10.28.07
Kimi to Itsumademo, Maki.
“Bye bye.”
~Maki Goto
Gomaki is leaving Hello!Project and going to another label. She’s had no official graduation. I came home from a trip this weekend, only to find this out.
I keep hearing that her brother and his scandal had something to do with it, but I don’t really see how that fits in, as I thought this was previously planned.
I’m kind of happy that Maki will be getting out of H!P (and hopefully UFA), because she didn’t fit anymore (sexy instead of cute) and (with all due respect to every Hello!Project member) has so much more talent than she is credited for. Maybe she’ll go to Avex (or another good label). It would be great if she could be as popular as Ayumi Hamasaki, Otsuka Ai, Koda Kumi, etc. Plus, the quality of her songs may improve (not that they were terrible before, but they could be better…).
But I was looking forward so much to her upcoming single. And I really think it’s going to hurt Hello!Project. Look at what they’ve already done:
- They got rid of Miki, so there’s no more GAM.
- They got rid of Kago and Nonbon, so W is in the past.
- Kaorin’s gone, but she wasn’t really active anyways.
- What the hell is Yossie doing? I thought she was going to get a solo career!
- Hello…Kei, where are you?
- Oops, Nacchi’s suspended again!
- Is Marippe EVER going to do things other than MC and Uta Doki?
- And now Maki Goto, one of the best and most popular Hello!Project solo artists, is gone. T_T
I have no idea what is going to happen, but I don’t think it’s going to be good. What’s next, no ninth generation for Momusu? I hope not.
Ganbatte, Gocchin.
Source:
http://www.hello-online.org/index.php?act=helloonline&CODE=news&topic=145#spot
10.20.07
Happy Birthday, Risa!
Today was Risa Niigaki’s 19th birthday.
Happy birthday, Gaki-san! (^_^)v
10.16.07
Well…maybe…
C-ute never really appealed to me. Well, what I heard never caught on, anyways. I downloaded their 2 Mini~Ikiru to Iu Chikara~ mini album and Meguru Koi no Kisetsu in August, because I had heard so much about them, and wanted to find out if they were all they had been cracked up to be.
I didn’t like the 2 Mini album. Except Tsuugaku Vector.
That’s The Power! came across as annoying and boring. It seemed upbeat, yet monotone. Disco Queen got on my nerves very easily with those lyrics… Disco, disco, d-d-d-disco…. Bokura no Kagayaki sounded like some copy of Biyuuden’s Koisuru Angel Heart. Little did I know, Bokura no Kagayaki came out before Koisuru Angel Heart. And although Yajima Maimi’s voice was very nice (reminds me of Kumai Yurina…), I didn’t like Natsu DOKI Lipstick, either.
As you can see, 2 Mini didn’t leave me with a good impression. And Meguru Koi no Kisetsu was a nightmare! Talk about a huge mess of noises! I listened to it and just hated it. I also disliked Umeda Erika. She didn’t seem cute, so how could she be in a group called C-ute? Quite hypocritical of me, actually, being such a big Kei fan. (Kei was called ugly (I disagree), and I was calling Erika ugly even though she’s not)
And recently, Tokaikko Junjou came out.
Oh my gosh.
This. Song. Is. Awesome!
But wait…it’s a C-ute song. Why does Tsunku decide to write them a good song all of a sudden? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that I now like C-ute. I’ve been keeping Tokaikko Junjou on repeat, downloading their indie singles and full album, and even listening — and liking — 2 Mini.
So the lesson, kids? Don’t judge groups on one song. Or one mini album. =P
iHello
Not sure if you guys have heard yet, but there was an update in the J-Pop section of iTunes.
Now, you can find Maki Goto’s 3rd Station and How to use SEXY albums, Aya Matsuura’s First Kiss, T.W.O., X3, Egao, and Double Rainbow (Suna wo Kamu You Ni…NAMIDA was there before), as well as a song selection by Tsukushima Kirari starring Kusumi Koharu (Morning Musume.)
Also there from before is Morning Musume Tanjou 10 Nen Kinentai’s “Itoshiki Tomo he” and GAM’s “Thanks!”
