Bikkuri Project

First, I’d like to give a huge thanks to everyone who participated in the poll! And now, your top 25 songs of 2011, starting with #25 and working our way up to #1! Youtube won’t take it, so here are a couple alternates (they’re the same video)

Hello! Project Top Songs of 2011 Poll Results by Celestia414

Watch Hello! Project Top Songs of 2011 Poll Results in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Since I know you’re curious, here’s a full breakdown of the results.

Overall

Top Single: Uchouten Love, S/mileage

2nd Place Single: Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo, Morning Musume

Top B-side: Jishin Motte Yume o Motte Tobidatsu Kara, Morning Musume (Takahashi Ai)

2nd Place B-side: Kachoii Uta, Mobekimasu

Top Album Song: Silver no Udedokei, Morning Musume

2nd Place Album Song: Midnight Temptation, C-ute

Bottom Single: Koi no Booing Bu, S/mileage

Bottom B-side: Panya-san no Arubaito, S/mileage

Bottom Album Song: (Tie) Asaasamba, Kusumi Koharu, and 3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei, C-ute

Morning Musume

Top Single: Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo

Top B-side: Jishin Motte, Yume o Motte, Tobidatsu Kara

Top Album Song: Silver no Udedokei

Bottom Single: Majidesuka Suka

Bottom B-side: Yamete yo Sindbad

Bottom Album Song: Kaiketsu Positive A

Berryz Kobo

Top Single: Heroine ni Narou ka!

Top B-side: Omoide

Top Album Song: Icchoume Rock

Bottom Single: Aa yo ga Akeru

Bottom B-side: Otona ni wa Naritakunai, Hayaku Otona ni Naritai

Bottom Album Song: Masshiro Ano Kumo

C-ute

Top Single: Kiss Me Aishiteru

Top B-side: Faraway

Top Album Song: Midnight Temptation

Bottom Single: Momoiro Sparkling

Bottom B-side: Idai ni Chikara wo!

Bottom Album Song: 3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei

Mano Erina

Top Single: My Days for You

Top B-side: 21 Seikiteki Renai Jijou

Bottom Single: Seishun no Serenade

Bottom B-side: 10 Karat Kirameki

S/Mileage

Top Single: Uchouten Love

Top B-side: Jitensha Chiririn

Bottom Single: Koi ni Booing Buu!

Bottom B-side: Panya-san no Arubaito

Buono

Top Single: Natsu Dakara

Top B-side: Juicy He@rt

Top Album Song: Frankincense

Bottom Single:Zassou no Uta

Bottom B-side: Runaway Train

Bottom Album Song: Kia Ora Gracias Arigato

Other

Top Single: Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku

Top B-side: Kachoii Uta

Bottom Single: Amazuppai Sakura Sake

Bottom B-side: Moshi mo

FULL RESULTS WITH POINTS

298 有頂天LOVE (Uchouten Love)

254 この地球の平和を本気で願ってるんだよ! (Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa o Honki de Negatterun da yo!)

235 Kiss me 愛してる (Kiss Me Aishiteru)

228 彼と一緒にお店がしたい! (Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!)

196 ブスにならない哲学 (Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku)

172 Only You

170 ヒロインになろうか！(Herione no Narou ka!)

132 まじですかスカ! (Maji Desu ka Ska!)

119 プリーズ ミニスカ ポストウーマン! (Please Miniskirt Post Woman!)

110 シルバーの腕時計 (Silver no Udedokei)

103 自信持って 夢を持って 飛び立つから (Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobidatsu kara)

96 愛 の弾丸 (Ai no Dangan)

85 Midnight Temptation

81 世界一ＨＡＰＰＹな女の子 (Sekai Ichi Happy na Onna no Ko)

80 Ok Yeah!

79 夏ダカラ！ (Natsu Dakara!)

67 好きだな君が (Suki da na Kimi ga)

66 ああ、夜が明ける (Aa, Yo ga Akeru)

66 My Days for You

65 かっちょ良い歌 (Kacchoii Uta)

64 フランキンセンスΨ (FrankincenseΨ)

62 ショートカット (Shortcut)

59 いざ、進め！ Steady go! (Iza, Susume! Steady Go!)

58 Partenza ~Let’s Go!!!~

57 一丁目ロック! (Icchoume Rock!)

