Hello!Spam :: 2023 ~Dancing, Singing, Exciting!~

[DonJuan]

Musing of the day: Tsubaki are getting pretty old. Risa just turned 22, Riko will do so later this month. That's the age at which we usually expect MM members to graduate (if they're not 9ki/10ki/11ki peeps).
 
Currently we have
Ogata Risa, 22
Yamagishi Riko, 21 (turning 22 this month)
Niinuma Kisora, 21
Tanimoto Ami, 20 (turning 21 this month)
Kishimoto Yumeno, 20
Asakura Kiki, 20
Ono Mizuho, 20
Onoda Saori, 18 (turning 19 in December)
Akiyama Mao, 18
 
Pretty sure Risa won't come back, and I could see Mao leaving at some point to focus on dancing (and maybe Ami for modeling, she's much more of a visual than a performing idol).
So, will we see new Tsubaki members at some point? I know the addition of Mizuho, Saori and Mao wasn't even considered a 2nd generation.
 
In comparison, °C-ute's ages at time of their disbandment:
Yajima Maimi, 25
Nakajima Saki, 23
Suzuki Airi, 23
Okai Chisato, 22
Hagiwara Mai, 21
 
Or will the group simply disband, Kobushi style?

I can't even see them staying for much longer than 25, which would give them 3 more years. (Still a pretty good run at 8 years total.)

[Anderei]

Hey, if Risa was right, some of them are thinking about leaving. What for, who knows, I don’t expect to see anything amazing from any former Factory members but I don’t expect every last one to stay until they’re too old.


I don’t think they’ll disband. They’ll just add new members. I think Kobushi disbanding was just a special circumstance.

[JPope]

This crossed my mind recently, too, and I think they will just weather any departures like C-ute did, so long as Kishimon, Kiki and Mao aren't among them. I don't see them shrinking to smaller than four members, though. I really think UF saw the Factories as the new Berryz/C-ute, so I'd be surprised to see them turned into a generational group. I think another 3-4 years tops is what we're looking at, or less if we see an Angerme type mass exodus. 

[JPope]

Mei gets a solo, Angela Aki's "Tegami (Haikei Jūgo no Kimi e)": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGh_OHlXcNM
 
This is really good. Mei sounds more mature than ever, which is a huge step in her development as a singer. It's crazy how the members of the 15th gen keep leap-frogging each other in my mind with each successive performance. I'm gonna go ahead and declare the 15th as my favorite generation through one year since I've been following MM, and that covers every gen from the 5th on. 

[DonJuan]

I remember seeing someone say she sang it in way that is "unsophisticated, but in a good way". Or something like that. And I agree. There is no fake feeling over it, just the way a kid her age would sing it. As far as singing goes, this was good.

[sayu1991]

Oh my god, that was REALLY good. I definitely didn't picture her singing something quite so mature but it actually suited her voice surprisingly well. I really want to see more of the 15th gen.

[Zoe]

She definitely has potential. You can hear her start to put some personality in her notes (particularly when her volume raises during the chorus), but she still needs to work on her vibrato.

[JPope]

[quote="DonJuan"]
I remember seeing someone say she sang it in way that is "unsophisticated, but in a good way". Or something like that. And I agree. There is no fake feeling over it, just the way a kid her age would sing it. As far as singing goes, this was good.
[/quote]
 
I think this air of authenticity is a big part of what makes each of the 15th gen so likeable. 

[DonJuan]

Absolutely. I think rawness and pureness are the appeal of every new generation, but 15th gen also shows something more than that. They give hope for the future, it's the feeling that they can grow, that there is actual potential there.
At times like this, the joy of following an idol and watching her grow catches even me.

[DonJuan]

First episode of Hello Pro no Collabo NIGHT! is out. Fukumura Mizuki, Haga Akane, Okamura Homare, Kamikokuryo Moe, Hashisako Rin, Miyamoto Karin, Inaba Manaka, Kudo Yume, Asakura Kiki and Onoda Saori meet Oginome Yoko.

