| A Minimoni revival |
[Jun. 8th, 2009|04:53 pm] |
Apparently Tsunku announced last week that he will be reviving Minimoni, complete with...none of the original members.
Instead, the new Minimoni will be led by Linlin (one of the Chinese "exchange" singers in Morning Musume), and the other three members are rumored to be Eggs, with Fukuda Kanon confirmed to be among them. There's no word yet on if they'll be like the Minimoni of their formation time (actual kiddy music) or the Minimoni that was forced to grow up (reference "Crazy in Love" and everything after, excepting "Lucky Cha Cha Cha") and make bad music.
It's clear which one I liked more. :D
I don't know how I feel about this, but I'm sure I'll be downloading their first single out of curiosity.
[SOURCE] |
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| SWEET BLACK ft. Goto Maki - Lady Rise |
[Feb. 27th, 2009|06:07 pm] |
Watch the video on Youtube
avex won't let users embed it, but the official video for "Lady Rise" was released a few days ago. This is the second song of Goto Maki's new project "SWEET BLACK feat. MAKI GOTO" and it's a little bit too catchy. <3 I can't wait for her to release an album, because if all the songs are as good as "Fly away" and "Lady Rise," I'm sold. |
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| Kuroki Meisa's first album slated for April |
[Feb. 18th, 2009|11:42 am] |
Japanese model-turned-actress Kuroki Meisa will be releasing her debut album on April 8th, 2009. She first broke into the music scene last summer with the digital single "Like This," and if that was any indication of what her style will be, we've got an awesome R&B-dance album to look forward to. It'll be produced by Jeff Miyahara and will be titled "hellcat." One of the songs, "Bad Girl," has already been released as a ringtone.
All I gotta say to this is FREAKIN' FINALLY. "Like This" was my jam in the last half of 2008 so I'm really excited for this album to get released. I don't know what it is, but the first half of the year's releases always get me excited~!! Last year it was Perfume, Aira Mitsuki, MEG...now it'll be Meisa, Ayu, and Perfume (again haha)! \:D/ Total ftw.
[SOURCE] |
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| Tsuji Nozomi making babies....clothing |
[Feb. 3rd, 2009|10:54 am] |
Tsuji Nozomi (seen on the far right during her days as a member of Minimoni, one of the best H!P units) announced yesterday that she'll be returning to work by producing her own line of baby clothing. The line, titled "Baby & Ribbon," will be a collaboration with Akachan Honpo and has been in the works since last summer. She reportedly became interested in children's clothing after her baby girl Noa was born (not to mention she wore similar outfits during her time in H!P :D). The clothing will go on sale in March.
Nono was also part of the Elder Club concert last weekend in Yokohama; this was her first time performing since her marriage/pregnancy announcement in 2007. She'll be graduating along with all of the other awesome people who got fired for being too old older performers of Hello! Project. I'd love to see any pictures of this, so if you got the goods, hook me up. \:D/
Pictures of Nono from the announcement behind the cut, as well as her line.
( they remind me of minimoni )
[SOURCE] |
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| Nishino Nana debuts today |
[Jan. 27th, 2009|07:52 pm] |
New pop/rock artist Nishino Nana releases her first single today in Japan, titled "Open your eyes." It contains the b-sides "Let it go" and "Nobody's Perfect. She is part of the dance unit SQUALL NOIZE (see group photo here), so I wonder if she'll be continuing her work with them. (If anyone's curious, here's a video of her dancing on TV - she's kind of awesome. There are a bunch more videos of her on Youtube if you'd like to see more! I think I've found my distraction for the night. Watch them in HQ when possible!) I found her because I almost misread her name (in romaji) for musician Nishino Kana's, but I can't say if there's any relation between the two. (If there is, Nana's the older one.)
Anyway, I like her song "Let it go," which is a pop/rock tune. Unfortunately, you can't quite dance to pop/rock music, and I think someone needs to tell Nana this. Makes it a bit awkward to watch but the song is good.
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| Kago Ai does spread in Weekly Playboy |
[Jan. 27th, 2009|03:58 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | kago ai | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  surprised | ] |
| [ | music |
| | CNN | ] |
Well, this was the last thing I expected to see in an issue of Weekly Playboy - former Morning Musume member Kago Ai doing a photoshoot. Actually, I can maybe understand a photoshoot. But one with gravure-like poses and a bikini? If it wasn't AIBON, I'd be less intrigued - honestly, this is insanely tame compared to typical gravure photoshoots, but I think because it's Aibon and in my mind she'll always be 15, that's why I'm so surprised.
Anyway, enjoy this pictorial, appropriately titled "ADULTISM." I've also included translations of the (corny) text on each scan. This can be found in the January 26th, 2009 issue of Weekly Playboy. It should be noted that Weekly Playboy and the Playboy most Westerners know of isn't the same - WPB is far more a gravure magazine than a nude model magazine, but there ARE nude models and AV stars who have photoshoots. On this month's cover is Minami Akina, a gravure idol who has become popular in recent months.
