UFP/OG Spam Thread :: All things non-Hello!Project Related! Welcome to the other side of Up Front! 2792 replies to this topic Started by Shoujo Q , Jul 02 2012 12:11 AM ·

[Al Kusanagi]

Just watch. I bet they are going to give Lovendor to Masaki.

[JPope]

"Summertime" - Tamura Meimi (short ver.)

 

B-side to her new single. This shows the more idol side of her I guess.

I forgot she got her teeth fixed I barely recognized her!

 

Her voice is kind of annoying on this one. It works for the grandiose shit, but not so much on cute pop.

Just watch. I bet they are going to give Lovendor to Masaki.

 

They better give her a rhythm section.

[aine]

I'm no director, but it looks like they recorded it at half speed, then sped it up? That could be why it seems off, she's dragging it out to try and match the half speed since the lyrics are already slowly paced.

Something really bothers me about those shots too, without digging deeper I'm almost willing to bet they were recorded in reverse.
 

Nothing said about Lovendor yet but I guess they'll break up soon.

So much wasted potential.

 
Yup. Up Front bungled their management even more than they did Maki Goto's.

Yeah, I read that a while ago and couldn't agree more. Although...
 

The opportunity lost is even greater when you consider that their built-in audience – the entire Hello! Project fandom – consists of more actual music aficionados than any other idol fan base. Musicians who like idol music gravitate to H!P. Metalheads in particular dig H!P. A legitimate rock group featuring an ex-Musume would be fucking gold so long as the music was solid and nothing felt awkward or forced.

I feel that now even this ship has sailed, not only for one badly managed group, but for the whole badly managed agency. With Hellopro having so little true excitement and sense of freshness to offer these days, and the exploding popularity and accessibility of underground idols that leave any major unit light years behind in terms of being engaging and interesting, there really is very little reason for said music aficionados and metalheads to stick around, nevermind to discover and get into H!P fresh.

[Madara]

"Summertime" - Tamura Meimi (short ver.)

 

B-side to her new single. This shows the more idol side of her I guess.

I forgot she got her teeth fixed I barely recognized her!

 

Damn, I was hoping it would be the Gershwin song.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=XivELBdxVRM

[WonderBuono]

 

Meimi is doing well. 
 
She is in a new musical in the TRUMP series called "Marigold". Not sure how important her role ("Gerbera") is, but she's the second character listed on the play's page.

 
She seems to be the second main character after all:
 

 

This clip popped up in my suggestions today. Dang that girl can sing.

[aine]

Reins has new merch. I guess it's sold at some live event only for now.

For what it's worth, the image on her website is actually hosted on helloproject.com, in smaller size though.

[JPope]

https://www.youtube....h?v=yyNVGNH4J_c

 

Check out Risa and Takahasahi at some OG event in some small theater, not sure when it was recorded, but it was just uploaded a week ago. Holy shit, Risa is phenominal! OGs tend to work at like 70% at these gigs -- not quite half-assing it, but not really selling out for the performance, either. Go watch Risa sell out and put Taka Ai to shame. She's the better singer now, and by a pretty fair margin. What's more is she's clearly savoring the stage time, and working hard to make the most of it. She's working like she's still in the flagship, and it'll make your jaw drop. Check out how hard she's hitting her dance moves. This is probably the best OG performance I've ever seen.

 

Fantasy ga Hajimaru

ShoganaiYume Oibito

Resonant Blue

Nanchatte Ren'ai

 

If you had told me in 2012 that in six years I'd be gushing over an OG TakaGaki Platinum Era set I'd have smugly laughed and laughed and laughed at you. I'd have been like a 55-gallon drum of smug. And yet, here we are.

[Farrah]

Takahashi's voice hasn't been up to par since her vocal surgery unfortunately =/ She does sound better here than she did in performances from last year, though.  But Gaki definitely outsold.

[aine]

Damn you weren't joking. Gaki was only starting to shine towards the end of her MM tenure, good to see it hasn't gone to waste.

And what's with Taka's sponsored by Petzl ear...things?

[JPope]

Based on this clip, Sayumi could rejoin MM'18 tomorrow and arguably be in the top half of the singing talent, or at least the middle third. Here's a clip of her singing with Seiko Omori at an H!P Rok Festival back in July. 

 

https://youtu.be/tsTbpgWLE5I?t=313

 

She's not bad. Sure, she's still nasal as fuck, but she can actually project a little bit, sings in tune fairly well, and does so with a live band. 

[JPope]

Damn you weren't joking. Gaki was only starting to shine towards the end of her MM tenure, good to see it hasn't gone to waste.
 

 

Reconstitute the Platinum Era group as a serious project today, and Risa is the face and voice of it. Shit, reconstitute any era Risa was part of, and she's the face and voice. H!P could push her as a solo act if they wanted to, and based on the built-in audience alone, she'd do okay. Who knows, maybe a song breaks through and brings her a wider audience. 

[Zoe]

I still maintain that the T&T lives with Ai and Reina were great, and they prove that most of MM's songs work as duets and the rest just need a little bit of backing help.