 

Ngl, I want Yoko's shoes.

 

Also, I'm probably totally wrong but my imagination ran wild...
[spoilerbox]

 
"When you're on stage with your enemy's best friend..."
[/spoilerbox]
 
Also, by the way, there's some special H!P hotel rooms now and this Youtuber gave us a tour.

[JPope]

If Yume Kudo did a solo and no one noticed, it's probably because it was unspectacular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tbThKxAryw
 
She's not terrible, but she's nothing special, either. I like Yume, but I was hoping she'd have improved a bit more than she has by now. 

[DonJuan]

I guess Yume would have profited a lot from the cancelled concerts. Riai is the better singer, but a bit more reserved, they could make a great duo - but corona killed the possibility to promote them as such.

 
Overall, the Hokkaido KSS were pretty disappointing. Most left, there's only one active KSS who's a bad singer, two are on hiatus, and from the debuted members Yume could be better, Oota was a fail - only Mei still standing strong. But well, that's a mean personal opinion.

 

---

Someone posted H!P photobook sales (from the last 10 years I think) and Rio's first one did quite well by H!P standards.

Nobody posted it in romaji anywhere so I took the opportunity to practice my Japanese...


10,530　2017/05/23　Suzuki Airi『Airimania』

6,289　2016/09/27　Takahashi Ai『30. AI TAKAHASHI』

5,254　2014/09/13　Takahashi Ai『I have AI.』

4,893　2014/11/27　Suzuki Airi『Airi-sT』

4,893　2018/03/06　Mano Erina『ERINA』

4,226　2011/06/10　Mano Erina『MANO DAYS ～Hatachi no Hatsukoi～』
4,074　2020/02/02　Makino Maria『Maria 19』

3,906　2016/11/25　Mano Erina『Kageroh』
3,620　2019/02/02　Makino Maria『Maria 18 anos』

3,383　2020/09/23　Suzuki Airi『iDIMPLE Suzuki Airi Produce Night & Day Tint Lip Base』

3,326　2017/03/31　Suzuki Airi『Eien』

2,989　2017/10/13　Takahashi Ai『i love magazine』

2,589　2020/11/12　Kitagawa Rio『First Time』


2,475　2019/03/12　Oda Sakura『Sakura no Kisetsu』

2,387　2011/03/26　Takahashi Ai『LOVE NO.10』

2,356　2012/07/14　Abe Natsumi『Subway』

2,250　2015/11/14　Abe Natsumi『Fin no Hito』

2,099　2015/09/19　Mano Erina『Escalation』
2,098　2020/01/07　Ishida Ayumi『believe in oneself』

2,076　2012/05/09　Tanaka Reina『Kira★Kira』

2,022　2018/11/10　Yajima Maimi『Matataki』

1,928　2015/12/25　Sayashi Riho『Zenshuu 2011-2015』
1,870　2019/06/27　Morito Chisaki『Say Cheese!』

1,753　2013/08/20　Suzuki Airi『Oyoganai Natsu』

1,739　2013/03/31　Suzuki Airi『Sotsugyou』
1,697　2017/08/30　Makino Maria『Senkou Hanabi』

1,667　2020/05/20　Miyamoto Karin『RIN』

1,652　2012/05/23　Mano Erina『MANO DATE』

1,525　2013/10/27　Michishige Sayumi『Blue Rose』

1,361　2012/06/25　Suzuki Airi『Kono Kaze ga Suki』

1,299　2013/01/27　Michishige Sayumi『Millefeuille』
1,298　2019/10/30　Fukumura Mizuki『Tasha!』

1,215　2013/05/15　Fukumura Mizuki『MIZUKI』

1,200　2015/08/21　Yajima Maimi『Nobody knows 23』
1,177　2019/08/27　Yokoyama Reina『REINA is eighteen 〜N to S〜』