56 雑草のうた (Zassou no Uta)

55 Juicy He@rt

51 Give me 愛 (Give Me Love)

51 タチアガール (Tachiagaaru)

44 My Alright Sky

41 もっと愛してほしいの (Motto Aishite Hoshii no)

41 桃色スパークリング (Momoiro Sparkling)

38 思い出 (Omoide)

35 青春のセレナーデ (Seishun no Serenade)

31 1/3の純情な感情 (1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou)

29 自転車チリリン (Jitensha Chiririn)

26 この愛を重ねて (Kono Ai wo Kasanete)

24 Bomb Bomb Jump

23 負けるな わっしょい!) (Makeruna Wasshoi!)

20 女子会 The Night (Joshikai The Night)

18 Faraway

18 Ice Mermaid

16 ヒーロー現る！ (Hero Arawaru!)

16 ラナウェイトレイン (Runaway Train)

15 やめてよ！シンドバッド (Yamete yo! Sindbad)

14 乙女のタイミング (Otome no Timing)

14 甘酸っぱい春にサクラサク (Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Sake)

13 超WONDERFUL！ (Chou Wonderful!)

13 嫌いで嫌いで嫌い (Kirai de Kirai de Kirai)

13 21世紀的恋愛事情 (21 Seikiteki Renai Jijou)

11 My Way ～女子校花道～ (My Way ~Joshikou Hanamichi~)

11 10カラットの煌めき (10 Karat Kirameki

10 二十歳前の女の子 (Hatachimae no Onna no Ko)

10 恋にBooing ブー! (Koi ni Booing Buu!)

8 ルルルルル (Rururururu)

8 キアオラ・グラシャス・ありがと (Kia Ora Gracias Arigato)

7 偉大な力を！ (Idai na Chikara wo!)

7 スマイル音丼 (Smile Ondon)

7 青春劇場 (Seishun Gekijou)

6 サークル (Circle)

5 初恋の貴方へ (Hatsukoi no Anata e)

4 ガールズタイムス (Girls Times)

4 女のプライド (Onna no Pride)

4 こんにちは, こんばんは (Konnichiwa , Konbanwa)

4 もしも・・・ (Moshi mo…)

3 怪傑ポジティブA (Kaiketsu Positive A)

3 大人にはなりたくない 早く大人になりたい (Otona ni wa Naritakunai, Hayaku Otona ni Naritai)

3 単純すぎなの私・・・ (Tanjun sugi na no Watashi)

3 別れたくない・・・(Wakaretakunai)

2 真っ白いあの雲 (Masshiroi Ano Kumo)

2 パン屋さんのアルバイト (Panya-san no Arubaito)

0 ３番ホーム ３両目 (3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei)

0 アサアサンバ (Asaasamba), Kusumi Koharu

PLEASE VOTE IN MY TOP H!P SONGS OF 2011 FAN POLL/ VIDEO PROJECT! Response has been pretty good so far (we’re at 30+ people voting in about five days), but I really want to get as many votes as possible (at least 100 would be great) for the most meaningful results. I can say at this point that there are two songs that have been fighting it out for first place with another two being possible contenders. I’m so excited to see which song wins!

I thought I’d publicly post MY top 20 list of 2011, since I won’t be making a video of my personal list this year. Listing from #20 to #1.  (this isn’t by points for the poll, in other words. Don’t get confused! When voting, be sure your favorite song is marked +10, second favorite +9, and so on down the list)

20. Kachoii Uta, Mobekimasu- I especially like the C-ute version

19. Hatsukoi Anata e, S/mileage- S/mileage seems to get some pretty good B-sides

18. Jishin Motte, Yume o Motte Tobitatsu kara, Takahashi Ai- Really grew on my after the 10th gen auditions

17. Momoiro Sparkling, C-ute- Great summer song, and I love the dance

16. Natsu Dakara, Buono- Has some lovely harmonizing. Very relaxing song

15. Herione ni Narou ka, Berryz Kobo- Good musical hooks, and my favorite effort by Berryz in what was a disappointing year for them (IMHO)

14. Give Me Love, Morning Musume- Dramatic!

13. Majidesuka Ska, Morning Musume- A very joyful and energetic song, and a good welcome for 9th gen

12. Shortcut, S/mileage- Always gets stuck in my head

11. Motto Aishite Hoshii no, Morning Musume- I think this B-side is way under-rated!

10. Tachiagaaru, S/mileage- Another S/mileage song that always gets stuck in my head

9. 1/3 Junjou na Kanjo, Buono- Love hearing the girls use deeper voices since idol music is often so squeaky

