Little Glee Monster

[JPope]

<div>Mizura mentioned Little Glee Monster in the 13th Gen audition thread, and after checking them out, I'm kind of obsessed. They can all legitimately sing well. Their first major label album just came out, and it's pretty good, if a bit spotty. It includes a 2nd CD with 5 cover songs, including a killer version of The Gospellers' "Towa ni"</div>
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<div>Their <a class="bbc_url" href="http://jpop.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Glee_Monster">Jpop Wikia page</a>.</div>
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<div>Here's a video I made where I dropped their studio recording of Misia's "Hatenaku Tsuzuku Story" over live video of the same, then messed with filters to make it look old:</div>
<div>http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lnov6_little-glee-monster-hatenaku-tsuzuku-story-misia-cover_music</div>
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<div>My favorite new track off their new album Colorful Monster, "Chiisana Koi Ga, Owatta":</div>
<div>http://en.musicplayon.com/play?v=791570</div>
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<div>And finally, their debut single "Houkago High Five":</div>
<div>http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3mh2fg</div>

[Farrah]

Honestly, their music style doesn't appeal to me at all but I do appreciate that someone is out there trying to do an idol group that doesn't sound like a bunch of shrieking cats LOL.

[star]

I also looked them up and, I love them. I'm currently adding most of their stuff to my car playlist.

[JPope]

[quote="Farrah"]
Honestly, their music style doesn't appeal to me at all but I do appreciate that someone is out there trying to do an idol group that doesn't sound like a bunch of shrieking cats LOL.
[/quote]
 
Yeah, I hope that second song I posted is the direction they continue to follow. Some of their stuff is downright embarrassing -- like their covers of "What Time Is It" and "Lady Marmalade" (I wonder if the genius who made a group of 13 - 15 year old girls sing this knows that the song is about a prostitute picking up and fucking a John?) -- and some is kind of boring. But when they're good, they're really damned good.

[Elpis]

I'm actually the person who made the Jpop wikia page so I'm glad to see that it's getting some attention. (This also means I'll have to update it tomorrow).


I'm not a huge fan of their cover songs, but they did a good job with Let it go and I like their main a-sides of singles. They have more of a budget for their music videos than H!P does. I just wish their YouTube channel was still viewable in America but they are apart of Sony record label.

[Elpis]

LGM is releasing a new single soon. The MV got uploaded onto the channel a few days ago, but someone put a link to a mirror version on another site. https://streamable.com/yh2n
 
Not the biggest fan of it, but I like it more than their last single.

[JPope]

[quote="Mizura"]
LGM is releasing a new single soon. The MV got uploaded onto the channel a few days ago, but someone put a link to a mirror version on another site. https://streamable.com/yh2n
 
Not the biggest fan of it, but I like it more than their last single.
[/quote]
 
Pretty much how I feel about it, too. I don't know, it might grow on me.

[Elpis]

LGM is releasing another single (or they've already released it). Link is uploaded on a mirror site: https://streamable.com/xe4b
 
I like it more than their last few singles, but it's still not my favorite. But this might be a sign of good things to come.
 
 

[JPope]

I really wish they'd do more modern sounding stuff, because this could have been released back in 2000 when I started listening to Jpop. "Chiisana Koi Ga, Owatta" was so good, and I had hoped it would be a direction they would follow, but it was obviously an anomaly. These girls are wasted on songs like this.

[Elpis]

https://streamable.com/10we2
 
https://streamable.com/6ccg0
 
They released 2 new MVs recently. One in December that I only saw now since I rarely check their H!O thread, and another today. I like the song of the first one. It sounds a bit more modern. The second song Gift is good too but it does sound more like one of their standard song styles. The MV is really nice though.

[al kusanagi]

Did they ever do a video for Dakara, Hitori Jaa Nai? All I've seen are live performances.

[JPope]

I followed LGM on Twitter back when I got into the group, but never paid much attention to them after their singles started to bore me a year later. Today they tweeted out that they will be performing at this year's Kohaku Uta Gassen, which piqued my interest. Turns out this is their third appearance, which shocked me, as I had no idea they had become so popular. A scan of their singles chart performance didn't exactly explain their popularity, either. They chart pretty well -- consistently top 10 with a few top 5s (no number ones, though) -- but not even as well as most H!P groups. Then I checked their album sales. Wow. Now it makes sense. Their last two long players moved 100K+ each and charted 2 and 1 respectively. 

