Wanted to make sure I had a good deal of Junior related news to talk about for this one.
Kiriyama Akito has gotten a Tackey-bump as by recommendation of Takizawa Hideaki he will be co-starring with his senior in Tackey's upcoming NHK-BS Premium drama, Mayonaka no Panya-san. The drama will start airing in April of 2013 and will run for eight episodes.
JE News Daily (English)
I am so happy for Akito. He has been getting quite a few drama roles for a Kansai Junior and seems to be the "actor" of the group. And it is nice that this will be a national drama.
Not sure about how much attention it will get being on a premium channel and Tackey no longer being the big draw to dramas he once was but it is still a good opportunity for him and he will hopefully pick up some more fans with this.
~*
The Kansai Junior National Tour is actually national this time. Usually they just remain in the Kansai region but this time around they do have dates for other parts of the country. The Kansai Juniors listed for these concerts are B.A.D., 7WEST, Kin Kan, Naniwa Oji and Hamada Takahiro.
Concert places and dates:
4/14 Hiroshima
5/4 Sapporo
5/12 Ishikawa
5/19 Fukuoka
6/9 Nagoya
6/23 Miyagi
6/30 Tokushima
7/6 Tokyo
7/7 Tokyo
My personal hope is that this is another sign that B.A.D., 7WEST and Hamada may be edging closer to debuting, most likely in a created unit with them all. And Kin Kan and Naniwa Oji are being pushed so they can help fill the gap for the Kansai Juniors that will be created when those others debut.
~*
Kamenashi Kazuya has Juniors in his latest AOKI suits CM. The Juniors in the CM are Hagiya Keigo, Iwamoto Hikaru, Morita Myuto, Fukasawa Tatsuya and Abe Ryohei. The Official Home Page has images of the Juniors in their suits as well as the CM and a making of clip for it as well.
I am rather happy for the boys though I do not follow any of them that much. But with Snow Man more or less gone it is nice to see some of the guys from that group keep getting work. Myuto has been with Johnny's for so long it is nice seeing him get some breaks and I have liked Hagiya since Hip Hop Jump, not enough to really follow him but enough to feel happy when he gets a break like this.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Sexy Zone fans, Stay Calm
I know I have said I will not really follow Sexy Zone but I do like to keep my ear to the ground about information about all Johnny's groups so I still do get some news about them and their fandom. I just found the news about fans worried that Matsushima So and Yo Marius are getting taken out of the group to be with Sexy Boyz and felt like I was taken back to Hey! Say! JUMP fandom years ago when rumors that when you really think about it, made little sense.
This rumor came about from the fan club flyer that was sent out for the Spring Concert tour for the group. (pictured above) The older three members have their messages in circles with lines connecting them to the box with the group's name. So and Marius are in the bottom section above the messages from the Junior members of Sexy Boyz but if you look the logo for SB is overlaying SZ's, which should be an indication that these groups are connected, not that they are to be separated.
But think about it for a moment, does it make much sense for a new group that is still trying to establish a fanbase to take members out? Especially when Johnny's has never done this in the past? And why would they take Marius out of the group when he is the most distinctive member, as well as the one that has had the most acting work post debut? SZ are hardly selling well enough that it would make sense to take him and So out to make SB a new unit. And as I mentioned already, the SB logo is not standing out on its own but rather is shown connected to SZ which is the usual way to show that something is connected to something else, not separate from it.
I know some fans cite the fact that the younger two tend to disappear near the end of SC and have different outfits than the older three. The first is honestly just a legal issue with children working so close to their time limit and if you look all Juniors their age are also missing, which tends to include Morimoto Shintaro from Bakaleya6 as he is So's age. The costume thing is also a none issue as it is no worse than Kis-My-Ft2's difference in costumes from the front three and the back four. It is just something that happens with some groups. And honestly when you have members that are still growing, especially at the rate Marius is, I would not want to invest too much into outfits that will not fit anymore in a year's time if you are lucky.
So any SZ fan worried about this split please do not bother. If So and Marius start getting dropped from photo shoots with SZ in favor of SB or start not getting shown on covers with the other three then I would worry, but that is not happening. It makes little sense for Johnny's to do that and I would not expect it.
The only change worth noting from the flyer is that Iwahashi Genki seems to have been added to the SB roster again and Kuramoto Kaoru dropped. Though SB has never had all that steady of a roster so I cannot say I am all that surprised. Though I guess for Kaoru fans it is disappointing.