8.  Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku, Mobekimasu- Do I just like it because I’ve watched it be performed so many times? I’m not sure, but I do like it quite a bit

7. Ok Yeah!, Morning Musume- Hope this becomes a concert staple (and I suspect it will)

6. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa.. blah blah blah, Morning Musume- Long title is too long. Song is a nice tribute to classic MM style

5. Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai, Morning Musume- I’m surprised these two ended up so close together, but they did. Finally Sayu gets a chance to shine and MM gets their weirdest PV yet (possibly)

4. Silver no Udedokei, Morning Musume- Riho proves she deserves her new lead spot with her live performance of this song

3. Only You, Morning Musume- Love the chorus so much. Itoshi no kiiimiii eeeee

2. Kiss Me Aishiteru, C-ute- Fantastic dance, and amazing solo lines by Chisato

And my favorite song is…..

1. Uchouten Love, S/mileage- It’s just the most perfect S/mileage song. I could listen to it over and over again (and I did watching the live S/mileage auditions) Cute, catchy, and bitter sweet in that it’s the last for the original S/mileage lineup. Makes me long for the S/mileage that could have been

And that’s it! My top 20 of 2011. Stay tuned for other “favorite” and “least favorites” of 2011 including PVs, albums, dances, and costumes.

~Celestia~

An previously announced, I am creating a new h!p video of the top songs of 2011, and I need your help! Below is a list of every song released by Hello! Project in 2011. All you need to do is pick your top 10 songs, put them in order, and tell me your list. It should look something like this.

• +10 Song Name
• +9 Song Name
• +8 Song Name
• +7 Song Name
• +6 Song Name
• +5 Song Name
• +4 Song Name
• +3 Song Name
• +2 Song Name
• +1 Song Name

Except instead of “Song Name” fill in the song that you’d like to receive those points. The song you mark as +10 (your favorite song) will receive 10 points, the song you mark +9 will receive 9 points, etc. There are four voting options. I’d prefer you choose #1 or #2 to keep the results more of a surprise

1. Comment in this blog post (comments will be hidden)

2. Send choices to hpvote2011@gmail.com

3. Comment in THIS thread on Hello! Online

4. Vote in the comments section of the youtube announcement

PLEASE ONLY VOTE ONE TIME!!! Do not send votes to all four places. Just pick one. I’m counting on your guys to be honest here. Fans from any country are welcome to submit votes. Votes may be submitted in English or Japanese.

Note: I realize we have yet to hear S/mileage’s new B-side, so I will allow you to change your votes later to include that if you would like to. I do want to get voting started so there’s plenty of time.  However, no vote changes will be allowed OTHER than inserting that songs into your list, so choose carefully.

Song Options

Morning Musume

• まじですかスカ! (Maji Desu ka Ska!)
• もっと愛してほしいの (Motto Aishite Hoshii no)
• Only You
• やめてよ！シンドバッド (Yamete yo! Sindbad)
• この地球の平和を本気で願ってるんだよ! (Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa o Honki de Negatterun da yo!)
• 彼と一緒にお店がしたい! (Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!)
• 自信持って 夢を持って 飛び立つから (Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobidatsu kara)
• Give me 愛 (Give Me Love)
• シルバーの腕時計 (Silver no Udedokei)
• 好きだな君が (Suki da na Kimi ga)
• 怪傑ポジティブA (Kaiketsu Positive A)
• この愛を重ねて (Kono Ai wo Kasanete)
• My Way ～女子校花道～ (My Way ~Joshikou Hanamichi~)
• 乙女のタイミング (Otome no Timing)
• Ok Yeah!

