Well when I first posted up this poll, I kind of regretted it ’cause I thought it was pretty stupid, plus I just ended up paring up any two groups that I had thought would blend well together. I’ll try to make better polls from now on. xD
I didn’t think people still liked Kuu, even when paired up with Amuro. Though you gotta admit, the idea of those two betches teaming up is just amayzun~ Since they do kind of share a similar style, I don’t think it would be awkward for either of their listeners.
One dream of mine since both 2NE1 and 4minute debuted was to see them on stage together. Since when they both debuted and were compared often for their wtf-y clothing and such, I was always trying to pick a favorite group. Still haven’t as of today. -o-
Of course, the J-Pop duo that everyone wishes for, Hikki and Ayu was in the poll, although it only received three votes. I’m still waiting for a duet. >:l
Losers this time were the two H!P Kids groups, probably ’cause seeing them together wouldn’t really be a big deal. BEG and 2PM also lost. See, I don’t even know why I put them together.
And wheres my Momosu+AKB48 mash-up Tsunku and AKB producer guy? >:\
Luckily, I didn’t get flamed for putting up such a “snarky” poll this time. Hey, it’s what came up in my mind atm(plus something I’ve always wanted to know), so I went ahead and did it. It didn’t take much logic on who would make it on the poll. I didn’t include ex-H!P girls(cause than that ugly-ass Korenaga[sp] Miki from Ongaku Gatas would have made it in, or H!P Eggs. My vote went to Shimizu.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Linlin is not that ugly!!! Well, I only put her in the poll ’cause I knew a lot of people considered her the ugliest Momosu member, but I never thought she would lose to Saki. <_<
Saki can look good at times, but she can really have her moments. Like at concerts. That lazy eyed+nose mole thing really shine when she sweats. :x
And I’m glad theres at least 4 people out there that can see past Reina’s winks and wonks and wanks(^-^’) and vote her over all the other girls. No ass, no chest, stick legs, yuck. xp
Well, due to my “little” absence, the Koharu poll seemed to get an insane amount of votes(well, being there for 10 weeks straight, I wouldn’t expect any less). Anyway, I was a bit surprised by the results. Mostly in that I thought that the majority of my visitors were H!P stans. Well, I was wrong. Maybe I’m just full of K-Pop addicts…
How does Koharu’s graduation make you feel?
I really don’t care about this Koharu chick or Morning Musume. – 35% (44 votes)
Even though she wasn’t my favorite, I’m still very affected by it. – 29% (36 votes)
Absolutely heartbroken. She was my favorite and I’ll never feel the same towards Momosu ever again. – 18% (22 votes)
Reina should leave instead. – 9% (11 votes)
I’m glad she left. She was just a waste of space. – 6% (8 votes)
I’m still new to H!P, so I’m not quite sure what to feel. – 2% (3 votes)
Well, 44% of my readers aren’t Momosu fans. @-@ Bizarre. Since I mostly write on H!P stuff, I thought that poll choice would have been much lower. Personally, I’m part of the 29% that stated that even though she wasn’t a favorite, she was still a Momosu and her leaving still means something to us.
I can’t help but feel bad for those 18% that lost their favorite member. I mean, I can’t imagine myself liking Momosu as much as I do now if someone like Eri were to leave. How bad would that be? :x
And yay at those 11 people who agreed that Reina should have left instead!!!
Week of 7/05 – 7/12 (29 votes)
Guess the votes made a slight U-turn this week eh? I looked at the results around Thursday-ish and there were a lot of ties, but looking at it now, I’m quite surprised. O_O The ties are still there but at least now we have a clear winner. The first place member might not be surprising but last place kinda disappointed me.
Sayumin finished with 2 votes, just 1 vote away from being the loser. It’s pretty awesome to see JunJun who’s an 8th gen member beat out everyone else. The second place finishers didn’t surprise me at all, nor did third place(my vote went to Eri, duh ;D). All in all, these votes were very American(duh). JunJun is uber popular in the states but if this poll were taken in Japan, I’m sure the results would be A LOT different. LinLin would still be last(unfortunately as she outperforms more than half of the rest of the group) and I doubt JunJun would ever beat out Reina or Ai.
I think I’ll go ahead and ask this same question for the two H!P Kids groups next…
Of course we all know what I’m talking about. The graduation of Kusumi Koharu from Morning Musume in December.
Honestly, even though I considered her one of the 4 possible “graduates” if there ever would be an announcement(along with Ai, Risa and JunLin[the "exchange students" thing]), it was still a total shocker for me waking up this morning.
I really am quite bummed out. She was never a favorite, actually, after Reina, she was my second least favorite member of the whole group(but she later got bumped up a spot, making Sayu second least) but I think it’s that I’ve(and I’m sure all Momosu fans) gotten so used to this 9-nin line-up and have considered them the most united members yet. Seeing one of them ago, especially the ever retarded Koha, is just so weird.
