 During the first anniversary event in Shinjuku for Country Girls, fans were given some pleasant news: two new members would officially be joining the group. The two new members are Nanami Yanagawa and Musubu Funaki, thus making them a 7 member group.
Nanami joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei this year on the 1st of April. She had originally auditioned for Morning Musume, but didn’t make the cut. Luckily, her talent was recognized and she was brought in as a Kenshuusei in hopes of developing her into something truly special. She quickly showed her qualities and improved herself, which eventually helped her get into Country Girls.
Musubu joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei on September 22, 2013. She had also attempted to join Morning Musume, as a 12th Generation member, but didn’t make it either. Over time, she has worked extremely hard and has finally been rewarded for her hard work by being able to join Country Girls. The girls who trained in Hello Pro Kenshuusei tend to adapt and evolve quickly, so we can expect some great things out of these two. Let’s cheer for them and hope for a wonderfully successful future. ~Teepu (Bowser05) Country Girls Are: - Tsugunaga Momoko (嗣永桃子) - Yamaki Risa (山木梨沙) - Inaba Manaka (稲場愛香) - Morito Chisaki (森戸知沙希) - Ozeki Mai (小関舞) - Yanagawa Nanami (梁川奈々美) - Funaki Musubu (船木結) Check out the official announcement here: http://www.helloproject.com/news/3770/ Check out some extra information at Up-Front Link here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/up-front-link/en-country-girls-new-members-announced/970475676344683
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 On September 19th Hello! Project group, °C-ute, performed for the first time in North America to packed house in Mexico City, Mexico. A full report on this once-in-a-lifetime experience can be found here. A-To-J Connections was lucky enough to not only attend this concert, but also to be granted an interview during their already busy schedule.
Thank you for giving us some time in your busy schedule. We’ll start this right off. How do you like Mexico? °C-ute: We like it here! Maimi: Since we’ve never come to Mexico before and it’s so far, we were wondering what kind of country it is, but when we arrived we realized there are some similarities to Japan; such as the sunset or, this is something minor but, the power outlets are the same. These things made me think that this is a comfortable place to live. Can you tell us something about your experience with the Mexican fans? Are they different than the ones back home? Saki: Since the reaction is big, it’s fun to perform! When we said “Viva Mexico!” everyone would scream. When the music started, they would also scream, but when everyone was trying to concentrate they would understand and become quiet. It was also easy to have eye contact with them. What did you do to prepare for this live in Mexico? Airi: We learned a bit of Spanish before coming here, such as Spanish we could use during the live, from a person from our company who is actually from Peru. We used some of those phrases during this live. Let’s talk about that live a little bit. Is there any specific song you enjoyed performing the most at yesterday's concert? Chisato: All the songs were fun because everyone reacted to them. I thought, “Wow, they get touched by each song!” But in particular, there is a song called “Gamusha LIFE” which has lyrics that portray °C-ute up until now. When I thought of all the fans in the audience we haven’t been able to meet before, my apologetic yet happy feelings flowed out and I was able to put in a lot of different feelings while performing this song. Speaking of the songs, did you come up with the set list? Chisato: There is an album that we sold here in Mexico and those songs were actually chosen by popularity votes, so we mostly put those into the live. Moving back to your time in Mexico, did you get any time to go sightseeing here in Mexico? Mai: We got to go to Cancun for a couple of days and the ocean was really beautiful. The ocean was layered with three different colors and I was surprised. Also, the city became lively at night and it was like Halloween, which also surprised me. What about food here? What exotic foods have you tried? Maimi: I was very surprised by the cactus! I didn’t think it was something that was edible. °C-ute: It was delicious! Maimi: Since we didn’t know how it would taste it required courage. It tasted sort of like okra, sort of like bell peppers…it had a slimy but interesting texture and I actually liked it! Are there any interesting souvenirs you're taking home? Chisato: We’re not even sure what we should buy for souvenirs. For food, we don’t know what we can and can’t bring home so we’re going to research and try to properly bring home something. Saki: Something Mexico-ish! What kinds of challenges do you run into when performing overseas? Saki: Because the audience is very different from usual, their reactions are very different. Such as singing with us or giving us hearts and blowing us kisses. I had to keep a cool head and perform without getting too carried away. If you can go overseas again, where would you like to go next? Airi: We would like to go wherever we get invited! If Mexico invites us again, we would love to come again. °C-ute: Definitely! Why do you think there has been a recent increase in popularity of Hello! Project both in Japan and abroad? Chisato: Nowadays, we’re able to do shows that people overseas can watch such as “Hello! Project Station” and “GREEN ROOM”. We even do live broadcasts of our lives occasionally. So the things that you weren’t able to see unless you came to Japan, you can now see through the internet. I think that it helps Hello! Project throughout the world. What is your next goal in Japan since you've had your Yokohama Arena concert recently? Mai: Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo Dome…. After 10 years of being a group and finally standing on the stage of Yokohama Arena, we realized that we want to keep on making our dreams come true, so we want to try our absolute best to be able to stand on more big stages. Is there any genre of music you would like to tackle next? Airi: Hmm…a genre of music…. Maimi: We’ve had the chance to sing many types of songs and now that we’re the oldest in Hello! Project…. Since we’ve been getting more following from overseas fans, I want to challenge singing in English as well. Lastly, do you have anything you'd like to say to all your foreign fans? Maimi: Through the internet, I think there are a lot of people that know °C-ute or Hello! Project, but I want them to see us live in person and I want them to realize there are a lot of things you can only feel when you see us live. I felt yesterday that no matter how far we are, through singing, our hearts can get closer. I hope that fans will come visit us in Japan and we will get more chances to go visit more places. You, the overseas fans, might think you won’t have a chance to see us in person, but if you keep on cheering for us, we hope to go visit as well someday! Thank you again for your time. The above interview was conducted and translated by Tiffany Fujii and assisted by Teepu Khan with photography and direction by Manuel Figueroa. °C-ute Are: ◆ 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) For more information on °C-ute, UP-FRONT and Hello! Project please follow Up-Front Link At: Twitter: @UpFrontLink Facebook: facebook.com/upfrontlink 
It is January 2nd, 2011. Morning Musume is starting to suffer from a severe lack of attention and love due to the reduced size of the group to 5 members with the recent graduation of Eri Kamei, Junjun and Linlin. But on this day, it is officially announced that Morning Musume has a new set of four members, a 9th generation: Mizuki Fukumura, Erina Ikuta, Riho Sayashi and Kanon Suzuki. These four girls would bring a new, youthful charm back to the group that had been missing since the more mature (commonly referred to as) Platinum Era had been the face of the group. They debuted with the single Maji Desu ka Ska! 
In the next couple years, the remnants of the Platinum Era slowly graduated from the group, while this new 9th generation started to change the face of the group. Riho Sayashi ended up being the face of these four girls, since she showed a lot of promise due to singing and dancing skills. She would henceforth be referred to as the 'ace' of the group. From then on, she only got better and better, much to the delight of her fans. She also brought her own brand of uniqueness and silliness to the group which is always welcome. Once Sayumi Michishige graduated last year, thus officially ending any connection with the Platinum Era, the whole group evolved into something new and exciting, with many thanks going to the talent and experience of the 9th generation. 
It came as a sudden shock, then, when she recently announced that she would be graduating from Morning Musume '15 at the end of this year. Since she's joined the group, she's participated in 19 singles, 12 albums (4 of them with new content, the rest compilations), 6 stage plays, 1 television drama, 1 movie and much more. While her official graduation date will be on December 31st, marking the end of Morning Musume '15 (and presumably the start of Morning Musume '16), the last performances she will be a part of will be on December 7th and 8th. This will be during the Countdown Live at the Budokan in Tokyo. For those of you who would like to go to see her off, I'd recommend you start working on getting tickets immediately, because they will be difficult to get a hold of. Maimi Yajima, leader of ℃-ute and leader of Hello! Project, made a very touching post regarding the announcement in her blog, which you can read at the bottom of this article. Her future goals are to study English abroad, and focus on perfecting her dancing skills. Something extremely interesting to note is that she is not graduating from Hello! Project, only from Morning Musume '15. She has every intention of coming back to Hello! Project once she's done studying abroad and studying dance to her satisfaction. This could mean that she could come back as a very unique dance-centric soloist, or that she might start a really cool dance unit within Hello! Project when she comes back. There are many possibilities, most of them extremely exciting. 
That being said, Morning Musume '15 has evolved into a very beautiful group thanks to all of its current members. It will be tough to see Morning Musume '15 without Riho, but they've all managed to create something really special, and I have full confidence that they will continue to do so moving forward. Let's continue to support the girls with all our hearts, and let's continue to support Riho in whatever she chooses to do from here on. An unhappy performer isn't a good performer in the idol world, so let's hope she comes back refreshed and fully satisfied, so she can continue her career with the same love and care that she's shown in her time within Morning Musume.
