginning of the song features a really cute instrumental, then the rest of the instrumental reminds me of an AKB song. The chorus is catchy. And whats amazing about this song is that even though it is idol music, it still contains some classic PASSPO☆ rock. The PV is beautiful. I like how, instead of the classic pink/white, PASSPO☆ went sort of original and did a blue theme instead. All of the girls look so pretty and lovely.

Sakura Komachi is a nice, and simple PV, and it really stands out amongst all of the idol graduation songs. Will be released February 13!

Covers

SUPER☆GiRLS CELEBRATION

 Idol group SUPER GiRLS just released the PV to one of their songs from their album. Celebration, is SUPER GiRLS 3rd album, and it features many new songs, as well as old.

Is this really S☆G?!!! was my first thought when I saw the video. Their whole look is just so radically different than what it usually is, that I thought it was another idol group. The girls actually look like a mature group, and they remind me a lot of C-ute. Some of the members are even wearing pants and shorts! gasp. Many girls are also sporting new hairstyles. I'm really impressed with the dance, it looks pretty cool. It's not all cutesy like their dances usually are, in fact, the whole cute factor that S☆G is famous for is really turned down in this PV. The song is kind of catchy, at least the chorus is, it's not bad at all and reminds me of Hoshikuzu LOVE Song.

S☆G has really been in a huge slump in my opinion. I started out really liking the group, but when they began releasing single after single without much variety... well, they kind of lost my interest. But now, Celebration has spiked up my interest, and really makes me want to check out their album. If S☆G would release more songs like Tokimeki Shoku no kaze to kimi, MAX! Otome gokoro, and this, I think international idol fans would be more interested in them. Album releases February 20~

LinQ CHIKU-TAKU

Idol group LinQ is back with their fifth single, CHIKU-TAKU (which is a really weird name). It will be released January 30, 2013.  I call myself a LinQ fan, but I barely keep up with their singles these days! I like their second single Calorie Nante, and their third single, the Sakura songs. Yet their other singles seem to remain uncovered on here!

LinQ reminds me a lot of the 48 family, simply because their PV's are always nice and creative. CHIKU-TAKU doesn't fail to live up to their past singles! The PV concept is very interesting. The theme is clocks, and the dancing seems to mirror the hands of a clock. There seems to be a storyline as well. Everything seems to be taking place in a weird fantasy land.

As for the song, it seems to be taking on the trend that seems to be hitting Idol music right now: techno. The song is techno, but thankfully, the vocals aren't completely drowned out by auto-tune and synths. Despite the song treading a bit into generic territory, it's, nontheless, catchy, especially at the chorus, and near the end where everyone chants Chiku-taku. I think I finally get it! "Chiku-taku" mirrors the sound of "Tick-Tock" the sound of a clock ticking. Genius. The more you listen to this song, the more addicting it gets! This is definitely an idol single done right.

More Idols

Here are two new idol groups that I've discovered that haven't been covered on PIH yet. If your looking for a new group to follow, maybe these are the groups for you!

Official Website

The first group I recently discovered is i☆Ris. Their a 6 member idol group that just formed, and surprisingly, their signed to avex. Their completely different from SUPER☆GiRLS and Tokyo Girls' Style.

Looking at their debut single, Color, I have to say that I really like it,. It sounds a little bit like old jpop to me. It's upbeat, but without being too upbeat, and it's standard jpop without being too standard.

The best part of the song is the vocals. Their so strong! Having these types of vocals instead of the typical high pitched vocals most idol groups have these days already gives them tons of pointers.

 The PV, is typical, the girls are laughing, having fun, and doing various activities. It's actually the same set where Guardians 4 shot their Party Time PV lol! Their outfits are cute, in their own way, but they look like crayons. Though I really appreciate every member having their own color as it helps me put names to faces. The dancing could be a bit stronger, and some of the girls look awkward. But the group is new, and with time, they'll get better!

Official Website

Smile Gakuen is the second group that I discovered recently. Their a 17 member idol group that formed in 2011.  Smile Gakuen is under the branch Smile Academy, which is kind of like Hello Project. Smile Gakuen is split up into two classes, class M and class G, though they all perform together. The group has elementary, middle, and high school students, kind of like Sakura Gakuin.

