H!P Profiles: 2000 Shuffle Units: Akagumi 4, Kiiro 5, Aoiro 7

Ahhh the shuffle units.  Tsunku started doing yearly units made of different members of the current H!P line (at that time of course) and in the new millenium was the beginning of said things.  The groups were made by the primary colors: Red, Yellow, and Blue.  They were then told to release a single and compete to who would sell the most of the three.  Let’s talk about the groups shall we?

Akagumi 4 – Akai Nikkichou

Clockwise starting from top right: Danielle Delauney, Maki Goto, Miho Shinoda, and Yuko Nakazawa

Akagumi 4 (representing red obviously) is quite an interesting group of the three IMO.  They were the group to only do a ballad (mid-tempo at best) but featured quite strong vocalists!  However, it was known that Gocchin had problems because she was young at the time and couldn’t grasp the topic at hand (yet, Tsunku/UFA still made it sing lead…stupid).  Danielle and Miho really sounded more appropriate and together as well as Yuko (who actually cried during the PV).  Akai Nikkichou is still considered the most popular today since it’s still performed and moreso by just one person like Yuko, Gocchin, and Takitty.  Maki’s is still the most impressive because she definitely understood the song once she rerecorded it again ^_^

The PV for Akai Nikkichou is kind of green-screen non-sense but at the same time kind of cute seeing Maki so naive all that.  Of course the PV has a shortened version of the song (missing the second verse and chorus entirely) but I think all of the songs suffered that.  Miho and Yuko (when she’s not crying) looked good as well but Danielle got a bad looking dress IMO…makes look too poofy in shots.  Still a pretty great song

Though when Danielle and Miho left H!P, Yossie and Yuki Maeda took over for their roles.

Kiiro 5 – Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM

Back Row L to R: Ayaka Kimura, Michiyo Heike, Kei Yasuda
Front Row L to R: Natsumi Abe, RuRu Honda

Kiiro 5 represented yellow and they were kind of the nearest sounding to Momusu because the track Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM was a little more disco-vibed and fun to listen to.  I did notice that all the great singers under H!P were in this group which is weird that they weren’t utilized to their full potential in this song.  I mean all of them (sans perhaps Nacchi) could power vocal…but it really felt like they held back A LOT in this song.  Nacchi and Michiyo did self-covers by themselves…but this isn’t as popular as Akagumi’s was.

The PV is quite something because unlike “Akai Nikkichou’s” light choreography, this one has a lot more of that going on…plus they utilized feathers…which is SWEET!  Still that awkward boom boom boom move they do is quite awkward looking especially when their pushed up the screen like this….yeesh.

After RuRu left, Aibon took over her role…..yeah an amazing singer replaced by Aibon….AWKWARD.

Aoiro 7 – Aoi Sports Car no Otoko

Back Row L to R: Mika Todd, Lehua Sandbo
Middle Row L to R: Atsuko Inaba, Sayaka Ichii, Miwa Kominato
Front Row L to R: Mari Yaguchi, Kaori Iida

The biggest of the shuffle groups, Aoiro 7 was all blue but their energy was high for their release, Aoi Sports Car no Otoko.  It seemed like this group had pretty much the leftovers from the other groups.  Might not be so bad because they also had some good singers as well ^_^.  Their sound was more rockin’ and just wild which is a far cry from like the serious Akai Nikkichou and kind of mature but not Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM

I think most of the money went into this PV since it had other things going on like guys in a car driving and the girls all doing choreography with guitars and the like.  It’s a pretty brazen video and each member is being wild and frenetic…it’s awesome!

When Miwa and Atsuko left, Rika-chan and Nono took over.

ANYWAYS, after all that happened it turns out that Akagumi 4 won for the year…simply because Maki was a part of it (she was really that huge back then).  Personally, I would’ve chosen Aoiro 7, Akagumi 4, and Kiiro 5 in that order for some reason.  I think I just love wild songs and it worked for me.  Though it brought up some questions for me

Who was missing?:

• Rinne Toda – She’s someone I was actually really curious to why she wasn’t a part of the 2000 Units because she was active as the lone member of Country Musume…maybe it was because the producer wasn’t Tsunku?
• Miyoshi Chinatsu – Probably the same reason as Rinne to be honest but a different producer from the one that did Country.
• Melon Kinenbi – Despite being formed before the Units, I’m pretty sure Tsunku didn’t feel they were ready for it yet so they let them pass the first Units.  Though it’d be interesting to see what he could’ve done with them….