( get ready )
What do you guys think of this? Is she trying too hard to be relevant again if she's doing these sorts of magazines? It could be argued that she truly is starting anew, and let's face it - the majority of aspiring idols (including gravure idols and regular actresses) get their start doing photoshoots in gravure magazines. Do you think she can make a comeback?
SOURCE: the scans I found of WPB. :D |
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| Ketchup mania to disband |
[Jan. 25th, 2009|09:37 pm] |
This came as a bit of a shock to me. It appears pop/punk band Ketchup mania is disbanding and will be holding their final live concert on May 10th. The reason is that they want to focus on their own individual talents and works, but it also somewhat sounds like they've been having...shall we say, creative differences.
I haven't been into them since their Universal sign-on, but this is still sad. This sort of music is what I based this blog on initially, with hopes that I'd be posting news from indie ska/punk artists. (Instead, my focus has shifted to others =/ ) HIRO's cute vocals will be missed, and I hope each band member makes some sort of comeback but I know it won't be likely.
[SOURCE] |
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| this cracks me up |
[Jan. 2nd, 2009|10:43 am] |
TokyoGraph reports that Goto Maki (former Hello! Project member) will finally be coming back to the spotlight as a radio personality on the show "PLATOn," on J-WAVE.
Her segment is called "SWEET BLACK Girls."
=X
XDDDDD
Anyway, this is cool and all, but I demand a new single! D: |
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| Nishiwaki Sayaka the next idol to leech off recent Perfume craze |
[Dec. 10th, 2008|06:04 pm] |
New electropop unit ORDINARY VENUS
Apparently the managers of Nishiwaki Sayaka, known as Cha-pon of idol group 9nine and the younger sister of Nishiwaki Ayaka (aka A~chan of Perfume), are trying to get her to ride A~chan's coat-tails, because now Sayaka's gone on some spiritual solo-ish journey to team up with GOATBED (of CALI//GARI) to form an electropop unit, ORDINARY VENUS. I can't seem to find an official website for this at all despite their album coming out next week on December 17th.
Looks like their first release is entirely a cover album, and I've already spotted what's hooked me in - a cover of "I Don't Know," by BaBe! :D
Oh, and I just found a sample of the album on Nicovideo. (*___*) If you have an account, come listen. It sounds kind of promising, actually.
[SOURCE1] / [SOURCE2] |
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| Woohoo! New Stereo Pony single + tie-in |
[Dec. 10th, 2008|05:43 pm] |
According to TokyoGraph (from an article on Sports Hochi), Stereo Pony's next song "Namida no Mukou" (泪のムコウ - "Facing Sympathy"? idk) will be used as the theme song for "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" starting January 11th, 2009. Amazon says the single will be released exactly a month later, on February 11th.
I'm not a fan of either anime they've had tie-ins with, but damned if I don't love these girls. Their first single was ~*amaaaazing*~, so I'm super-excited for this next one. That, and SMJ tends to treat their artists right by letting them release more than once.
Will keep you posted as samples become available!
[SOURCE1] // [SOURCE2] |
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| Tsuji Shion, November debut |
[Dec. 2nd, 2008|04:43 pm] |
Just found out about her the other day, but Tsuji Shion, a new artist on Sony Music Japan, made her debut November 11th with the single "Candy kicks." Her PV (found below) is what intrigued me - despite the song not being the most...fun, the PV's pretty cute and has the same whimsy you can find in speena or misono PVs (at least "VS"), or even Otsuka Ai (all of whom are ironically with avex). It didn't really hit me until the second time I watched that she seems similar to YUI; her voice has a thicker quality to it but the music style resembles YUI and her voice at times. Additionally, that above photo really, really reminded me of hitomi....
Still, it'll be interesting to see if she becomes anything big. I think she's got what it takes. Plus, she's wearing what appears to be a spork around her neck in the PV.
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| Stereo Pony debut single November 5th |
[Oct. 22nd, 2008|05:59 pm] |
Stereo Pony, a new girl band from Okinawa with Sony Music Japan will be releasing their debut single "Hitohira no Hanabira" (Flower Petals) November 5th. It's being used as the 17th ending theme for the anime "BLEACH."
I don't know much about these girls, but woooow~! All it took was going to their official website and having the chorus of the song thrown out at me in the flash to get me hooked. The chorus is incredibly catchy, and I love lead vocalist AIMI's voice. Additionally, it's girls rocking out...what more can you ask for in this genre?
I've been poking around to find some indies history, but it's been in vain *sigh* All I've been able to find is that they were supposed to have released their debut single back in September called "Sayonara no Kisetsu" (The Season of Goodbyes) but can't find anything on that aside from a tracklist similar to "Hitohira no Hanabira," so I wonder if that was the original title for the release. Hmm~ The other things I found were youtube videos of them performing at an Okinawan festival. They sound pretty good live.
For now, check out the PV for "Hitohira no Hanabira" and get hooked like I did.
