MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hello everyone!

This is just a quick blog wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!  I hope y'all are spending time with your family and friends and are enjoying each other's company.  I hope you're eating good food, giving and receiving wonderful gifts, and spreading the Christmas spirit!

So, as kind of a little Christmas Card to all of you, I sang C-ute's Aitai Lonely Christmas!  I know it's a depressing song, but I'm hoping none of you are lonely like the girls are in the song. xP

Please enjoy!

And when Christmas is over, I'll be posting a review I've been working on.  It's a bit different than the usual J-pop reviews I do, so please look forward to it!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

<3

Help Me!! Wait until January 23rd!

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW YISS!

First off, Happy 12/12/12 everybody!

Second, HOLY CRAP THIS IS AWESOME!

Following along the ElectroPop trend Momusu has been on lately, a radio rip of "Help Me!!" has been released.

This is a really high quality radio rip, so I'm very pleasantly surprised.

The intro and the bridge are super interesting, since Mizuki (I do believe it's her) starts talking, and then as an echo, a high pitched robot voice follows.  It's like something you'd hear at a rave.  As soon as the song started going, I imagined people jumping up and down with glowsticks and lots and lots of spandex...it's almost kind of space-y.  I think Tsunku is really starting to get the hang of the electronic music, so it's good that his best electro effort is with the debut of Sakura.

BY THE WAY, SAKURA SOUNDS AWESOME.

SANG IT GURL.   I'm so happy she sounds so good!  And she fits in really well with the current sound that Momusu has, since her voice is still youthful, but she also fills out the group vocal sound as well, since her voice has warmth and power behind it.  I can't wait to hear more from her!

Also, Mizuki gets to sing some more in this one, which makes me happy, since her voice is always pleasant to hear.  Reina sounds fabulous as always, and I'm hearing steady improvement with Riho.  Her voice is still nasal-y, but there is less strain, so it's good that she's learning to sing healthier.  Yay healthy singing!  I think I also hear Robo-Sayu in there somewhere. XD

I'm excited to see what kind of concept they're going to do for this really awesome song, since I can't quite guess from these outfits. XD  It'll be cool to see what kind of things are revealed on the way 'till the release date on January 23rd.

For now, everyone enjoy the song!

SETLIST TIME: Electrify YOU!

Hello everyone!

So today, I'm finally releasing the setlist for ElectroCute's debut concert, "Electrify YOU!"

It's so very exciting!  I do hope you like the songs we chose for this concert, and if you haven't already, be sure to give them a listen by clicking on the video I've provided. xP

1.  Koi wo Shichaimashita--Tanpopo

2.  Ganbaranakutemo Ee Nende--S/mileage

3.  Ai Like Hamburger--Idolm@ster
Hazel (lead), Kaya, Keiko

4.  Robokiss--W (Double You)
Hazel and Kaya

5.  Mr. Wonderboy--MAP
Mayu, Kaya, Keiko

6.  Heavy Rotation--AKB48

7.  Koi no Dance Site--Morning Musume
Keiko and Kaya

8.  Boogie Train '03--Fujimoto Miki
Kaya (with Mayu and Hazel as back up dancers)

9.  Our Steady Boy--YuiKaori
Mayu and Hazel

10.  Moonlight Night ~Tsuki yo no Ban da yo~--Morning Musume
Kaya, Mayu, Keiko

11.  Santa Baby--Eartha Kitt

12.  Mikan--Morning Musume
Keiko, Kaya, Mayu

13.  Baby Maniacs--Danceroid

14.  Let's Live--ElectroCute

Preview Coming soon!


WAHOO!  What a setlist, right!?
If you don't see any names under a song title, you can assume that all group members are performing that particular song.  ^--^  For the different grouping songs in this concert, I put the names of the girls who are performing those songs under the song title.  The duet and trio songs are a really fun way to show off the different personalities and strengths of each of the members, so the person who chose the song has their name written down first.

Anyway, please listen to these songs, and get some wotagei ready for the concert!

It's a great feeling

When you're in the car and you're singing your own song!

x3

I was singing "Let's Live" in the car today on the way back from the library.  It makes me so happy that I can write my own lyrics and make my own melodies, even if I suck at reading music. XDD

And of course with the help of Chris's awesome instrumentation.  Even listening to the instrumental makes me super happy.

