Old Favorites & Recent Fascinations

BiS - Fresh Faced Idols?

The member in pigtails has left the group to be replaced by Yufu.

Most of you know by now that Japan and Korea are having an idol boom.  New groups are sprouting up and gaining attention every which way (sorry if that doesn't make sense to you it is a phrase I use. . . Midwest thing?).  One unit, BiS [Brand new Idol Society], has released their (major?) debut single and hit the Oricon charts.  (Another unit Kiss-My-Ft2, from JE, got the number one spot.  How is their name pronounced?  Kiss My Foot?)  They have an edgier image, rebelling against the idea that idols have to be clean and proper.  I saw them first through Pure Idol Heart and I responded well to the PV posted.  I checked them out on YouTube and I was intrigued.  However, I was a bit dumbfounded when I started watching their hit single:

I was shocked, but then I was distracted by some beautiful shots and realized they did a good job.  Nudity can be done tastefully and it reminded me of various paintings.  (My favorite place in LA is the Getty.  I went there twice while I was in LA for the first time.)  Once I regained myself I went wait, we are missing someone!  The member, which happens to be my favorite, is no longer in the group.  Which sucks if it was because of the nudity thing.  They found a replacement, but I'm bummed.  See I like variety in groups and now it feels like they are missing an element, and overly cute one.  I was a huge fan of t.A.T.u, still am but not as big.  They did a tribute to t.A.T.u. which was great.  But, my favorite has to be this one:

Anyway, with my favorite member gone I am a bit undecided if I should continue following them.  I will stick around to see how I like the new member, but she will be missed.  (Fortunately my second favorite, girl with short hair and extra piercings, is still there.)

Do I Still Care?

Hello Project has been luke-warm for me as of late, to none of your surprise.  Why do I keep bringing it up?  Because I still want to like and enjoy being a fan.  I want to keep one foot on each side of the river(?).  I got S/mileage's first album which was pretty good, mostly because I adored their singles.  Berryz Koubou still releases likable singles. . . I really like their latest at least.  C-ute has sooooo much potential.  (If only they had a different producer!)  Morning Musume has all those great new members!  Most of my disappointment falls on their producer Tsunku.  I mean, everything would be peachy if they had better music.  But who can blame him, he is distracted by the indie idols like Afilia Saga East.  Honestly, I've stopped caring about Morning Musume and S/mileage.  I'm paying them as much attention as Kiss-My-Ft2 and SNSD.  I've even deleted my tags on Tumblr for Hello Project and Morning Musume, which means I don't even want to look at pictures or videos of them.  I'm still rooting for C-ute.

Hello Project isn't the only idols I've deleted my tag on Tumblr for: Momoiro Clover.  The management just keeps pissing me off then Akari leaves and I've had it.  They aren't the same without Akari.  They look like a more miss-matched, older version of Tokyo Girls Style (who I am recently entranced by).

Oh, and I think Beckii Cruel's upcoming single sounds horrible and she isn't that good of a dancer (if you've watched her recent Morning Musume dance cover).

Rising Stars (the brighter side of things)
NMB48 (polished in very little time)
Tokyo Girls Style (avex is pulling through)
Hey Say Jump (their latest was a stupendous improvement)
Afilia Saga East (we'll see, seems a bit only fan service)
Super Girls (another we shall see case)

Recent Cravings 
I've been going through some odd obsessions.  I'm a DD when it comes to AKB48, so I shouldn't be so surprised when I jump from one member interest to another.  Today I was watching old footage of Ayaka Kikuchi, before she was fired.  All of a sudden I've missed Oshima's pervy cuteness.  Then there is Iwasa Misaki's powerhouse vocals.  I've changed my wallpaper to Kasai Tomomi.  Akimoto Sayaka's awesome~ness.  I'm literally all over the place.  Now I found some subtitled videos which has an adorable Takamina (I mean her hair and that hat are super flattering) and then Sasshi accidentally causing dirty jokes.  Why don't I dislike anyone within AKB48?  They have so many membersssss. . . oh yeah Haruka Ishida is the only one out of what is it now 75?


Am I Suffering From a K-Pop Phase?
I've been addicted to Nine Muses' No Playboy.  My friends and I want to learn the dance to HyunA's Bubble Pop.  I keep on hearing bollywood in my favorite Super Junior Korean singles.  I've been voting in Eat Your Kimchi polls.  I went through a huge K-drama stint while in Japan.  What is happening to me?

Can Happiness Be Considered a Girl Group?
If you've seen them perform or have watched one of their PVs you might of noticed that only two girls sing.  It almost feels like one center with a support singer and then a whole bunch of back up dancers.  I was looking forward to the group since   they were good dancers, but WTF is this?  I'm all for dancers getting a bigger spotlight, but can they not sing at all?  Their lead vocalist is spectacular!  I almost prefer her to go solo.  You see I adore Matsuda Seiko, an idol-soloist from way back.  For some reason I keep on seeking out her replacement or equal for today.  One of the candidates is Happiness' lead vocalist, the other is Acchan from AKB48.  What do you think?  I will post some videos after the jump to give you a better perspective.

Matsuda Seiko Performing on a Music Program

Happiness Dancing at a Concert

Happiness Performing on a Music Program

Acchan Performing her First Solo Single