Hallelujah!

It has been confirmed by UFA that Kago will be returning to H!P sometime in the future! Sources Ikkimashoi and Hello!Online have the full details, but I’ll recap.

Aibon has been working at the agency since January 23, serving tea to customers and answering the phones. The agency wants to build up her confidence again, and show her how the company works from the bottom up. She really wants to sing again, and is tremendously sorry about the scandal of the previous year. UFA wants to bring her back, but the manner and time has yet to be decided.

This is fantastic news! What a terrific thing to wake up to this morning! I am so damn excited, 2007 looks like it’s shaping up to be a good year.

The problem with being a foreign fan

There are many, but one that concerns me the most at the moment, showing support for the return of Kago Ai.

Being a foreign fan, you really have NO VOICE when it comes to showing support. More often than not you can’t attend concerts or special events, can’t watch TV shows as they air, which is important to measure ratings, and can’t shop at any of the H!P stores with any regularity. You can show support by buying merchandise online, but it’s really just a drop in the bucket if you think about it. We represent a very marginal section of the fan community.

Another problem with being a foreign fan is having different view points regarding idol behavior. Being an American, and a girl besides, I don’t see the girls as untouchable, infallible virgins. Aibon getting caught smoking shattered no preconceived fantasy notions of mine regarding her virtues. I frowned on her behavior, in the sense that it’s not healthy especially if you are a singer! but also because as an idol she is a role model to children. Still, none of this would have prevented me from buying W’s 3rd album, which was slated for release so soon after the scandal broke.

In the end all we can do is hope for her return in the very near future.

Aibon

Speculation is running rampant regarding the return of Kago Ai as the anniversary of her suspension draws near. Everyone remains hopeful, but as time continues to march forward with nary a word from Tsunku, H!P or UFA, hope begins to diminish.

Personally I find myself really missing her lately. Rumor has it a fan spotted her in the audience weeping at the 10th Anniversary Concert. (Rumor also has it she attended with Konno Asami who made a surprise appearance to wish graduating members Miuna and Asami from Country Musume a fond farewell). Was Aibon weeping because she couldn’t take part, or because she’ll never take part again? All rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, but it is more than a little disheartening.

For some reason I have the feeling that if/when she returns, it will be sometime in March. I don’t know why I do, I just do. It’s based purely on gut feeling.