It's like...this is my song.

IT'S SO CRAZY!

I wonder if this is how music artists feel when they write songs...or maybe they've gotten used to it.

I dunno.

This is my first song so it's very special to me.

Don't worry, you'll get to hear a preview soon!

How does this Friday sound?

Or maybe Thursday?

Sometime this week, there will be a preview!

And I'm hoping to release the setlist for our first concert this week as well!

It's a super fun setlist, full of high energy and dancing!

It's a setlist that shows off all of the talents of the ElectroCute members.  ^--^

I'm hoping that someday soon, we can have a concert that is only made up of ElectroCute songs!

That day will make me so happy!

But that also means I have to write A LOT of new songs! XDD

....Actually...

I've already started on the lyrics for our second single! xP

It's got a different feel than our first single.

But I guess that doesn't mean much since y'all haven't heard any of "Let's Live" yet. xP

But!

This week, you'll hear a preview!

I hope you're excited!

I'm excited!

I'm excited to hear what everyone thinks of the song.  Please tell me your true feelings about it, yeah?

Anyway, I need to finish my last bit of homework and go off to bed!

Nighty night everyone, and sweet dreams!

<3

ElectroCute's 1st Single Announcement!

First of All, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  I hope you all eat a lot of delicious food today, even if you aren't American! XD  Delicious food is good for the soul. xP

ANYWAY, here is the announcement of my first music group's (as a producer and a performer) single, "Let's Live!"  This announcement is taken from the KiraKira Moe Show Official Blog.

I mean...I still wrote it, but I'm putting it here!

"Hello Starshines!

Kaya here, with a HUGE announcement!

Electro☆Cute will be releasing their first single in Mid-January!!

We’re all so excited for it!  The song is titled “Let’s Live” with lyrics penned by Kaya and composed by Christopher Escalante, video game composer and voice actor!

Pre-orders for the single will start during Ikkicon VII, and the girls will perform the song during their concert there on Friday, December 28th.

More details on the single’s release date, and previews will come as Ikkicon approaches.

Stay tuned!"

I hope y'all are excited!

Right now, Chris has finished composing the track, so I'll be recording a demo to send to the rest of the girls so they can finish learning the song.  Mayu is working on choreography at the moment, and I'm discussing the MV shoot while Keiko puts our ideas onto storyboards. 

IT'S ALL SO EXCITING!  I can't wait for y'all to hear it!  

Reina: My Oshi is Moving On

So I'm on break for Thanksgiving and I wake up this morning, turn on the computer, and what do I find?

A Graduation announcement from Reina.

How am I supposed to deal with this!?

I mean, there are two parts of me that show up with this announcement:

There is a part of me that loves her so much and she's my Oshi so I'm sad and don't want her to leave.

There is a part of me that loves her so much and she's my Oshi and I want her to be happy so I'm excited about her band and the new things she's going to do.

Reina has been the face of Morning Musume since she joined the group, so like when Ai-chan left, this will be a big shift for the group.  I know the group will survive, since it survived when Nacchi left, when Koharu left, when Ai-chan left...so I'm not freaking out in that sense.

I'm just surprised.  About a month ago on her blog, she says she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon...but now she is leaving.

I'm just hoping she gets a proper send-off.  I mean, I'm sure she will, but as a big fan, I hope she gets the best.

Also, I'm kind of bitter about it in some ways, since a lot of people are actually celebrating her graduation, and being happy that she's going to leave, showing the same kind of hate that the same people showed for Aika when she left.

Which brings me to the other part of me.

I'm really happy the members for her band have been decided, and a picture was shown of all four of them together, and she looked so at home.

I mean, she looked really comfortable with them, like she felt at home and like she belonged.  Which is probably what she is missing from MM right now, with all of the younger members, she probably is feeling a major shift within herself.

People change, and Reina is no different.  She's not the same person she was 10 years ago when she joined, and I think she feels that to grow as an artist in the way she wants to, she has to move on from Morning Musume.

And in a way, I agree with that.  With this band, she may get more control over her image, the kind of music she puts out, and maybe even taking a hand in writing some of the songs.

