 ANGERME has consistently been on fire since they re-launched, and their latest single is no exception to this. They have successfully presented very strong music that is extremely catchy and challenging to turn off. The first song of this release is ‘Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku’ which is arguably one of their most enticing tracks they’ve released thus far. It starts off tantalizing and jumps right in to a really heavy beat and a song that’s going to be stuck in your head for a long time. It does a great job of giving the listener small moments to breathe before jumping back into the immense power in the song. It’s really quite clever how the song flows. As is the current fad of making jazzy songs, ‘Itoshima Distance’ doesn’t fail to disappoint in this regard. Admittedly, it’s a little more different in the way the melody is constructed and the instrumentation isn’t nearly as straightforward as the other Hello! Project jazzy songs that have released recently. This is good, since it give the song its own identity, and makes it that much more interesting. ‘Koi Nara Tokku ni Hajimatteru’ is the final song on this release, and is a fun mix of pure pop with the rock undertone that is one of their defining features. It’s in interesting way the two styles are combined, and the wonderful vocals help to accentuate this dynamic to make everything work seamlessly together. ANGERME has done a fantastic job with their songs, and this release is no exception. In fact, this is their highest selling single thus far, which speaks volumes about how well done it is! Be sure to check it out! Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku / Itoshima Distance / Koi Nara Tokku ni Hajimatteru released on April 27th. You can get your copy from cdjapan.co.jp or your preferred retailer. - Teepu
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 While I’ve personally been pleased with Country Girls’ progress since they rebooted, there’s no denying that they have had an interesting journey trying to identify their own style. They express themselves exactly as their title suggests: a group of country loving girls who live fun lives. Their latest release helps to express this completely and powerfully while still providing some fun variety, which was lacking from their previous release unfortunately. ‘Boogie Woogie LOVE’ is their kick-off track that’s groovy and exciting and superbly catchy. It has a very heavy jazz style to it that seems to be the running theme of a lot of the Hello! Project music this year. The next song, ‘Koi wa Magnet,’ transitions smoothly into a catchy and fun song that is very reminiscent of more old-style idol music and music in general. It reminds me of a lot of the old 80’s and early 90’s music that I grew up with, which is really endearing and nostalgic. It’s a great way to please older listeners while presenting something (potentially) fresh for younger listeners who aren’t familiar with older music. They close out with ‘Ranrarun ~Anata ni Muchuu~’ which holds onto the very carefree and innocent style that is their overall defining feature and has been since they rebooted. It’s not particularly new or fresh but it’s still super fun to listen to. I was very pleased with the overall improved quality of songs in this release considering their mediocre output before that. If Country Girls keeps up with this then they could truly become one of the most special groups Hello! Project has ever had. Boogie Woogie LOVE / Koi wa Magnet / Ranrarun ~Anata ni Muchuu~ released in Japan on March 9th. You can get your copy from cdjapan.co.jp or your preferred retailer. - Teepu Ultra Mirakurukuru Final Ultimate Interview with Idol Group The World Standard! (わーすた) (Part 1)7/26/2016  Recently A-To-J Connections was granted the opportunity to interview iDOL Street group, The World Standard! Fresh from their first overseas live in Shanghai we discussed everything from their formation to their future activities and their hopes to come to the US and perform in various languages! Ever wanted to know more about this rising group that is trying to establish themselves as the standard for Japanese idol music in the world? Well look no further than this interview! Due to the length of the interview, it has been split into two parts and the second part can be found here.