The group already has four singles out, but their latest release, which was in November was Give Me a Smile. Smile Gakuen seems like the typical group, but their songs are likeable, their dances are simple, and they wear school uniforms. 

They have tons of videos on their YouTube channel, so I would check them out.

Give Me a Smile

Weather Girls 2nd single preview

New Taiwanese girl group Weather Girls will be releasing their 2nd single Koi wa Tokimeki Chuiho on February 6th. A preview has been uploaded on their offical YouTube channel. The song seems to be just as fun and energetic as Koi no Tenki Yohou, and the Oh oh's in the song are really catchy. The outfits are bright, and colorful, and remind me a lot of SNSD.

I think foreign idol groups are really interesting, and I really love Weather Girls first single. I think these girls a really putting a ton of effort into speaking Japanese, and they seem to really enjoy doing it too, unlike other groups, where it seems forced. Weather caught my eye, so, I will be covering them from now~

Please check out their new single!

Panache!

I'm a little late writing about these girls, but In the midst of all of the idol groups that seem to debuting lately, we have another added to the team!

Meet Panache!, a three girl idol group made up of three popular cosplayers. The girls's mission is to  spread Japanese cosplayers' culture to other countries, (which is actually, already really popular overseas). These girls (from left to right Kuroneko, Enako, and Itsuki Akira) will be making their CD debut with SONY tomorrow, October 24, with their single Kirameki Miraizu. The b-side will be a cover of Happy Synthesizer, an extremely popular vocaloid song by Easy Pop. Previews of the song's can be heard here

Panache! facebook (which already seems to have a ton of fans on it)
official website

 This group's sound, rather than sounding idolish, sounds more techno, like perfume or vocaloid artists, which was not what I was expecting at all. I expected, because of their outfits, something sugary sweet and upbeat, but Kirameki Miraizu sounds similar to the stuff that Kikkawa Yuu has been releasing lately. Happy Synthesizer sounds oddly, almost identical to the original.You cannot hear the girls voices that well over the music, which is kind of sad, but I think waiting for the full audio is better before completely judging. Also, in their kawaii Japan girl interview, Kuroneki said she designed their outfits, which is really cool! Also in the interview, the girls said that they visited many events around the world, which is another pointer towards this group.

Kawaii Girl Japan interview

Sea☆A: Entry!

Singaporean girl group Sea☆A will be releasing their 4th single titled Entry! (エントリー)
on November 14. It is the ending for the anime Cardfight!! Vanguard. Sea A also lent DREAM SHOOTER, their first single, as an ending for this anime.

The song is kind of typical, but it's upbeat and kind of cute.The more I listen to it, the more I love it. Friendship Birthday, their last single, was a bit disappointing for me, so I'm glad they released something that sounds like DELI-DELI☆DELICIOUS, which is my favorite Sea☆A single. It reminds me of Perfume's early works for some reason. Also, as much as I love story-line type PV's, I wish the girls had some sort of dancing, because I miss it.

PV short preview


Bonus: DELI-DELI☆DELICIOUS live performance at AMF

TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE: LolitA☆Strawberry in summer

Quite a while ago, Tokyo Girls' Style released a music video for LolitA☆Strawberry in summer, which is part of their Road to Budokan 2012 single. Bad flower was already released, and can be seen in this post. Discord, the b-side hasn't been released yet.

When I saw that the MV to this was finally revealed, I got so excited! I love SweetS. And I like that TGS is covering some SweetS songs. But I don't like the 3D animations that much, at least the ones that vocaloids often use. The dance moves always look so stiff and awkward. And because it's computer generated, the moves look way too perfect and synchronized. I'm glad their trying something new, but I just don't like the MV. This could have been a great MV, with the nice background and all. I hope that there's a version with the real members in it. Other than that, the song is awesome. I like the original version by SweetS, and it took a little warming up, but TGS's version is good too. It's somehow powerful sounding. I can't wait to hear what discord sounds like.

Live Version

Weekly Poll #7

It's a day late, but here's the results of the weekly post #7.