It's a whole new thing that she's about to jump into, and it's exciting for all of her fans to see what she's doing next.

Whenever a girl graduates from Morning Musume, I always have this fear of that girl disappearing off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again.  But with Reina, that fear is not going to come true.  And as a huge fan of her, I will follow her activities in whatever she does, and I'm so glad I still get to hear her wonderful voice when she leaves.

Good Luck to you Reina, and make sure to enjoy your last 6 months within Morning Musume!

And make sure to love on Sayu lots, okay?  She's going to miss you so much!

NMB48 HA! Short MV

Oooooo lookie what we have here!  An MV for NMB48's track on AKB48's newest single, Eien Pressure!  This song is titlted "HA!"  I'm super excited for this track, since it's something different than we've heard from the girls.  The song itself opens up with some pretty gnarly guitar riffs, and then leads into fast paced trumpets.  It reminds me of music from a spy movie or something (which ties in nicely with this MV).  It's always interesting to hear Japanese idol music with western influences, since you know it has taken inspiration from another place, but it's still so distinctly Japanese in the way the music is used, and having the sugary sweet idol voices over the music track.  The one thing I really appreciate though, is how guttural the "HA!'s" are.  These ladies are ready for battle!   I can't wait to hear the full song!

For the MV, it looks like they're going to have it be like a little mini movie, which is always fun to see.  The girls' acting may not be the best, but hey, we never watch mini-movie MV's for the acting, right?  XD  We watch to see the girls thrown into these crazy situations!  That's what's fun about it!  From watching the preview a few times, I think the story goes like this:

Sayanee is meeting with someone to find where Milky is, Milky meanwhile, has been kidnapped by a group of Yakuza (the reason why I'm not sure), and while she is trying to charm her way out of it with her idol girlishness, Sayanee gets a call from one of the baddies.  Sayanee gets her tough her act on, and she comes to Milky's rescue!  The Yakuza all have a very over the top Osaka dialect with a yankee accent thrown in, which I think is really cool to hear as someone outside of Japan.  I'm glad the group is embracing, and even poking fun at the culture and stereotypes from their area in their MVs.

As for the non-story parts of the MV, we see a really cool dance shot with the girls on a lit up party boat in the middle of Osaka, and some close up shots in front of a red curtain.  The girls are wearing some sexy one shoulder kimonos lined with leopard print and some crazy huge kanzashi.  It's interesting to see the mix of the yankee style with the traditional Japanese dress.

NMB48 just keeps getting better and better, and I'm excited for this single to come out!

I'm hoping to see SKE48's and HKT48's videos for this single soon as well, and of course the title track with AKB48.

48 Family fighting!

Birthday Paaaaaaaaaaaartaaaaay!

Hey y'all!

It's been a busy week!  Cinderella has been in tech since last Saturday so I haven't had much time to blog, so I've just been updating my Facebook Page (which you can find on my contact page) with tweets and such.

ANYWAY.  Last Friday was my birthday, and I have some fun pictures from the celebration!

First off, here's what I wore on my birthday!  I went all out with a mini hat, sash, and a magical birthday wand! XDD  Oh, and I went and voted with all of this on.  I take my duty as a US citizen veeery seriously. XDDD

HELLO.KITTY.BIRTHDAY CAKE.  Mama ordered it for me.  She's the best!  I took this before I went out to dinner, I couldn't stop staring at it. XD

Then it was off to Fuji for a hibachi grill dinner!  We started off with a salad...

The sexy sauce!  (Seriously, the chef called it that).  If they sold this in bottles, I would buy soooo much. XD  Seriously, this stuff is SO good.  It makes an amazing vegetable dip too.

Friends!  I love my girls!  From the left, we have Terri, Micki, Lisa, Julia, and Kelly!

This was my delicious hibachi-cooked meal!  Salmon, two jumbo shrimp, fried rice, and plenty of vegetables!  It was suuuuuper tasty!  The chef was really funny too.  He joked the whole time, and has lots of different props to play with.  I hadn't laughed that much in a long time!