~Teepu Morning Musume '15 is: - Mizuki Fukumura (9th Generation – 譜久村聖) Leader - Erina Ikuta (9th Generation – 生田衣梨奈) Sub-leader - Riho Sayashi (9th Generation – 鞘師里保) - Kanon Suzuki (9th Generation – 鈴木香音) - Haruna Iikubo (10th Generation – 飯窪春奈) Sub-leader - Ayumi Ishida (10th Generation – 石田亜佑美) - Masaki Sato (10th Generation – 佐藤優樹) - Haruka Kudo (10th Generation – 工藤遙) - Sakura Oda (11th Generation – 小田さくら) - Haruna Ogata (12th Generation – 尾形春水) - Miki Nonaka (12th Generation – 野中美希) - Maria Makino (12th Generation – 牧野真莉愛) - Akane Haga (12th Generation – 羽賀朱音) You can read her official announcement on her blog here: http://s.ameblo.jp/morningmusume-9ki/entry-12089659596.html You can read an official translation and a short note about it on Up-Front Link here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/up-front-link/en-concerning-riho-sayashi/967417713317146 The official Hello! Project announcement is here: http://www.helloproject.com/news/3725/ You can read a message regarding the announcement on Maimi Yajima's blog here: http://s.ameblo.jp/c-ute-official/entry-12089611470.html You can read an unofficial translation of Maimi's post here: https://www.facebook.com/910percent/posts/1187891511225223 
With the impending release of °C-ute’s new single, ‘Arigatou ~Mugen no Yell~ / Arashi wo Okosunda Exciting Fight!’, came some really exciting news. On the 7th of this month, it was announced via the official Hello! Project site that there would be a special limited release of a 12-inch record for the new single. Arigatou ~Mugen no Yell~ is designed to be the squad hymn, and “Arashi wo Okosunda Exciting Fight~ is meant to be a cheer song for the Japan Wrestling Federation. The normal single releases on the 28th of October (coming in 2 Regular Editions and 4 Limited Editions) while the vinyl is set to release near the end of November. If you want to snag one, they will be up for pre-order until October 26th (Japan Time) on e-LineUP! It requires a Japanese address, so you would need a secondary party to acquire the vinyl for you. You can work through private parties or various companies, or use the provided walkthrough to use tenso (the sponsored service for e-LineUP!). However you decide to get it, don’t miss your chance! ~ Teepu (Bowser05) °C-ute Are: ◆ 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) e-LineUP! Listing for the Vinyl: http://www.e-lineup.com/shopdetail/000000007226/ Walkthrough on Using tenso: Hello! Project Official Announcement: http://www.helloproject.com/news/3600/
Maimi’s Blog Post Announcing the Songs’ Purposes: http://ameblo.jp/c-ute-official/entry-12071743646.html  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. We walk around Mexico City together, with our phones out, trying to use GPS to locate the venue where Japanese idol group °C-ute will be performing. We are lost and confused. It is then that a Mexican fan with whom we had communicated with online happened to find us and helped guide us to the venue. That scenario is indicative of the concert experience as a whole: camaraderie, love and excitement. With some familiarity with the location, the next day we arrived at the venue at about 1000 and saw fans already lining up and getting excited. It wasn’t just enthusiastic Mexican fans, though; there were people from many places, including Canada, USA, Colombia and even Japan. As we heard the excited chatter within the line, we could see various vendors setting up a sort of market on the street. As we walked through the line, speaking to the fans, there was nothing but excitement. This was not only the first time °C-ute was performing in Mexico, and not only the first time any Hello! Project group was performing in Mexico, but it was the first time any idol group was performing there. Overseas performances are already a rarity, due to the tight Japanese tour schedules, so this was a pleasant honor for all the °C-ute fans in Mexico and North America as a whole.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Amongst those gathered outside the venue, there were some fans who dressed up in outfits from °C-ute’s singles. While there were several, the one that stood out the most was a group who were sporting the cute dresses from ‘Sekai ichi Happy na Onna no Ko’. They had taken a level of care and dedication in order to make sure that they reproduced the outfits almost perfectly. Meanwhile, across the street, there were fans performing dances from various Hello! Project songs in order to pass the time and get the energy flowing. They had a great time, and other fans would occasionally jump in to join them. As time went on, the excitement only kept building until about 1615, when the doors finally opened for VIP and we began shuffling through the doors and upstairs to where the goods table was located. There was an exclusive photo set, an exclusive T-shirt, a towel and wristband combo from their current tour and an exclusive CD which contained a special selection of songs selected by popularity as well as a handshake ticket.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. As the tension and excitement grew, °C-ute finally came out and the crowd exploded with excitement. Nothing could prepare us for the energy and spirit that the Mexican fans were able to exude. The cheering was deafening. The energy was invigorating. They were completely and totally contagious. It was at that moment that we truly understood why °C-ute had gone to Mexico for their first North American concert. From the giant grins on °C-ute’s faces, I think they felt the same way. Without further ado, °C-ute jumped right into the concert. They stepped out onto stage with black outfits with sparkling silver tones and a red undertone complete with red shoes. They started off strong with ‘Kanashiki Heaven’, which was a smart choice due to the heavy use of vocal skills for it. After finishing that song, and ‘Adam to Eve no Dilemma’, they jumped into their introductions. They did it all in Spanish, which was really impressive. For