As someone that was a fan of HSJ from the beginning I know these groups with younger fanbases can be prone to rumors that do not make much sense when you really think about what it would mean if it happened. So I urge SZ fans to really think about a rumor when it comes out and see if it has ever happened before with a Johnny's group or if it would make sense if it actually happened. If the answer is no to both of those then it is a rumor with no basis and should be dropped not spread any further.
This rumor came about from the fan club flyer that was sent out for the Spring Concert tour for the group. (pictured above) The older three members have their messages in circles with lines connecting them to the box with the group's name. So and Marius are in the bottom section above the messages from the Junior members of Sexy Boyz but if you look the logo for SB is overlaying SZ's, which should be an indication that these groups are connected, not that they are to be separated.
But think about it for a moment, does it make much sense for a new group that is still trying to establish a fanbase to take members out? Especially when Johnny's has never done this in the past? And why would they take Marius out of the group when he is the most distinctive member, as well as the one that has had the most acting work post debut? SZ are hardly selling well enough that it would make sense to take him and So out to make SB a new unit. And as I mentioned already, the SB logo is not standing out on its own but rather is shown connected to SZ which is the usual way to show that something is connected to something else, not separate from it.
I know some fans cite the fact that the younger two tend to disappear near the end of SC and have different outfits than the older three. The first is honestly just a legal issue with children working so close to their time limit and if you look all Juniors their age are also missing, which tends to include Morimoto Shintaro from Bakaleya6 as he is So's age. The costume thing is also a none issue as it is no worse than Kis-My-Ft2's difference in costumes from the front three and the back four. It is just something that happens with some groups. And honestly when you have members that are still growing, especially at the rate Marius is, I would not want to invest too much into outfits that will not fit anymore in a year's time if you are lucky.
So any SZ fan worried about this split please do not bother. If So and Marius start getting dropped from photo shoots with SZ in favor of SB or start not getting shown on covers with the other three then I would worry, but that is not happening. It makes little sense for Johnny's to do that and I would not expect it.
The only change worth noting from the flyer is that Iwahashi Genki seems to have been added to the SB roster again and Kuramoto Kaoru dropped. Though SB has never had all that steady of a roster so I cannot say I am all that surprised. Though I guess for Kaoru fans it is disappointing.
As someone that was a fan of HSJ from the beginning I know these groups with younger fanbases can be prone to rumors that do not make much sense when you really think about what it would mean if it happened. So I urge SZ fans to really think about a rumor when it comes out and see if it has ever happened before with a Johnny's group or if it would make sense if it actually happened. If the answer is no to both of those then it is a rumor with no basis and should be dropped not spread any further.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
AKS Master Post 009
Even if the first season of AKB0048 is not legally streamed online U.S. fans do not have to worry, because it will be coming to home video with the second season sometime later this year. Sentai Films has announced that it has the license and will have it available digitally at first with the physical release of the series coming out later.
So if you live in the U.S. and want to legally support the girls and the show you will be able to.
Anime News Network article (English)
~*
We finally have track listings for NMB48's upcoming album, Teppen Tottande! that will be released February 27th.
Type N:
01. Teppen Tottande!
02. Zetsumetsu kurokami shoujo
03. Oh My God!
04. Junjou U-19
05. Nagiichi
06. Virginity
07. Kenji Kitagawa
08. HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
09. 12/31
10. Lily (Team N)
11. Jungle Gym (Yamamoto Sayaka)
12. Hoshokushatachi yo
13. NMB48
14. Seishun no Laptime
15. Boku wa Matteiru
Type M:
01. Teppen Tottande!
02. Zetsumetsu kurokami shoujo
03. Oh My God!
04. Junjou U-19
05. Nagiichi
06. Virginity
07. Kenji Kitagawa
08. HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
09. 12/31
10. With My Soul (Team M)
11. Waruki (Watanabe Miyuki)
12. Kesshou
13. Namekuji Heart (Kondo Rina, Shiroma Miru, Watanabe Miyuki, Yagura Fuuko, Yogi Keira, Ota Yuuri, Kushiro Rina, Yabushita Shu, Nishimura Aika)
14. NMB48
15. Seishun no Laptime
16. Boku wa Matteiru
Type B:
01. Teppen Tottande!
02. Zetsumetsu kurokami shoujo
03. Oh My God!
04. Junjou U-19
05. Nagiichi
06. Virginity
07. Kenji Kitagawa
08. HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
09. 12/31
10. Almond Croissont Keikuku (Team BII)
11. Mikazuki no Senaka
12. Fuyushougun no Regret
13. Dazai Osamu o Yonda ka? (Yamada Nana, Yamamoto Sayaka, Yokoyama Yui)
14. NMB48
15. Seishun no Laptime
16. Boku wa Matteiru
I am a bit disappointed that we have so many of their B-sides on the album. But it did finally help me make up my mind on which version to get, Type M as it has one of the concerts on the DVD and has the most songs that I do not already own.