Then the waitstaff brought me ice cream and sang a birthday song for me!  They even had a little Taiko drum! 8D

Then we went back to Micki's apartment for cake and movies, where our other friend, Naomi, joined us.  Before we ate the cake, I had to get a picture of the side, the flowers were just too cute!

Everyone say caaake!

It was red velvet cake!  So good, but so rich!  None of us could finish our slice. XD

We watched Magic Mike and Moulin Rouge that night. XD  Both super sexy movies, for different reasons.  It was very enjoyable.

By the time we finished Moulin Rouge, it was 3am, so I had to go back to my dorm and go to bed since I had Cinderella the next morning.

But this was probably the best birthday ever!  Just good food, good movies, good friends, and LOTS of laughter!

<3

I'll be back to normal posting midway through next week, so I'll see you next time!

Birthday Giveaway!

HEY PEOPLE!

So before I go out and start the birthday party tonight, I posted a giveaway video on YouTube!  Check it out!

I'm giving away a poster of SNSD's Taeyeon in her costume from "The Boys" album promotions.  Since I'm getting all of these awesome gifts for my birthday, I wanted a chance to give one as wel.  ^--^

If you watch the video and read the description box as well, you'll know the rules and how to participate.

So please do participate!

Party posts will come tomorrow, as well as some reviews and such that I've been procrastinating on! XD

Love y'all!

<3

二十歳

It's officially midnight on November 2nd, so today is my 20th birthday!

If y'all don't read kanji, the title of this post is "Hatachi," which means 20 years old in Japanese.

It's weird to think about being an adult.

But I'm seeing this as a chance to turn over a new leaf.

I'm starting a new chapter in my life, a chapter where I start to take control of my life, where I make my own choices, and live for myself, and not for other people anymore.

I've been stuck in this pattern of making choices in my life for other people, be it family members, friends, or teachers.  Since I'm stepping into adulthood, I want to make sure that from now on, my choices will be for myself.  I won't feel tied down to other people's expectations, since over the past year, I've learned that my expectations for myself are the most important ones.

I want to keep my compassion and caring for other people intact, since that is an important part of being an adult and a human being in general, but I've neglected caring for myself for a long time, and the time has come for that to change.

So I've made a few lists:

Things I'm letting go of

Things I'm stepping into

With this new chapter in my life starting, I wanted to give myself a vision for the coming year and beyond.

Things I'm letting go of:

*Trying to please everyone at the same time
*Taking my life in a different direction to please others
*Feeling like it's my fault when others get angry
*Beating myself up over and over again for minor mistakes
*Shutting myself away from the world instead of asking for help
*Trying to solve everything by myself

Things I'm stepping into:

*Making major life choices according to what feels right to me
*Going after what I really want in life, not letting others' visions get in the way
*Building a new kind of self confidence that doesn't rely on the support of others
*Asking for help when I need it, instead of trying to take on the world by myself
*Loving myself and caring about my needs just as much as I care about others

I've written these lists on sheets of paper, and after all of my classes are finished for the day, I'm going to go outside, rip them to pieces, and let them blow away with the wind, as a promise to fulfill these goals starting today.

I hope that my first year as an adult will be a successful one.  One where I achieve many goals, learn a lot of new things, and love myself and others unconditionally.  I hope to spread positive energy all around me, and to have that energy inspire many new things.

I also hope to take this opportunity as a new adult to revive the childlike creativity in myself.  I not only want to mature as a person this year, but I also want to stay young at heart.  I want to be able to have unlimited imagination, to have a world inside myself where anything is possible, and to have curiosity for everything around me.

I feel that if I approach the world with a childlike curiosity and have an adult like process to apply my new worldly information, that I can do anything I set my mind to.

I know that all of this is a life-long process, but as a new 20 year old, I'm ready to accept the challenge and to enjoy the struggle.

And to the 19 year old me, thank you for making the new discoveries you've made in the last year.  I know it's been a very difficult experience, but now you can rest.  The 20 year old me will take over from here, and I promise to make you proud.

One last picture of the 19 year old Kaya:

Thank you everyone, for all of your continued support up until now.  Your support has helped me through a lot of difficult decisions and situations, and I hope that you will continue to support me this year as well.  I'll do my best to be true to myself so I can have my best life and do my best work! <3

20TH YEAR LET'S GO!