example, Maimi said she was looking forward to the day and Saki said “let’s have a blast.” Following that they jumped right back into performing with ‘Soku Dakishimete’. They then lead into ‘I miss you’. Of particular note was how effectively they were able to sing that song, which is a bit complex on the way the vocals are timed. As is to be expected with °C-ute, they did a fantastic job making sure they interacted with the crowd as much as possible. This included the side VIP area which wasn’t in direct line of sight. From little waves, to winks and to hearts, every member made sure that the crowd was given attention (much to the delight of the excited fans). The second section contained a total of 9 songs, all of which were high energy and covered a good time period of their musical library. Of particular note was ‘Ookina Ai de Motenashite’, which is a particular favorite of mine and doesn’t get performed much anymore (this also happened to be my introduction to °C-ute). About halfway through the performance of the second section, they did a quick wardrobe change on stage into a cute red outfit (ripping off the higher layers and setting them on the rear of the stage for the crew to quickly pick up) to continue straight on with little delay.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. With the close of the second section, Maimi and Saki were on stage while the others went to the back to rest and change. At this point, they had a lottery corner, which involved raffle numbers that were handed to us when we had entered the concert hall. As they called out the numbers to the glee of the lucky fans who won the merchandise, the appropriate member to whom the item was related signed the item on the spot. Maimi and Saki then went off-stage to rest and change while Airi and Mai came out to continue the lottery with their own items. It was shortly into this that Chisato came out wearing a gold luchador mask, claiming to be Mil Mascaras. It was one of the silliest and cutest highlights of the concert. Everybody chanted her name really loud. After flexing a little, she jokingly charged at Airi and Mai who reacted in appropriate fashion: by cutely acting scared. Chisato pulled off her mask to reveal that she was wearing a silver luchador mask underneath which matched their third outfits: a beautiful shiny silver with white lining. She eventually removed that mask too, which was undoubtedly hot to wear, and announced herself as Okai Chisato. After quickly fixing her hair, they continued to give out signed merchandise. Chisato signed the gold mask to raffle out. The merchandise included T-shirts, towels, a set of earrings from one of their outfits, the luchador mask, some clear files and even a plush of the Suu-san character created by Airi. These items were distributed to the lucky fans after the concert. Upon conclusion of the lottery corner, they quickly prepared for the opening of the third section with ‘Tokaikko Junjou’. The crowd went wild and were so loud that it caused °C-ute to initially miss their cue. With exceptional skill, they jumped straight into ‘Tokaikko Junjou’ with amazing energy that radiated throughout the whole concert hall. Much to our pleasure, they also performed ‘The Middle Management ~Josei Chuukan Kanrishoku~’, which was one of their strongest performances at the concert. They closed out the third section with ‘Dance de Bakoon!’ which arguably elicited the loudest response from the crowd. ‘Dance de Bakoon!’ has very energetic and positive themes, so performing that was a beautiful way to close out with a bang.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. After leaving the stage, the crowd went wild. They chanting various things hoping for them to come back for an encore, including a very unique chant that was entirely Mexican. They chanted ‘Olé Olé Olé! Kyuuto! Kyuuto!’ We were unaware of how long this went, since it was easy to get lost in the moment while cheering and chanting, though it was likely 10-15 minutes. They came out to thunderous cheers. They were sporting the concert’s T-shirts along with cute skirts with vehicles on it and frills matching their member colors. The encore kicked off with the cute classic ‘Sakura Chirari’. Messages from each individual member were then read to the crowd. Maimi thanked everybody for coming; Saki said that they had looked forward to meeting the fans; Airi expressed her happiness for being able to sing in Mexico finally; Chisato asked everybody to keep cheering for them so they could come back; Mai expressed her happiness with being able to connect with Mexican culture. They then told everybody that all the fans were also members of Team °C-ute and expressed much gratitude and love. Following this, they performed ‘Gamusha Life’ and closed out the concert with ‘JUMP’. These were especially fantastic choices because they allowed the girls to be a little more informal for the conclusion. The end was performed with a bit more interaction with the crowd, a very effective way to depart. It left the fans with awesome positive images.  ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. As quickly as it felt the concert had begun, it was already over. The concert hall was then separated into two groups: VIP and non-VIP. The VIP members were allowed to have a quick handshake with each member followed by the non-VIP fans who had managed to snag the CD (which was the only other way to get the handshake ticket). The girls were extremely enthusiastic and kind as everyone proceeded through the handshake line. With really big and pleasant smiles, they gave everybody their heartfelt thanks. At the very end I managed to let Maimi know that I was from America and that they had lots of love from the American fans. Various fans had various messages for the °C-ute members, which they would similarly express to them as they went through the line. The VIP holders then grabbed their signed photos, CDs and handshake tickets (in case they wanted to keep it for the sake of collecting).