Then I see that their upcoming single, "I Feel the Light", is a collaboration with fucking Earth Wind and Fire. There's a short PVof it up at their YT channel, and it's really goddamn good. This is the kind of shit they should have been doing for at least half of their releases, because their singles are mostly snoozers, and this kills. Their voices are wasted on the sort of ordinary mid-tempo pabulum they've trafficked in their entire career to this point. 

Then again, they're about to do their third Kohaku, so what the fuck do I know?

[Anderei]

Their singles probably do well on digital and streaming platforms. The physical sales charts have become a poor indicator of popularity. They don’t mirror real time charts of what people are listening to and watching at all.

[DonJuan]

I mean that's why H!P albums sell like shit despite their singles doing decently well on the oricon charts.

[JPope]

That makes sense.
 
Anyway, that EW&F collab is bad ass.

[Elpis]

I kind of stopped following them as well for similar reasons although I knew they had become pretty popular. That collaboration is really awesome

[JPope]

Serina and manaka will officially graduate LGM on the 24th of July. Serina has been dealing with bipolar and ADHD disorders for a few years now and periodically spending time away from the group. manaka suffered sudden hearing loss in March and, along with Serina, was already on hiatus. While everyone in LGM can sing well, these were basically their two lead singers, so even though the three remaining members plan to continue, the group as they've been known is over.

The company has big plans for the 2nd phase of the group, including auditions for new LGM members, as well as members for the "Monster Groove Lab," which sounds like an H!P type collective under their agency, to be anchored by the new LGM.

From the JPop wiki:

On July 15, it was announced that as of July 24, the day of the tour finale of Little Glee Monster Live Tour 2022 Journey, the group would end its activities as five members, with Serina and manaka graduating after both had been on a leave of absence. In line with this, their agency Watanabe Entertainment and their label Sony Music Japan jointly established "Monster Groove Lab.". Led by Little Glee Monster, the lab would bring together performers and creators with the aspiration of "bringing smiles to the world through music", with the goal of creating entertainment that defies conventional thinking. As the first step, "M∞NSTER AUDITION" would be launched in the summer of 2022. Inheriting the spirit of the "Saikyou Uta Shoujo Audition" that produced Little Glee Monster, the audition would be open not only to new members of Little Glee Monster, but to a wide range of talent, both group and solo, that could be introduced to the world. The audition would begin on the 25th of the same month, and the members of Little Glee Monster would participate in the judging to discover new members for the second chapter of the group

[JPope]

I forgot about the LGM shakeup/auditions, but YouTube was kind enough to remind me today. LGM Phase 2 is now active, with the three remaining original members -- Karen, MAYU and Asahi -- and three new members from auditions. Also, a new song and video, and a couple of First Take appearances. I clicked on the video with the attitude of "Whatever, man, let's get this over with," only to fall for the group all over again. The new girls are awesome, and they seem to have pumped new life into the vets.

New song "Join Us!"


"Join Us!" on The First Take


"Sekai wa Anata ni Waraikaketeiru" (LGM 2019) on The First Take


New members:

miyou (19)

Since I know you're wondering, her Dad is from Guinea. And yes, you're racist for wondering.

Mika (18)


Yumi (18)


Karen has been the leader since their formation, and it seems like she's now taking on the role of lead singer, at least to start. While every one of the remaining original members would be the vocal star of any idol group, there's a reason Serina and manaka were the leads of LGM. Of the new girls, miyou seems to have the strongest and most distinctive voice, and I think she's the best bet to emerge as a lead. I'm guessing it's not a coincidence that -- like manaka -- she chose to spell her stage name in all lowercase letters. Also like manaka, miyou sports a rich voice with great depth that shines more than the others in lower registers. Mika and Yumi are more in line with the rest of LGM, which is to say, quite good with great range and soul, even if they don't stand out quite as much as miyou.

So yeah, they got their hooks in me again.

[JPope]

The new LGM song and video is straight-up contemporary girl group R&B complete with dance choreography, and as I predicted, miyou is getting big initial push.

[DonJuan]

miyou definitely has a voice that sticks out, but not unpleasantly. Nice pick for the group.