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

New PV Spam

New PV and Previews Spam

Mass New PVs Review

Sorry if these aren't that well done or go into much depth.  I want to do this now, but I have a lot of homework tonight so I'll keep this quick.

アンダーガールズ (AKB48) - 偶然の十字路

I don't expect anything different from the Undergirls at this point.  They continue to release adorable, yet cliche promotional videos.  They ride bikes, work as a team in sports, go to class, and deal with everyday teenage problems.  The low quality of the video made it difficult to determine all the girls that are in this single of Undergirls.  One new face, with quite some screen time, was Chibi Airi from SKE48.  There wasn't a dance shot, but the storyline follows the girls and three boys (who are crushing on some of the girls).  There were some funny moments, including the boys trying to sneak into a Meetan event.  It is nice to see that Meetan still finds her way to the lolis.

DIVA (AKB48) - エリアK

DIVA is back!  Again this song gives most of the solo lines to a few, talented, singers.  Instead of the amazing ballad they had last time (which wouldn't work because the main track is a ballad), they sing a very Koda Kumi-esque dance track.  The song is a bit too cheerful in contrast with the rough, edgy fight/ dance club.  The nice thing is that some of the less-promoted members get some screen time once again.  I am a bit disappointed that Amina wasn't featured like she did last time (one beautiful solo line).  Maybe next time DIVA comes around they'll feature some of the other members with vocal talent like Wasamin.

AAA / ダイジナコト

What can I say about this PV.  It follows their usual style of a dance track with a rap section included.  This one does seem to feature more members on an even level.  I don't care for all the outfits, but the overall setting and color palette is fitting.  I heard one of the guys got a solo line, which doesn't happen often.  I don't follow them too closely, but I am a fan.  (One of their singles made my top singles list of 2010).  I don't love the song.  So far, the Undergirls is the only song that I find catchy at the moment.

℃-ute 『Kiss me 愛してる』

Overall this is pretty good.  The colors and lighting are great.  I like the song, but I don't know if I would play it on my iPod unless it came up on shuffle.  The major fallback is the costuming.  While, I love the color combination and I believe it works well with the set. . . I dislike the fact that they only wear one outfit and the shorts.  I expect the fellas will love the sit of their rear-ends in spandex shorts; I, however, spent a good deal of time trying to determine my stance on them and keeping my eye out for camel-toe.  Spandex shorts are fine if we are talking butts, because they all have a nice, little booty, but the crotch is a bit more difficult.  (I don't know how a crotch can be flattering so covering it in spandex wouldn't be my first choice.)  There are some things that makes me ask why?  Without any kind of storyline it is just the basics of a PV (so why are there glass apples?).  All I want to see from Hello Project is some more effort in this department.  Just by adding some small elements you can create a, I don't know purpose, to the PV.  Like AAA's PV for example, it is also mostly a dance shot and close-ups, but by highlighting the setting it adds more depth.

Buono! 『JUICY HE@RT』

The technological tone of the song suits the title.  I thought it was okay.  The song was kind of one note, but still good.  It actually reminded me of K5 or Akimoto's style in general (the guitar solo combined with the techy, sometimes one-note song).  The thing that I found off putting was the fact that they seemed out of place.  It seemed like they were going for luxury + Buono!, but it didn't sit right with me.  First off the girls were in club outfits on a boat in the middle of the day.  Why not swim suits or resort-wear?  Then they have them singing in front of two expensive cars.  Um, why?  I know some people are unhappy to see Airi still in the center.  Personally, I think the group looks good in that formation.  Airi is the most normal-pretty.  Momo is short and out of control, and Miyabi has dyed hair.  What I didn't like is when they did push Airi as the lead.  They should be on equal footing.  The only other thing that I didn't like was the continuous cross dissolves towards the end.  I was enjoying the interesting close-up formation, so it kind of ruined the moment for me.

Buono! 『雑草のうた』

So close to being excellent!  Ditch the individual close-ups with the black background because I think it hurts the integrity of the rest of it (just looks cheaper).  I would also get the girls dirty when they work on the cars.  It looks way to out of place, plus it would make the rock n' roll mood much better.  This also isn't a song that I would download.  Jeez, no one seems to be hitting the addiction button yet.

ももいろクローバー「ミライボウル」

Speak of the devil, I've been addicted to this single ever since I heard it.  I was even considering giving up my first press AKB48 single to purchase this one instead (still want to).  I know I give H!P crap about producing cheap PVs, but they incorporate a storyline which H!P hasn't been doing much lately.  The cheap background even looks better because of the cartoonish characters and comic shots.  This song is a catchy as unicorns!  If only Akari wasn't leaving (what is going to happen to all their raps!) Momoclo could overpower (easily) SKE48 as my second favorite idol group.  I am continually impressed by their singles and performances.  They remind me of SKE48 because of how genki they are.

HAPPINESS / Kiss Me

Happiness is another new, major idol group.  It seems they are all in middle school.  They were back-up dancers for (I believe) EXILE.  If you notice one gets most of the lines (like Nacchi back in the day).  For a major debut, it is quite good.  Nothing really blows me away or encourages me to follow them.  Good job.