Also, the single’s also came with a B-side in Hello! no Theme which is H!P’s theme song of course and has been covered a couple other times which is cool but the song isn’t that special…Each unit sings their own version of it and yes there’s a complete one as well…

 

SINCE 2000 IS DONE, I’M GOING TO REVIEW Petit Best ~Ki Ao Aka~ soon ^_^

H!P Profiles: Melon Kinenbi

L to R: Masae Ohtani, Ayumi Shibata, Hitomi Saito, and Megumi Murata

Melon Kinenbi was created right before the first shuffle groups were created (but they weren’t involved in them because I would expect they were TOO new to really do much).  They have the award of having the most stable line-up in H!P from when they debut til they disbanded in 2010.  Not bad for 4 dynamic ladies (and yes they admitted that they all were totally different from each other).  I’m sure if they weren’t kind of forced to graduate (the Elder Club grads) I’m sure they’d still be going TBQH.

However it happened and they went indies and on a rather interesting set of releases.  Five singles and all of them were collaborations with well rather underground indie rock groups in Japan.  Sadly they released their final album and called it quits.  All isn’t totally lost though because soon after Masae and Ayumi went on to have solo careers.

Style of Music: Like Morning Musume, Melon Kinenbi never really had  a solid theme to them and it shows with how various their music has always been.  From cutesy stuff in the beginning, they grew into doing rock, pop, dance, R&B, and lots of others so they weren’t going to suffer blandness.  Plus they sang great with whatever they were given so it’s not like they really had many problems.

When they went indies after graduating from H!P, they had kind of solidified into a genre and that was mostly rock music.  Even their final album was just that hahaha.

Discography

Singles

• Amai Anata no Aji
• Kokuhaku Kinenbi
• Denwa Matteimasu
• This is Unmei
• Saa! Koibito ni Narou
• Natsu no Yoru wa Danger!
• Kousui
• Akai Freesia
• Chance of LOVE
• MI DA RA Matenrou
• Kawaii Kare
• Namida no Taiyou
• Champagne no Koi
• Nikutai wa Shoujiki na EROS
• Onegai Miwaku no Target / Crazy Happy! (indies release)
• Unforgettable
• Onegai Miwaku no Target ~Mango-pudding Mix~
• Charisma, Kirei
• DON’T SAY GOOD-BYE (indies releases from here on out)
• Pinch wa Chance Baka ni Narouze!
• sweet suicide summer story
• Seishun-on-the-Road
• Melon Tea

Albums

• 1st Anniversary
• THE Nimaime
• FRUITY KILLER TUNE (best-of album)
• Melon Juice (mini-album)
• MEGA MELON (best-of album)
• MELON’S NOT DEAD
• URA MELON (B-side best-of album)

I really didn’t enjoy there first few singles (well I enjoyed “Denwa Matteimasu”) but they really sparked my interest with their 4th single, This is Unmei which is definitely a song to energize the crowds when performed BY ANYONE…it’s such a kickass song and it’s lyrically quite epic as well…questioning love…Yeah, it’s definitely Melon’s best!

I really do consider Nikutai wa Shoujiki na EROS to be one of H!P’s most daring and sexiest PVs they’ve ever had.  I mean the song is quite sensual and the girl’s smooth vocals fit the song quite awesomely.  Plus Megumi was always sexy to me once she started donning the glasses.  Besides Masae’s ever-changing hairstyles, Megumi attracted me the most!

Finally, we have Melon Tea which was the quartet’s final single together. Notice the PV is quite low-cost because they performed it in a studio and such.  Also it was rock music so it’s like typical for me. Plus it was a collaboration (notice there’s a guy singing too at points).

Top 10 Favorite Songs (they do deserve a top 10 here since they have quite a bit to their name)

• This is Unmei
• Kawaii Kare
• MI DA RA Matenrou
• Onegai Miwaku no Target Original new ver. (B-side of Onegai Miwaku no Target ~Mango-pudding Mix)
• Unforgettable
• Ai Meramera Koi Yurayura (B-side of Natsu no Yoru wa Danger!)
• Kousui
• Romantic wo Tsukinero ~Break it now!~ (album song from MELON’S NOT DEAD)
• Nikutai wa Shoujiki na EROS
• Last Scene (album song from THE Nimaime)

Other Things to Mention

As I said above, Melon Kinenbi is known for being so stable for so long with no graduations or new members to come between them.  You can also they were the longest-lasting group (meaning with no changes as well).  It’s a nice thing to be known as that…they’d know quite a bit!

Yes, they are also one group (notice GROUP) to have went from major label to an indies label and get music out there too.  I found that interesting to note.

Overall: Ahhh Melon Kinenbi were always the underdog group of H!P.  I mean they released music quite as frequently as the other group were at the time, but they didn’t sell very well…but they still released and a lot of it was pretty good stuff!  I mean they were an all-around group and with 4 different and polarizing personalities, even I’m surprised they lasted as long as they did…even pulling off an indies line of releases.  I do wish they’d return together because they are such a fascinating group.