The Question was: What do you do the most to support your group(s) or oshimen?

Buy singles/albums came is first place with17 votes (51%)
Read their blog everyday came in second place with6 votes (18%)
Buy goods, read their blog, and post in forums all came in third with 3 votes (9%)
Attend events and concerts came in last with 1 votes (3%)


For the most part, I agree that buying singles and albums is the best way to support your favorite group(s), soloist, or oshi, especially if you live in another country. After buying singles, I post in forums the most. It's fun to discuss outfits, the PV, and other things with other people. I rarely buy goods (unless their posters or calenders or something), and I actually rarely read member blogs! Going to concerts or events is impossible, seeing as how I live thousands of miles away! But If they come to my country, I'd definitely find some way to attend the event.


In total, 33 people voted.

Sorry, there won't be a weekly poll this week, because I'm going on vacation! I will be back Wednesday July 25.

Idoling!!! Ichigo Gyuunyuu

The other a-side, Ichigo Gyuunyuu (strawberry milk) of Idoling!!!'s 18th single is out.

The PV surprised me, because instead of it being a studio PV, it's actually an outdoor PV with a storyline (sort of). I've never seen Idoling!!! do a PV like this, so cheers to them for doing something different; Plus, the girls look great. However, I still don't like the song that much. 




And, here's a bonus, this is a preview of the b-side, Megami no Pulse.

Idoling!!! One Up!!!

Here is the full PV for Idoling!!!'s 18th single! The fire is a really nice touch to the PV, the girls look amazing!

When I saw the covers, I thought they would be wearing bikini's, and I'm glad their not.
But maybe the other a side (Ichigo Gyunyu) will have bikini's.

Weekly Poll #6

The Question was: Which future release are you looking forward to the most?

CHA CHA Sing by Berryz Koubou is the winner of the poll. It got 45% (19 votes). Out of all of these choices, Berryz new single is a single that I'm really looking forward too. Lately, while Morning Musume and C-ute have been doing great, Berryz seems like their in a slump. Aa yo ga akeru and Be Genki were great, but they weren't the best from berryz for me. However, their cover of P'Bird's popular song ounds fun and energetic. The PV is a standard H!P studio PV, but it actually looks really nice for once.

Tweet Dream/Sparkle by Fairies received second place with 35% (15 votes). I definitely think some of Fairies past works are better than their new single. For me, this is one of their weakest. However, I give props to the girls for trying out a new style, instead of sticking with the same sound and playing it safe. Unlike another group I follow... The songs aren't all bad. Tweet dream is growing one me, and Sparkle isn't half bad either. It may be their lowest selling single, but Fairies have grown a strong fanbase, in Japan, and also oversees.

Song For Smiling by Sakura Gakuin received third place with 19% (8 votes). I was surprised. Sakura Gakuin usually scores very low on polls. They are so under appreciated by everyone, it's sad. But I think their popularity went up a little, and I'm glad they snagged third place. Song for Smiling is definitely the typical upbeat, and happy Sakura Gakuin song. It's probably my least liked song from them, but the English is refreshing, and the painting outfits are cute; a nice break from their School Uniforms.I'm not sure if it's an official single yet though...but hopefully, it's included on a CD.

Go! Go! Here we go! by Ebichu took fourth place with 16% (7 votes). I adored Ebichu's debut, Karikeiyaku no Cinderella. It almost reached 30k, which is really amazing! I heard the preview, and I'm loving it so far. I just really love STARDUST in general. They really know how to produce good talents.

Headbanger by BABYMETAL took fifth with 14% (6 votes). Technically, they shouldn't be on the list because this single was released before I put the poll up, but I made a mistake. Anyway,  this is another awesome single, with an awesome b side from the group! I love the PV.

One up!!!/Ichigo Gyuunyuu by Idoling!!! took last place with 9% (4 votes). This result does not surprise me. While Idoling!!! has really great success in Japan, selling 50-60k with every single, they are really  unpopular with the western fanbase. I guess it's because at a glance, these girls are normal idols that don't really stand out. But actually, when you get to know the group, you'll find that Idoling!!! is really fun.
I like to watch their shows. Also, they have a good range of music.