Exhausted, hot and with dissipated voices, we stood outside the concert hall and reflected on the experience. We had heard many amazing things about °C-ute being amazing performers. They not only lived up to this expectation, but went beyond it. Between the infectious positivity and energy of the Mexican fans, the extremely top-notch and enthusiastic performance from °C-ute and the amazing set list, we’d be hard-pressed to find something to complain about. As we walked off to grab a bite, we already knew that was going to be one concert we wouldn’t forget. A-To-J Connections was proud to be a part this momentous occasion. Here’s hoping that °C-ute will be able to travel abroad to give more fans the opportunity to experience them as well. °C-ute Are: ◆ 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) Concert Set-List 1. Kanashiki Heaven 2. Adam to Eve no Dilemma 3 MC (Introductions in Spanish) 4. Soku Dakishimete 5. I miss you 6. Forever Love 7. Massara Blue Jeans 8. Ookina Ai de Motenashite 9. Sekai ichi Happy na Onna no ko 10. Namida no Iro 11. Aitai Aitai Aitaina 12. Crazy Kanzen na Otona 13. MC (Lottery Corner) 14. Tokaikko Junjou 15. Love take it all 16. The Middle Management ~Josei Chuukan Kanrishoku~ 17. Midnight Temptation 18. Kiss Me Aishiteru 19. Dance de Bakoon! ENCORE 20. Sakura Chirari 21. MC (Messages) 22. Gamusha Life 23. JUMP -Teepu (Bowser05) For more information on °C-ute, UP-FRONT and Hello! Project please follow Up-Front Link At: Twitter: @UpFrontLink Facebook: facebook.com/upfrontlink All photos ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Used with permission. 
On September 8, Tsunku officially announced that he had resigned from his post as General Producer for Hello! Project. He said that Morning Musume '14's performance in New York last October was the last time he participated officially in H!P. This means he's actually stepped down since then. Most fans who have been following H!P in the last couple years or so likely already knew this. Tsunku had announced that he had laryngeal cancer and he had slowed down on his activities significantly. What was the catalyst that led to his resignation? 
The surgery. He had finally decided to go through with a surgery to remove his vocal cords, since the cancer (it seemed) had not spread beyond that quite yet. The fact that he waited until MM'14 performed in NYC is actually quite significant. MM is the reason H!P exists, and is his original idol concoction. He has a really close bond and emotional ties to MM. Being able to see his children, as he often refers to the girls in H!P, perform for their first time in a solo concert in the USA was the most loving sendoff he could have possibly given them (despite his growing illness, he saw it through). The way I see it, it was similar to how a parent watches their child go off to college, and essentially begins their lives as independent adults (or graduating from college and getting a career, whatever analogy is more culturally relevant to you). He got to see the fruits of his and their labors before stepping aside, and letting others take over for him. I mentioned that fans already knew this was happening, even if it wasn't officially announced until now. This was seen by the fact that almost all content produced out of H!P after October was not lead by him. In fact, seeing the 'Produced by Tsunku' stamp was hardly being seen on anything. That's not to say that fantastic talent hasn't been working in his stead, but the fact is that people started to freak out a little that he was slowly disappearing from H!P affairs. Now we know why. While the transition has been smooth and gentle, it doesn't hurt any less for long-time fans of Hello! Project. 