H!P Profiles: Petitmoni / Petitmoni V

1st Generation L to R: Maki Goto, Sayaka Ichii, Kei Yasuda

Ahhhh, our second Momusu sub-group to appear!  During the explosion that came out of the popularity of “LOVE Machine” this group quickly followed which came with Kei-chan and Ichii (no Marippe since she was doing Tanpopo).  Also came in the newbie, Gocchin whose popularity during these times really made anything she was involved in pretty popular!  Funny enough though, this trio only released one single in “Chokotto LOVE”…but damn was it huge…following the success of “LOVE Machine” (the PV even follows it).  Sadly, they didn’t last long because Sayaka graduated pretty soon after the group’s introduction…

2nd Generation L to R: Hitomi Yoshizawa, Maki Goto, Kei Yasuda

Most people when they hear Petitmoni, they usually think of this trio more than any others because they lasted MUCH longer than the first generation.  After Sayaka left and the 4th generation was added to Momusu, they decided to let 3/4 of the members move into the sub-groups and Yossie got added to this group.  They released three singles and an album (with the one single the first generation produced as well) plus a new song and some extras like the two exercise songs, The★Petitmobics (which was a DVD from them to promote exercise (I guess?).  It was a great time for the group and they stood out the best during these days.  Then Gocchin (and later Kei-chan) graduated from Momosu and was essentially left dead for a while.

3rd Generation L to R: Hitomi Yoshizawa, Makoto Ogawa, Ayaka Kimura

The third generation, much like the 3rd generation of Tanpopo added someone who wasn’t from Morning Musume and that was Ayaka from Coconuts Musume.  The new group might not be on everyone’s mind and I’m sure there’s a couple people surprised that there was a third generation of the group simply because…they never released a single!!!  Yeah they only have two songs under their wing.  One was a cover of “Chokotto LOVE” and the other was “WOW WOW WOW” which is an original tune…sadly the only way you can get them is through the Petit Bests.

Petitmoni V L to R: Erina Mano, Saki Nakajima, Mai Hagiwara

Of course Tsunku revived quite a number of groups back in 2009.  Petitmoni was revived but lost the fact that it was a Momusu sub-group because none of the three members of Petitmoni V were part of the group.  Nakky and Maimai are C-ute members while ManoEri was a soloist.  Like the 1st and 3rd generation, they only have two songs under their name as well.  One is off the Champloo album (which featured all the revivals and other things) and the other was on a Petit Best as well.  Nothing has happened since then so it’s probably an inactive group now (but they can get back together because all three members are still active in H!P).  Personally, I really wished they had gotten better singers for Petitmoni V…no offense but Saki, Erina, and Mai aren’t great singers……T.T

Style of Music: I’m not sure if Tsunku said what he wanted Petitmoni to sound like when it was just Gocchin, Ichii, and Kei-chan (but he liked Sayaka and Kei together when they sang “Otome no Shinrigaku soooo…)…but their lone single sounded youthful…like a burst of fun energy.  I mean it’s not like the crack-induced Minimoni or S/mileage but more mature youthfulness? (oxymoron right?).  DREAM&KISS (the B-side) on the other hand was more outlandish and dynamic…so it’s hard which direction they were really aiming for.

At least when it came to Gocchin, Kei-chan and Yossie, things were a little easier to tell.  Though at the same time didn’t help much either because they did different things with their music.  Some were energetic tracks and some were laidback and sweet.  However they are the most stable the group has been ever so they got the most tracks.

The third generation didn’t really have much to go on really I mean their Chokotto LOVE was the same arrangement, just new vocals added.  It seemed their only song, WOW WOW WOW was pretty energetic and a lot more rockin’ than anything the previous two have done so that’s something new.

Petitmoni V though was more like the 2nd Generation with both their songs.  Well, I didn’t think Kimi ga Iru Dake de was very Petitmoni and more like something else that would be suited for C-ute.  At least Pira! Otome no Negai was more fitting but for obvious reasons didn’t seem vocally there xD

Discography

Singles

• Chokotto LOVE (Sayaka’s final single)
• Seishun Jidai 1.2.3! / Bicycle Daiseikou! (Hitomi’s debut single)
• BABY! Koi ni KNOCKOUT!
• Pittari Shitai X’mas!

Albums

• Together! -Tanpopo, Petit, Mini, Yuko- (Joint album, only place to find the second generation’s take on Chokotto LOVE
• Zenbu! Petitmoni (Could be considered a complete best at it’s time since it had all the songs they’ve done plus more)
• Tanpopo / Petitmoni Mega Best (A-sides best + WOW WOW WOW)

This is the lone PV the original trio released and it’s their best-selling A-side throughout the years.  Chokotto LOVE is oddly enough a song that I don’t enjoy a lot…I’m not sure why but it kind of felt messy?  I don’t know but it’s memorable though for being right behind “LOVE Machine’s” sales.