1,147　2018/02/02　Makino Maria『Maria 17sai』

1,137　2019/11/05　Ogata Risa『Orange no Sunadokei ~Risa Hatachi~』

1,082　2020/03/07　Haga Akane『Akane』

1,079　2016/07/25　Uemura Akari『AKARIⅡ』
1,078　2020/10/29　Kaga Kaede『Iroha Kaede』

1,068　2020/10/01　Morito Chisaki『Crossroads』

1,059　2014/06/25　Fukumura Mizuki『Utakata』

1,026　2014/10/26　Michishige Sayumi『YOUR LOVE』

956　2017/10/27　Kudo Haruka『Kudo Haruka』
902　2018/10/06　Sato Masaki『Sankaku no Glass』

883　2019/08/09　Takagi Sayuki『Sayuki』

827　2015/10/29　Uemura Akari『AKARI』

823　2013/07/15　Ishida Ayumi『Ishida Ayumi』

767　2017/06/30　Tsugunaga Momoko『Tsugunaga Momoko Sotsugyou Album』
691　2016/05/27　Oda Sakura『Sakura Moyou』

529　2017/07/15　Fukumura Mizuki『Hatachi』

 
(Source is Oricon.)

 

Not bad, the only current member who sells better is Maria.
That "iDIMPLE Suzuki Airi Produce Night & Day Tint Lip Base" seems to be a promo deal since it comes with lip tint, so it's less of a photobook and more of a fashion magazine in my opinion. But I don't make the oricon rules.

[Solarblade]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="DonJuan" data-cid="221327" data-time="1605885422">
I guess Yume would have profited a lot from the cancelled concerts. Riai is the better singer, but a bit more reserved, they could make a great duo - but corona killed the possibility to promote them as such.

Overall, the Hokkaido KSS were pretty disappointing. Most left, there's only one active KSS who's a bad singer, two are on hiatus, and from the debuted members Yume could be better, Oota was a fail - only Mei still standing strong. But well, that's a mean personal opinion.
</blockquote>



Ishiguri is a bad singer? I think shes prolly the best of them to be honest especially over Kudo and Oota and possibly Yamazaki

[DonJuan]

Checked a few of her videos again, and ok, she's not that bad. There's definitely been worse, much worse Kenshuusei. Oota was definitely one of the worse. I don't think Ishiguri is better than Yume, though.
Mei is hard to judge. I think she could become a decent singer, but right now she's still a child.

[Banana]

Is Ishiguri the one who sang Kimagure Princess and Resonant Blue? She’s pretty weak, imo. Yume and Mei are both better than she is. Mei has a quite a lot to work on, but she’s shown she can support her voice pretty well and even resonate at times, which is rare for HP. I think she’ll be useful as a secondary vocalist in a couple years. Ishiguri is a good performer, though. Very charismatic. I think the worst thing about Yume right now is her expressions. She always looks like a scared rabbit.

[JPope]

Mei's foundation is pretty strong, I think. She does still sound childish, although her "Tegami" solo seems to show she's beginning to grow beyond that, or at least has the potential to do so.
 
But enough about these kids. I want a damn Miyo Hirai solo already.

[TheParuProject]

Didn't Miyo already get one? I wouldn't expect a second one lol.

[JPope]

She did? How the hell did I miss it?
 
EDIT: Oh goddammit, of course. Now I remember. It was only my favorite of the solos, lol!

[DonJuan]

:D

Here's something new: Asakura Kiki covers Nagori Yuki.


You know, I never list Kiki as a good singer. And I don't think she is a great singer or anything. But she's definitely pretty okay, especially in songs like Tsubaki's. Makes me wonder how MM got tin ears all the years (especially now that Yokoyan and Akane seem to turn out that way, too).
 
- - -
 
On another note, Anna on twitter translated an interview with Hyadain and Nakajima Takui.
It's from 2016 (and I think it shows in some parts), but very interesting to read. There's a bit too much H!P-praising imho, something that I nowadays take with not only a grain of salt, but rather with a whole rock.
But if you're interested in reading about idol music making, go go.
 
