Bikkuri Project

These, my friends, are good times.

As someone who has been a fan of Morning Musume since “Ai Araba It’s All Right”, I entered the fandom around the time that the group began their gradual slide down the Oricon charts. Popular members were graduating left and right. Regular Oricon Number 1 positions were a thing of the past. Sales figures bounced up and down a bit, but the overall trend was lower and lower. With each new single or graduation, people would shriek “Morning Musme is dooomed! Over. Done with”. But I stuck with them. I was in Japan during most of the “Platinum Era”, what could be considered the group’s lowest point, popularity-wise, and I enjoyed every second I spent at their concerts.  Not to say I’m special, because I know that a large core group of fans stuck with them as well. For all people wailed and gnashed their teeth, sales figures were never really dismal. In fact, they were always quite good by most standards. Just not as good as they used to be. And if the downward trend continued, eventually they may have fallen into truly worrisome territory.

But then, things begun to change. The stable, and sorry to say, stale, lineup experienced some graduations. 9th gen joined, quickly followed by 10th gen, bringing fresh, young blood and new vitality to the group. Regular auditions became a feature once more.The musical style and dance performance underwent a dramatic shift, and promotion finally started to increase to keep pace better with the other top idol groups. And the sales responded to these changes in a big way. Finally, we entered an upswing! “One Two Three” became Morning Musume’s first single to break 100,000 copies sold since “Ai Araba It’s All Right” in 2004. Yes, the very song that brought me into Morning Musume. “Wakuteka Take a Chance” continued the strong sales trend, and “Help Me!” hit number 1 on the Oricon charts!

And now “Brainstorming/Kimi Sae”  has surpassed the first day sales of all three of those very successful most recent songs with 65,915 copies sold just on day one!  Amazingly, the trend is continuing in the upward direction. They’re so far ahead of the current weekly number 2 song that baring a truly epic turn-around, this will mark their first time having two consecutive weekly number one singles since “Souda! We’re Alive” and “Mr. Moonlight” in 2001/2002. That’s over ten years!

I hope that everyone involved is proud of this fantastic accomplishment. A true comeback, consisting of many songs in a row more than doubling previous sales figures, is rarely seen in this industry. Even if the group never hits another million seller, I think they have already done what many of even their most loyal fans thought was impossible. It’s been a bumpy ride, but it’s one that I’m glad to be on.

~Celestia~

I’ve seen a few cherry blossoms start blooming, and that means it’s time for Spring songs! Spring has some slightly different connotations in Japan than it does in the West. It is the season of the much beloved cherry blossoms (lord knows Japan loves their sakura) and new beginnings, yes, but it is also the season of graduation and sad partings. Even the sakura themselves only make a brief appearance before falling from the trees, serving as a poignant metaphor for the fleeting and temporary nature of all things. Still, perhaps no season is as loved and celebrated in Japan as Spring. I think “bittersweet” is the perfect word to describe it. Some of these songs reflect the sweet side, others the bitter, and others a combination of both. Enjoy!

~Celestia~

PS. You know what’s wrong with new Up Front soloist “Tasaki Asahi”‘s name? “Asahi” is a very popular brand of beer in Japan. Isn’t that kind of like naming your kid “Budweiser”?

Just as I was getting back into blogging, I was given a huge distraction in the form of Fire Emblem: Awakening for the 3DS. One of the most addicting and frustratingly challenging games I’ve ever played! You get attached to the characters, but then if one of them dies in battle they’re permanently dead. Gone! So there’s really nothing to do but turn it off and try the stage again.

Anyway, just a quick note on Tasaki Asahi (what a weird name). Have you checked her out? I’m really into her song “Rolling Days”. Now Asahi isn’t technically in Hello! Project, but she’s participating in the satoyama movement, and she performed at the h!p winter concerts. I’m hoping she’ll be officially moved over to h!p, and I’d welcome her with open arms. She’s like a much more talented version of Mano Erina, though she looks like a mix of Dawa and Eripon. Here she is performing.

 

~Celestia~

Ah yes, the popularity question. The recent changes in Morning Musume’s lineup and hierarchy have sparked this tired old debate anew. The thing that has actually caught my attention this time is the complicated question of how a girl’s “push” by the management affects her popularity with the public.

There are two extreme sides to this argument.

