UFP/OG Spam Thread :: All things non-Hello!Project Related!

[JPope]

Interesting. I saw that she was doing a solo show, so a lot of people were speculating that this might happen. I don't know how much of the ZOC drama was real vs click-bait, but it looked pretty crazy either way.

[JPope]

[DonJuan]

LMAO. I'm also sure those "rules" are never as strict as they're written down, but in general the popular girls can do what they want.

[AquaChan]

You can see their version of Uchouten Love surfaced on youtube:

[JPope]

[Zoe]

Now what the hell is "spancall"? Google won't believe me when I tell it I'm not searching for "spam call".

[JPope]

Now what the hell is "spancall"? Google won't believe me when I tell it I'm not searching for "spam call".

Yeah, I wonder if it's a stylized spelling of some non-English word a la "Angerme"?

The return of the COVERS -One on One- series slipped under our collective radar. Karin and Manakan singing "Bitansan" dropped last weekend.



It's aiight. I think I'd rather see them singing something non-Juice, though.

[JPope]

Looks like the COVERS series returned three weeks ago, lol. Karin and Ozeki sing ZYX's 2nd single "Shiroi TOKYO"



So this is kinda cool. I like that they're going deep into H!P history, but I feel like this song needs a full group to really pop.

[kira]

I was guessing it was a mistranslation of スパンコール (which become spangle) but it's the actual word "Spancall" huh.

[JPope]

Riko Yamagishi found a gig!

[JPope]

Manakan and Ozeki "cover" Koi wa Magnet.



This is my favorite of the recent One on One releases, despite it basically being a self cover.

[Shoujo Q]

Koi wa Magnet is one of my favorite songs and this pleases me greatly.

[DonJuan]

Still a beautiful song, wonderfully sung. My only complaint is that the recording sounds a bit too choir-y, as if they've set the microphones to echo.

Also miss Risa, that was her song imo haha.

[JPope]

Remember this?

If you put money on Haruna Ogata producing an idol group, go to the window to cash in your ticket.



Auto-translation:
"I will be producing idols! !
I talked about my detailed content and thoughts on YouTube, so please take a look."

Well, the audition ended about a month ago with all eight finalists being selected for the group. This artical summerizes the live reveal event. I used the Google Translate browser add-on to read it, and it's surprisingly easy to follow. It's not perfect, and I can't speak to the quality of the translation, but it's not a jumbled mess like J-to-E auto-translations tend to be.

Anyway, other than the announcement of a introduction event on April 22, there has been zero info released about the group since the final selection event. No bios, no group name, no video promos, no nuthin'. Haachin, wtf are you doing? Her YT channel has audition clips from all of the finalists -- of which there were originally nine, but one of them apparently dropped out before the selection live -- as well as all of the five specials that followed the auditions.

I skimmed through the contestant clips and the last special to get a feel for the girls, and they mostly come off as pretty easy-going types with natural charisma, but lacking in talent. There are a couple decent singers, but no powerhouse. The very end of the 5th special features a very good singer named Yuu Saitou, but she didn't make the cut for some reason.

I'll leave you with this pull from the linked article:

After the two live performances, the group performed singing and dancing. The eight candidates were divided into two groups of four, the "Sun Team" and the "Sea Team," and performed the assigned song "Infinite Signal." The song is an original song written by Producer Ogata [herself,] and the sad, heart-melting theme is perfect for the girls who are aspiring to become idols.

Hmmm...

EDIT: Hopefully Haachin has reconsidered her original ideas for producing an idol group.

[DonJuan]

I guess this is going to be a short-lived group that might get some of the members a chance for the bigger entertainment world (mostly in terms of vtuber or the like though).

[JPope]

PV for Mai Ozeki's "Namida no Tomorrow" is live.



It's very M-line, lol. I (half) kid, it's pretty good and Mai sounds great.

