Bikkuri Project

A note before I start this: Chisato is a really good singer, no, maybe the best singer out of all the h!p kids. I’m trying to spread the word. Here’s the classic example: her doing an impression of Miki from like 2 years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-t2l9qJzgQ It’s too bad that she doesn’t look “idolly” enough to be promoted more. Oh, and sorry if it annoys you that I write it as “Cute”, but I hate to put extra punctuation in my group names or song titles.

5.Ooki na Ai de Motenashite- I’m not even sure if I really like this song that much, or if I’m just being influenced by it’s insane powers of getting stuck in my head, but here it is none the less. It certainly belongs in the top 5 Cute songs that stand out to me. There’s enough pink sugaryness here to make cotton candy jealous. At least it’s a pretty unusual song, and though chicken-like leg flapping bothers me, it seems that in this case, chicken-like arm flapping is kind of cute. The girls all look suitably adorable in the PV, especially Kanna and Saki. Ookina ai de motenashite sokontoko daiji na koto yo….

4.Meguru Koi no Kisetsu- You’ve got to love the energy in this song. It just screams genki-ness! It’s kind of repetitive, but it’s darn catchy. It’d probably rank higher, but for the weird, dissonant screaming thing at the beginning. As for the PV, it proves that cute and interesting PVs can, in fact, be done on a low budget. Finally, since I enjoy things being cheerfully shouted in the middle the final choruses of songs (see ai araba or koko ni iruzee) the shouted “Wow sono mama mou ichou!” is a great finishing touch.

3.JUMP- This song came as quite a surprise to me. I really didn’t care for Sakura Chirari at all, so, I’m ashamed to admit, I didn’t bother to check out its B-side. Then, it was performed at this Summer’s h!p concert, and wow! It’s actually a really good song! It’s kind of the ‘Yuujou Junjou o Seishun’ of Cute I think. At first glance it’s just another a simple and cheerful B-side, but it’s got a great melody, both verses and chorus, and the inclusion of electric guitar keeps it from being too cutesy. It really does make you want to jump up and down. Also, there’s a much more even line distribution than we’ve gotten in recent singles (<3 Chisato's lines). My favorite part of this song is the harmonizing "whoa whoa" over the repeated chorus at the end. I wasn't expecting that kind of thing from a Cute B-side.

2.Massara Blue Jeans- Here’s a relentless song for you. I’m kind of in love with this song rhythmically. As soon as the opening beat comes on I’m taping my foot. I’m really torn about the actual dance. I don’t approve of littl girls doing so much aggressive air humping… but it just fits the song so well. I just don’t know what to think. Dance aside, the “lovemelovemelovemeloveme” parts are great and original and that’s what really makes the song stand out. I want to do the air humping move right along with them during those parts… but I usually restrain myself. Maimi even does a good job with the bridge, which surprises me because I’m usually not a fan of her voice. Also, I love Airi’s falsetto, wherever it appears, and her falsetto line in this song is no exception. It’s such a shame that Massara Blue Jeans was never released as a real single. I think it would have done well.

1.Tokaikko Junjou- Cute’s latest single is undoubtedly their best. The song is super-catchy, and everyone’s voice is utilized well from picking Maimi for the mature opening monolog to using Mai and Saki’s kind of whiny voices on the plaintive ‘demo ne demo ne’ parts, to using Airi for just about everything else. Well, okay, it would have been nice to hear from the other girls too, but you can’t deny that the way the song is set up works. I especially love the dance. It’s hip and interesting, it fits the song well, and as far as I can tell there’s not a single cheesy awkward move (no knee flapping! Berryz, I’m looking at you). In fact, I’d say it ranks up there with my favorite h!p dances of all time. The costumes and the PV are hip and interesting to match. Chisato’s “wtf, why are you taking my ball?” expression made me laugh out loud the first time I saw the PV, and Maimi’s back against the sunset is a very striking shot. This is shaping up to be the song that makes the public sit up and pay attention to Cute. The real test now will be if their next song can keep up this kind of quality.

I want to make a ranked list of my favorite hello project songs, but every time I try to, I have too much trouble deciding. In the spirit of ‘baby steps’, instead, I have here to offer you today a list of the top 10 songs that get stuck in my head the most. I should note that I, sadly, have not listened to every Hello Project song ever, and so this list is slanted toward those artists that I listen to more often. These aren’t my favorite songs, and most of them would not be on my Top 10 favorites list at all, but they are the songs that I seem to find the catchiest. I braved listening to most of these songs and getting them all stuck in my head at once in a horrible maddening medly in order to bring you this entry, so I hope you appreciate it! Starting with the least likely to get stuck in my head and moving up to the most likely!

10. Ookina ai de motenashite-Cute, I don’t mean the whole song. Just the titular super cutesey super high lyrics. Of all the songs that tend to get stuck in my head, this one by far annoys me the most.