1. “You only like (name) because she is pushed by the management! She’s actually not all that great, she just gets shoved in our faces so everyone thinks she must be the best.”

2. “You only hate (name) because she is pushed by management! She totally deserves to be in the front and get lines because she’s the best. You hate her because she’s pushed ahead of some other girl you like and you want to root for the underdog.”

The interesting thing is that both people faced with these arguments will likely deny that a girls’ popularity has anything to do with how much they like that girl. They like her (or dislike her) for her qualities and talents! It’s everyone else who are helpless sheeple making their decisions based on who the management pushes.

The real truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Can we really deny that how much we like one idol or dislike another is entirely independent of how much they are pushed by the management? Surely it has an influence, be it for positive or negative. How about you? If a girl becomes popular and starts getting lots of solo lines, does that make you tend to like her more or like her less? If you say that doesn’t matter to you, I don’t believe you!

I feel like by watching various idol groups over the years, one thing I’ve learned is that management generally knows what they’re doing when they choose to push one girl over another. Believe it or not, there is usually a good reason for that choice. It’s not done arbitrarily to piss off the fans. It is done because they want to make money, so they push the girls the believe are most marketable. In the case of Morning Musume, this means girls who have lots of general appeal to the masses/stage presence AND (when it comes to line distribution) can consistently hit their solo lines while singing live.  Given this criteria, Riho and Reina fit the bill, and Sayu and Mizuki are good choices as secondary leads with Sakura poised to take over for Reina. Who else could be leads right now? Haruna and Erina are cute and funny, but they just can’t sing well enough, Masaki can sing in tune, but her voice is still immature, and Ayumi and Kanon need to work on their vocal control. The only one I can’t quite figure out is Haruka. Maybe they’re “saving her for later” since she’s so young?  Overall, hate all you want, but the line distribution hierarchy of Morning Musume right now makes a lot of sense to me.

~Celestia~

Before I get to the video, first things first…

CONGRATULATIONS TO MORNING MUSUME FOR GETTING WEEKLY NUMBER 1 ON THE ORICON CHARTS!!!! YAAAAAY!!!

With three singles in a row with fantastic sales, not to mention reports of many new fans at events, I think we have proof that this comeback is real, not a fluke. Slowly but surely, people are beginning to respond to the “new” Morning Musume.  Next single will be Reina’s graduation song, so can we hope for 100,000+ first week? A year ago, that would seem ridiculously high, but now I think it’s very possible.

Now, to the video! The Hello! Project discography is full of encouraging songs. So much so in fact, that I’ve limited this “Songs of Encouragement” video to Morning Musume songs only. If you need a little pick-me-up, some affirmation, or a push to do something that scares you, this video is for you!

~Celestia~

The title of my latest video is “Hello! Project Songs for a Broken Heart”. Don’t worry, this isn’t inspired by anything that has happened to me recently, but I’d guess that many of us, myself included, know what it feels like to have your heart broken. And if you’re like me, you’ve found that music can be helpful in getting through those tough times.

This collection of songs is for the first part right after the breakup or rejection. It’s for when you aren’t ready to move on and get over it yet, despite advice from your well-meaning friends. Sometimes you just need to take a moment to be sad and process your feelings, and these songs from h!p are here to sympathize.

Or maybe you just like to listen to emotional music sometimes. This video is for you too!

Note: This video isn’t meant to be every single h!p song that fits the theme. It’s a selection.

Next video will have a much more positive theme, so look forward to that!

~Celestia~

SHORT AKB RELATED POST WARNING

All the AKB graduations as of late put me in a counting mood. Turns out that in AKB48′s entire history (main group only not counting temporary guest members not counting Aimi Eguchi because she’s not a real person), there have been 172 members of AKB48.  Of those 172 members, 93 (geez that’s a lot) have graduated/quit/left in a scandal/transferred to a sister group/or will leave soon (Kasai Tomomi). Nearly 100 girls have been a part of AKB48 but are in the group no longer. That’s a lot of idols to burn through, and it doesn’t even count girls who have graduated from the sister groups. If we add those in (and unsubtract the transferred members), it brings the total to 184 former members! I feel like that’s got to be some sort of record, right? In 25 years if a woman in Japan tells you she used to be in AKB48, you’ll just roll your eyes and say, “So? Who wasn’t in AKB48?”