Last day of Teenagerhood/Halloween Candy

So it's officially after midnight on November 1st.

Which means my 20th birthday is tomorrow.

WHAT!?

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!?

Wasn't I just a freshman in high school yesterday?

Seriously man...

I have no clue where the time went.

I'm still not used to this whole being an adult thing.  

I mean, it's not like turning 20 is going to make me change immediately.

Becoming an adult is a process.

But still, I don't want to lose my inner child.

I think there will be parts of me who are always 5 years old anyway.  XDD

But more on that on my actual birthday.  

SWITCHING TOPICS!

Yesterday was Halloween!

It was so much fun!

Like a child, I ate lots of candy.

But, like an adult, I also gave out lots of candy.  

See?  I can do a little of both! XDDD

I enjoyed giving out candy and making people happy.

I chose to give out Dum Dum pops this year.  

It reminds me of when I was in elementary school, since they always had Dum Dum pops in the library.  I would sit down and read and suck on a Dum Dum pop.

My favorite flavor hasn't changed.  

Butterscotch. XD <3

It was cool to see what flavors everyone else picked, and if they still had the same favorite, or if they were trying something new.  

New flavors that everyone seemed to like were blueberry and mango.

They're so strong!  I was surprised by the amount of fruit flavor in them!  I wonder if they used real fruit juice...

Anyway.

This is just a personal blog.  

Nothing much to do with idols or KKMS.

But sometimes I just need to ramble out to someone.  So yeah...

...but actually, the Dum Dum pops gave me a cool idea for KKMS.

More on that later. ;)

What's your favorite Dum Dum flavor?  Did you ever save enough wrappers to get cool prizes? XD

Sick Time Playlist

Okay, so I've been sick since Friday night, so I've been kinda down lately.  

SO.  

IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER PLAYLIST!  Yippee Skippee!  

So, here are some songs that make me feel better while I'm stuck in bed.  

 Morning Musume--Shanimuni Paradise

So I'm currently listening to this song.  XDD  This song makes me feel so stupidly happy every time I listen to it.  The music has this awesome bouncy, skippy beat to it, and the girls sound so perky while singing!  Especially during the "yume ga aru--uuuuuu" parts.  I love that!  And I also love the staccato bit during "Shanimuni Let's Go Paradise."  So I posted a live version here because the dance doubles the happy!  It goes from stupidly happy to "ULTRA MEGA HYPER BRAVO HAPPINESS!"  The arm flapping and skirt swishing, and especially the knee wiggling make for a perfect combination of cheer-uppy-ness!  I know, that's not a word, but it describes the wonderfulness that is this song.  

ReniReni--Suspect A

ReniReni has been one of my favorite performers for just under two years now I believe.  She just came out with her new album "Hybrid Girl" at the beginning of this month.  She's known for her super "Moe Moe" performances around New York City with her maid cafe "Moe Moe Honey."  This song shows a new side of Reni, and boy do I like it!  This song is perfect for getting pumped up, and the electronic beats just want to make you get up and dance!  Her voice is very unique, and there's a lot of power behind it in this song, so even though I may not have a lot of strength while I'm sick, Reni helps me gain just a little more power with this song.  

Girl Next Door--DaDaPaRa

I don't really know much about Girl Next Door, but I love this song!  It's very uplifting.  Her voice is interesting to listen to, and the little harmonies and riffs behind her add this sort of ethereal sound to the song, even though it's very electronic.  I find that it has an interesting mix of sounds and that's what makes me like it so much.  

T-ara--Roly Poly

This song will ALWAYS be one of my top jams.  Ever since it came out over a year ago, I've been addicted.  It makes me happy whether I'm playing it in my car, in my room, with friends, or just through headphones.  I grew up on Disco music since my mom listened to it a lot, so the disco beat in this song makes my ears happy.  And the catchy "Roly Poly Roly Roly Poly" in the chorus is something you can easily sing along with.  The intro and end of the song especially make me want to get funky.  

