 It was recently announced that idol group ANGERME will release their new Double-A side single on August 26 and have released a special live concert (“ANGERME Concert tour 2018 Spring "Yunin to Iro FINAL”) on their YouTube Channel.
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By Winfield Ly  It was announced on October 18, 2019 that Country Girls will cease activities on December 26th, 2019 following their concert at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA. They will release a compilation album titled “Country Girls Daizenshuu” on December 4th and it will contain all of their songs and MVs released to date since their revival in 2014.
 Long-running Japanese idol group Morning Musume ’19 has added three incredibly cute new “musumes”, who will form Morning Musume’s 15th generation. Two of them were picked from a recent Morning Musume ‘19 LOVE Audition, and one member will be joining them from the Hello! Pro Kenshuusei Hokkaido trainee division. In a live-streamed announcement, they were greeted cheerfully by the current Morning Musume members.
 On June 23, 2017, Morning Musume ‘17 concluded their spring tour titled Morning Musume '17 Concert Tour Haru ~THE INSPIRATION!~ at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
First of all, let me just say that this is my first review at A-To-J Connections despite being on the team for a year. I’m not the best at describing sounds and song genres but I felt like writing a review so here it is. This new song by ANGERME, “Ai no Tame Kyou Made Shinkashitekita Ningen Ai no Tame Subete Taikashitekita Ningen” which in English means “Humans that have evolved for love Humans that have degenerated everything for love”. Ok, what is up with that title? It is horribly long and hard to say. I wonder how fans are going to shorten it? (Something to look forward to) This is the first song to feature Momona Kasahara, who just recently joined right after Meimi Tamura had left. Even though she doesn’t have the most lines, she got some key lines to showcase herself.  Momona Kasahara getting the first line of the song Just like recent other Hello!Project single releases, this is one of the 3 songs in their triple A-side single which also includes the songs “Umaku Ienai” (Can’t Say It Well) and “Wasureteageru” (I’ll Forget For You). The song itself has EDM qualities to it and the lyrics are very futuristic. It is about humans in a futuristic world that have convenient gadgets and technology but they still have trouble finding love. The dance also reflects the lyrics and has a robotic feel to the movements. All the moves look sharp and cool just like the past couple of ANGERME dances. It really shows how much they have stepped up their game! Now the MV… Per usual for H!P songs, the MV is a simple studio shoot with a couple of backgrounds, lip-synching scenes, and a dance shot. Hearts show up in the MV signifying the love they are yearning for.  Leader, Ayaka Wada and 4th gen member, Moe Kamikokuryou standing next to the heart Even though it is simple, I personally think it shows off the girls more with the cool tone colors and the almost post-apocalyptic setting. The costumes are also simple and the asymmetric dresses are a nice touch. I feel like I’m watching a Morning Musume MV from when they were more EDM heavy in their songs since it has a similar feel to the music and dance. I can’t keep my eyes off of Ayacho because she is a total beauty and has matured quite a bit now!  Ayaka Wada and her surprise wink in the MV I have nothing really to complain about in this song and MV to be quite honest. Lines are nicely distributed, there are cute scenes in there, and the dance looks stunning as usual. I actually didn’t the MV too much when they showed the short preview on Hello! Station but after seeing the full version, I’m a complete fan. I look forward to the lives for this song and the MVs for the other songs! Also hoping to see a dance shot for this song… (I’m sure I’m not the only H!P fan out there that misses Dance Shots for every song!!) The single comes out October 19th, 2016 so make sure to pick it up and support ANGERME for more awesome content! -Tiffany Fujii
ANGERME - "Ai no Tame Kyou Made Shinkashitekita Ningen Ai no Tame Subete Taikashitekita Ningen" MV  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. When it was announced that Buono! was going to hold a concert titled “Buono! Festa 2016” at Nippon Budokan, fans held their breath and hoped that this would lead to an active Buono! again. Composed of Miyabi Natsuyaki (formerly of Berryz Kobo), Airi Suzuki (of ℃-ute) and Momoko Tsugunaga (also formerly of Berryz Kobo, currently Playing Manager of Country Girls), Buono!'s future looked unsure following Berryz Kobo's hiatus and besides small one-off performances at joint Hello! Project concerts, Buono! had not been active in several years. As the concert drew nearer fans learned more about this event. Miyabi Natsuyaki's new group would be revealed at this concert and in the weeks leading up to the concert itself, we learned that Buono! had recorded a new single and that it would be made available before its actual release date at this concert! Besides this the Buono! Festa 2016 line-up would be filled by the individual member’s other groups. This meant that