So if you live in the U.S. and want to legally support the girls and the show you will be able to.
Anime News Network article (English)
~*
We finally have track listings for NMB48's upcoming album, Teppen Tottande! that will be released February 27th.
Type N:
01. Teppen Tottande!
02. Zetsumetsu kurokami shoujo
03. Oh My God!
04. Junjou U-19
05. Nagiichi
06. Virginity
07. Kenji Kitagawa
08. HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
09. 12/31
10. Lily (Team N)
11. Jungle Gym (Yamamoto Sayaka)
12. Hoshokushatachi yo
13. NMB48
14. Seishun no Laptime
15. Boku wa Matteiru
Type M:
01. Teppen Tottande!
02. Zetsumetsu kurokami shoujo
03. Oh My God!
04. Junjou U-19
05. Nagiichi
06. Virginity
07. Kenji Kitagawa
08. HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
09. 12/31
10. With My Soul (Team M)
11. Waruki (Watanabe Miyuki)
12. Kesshou
13. Namekuji Heart (Kondo Rina, Shiroma Miru, Watanabe Miyuki, Yagura Fuuko, Yogi Keira, Ota Yuuri, Kushiro Rina, Yabushita Shu, Nishimura Aika)
14. NMB48
15. Seishun no Laptime
16. Boku wa Matteiru
Type B:
01. Teppen Tottande!
02. Zetsumetsu kurokami shoujo
03. Oh My God!
04. Junjou U-19
05. Nagiichi
06. Virginity
07. Kenji Kitagawa
08. HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
09. 12/31
10. Almond Croissont Keikuku (Team BII)
11. Mikazuki no Senaka
12. Fuyushougun no Regret
13. Dazai Osamu o Yonda ka? (Yamada Nana, Yamamoto Sayaka, Yokoyama Yui)
14. NMB48
15. Seishun no Laptime
16. Boku wa Matteiru
I am a bit disappointed that we have so many of their B-sides on the album. But it did finally help me make up my mind on which version to get, Type M as it has one of the concerts on the DVD and has the most songs that I do not already own.
The Shounen Club 5 March 2006 review
For those who are following along regularly, no I did not skip a month or am missing any episodes. Instead we have two more "lost" episodes, as in episodes that were recorded but not aired. Or in this case not aired in full, as I shall go ahead and explain about.
So sometime in what had to have been early February the second underage drinking scandal hit NEWS. While in Kusano Hironori's case nothing was 100% proven, unlike with Uchi Hiroki's scandal, the fact that it was not even a year since that first scandal it was still seen a big thing. Especially since it was a member of one of the same groups Uchi was in. So Kusano was pulled out of NEWS (it is said he withdrew but I doubt he would have been allowed to stay even if he wanted to) the group was put on immediate suspension and it looks like we lost two episodes of Shounen Club as none aired that month.
On the flip side we get two March episodes, both recap episodes but it looks like they tried to salvage some things from those February episodes at least. From the footage it was yet another set of episodes hosted by NEWS, which is what made them unairable after the scandal. But since by then they were involving the Junior groups more anyway they had enough footage from the taping without Kusano in it to make this special episode.
This special is hosted by Yamashita Tomohisa and Yabu Kota. Probably the thing that stands out the most to me about them is that Yamapi's happy mood he had in the recent months is completely gone. Understandable with having lost another group members and his group being put on indefinite hiatus. This episode does have a theme, or what is likely what would have been the theme of at least one of the episodes that did not air, Ai (Love).
We have what looks like what was part of an opening medley as you can see at least two members of NEWS walk off stage with mic stands as J.J.Express launches into their performance of Love Me Baby. And you know it has to be new footage as Yamada Ryosuke is mixed in with the group, though still not listed as a member. If this had been aired before in another episode I know I would have remembered this.
The medley is not completely without NEWS members though as Koyama Keiichiro and Kato Shigeaki sing Yume Monotagari for a part of it, but you can tell there are some obvious cuts done between some of the songs to keep the screen Kusano free.