Morning Musume--Onna Gokoro to Nanto Kara

This is one of those calming happy songs.  It gives you a sense of contentment when you listen to it I think.  It's good for relaxing too.  It has one of my favorite sounds:  the twinkle sounds.  Any Jpop song that has them I usually like, and this song is full of 'em!  The girls blend well vocally on this song, so that is another thing that makes it pleasant to listen to.  

AKB48 Team B (Well, former Team B)--Yobisute Fantasy

I have listened to this song on repeat on many occasions.  It's just so...happy!  I can't find really any other words to describe it.  It's a cute and happy song done simply, and done well.  Great job AKB!

AKB48--Heavy Rotation

"I WANT YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU I NEED YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU I LOVE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU."  No wonder this song makes me happy. XDDD  How can you not be happy listening to this song?  The girls just love you so much!  This song is my ultimate "moe" guilty pleasure, and no lie, I watch the PV a lot.  It's just so cute and happy and sweet!  This song never fails to bring up my mood.  

Anyway, I'm gonna cap this off at seven songs.  And it seems the list went from "making me feel better" to "making me feel happy."  But being happy makes you feel better, right?  So I guess it all works out.  I feel much better after listening to all of these songs anyway.  Super happy!  I hope you feel happy after listening to this playlist too!

Let me know what songs make you happy too, I'd love to hear them!

The First Big Idol Producer---Florenz Ziegfeld

Okay, so any idol fans know about producers Tsunku and Aki-P, right?

But there is one man who is very interesting to me, and even though he isn't Japanese and never worked in Japan, what he did and the shows he produced were ahead of their time, and somehow that system made its way over to Japan decades later.  

First, here's some background information on old Flo. 

Florenz Ziegfeld was born on March 21st, 1867 in Chicago, Illinois to a German father and a Belgian mother.  His father, Florenz Ziegfeld Sr. opened up a Nightclub for the World's fair of 1893, with little success.  To help his father, Flo scouted a German strongman called Eugen Sandow.  Sandow was such a hit at his father's nightclub, that he decided to take business into his own hands.  

Flo had the idea of bringing Parisian Follies to America, and so, The Ziegfeld Follies was born.  The first follies was put on in 1907, and they were performed annually until 1931.  Flo had a keen eye for talent, from performers to composers and writers.  Some of the most famous performers and artists of the early 20th century got their start in the Ziegfeld Follies, such as composers Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern.  Famous performers in the Ziegfeld follies were Fanny Brice, Ed Wynn, Will Rodgers, and his wife, Billie Burke (most famously known as Glinda the Good Witch in "The Wizard of OZ).  

Some of y'all may be thinking:  "He just sounds like a talent agent to me, what does this have to do with idols?"

Oh my friends.  I have yet to get to the most famous part of the Ziegfeld Follies.  Even though audiences adored the songs and performers, what was really big about the follies was the girls.  The Ziegfeld Girls.  The Ziegfeld girls were a massive group of chorus girls that decorated the stage during the follies.  Even if they weren't singing or dancing in a number, they would drape the stage with their over the top costumes, serving as set dressings (and eye candy) for the audience to see.  

They say that Flo had an eye for beauty, even if other people didn't see it.  Once he saw a girl, he knew immediately whether or not she could be a Ziegfeld girl, and the potential of her performance ability.  

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Flo also had interesting ways of publicizing the girls at that time.  While he would promote the shows, he would also put out personal information about the girls to spark interest of the general public.  Hist first big female star was Anna Held, and he raised public interest by releasing information about her daily milk baths.  After that, she shot up to national fame until the day she died.  

Now let's do some comparisons:  

I'll be keeping my comparisons within Hello!Project since I know them much better than I do any of Aki-P's groups.  

Now Flo cast some girls completely according to their looks, and I mentioned that some girls served as eye candy and set dressings.  

Let's go through the "Ziegfeld Girls" of Hello!Project by group.  

Morning Musume:  

Michishige Sayumi

Iikubo Haruna

Ikuta Erina

Berryz Koubou:

Tsugunaga Momoko

C-ute:

Nakajima Saki

S/mileage:

Wada Ayaka

Starting with Morning Musume:  these three girls can't sing a lick, but dammit they're gorgeous!  When they smile, laugh, or wink, you just turn into butter.  Whenever there's a photoshoot/photobook/magazine spread, they're the ones who take the best pictures because they were the ones scouted to be pretty.  That's just how some of the Ziegfeld girls were scouted, and that's how it works for these three.