Country Girls, ℃-ute, as well as Miyabi’s unnamed group would all perform in their own guest corner segments. August 25th, 2016, the time had come for the world to see Buono! again! The crowd shuffled into the sold-out Nippon Budokan and got ready for what was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Besides the crowd at the venue, the concert was also being broadcast live in several theaters in not only Japan, but also in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well. A huge Buono! banner covered the stage and everyone at Nippon Budokan eagerly waited to see the banner finally be removed. The excitement of the crowd could be felt as a countdown signaled the group's arrival. A silhouette gave way to the trio we had all been waiting for and Buono! took the stage along with their backing band Dolce. They immediately jumped into their first song, their come-back single "Rockno Seichi", a song that is a spiritual successor and answer song to their earlier favorite, “Rockno Kamisama”. The crowd went wild and following an MC would only get more crazy when Buono! followed this with "We are Buono! ~Buono no Theme~". The crowd's cheers of "B-U-O-N-O!" rocked Nippon Budokan and not a bit of energy was lost when the band finished out their initial set with "Rottara Rottara".  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Now being that this is Buono! Festa 2016 and not your standard one-man live, we were going to be treated to several other acts before Buono! took back the stage. First up was the introduction of Miyabi Natsuyaki's then-unnamed group. Following the announcement of Berryz Kobo's hiatus, the future of some of the members was unsure. While many of the members stayed within Up-Front or Hello! Project, only a few, like Momoko Tsugunaga, remained in the performing spotlight Therefore, fans were very excited when it was announced that Miyabi would be leading her own group and that excitement was brought to a head at Buono! Festa 2016! The audience was treated to video auditions of the chosen members (Hikaru Kobayashi and Yuka Nihei) and a short documentary of the new group learning the material as well as recording their first release. Following this introduction we were treated to the much-anticipated reveal of the new group's name, "PINK CRES." short for "pink crescendo".  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. The trio took the stage next supported by DJ JURI. Their first song was a medley of "Warning ~Mirai Keihou~" and "Uwa no Sora". These songs were very different, one being a dance song and the next being a slow ballad, but they definitely showed the crowd that this was a group that was worth watching in the future. The crowd was then treated to PINK CRES.' very first MC where Miyabi asked the crowd to change their penlights to pink. Everyone happily obliged and their set closed out with the song "Summer Wonderland" which was complete with not only pink penlights, but also twirling towels.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Country Girls were up next. Following the hiatus of Berryz Kobo, Momoko Tsugunaga made a new name for herself as the Playing Manager of Country Girls and took the group on a path straight to the top. They opened their set "Koi Dorobou" and the crowd's cheers and chants were completely on point. Following this introduction we got an MC where it was mentioned that while this was Country Girls' third time at Nippon Budokan it was the first time for with the new line-up that sadly featured the absence of Manaka Inaba who had left the group just weeks before. Their next song was their latest single, "Doodatte Iino". They closed out their guest corner with the fan favorite "Itooshikutte Gomenne" a song that is both very catchy and cute, but still able to whip the crowd into a frenzy.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Now up to this point all the previous groups had proper introductions and stage exits, all that ended when it was time for ℃-ute to take the stage. ℃-ute came on stage immediately following the end of Country Girls' set and the "Are you ready?!" shouts that accompanied the intro of "Tokkaiko Junjou" were nearly enough to tear the roof off the venue. This was a particularly hard set to watch as it was announced just days before that ℃-ute would be graduated from Hello! Project the following June. Following their MC they went into "Jinseiwa STEP!" and followed that up with the ever-popular "Kiss me Aishiteru". Their set was pure energy and both ℃-ute and the fans gave every bit of themselves to each other. Also following immediately, "Dance de Bakoon!" wrapped up their guest corner. Before we were treated to the return of Buono! we were given one last performance. ℃-ute (minus Airi Suzuki) along with a Momoko-less Country Girls performed the Buono! hit "Hontono Jibun". While I personally would have loved to have seen this song performed by Buono!, this was an interesting take on it nonetheless.