Berryz Kobo

• ヒロインになろうか！(Herione no Narou ka!)
• ヒーロー現る！ (Hero Arawaru!)
• 愛の弾丸 (Ai no Dangan)
• 思い出 (Omoide)
• ああ、夜が明ける (Aa, Yo ga Akeru)
• 大人にはなりたくない 早く大人になりたい (Otona ni wa Naritakunai, Hayaku Otona ni Naritai)
• 一丁目ロック! (Icchoumei Rock!)
• Bomb Bomb Jump
• 真っ白いあの雲 (Masshiroi Ano Kumo)
• 女子会 The Night (Joshikai The Night)
• ガールズタイムス (Girls Times)
• 女のプライド (Onna no Pride)
• 単純すぎなの私・・・ (Tanjun sugi na no Watashi)

C-ute

• Kiss me 愛してる (Kiss Me Aishiteru)
• 二十歳前の女の子 (Hatachimae no Onna no Ko)
• 桃色スパークリング (Momoiro Sparkling)
• Faraway
• 世界一ＨＡＰＰＹな女の子 (Sekai Ichi Happy na Onna no Ko)
• 偉大な力を！ (Idai na Chikara wo!)
• 超WONDERFUL！ (Chou Wonderful!)
• Midnight Temptation
• いざ、進め！ Steady go! (Iza, Susume! Steady Go!)
• ルルルルル (Rururururu)
• 別れたくない・・・(Wakaretakunai)
• サークル (Circle)
• ３番ホーム ３両目 (3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei)
• 嫌いで嫌いで嫌い (Kirai de Kirai de Kirai)

Mano Erina

• 青春のセレナーデ (Seishun no Serenade)
• 21世紀的恋愛事情 (21 Seikiteki Renai Jijou)
• My Days for You
• 0カラットの煌めき (10 Karat Kirameki

S/mileage

• ショートカット (Shortcut)
• パン屋さんのアルバイト (Panya-san no Arubaito)
• 恋にBooing ブー! (Koi ni Booing Buu!)
• 初恋の貴方へ (Hatsukoi no Anata e)
• 有頂天LOVE (Uchouten Love)
• 自転車チリリン (Jitensha Chiririn)
• タチアガール (Tachiagaaru)
• スマイル音丼 (Smile Ondon)
• プリーズ ミニスカ ポストウーマン! (Please Miniskirt Post Woman!)
• こんにちは, こんばんは (Konnichiwa, Konbanwa)

Buono

• 雑草のうた (Zassou no Uta)
• ラナウェイトレイン (Runaway Train)
• Juicy He@rt
• 夏ダカラ！ (Natsu Dakara!)
• Ice Mermaid
• Partenza ~Let’s Go!!!~
• フランキンセンスΨ (FrankincenseΨ)
• My Alright Sky
• キアオラ・グラシャス・ありがと (Kia Ora Gracias Arigato)
• 1/3の純情な感情 (1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou)

Other

• ブスにならない哲学 (Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku), Mobekimasu
• もしも・・・ (Moshi mo…)
• かっちょ良い歌 (Kacchoii Uta)
• 負けるな わっしょい!) (Makeruna Wasshoi!), Bekimasu
• 甘酸っぱい春にサクラサク (Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Sake), Berikyuu
• 青春劇場 (Seishun Gekijou), Berikyuu
• アサアサンバ (Asaasamba), Kusumi Koharu

Note: You may not vote for non-h!p songs such as those by Kikkawa Yuu or Kitahara Sayaka. You may not vote for singles that were first released in 2010 but then re-released on albums in 2011. You MAY vote for the cover songs on the Buono mini album (new to h!p), but you may not vote for S/mileage covers of previous h!p songs.

Please feel free to spread the word! The results will be better the more people vote. The deadline for voting is JANUARY 1ST. I will probably have the results video within a week.

~Celestia~

I’ve finished my most recent video project! I put a lot of work into this one, and I think it came out pretty well (though I still can’t seem to top my Eri/Jun/Lin graduation OPV). This time it’s my Top 20 Current H!p members. I had to get this finished before Ai-chan graduates, or she couldn’t be included. The song is “All for One and One for All” because that HAS to be the song for something like this.

Hope you like it! The old youtube channel surpassed 400,000 views a while ago, and I’m pretty excited about that. Big thanks to everyone who’s watched my videos!

~Celestia~

I feel weird following S/mileage with a slash since it already has a slash in it. Anyway, it’s time for our next “Name That Song” game! 12 songs, 2 second clips, how many can you guess? All the songs this time come from either S/mileage or a Shugo Chara associated group (Buono, Shugo Chara Egg, Guardians 4). Singles, album songs, and B-sides are all included. Hint: It’s pretty Buono heavy since they have the most material. Should be easy if you’re familiar with those groups since there were less songs to choose from this time. Good luck!