Between these clips we return to our host in front of a green screen, who both seem to lack much spirit in doing the job. Not that I feel like I can really blame them as Yamapi's future at this point would be rather up in the air and Yabu was probably just following his lead being the junior of the two.
We get a VTR segment with Tegoshi Yuya talking about the topic Yabu and Yamapi did, jounetsu no ai (passionate love). From what I have gotten from the episode it was most likely that one of the episodes was produced by Tegoshi which is why he gets this VTR segment that no one else does.
The reason I figure Tegoshi was an episode producer is simply because after the VTR he solos a medley of songs. It is interesting to see him getting this kind of push. It makes the creation of Tegomass as a unit seem like something rather natural than Johnny's just randomly deciding to create it.
I am going to skip the talk parts with Yabu and Yamapi unless there is something I am able to catch that I find interesting. Even though the two seem to eventually move into better moods for the most part they are pretty awkward for the most part.
Next clip is a performance from Ya-Ya-Yah, which is starting to look more and more like a duo of Yabu and Yaotome Hikaru with their back dancers Yamashita Shoon and Ayukawa Taiyo. That is once the other two finally show up around halfway through the song.
Next up is JJE covering the Tackey & Tsubasa song Venus. Well technically it is JJE plus Yamada. Looking at the full group I think I can understand why they decided to take Nakajima Yuto, Yamada and Morimoto Ryutaro out of the group to group them with other Juniors, as there is an obvious difference in looks, with those three looking younger than the rest of the group.
Then Toshin Yoshikazu & A.B.C. perform a medley of songs, of course their acrobatics being the most standout part of it. Though it is really looking like Toshin is a bit of dead weight as he really does not do the acrobatics.
We get parts of one of the game segments. This one is edited so we do not see all of it and probably the only reason they showed it was because it was another game segment that had most of the Junior groups onstage so it would be easy to hide Kusano in plain sight that way. The game has Yabu hit a button to pair a random Junior with one that was picked to do some kind of challenge. Like Nishikido Ryo and Toshin had to hula hoop together with the same hula hoop.
Masuda Takahisa and Yamashita Shoon were the other pair shown in the footage and the had to confess things about each other that they liked.
Then we have Question? performing their song Kanjite Miro. They are still only four members this month so I think I can assume that they have indeed lost their second guitarist and it should only be a matter of time for Igo Akun to join the group.
Yamada hits another milestone for his career as a fan letter is read that brings him up to say that they like him. So even though he has not had much screen time he is already gathering fans.
After this we see that a Junior ni Q segment was saved as it was hosted by Shige and Massu. The highlight of it was Yuto who talked about his younger brother in a doting matter, finding him cute.
Kis-My-Ft2 are shown performing Sennen no Love Song again, and again they are missing Miyata Toshiya from the group.
We get an idea of what the theme most likely was for the other episode filmed with a Nippon (Japan) song medley. Since no members of NEWS are in it i can only assume that the producer for that episode was probably one of the Juniors. Though there was not enough from other performances to try to figure out who it could have been.
We get another Yax3 performance, this time all four are present for the whole song, Just wanna lovin' you.
There is a Yamapi solo that we get to see as well. This could have been cut and I think nothing worth seeing/listening to would have been lost. The song, LET ME, is bad and it looked like Yamapi decided to borrow parts from one of Akanishi Jin's costumes for the performance.
The special ends with Yabu and Yamapi just doing the wrap up talk at the end of the program.
While I am glad that they decided to air parts of the episodes post-scandal this format does not lend itself well to flowing nearly as well or being as entertaining. Also because the game segments had to be mostly cut I feel we missed out some of the more entertaining parts of the program.
On the bright side Shounen Club has been unaffected by scandals since this one with Kusano so no more unaired episodes because of them.
All that is left for this season is a recap episode for KAT-TUN to go with their debut now.
So sometime in what had to have been early February the second underage drinking scandal hit NEWS. While in Kusano Hironori's case nothing was 100% proven, unlike with Uchi Hiroki's scandal, the fact that it was not even a year since that first scandal it was still seen a big thing. Especially since it was a member of one of the same groups Uchi was in. So Kusano was pulled out of NEWS (it is said he withdrew but I doubt he would have been allowed to stay even if he wanted to) the group was put on immediate suspension and it looks like we lost two episodes of Shounen Club as none aired that month.
On the flip side we get two March episodes, both recap episodes but it looks like they tried to salvage some things from those February episodes at least. From the footage it was yet another set of episodes hosted by NEWS, which is what made them unairable after the scandal. But since by then they were involving the Junior groups more anyway they had enough footage from the taping without Kusano in it to make this special episode.