There are songs that I think everyone should have on their music devices on on their H!P playlists ALWAYS…and BABY! Koi no KNOCKOUT! is definitely a song that I would consider for that role.  It’s a badass song and Yossie, Gocchin, and Kei-chan sung this song with power and it’s catchy in all the right way!  MY favorite Petitmoni song ^_^

Despite, the 3rd generation never getting a PV for WOW WOW WOW, it was performed live and this song screams Buono! for me everytime I hear it because of the way it was produced!  BTW look how much ass Makoto is kicking in the song (I LOVES HER) xD.  Not to say Ayaka and Yossie didn’t much because they were rockin’ out too!

Petitmoni V didn’t get a PV worth either so we’re stuck with a live of Pira! Otome no Negai to survive on.  The song isn’t bad for what it’s worth because it’s silly and energetic to listen to.  My only qualm is that…it’s Saki, Erina, and Mai singing the song….Yeha…..

Top 5 Favorite Songs:

• BABY! Koi ni KNOCKOUT!
• DREAM&KISS (B-side from Chokotto LOVE)
• Pira! Otome no Negai
• WOW WOW WOW
• Pittari Shitai X’mas!

Other Things to Mention:

Not too much to say otherwise about Petitmoni really…cept I wish the 3rd generation had more stuff to release since they had great singers at that point!

Overall: Petitmoni might not have survived like other groups tried to as sub-groups but Petitmoni made a huge splash when they debuted with Chokotto LOVE and tried many times to score big hits.  Though BABY! Koi ni KNOCKOUT! was pretty damn good though.  If Tsunku decides to bring back the trio again, I hope he shuffles the Petitmoni V away because Petitmoni has been known to have amazing vocalists and this isn’t them….If it was me, I’d put Maimi, Kanon S., and Rina together for a new incarnation TBH

The current status of H!P…Things Going to get busy

Yup, this picture kind of explains it all today…Gaki and Aika both graduated from Morning Musume today and well it was a pretty sad day for both fans of the ladies.  Of course it led into SO many new things, so I’m going to catch you guys up with the times!

Gaki / Aika graduate Momusu – Well yeah, it was known Gaki was leaving but the sudden announcement of Aika’s graduation was pretty oddly timed and UFA scrambled to get goods out for her sake as well.  The concert went well and both got to sing solo songs.  Gaki sang “Never Forget” while Aika performed “Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito”.  Great sendoffs for the ladies

Aika Mitsui is still under H!P – Something you don’t see in recent times…well, had seen since the Elder Club graduation, Aika is actually still under H!P and has her own profile on the company’s website.  What she’s going to do is unknown but it could mean a slight possibility that she’ll be a soloist perhaps?  Who knows but I’m happy she’ll still be around ^_^

50th Single Announced / First with Sayumi as leader!

Yup, the grand 50th single (a double A-side), “One・Two・Three / The Matenrou Show”” was announced as well.  What is known is that there’ll be quite a lot of editions and three of them will have a different B-side for each generation…so Rokkies, Kyuukies, and Jyuukies get their own B-side, whether or not it’s covers is to be determined.

Yes, I also mentioned that Sayumi is now the leader of MM, but not H!P but that hasn’t been given light quite yet.  It’s pointing to Saki Shimizu right now because Berryz is now older than any of the current members in H!P.

11th Generation Auditions Announced!

Tsunku came out and announced the “Suppin Utahime” auditions where he’s looking for vocal talent for the most part (understandable because Reina and Riho can’t take ALL the solo lines) XD.  To be honest, I hope for another 4 member addition but one of them is probably a Kenshuusei member (most people are looking at Karin Miyamoto currently).

Releases!

5/30:  S/mileage Best Album Complete Edition 1 (Strange release for the group…I mean it’s after just ONE album…usually in H!P history this isn’t a very good sign…but since the girls are selling really well…I might just be overworried)

6/13: Natsu ga Yattekuru (Sayaka Kitahara’s 4th single…and it’s the fourth under her seiyuu status…so it’s a theme under her anime counterpart essentially)

6/20: Chou HAPPY SONG (So the Berryz and C-ute mash-up is getting an official release which is pretty odd but at least it comes with a couple interesting things like a new arranged version of the song and Berryz singing “Shiawase no Tochuu” and C-ute singing “Because happiness”.  Those two are still gonna be empty to listen to…but whatever XD)

6/27: Song for the DATE (ManoEri is gonna release a new single, first one after her third album, “More Friends Over”…nothing else is really known about the single right now…but yay!)

7/4: One・Two・Three / The Matenrou Show (Morning Musume’s single and first with Sayu as leader.  Probably their busiest release yet!)