The World Standard (Also known as Wa-suta or わーすた) is an idol group formed in March 2015 under avex's iDOL Street label which also includes Cheeky Parade, SUPER GIRLS, and GEM. The five-member group is produced by Manaka Suzuki and their goal is to bring their unique brand of cute, idol music to the entire world! In order to achieve this goal they have recorded and performed music across many different genres and hope to record in different languages in the future. Their first self-titled album was released earlier this year and they will release their first single this September. They also recently held their first overseas live in at Shanghai's @Jam this past June. This is their first long-form interview for English-speaking audiences. For more on them look here for our Featured Idol Friday article on them! A-to-J: 本日はインタビューのため、お時間を頂きありがとうございます、最初に自己紹介をお願いします。 A-To-J: Thank you for taking time for this interview, can you introduce yourselves? 廣川 奈々聖：私たち、The World Standard… Hirokawa Nanase: We are, The World Standard… メンバー全員： 「わーすた」です！ All: “Wa-suta”! 小玉 梨々華： よろしくお願いします！ Kodama Ririka: Nice to meet you! 他のメンバー：よろしくお願いします！ The other members: Nice to meet you! 廣川 奈々聖： 一人ずつ自己紹介します。 Hirokawa Nanase: We’re going to introduce ourselves one by one. 三品 瑠香：愛知県出身、高校1年生、15歳の三品瑠香です！よろしくお願いします！ Mishina Ruka: I come from Aichi prefecture, I’m a first-year student in high school, and I’m 15 years old! I’m Ruka Mishina! Nice to meet you! 小玉 梨々華： 高校1年生、15歳、「りりぃ」こと小玉梨々華です！よろしくお願いします！ Kodama Ririka: I’m a first-year student in high school and I’m 15 years old. I’m Ririka Kodama also known as “Ririi”! Nice to meet you! 坂元 葉月： 高校2年生、16歳の「みりてこ」こと松田美里です！よろしくお願いします！ Sakamoto Hazuki: I’m a second-year student in high school and I’m 16 years old! I’m Miri Matsuda also known as “Miriteko”! Nice to meet you! 廣川 奈々聖： 高校2年生、17歳の「なっちゅん」こと廣川奈々聖です！よろしくお願いします！ Hirokawa Nanase: I’m a second-year student in high school and I’m 17 years old! I’m Nanase Hirokawa also known as “Nacchun”! Nice to meet you! 坂元 葉月： 高校3年生、17歳、「はーちん」こと坂元葉月です！よろしくお願いします！ Sakamoto Hazuki: I’m a third-year student in high school and I’m 17 years old! I’m Hazuki Sakamoto also known as “Haachin”! Nice to meet you!  In a surprising turn of events, Yuki Uozumi (guitarist for LoVendoЯ), has announced that she’ll be graduating from the group. Having had the pleasure of seeing them perform a few times, I can attest to her amazing talent, talent which she says she would like to use elsewhere. According to her own statement, it seems like she wants to explore more ways of increasing her own skills. She also mentioned that she would like to potentially study abroad in order to perform with more musicians. Studying abroad seems to be the running fad with graduated members of UP-FRONT groups lately, which speaks volumes about them understanding the importance of globalizing. Yuki will keep performing with LoVendoЯ until their Shinjuku Reny performance on September 16th. Let’s give her all our love and support for her future, and make these final months in LoVendoЯ good ones! - Teepu  Kobushi Factory caught us by surprise when they were first announced, and they had a very solid debut as well. With that under their belt, let’s take a look at their 2nd and 3rd releases, and see if they’ve kept the steam rolling. Their second release kicked off with ‘Sakura Night Fever’ which is a very nostalgic themed song. It reminds me of the type of music that Hello! Project started off with, and that’s a really good thing. It’s a very cute and fun song that is totally grounded in the type of theming that made Hello! Project so endearing over a decade ago. Their second song, ‘Chotto Guchoku ni! Chototsumoushin,’ keeps with the jazzy theme of the recent Hello! Project releases, with a lot of really fun vocal range. In fact, I really love how this song helps to show off how talented these girls can be when given the opportunity. The song offers a little bit of high-end vocal talent mixed with the kind of silly fun we had with ‘Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta’ (from their debut single). It’s just plain fun! ‘Osu! Kobushi Tamashii’ is their final song, and brings a far more modern musical style to the table to help round out the package of this release. Keeping with the theme of this release, the song is simply fun. It may not excel in any real way but it has a very enjoyable sound that helps assure that it’s worthy of being next to the other two fantastic songs in this release. It’s no wonder that they managed to hit number 1 on the Oricon charts with this release!  Their third release starts off with ‘Samba! Kobushi Janeiro’, which is exactly what it sounds like: a samba-style song. While it may seem like a major departure from what they have done thus far, it’s actually very representative of the style they’ve built for themselves. That style being all about fun. The samba touch helps to give it a bit of an exotic flare to help give it an alluring quality that further improves the really snazzy beat. ‘Bacchikoi Seishun!’ is an odd song. It actually makes me feel like it’s what Sakura Night Fever would be if it were a modern rock song. Depending on what you’re looking for, that could be great or terrible. Personally, I actually really liked that. I could be the only one that feels that way, but the song is a great entry into their growing library nonetheless. ‘Ora wa Ninkimono’ is our expected silly song this release. It’s also my favorite song on the release because of how over-the-top fun it is. When I listen to the song it simply lifts my spirits and really puts me in a good mood. It helps that the song is super catchy. It isn’t a particularly complex song but not all songs need to be complex to be good! As you can see, they’re still doing a great job and I look forward to whatever they plan in the future. Their 2nd single released in Japan on February 17th while their third one released in Japan on July 27th (yes, it just came out!). Be sure to get your copies from cdjapan.co.jp or your preferred retailer! - Teepu  °C-ute, continuing their stream of awesome single releases, came out with another set of songs that addresses a good variety of genres while keeping true to the talents of the girls in the group. ‘Naze Hito wa Arasoun Darou?’ is a very pleasant song that immediately imbues high levels of happiness within the listener. It’s just a fun and carefree song that’s easy on the ears and the soul. The lyrics present a very touching message too, which really spoke to me personally. The last time I was touched by a song’s meaning this much was back when AKB48 released ‘Koisuru Fortune Cookie.’ It’s a very positive message about how we shouldn’t fight each other because it doesn’t accomplish anything. I love it. ‘Summer Wind’ is a calm and soothing song that will give you the sense of a person trying to take flight and spread their wings in a world that wants to fight against them. It’s really quite pleasing to listen to and feels almost inspirational. Ending the set of songs with ‘Jinsei wa STEP!’ feels oddly appropriate. After the slightly more calm tones of the first two songs, this one expresses itself with a much groovier tune that flows along so smoothly and beautifully that you won’t even realize it’s already over. In fact, ‘Jinsei wa STEP!’ caught me completely off guard with the very groovy and jazzy style it went for. °C-ute has done so in the past but not to this extent, and it is one of the most refreshing songs I’ve heard from them in a while. Overall, this was one of the most solid releases °C-ute has had in recent times, with something to please every person with the high level of skill and talent that they’ve developed over the years. Here’s hoping that they keep up the phenomenal work! Naze Hito wa Arasoun Darou? / Summer Wind / Jinsei wa STEP! released on April 20th, and can be purchased from cdjapan.co.jp or your favorite retailer. - Teepu  The nine-member Johnny’s boy-band, Hey! Say! JUMP!, sure does have their summer schedule cut out for the! After releasing their last singles (‘Sayonara SENSATION’ and ‘Maji SUNSHINE’) only a few months ago, they’ve decided to release a new album with both old and new songs. This album shares its name with the four-month tour they’re kicking off the day of the release: ‘DEAR.’
REGULAR EDITION - 2800 Yen:
LIMITED EDITION #1 - 3300 Yen:
LIMITED EDITION #2 - 3000 Yen:
All three editions are being sold both separately on CDJapan, some with added bonuses, along with a special deal for a bundle of all three editions. Careful! They’re selling out fast! -Dia  Who is Momoiro Clover Z? Momoiro Clover Z is a girls unit featuring Kanako Momota, Shiori Tamai, Ayaka Sasaki, Momoka Ariyasu and Reni Takagi. They began their career in 2008, and their single “Ikuze! Kaitou Shoujo” (Released in 2010) reached No. 1 on the Oricon daily chart. Their activities have brought them into collaborations with many different fields, such as anime and even professional wrestling. Their collaborations within anime are especially strong and they were in charge of the main themes for “Pokemon: Best Wishes”, “Bodacious Space Pirates”, “Joshiraku” and “Dragon Crisis”. In 2014, they were chosen as one of the opening acts for Lady Gaga's tour of Japan. Also in 2014, they recorded the opening and the ending themes for “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal”, as well as the main theme for the film “Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'” in 2015. Momoiro Clover Z will return to America for a three-city "Trans-America Ultra Live Tour" November 15th-19th. The tour stops in Hawaii, New York, and Los Angeles. The pop idol unit made their last appearance on U.S. shores at Anime Expo 2015, joined on stage by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS. A limited number of VIP tickets will be available for the each city, and will include an exclusive pre-show special talk with the artist, titled "JUSTICE WITH MOMOIRO CLOVER Z".
-Kelsey
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