MONTHLY MUSIC RECAP! #2

Hello cuties! 
In my last post I said this would be up in a few hours, But I feel asleep
Sorry about that! 
As promised, here is the latest music recap (May Edition) 
A lot of this will be news that's already been announced a while ago, so look out for this huge post haha
I won't blabber any longer, lets get straight to it! 

JPOP UPDATE 

Hello!Project! 

Morning Musume'14 land a CM deal with Kagome Vegetable Juice "Yasai Ichi-nichi Kore Ippon"

The CM deal will give the fans a chance to win collectible mini musume figures to put onto their cups. All you have to do is buy the drink, peel of the label of the Morning Musume ’14 Kagome no Yasai Ichinichi Kore Ippon vegetable drink and scan in the QR-code, which will put you in the running to win these figurines here; 

Another CM DEAL?! This is great news for the group. They're being recognized nationally now. This will increase the amount of Morning Musume poster's up on the streets of japan (while they're not promoting their own single) so it will definitely increase the amount of popularity the group has outside of the idol world.  I'm super proud of them. Keep going my friends!~

    

Morning Musume's Michishige Sayumi to Graduate from the group

This was announced about a few weeks ago during Morning Musume's spring tour. Here is what Sayumi had to say about it. 

I, Michishige Sayumi, will be graduating from Morning Musume on the final day of Morning Musume ’14′s 2014 Autumn concert tour.

I have said roughly two years ago when I was appointed leader that I would “pay my debt of gratitude to Morning Musume”.

During it all, it has not been by my efforts alone that we were able to achieve 5 consecutive Number 1s, but through all our various activities, little by little, I feel that perhaps I was able to pay off the favor.

Therefore, after consulting with Tsunku-san and the company, it was decided the graduation will take place in this year’s concert tour.

Nevertheless, there is still time left, I still have things I want to teach and to show my juniors. I would still like to create precious memories with all the fans as well.

And now, from here on is when I truly pay back the favor. I would like to graduate from Morning Musume in its best form, as I pass the baton over to the next generation.

Best regards until Autumn.

April 29, 2014

Morning Musume ’14 leader

Michishige Sayumi

Well, I can't say I was shocked because I saw her making an announcement sometime this year, just not so soon! Either way, these past 11 years with Sayu have been great, so I will support her through these last few months of her being in MM'14 and will continue to show that support after she leaves. Sayumi, Omedetou!

    

Berryz Kobou release new PV for their 35th single "Ai wa Itsumo Kimi no Naka ni / Futsuu, Idol 10nen Yatterannai Desho!?" (MINI REVIEW) 

   

Ai wa Itsumo Kimi no Naka ni

Okay, lets start with the first video. I was quiet surprised with this release. After the weird diet country song, I didn't think I could bring myself to listen to another repetitive Berryz song (The song really messed me up, I sung it everywhere I went lol). This song has a really powerful structure, and the PV shows it well. It's the usual Hello!Pro MV, a random background and the girls dancing with a hint of affects, and in this case the shadows in the background. The outfits are my favorite thing about the PV. The black leather type of look makes it look more powerful, well done stylist for making them look awesome, I see you've improved very well.

The choreography was quite stiff in my opinion. I know they aren't the best at being in sync, but they could try? The chorus just didn't cut it for me. The sloppy yet stiff movements made it look like the girls were dancing with people they don't know, instead of making them look like a group performing, and the awkward bouncing didn't help either (H!P need to stop that bouncing thing). The dance break  impressed me a little, because it made it look like suddenly the group knew how to not dance so stiffly with no motivation, and actually tried to dance as a team, and It worked. I did however like the beginning and end sequence when they dance to the repetitive song. 

The song is great, I feel like it has this "we are strong and independent" vibe to it, and the repetitiveness tries to stick that into your head. The only problem I had with the song was the lyrics. It talks about love, yet the MV doesn't represent that. It's like they're aggressively singing about how love never makes love about love. The lyrics for me are the only problem, but the song overall was great. And I love repetitive songs so it's a plus. 

- Song 8/10 - Choreography 6/10 - PV 7/10 - 

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Futsuu, Idol 10nen Yatterannai Desho!?

Okay, this one I like a lot. The song basically talks about how many idol groups don't last over 3-5 years, so they feel proud that they've lasted longer than 10 years and talk about no matter how hard it gets, they'll never regret being an Idol. The PV starts by showing photo's of the group from debut till now, which I thought was really cool. They then show the members in gorgeous outfits that make all of them shine (Again, well done stylists, you're killing it!). The set has a bunch of cute photo's of the members through the years which adds a nice affect to the song. 