7/11: Koko Kara Hajimarunda! (Kikka’s 4th single and first after her debut album.)

7/25: untitled Berryz Koubou single

?/??: Rainbow / Barebare I LOVE YOU (Well, this was announced to be Up Up Girls’ second single so it’ll eventually be released…there’s just no date yet (plus the raw versions are out now sooooo)

Anyways, that’s all I have……hopefully you guys are all caught up!

H!P Profile: Chinatsu Miyoshi

Chinatsu Miyoshi (name she goes by today, Tami Rumiko) is still kind of a person that’s hard to talk about because of how little she really contributed to the H!P legacy.  She was active in the company for roughly a year (after winning an audition) before dropping out due to monetary issues and moving to South Korea where she changed her stage name and started doing small things there like songs for a OST and recently debuted as an actress.

Style of Music: Chinatsu’s music was definitely 90’s pop music ala Morning Musume with “Ai no Tane”-kind of like feel.  I mean at the time of this release, it’s kind of blah and not in tune with the more exciting groups that were debuting around this time…she was relaxed but poppy.  To me, Michiyo = pop/rock, Yuko = enka/pop, and Chinatsu’s was just breezy pop music.

Discography

Singles

• Unchain My Heart
• Love, Yes I Do
• Anata no Shirts to Love song

I think it’s the only PV she has, unless I’m missing something here.  Still, it’s just merely a preview and I’m not sure either if the full version is out there somewhere

Top Favorite Songs (6 songs only to her name under H!P)

• Unchain My Heart
• JOY! JOY! JOY! (B-side from “Anata no Shirts to Love song”)
• Namonaki Generation (B-side from “Unchain My Heart”)

Other Things to Mention:

Well, in personal notations, besides a couple other people, I had no idea of this girl when I first listened to H!P music and her music is rather hard to come by.

Chinatsu is the first soloist with no album to her name

Overall: Chinatsu was a pretty interesting member out of H!P considering how she was wasn’t heavily tied to the company (her 3 singles and appearing in one of the Garage singles).  Little surprised that she didn’t make it to release an album and how her music has kind of stuck to the past and never found relevance since she left the company (sad, because I would love to see at least Unchain My Heart resurface somewhere…

H!P Profiles: Coconuts Musume

1st Generation L to R: Mika Todd, April Barbaran, Chelsea Ching, Ayaka Kimura, and Danielle Delauney

Well, H!P decided to broaden their horizons and set out for Hawaii to have auditions for a new group.  This culminated into these five beauties (OK, Danielle might not be a looker BUUUT….).  They debuted with their single and the sorts.  These 5 released two singles and a half a year passed before Chelsea Ching and April Barbaran left the group.  Some speculation has been pointed out with the fact that the two hard a REAL hard time adjusting to the Japanese culture/language so they had to drop.  Sadly those two would also miss the first Shuffle Units.

2nd Generation L to R: Danielle Delauney, Ayaka Kimura, Mika Todd, and Lehua Sandbo

Immediately after Chelsea and April left the group, auditions were held once again (albeit twice) and brought forth a new member in Lehua Sandbo.  Nothing too exciting after that announcement but two more singles were released with the four of them before Danielle Delaunay jumped ship as well (some say it’s the same reason the prior two members left, others saying stress-related problems).  Either way we were left with the three.

3rd Generation L to R: Mika Todd, Ayaka Kimura, Lehua Sandbo

The last true lineup of the group, really left Ayaka, Mika, and Lehua together and even then that was shortlived because they lasted one single before Lehua left H!P and the group more or less became dead and inactive.  After Lehua left, Mika started to pay more attention with Minimoni before she graduated and Ayaka was just there (not doing much but involved in shuffle groups here and there) and before she knew it, she was the last surviving member of Coconuts Musume…Sadly she up and left H!P without a graduation sadly enough…Surprised but at the same time not lol.

Style of Music: When the group debuted, it was definitely obvious they were going to do tropical music because of course playing on the fact that they were from Hawaii and all that but also combined urban R&B to an extent.  It was like a brighter Taiyou & Ciscomoon but not as impressive vocals and with the original 5…bad Japanese pronunciations as well (which is a bit of a surprise that they (as in Tsunku/UFA…whoever) didn’t spend more time teaching them).  Obviously though Mika and Ayaka (and later on Danielle) would get SO MUCH BETTER).

Once the two girls left and Lehua joined up, their sound changed into once again a fest of cuteness.  I’m not sure why Tsunku decided to abandon the whole Hawaiian theme he had with the original five but it’s whatever.

At least when the final iteration came around, Mika, Ayaka, and Lehua got a song that sort of went back to their roots…but landed in between the two incarnations.