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Buono! took back the stage with “Independent Girl ~ Dokuritsu Joshide Arutameni” a song that brought every fan in the venue to their feet and into the air. To go along with this powerful return we were also given flames which heated up Budokan even more so than the fan’s cheers did. The group was in rare form here and continued to several other hard-rocking numbers “Zassou no Uta” and “JUICY HE@RT”. While the physical fire on stage had died down by this point, the fire within their performance was not showing any signs of giving way. Buono!’s interaction with backing band Dolce is worth noting here too. With the addition of a second guitarist (bringing the total of musicians who could traverse to stage to three) the group was able to more properly pair off for fun on stage antics. Together, Buono! and Dolce owned the stage and took the show directly to everyone be they down the middle along the ramp, or along both wings of the stage.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Following this powerful opening, we got the second MC from Buono!. This one was special though as following some remarks about how it had been a long time since they shared the same stage, Miyabi was presented with a birthday cake and everyone from those in the crowd to those on the stage took part in wishing her a happy birthday! What a birthday it was too! A birthday that saw the reformation of the beloved Buono! and the debut of her own group PINK CRES. Surely this birthday can be seen as a new beginning bright with opportunity!  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Following the MC, they continued with their new single, “Sorashido~Neenee~”. This was followed by “Gachinkode Ikou!”, “My Love”, and “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” which saw this segment wrapped up with the girls on a centrally placed bed where they eventually finished the song following a pesky alarm. This was a fitting place to end this segment as the songs up to this point were all high energy and the power of the concert would be enough to tire out even the most seasoned of performers! The MC that followed saw Buono! changed into elegant white dresses as they introduced the band to the crowd. This introduction also featured a special guest violinist who would play an important part in the next segment. Following a request for the fans to sit for the next part, the band took us into a nice acoustic set that was as beautifully powerful as the first half of the show though in a more subtle way. With the girls seated far to the front in the middle ramp, they began with “Urahara”, by the time they moved into “Kimiga Ireba”, the sole violinist was now joined by a full string quartet. This part closed with “You’re My Friend” which saw the full band accompanying the strings bringing a sound one rarely hears at Hello! Project concerts.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Before we moved onto the next set of songs we were treated to some very funny special videos that are best seen rather than explained. Suffice to say that they were quite amusing and played up to the comedic strengths of the members very well! The next set of songs was kicked off by “Nakamushi Shonen” which was followed by “Kataomoi。”. “Hatsukoi Cider”, with a slightly slower opening finished this set. We had been taken on a musical journey that had taken us to many different stops, but things were clearly getting ready to ramp up again following the earlier acoustic parts. The shouts of “P. A. T. I!” signaled the start of “Bravo☆Bravo” a song whose iconic chants were something that must be witnessed to believe how powerful they could be. Other powerful rocking songs “Janakya Mottainai!” and a “Lady Panther” complete with dueling guitar solos. Fire, along with smoke this time around, once again filled the stage for “MY BOY” which was every bit the hard-rocking metal crossover song it was. “Renai♥Rider” was officially the last song of the night and a fitting way to wrap up the main part of Buono! Festa 2016 as it was their second single (Their first single being performed earlier by the non-Buono! members). Streamers fell from the ceiling and filled Nippon Budokan with a colorful rain during this song and fans grabbed at them all the while continuing to cheer with them held high. Following this song Buono! exited the stage, but it thankfully would not be for long.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Seeing Nippon Budokan lit by thousands of colorful penlights is something that can never be properly described unless one has directly witnessed it themselves. It is as beautiful as it is powerful and it can be nearly breathtaking. Added to this sea of light were the constant and rhythmic calls for Buono’s return. After several minutes of this, return they did and their first encore song was none other than “Rockno Kamisama”. Following this amazing towel-swinging performance and another MC, the band entered into the true final songs of the night, “Warp!” and “Tabitachino Uta”. The former of which saw hearts fall from the sky in the colors of the group which featured a message. These were quickly scooped up by the lucky fans while on stage the string quartet had grown yet again into a full ensemble that added a new layer to what was already a wonderful show. Following some call and responses with “Tabitachino Uta” the concert came to a reluctant end. All said, Buono! Festa 2016 was made up of three hours of music and performance, but everyone within Budokan probably wished the night didn’t have to end.
