(Thank you for this, Misa. I’ve been inspired to write, and write about something J-Pop related too!)

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They’re so cute and pretty. They release fun, happy music. How could anyone not like idols anymore, I wondered. Morning Musume had plenty of fans in their earlier days. What went wrong?

I could always go on and rant about how the vocal quality has become sub-par, or how the overall quality of the music was better 2003 and earlier. But there’s something else I want to talk about. Something that really bothers me about the idol industry.

Now, you know what to do when we hear the secret word! Scream! That’s right! And today’s secret word is…

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The following is a whole bunch of thoughts. Or just random things that I wanted to mention. XD Some are serious, some are silly. Some are Hello!Project related, others are not. The links don’t always appear blue for some reason, so hover your mouse a bit. Have fun.

(636 words and 32 categories, 8 of which I’ll probably never use again! WOO!)

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Not only did I just notice the resemblance as a whole but…
Yossy’s hat = Audrey’s hat? NO WAY. Favorite MM member’s hat = Second favorite actress’ hat? Really?

Really. Yes way. =D

Edit: So I’m watching the new 9nine PV, and look who’s on this member’s (sorry, I don’t know their names yet) top.

HEY IT’S AUDREY HEPBURN AGAIN! ^_^

A quick run down of Morning Musume’s top ten vocalists follows, one being best.

10. Miki Fujimoto
9. Sayaka Ichii
8. Maki Goto
7. Yuko Nakazawa
6. Iida Kaori
5. Mari Yaguchi
4. Aya Ishiguro
3. Kei Yasuda
2. Natsumi Abe
1. Asuka Fukuda

~

If you haven’t noticed by now, I’ll point out that every person on that list (except Miki) is from early Morning Musume. There’s something about the early days of Momusu that just can’t be replaced, ever, no matter how cute your Reina and your Sayumi are. It’s the quality of the vocals. The first generation, without a doubt, was the strongest vocals Morning Musume ever had, and second is not far behind them. In 1997-98, it seemed that vocal quality was what was considered when members were chosen, not how cute they are, what kind of personality they had, or how many photobooks they could sell. And isn’t that what really matters? Argue all you want, but singing is what these girls’ initial purpose was, and still is. Sure. Now, they sell DVDs, photobooks, and whatever else is in the Hello Project official store on any given day, but back then it was all about the CDs. And you know, that’s still what their purpose is now, too.

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IF YOU ARE A MIYABI FAN, DON’T READ THIS. Instead, pay attention to this collage of kawaii overload which contains bunnies, puppies, bears, Hello!Project Eggs, Berries, C-ute, Morning Musume, classic film stars (the ones shown ARE kawaii, well, just in the pictures used, so not really…la la la… if you’re bothered by it look at the snowy owl), a duck with a lamb, kirigumi, Kamenashi Kazuya, Curious George, and yes, a snowy owl. Click to see the full picture.

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After reading the “My Journey” series at Renai Project (which was very well written, might I add ), I decided that I would like to write of my own “Journey”.

Morning Musume and Hello!Project…means a lot to me. Not only is it my favorite music, it’s a source of happiness, it’s something to cheer me up, and it’s an obsession. Go ahead, call me wota. XD

How did I get to this point? What did I love before Morning Musume?

It all started when I was little…

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Isn’t one of the greatest features of a person their smile? There are a lot of lovely smiles in Hello!Project. At the same time, there are some that are…not so nice. Today, I’m going to write about the best (and worst) smiles in Hello!Project. Don’t worry, there are more good than bad!

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They have cookies! And lots of lines! And screen time! And white outfits instead of just black!

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In 1997, a man named Teruda Mitsudo (a.k.a. Tsunku) and his buddies from the band Sharam Q held an audition. This audition was a search for a new female vocalist. In the final round of the audition, which was shown on Japanese television program ASAYAN, there were six people. Only one won.

Who would have known that the five losers would be more popular than the winner, Heike Michiyo?

What would happen if Michiyo turned out to be a bigger hit than the other five (now known as Morning Musume)? How many singles would she sell? What would her music style evolve to? Would she release photobooks? Would she have mostly 30-40 year old male wotas for fans, or mainly 15-25 year old women? Would she even be an idol? How many generations would Morning Musume get, and what would Hello!Project be, if it existed? All that, and more…

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