Discography

Singles

• Halation Summer / Summer Night Town (English Version)
• DANCE & CHANCE (Chelsea and April’s last single)
• Tokonatsu Musume (Lehua’s first single)
• Watashi mo “I LOVE YOU” (Danielle’s final single)
• Jounetsu Yuki Miraisen

While I do think “Halation Summer” needs to be here instead (since it’s original), I kind of have a inkling to put the English Version of “Summer Night Town” on here since it was the other A-side to their debut!  Notice how awkward they sound in the song…but the instrumental is just orgasmic to me.

Watashi mo “I LOVE YOU” is probably the lowest of the low for me.  I mean the PV was yikes and the girls were just overdoing it at places…I mean Danielle’s expressions are a bit TOOO overdone.  Song reminds me of another but I’m sure it’s somewhere down the H!P history lane.

As the group’s final outing, Jounetsu Yuki Miraisen is a pretty nice goodbye but what’s with Lehua looking like she’s in the military…or trying to cosplay Sonya Blade? XD  It’s a pretty good PV (prolly their best of the 6 they have XD)

Top Favorite Songs (they don’t have a lot under their wing to make a top 5)

• DANCE & CHANCE
• Summer Night Town (English Version)
• Jounetsu Yuki Miraisen

Other Things to Mention:

Well they are the only H!P group to hail from the United States currently which is kind of surprising that they never tried a second time (then again, with how this group turned out…well yeah it’s no surprise).

While most members did have a hard time speaking Japanese, Danielle really was the best singer of the group (she kicked ass in the Shuffle Group she was in, which I’ll talk about when the time comes).

Of course most people would recognize Ayaka and Mika the most because they had other ways of getting out there, Mika the most because of Minimoni.

BTW, Coconuts Musume is the first H!P-related to not have an album to their name (well, they only have about 8-9 songs to their name so I guess it wouldn’t constitute to having one…)

Overall: I think when everyone thinks of Coconuts Musume they think of two broad things.  One might be just for the fact that Mika Todd was originally a part of this group and the other half will probably think of how BAD this group was handled through the active years.  If Tsunku had actually trained the girls properly in teaching Japanese and stuff like that, I’m sure they wouldn’t have sounded as bad as they did in the first two singles (before finally getting it right once Lehua joined).  Shortlived and kind of a black ink stain to the H!P legacy…but they tried and it did bring some good vocalists into the open ^_^

Out of nowhere, Aika is graduating T.T

Early this morning, I was bored and just listening to music when my feed went off and Hello! Sayunii updated that Aika announced her graduation…

Personally I was sad because I loved this girl and while I didn’t get to see her join, I was definitely following her since Onna ni Sachi Are (but also went back for the two singles beforehand).

Many people will say that she was pretty much shadowed by everyone else which is true because there was no really solid form to her start since it was two singles before JunLin arrived and things shifted towards them (for a little bit).  Even she herself has mentioned quite a bit that she was lonely and wanting friends but it really didn’t happen for quite a while but she took to a mom role and that’s where she really shined.

She didn’t sing too much, but her lines have been some of the more memorable ones like in “Egao YES Nude”, “Kanashimi Twilight”, Nanchatte Ren’ai”, “Silver no Udedokei”, “Aisaresugiru Koto wa Nai no yo”, and even “Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai”.  Even having her own song at one point in “Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito”.  Plus the sub-groups/revival units she was involved in also helped out too.

Sadly, last year during promotional stuff for “Only you”, she had fractured her ankle and had to sit out the entire time…it was unfortunate because she couldn’t do tour performances really and was in crutches/wheelchair for Takitty’s graduation/showing the Jyuukies.  She has been a good leader to new girls though and supposedly was getting vocal training in the process which seemed so good for the future for her

So why did she leave?

Well, despite the doctors calling it a green light to return to the group full-time, they also worried that it would happen again if she danced as hard as she did.  Aika actually thought of herself and opted to just graduate so she wouldn’t have to put that worry on everyone…

The catch?  While she is graduating, she’ll still be in H!P doing something…maybe solo work that’ll have her be less in dance form or something totally different?  The idea is interesting and all but hmmmm we’ll see….

BTW, she’s graduating alongside Gaki so many fans are upset because of the short notice and some of Gaki’s big fans are wanting this to be only her and Aika fans want a bigger ceremony just for her…freaky…

 

 

So after May 18th, it’ll be down to 10 members.  Sayu, Reina, Kyuukies, and the Jyuukies.  Tsunku/UFA is going to have to utilize the newer members now since it’ll be strange having just Reina and Riho (plus a auto-tuned Sayu) take over XD.