9. Dekkai uchuu ni ai ga aru-MM, it’s the chorus. They just sing it over and over and over again.

8.Zutto suki de ii desuka?-Ayaya, I’m not sure why this one is so catchy for me, but the chorus really is

7. Ai no imi wo oshiete-W, “Egao o afureteru mou mainichi daisuki na no” it’s the high cutsey thing again! the second most annoying song to frequently get stuck in my head

6. Balalaika-Kirari, What can I say? I don’t think a list of h!p songs that get stuck in your head could be complete without this one. I believe that it sold so well only because it wouldn’t stop playing in people’s heads until they bought the CD and could play it for real. Clever Koharu…

5. Hare ame nochi suki-MM sakuragumi, mostly the “ne hare dooriame nochi SUKI” line. Yeah, I’m kind of surprised when ballads get stuck in my head, but this one always does.

4. Aruiteru-MM, another ballad? Yeah, but only for the relentlessly repeated “nanananananana” parts.

3. Yuruki! It’s Easy-Maki, Now this one deserves it’s own special place among the songs that annoy me, because it causes only two words to repeat over and over in my head, “daijoubu kitto daijoubu…daijoubu kitto daijoubu…daijoubu kitto daijoubu…etc. until the end of time”

2. Genki jirushi no oomori song- Minimoni, An odd choice I know. I wanted to put this song lower down, but I had to be honest with myself and give it the number 2 spot. Something about the chorus just sticks with me. That, and whenever I hear the word ‘genki’ I have an almost unstopable urge to break into this song.

1. Go girl koi no victory-MM, Easy, easy choice. This song was MADE to get stuck in your head. I honestly don’t see how it could not. This song also holds the dubious honor of being the only song to get its dance stuck in my head. Is that even really possible?

So many exciting things happening in the h!p world lately. I felt like things were in a bit of a slump, with nothing really interesting happening for a while, but October has been full of win! Let’s review some of the cool stuff.

-Cute’s new single released. It’s awesome, great dance, and, as predicted, selling better than any h!p kids single that has come before it. Great to see a h!p group with increasing sales, isn’t it?
-Fan-recording of Mikan posted (today!) and it’s a happy cheerful song with a catchy hook, and, from what I can hear I really like it!
-Footage of the 10th anniversary summer concert comes out, and I love watching concert footage. It’s the best thing about h!p in my opinion, seeing our girls in action! Reina proves that she is capable of filling the spot Miki left behind, especially with her duet with Ai-chan.
-Risa’s single with Aika, Chisato, and Saki PV comes out, and they all look adorable, especially Aika! Come to think of it, given the similar bouncy cheerful nature of Mikan, I predict that she will look super cute in that PV too
-JunJun steals a bananna on Hello Morning, and linlin continues to get cuter by the day.
-Speaking of Risa, it was Risa’s birthday!! See my previous entry for heaps of praise for her.
-The all singles collection is going to be released this week, which is exciting to me, because I really want a full non-concert version of Hello to You
-I’m done with my midterms! (okay, that one isn’t strictly H!P related, but it’s making me happy right now, so )

And since I can’t stop doing them, how’s about another lyrics faceoff! I’ve got to get these out before people get ahold of the Mikan lyrics and my counts are all messed up. Today’s is the closest one yet. The words are: yume(dream), issho(together), and onna(woman) Try to guess which will be the most common, k? I think it’s more fun that way!

****

THE RESULTS
Yume- 25
Issho- 21
Onna- 19

Dream wins by a nose! Putting all our winners so far together, Morning Musume is dreaming of love in the future. That’s sweet… but wait until you graduate to get too serious about the love thing, k?

Yes, my computer is still broken, but I guess I lied and I just can’t stay away. I’m in the library now so “shhhh!” keep it down! This entry is focused on why Cute seems to be surpassing Berryz. It is highly opinionated, so try not to be offended if you disagree. If you consider a group’s popularity by single sales (and not everyone does) all of Cute’s major singles have outsold all of Berryz singles. Now, Cute only has two singles so far, with the 3rd being released soon, but I would be really really surprised if their 3rd single fails to surpass the sales of their last two.

Let’s look at some possible reasons for this, shall we?

1. Cute is getting better promotion: This may be true. Cute did sing the closing to the Robbie and Kerobbie anime, and two of their members are in the group that sings the next opening. However, at least some of their recent promotional efforts may be due to the fact that they’re newer and less known than the Berryz, and 2/3 Buono members are Berryz. Plus, Berryz still seems to get higher billing at H!P concerts and whatnot (their picture is bigger than Cute’s on the cover of the recent summer concert DVD). Also, Berryz has had more photobooks than Cute.So… i’m not so sure about this one.

2. Cute is getting better songs: I think that this one is a factor. We all know that generally in H!P uptempo songs sell better than ballads. Berryz has been getting a lot of ballads lately, and Cute has more uptempo songs. Personally, I don’t think Sakura Chirari is a very good song, but whatever. It’ll be interesting to see what Berryz next song is, and if it is uptempo, if Cute still outsells them or not.