While I am glad that they decided to air parts of the episodes post-scandal this format does not lend itself well to flowing nearly as well or being as entertaining. Also because the game segments had to be mostly cut I feel we missed out some of the more entertaining parts of the program.
On the bright side Shounen Club has been unaffected by scandals since this one with Kusano so no more unaired episodes because of them.
All that is left for this season is a recap episode for KAT-TUN to go with their debut now.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Other Idols Master Post 005
Great news for Love La Doll fans, the group will be releasing their debut album next month of February 6th. The title of the album is lovedes, and unfortunately there seems to be no more information out about it. It is up for pre-order on CDJapan though.
I can only assume that this is being timed for the group's first oneman concert later in February. It makes sense as you do need about an album's worth of songs to be able to do a full solo concert unless you do a lot of covers.
They also did a massive overhaul of their OHP so not only does it look much nicer but it has more information that is easier to find.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
AKS Master Post 008
Been a while since I did one of these so it is about time for one of these.
Crunchyroll has announced that they will be streaming the second season of AKB0048, the anime series based off of the idol group.
No word if they will also be putting up the first season of the anime series as well.
Anime News Network (English)
I have watched the first season of this, which I enjoyed for what it was. I am rather happy with the idea I have a legal way to watch this now and I hope that they get the rights for the first season as well at some point.
~*
NMB48 has a title for their upcoming album, Teppen Tottande! We also have some information about what to expect on the different versions.
Type N: NMB48 Kinki Concert Tour ~Mina-san, Chapuchapu Shimasho, 2012/08/21 Osaka Prefecture, Orix Theater footage
Type M: Osaka Juuban Shoubu Tour, (more than 60mins footage)
Type B: HA! Full PV
Confirmed songs for the track list (all types):
Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo
Oh My God!
Junjou U-19
Nagiichi
Virginity
Kitagawa Kenji
Seishun no Lap Time
NMB48
HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
Boku wa Matteiru
There is also to be seven new songs. Two of those songs are going to be exclusive to Type M and B versions, with one each being on a version and having a PV to go with them.
I now do not which version I want to get. The DVD extras for Type N and M look so worth it being concert footage. I think I will have to wait and see what the original songs are, like if there are any solos, duets, or smaller groupings with girls I am a fan of in them.
I do love that we will be getting NMB48 on a CD finally. I have loved the song since first hearing it performed and have been hoping for a CD release for it since. And I like that HA! will be on the album as well, as I really do not want to get Eien Pressure just for the one song and now I do not have to.
Crunchyroll has announced that they will be streaming the second season of AKB0048, the anime series based off of the idol group.
No word if they will also be putting up the first season of the anime series as well.
Anime News Network (English)
I have watched the first season of this, which I enjoyed for what it was. I am rather happy with the idea I have a legal way to watch this now and I hope that they get the rights for the first season as well at some point.
~*
NMB48 has a title for their upcoming album, Teppen Tottande! We also have some information about what to expect on the different versions.
Type N: NMB48 Kinki Concert Tour ~Mina-san, Chapuchapu Shimasho, 2012/08/21 Osaka Prefecture, Orix Theater footage
Type M: Osaka Juuban Shoubu Tour, (more than 60mins footage)
Type B: HA! Full PV
Confirmed songs for the track list (all types):
Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo
Oh My God!
Junjou U-19
Nagiichi
Virginity
Kitagawa Kenji
Seishun no Lap Time
NMB48
HA! (NMB48 Ver.)
Boku wa Matteiru
There is also to be seven new songs. Two of those songs are going to be exclusive to Type M and B versions, with one each being on a version and having a PV to go with them.
I now do not which version I want to get. The DVD extras for Type N and M look so worth it being concert footage. I think I will have to wait and see what the original songs are, like if there are any solos, duets, or smaller groupings with girls I am a fan of in them.
I do love that we will be getting NMB48 on a CD finally. I have loved the song since first hearing it performed and have been hoping for a CD release for it since. And I like that HA! will be on the album as well, as I really do not want to get Eien Pressure just for the one song and now I do not have to.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Other Idols Master Post 004
As things seem to have quieted down with the holidays I figured it was time to see about doing some of these master posts to do some catch up with news for these various groupings.
Love La Doll will be having their first oneman live on February 23rd, 2013. It will be held at TwinBox Akihabara which holds up to 200 people.