I can already picture Aika during the graduation ceremony telling her something about how she honored her as a rival or something. -o-
Well, nothing that can be done about it now. :\ Just enjoy the rest of her time in Momosu and wish her the best of luck as a model, which I actually think is a great profession for her. She really is quite beautiful(‘cept her smile is kinda ehh…) and being tall helps!
Oh no, I just imagined seeing 8-nin Momosu lined up and having to see Aika right after Reina w/o no freakishly tall Koha in between. :(
If anything good comes out of it, it means that other members may get more line as Koha has been center in certain singles(Resonant Blue, Mikan…). I certainly see more Aika love once Koha leaves. Also, maybe Tsunku will start considering a Momosu audition? It’s about time…
But since Momosu will be an 8-nin lineup(and since having two centers with an even numbered member count is so much easier for dancing formations, etc…) it could mean that Ai and Reina will get EVEN MORE lines than the normal.
I wonder who will take Koha’s spot in live Resonant Blue performances? Aika please. ^-^
So, how does Koha’s graduation make you feel?
Was she your favorite member and her announcement made you totally bummed?
Were you just like me(not your favorite member) but still feel bummed out?
Or did this not affect you in any way?
Comment with your thoughts~
And for old times sake, heres that infamous scene when Momosu visited Koha’s school, congratulating her as the winner of the audition:
Unlike the a-sides that we find in H!P releases, which usually range from the most infectious, perfect thing in existence to at least listenable, it’s the b-sides that usually end up surprising me in one way or another, whether for good or bad.
That’s why I wanna take ALL OF THE B-SIDES RELEASED SO FAR IN 2009 and classify them according to their quality.
Featured will be the b-sides of:
Morning Musume。
Berryz Kobo
°C-ute
Buono!
Mano Erina
Shugo Chara! groups (Guardians 4 and Shugo Chara Egg!)
The b-sides:
Yowamushi
Aki Urara
Subete wa Ai no Chikara
3,2,1 BREAKIN’ OUT!
Sono Subete no Ai ni
Go Go Go!
Amai Wana
Zansho Omimai Moshiagemasu
Muteki no ∞ Power
Warp!
Kirai Suki Daikirai
Nakimushi ・ Yowamushi
Mizuiro Omoi
Jasmine Tea
Summer Has Come!
Itsuka Doko ka de.
Wonderland ni Tsuretette
♠The Listenable♠
Yowamushi
Aki Urara
3,2,1 BREAKIN’ OUT!
Zansho Omimai Moshiagemasu
Muteki no ∞ Power
Warp!
Kirai Suki Daikirai
Mizuiro Omoi
What can we learn from this? Well, Buono! makes dang good b-sides. Momosu has also had a strong year of b-sides, only one of them not making it on the list. By listenable I mean songs that one would actually take time to listen and not immediately “next-ing”. This is usually because the song is either catchy or posses some kind of unique trait that sets it apart from the rest of the b-sides in their discography.
♠The Strange♠
Sono Subete no Ai ni
Nakimushi ・ Yowamushi
Summer Has Come!
Itsuka Doko ka de.
Berryz is simply here because that song is a ballad. That fact alone makes it strange. Apart from that, it isn’t a particularly good one but Tsunku must see something in it if he names an entire concert after it. Mano’s track is just wtf all around with the layered vocals and stuff. Guadrians 4 tracks stumped me however. They sound so generic but yet not enough to make them entirely bad. Strange because their a-sides tend to be on the verge of generic-ness.
♠The Fataly Generic♠
Subete wa Ai no Chikara
Go Go Go!
Amai Wana
Jasmine Tea
Wonderland ni Tsuretette
Seems C-ute hasn’t had very good b-sides. Actually their a-sides haven’t been the best this year either. Momosu’s song just suffers from lack of anything that makes it special, plus it has annoying vocals. Mano’s song is just terribly, terribly boring while SCE!’s track is one of the most generic, cutesy pop, anime songs I’ve heard in a VERY long time.
Well, there we have it. It seems b-sides this year have been in Buono!’s and Momosu’s favor(considering that Subete wa Ai no Chikara is a bonus track for the special editions) while Erina’s stuff has been very varied. Here’s hoping Tsunku kicks it up a notch. Hmm, it could be the hectic amount of releases that causes the loss of quality.
Unfortunately this time around, due to technical difficulties, the number of voters was the lowest yet so it resulted in a mix of ties, leaving only one true winner while having the rest tie up for both 2nd and 3rd.
Honestly, no surprise here. alan has huge popularity internet-wise on the west side so seeing her leave everyone else in the dust is no surprise. Plus, the girl has got some real lungs in here. I mean, we’ve all hear her wail right? Jeez I hope so.
Polls will be down until the stretching glitch gets fixed.
Mmmk. Wth is Issui doing there if I had voted for her? Rip. Unfortunately, theres a bunch of ties in here. I’m surprised Miho is that well known to have tied with Hikki, even though her voice(IMO) is the best out of all of them. And yea, I voted Issui ’cause her voice is spine-tingling(OMG just like KOKIA!).