In total, 42 people voted.

Weekly poll #7 is now up.

Don't forget, you can send in your weekly poll. I'm running out of questions! To find out how, click the weekly polls tab at the top of the page

PASSPO☆???

After releasing several indie songs, PASSPO☆ debuted with Shojo Hikou on May 4th of last year. It debuted at #1, setting a record. It was an amazing debut for an idol group. Not long after, PASSPO☆ had their second single, Vivi Natsu, which sold around the same as Shojo Hikou did. (40-50k)

After Vivi Natsu, the girls released their second album, CHECK-IN. It didn't do too well. But I wasn't worried since albums usually sell badly anyway. After CHECK-IN, PASSPO☆ released their third single this year in March, Kimi wa Boku wo Suki ni Naru. It sold in the 12k range.



I was not surprised at the sales because the It was a very idol cliche-ish, and kind of bland song. Even though the single was kind of bad, I didn't expect the number to be so low. Usually when a group releases a "bad" song, sales are lower, however, in PASSPO☆'s case, I think for a bad song, sales were too low. Kimi wa Boku wo Suki ni Naru should have at least gotten to 20k, in my opinion. The song is growing on me, and it's not so bad after all!

Then most recently, when PASSPO☆ released their fourth single, NEXT FLIGHT, I was shocked. NEXT FLIGHT was an outstanding single. The song and PV were amazing. Even the b-sides were really good. But it only reached 8k, even worse than Kimi wa Boku wo Suki ni Naru. I tried to think of everything that they could have done wrong. But I soon realized that this problem was more than a case of bad promotion.

Here are some posts from the PASSPO☆ forum  These quotes are from what  アドレナリン said.  (I'm sorry, I took out and added some things to make it shorter)


"As you know Kaho left Passpo at the end of last year. But did you know that the staff has been changed too? Erina-chan (manager I think) has left and another important man has left too (now he's managing another band)

First, after Kaho's graduation, it has been decided that Passpo wont be doing much events next year. They did too many events, that's why in the future the number of events will decrease. Passpo trained too much, and it begins to be hard for them to continue to repeat and dance that much. I thought that Kaho's injury may have appeared because they repeat a lot and push their body beyond its capabilities.


Second, Passpo used to be an idol group who's really really near of passengers (PASSPO☆ fans). During events, everyone can speak, take pictures with members and talk a lot with them. But the Passpo direcetor is a cold man, and isn't really appreciate of the passengers. He has changed his mind and it seems this proximity has been lost. (during handshake session staff are really strict with passengers) 

Passengers can't see Passpo as often as they want and as they used to. For instance during the Golden Week no event was held. Passengers feel really bad, even Passpo members begins to complain (on Yukimi's blog we can read that she really want to meet Passengers and make flight)"

So as you can see, the decrease in sales is probably because there has been a negative change in the way management deals with PASSPO☆. Groups like AKB48 and Arashi, of course, must restrict contact between fans and the members because of their popularity. But smaller groups like PASSPO☆ and indie groups' are really fun, because theres usually no strict rules, and fans are free to interact with members without it being too strict.


It's not so much the sales that I'm worried about, because I'll still be a Passenger no matter what PASSPO☆ sells. I'm just worried that interest will decline so much, that PASSPO☆ will have to disband or something. They're one of my favorite groups, and I'd be crushed if they stopped performing. Hopefully, some things change with management, so PASSPO☆ and Passengers won't be upset anymore.

Idoling!!! One up!!! preview

Idoling!!! will be releasing their new singles One up!!! and Ichigo Gyuunyuu on August 8. It's a double a-side. A live performance of One up!!! can be seen here. This is the first performance with the new generation members.Maybe they'll release the PV on their official channel?



I really like One up!!! I'm loving all of the lines Naohi is getting.
 I was actually expecting Idoling!!! to do a PV containing bikini's or something, since it's summer, but I'm so glad they didn't because that would have been kind of boring, since they've already done that before.