Concert OHP (Japanese)
They also have opened up an online store for fans in Japan to order some goods from. So far they have a muffler towel and a Happi Set (a Happi coat with their most recent single) up for sale. It also looks like fans can buy tickets through this site as well.
Online Store (Japanese)
Really happy for both pieces of news. The opening of the online store is just another step towards the group becoming more established. The concert does this as well but also is proof that the group is doing well.
If the indie idol concerts are anything like the indie visual kei concerts I went to when I was in Japan then for the ones that had more than one group there you would be asked to say which group you came for. This for vk bands would be the difference between making or losing money as they would have to pledge that they could get a certain number of fans in the venue and if less than that amount showed they would have to pay for the number of fans that did not come. I would not be surprised if indie idols was something of the same, with of course their management being the ones to decide on the numbers. But what it is useful for is that if a group gets strong showings then it can indicate that they could do a oneman concert, which is a concert that only has the one act. If that is the case than I am really happy and proud of Love La Doll to have reached that level in less than a year since debut.
And while a 200 capacity venue is small there are smaller venues and if they can sell out one this size it will still mean really good things for the group.
~*
There is a short version of the PV for the title track of the DANCE EARTH PARTY debut single, Inochi no Rhythm.
I like the song, even though there is nothing that screams unique about it. But Crystal Kay sounds great and I love this kind of song so I have little doubt that I will not love the full version of it.
~*
While not an idol I figure this is a good a place to talk about one of my favorite all time J-pop artist, Utada Hikaru. With her recent release of the digital only song Sakura Nagashi, which is the theme song for the third Neon Genesis Evagelion movie and first song she has released since she went on hiatus, she had past the 36 million mark for digital downloads.
Music Japan Plus (English)
As a long term fan, she won me over with her debut album back int 1999, I cannot help but feel really happy for Hikki. Especially since for an artist that has been around as long as she has she really has not released much with only six studio albums released in Japan to count towards this.
I doubt that she is going to return anytime soon from her hiatus though. I hope that perhaps she might next year when it is her 15th debut anniversary year. But even then I feel I should not press my luck like that. Hikki has always been more of a my pace kind of artist and if you have been a fan of hers for a long time you know that patience is key.
Love La Doll will be having their first oneman live on February 23rd, 2013. It will be held at TwinBox Akihabara which holds up to 200 people.
Concert OHP (Japanese)
They also have opened up an online store for fans in Japan to order some goods from. So far they have a muffler towel and a Happi Set (a Happi coat with their most recent single) up for sale. It also looks like fans can buy tickets through this site as well.
Online Store (Japanese)
Really happy for both pieces of news. The opening of the online store is just another step towards the group becoming more established. The concert does this as well but also is proof that the group is doing well.
If the indie idol concerts are anything like the indie visual kei concerts I went to when I was in Japan then for the ones that had more than one group there you would be asked to say which group you came for. This for vk bands would be the difference between making or losing money as they would have to pledge that they could get a certain number of fans in the venue and if less than that amount showed they would have to pay for the number of fans that did not come. I would not be surprised if indie idols was something of the same, with of course their management being the ones to decide on the numbers. But what it is useful for is that if a group gets strong showings then it can indicate that they could do a oneman concert, which is a concert that only has the one act. If that is the case than I am really happy and proud of Love La Doll to have reached that level in less than a year since debut.
And while a 200 capacity venue is small there are smaller venues and if they can sell out one this size it will still mean really good things for the group.
~*
There is a short version of the PV for the title track of the DANCE EARTH PARTY debut single, Inochi no Rhythm.
I like the song, even though there is nothing that screams unique about it. But Crystal Kay sounds great and I love this kind of song so I have little doubt that I will not love the full version of it.
~*
While not an idol I figure this is a good a place to talk about one of my favorite all time J-pop artist, Utada Hikaru. With her recent release of the digital only song Sakura Nagashi, which is the theme song for the third Neon Genesis Evagelion movie and first song she has released since she went on hiatus, she had past the 36 million mark for digital downloads.
Music Japan Plus (English)
As a long term fan, she won me over with her debut album back int 1999, I cannot help but feel really happy for Hikki. Especially since for an artist that has been around as long as she has she really has not released much with only six studio albums released in Japan to count towards this.
I doubt that she is going to return anytime soon from her hiatus though. I hope that perhaps she might next year when it is her 15th debut anniversary year. But even then I feel I should not press my luck like that. Hikki has always been more of a my pace kind of artist and if you have been a fan of hers for a long time you know that patience is key.
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