Looks like my wish for KOKIA to win all this has gone down even more since both J-Pop “Queens” Ayu and Hikki will make it into the finals… Hmm, must find a way to get people to recognize KOKIA’s greatness…
It’s never going to be easy to slim down the insane amount of artists in the J-Pop world to be able to organize them in two lists to see who everyone thinks has the best singing voice. Well, I went ahead and did it, and it wasn’t as hard as I thought since I listen to so many artists but even so there were a few who I had forgotten to add the first time around.
The best voice in J-Pop is? (Part I)
ayaka: 27% – 6 votes
alan: 23% – 5 votes
KOKIA: 18% – 4 votes
Loser: Hirahara Ayaka: 0% – 0 votes
I can proudly say that the top three winners really deserved it. Angela lost out of the finals with just one vote under KOKIA while Mika and Hiotmi both had 2 votes each.
My vote went to KOKIA, of course. The girl has the voice of a goddess/angel/haxhuman. Than again, maybe I’m just a sucker for opera voices.
Once again, it was a bit of a popularity battle since I’m sure not many people know of Hirahara Ayaka while alan’s popularity over here is immense(online that is). Gah, I just really want KOKIA to win all this…
Just like last week, I’m once again shocked at the results. But this time instead of it being over the proportions the votes were distributed, it was about who DIDN’T recieve votes(and who did).
Who’s your favorite °C-ute member?
Suzuki Airi: 60% – 12 votes
Nakajima Saki/Arihara Kanna: 15% – 3 votes
Umeda Erika: 10% – 2 votes
Loser: Everyone else(INCLUDING YAJIMA MAIMI): 0% – 0 votes
Wow, just wow. Airi totally blew everyone out of the water. <_< I guess she’s the Miyabi of the group than. I loved seeing Kanna tie up with the almighty dancer Saki for second, although 1/3 of her votes were from me.
Now here is where it gets weird. Umeda Erika beating out YAJIMA, Chisato and Mai. How the heck does that happen? <_< Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really like Erika(least favorite member) her voice isn’t really great, she’s not the cutest girl in H!P either though I do admit she does have a lot of charisma and a funny personality.
Hmm, maybe the Maimi’s fans refused to come to my blog that week. WELL YEA I HATE YOU ALL 2.
So your new to Hello! Project(or not, either way) and are curious about a new group or maybe just want to get to know more about these gorgeous Hello! Project girls. Well, using this guide, you can ease your way into…
Buono!
Well, first things first, who is Buono! composed of? Well, it’s a 3-nin unit(currently the smallest active unit in Hello! Project) composed of three Hello! Project Kids:
Tsugunaga Momoko (leader)(Berryz Koubou)
Natsuyaki Miyabi (Berryz Koubou)
Suzuki Airi (°C-ute)
Tsugunaga Momoko
As you can see, she’s the leader of the group. This was chosen during one of their concerts(in which all three of them wanted to be leader). She’s also the oldest of the three(and shortest) so that may have had something to do with it. In Berryz Koubou, she’s known as the cute and playful shorty with a very nasally voice who almost always has a center spot in singles. She’s also the center in most of Buono!’s covers/promotional images as of the Gachinko de Ikou! single.
Natsuyai Miyabi
She used to be the center in images and such until the release of Gachinko de Ikou!, where Momoko unexpectedly took the center spot. Either way, all three girls still share the same amount of lines in songs(although Miyabi does get ripped off sometimes). In Berryz she’s known(to me anyway) as the beauty who battles it out with Kumai Yurina to be in that center spot along with Sugaya Risako. To me, she has the most solid voice in the group and is my personal favorite.
Suzuki Airi
Mostly known as C-ute’s insanely popular member and as the girl who ALWAYS had a prominent spot in the group’s singles. Tsunku really wanted special members in this group, and it’s these three together that fit best with the groups punky/rock image. In songs, she tends to sing the chorus a lot, making her voice one of the most noticeable in the groups.
Image and Sales
Compared with the rest of Hello! Project’s cute image(which Buono! doesn’t lack in, trust me) the group offers a more punk rock image, which is also seen in their music, the which has always had a rock sound to it(minus their very first single).
Sales wise, Buono! had a very strong start, their first single(Honto no Jibun) sold 30k the first week(around 15k less than Momosu’s average present sales and just on par with Berryz/C-ute’s current sales) and 42k overall. However, being an anime based group(their singles are used as the opening+ending themes) they were bound to deteriorate with time. Their latest single MY BOY(which is leagues better than Honto no Jibun) has only sold around 20k it’s first week. While not as much as they used to sell, in the Hello! Project world for 2009, it’s still a fair amount.
Recommended Listening
As of today, Buono! has released 7 singles and 2 albums, with a new single being released the 26th of August. Buono! is one of the few H!P artists whose discography I can really enjoy the most of. Their albums have proven to be of very high quality and their a-sides are insanely catchy.
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11/15 - Lots of K-Pop reviews coming up. Sorry about not updating but was too busy with school. After this week, no more school so I'll be blogging lots~
♠SPECTATE♠
Watch videos at Vodpod and other videos from this collection.
Of course we all know what I’m talking about. The graduation of Kusumi Koharu from Morning Musume in December.