 

We’ll miss you Aika ❤ ❤ ❤

H!P Profiles: Taiyou to Ciscomoon / T&C Bomber

L to R : Miho Shinoda, Atsuko Inaba, Miwa Kominato, RuRu Honda

Taiyou to Ciscomoon appeared after the creation of Country Musume and is the first main group to not have Musume in their names XD.  They were auditioned of course but they had training all over the United States ^_^.  They’ve lasted quite a short while in really just about a year’s worth of time, went through a time where a member was gone (Miwa) and had a name change for the group (T&C Bomber)….all that in a year’s time, talk about busssssy!!!

Style of Music: I was surprised with this group to be honest!  I mean first off, their vocals are AMAZING and probably goes down with the best vocalists of all H!P right here.  Well maybe not Miwa…she had cutesy vocals XD.  Anyways, their music was pretty nifty for them…it gave them a sexy glow and feel that other H!P projects didn’t really have.  If you like Momosu’s “Summer Night Town”, “Daite HOLD ON ME!” and “Memory Seishun no Hikari”, this is definitely the area you should be in.  It was R&B/Dance, and soulful tunes…it was pretty darm cool!  Even after the name change, they still kept true to their sound (well maybe small changes to the music…but still vocally great!

Discography

Singles

• Tsuki to Taiyou
• Getamekira
• Uchuu de La Ta Ta
• Everyday Everywhere
• Magic of Love
• Marui Taiyou -winter ver.- (Miwa is missing)
• DON’T STOP Ren’aichuu (Miwa returns, first single as T&C Bomber)
• HEY! Mahiru no Shinkirou

Albums

• Taiyou&Ciscomoon 1
• 2nd STAGE
• Taiyou to Ciscomoon / T&C Bomber Mega Best

I actually put up Getamekira, because I thought it showed the ladies off (especially RuRu) a lot more better in this song…and because this song is quite good as well and it was merely their second single!

This is the only PV where it’s just Atsuko, Miho, and RuRu…this is Marui Taiyou -winter ver.-

Last but not least, we have HEY! Mahiru no Shinkirou which was the group’s final single and one of two singles that they went under T&C Bomber.

Top 5 Favorite Songs:

• Getamekira
• Chinmoku (album song from Taiyou&Ciscomoon 1)
• HEY! Mahiru no Shinkirou
• Uchuu de La Ta Ta
• Versus (B-side from Magic of Love)

Other Things to Mention:

While it might not be a big deal, Taiyou to Ciscomoon is the only group to have a member leave for a single then return on the next single.

RuRu Honda is also known for being the first H!P member not to be from Japan (she’s from China).

Overall: Honestly, Tsunku/UFA really lost something good with T&C Bomber.  Like I said, they were the best vocalists they’ve ever had under the H!P umbrella.  I do wonder why they gave up on them because their music was unique and just fit them soooo nicely.  Despite Miwa actually having to leave because of some issue that wasn’t big enough (since she returned), they were amazing.  I miss them the most XD

H!P Profiles: Country Musume

Original Lineup L to R: Hiromi Yanagihara, Rinne Toda, Azusa Kobayashi

The first original membered group, Country Musume came next after Tanpopo’s creation and boy was it a strange, tragic, and odd lifespan of one like this group who had humble beginnings.  It was known that the auditioning process was also quite a bit strange because these ladies had to work on a farm prior to be chosen.  Tragically though Hiromi Yanagihara wouldn’t get to see her debut single with the other two, Futari no Hokkaido being released because she died in a car accident a few days prior.  Unfortunately it was all too much for Azusa Kobayashi because she quit not even a month after the single was released as well leaving Rinne as the last original member after only one single

Though Rinne did not give up, releasing two singles, “Yukigeshiki” and “Hokkaido Shalala” by herself and released as indies.  Despite that, there was enough move from her director to try to audition for new members but that sadly failed until a girl (who worked on the same farm, wanted to join and well…)

L to R: Rinne Toda, Asami Kimura

It led to Asami Kimura to be officially become a member of Country Musume!  Of course it seemed like Rinne was still the acoustic guitar lady and Asami was the tambourine girl lol.  They only had one single as the duo with “Koi ga Suteki na Kisetsu” before their manager had to give the group to Tsunku and work his magic…and here’s what happened!

Country Musume ni Ishikawa Rika L to R: Asami Kimura, Rika Ishikawa, and Rinne Toda

Which left with the next rather memorable grouping when Rika Ishikawa was placed in between Rinne and Asami (who the latter just came in a single before Rika).  Most people either remember Country Musume as these three simply because of Rika’s sheer popularity.  Also it was the longest the group stayed together (not saying too much though) with a couple singles before…

Clockwise L to R: Mai Satoda, Rinne Toda, Asami Kimura, Rika Ishikawa

They had another audition (their 6th one at this point) and the lone member that won was Mai Satoda.  With that they only lasted the one single with “Iroppoi Onna ~SEXY BABY~ before Rinne Toda announced her graduation as the last of the original trio.