[JPope]

I'm kind of fascinated by Haachin's idol project now. She just posted another vid with some extended audition footage of four of the winners (and two of the losers for some reason ). The first half of the 29-minute video is promotional stuff -- which is fine, because someone has to foot the bill for this -- so I'm posting it here starting from the footage of the winners. Anyway, getting a peek behind the scenes of a low-budget indie idol audition is interesting, and the addition of it being lead by what some consider a failed idol attempting her own redemption arc is a compelling narrative, especially since the chance of success is so low. It would make for a great TV drama, honestly, but the lack of drama in the actual process -- there's no panel of judges, no pre or post audition interviews, no over-the-top text or sound effects, and no dramatic narration; just Haachin kind of feeling each auditionee out -- makes it seem so much more raw and real. Watching it feels a little bit voyeuristic, tbh.

That said, there are a few girls who show some promise. Ayumi looks to be the most talented overall. She sings okay, and a previous video shows her taking charge of two other girls during a dance audition, all of which leads me to believe that she's going to be the group's leader. Reina has a very soft, but pleasant singing voice and she can carry a tune. She sang "Akai Sweet Pea," which was surprising, but a great choice for her voice. The "cute" member is Luna, and I'm honestly shocked that she's not already in a larger company, because she's adorable and is easily one of the best singers in the group. She sang "Hatsukoi Cider" a capella, and even though we only get a tiny bit of it, it's really good. Kinda squeaky, but a lot to work with. Haachin should keep her as close as possible so she doesn't get snagged by a real company, lol.

[JPope]

Teaser vid for Yumeno Kishimoto's debut song "BLUEMOON BLUES." Full video drops tomorrow.

[Shoujo Q]

I still haven’t made a thread for Mai. And now I’ll need one for Yumeno.


But yay Yumeno!!! She’s under the Yum label so expect she’ll go off in a different direction compared to the M-Line crew. I look forward to it.

[Zoe]

Oh, I completely missed that she went to that label. Seems like they have a bit of autonomy over there.

[kira]

It seems her song might end up globally on spotify? I saw the below claiming it's not region locked.

[DonJuan]

I kind of expected Yumeno to go solo. She has always been ambitious. Nice to see. Hope that she's successful, out-of-UF former H!P idols have it hard. I love that she sings differently, too.

Mai's song and MV is also pretty good, but it sounds like it could go to any of the newere m-line members. Like this could be Mizuki's debut as well as Risamaru's new single or whatever. Come to think of it, the m-line members are all pretty good to great, but they don't really have interesting styles. Even Masaki and Karin who could stick out more.

[JPope]

BLUEMOON BLUES full MV is out:



This song has a very turn-of-the-century Jpop feel to me, and the decision to shoot the video in 4:3 really accentuates that sense of nostalgia. I like the song right off the rip, and I think I'll like it more with repeated listens. I'm really happy that they didn't pick a let-her-eat type song to show off her vocal range or power, and just went with a good pop/rock song that Kishimon's voice can carry naturally. It's kind of a relief, actually, lol. Pretty solid debut.

[DonJuan]

This feels surprisingly natural, despite sounding very non-H!P. I actually feel like watching this again.

[JPope]

[JPope]

Maki Goto x Ami Suzuki - "BABY Koi ni KNOCK OUT!"



What a long, strange trip it's been for Gocchin.

[Zoe]

I completely missed that Reina recorded a song for a video game.



They only made a short size for the game, but the song was expanded so she could sing a full version at her recent live.

[JPope]

That song is awesome. Not sure why Reina is buried so far down in the mix, though.

[JPope]

PV for Mai Ozeki's "Yes! Hare Yohou" dropped this morning:

[sadude]

I completely missed that Reina recorded a song for a video game.

Sweet, Bemani x H!P! Hopefully the song crosses over into other Bemani games.

They only made a short size for the game, but the song was expanded so she could sing a full version at her recent live.

That song is awesome. Not sure why Reina is buried so far down in the mix, though.

The game just came out, and the song rips from it are directly from the game. Since the gameplay focuses on instruments, the GST versions are mixed more in that direction.
When the official OST comes out it'll be better balanced. Bemani game songs usually run 1:30-2:30, and the OSTs usually feature some long (3-5 min) versions of the songs, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is one of them.