Feel free to leave a comment telling me how you did.

Until Next Time,

~Celestia~

HIGHLIGHT BELOW FOR ANSWERS

1. Janakya Mottainai! (Renai Rider B-side, Buono)

2. Our Songs (Buono Single)

3. Shugo Shugo! (Shugo Chara Egg Single)

4. Hatsukoi no Anata e (Koi ni Booing Buu! B-side, S/mileage)

5. Lady Panther (Gachinko de Ikou! B-side, Buono)

6. Short Cut (S/mileage Single)

7. Over the Rainbow (Buono!2 Album)

8. Kataomoi (We Are Buono! Album)

9. Party Time (Guardians 4 Single)

10. Shooting Star (Warugaki 1 Album, S/mileage)

11. Internet Cupid (Cafe Buono Album)

12. Ama no Jaku (S/mileage Single)

It’s summer refreshment time! So please, kick back and enjoy looking at this picture of my refreshment provided by International Wota. I bought ingredients and stuff to make a blueberry crisp with icecream! Here you can see the crisp editing a video. (Fun fact: All my videos are edited by baked goods)

Within the idol sub-genre of the Jpop genre, there are several sub-sub-genres, mostly seasonally based. There’s the “songs about spending (or not spending) Christmas with that special someone” genre (i.e. Aitai Lonely Christmas, Pittari Shitai Xmas). There’s the “it’s spring so we are mandated by Japanese law to sing about sakura” genre (i.e. Sakura Mankai, Sakura Chirari) But perhaps no idol genre is quite as prolific as the “summer song” genre.

So what constitutes a “summer song”? I put forth the following three qualifiers:

1. The song must be released within the time period of May through August.

2. The song must be light, upbeat, and cheerful. Preferably with a “refreshing” feel

3. The word “summer” or “natsu” doesn’t have to be in the title, but the lyrics and/or the PV must contain Japanese “summer” imagery which may include any of the following:

Use of the word “summer” or “natsu”, watermelon, yukata, festivals, fireworks, beaches, bikinis, bright colored beachwear, surfboards, beach balls, squirt guns, excessively sunny outdoor scenes, bubbles, ice cream, and shaved ice. Let me know if you think I missed any important ones.

Using these criteria, we can definitely say that not every song released during the summer is actually a “summer” song. I would also argue that many songs that include the word “summer” are not songs in the “summer” genre. For example, S/mileage’s “Yume Miru 15sai”  meets qualification numbers 1and 3 with a May release date, many uses of the word “natsu”, and mention of festivals and fireworks, but I wouldn’t consider it to be a true summer song because it fails qualification number 2. The overall feel is just too dark to really be in the summer genre. Morning Musume’s “Summer Night Town” and Berryz Kobo’s “Natsu Remember You” would be excluded for the same reason.

So, for your refreshment and viewing pleasure, here’s a compilation of some of H!p’s summeriest.

~Celestia~

I posted my top songs list of 2010, but what about everything else? And if I’m going to post the best, I’ve got to also post the worst, because, let’s face it, complaining about stuff is just more fun.

“Best” songs that have already been discussed in my “Top Songs of 2010″ post are just marked with a star instead of repeating the explanation.

Best Single- Otakebi Boy WAO! (Berryz Kobou) *

Honorable Mention- Aitai Lonely Christmas (C-ute)

Worst Single- Shock! (C-ute)

It’s not the excessive Airi. I love Airi. It the excessively annoying and non-catchy song.

Best Album Song- Namidacchi (Morning Musume, 10 My Me) *

Honorable Mention- Fantasy ga Hajimaru (Morning Musume, Fantasy 11)

Worst Album Song- Datenshi Ellie (More Friends, Mano Erina) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QONdoYdWsUc

It starts off sounding okay, but then things turn weird. Really weird. What the hell is with the high pitched, creepy, computerized voice talking to Mano? Most of it isn’t even a song. It’s just Mano talking to the weird voice. Call me crazy, but I’d like my songs to actually be songs.

Best Album- We Are Buono! (Buono)

There’s hardly a bad song on this album. It gets the nod because of all the albums released in 2010, this one had the most original album songs make it to my MP3 player.

Honorable Mention- 10 My Me (Morning Musume)

Worst Album- Shocking 5 (C-ute).