It had been over four years since Buono! had properly active, but if one didn’t know any better they would have assumed that no time had passed at all. They were in as perfect a form as they ever were and performed with as much power and drive as they did on their first ever solo concert. While the night had more than its share of bittersweet moments especially when one recalled the recent announcement regarding the future of ℃-ute, these were counteracted by the fact that the thousands of fans assembled, as well as those watching from afar, had witnessed something special. Something that could never happen again. A legend had reformed and hopefully would begin a new chapter. A chapter that would be long and bright and hopefully one that would never again see such a prolonged absence of such great a group. -Manuel (alavic_222) Setlist: M01.Rockno Seichi MC1 M02. We are Buono! ~Buono! no Theme M03. Rottara Rottara Guest Corner: PINK CRES. Warning ~Mirai Keihou~ / Uwanosora (Medley) MC Summer Wonderland Guest Corner: Country Girls Koi Dorobou MC Dou Datte Ii no Itooshikutte Gomenne Guest Corner: ℃-ute Tokaikko Junjou MC Jinsei wa STEP! Kiss me Aishiteru Dance de Bakoon! Hontono Jibun (Maimi Yajima, Saki Nakajima, Chisato Okai, Mai Hagiwara, Risa Yamaki, Chisaki Morito, Mai Ozeki, Nanami Yanagawa, Musubu Funaki) SE M04. Independent Girl~Dokuritsu Joshi de Arutameni ~ M05. Zassou no Uta M06. JUICY HE@RT MC2 M07. Sorashido~Neenee~ M08. Gachinkode Ikou! M09. My Love M10. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! MC3 M11. Urahara M12. Kimiga Ireba M13. You're My Friend Video Corner M14. Nakimushi Shounen M15. Kataomoi。 M16. Hatsukoi Cider MC4 M17. Bravo☆Bravo M18. Janakya Mottainai! M19. Lady Panther M20. MY BOY M21. Renai♥Rider ENCORE EN1. Rockno Kamisama MC5 EN2. Warp! EN3. Tabitachino Uta Buono! Is: Tsugunaga Momoko (嗣永桃子) (Leader) Natsuyaki Miyabi (夏焼雅) Suzuki Airi (鈴木愛理) PINK CRES. Is: Natsuyaki Miyabi (夏焼雅) (Leader) Kobayashi Hikaru (小林ひかる) Nihei Yuuka (二瓶有加) Country Girls Is: Tsugunaga Momoko (嗣永桃子) (Playing Manager) Yamaki Risa (山木梨沙) Morito Chisaki (森戸知沙希) Ozeki Mai (小関舞) Yanagawa Nanami (梁川奈々美) Funaki Musubu (船木結) ℃-ute Is: Yajima Maimi (矢島舞美) (Leader) Nakajima Saki (中島早貴) Suzuki Airi (鈴木愛理) Okai Chisato (岡井千聖) Hagiwara Mai (萩原舞) Official Links Buono! Official YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/buonochannel PINK CRES. Official Site: http://www.pinkcres.com/ PINK CRES. Official Blog: http://ameblo.jp/pinkcres UP-FRONT LINK Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upfrontlink/ UP-FRONT LINK Twitter: https://twitter.com/UpFrontLink All pictures ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Used with permission.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Recently, A-To-J Staff Writer/Correspondent, Alita, attended Suzuki Kanon's final concert with Morning Musume。’16 and here is her report!