Tsunku began work as lead vocalist with his band: Sharam Q. He worked together with them for a long time and still does; though since he can't sing anymore his performances are nigh impossible. During his early days with Sharam Q, they sought a female vocalist for the group. Among the auditions, he was only allowed to pick one person. He had a handful of runner-ups though who were so amazing, that he felt it was an absolute shame to not give them a chance at some form of stardom. Instead, he challenged this group of girls to sell 50,000 copies of a song they recorded within a certain amount of time: Ai no Tane. If they were able to do this, Tsunku would help them form into a legitimate group. They managed to do this through their own promoting, and impressed him. From them, the first generation of Morning Musume was born. Having drawn his influence from previous idol groups like Pink Lady and The Peanuts, he had a grand game plan for turning Morning Musume into a brilliant modern idol sensation. Through hard work and perseverance (from him, the ladies and the staff he employed) they managed to pull it off. By the time they released Love Machine (the biggest hit from the group ever), Morning Musume had officially become a household name. Taking inspiration from concepts like the Jazz Messengers, he decided to have a cyclical unit. This concept continued, and expanded, and eventually he created a conglomeration of groups within a header of Hello! Project, containing groups like Berryz Kobo, C-ute and Melon Kinenbi (each representing its own style and theme). Since 1997 he kept at it, and molded Hello! Project into one of the most successful idol sets ever, alongside later groups like Stardust and 48G. So why did I tell this story, when most people who will read this will likely have known this already? To emphasize his importance. He's done a lot not just for Morning Musume, or for Hello! Project, but for the idol scene in general. How he was able to manage so many idols at the same time and produce so much music so often is beyond my comprehension (this goes for all Idol conglomeration managers), but he certainly pulled it off with flying colors. Whether some of his songs were hits or misses with you, there's no denying that he managed to cover a relatively wide variety of genres with the music he produced (within the confines of pop idol groups, of course).  His official announcement of stepping down comes as a difficult blow for Hello! Project fans to wrestle with. On the one hand, we all already knew this. On the other hand, it being official cements the whole thing and doesn't allow us to try to continue in denial of the facts right in front of us. That being said, he hasn't retired, exactly. He is still going to be working on projects, where he can. In fact, he's been working with some older stars lately, which is really nice. That being said, this means he can finally allow himself to spend some proper, quality time with his family, which is well-deserved considering how much of himself he has put into both Sharam Q and Hello! Project. 
Don't fret though! He's no fool, and has certainly left Hello! Project in good hands, which can be clearly seen through all the content that has been released since October from last year. While Tsunku will still produce some music here and there for H!P, for all intents and purposes he's not a real driving force behind it anymore. During all this, he's been working on a book called 'Dakara, Ikiru', which officially released on September 10. A lot of the information on his endeavors and his decisions are reportedly contained within. 
It's a pity that it took him losing his vocal cords to finally be able to slow down and focus on his family and other projects, but at least it wasn't worse. He’s been the inspiration and love of most of us H!P fans. Let's wish him the best in all his future endeavors, and may he have a healthy and fulfilling life with his family and any other future projects he decides to pursue. He certainly deserves it. 
This is the end of a beautiful era for Hello! Project, and the start of an exciting new one.
- Teepu (Bowser05) Tsunku’s Official Site: http://www.tsunku.net/ Tsunku’s Official Blog: http://ameblo.jp/tsunku-blog Tsunku’s Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/boy.tsunku Tsunku’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tsunkuboy/ Tsunku’s Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/tsunkuboy/ Below is a link to information on his book: https://www.shinchosha.co.jp/order/339591/ Below is a link to a rough translation of Tsunku's post by 910 Percent, and below that is his actual post: https://www.facebook.com/910percent/photos/a.436091429738572.121154.253277044686679/1161508073863567/?&fref=nf&pnref=story 
Juice=Juice finally released their album a while ago, and I’m here to tell you all about it! Since the first disc is a collection of most of their singles that they’ve released since they started up, I’m not going to talk too much about that. I really want to try and spend most my time covering all the new stuff instead. That being said, listening to the first disc, called “The Best Juice”, gives you a nice little history of the progress they have had since they started. Interestingly, the disc doesn’t actually start with their first song. It starts with their final indie single, which was really them providing their version of a Hello Pro Kenshuusei song: ‘Ten Made Nobore!’ In their defense, it’s the only indie single of theirs that never saw a major release. It’s a slower song that is pleasant to listen to, but is a weak way to begin the disc, in my opinion. Moving forward, the rest of the songs on the first disc are from their major debut single (‘Romance no Tochuu’) all the way to the release right before the most recent single (‘Senobi’ / ‘Date ja nai yo Uchi no Jinsei wa’). They had actually started with a very strong jazz-like presence, which evolved into a much more pop style as time went on. They still retained the slight jazz feel in order to push forward their ‘cool’ theme, but the style isn’t as strong as it was when it started. This can, of course, be heard as you listen through the first disc on “First Squeeze!” 