I like the choreography to this song too. They actually look like a group with chemistry. They use the dance to represent parts of their idol life, and how they'll continue to fight in the idol world that they love. Although i didn't like the Dance break, the rest of the choreography made up for it. 

The song itself is what I'm skeptical about. I love the song, but the rodeo type country horse sounds that keep showing up throughout the song irritate me. I don't know why they put that there, maybe because this is the year of the Horse? I don't know, but it annoyed me a lot. 
The rest of the song makes up for that though, I love the way it was produced, and I love the lyrics of the song. It speaks out to all the fan, talking about how idols feel while in the idol business during rough or happy times. 

I just want to congratulate Berryz on having such a long tenure. As the song says, Idols can't usually go on for 10 years, right!? So it's surprising that they have done so. Although they're aren't always on the top of their game, they work and keep focused throughout. I hope someday they will be able to be recognized as something more than Idols.  

- Song 8/10 - Choreography 8/10 - PV 7/10 - 

    

Hello!Project celebrate MM'14 member Sayashi Riho and KKS Sasaki Rikako's birthday! 

They had their birthday's on the same day and celebrated together on the 28th May/ Congratulations Riho and Rikako for turning 16 and 13! I wish you the best for the rest of this year. Let's hope Rikako can join Morning Musume with the new auditions and that Riho can pull the group forward with her 'ace' status. 

48 GROUPS

NMB48 to release new summer single, the 10th single "IBIZA GIRL"

This single is set to release on the 25th June with 4 types (A, B, C, and Theater Edition) and the general handshake tickets. It's speculated to be a mixture of Bokura no Eureka and Sayonara Crawl but with a party type of Ibiza island twist. Sounds interesting aha. They will have a 22nin senbatsu, the first senbatsu for any sister group that has been over 16 members. The members and their rank is as shows on this photo.

Team N (8): Yamamoto Sayaka, Yoshida Akari, Jonishi Kei, Kotani Riho, Katou Yuuka, Ota Yuri, Kashiwagi Yuki (B ), Murashige Anna (KIV)

Team M (7): Murase Sae, Yamada Nana, Yagura Fuuko, Takano Yui, Tanigawa Airi, Shiroma Miru, Fujie Reina

Team BII (7): Watanabe Miyuki, Shibuya Nagisa, Yabushita Shu, Kadowaki Kanako, Umeda Ayaka, Ichikawa Miori, Takayanagi Akane (KII)

 I have high hopes for this song, I feel like this will be the single that makes NMB break through as the sister group that shouldn't be taken for granted. Let's go, NAMBA 48! 

    

AKB48 members Kawaei Rina and Iriyamma Anna slashed at handskae event 

The girls were attacked during their handshake event by a unknown man (he was neither a fan or a AKB anti) with a dagger-like-saw which was about 50 inches. He cut Kawaei and Annin on their head and hand, giving them fractures on the thumb and pinky, and also hurt a staff member who tried to protect the girls. Girls are now safe after getting surgery done for about 3 hours and are recovering in Tokyo while taking a break of their schedule. 

The members and fans have expressed their distress and fear, and sent messages of encouragement to the girls, wishing them a speedy recovery. The incident is the most talked about news in Japan right now, as everyone is shocked about how this could have even happened. Management have since made a change to their security, adding metal detectors, pat down security, and guards for the members during their handshakes and stage performances. We don't know how long those will be up for, but it's a start, and I hope management will continue to keep our girls safe! 

    

HTK48's Sashihara Rino's 1st place Election Portrait unveiled! 

Do I have to comment? 

Honestly, I've never liked these portraits, and this one did not help that dislike fade away. I feel like the more portraits they create, the more they make Maeda's portrait look better! /queue criticism/ Although I've taken fine art for 3 years, I'm no artist, but even I can tell that the portrait of Sasshi made her face look too big? And the nose just doesn't look like her nose at all. I do however like the emphasis on her eyes and lips because to me, that's her face's strong point. It's not the best portrait by far, but at least it beats Yuko's portrait (It still scares me till this day).  

OTHER ARTISTS

SHINee to release new single "Lucky Star" + Short PV

The release is a simple summer song that showcases the boys camping and running and dancing and doing what teens and young adults should do during the summer season. Set to release on the 25th June (wow look at that it happened again, release clash alert!)

SHINee's BACK! 
The video is filled with quirky-ness from each member, and we get to see a ton of colour, which is great, and wacky patterns on their clothing with bright colours that bring out the characters of SHINee the most. I'm glad they kept their fashion sense haha
It's so good to see Minho getting more lines, he's voice is really soft and happy, and SHINee need more of that. All their voice blend really well together and their dancing is top notch, although a lot simpler than their other songs, but still awesome as expected from them. I have nothing but praise for them, so I won't say much more.