L to R: Asami Kimura, Rika Ishikawa, Mai Satoda

Then it was the three once again only for one single, “BYE BYE Saigo no Yoru” which would be the last release with Rika Ishikawa as she would be pulled back to Morning Musume to continue there, but without another big change and additions to the group!

Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto L to R: Asami Kimura, Miuna Saitou, Miki Fujimoto, Mai Satoda, and Asami Konno

The last and final iteration of Country Musume was the biggest they’ve had which is awesome.  Mai was added a single beforehand but three new members took the reins and Rika-chan left.  Funny enough they had the most singles under the name and had an album even though it was still partially covered by the other iterations XD.  Sadly, the group kind of died out, starting with Asami Konno graduating and then both Asami Kimura and Miuna Saito together and Miki Fujimoto to a certain point until Mai Satoda was the last one before the Elder Club graduation and she was known as Mai Satoda (Country Musume)…she didn’t release anything until after her leaving sadly until 2014 where she announced that she would be holding auditions for a revival!

Style of Music: The initial sound that was planned for Country Musume was pretty much what you’d think by their group name, the music had more of a homely feel to it.  I mean Futari no Hokkaido was pretty different from anything H!P in the 90s so it stood out, plus it’s hard not to think damn poor Hiromi and Azusa as it’s their only song they’re involved in.

When Rinne went solo for the two singles, things were the same but Rinne by herself and she played acoustic guitar as well adding to the originality given at the time.  Even when Asami was added the sound remainded faithful.

Once Rika-chan was added, once again things just went to cute form.  I mean they were almost the same to Tanpopo almost…if not the biggest difference was the members (god I feel bad for Rinne during this time).  Then Mai was added and the single the four only did, Iroppoi Onna ~SEXY BABY~ was rather almost v-u-den-like pertaining maybe to a future thing lol.   Then Rika’s final single was back to where it was when she started.

The last big group of Country Musume didn’t really have a solid style because all three A-sides were of different areas of music but showcased a LOT of Mikitty XD.  It was a wild mess to be honest XD

Discography

Singles

• Futari no Hokkaido (Hiromi and Azusa’s first and final single)
• Yukigeshiki
• Hokkaido Shalala
• Koi ga Suteki na Kisetsu (Asami’s first single)
• Hajimete no Happy Birthday! (Rika’s first single)
• Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan
• Iroppoi Onna ~SEXY BABY~ (Mai’s first and Rinne’s last)
• BYE BYE Saigo no Yoru (Rika’s last single)
• Uwaki na Honey Pie (Miuna, Miki, and Konkon’s first single)
• Senpai ~LOVE AGAIN~
• Shining Itoshiki Anata

Albums

• Country Musume Daizenshuu ①
• Country Musume Daizenshuu ② (best-of album?)
• Country Musume Mega Best (best-of album)

Of course I would put this video up first because of the fact that it is a good memory of Hiromi before her untimely passing and to see what the original voices sounded like…kind of nice right?

Hajimete no Happy Birthday! is quite a well-known song so I put the original up.  It’s also the first time you see Rika in this setting and the second for Asami Kimura.

Such a surprise when I came into hearing them because Uwaki na Honey Pie is definitely one of my favorite H!P songs out there.  It’s just so energetic and happy but kind of electro-y in a good way.  I really loved the 5-nin Countrysume.

Top 5 Favorite Songs:

1. Uwaki na Honey Pie
2. Shining Itoshiki Anata
3. Futari no Hokkaido
4. Kakumeichikku KISS (only new song from Country Musume Daizenshuu ②)
5. Morning Gyuunyuu (B-side from Futari no Hokkaido, also it’s Country Musume’s take on “Morning Coffee”)

Other Things to Mention:

I’ve said before though but Country Musume is the only group (or anything in H!P) that has a deceased member in Hiromi.

It’s rare to see H!P have gals that play instruments in their music but I think Rinne Toda was the first one to have her acoustic guitar in the music which is pretty good.

Country Musume might have 3 albums to their names but the Mega Best seemed only to be just a rehash of Country Musume Daizenshuu ② plus two songs (one was from a Petit Best that was never put on anything else and the other was a Mai Satoda song).

Overall: It just felt like Country Musume was a pretty cursed group next to a couple of others.  I mean I’m sure people thought they would be over when Rinne was the only one around but she pushed forward and eventually regained some steam but it wasn’t until Rika-chan (and later Mikitty and Konkon) that the group really got off.  Sadly they couldn’t even get another original album out (and they had three strong singers in Asami, Miuna, and Mai….just wished Tsunku/UFA would’ve done more (you’ll be seeing me saying this a LOT).  Also I liked the original idea of Country Musume prior to Rika’s addition but I felt they were the best musically during the Miki/Konkon days…those singles were GOOD!