Fairies Tweet Dream preview

It's quite different from the mature style we've been hearing, which is a good thing because variety is the key.
The electronic sounds make it a little too busy at times, but it's overall a new sound for them.
I hope the PV is creative and playful!
With Fairies master dancing, I wonder how the dance will be coordinated since this sounds really hard to coordinate to.

Mano Erina Song For the DATE

Mano's 12th single, song for the date has been released.

Mano's new PV is creative, the song is catchy, and all I can say is that the company is finally starting to care about her. I hope this song has great sales! She definitely deserves it, since so much effort was put into this release.

SUPER☆GIRLS PuriPuri♥SUMMER Kiss

SUPER☆GIRLS new summer single is out.
Since S☆G's last Summer single, MAX! Otome Gokoro was performed in bikini's, I have a feeling that they are going to copy follow the same trend that AKB48 does.

Firstly, there's a ton of fan service with all of the bikinis, butt shaking, and kissing the camera.  S☆G wota will go crazy.

The song can't get anymore typical idol sounding.
It's actually not a bad song; the chorus is the catchiest.



Usually, my reviews would end there but...

I'm going to be honest, I feel a little let down.
Their last summer single, MAX! Otome Gokoro was a summer single done right. It was fun and tasteful! Even with all of the fans service, I had so much fun watching it.

But PuriPuri♥SUMMER Kiss is too typical for my liking.  The girls are in bikinis, at the beach.

That is the definition of the stereotypical idol.

"The fan service is wasted on me as a female fan. For a bikini PV to impress me there has to be a lot of other elements than “look how sexy I look in this bikini." 

-Aimxaim

It's wrong to compare, but look at AKB who added a little violence to their PV so that it could be different from their other summer PV's. Morning Musume's new summer single has an original concept. PASSPO☆ too, adding in a darker sound with NEXT FLIGHT.  And even Momoclo with PUSH.

My point is, SUPER☆GIRLS could have done so much more for their summer single than what PuriPuri♥SUMMER Kiss is.

A summer single doesn't have to include bikini's and a beach/pool scene, because every other idol does that. When there are 5 million groups out there doing the same thing, it's important to remain unique and original.

The positive aspects of the single are that we get to see the girls laughing, having fun, and acting silly. 

Sorry, this was longer than it needed to be.
I hope nobody thinks I'm bashing them.
 I love SUPER☆GIRLS, I just wish they'd get out of the whole "We want to be like AKB" phase and be themselves.

I hope their next single is better, and that it's like 1,000,000 Smile and Joshiryoku Paradise.

TYB48

Everyone's probably already heard of TYB48 by now!

Offical Blog

They're a new 3 member idol group.
However, there is something unique about this group...

TYB48's members were selected because of their teeth.

 In Japan, crooked teeth is considered very cute on girls, and tsuke yaeba is a procedure done to make your teeth imperfect. Many girls, along with the double eye lid surgery do this to make themselves look cuter.

Now I hope other people see how wrong this is.

A) The girls are highly encouraging other girls to get this procedure which is just like telling a dark skinned person to use lightening products. They're altering their looks because it's more favorable to the public eye which is a shame. The things you do to yourself should be to please yourself, and only yourself.
There is nothing wrong with straight or your natural born teeth.

B) Sigh, yet another 48 group name copier, huh? Adding 48 to the end of your name won't make you more popular. When will groups understand this? And TYB 48... with 3 members. Yes. This makes perfect sense. Was it really that hard to think of a name? "Candy Star" There! Even I can think of one!

On the flip side...

America does this too. America is obsessed with straight teeth; quite the opposite of Japan!
People get braces and wear retainers to make their teeth straighter.
Here, Dentists practically force you to get braces! At least in Japan, you have a choice.
I have rather straight teeth, so I was saved from getting braces though.
If they weren't encouraging others to change themselves and get tsuke yaeba done, I don't think I'd have a problem with this group at all.

The groups first live will be held in Akihabara on April 30th, and their first CD "Mind If I Bite?" (I'm not joking, it's really called this!) will be sold there.



Reference from: http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/04/18/worlds-first-snaggletooth-girl-group/


UPDATE
We now have a new web site ,this blog is nolonger being updated
http://pureidolheart.com/staffblog/