Berryz Koubou:  If I had written this two or three years ago, I would say that Berryz didn't have a Ziegfeld girl, but with the direction that Momo is going, I'd say she's the closest to it that the group has.  She doesn't rely on her singing or dancing talent anymore to gain attention, she uses gags and routines.  She markets herself with no shame, and that's a part of what makes her entertaining to some people.  Tsunku realizes that, and let's her run with it since it also gives the rest of her group, and the agency as a whole, more publicity.  In a way, that makes Momo kind of like Fanny Brice, since once Flo scouted her, he let her have freedom with her own acts.  

C-ute:  Nakky represents the Ziegfeld girl who is a dancer.  Some Ziegfeld girls were tremendous dancers, and though they didn't get too many chances to dance outside of the chorus, they just had their way of shining that audiences took notice of.  In C-ute, I feel that's how Nakky plays her roll.  She gets the least amount of solo lines in all of C-ute's singles, but when she's up onstage:  BAM!  She's a standout because of her presence.  

S/mileage:  Oh Ayacho.  When S/mileage first formed, I honestly wondered why she was there. XDDD  I didn't care for her voice at all.  It wasn't until she started getting PBs that I realized why she was there.  She has a different look about her that makes her interesting.  She doesn't look like any of the other girls in H!P.  When you see her face, you can't mistake her, and that's to the advantage of the agency, since the general public can recognize her solely as Wada Ayaka of Hello!Project.  That's another thing to compare with Fanny Brice.  Brice was Jewish, therefore she didn't look like the other girls in the Follies, or in showbiz in general at the time, since Jewish features at the time weren't considered beautiful.  When people saw her, they immediately knew she was Fanny Brice from The Ziegfeld Follies, which brought in more publicity for the Follies themselves.  

Does this make any sense?  I'm sorry for the wall of text, but the similarities between follies and idols intrigued me, and since what I do at KKMS is like a mix between follies and idol concerts, I thought I would do a little research.  

Do you think idol producers learned from the Ziegfeld Follies?  Why or why not?  Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading!  

DISCUSSION POST: 01--Idols in the West?

So this is the first in a series of Discussion posts, where I ask a question and clarify, and then you, my lovely readers, will answer it for me in the comments!

Your participation is really what makes this work, so please, talk to me y'all! XD

The question for today is:

Would an idol style group work in the US?  Why or why not?

If the group sang only in English, but promoted in the way an idol group does, would it work?

Or would the group be considered a girl/boy band instead of an idol group because they're westerners?

Okay, so there was more than one question. XD

But I'm curious to hear what y'all think about the subject as fellow wotas.  

COMMENT IT UP Y'ALL! <3

Kaya

AKB48--UZA

AW SHIT YOU GUYS.

AKB just made me eat my words from my last post, 'cause UZA is THE SHIT.

Like

My

Mind

Is

BLOWN.

IS THIS REALLY AKB48?!

This is something totally different than what they've done before, and I LOVE IT.

I mean, just look at all the stuff they have in this PV:

Ballerinas

Steampunk Army girls

Harley Quinn Jack in the Box

Victorian ladies with flirty fans

Complex dance formations and choreography

Dude....this is like a Geek's dream right here!

It's like a Halloween themed Geek Convention exploded.

THIS IS SO COOL.  

I especially love the smoke effects with some of the dance moves, like Yukirin in the jack in the box.  OOOOO and Jurina as the ringmaster!  That was super sexy and cool!  AND DID ANYONE SEE YUKO'S PERFECT TURN OUT IN FIFTH POSITION?  I'm so envious! XDD  

You can tell the girls worked super hard on this PV, and it certainly paid off!  

I'm so glad that FINALLY there is something different, and the fact that the song and the video actually fit together!

The song itself has some electronic flavor to it, which seems to be the trend nowadays.  And it also has the girls singing in a lower range than usual, which is really refreshing to hear.  

Now watch the video before it gets taken down!

NMB48-Kitagawa Kenji Short PV

OHMYGODYOUGUYS!

WHAT IS AIR?!