10.12.07
I love…
I found a little thing on Hello!Online. It’s a ranking test for who your favorite Momusu members are (but you can limit it to the current members, or include the other groups). I included all-time Musume only (9人 is the current lineup only, past (except Sayaka, Asuka, Aya Ishiguro) and current members is 22人, non-kids is 35人, and all is 51人) . Here’s my list:
| 1 | 吉澤ひとみ |
| 2 | 小川麻琴 |
| 3 | 後藤真希 |
| 4 | 亀井絵里 |
| 5 | 保田圭 |
| 6 | ジュンジュン |
| 7 | 新垣里沙 |
| 8 | リンリン |
| 9 | 田中れいな |
| 10 | 辻希美 |
| 11 | 中澤裕子 |
| 12 | 紺野あさ美 |
| 13 | 矢口真里 |
| 14 | 飯田圭織 |
| 15 | 加護亜依 |
| 16 | 石川梨華 |
| 17 | 高橋愛 |
| 18 | 安倍なつみ |
| 19 | 道重さゆみ |
| 20 | 藤本美貴 |
| 21 | 光井愛佳 |
| 22 | 久住小春 |
If you can’t read Japanese, it translates to:
Yoshizawa Hitomi
Ogawa Makoto
Goto Maki
Kamei Eri
Yasuda Kei
Junjun
Niigaki Risa
Linlin
Tanaka Reina
Tsuji Nozomi
Nakazawa Yuko
Konno Asami
Yaguchi Mari
Iida Kaori
Kago Ai
Ishikawa Rika
Takahashi Ai
Abe Natsumi
Michishige Sayumi
Fujimoto Miki
Mitsui Aika
Kusumi Koharu
I knew that Yossie and Makochan would be the top two, and Maki, Eri, and Kei wouldn’t be far away. I also expected Sayumi, Miki, Kusumi, and Aika to be at the end. But I’m a bit surprised that Kaorin was ahead of Aibon, and also that Reina wound up where she did (I thought she’d be higher).
You can take the quiz for yourself at the following link, and if you don’t mind, post the results! =D
http://marineturtle.hp.infoseek.co.jp/script/simple/mergesort.html
10.08.07
Grr.
Aah! Stupid Aika and Koharu have to ruin everything!
I was watching this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0L1vAv7cSE). It started out very nice, with Junjun and Linlin (I like those two very much, I think they’re awesome) singing. But then, Aika and Koharu have to come on the stage! We already heard stupid Koharu sing “Furusato” once, why twice? She can’t hit the high notes anyways. And Aika’s stupid all the time. Her smile kills kittens. xD
The song improved toward the end, but it would have been better if it was just the pandas. No Kusumi. No Mitsui.
…LINLIN LOVE!
Why, oh why?
Just wondering: Why is it, exactly, that Hello!Project is frowned upon in Japan? Sure, there are crazy wota, but that’s no reason to not like it….
I’ve heard stories. You go to a music store [in Japan], and ask the guy behind the counter for some Morning Musume, Maki Goto, etc., and he/she will give you a funny look. Why?
Alright, maybe Tsunku’s done a poor job of picking some members *cough*KoharuSayumiAika*cough*. But we still have Aichan! And Risa! And Eri! And Junjun and Linlin have beautiful voices.
Sales have slumped terribly. Abe Natsumi’s last single (Too Far Away ~Onna no Kokoro) sold 11,817 copies. Or, even worse, Gomaki’s last single sold 14,861 copies (keep in mind that she’s always been more popular than Nacchi), and How to use SEXY sold 14,025 copies.
This couldn’t be happening! Everyone loves Natsumi and Maki! Maki’s first album sold about 104 thousand!
The worst part of it all is Momusu’s sales. “Onna ni Sachi Are” sold only 50, 812 copies. That’s such a slump from “LOVE Machine,” or even more recent ones, such as “Iroppoi Jirettai.” 31,819 copies of SEXY 8 BEAT were sold, only slightly better than the 29,645 copies of “7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!”
As for Aya Matsuura… I’M SICK OF FREAKING AYA BALLADS. “Egao” sold 13,286 copies. I can see why.
I understand that Aya’s in her early twenties now, and can’t be dancing with Momoiro puppets. But other artists who are Aya’s age, or older (outside of H!P, of course) sell wonderfully. BoA, for instance, is only a bit younger, and her last single made it to #3 on the Oricon charts.
But then, BoA can go outside and not be chased by wota. Fans, but not wota.
This may not be quite relevant, as she was never a big soloist, but Yuko’s last single, “Urara,” sold slightly under 4,000 copies. I liked Urara! It was pretty, but not boring.
And poor Maeda Yuki — her last single, “Ai Ai Daiko,” didn’t even sell 1000 copies. Just 720. *sobs* (Maybe it’s not rational to compare her to the other soloists, as she’s enka, but still…)
Berryz single sales, on a more positive note, have increased since their debut.
Sorry if most of that made no sense. I just had to let it out.