I really hate to give C-ute both worst single and worst album, but the whole “Shock” era was just not good to them. The album is absolutely packed with boring, forgettable, mid-tempo ballads, the one exception being the spastic and almost unlistenable remix of Shochuu Omimai.

Best B Side- Thank You! Crème Brulee no Yuujou (Yume Miru 15sai B-Sde, S/Mileage)*

Honorable Mention- Arigatou~ Ookiku Kansha!~ (Going On! B-Side, Shugo Chara Egg)

Worst B Side- Tachiagare Otome-tachi (Campus Life ~Umarete Kite Yokatta~ B-side, C-ute)

The only B-side of this year that I found to be truly annoying

Best PV- Genkimono de Ikou! (Mano Erina) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xID9Q9hKyrQ

Best by a landslide. A story-driven PV for Mano! The whole thing is hilarious. Riding crop wielding Mano and the red lyra-suited “Spirit of Genki” make a great team.

Honorable Mention- Otakebi Boy WAO! (Berryz Kobou)

Worst PV- Shining Power (Berryz Kobou) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUScN5qP2Fc

Pros: Yurina looks smokin’ hot

Cons: 1. Hideous and unflattering costumes that clash with the backdrop

2. The backdrop is just a few colored rectangles

3. Ping-pong scenes are totally random, and not in a good way. I imagine the conversation went like this.

A: We need to fill some screen time in the new Berryz PV!

B: Could we have them put on makeup?

A: No. We’ve done that in like 15 other h!p PVs already

B: Umm…. Then how about…. Ping-pong?

A: Ping-pong? Yeah! We haven’t done that one yet!

And so a terrible PV was born. You can at least make low-budget pretty. The whole thing (excluding the girls of course) was just an ugly mess.

Best CD Cover- Onaji Jikyuu de Hataraku Tomodachi no Bijin Mama, Limited A (S/Mileage)

They all look so sweet and fresh. I love the concept behind putting them in the dessert case, and it’s a flattering picture of all 4 girls.

Honorable Mention- Fantasy! Juuichi, Limited Edition (Morning Musume)

Worst CD Cover- 6^th Otakebi Album , Limited Edition (Berryz Kobou)

Where to begin with the problems with this outfit. The costumes are glaringly ugly and bright. Miyabi’s bow alone makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Then we have the placement of the girls. People joke about Risako always being the focus of Berryz covers, but COME ON. Do they really want to make her look any bigger than she is? The most LOL thing on this cover is, of course, Yurina. It’s like they ran out of room, so they could only fit a little bit of her in the corner, and knowing how tall she is makes it even more awkward. Risako literally is taking up about 7 times as much cover space as Yurina. Also, is Masaa trying to catch flies in her mouth over there?

Best PV Costume- Aitai Lonely Christmas (C-ute)

They look warm and snuggly. Very pretty and fashionable wintery clothes. I love the hats!

Honorable Mention- Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game, just the princess dresses (Morning Musume)

Worst PV Costume- Shining Power (Berryz Kobou)

The costume was a big part of the reason this song got “worst PV”. It’s a ruffly homage to those guys who paint flame decals on their cars because they think it looks cool. The worst part is what they do to the girl’s figures, particularly Maasa. Why do they always insist on putting her in pants when everyone else is wearing a skirt? The shoes are big, clunky, and reminiscent of horse hooves. Also, is that a dead squirrel on Miyabi’s head?

Agree? Violently disagree? Let me know in the comments!

~Celestia~

Oh blog. How I did not miss deleting the flood of spam comments that come in every day.

But anyway, speaking of my youtube channel (which is really close to 200,000 views!!!), I made a video of my 20 favorite h!p songs of 2010. Here’s the video with some commentary.

20- This song annoyed the crap out of me at first, but somehow I’ve come to like it. It’s probably the “dokidoki and wakuwaku” parts.

19- It’s a “nice” song. Not a great song, but nice. I connect this one with the recent graduations more than Onna to Otoko.

18- Special appearance by MM 9th gen member Fuku-chan! Catchy song.

17- Fantasy 11 has some real gems that won’t be fully appreciated until they’re heard in concert. This one, for example, really caught my ear

16- Makes good use of Mano’s “special” vocal skills. The PV sure was crazy.

15- So cute! Love the echos and the background harmonies

14- I think this Buono concert is one of the best DVDs h!p has ever produced. The live singing is superb.