3. Cute is just, well, cuter: Okay. This is the part where I might offend people, but I’ll have to say that I agree with this assesment, and physical appearance is a major factor in idol popularity. Just for fun, let’s take a girl by girl comparison.

The Boyish looking one: Chinami vs Chisato. I give this one to Chisato. Something about her facial structure is just more appealing to me.

The Lead Singer: Miyabi vs Airi. Miyabi isn’t unattractive… but she can be awkward looking, and Airi has been absolutely adorable from the time she joined h!p. Airi wins.

The Tall One: Yurina vs Erika. This one is a lot closer. Erika hasn’t been the most attractive girl, but recently, she’s gotten a lot prettier. Still, I’ll give this one to Yurina, because she looked really nice in her photobook.

The Tiny One: Mai vs Momoko. Mai is pure Cuteness. Momoko has her own kind of weird cuteness, but if you stood her next to Mai and asked who was Cuter, I think that most people would say Mai.

The One Named ‘Saki’: Captain vs Nakajima. Saki Nakajima is another one who has only gotten cuter as of late. As for Captain… I’ve never thought that she was that pretty really. She kind of has a weird face shape, thick eyebrows, and a weird smile. I’m giving this one to Saki N.

The Pretty One: Maimi vs Risako. By virtue of my nickname for this matchoff, i obviously think that both of these girls are quite pretty. It’s a hard choice, but I think I’d pick Risako, because her prettiness is a bit more unconventional, and I think she might be just a tad more photogenic. Really though, this one could have gone either way.

The Overlooked One: Kanna vs Maasa. I feel a bit bad for both of these girls. I can understand that Kanna is newer, and maybe less popular because of that, but neither of them get very much in the way of screentime or lines at all. Oh well. I think Kanna is waaaay cuter than Maasa, so this one is no contest really.

FINAL SCORE: Berryz-2 Cute-5

4.Timing: I believe this is the most important factor. Allow me to explain. When Berryz debued (early 2004) H!P was, generally, more popular than it is today. It may seem like this would work in their favor, and it did to a certain extent, but they also gained themselves quite a lot of the fans that are col
lectively known as “Wota” which is a major turn-off to the general public. Plus, they were younger than the members of Cute are today. As a result, they became the group of cute little girls with a large following of creepy old men. Cute has only debued recently, in a time when H!P kids in general are gaining in popularity, at an older age, and fresh with a relatively small fan-base. Even though they certainly have some Wota fans, it’s somewhat less creepy because they’re older, and there are less of the fans anyway. Cute has a much better shot than Berryz ever did of appealing to the mainstream population, and I think that they are doing just that. Berryz name is already sort of tarnished by their past and fanbase, but Cute has a chance to break out of that stigma and sell to the general public, and therefore, they are currently outselling Berryz.

Just my opinions. Sorry this was so long, and I hope you enjoyed it.

I have been thinking a bit about H!P kids and eggs, and how it is decided who gets to be promoted and who doesn’t, and in the end, I just don’t understand lot of it.

First is Suzuki Airi. She’s cute, and she is one of the best singers in h!p kids (in my opinion), so why was she left behind when Berryz Kobou was formed? I am aware that Berryz was originally intended to have a rotating roster, but the fact is that the Berryz girls were promoted, and the other h!p kids were ignored until very recently when they began releasing actual singles as Cute. When they have someone like Airi on the roster, having her occasionally dance backup at other h!p concerts while worse singers are getting to release singles in Berryz doesn’t seem like it was a wise decision.

The next thing is the eggs. It seems likely that some of them are more talented/cute/whatever than some of the h!p kids. However, because the h!p kids joined first, they are promoted while the eggs are, for the most part, stuck as background dancers hoping that someone will drop out of one of the main kids groups so they can join like Kanna did. Now, I understand that seniority is important in Japan, and the h!p kids have, essentially, “paid their dues” being the backup dancers. But, from a business standpoint, and h!p is a business after all, it seems like they could utalize their talent resources more effectively.

And so the final point. When it came time to add new members to Morning Musume, were either of these groups even considered? I’m not counting LinLin, because she was only an egg for a few months. There is appeal in holding open auditions, creating the idea that any girl has a chance at getting in. I don’t think they should stop doing that. Also, as Cute and Berryz continue to establish themselves, it’s probably too late to move any of them to MM. Let’s say though, that three new members are going to be added as the 9th generation of morning musume. Wouldn’t it make sense to hold open auditions for one or two spots and fill one or two of them with the most qualified egg(s)? I was thinking that maybe none of the eggs were actually good enough to be in a “real” group. But, after watching the Ongaku Gatas video, I saw at least one, maybe two of them that I think should be promoted to a better group. After all, you’ve got to give the eggs some hope.