「Alita has been living and working in Japan for over 8 years. She has followed Hello Project since discovering Morning Musume。in 2001. Kanon Suzuki was the third "oshi", or favorite member, that she has seen off and she has no plans of leaving the fandom any time soon.」  El 19 de Septiembre, °C-ute, grupo de Hello!Project se presentó por primera vez en América del Norte, para tener un concierto en la Ciudad de México. Un reporte completo de esta experiencia única en la vida, puede ser encontrado aquí. A-To-J Connections, no solamente tuvo la oportunidad de asistir a este evento, si no, el conseguir una entrevista a pesar de su ya ocupada agenda.
A-To-J: ¡Muchas gracias por brindarnos un poco de tu tiempo en su ya ocupada agenda! Comenzaremos ahora. ¿Qué les ha parecido México? °C-ute: ¡Nos gusta mucho aquí! Maimi: Como nunca antes habíamos venido a México y está muy lejos de Japón, estuvimos preguntándonos qué tipo de país sería, pero cuando llegamos, nos dimos cuenta que tiene similitudes con Japón, por ejemplo la puesta del sol. Esto es una similitud pequeña, pero los enchufes son guales. Este tipo de cosas me hizo pensar que es un lugar agradable para vivir. A-To-J: ¿Nos pueden contar sobre su experiencia con los fans Mexicanos? ¿Son diferentes a sus fans de Japón? Saki: Gracias a que su respuesta es muy buena, ¡Es muy divertido el tener una presentación! Cuando decimos: ¡Viva México! Todos gritan. Cuando la música comienza, ellos también gritan, pero cuando todos tratan de concentrarse, ellos comprenden y guardan silencio. También fue muy sencillo el tener contacto visual con ellos. A-To-J: ¿Qué prepararon para su concierto en México? Airi: Nosotras aprendimos un poco de Español antes de venir gracias a una persona de nuestra compañía que es de Perú, así podríamos hablar el idioma durante el concierto. Utilizamos algunas de esas frases en el evento. A-To-J: Ahora, hablemos un poco del concierto. ¿Hay alguna canción en especial que hayan disfrutado cantar en el concierto de ayer? Chisato: Todas las canciones fueron divertidas porque todo el público reaccionaba muy bien. Yo pensé: “Wow. ¡A ellos realmente se sienten identificados nuestras canciones!“ En particular, hay una canción llamada “Gamusha LIFE” la cual tiene letras que reflejan a °C-ute hasta el día de hoy. Cuando pienso en todos los fans de la audiencia que no habíamos podido conocer hasta ahora, me sentí un poco culpable, pero feliz, fue por eso que fui capaz de mostrar diferentes sensacioens mientras cantábamos esta canción. A-To-J: Hablando de sus canciones. ¿Cómo eligieron el set list? Chisato: Hay un album que fue vendido en el concierto y esas canciones fueron elegidas por votos de popularidad, entonces esas fueron las que elegimos para presenter en el concierto. A-To-J: Volviendo al tema de su tiempo libre en México. ¿Tuvieron oportunidad para turistear aquí? Maimi: Tuvimos la oportunidad de ir a Cancún por un par de días, el mar era muy hermoso. El océano tenía capas con tres colores diferentes, yo me sorprendí mucho. También, la ciudad cobra vida por la noche, era como si fuera Halloween, lo cual también me sorprendió. A-To-J: ¿Qué les pareció la comida de aquí? ¿Probaron platillos ‘exóticos’? Maimi: ¡Estuve muy sorprendida cuando probé los nopales! No creí que fueran algo comestible. °C-ute: ¡Estuvo delicioso! Maimi: Como no sabíamos cuál sería su sabor, necesitamos mucho valor para probarlos. Su sabor era como okra y pimientos… Tenía una textura muy peculiar. ¡Pero me gustaron mucho! A-To-J: ¿Hay algún souvenir que les pareció interesante y que compraron? Chisato: No estamos seguras de qué cosas comprar como souvenirs… En el caso de la comida, no sabemos qué podemos y no podemos llevar a casa, así que investigaremos y trataremos de comprar cosas que sean aptas para el avión. Saki: ¡Algo con el estilo de México! A-To-J: ¿Con qué tipo de retos se topan cuando tienen presentaciones en el extranjero? Saki: Como la audiencia es muy diferente a la usual, sus reacciones también lo son. Ellos cantan junto con nosotras, nos mandan corazones con sus manos y también nos mandan besos. Yo debo concentrarme para seguir cantando sin dejarme llevar por la emoción. A-To-J: Si pudieran tener un concierto en el extranjero nuevamente. ¿A dónde les gustaría ir? Airi: ¡Nos gustaría ir a cualquier lugar al que nos inviten! Pero si México nos invita de nuevo, amaríamos volver. °C-ute: ¡Definitivamente! A-To-J: ¿Por qué creen que la popularidad de Hello!Project ha aumentado recientemente en Japón y en el extranjero? Chisato: Estos días, tenemos la oportunidad de realizar show que la gente que vive fuera de Japón puede ver, como “Hello!Project Sation” y “GREEN ROOM”. Incluso hacemos transmisiones en vivo de nuestras presentaciones de cuando en cuando. Así que los eventos o cosas que antes no podrías ver a menos que estuvieras en Japón, ahora puedes verlas a través del internet. Creo que esto a ayudado a Hello!Project alrededor del mundo. A-To-J: ¿Cuál es su siguiente meta a cumplir en Japón ahora que hace poco tuvieron su concierto en Yokohama Arena? Mai: Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo Dome… Después de ser parte de un grupo por 10 años y finalmente tener la oportunidad de presentarse en el escenario de Yokohama Arena, nos dimos cuenta que queremos seguir haciendo realidad nuestros sueños, por eso nosotras haremos lo posible por presentarnos en escenarios aún más grandes. A-To-J: ¿Hay algún género de música que les gustaría intentar próximamente? Airi: Hm… Un género de música… Maimi: Hemos tenido la oportunidad de cantar varios tipos diferentes de canciones ya que somos el grupo más antiguo en Hello!Project… Como hemos tenido más seguidores extranjeros, me gustaría intentar cantar en inglés. A-To-J: Por último, ¿Algo que quisieras decirle a tus fans extranjeros? Maimi: A través del internet hay muchas personas que conoces a °C-ute o Hello!Project, pero me gustaría que también tuvieran la oportunidad de vernos en vivo, quiero que se den cuenta que hay muchas cosas que sólo puedes conocer en nuestras presentaciones en vivo. Ayer sentí que no importa qué tan lejos estemos, a través de la música, nuestros corazones están más cerca. Espero que los fans puedan venir a visitarnos en Japón y que nosotras tengamos oportunidad de visitar más lugares. Ustedes, los fans internacionales, quizá piensan que no tendrán oportunidad de vernos en persona… ¡Pero si nos siguen apoyando, esperamos visitarlos algún día! A-To-J: Muchas gracias nuevamente por su tiempo. La entrevista fue conducida y traducida por Tiffany Fuji y asistida por Teepu Khan con la fotografía y dirección de Manuel Figueroa y traducción al español por Ruby G. °C-ute es: ◆ Yajima Maimi (矢島舞美, Leader) ◆ Nakajima Saki (中島早貴) ◆ Suzuki Airi (鈴木愛理) ◆ Okai Chisato (岡井千聖) ◆ Hagiwara Mai (萩原舞) Para más información de °C-ute, UP-FRONT y Hello°Project por favor diríjanse a las redes socials de Up-Front: Twitter: @UpFrontLink Facebook: facebook.com/upfrontlink |
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