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| Elder Club to graduate Hello! Project |
[Oct. 19th, 2008|02:18 pm] |
An announcement was made on October 19th that members of the so-called "Elder Club," part of Hello! Project, will be graduating on March 31st, 2009. While it may not sound like much just from that unit name, this is really a big blow to H!P, as ALL of the original members (of MoMusu, Melon Kinenbi, etc) will no longer be a part of H!P. Those in the H!P fandom always speculated that the 1990s-born generation would kick the oldies out of H!P, but I gotta say I didn't think it would happen this much at once. As a former die-hard fan of Hello! Project, I'm somewhat happy I jumped ship earlier, or I might be taking this pretty hard. (that's what she said)
Who knows what's actually going to happen to all these girls? The majority of them were being severely neglected in H!P anyway, so I look forward to what might happen with my favorites - I'm crossing my fingers that Ayaya goes to Sony! <3
A full alphabetiized list of affected idols is under the cut.
( Holy barnacles! )
Here is a translation done by my wonderful ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) hana_pink (^o^)
Greetings,
I hope you are all doing well.
Now, Hello! Project has passed its 10th year, after being formed in February of 1998, and it's currently broken up into Wonderful Hearts and Elder Club, making a total of 68 names in Hello! Project.
Today, we've decided that the members of Hello! Project Elder Club (listed below) will graduate as of March 31st, 2009.
They'll be moving on to various activities after their graduations.
Please support us after this.
Also, the final concert for the above members will be the "Hello! Project 2009 Winter Kettei! Haro*Pro Awards '09 ~Elder Club Sotsugyou Kinen Special~" concert, being held on January 31st and February 1st of 2009.
Sincerely
October 19, 2008
Up Front Agency
Representative Director Mochida Youji
( And Nakazawa Yuuko's comment )
[SOURCE] |
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| Leah Dizon's been cooking |
[Oct. 14th, 2008|10:36 am] |
Leah Dizon announces marriage, pregnancy
Someone made a small blurb about this on my f-list and I almost didn't believe it at first, but it turns out that at the very end of her latest tour, "import" gravure idol and singer Leah Dizon announced that not only was she now married, she's also expecting a child. According to Sponichi, her husband is a Japanese stylist in his 20s that she met about a year ago during a jacket shoot. Good for her, that's one way to get out of the biz.
I'd like to translate this article later today (after I stop procrastinating my homework due in two and a half hours), so please wait for it. <3
[SOURCE] |
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| New Karen Girl's single out 11/24 |
[Oct. 9th, 2008|10:17 pm] |
Not sure if there's any interest here, but aspiring idol group Karen Girl's will be releasing their second single, "MY WINGS," on November 24th. I don't know if there are any tie-ups for it yet, but their first single, "Over the Future," was used as the theme for "Zettai Karen Children." Anyway, it'll be released in both limited and regular editions.
They're considered the "younger sisters of Perfume"...which is cute, but doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Sure, they're on Amuse and part of the Actors School, and there's three of them, and they're all pretty damn young, but the similarities end there. I think they're a pretty adorable group either way though <3 Have a look at their first video below. It might not seem like much at first but before I knew it, I had it in my head. =/
[SOURCE] |
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| New Tsuchiya Anna album |
[Sep. 19th, 2008|11:33 am] |
Was just checking Amazon while updating my iPod and found this awesome bit of information. Tsuchiya Anna will be releasing her second full-length album (that wasn't released for NANA...), entitled "NUDY SHOW," on October 29th in both CD+DVD and CD Only format. It will include her 4th-9th singles and feature some well-known producers who have worked with Britney Spears (gimme gimme shoes), NSYNC, and Fergie (fugh). Looks like Nine Inch Nail's Josh Freese and Limp Bizkit's Wes Borland will also be participating in the album, which rocks out. I'll keep you all posted as I know more.
Can't go wrong with a title like that.
[SOURCE] |
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| avex's 'The Rival' Project Is Back! |
[Jul. 31st, 2008|10:49 am] |
Anyone remember 'The Rival' featuring Miyawaki Shion and Kojo Seara from last year?
Well, the girls are back!
Both girls, who debuted simultaneously on the avex trax label with similarly-styled pop songs, are set to perform at the label's huge summer music venue in August.
Judging from the girls' new official websites, both of them have taken different images~ Seara is now a rocker chick and Shion stayed with a more traditional cutesy-pop image. Shion also seems to be the more popular of the two, since she is releasing her debut mini-album titled Dear on 8.6.08.
Source: a-nation 2008 |
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| JPop For All! |
[Jul. 25th, 2008|11:41 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  dorky | ] |
I promise this will be the last time I spam this comm with my sales posts (xD) but I just wanted to announce the opening of my personal JPop and Asian Pop sales community here on LJ!
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) pinkysalespinkysalespinkysalespinkysales
Please feel free to look around, friend, and BUY! New goodies go up often, so don't miss out!
/end pimping |
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| [SELLING] Morning Musume Limited Edition CD Sales |
[Jul. 9th, 2008|01:35 pm] |
Another selling post. :p
I really hate to do this, but times are rough for me and I need all the help I can get. I'm parting with a few collectible Morning Musume CD's. They are all in absolutely mint condition, unsealed but CD's never played and bonus items all intact.
Please check it out! Much appreciation in advance. :3
( Click the cut for details. ) |
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cold
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