~Celestia~

As a music blogger and avid maker of lists, I often think about questions like: “Why do I like a song?” or “What makes this song more appealing to me than that song?” Obviously there are many factors, but there is one that has really become more apparent with Morning Musume’s latest musical style (encompassing 123, Wakuteka, and now Help Me) and that is what I’d like to call “complexity”.

By complexity, I mean the number of distinct melodic sections included in the song. I especially notice this when I’m making a video and trying to get a good sampling of the entire song into 30 seconds to a minute. Wakuteka and 123 were impossible!

The simplest possible song would only have one distinct part, a chorus (think children’s songs ie. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). Now almost every song you’d ever hear on the radio or released on a CD will have at least two (verse, chorus). Probably the most common “standard” format has three parts (verse, chorus, and bridge). Many H!p singles follow this three part format. Take Pyoko Pyoko Ultra for example. Three distinct melodies: (the “Yume miteru onnanoko” part, the echoed part “mikka bouzu..miika bouzu”, and the chorus “yeah yeah yeah yeah ultra jump!”). Now, was the fact that it had only 3 parts the entire reason I didn’t like the song much? Of course not (the costumes! ug!), but I think it played a role.

Now let’s count the parts of the more recent Morning Musume songs. How about “Wakuteka Take a Chance”?

1. Kodaku ja tsurai no ni
Kekkyoku kurushimagire no iiwake
Dare ni mo wakaranai
Minna sorezore jinsei wake ari

2. Baby Stop Stop yamete
Shirigaruchan ja nai wa
Don’t Stop Don’t Stop USO da yo
Mecha Shock Shock Shock....

3. Amekaze shinoi de anata ni HORE ta yo
Asa kara ban made anata ni HORE ta yo

4. Dore ga honki de
Dore wo shinjiru?
Dare ga honki de
Dare wo shinjiru?

5. God WAKUTEKA Take a chance
God WAKUGERA Get a chance
God WAKUTEKA Take a chance
Oh My God

6. Kaze wo kanjiteru
Hora daichi no sakebigoe
Shizen wo shinjiteru
Saa koko kara hajimaru no sa

7. (chorus) Oh Wow
Shake it up!
Damatte KISS demo shiro
Shake it up!
Damatte anshin sasero
Shake it up!
Damatte mamotte miro
KAKKO tsukete KIME te iin da yo

Chrous again, then repeat.

That’s seven distinct parts! Wow. More than twice as many as we find in Pyoko Pyoko. This not only adds variety and interest for the listener, it makes the song feel much less “lazy”. It gives the sense that some really effort went into writing and composing it. It also allows for more complicated dances as each melodic part comes with its own dance moves.

I should note that there are other ways to add complexity or variety to a song. Tempo changes, key changes, and monologues can all help. For example, “I Wish” is my favorite MM song ever. It follows the standard 3 part format (verse, bridge, chorus), but it also contains two tempo changes and a key change.

Anyway, I compared Morning Musume’s latest songs to see how they stack up.

3 Parts-  The Matenrou Show, Pyoko Pyoko Ultra, Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa, Only You, Maji Desuka Suka, Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game, Seishun Collection, Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai, Kimagure Princess, Shouganai Yumeoibito, Naichau Kamo, Pepper Keibu

4 Parts- Renai Hunter, Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai, Mikan, Nanchatte Renai

5 Parts- Help Me!, Resonant Blue

6 Parts- One Two Three (seven parts if you count the whispered Sayu/Mizuki/Reina thing before the last chorus)

7 Parts- Wakuteka Take a Chance
So the only recent pre-10th gen song with five or more parts is Resonant Blue. And as you might recall, that song came with a large sales boost for MM and was absolutely played to death at concerts for years. Nanchatte Renai, the other high seller from that era is also out of the standard 3-part format.

It may also be interesting to note that most of the popular older songs contain more than three parts as well (not counting monologues). “The Peace” has five, “Renai Revolution 21″ has four or five depending on how you count it, “Souda! We’re Alive” and “Koko ni Iruzee” have four each. Then again, some popular songs “Go Girl Koi no Victory” for example, definitely have only three.

Well, number of parts certainly isn’t the only factor in how much someone will like a song, but I think it’s one worth considering. Especially since One Two Three and Wakuteka are setting records for “most distinct melodic parts” in a Morning Musume Single.