Personally I've known Hyadain from when he still made anime/video game music remixes in the mid 2000s (Crash Let's Do It, the Chocobo song, Super Mario World Western Show ...) and I'm still amazed that he writes song for H!P. Hyadain was a big part of my weeb days and it's so interesting to see how that crossed with my H!P love.

[JPope]

[quote="DonJuan"]
:D

Here's something new: Asakura Kiki covers Nagori Yuki.


You know, I never list Kiki as a good singer. And I don't think she is a great singer or anything. But she's definitely pretty okay, especially in songs like Tsubaki's.
[/quote]
 
That's a perfect description of Kiki, and it has fit her from the beginning. She's always been one of the better singers in TF, despite being fairly average overall. Every one in Tsubaki has improved at around the same rate (which is not a huge amount) except for Kishimoto, who has joined the ranks of "good singers."

[DonJuan]

I think it's fair to say that Ami is not a horrendous singer anymore, just a very weak one. But I definitely can't see her being the "most improved member in H!P" as some people like to refer to her.

 
On another note, the second episode of Collabo NIGHT is out.

 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
Performers : Sato Masaki, Makino Maria, Takagi Sayuki, Inoue Rei, Dambara Ruru, Funaki Musubu, Ono Mizuho, Shimakura Rika, Nishida Shiori, Kobayashi Honoka

Guest : Kobayashi Sachiko


Episode Description

The second episode features a collaboration between Hello Pro and Enka. Welcoming Kobayashi Sachiko as a guest, the members of Hello Pro will collaborate with her and sing her song "Moshikashite Part II" and an enka medley! In the talk, Kobayashi Sachiko will lecture the members of Hello Pro on the secrets of her costumes and her singing technique.


Next week (11/26)

Performers : Fukumura Mizuki, Takeuchi Akari, Kanazawa Tomoko, Uemura Akari, Nonaka Miki, Niinuma Kisora, Kishimoto Yumeno, Kasahara Momona, Kaga Kaede, Matsunaga Riai, Yamazaki Mei

Guest : Mizuki Ichirou
</blockquote>
 
(from Jplop)

[Zoe]

Oh, interesting, Honoka says she goes to a music university for studying piano. I don't keep up with Beyooonds social media, so I'm not sure if that was widely known.

[Shoujo Q]

Honoka is a beast. She’s not worthy of being a simple idol in Japance terms. I want to be Honoka in another life. She’s like, my ideal idol. She sings, dances, draws and plays music! She’s a true renaissance type idol.

[JPope]

Here's Sakura doing a karaoke of a LiSA tune: https://youtu.be/_2rswDxxQH0?t=321
 
I like Sakura so much more live than recorded. I don't know what it is about the recording process that seems to sap her of so much personality, but the spontaneity of a live performance is where she really shines to me.

[JPope]

<div>New ep of Upcoming features Kiki recording "Dansha-ISM," and Anju final audition footage of Rin and Wakana. I'm calling my shot now: Wakana is gonna be fucking awesome. She sounds even better here than during the new member reveal, singing with confidence and personality. It looks like she'll be at least a decent dancer, too. Rin is probably mostly what she's gonna ever be, which is solid back-bench filler, but every group needs some of that. If Wakana has even a little bit of personality, though, she's gonna be a star in the H!P fandom.</div>

[DonJuan]

And she was only 12 when they recorded the audition footage! I hope H!P style singing won't ruin her voice, because she's definitely going to play a bigger role in future Anju releases.

[DonJuan]

Finally it's Ruru's turn to be featured in the solo series! Ruru's cover of Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi wo

[JPope]

As much as I wish Ruru would have gotten a more soulful song to really show what she can do, she's one of the few H!P singers who could genuinely do this song justice. She's just awesome. 

[DonJuan]

Lurkette on H!O translated the first part of an interview between Mizuki and Tsunku.
 
It's an interesting read and pretty much sums up why the group what it is right now.

[JPope]

I was hoping someone would translate this.