Oh how I love my 5 shinning boys. They have grown up so much these past 6 years (BTW, did anyone else enjoy celebrating SHINee's 6th anniversary on the 25th May? I sure did). It's amazing to see how far they've come in the Japanese Music Industry. I can see them becoming big names there someday like their fellow label mates DBSK were. SHINee! Let's do well with this single, ne? 

- Song 8/10 - Choreography 7/10 - PV 10/10 - 

    

AAA to release new (old) single "Wake Up" - Tie in with One Piece Opening

The single will have 4 editions to buy, both CD only have the same content and both DVD versions have the same content but there is AAA Jacket ver and One Piece! Jacket ver of the CD's. AAA Versions come with 1 of 8 trading cards (1 of each member + Group photo).
The single is set to release on the 2nd July this year.

  

   

Now, I don't think there is anyone on this planet who is more exited for this single than me.
 It's been so long since we've had a single from them (well one that we could obtain, thanks "Showtime"), Summer singles are my favorite thing about Japanese singles because they really put the summer into their songs. Having it tied with a popular Anime like One Piece can bring nothing but more fans to AAA so that's a plus, we may see a surge in sales too? I can hope! 

KPOP UPDATE

EXO Madness- Kris leaving the group, EXO's 1st Concert, and Instagram shenanigans.

I'm sure that we've all heard of the news that Kris has left EXO. Although it's a sad thing to see happen, I did expect it somewhat. Seeing Kris not looking happy the last few months, I always knew that something was bugging him but he kept quiet. I did hope that he would eventually loosen up and show a smile more often, but it's a real shame that its rolled the other way instead. I can't say much about the situation because no one knows what he's gone through, so it's different to the situation with JYJ or Hangeng. I won't judge him on his actions, but I'll support him in whatever way I can and hope that he stays in the music industry, because he has true musical talents that have yet to be seen. 

EXO on the other hand has been working harder than ever (with the departure of Kris being more a weight on them) for their concert, and they did a fantastic performance of it. Many celebrities came to the concert. SHINee, SUJU, Jo Kwon, Vixx, and more. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Suho spoke a little about Kris and their concert.

“Honestly, when we first heard the news [about Kris' departure] we were extremely flustered," explained member Chanyeol. "But our biggest concern was about putting on a high-quality, perfect performance for our fans. We united as a whole and used that energy to put in extensive hours of practice and rehearsals to make a perfect performance."

Baekhyun added, "We want to take this time to thank our staff members who made it possible for us to make this show happen. I am proud of our members for coming together as one."

EXO leader Suho added details about the live affair. "The concept of this show is about us from being EXO planet," he explained. "We wanted to create something that you would not experience on Earth."

I respect the boys for working so hard, but I do wish they would take a break from it all after a while. I hope that after the concert, they all took a nice long bubble bath, then chilled in their dorm with pizza and movies (guys can do that too, right?) 

Fans of Soloist Ailee, T-ARA's Hyomin and SNSD's Yoona celebrate the girls' birthday's

Fans took to twitter, tumblr and instagram to wish their girls a happy birthday. They posted their thoughtful birthday wishes so that hashtags "#HappyHyominDay", "#윤아야생일축하해 (Happy birthday, YoonA)",  "Happy birthday Im Yoona" and "Happy Birthday Ailee" are trending worldwide on all the major SNS's!

Yoona also posted a photo of her with her fellow members celebrating the occasion. 

Seohyun showed her congratulations for Yoona on twitter by tweeting "Today is YoonA's birthday. I'm happy I stuck to YoonA's side all day on her birthday. You have no idea how nice it is to celebrate every year like this. Sorry to the three unnies who were not in the picture with us because of rehearsals.  Photo by Tiffany" 

I wish the girls a very happy birthday! 

ZE:A release MV teaser for their comeback "Breathe" 

The title track among the 5 included on the upcoming mini album 'First Homme' is "Breathe". 

The boys will be returning with a more charismatic look , so get ready to fall in a pit of lust as you fangirl/boy to this awesome group. 

I don't know about you guys, but this looks really promising! The song sounds like the type that I would replay for weeks on repeat. and they all look amazing. I do hope the boys will be able to win a music award with this release, I was really disappointed when they missed the awards by only a few points when promoting "Ghost in the Wind". Please support them, they're really awesome! 

Release date: June 2 

AND THAT'S IT! 

This one was a lot longer than usual, It got me worrying about next month since it's the summer season, with all the big events that will take place, I think I'll change this from a monthly recap to a weekly recap or a  "whenever I can" recap haha. If you liked this, please comment or send me a message via Twitter or Google+. I would love to chat with all of you. 

I should be posting fashion updates soon, so look out for that haaha, 

Until then, it's been