The second disc, “The Brand-new Juice”, is where the fun really begins. It kicks off with one of the songs from their newest single releases: ‘Wonderful World’. It’s not particularly mind-blowing, but it is a very pleasant song to listen to. It doesn’t show off any exceptional singing talents, but it does manage to pull you in with a pleasant melody that is simple to follow. The next song is ‘CHOICE & CHANCE’, which is a new song that is addictively catchy. It doesn’t do anything brave, but keeps with Juice=Juice’s theme they’ve been keeping. ‘Ai Ai Gasa’ follows which sounds like the sort of song you would expect to hear on the beach as you relax on a pleasant summer day. ‘Umaretate no Baby Love’ is the first song that really starts to show a little bit more skill out of the girls. While there isn’t much vocal range presented in this song, they manage to hit their notes quite effectively and also keep in sync with each other very well. ‘Erabareshi Watashitachi’ is next and it features a much more instrumental and rock style to it. The guitar sections, while not particularly complex, add a lot of personality to the song as a whole, which really helps give a slight contrast yet accentuate the lovely vocals. It’s definitely a pleasant change of pace from the more jazz/pop style of most of the other songs so far. ‘Ça va? Ça va?’ follows, which is the other song from their newest single. A bit different in style from Wonderful World, this one focuses on a more catchy yet cute feeling while throwing in a little bit of French here and there to try and make it sound a little exotic. 
The next song is by far my favorite song on the album: ‘GIRLS BE AMBITIOUS’. This one has a more rock feel to it, like ‘Umaretate no Baby Love’. The beat is extremely catchy and is the type of song you can’t help but bob your head to. It fluctuates back and forth a bit from a focus on vocals then a focus on instrumental then a focus on combining both of those. To top it off, it is by far the best use of vocal skill that has been presented on the album so far. I also found out after I decided it was my favorite that it was actually written and composed by Takui Nakajima, who has been grabbing my attention a lot lately with his exceptional work (see: Taiki Bansei, Lady Mermaid, Ikujinashi, etc.). Up next is ‘Ai no Diving’. This one has a pretty repetitive set of lyrics, which may or may not appeal to you. That being said, the instrumental is actually pretty fun to listen to, which helps give this song some quality that it wouldn’t have otherwise. For some reason, this song makes me think of the type of song I’d expect to hear while playing Mario Kart. ‘Tick-Tock Watashi no Shun’ is more like ‘Wonderful World’, with a much more soothing and calm melody. Considering the more daring songs that have been on the disc, it helps add some much needed variety and rest to the listener. Next is ‘Mirai e, Saa Hashiridase!’ This song has just the right amount of relaxation and enticing sounds to make it appealing to the ears. That being said, there isn’t really much to make this stand out. It’s a fairly generic song overall, especially considering the top quality of the rest of the album. The final song on the second disc, ‘Tsudzuiteiku STORY’, is the expected ballad-like song that Hello! Project albums tend to close with. That’s not to say that the song isn’t good, it just follows the same mold. From the standpoint of the listener, it’s actually a pretty good way to present things. You start off the album a little slow to ease in the listener then attack their senses through the middle then slow back down to allow the listener time to absorb everything they heard. They keep using this formula because, frankly speaking, it’s effective. 
The final disc, “The Cover Juice”, is a small collection of covers of other Hello! Project songs. The first track is ‘Magic of Love’, originally sung by Taiyou to Ciscomoon. It retains the classic dance style of the original, while infusing that Juice=Juice personality. Quite effectively, I might add. ‘Kosui’ is up next, which was originally sung by Melon Kinenbi. I feel like Juice=Juice did a really good job of capturing that really pleasant feel of the original in this cover and that the lines were distributed quite nicely in order to make each singer’s strengths shine a little. I always loved ‘Narihajimeta Koi no Bell’, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear Juice=Juice’s cover of this song by Ongaku Gatas. The more jazz-like style of this song suits Juice=Juice really well, and helps compliment them as a group. ‘Scramble’, originally sung by Maki Goto, is an oddball. While the cover is actually done pretty well, part of the charm of it being a solo song is taken away with having five singers contributing to the song. This is a personal gripe, and most will likely enjoy the song, but this fact kind of turns me off to the song. The next song, which happens to be one of my favorite Petitmoni songs, is ‘BABY! Koi ni KNOCK OUT!’ (Sung by Yuka Miyazaki, Tomoko Kanazawa and Akari Uemura in this cover). My opinion on this is meaningless, because I love this song so much that no matter how good or bad a cover is, I’ll still love it. I really like that Yuka and Akari, who aren’t the most talented singers exactly, are able to shine next to the much better Tomoko. This song really does play to them together as a trio. The final disc closes out with the Tanpopo song ‘Last Kiss’, sung by (arguably) the two best singers in Juice=Juice: Sayuki Takagi and Karin Miyamoto. Listening to both versions back to back really helps show how much skill Tanpopo had in this song, and how Karin and Sayuki have a little bit to go to catch up. The thing is, though, that they are very skilled, but have a slightly different style. In the end the cover is well done though, and they do a beautiful job of doing the song justice. 
