Goto Maki has left H!P!!!!!

I’m at such a loss for words it’s unreal.

The story continues to unfold over at Hello!Online where I first caught wind of this. At first I was extremely shocked and then wildly concerned. What on earth brought this about? I thought Maki was one of their biggest bread winners. Was this all because of her brother’s scandal? Would H!P really drop one of their biggest solo acts over something like this? Would they really not stand behind her? Are H!P and Maki both saying it had been discussed before to save face?

Or was this really something that Maki initiated over creative differences as an artist? H!P wanted her to go one way, Maki another? I really, really can’t belive that for several reasons.

1. Maki had a new single coming out which has been yanked from online stores.
2. If this really had been discussed in advance there wouldn’t have been discussions of Maki participating in the H!P Winter Tour.
3. Maki’s comment that her future is “uncertain” during her goodbye speech at her final concert. If she had already hooked up with another label as is rumored, would she say this? Wouldn’t she rather say “Please support me in my new venture?”
4. This follows so closely on the heels of her brother’s arrest.

Right now I am absolutely disgusted with H!P and it’s policies and practices involving it’s talent. How could they do this? I don’t see how this could possibly be affecting other members of H!P. I think they just made a huge, huge mistake.

Whatever the case, let’s all continue to support Maki now and in the future!

A difficult choice!

As reported by International Wota, Apple iTunes has Morning Musume’s 10 Anniversary Complete singles boxset for purchase. This is, well HUGE! There’s apparently enough interest in Momusu or Jpop in the US that they’ve not only noticed it but made this set available here, in the States. I have no idea how this works, who came up with the idea or how it came to be but it has me pretty damn excited!

The problem is…. should I purchase it? I SO want to be able to have the oppurtunity to climb up somewhere high and wave that Momusu flag proudly as a foreign fan, to support them by buying a release released IN my home country. However I’ve already planned to buy the limited edition boxset off CDJapan, what with it’s Morning Coffee cover art and extras. (I love that cover so much! I hope there’s a poster of it available).

What the hell should I do? Technically I don’t really need to buy it at all as I already own every song on it (save the new track Hello to You) and to have 2 copies is just…. it’s only $20 on iTunes, but if I buy the boxset from Japan that’s another $40 - $60 right there (including shipping) do I really need to spend upwards of $80 on songs I already own?’

Odds are as soon as I finish this post I’ll purchase the damn thing off iTunes, but still. The conflict with my wallet is strong.

Shouri no BIG WAVE!!!

So the new PV for Athena & Robikerottsu: ‘Shouri no BIG WAVE!!!’  is up at Dohhh-UP! I’ll admit first off that I haven’t been following this at ALL. Sad to say I haven’t even heard the previous single released by Tsuji-chan. (I totally PLAN on hearing it sometime in the future, but have been making time for other stuff). So when I clicked on the PV to load I was a bit surprised to see more than Risa there. There was Aika! And holy crap… she looked amazing! I almost didn’t recognize her at first. She’s definitely matured a lot both in appearance and style, though I’m sure she had help with that. It is however her shining charm and natural sweetness that really makes her stand out in the PV. She’s got such an easy-going smile and girl next door cuteness to her it’s infective. I would definitely buy her photobook if/when she produces one. I can only hope it would follow Yossie’s and not feature exclusively bikini shots. Sometimes that stuff really creeps me out. Not for the older girls, like Mari, Natsumi or Maki…. but Koharu’s first photobook while cute had a really creepy stalker vibe to it. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know, and I’m getting off topic.

 Risa also shines extremely brightly in this video. She’s adorable. If there was ever a pairing I could wish for it’s Risa and Aika (and throw Koharu-chan in there for good measure, I’d be sold). I think they go so well together in on-stage personality. Both are extremely sweet and naturally charming. I’m also starting to really recognize the faces of members from C-ute and Berryz, neither of which I follow with any real regularity, but should.

 The song is… I actually like it a lot. It’s really upbeat and poppy. Even without the PV and it’s bright yellow color scheme you would get a good “Let’s Go!” feeling from it. Plus you gotta love the Sexy Boy up finger “Uwaa! Uwaa!” snuck in there. LOL.

°C-ute - Tokaikko Junjou new single!

It appears we are entering a new era at H!P or at least that’s what the latest singles are leading me to believe. One where Tsunku has decided to revive the synth-pop of eighties with the hard techno beats of the nineties. Neither is a bad thing since I’m a fan of both and they make a pretty kick ass combination.

Such is the case with °C-ute’s latest single, Tokaikko Junjou. This is totally different from anything I’ve heard from them before and I really, really like it! This is the kind of song that, if I was back home in Maine at the moment, would make a fantastic cruising song. That’s one thing I miss living in the city. Too many people, stop lights and stop signs. There aren’t miles of open road to drive around on while blasting jpop out of your speakers. This is kind of ironic as this song is about a city girl’s heart, which I am definitely not. But no matter it’s meaning it is a kick ass song and I look forward to the things Tsunku has in store for us in the future.  This is definitely a single to buy!

Nakazawa Yuko - Danna-sama new single!

Poor, poor Yuko-san. The poor girl wants nothing in the world than to get married and Tsunku sticks her with a song that’s about a housewife singing praise for her husband. Ganbatte Danna-sama, I’m so glad we got married! Yikes.

The song is gentle, but I am really sorry to say, a snooze fest. This is coming from a woman who used to be a fan of punk music. For Chrissakes Nanase her up a bit! Age does not mean you have to stop kicking ass. Look at the Rolling Stones for God’s sake!

The video mostly intersperses video clips of Yuko swaying in front of a curtain and lip syncing with still shots of her performing house wifely duties while anxiously watching the clock for her husband to come home.

She’s very cute in the video, but the image just clashes to holy hell with the image of the “Yankee” Yuko we used to know and love. Granted her singles weren’t ever rock fests, but they had a lot more oomph to them than this. I really, really, really wanted to like this too.