~Celestia~

Thank you to all 127 of you who voted in my Top H!p Songs of 2012 poll. (That’s more than last year!). Now, without further ado, the top 25 h!p songs of 2012 as chosen by fans:

And here is the breakdown of results by category and the full list of points.

Overall

Top Single: One Two Three, Morning Musume

2nd Place Single: Wakuteka Take a Chance, Morning Musume

Top B-side: Kanashiki Heaven, C-ute

2nd Place B-side: Loving You Too Much, Berryz Kobo

Top Album Song: What’s Up? Ai wa Dou na no yo, Morning Musume

2nd Place Album Song: Be Alive, Morning Musume

Bottom Single: Cat’s Eye, Cat’s Eye 7

Bottom B-side: (Tie) Yuuki wo Kudasai-Berryz and Seishun Rainbow-Mano Erina,

Bottom Album Song: (Tie) I Have a Dream- Mano Erina, Kiiroi Jitensha to Sandwich- S/mileage, and Believe-Buono

Morning Musume

Top Single: One Two Three

Top B-side: Futsuu no Shoujo A

Top Album Song: What’s Up? Ai wa dou na no yo~

Bottom Single: Pyoko Pyoko Ultra

Bottom B-side: Shinnen Dake wa Tsuranukitoose

Bottom Album Song: Zero Kara Hajimaru Seishun

Berryz Kobo

Top Single: Cha Cha Sing

Top B-side: Loving You Too Much

Top Album Song: Shy Boy

Bottom Single: Be Genki Naseba Naru

Bottom B-side: Yuuki wo Kudasai

Bottom Album Song: Atarashii Hibi

C-ute

Top Single: Aitai Aitai Aitai na

Top B-side: Kanashiki Heaven

Top Album Song: Zuntaka March ~Hitorashiku Ikiyou~

Bottom Single: Kimi wa Jitensha Boku wa Densha de Kitaku

Bottom B-side: Saikou Music

Bottom Album Song: Kagayake Houkago

Mano Erina

Top Single: Song For the Date

Top B-side: Aozora ga Watteru

Top Album Song: Glory Days

Bottom Single: Next My Self

Bottom B-side: Seishun Rainbow

Bottom Album Song: I Have a Dream

S/Mileage

Top Single: Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki

Top B-side: Smile Blues

Bottom Single: Dot Bikini

Bottom B-side: Chance Tourai

Buono

Top Single: Hatsukoi Cider

Top Album Song: Never Gonna Stop

Bottom Single: Deep Mind

Bottom Album Song: Believe

Other

Top Single: Chou Happy Song

Bottom Single: Cat’s Eye

FULL RESULTS WITH POINTS

593One Two Three

517ワクテカ Take a chance (Wakuteka Take a Chance)

473恋愛ハンター (Renai Hunter)

387悲しきヘブン (Kanashiki Heaven)

348会いたい 会いたい 会いたいな (Aitai Aitai Aitai na)

308Loving You Too Much

304初恋サイダー (Hatsukoi Cider)

277Cha Cha Sing

274超HAPPY SONG (Chou Happy Song)

255フォレフォレ~Forest For Rest~ (Fore Fore ~Forest For Rest~)

251What’s Up? 愛はどうなのよ～ (What’s Up? Ai wa dou na no yo~)

170好きよ、純情反抗期 (Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki)

168The 摩天楼ショー (The Matenrou Show)

157普通の少女A (Futsuu no Shoujo A)

152Want

148君は自転車 私は電車で帰宅 (Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku)

117Deep Mind

107寒いね (Samui ne)

105Be Alive

93Be 元気<成せば成るっ!> (Be Genki (Naseba Naru!))

92悲しき恋のメロディー (Kanashiki Koi no Melody)

85Song For the Date

82チョトマテクダサイ! (Choto Mate Kudasai!)

74アイサレタイノニ・・・ (Aisaretai no ni…)

74ドキドキベイビー (Doki Doki Baby)

67ピョコピョコ ウルトラ (PyocoPyoco Ultra)

61黄昏交差点 (Tasogare Kousaten)

58涙一滴 (Namida Hitoshizuku)

58ドッカ～ン カプリッチオ (Dokka~n Cappricio)

55私の時代! (Watashi no Jidai!)