After having waited over two years for their first album to release, Juice=Juice did not disappoint in even the slightest. There is a good variety of content on here, and even a little fan service to sate the more nostalgic fans on the final disc. They play to their strengths and paint a portrait that helps give a sense of finality to the style they’ve been developing since they started. Hello! Project has managed to push out some really nice things this year, and this album seals the deal. The best part is that there is still plenty more to come. Juice=Juice’s first album (released on July 15, 2015), “First Squeeze!”, is available in three editions. Limited Edition A comes with a Blu-ray disc that contains all of their music videos and variations (Dance Shots, Close-ups, etc.). Limited Edition B comes with a DVD that contains their full concert performance on 4/25 at Sapporo from their first live tour. The regular edition contains the third music CD which is where the covers are. Yes that’s right, only the regular edition has all three discs of music. The others only have the first two discs. “First Squeeze!” is available on iTunes (though lacking the covers) or can be purchased from cdjapan.co.jp. Juice=Juice is: - Yuka Miyazaki - Tomoko Kanazawa - Sayuki Takagi - Karin Miyamoto - Akari Uemura Music videos of album exclusive songs can be viewed below: 
The Promotion Edit (aka the Official Music Video on the YouTube Channel) was finally uploaded for Morning Musume ‘15’s new song: Sukatto My Heart. Before I begin to share my thoughts on the music video, I’d like to talk about the costumes. While I’ve seen some very mixed things about the costumes, I personally like them. The sailor outfits with the slightly sexy look (exposed midriff) are actually quite cute and I really like how they each have a slight personal touch to them in order to fit each girl while still remaining relatively uniform. Having skirts instead of pants or shorts is also a nice touch, because it helps the dance feel more elegant, which plays off of the disco vibe due to the giant disco ball prominently displayed during the whole video. The video itself is your standard Hello! Project fare, which constitutes dancing with some kind of unique backdrop. It doesn’t really tell a story, and the creativity lies strictly with how the dancing and the performance is presented. For what it sets out to accomplish, it’s a fantastic style, but not everybody will like this when compared with the really flashy and creative videos of some other groups (or even of some of the other videos within H!P). 
That being said, compared to what Morning Musume ’15 has done lately, this isn’t one of their most complexes dances. Still, it really fits the music really well. There are a lot of sections where the group splits in two or three and they coordinate a different dance move to add a dynamic to the mix or to shift focus to particular members. While this isn’t something fresh or innovative, it’s used extremely effectively here. It essentially makes it feel like the members being displayed are surrounded by a very fancy picture frame and it looks really cool. The stage itself is pretty plain, but there is a giant disco ball overhead which adds a little flare. That, coupled with the smoke effects and the way the lighting is used is what makes this video really fun to watch. Plus, Erina does a cartwheel, which always makes me happy! 
There are also two different types of solo shots featured in the video. One I really like and the other I think is only ok. The one I really like is the one where they are standing amidst a bland background with smoke behind them and light shining from behind which makes them stand out like a shining star. The one I think is only OK is the one where they are on the same stage that they dance on but the disco ball is lowered and displayed right behind them. It merely doesn’t feel as creative as the smoky solo shots in my opinion, that’s all. Speaking of cuts, something I noticed is that this video tends to cut and transition a little too often, so you never really have enough time to properly appreciate each scene. I’m hoping this will be edited a little more with the official release with the single later this month. 
After everything is said and done though, the song is really catchy, really fun and the dancing really complements that. The video is really flashy and as a result it’s really eye-catching. Each member is featured to an extent so you get to see everybody shine. Being the second video released for their upcoming triple A-side single, I have high hopes for the final video. 
Morning Musume ‘15’s upcoming single, Oh my wish! / Sukatto My Heart / Imasugu Tobikomu Yuuki releases on August 19, 2015. You can pre-order it at cdjapan.co.jp. Morning Musume ’15 is: - Mizuki Fukumura - Erina Ikuta - Riho Sayashi - Kanon Suzuki - Haruna Iikubo - Ayumi Ishida - Masaki Sato - Haruka Kudo - Sakura Oda - Haruna Ogata - Miki Nonaka - Maria Makino - Akane Haga You can watch the full music video below: |
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