 

Speaking of Reina, she had two new songs at her live today: Betsu ni Suki ja nai shi and Acro BAD Girl.  The first was choreographed by KENZO, the second was choreographed by TOMO, and of course she performed USA.  A part of me is hoping her new solo presence is so she can keeping moving in that direction and keep working with DA PUMP.

[DonJuan]

I mean Sayumi is still bad, and I don't think that she'd be in the top half singing wise, but she'd definitely fit right in. Back when she joined the group we were amazed about how bad someone can be and still debut in a singing idol group and nowadays we're like "ah, that's passable". 

 

Takahashi really wasn't great, while Gaki is at the peak of her singing abilities right now (in my opinion). As far as I know Takahashi doesn't do many musicals anymore either and Gaki is still doing them constantly. She's probably just more into it at the moment.

That being said, she's really good now. I never liked how stuffed she sounded but she's really pleasant now.

[Mukuro]

Gaki is still one of my favorite voices to come from MM. Even when she first joined but this is my bias speaking ofc.

[JPope]

Sayumi is still bad, but she's about average in the modern J-idol world. She has improved a lot since she debuted, which mostly goes to highlight just how bad she was back then. As for where I'd place current-version Sayu into MM'18, I'd say around middle of the pack. Oda, Masaki, Fukumura, Nonaka, Ishida and probably Maria are better than her. After that, it's questionable. Iikubo and Kaede have good days, but they also have really bad days, and both are really inconsistent. Sayu is better than Ikuta, Akane, Yoko and Morito at the moment. Maybe the last three can improve and pass her, but for now, no. I think Sayu has improved more than you're giving her credit for. Just being able to stay mostly in tune puts one in the upper half of MM'18.

[WonderBuono]

Sayumi is still bad, but she's about average in the modern J-idol world. She has improved a lot since she debuted, which mostly goes to highlight just how bad she was back then. As for where I'd place current-version Sayu into MM'18, I'd say around middle of the pack. Oda, Masaki, Fukumura, Nonaka, Ishida and probably Maria are better than her. After that, it's questionable. Iikubo and Kaede have good days, but they also have really bad days, and both are really inconsistent. Sayu is better than Ikuta, Akane, Yoko and Morito at the moment. Maybe the last three can improve and pass her, but for now, no. I think Sayu has improved more than you're giving her credit for. Just being able to stay mostly in tune puts one in the upper half of MM'18.

 

 

Keep in mind that Sayu's vocals are usually heavily edited... I listened to the mic rip from her last concert and it could barely be called singing, sounded nothing like how I thought it would.

[JPope]

Here's an idea: after Iikubo graduates, send Ikuta and Morito packing and bring TakaGaki back. I mean, shit, with only two singles a year, even a married Mom could work MM into their schedule, and MM'19 would immediately become fun to watch again.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=3mEw5csPD2U

 

Goddam, Risa is great.

[JPope]

BTW, the entire TakaGaki concert is up at Dailymotion in three parts:

 

Part 1

Part2

Part 3

[TicTacAnyone]

Just resurrect the Elders Club already, H!P lmao.

[DonJuan]

Yeah, actually, absolutely. 1st to 3rd generation might want to retire (with the exception of Yuuko and Kei, they'll never disappear lol), but 5th and 6th got half of its members up for stuff (Takahashi, Gaki, Sayumi, Reina). 

Also, well, °C-ute is still there minus Mai maybe and you can always count on Miyabi, Maasa and Yurina. Give Maro and Mano a call and they'll be there, too.

[Anderei]

I don’t think Mano would. Her career is going way too well.

[DonJuan]

She might make it for a once-in-a-year event. Of course, nothing like the former elder club did with concert tours etc. But she's more like up to it than, let's say, Makoto or Konno.

[aine]

This does not really belong here but it also kinda does, Nakano Sun Plaza is to be demolished (and rebuilt by 2024).

[Madara]

This does not really belong here but it also kinda does, Nakano Sun Plaza is to be demolished (and rebuilt by 2024).

 

H!P seems to do most of its concerts there. Where will they go in the interim?

[TheParuProject]

It's always the venue on home releases, but I don't think it's fair to say most of their concerts. Guess they'll just have to start filming elsewhere.

[Madara]

It's always the venue on home releases, but I don't think it's fair to say most of their concerts. Guess they'll just have to start filming elsewhere.

 

Okay, let's just say it's where most of the concerts I watch are recorded. So I'll ask again, to what venue(s) will they shift those concerts? Can anyone take a guess?

[Al Kusanagi]

The live action Bleach movie, which Erina Mano is in, just came to US Netflix.

[WonderBuono]

Meimi is so freaking cute

[Madara]

Meimi is so freaking cute

 

Wow! I just read a profile in last Sunday's New York Times of Maya Rudolph, whose late mother, Minnie Riperton, originated that song. What an amazing coincidence.

 

I wish Meimi would come to the U.S. and win over more than just her J-pop fans. If only an enterprising American producer/promoter would get wind of her and figure out the best strategy to do that.

[JPope]

That whistle register is rough, but she hits it.