51ドットビキニ (Dot Bikini)

48Next My Self

46ズンタカマーチ～人らしく生きよう～ (Zuntaka March ~Hitorashiku Ikiyou~)

45笑って！YOU (Waratte! You)

44キャベツ白書 (Cabbage Hakusho)

43Shy Boy

43彼女になりたいっ！！！ (Kanojo ni Naritai!!!)

40ラララのピピピ (Lalala no Pipipi)

39Never Gonna Stop!

34ひとり占めしたかっただけなのに (Hitorijime Shitakatta Dake na no ni)

31青春ど真ん中 (Seishun Domannaka)

31すまいるブルース (Smile Blues)

26「愛はいつもいつも」 (Ai wa Itsumo Itsumo)

26「大好き」の意味を教えて！(”Daisuki” no Imi wo Oshiete)

26Glory Days

25大好き100万点 (Daisuki 100 Manten)

25Boys Be Ambitious!

24私がいて 君がいる (Watashi ga Ite Kimi ga Iru)

24ももち！許してにゃん♡体操 (Momochi! Yurushite Nyan Taisou)

23都会のネオンが驚くくらいの美しさがほしい (Tokai no Neon ga Odoroku Kurai no Utsukushisa ga Hoshii)

23Fever

22バンザイ! ～人生はめっちゃワンダッホーッ！～ (Banzai! ~Jinsei wa Meccha Wonderful~)

21行け! 元気君 (Yuke! Genki-kun)

20世の中薔薇色 (Yononaka Barairo)

19Loveイノベーション (Love Innovation)

19もう、子供じゃない私なのに… (Mou, Kodomojanai Watashi na no ni…)

18信念だけは貫き通せ! (Shinnen Dake wa Tsuranukitoose!)

18GO!GO!ゴーダ (Go! Go! Gouda)

18フォレストタイム (Forest Time)

15地球が泣いている (Chikyuu ga Naiteiru)

14最高ミュージック (Saikou Music)

13恋愛模様 (Renai Moyou)

12未来ドライブ (Mirai Drive)

11幸せの途中 (Shiawase no Tochuu)

10輝け! 放課後 (Kagayake! Houkago)

10熱血先生 (Nekketsu Sensei)

9ゼロから始まる青春 (Zero kara Hajimaru Seishun)

8Mythology～愛のアルバム～ (Mythology ~Ai no Album~)

8あなたがいるから (Anata ga Iru Kara)

8夏の星空 (Natsu no Hoshizora)

7私、ちょいとかわいい裏番長 (Watashi wa Choito Kawaii Urabanchou)

6Because Happiness

6天気予報があたったら (Tenkiyohou ga Atattara)

5純情警察K・I・S・S (Junjou Keisatsu KISS)

4青空が笑ってる (Aozora ga Waratteru)

3チャンス到来! (Chance Tourai!)

2風の薔薇～歩いて地図を作った男のウタ～ (Kaze no Bara ~Aruite Chizu wo Tsukatta Otoko no Uta~)

1新しい日々 (Atarashii Hibi)

1Cat’s Eye

0勇気をください！ (Yuuki wo Kudasai!)

0青春　レインボウ (Seishun Rainbow)

0I Have a Dream

0黄色い自転車とサンドウィッチ (Kiiroi Jitensha to Sandwich)

0BELIEVE★★★

There have been some bad Morning Musume single and album covers over the years.

We’ve seen unflattering hair styles, weird facial expressions, even photoshop errors resulting in amputated limbs.

Oh my goodness Eri! What happened to the bottom half of your arm??

The “Help Me!” covers avoid a lot of the major pitfalls. Good hairstyles, no one is making a weird face, the casual outfits are pretty cute (especially Erina’s). I really like this one. It’s simple, but the stained glass effect is cool and all of the girls look good.

So most of the covers are pretty good, but then there’s the Regular A version. At first, it just confused me, but when I figured it out, I had to laugh out loud.

What’s Actually Happening: They shot Riho and Sakura sitting on the floor leaning on their elbow and then arranged the photos to look like they were mirror images of each other.

What It Looks Like: Riho and Sakura are both standing on one foot with the other foot pulled up like a flamingo. Their necks and upper torsos are bent at extremely awkward and uncomfortable angles. Riho is grabbing Sakura’s butt which is causing an explosion of sparkles behind them. I guess Riho copping a feel makes sense since someone’s leg in the back is making it look a bit like she has a penis.

~Celestia~