WHY ARE THESE GIRLS SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT?!

This PV makes me so happy!!!

And this confirms in my mind that NMB48>AKB48 at this point in time.

Don't get me wrong, I still love AKB, but NMB has been putting out much better music!

Virginity was a great song, as was the B side Musou Girlfriend (KITTIES!), so I was wondering how they were going to top it, and now I know.

Instead of kittens, it's CANDY!  

They look like little sweets in the cutest poofy wrappers!

LOOK AT HOW CUTE THEY ARE!

And I love the school scenes too.  They're just so derpy!  I love how over dramatized they are as bored students.  The clock ticking motion with their pencils was very clever.  

Anyway, I know this song isn't as different as Virginity was, and that it is standard idol fare, but it's super catchy and fun, and the visuals in the PV make me like the song that much more!  Now all I will think of when I hear this song is cute, bouncing candy girls!  

I can't wait to see the rest of the PV!

One more month 'till the release on November 7th!

Wakuteka Take a Chance PV

So the new version of the Wakuteka Take a Chance PV has been uploaded!  YAY!

Okay, this PV has SO MUCH STUFF!  The editing was crazy cool, since it flipped back and forth between close ups, dance shot, table shot, light bars, fire shots, dance/close shots, and other shots of the girls' different features.  And the fact that shots of the members switched so quickly was amazing, and put together quite well!

My tension went UP when watching this PV.  WAY UP!  Much more than the previous version, since this had a lot more going on.  The dance sequences in this PV looked much better since it was up against black instead of white, so their costumes popped much more, and I think it matched with the song.  

The fast editing itself matched the song better, since it's so fast paced.  There were also some more flash/light effects added in this version, and it fits well with the electronic theme of the song.  It made me think of robots and aliens, which the girls seem to portray in the light bar shots.  

To be honest, I watched the PV multiple times just to make sure I didn't miss anything! XD  

Oh!  And I'm glad everyone got fire shots this time, not just Sayu and Riho like the last version had.  The fire didn't exactly fit with the whole robot/electro thing going on, but it does fit with the whole moving forward/taking chances/risks thing that the song has, so I like that it's in the PV.  

Woah.

I'm still kinda overwhelmed.  In a good way. XD

I apologize if this entry isn't exactly cohesive, but I just wrote this after watching the PV, I was just too excited!

Anyway, make sure to watch the video for yourself, and I hope you like it as much as I do!

Electro☆Cute!

So, as all of you know, I run an organization called the "KiraKira Moe Show," which runs like an idol company.  During this past Summer, we had 29 uncategorized members running around and performing at conventions.  

I do consider all of my girls debuted as idols once they join the Moe Show, contrary to other idol companies that place them in groups to debut.

BUT.

I do want to create smaller groups and promote them.

SO.

The first group to come out of the KiraKira Moe Show is:

Electro☆Cute!

The group is made up of four members:

Mayu

DOB:  02/04/1997

Hair color:  Blonde

Eye color:  Blue

Strong Point:  Dance

Member Color:  Baby Blue

Hazel

DOB:  06/04/1992

Hair Color:  Brown

Eye Color:  Brown

Strong Point:  DERP, Positivity

Member Color:  Emerald Green

Keiko

DOB:  10/27/1994

Hair Color:  Red/Brown

Eye Color:  Blue/Green

Strong Point:  Energy!

Member Color:  Cherry Red

Kaya--Leader

DOB:  11/02/1992

Hair Color:  Honey Brown

Eye Color:  Blue/Green/Hazel

Strong point:  Vocals

Member Color:  Bubblegum Pink

Electro☆Cute was announced on the KiraKira Moe Show Facebook Page on July 31st, with the members revealed one by one.  

We released our first dance cover on YouTube which was a cover of Pinku Project's "Pinku Invasion!"

A second dance cover was released about a month later, which was a cover of Danceroid's "Baby Maniacs."

We will be having our first live concert at Ikkicon VII in Austin, Texas on December 28th.  The title and setlist of the concert will be released at a later date.  

Currently we are working on our first single, which will also be announced at a later date.

We hope you look forward to our original work, and if you can come to our live, please do!

We'll be working hard from now on, so please support us!