13- Managed to draw a tear or two from me when I heard it live in person

12- It’s a real step in the right direction for Morning Musume, but overall, I’ve been much more impressed with their album songs than their singles this year.

11- Airi always gets the best solos. Also, isn’t she adorable in her little sailor outfit?

10- Again, S/Mileage brings the “cute enough to melt your face off”. Everybody loves somebody yeah! I don’t like how they keep throwing the super-high falsetto notes at them though.

9- She’s certainly gotten better, but I would like this song sooo much more if a better singer were singing it. Is that mean?

8- Another s/mileage song that grew on me. Now I can’t get it out of my head. I like the meaning of the lyrics too. Congrats on the “new artist of the year” win! S/mileage seems to be gaining a tentative foothold in the mainstream market. Hope they can keep at it.

7- Boing Boing Boing. I’d like to hear this song in concert again sometime.

6- Harmonies are to die for. So pretty and soothing. People need to start realizing how great this song is.

5- I don’t care if it was a failure sales-wise. I stand by my liking of this song!

4- A little bit Genki+. Can’t wait to see it performed in concert!

3- After a whole slew of forgettable songs, C-ute finally got something good. Thank God.

2- Love how they really dig into their solo lines. Kick ass song.

1- Yay energy!! Probably going to become a Morning Musume concert standby for a long time until everybody is absolutely sick of it. I sure hope so anyway. It’s in my personal Top 20 h!p songs of all time after all.

As for 2011, there have only been a few songs heard so far, but C-ute’s new single is definitely making the list! Echos FTW

~Celestia~

Here’s Part 4! And by the way, I’m officially not in Japan anymore. =( Some of these summer concerts have some really good and seldom-performed songs in them too.

~Celestia~

Last month, I asked Hello Project fans to send me ten votes, to be distributed however they chose among H!p’s considerable song catalog.

Nowvoting has come to an end, and I’m very pleased to show you Part 1 of the results. Don’t get too excited though. I’m saving the best for Part 2.

First, some info on the voters.

Total Number of Participants: 124 (and 1,240 votes)

Countries Represented: USA, Australia, Canada, Philippines, Switzerland, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Brazil, China, Peru, Denmark, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Lithuania, Mexico, Sweden, and Japan.

If you participated and you don’t see your country listed, it’s probably because you didn’t tell me what country you are from, but if you let me know, I’ll add it to the list.

Gender Breakdown: 55 Females, 31 Males, 38 Not Reported

% of Votes By Category: I tried to make a graph, but it looked too messy with so many categories.

• Morning Musume 45.9%
• Berryz Kobo 10.7%
• Buono 7.4%
• C-ute 6.9%
• Other (one-shot units, etc.) 3.3%
• Summer Shuffles 3.1%
• Matsuura Aya 3.0%
• Gumis (Sakura and Otome) 2.6%
• New Shuffles (revived groups and High King) 2.5%
• W 1.9%
• MiniMoni 1.7%
• Melon Kinenbi 1.4%
• Tanpopo 1.2%
• S/Mileage 1.2%
• Goto Maki 1.0%
• Guardians 4/Shugo Chara Egg 1.0%
• Kirari (and Milky Way) 0.8%
• Fujimoto Miki 0.7%
• VUDen 0.6%
• PucchiMoni 0.6%
• Mano Erina 0.6%
• GAM 0.5%
• Country Musume 0.5%
• Nakazawa Yuko 0.2%
• T&C Bomber 0.2%
• Coconuts Musume 0.2%
• Abe Natsumi 0.1%
• Iida Kaori 0.1%

As you can see, Morning Musume wins it by a large margin. However, keep in mind that those votes are spread out over a lot more songs than the other artists have.

For the song ranking, I have decided to make two videos showcasing the Top 40 songs. Where there were ties in pure number of votes, the song with more people voting for it (as opposed to less people using multiple votes) was ranked ahead. For a couple cases in the Top 40, two songs still had the same score, so I just left it as a tie.

So here is part 1 of the results! Numbers 40-21. I used different clips than I did in my own countdown. I’ll have the video for 20-1 as well as the full results in my next post. Enjoy!

What do you think?

~Celestia~

EDIT: Ack! I can’t believe it, but I made a small mistake in the numbering. Very Beauty and Yume to Genjitsu should be tied for #32.