Day/Night: 1
Okay, so as you already know from my post on Heart2Heart's debut song 'Facebook Official', I am not a boy band fan. When I was younger, I listened to some Westlife and Boyzone, but that was pretty much as far as I got. I was a Britney Spears fan, I worshipped the ground that S Club 7 walked on, and I loved the Spice Girls. I never really cared for a group where the male was excessively dominant, which is probably why I am so in love with girl groups even today.
But, per request of the fun and charming Ray from International Wota, I have decided that I will "dabble" in the likes of... oh lord... Boy Bands. Japanese Boy Bands, to be exact, because suddenly delving into Kpop boy bands would be far too fast for me in general, seeing as I am still not overly keen on Kpop (I like SNSD, but not to the point where I religiously listen to them like I do with Morning Musume or C-ute) itself. Then again, I am a rather reserved individual when it comes to music still. I have never been vastly interested it until recently, so I'm a newb when it comes to these things, so you must bear with me on this.
So I have decided that, for 3 days, I will challenge myself to listen to a few different groups from Johnny's Entertainment in order to try and open up my mind more towards male groups, and to see how much they can win me over as well as to see how much my general view of boy bands changes.
In order to start this post off, I will explain why I don't like boy bands, or at least why I think I don't like them. So here we go:
I think that when Boy Bands were big in the 1990's onwards, I was far too young to be too influenced by them: Boy Bands were there for girls to idolise and scream over, more so, teenage girls. I was a kid back then, considering I am a 90's baby/kid, and not a teenager, thus not being influenced by the boyish charm that the girls fawned over. At that time in my life, I was more interested in Mario and Pokemon thanks to having two older brothers and a gamer sister, so music wasn't really that important to me. I only really listened to Britney Spears and, most likely, Ronan Keeting, who's songs helped me sleep at night when I had nightmares or when I didn't know what else to do. That was pretty much my musical knowledge as a child, though I liked S Club 7 a great deal as well during that time in my life.
But when I became a teenager boy bands had suddenly died out, and girl groups like Girls Aloud were big and the new thing to go after. I actually didn't really care for Girls Aloud, but I liked them. I just stopped caring about music all together, until 2009 when I found Koharu Kusumi - and that's when the fandom started.
Sadly, this was also the same time when Boy Bands started to make a move onto the scene again; the thing is, I was older than some of the newer boy bands (One Direction, yuck) that came about, or I was far too influenced by girl groups to even care about them any more. I have a feeling that if I had been a teenager back in the 90's, I would be singing a totally different tune right now, but I'm not. I'm singing the Jpop tune, and thanks to Jpop, I don't like English pop any more.
No idea why, but even my nephew, who hates Japanese music, agrees that English music sucks now. So I have a little ally on my side.
So, that's why I think I don't like boy bands - I was young enough to be influenced by it, BUT I was also too young to be taken in by good looking, topless men dancing around and singing about how much they love me, or her, or maybe him. I wasn't at all taken in by it, or influenced, and so I didn't care, which is probably why I don't care today. Or maybe I'm just broken, I dunno.
Anyway, to start me off on my new journey into Boy Band Heaven, Ray kindly sent me three links, two of which are for different Johnny's Entertainment boy bands, and another is a solo song which is quite humorous to watch video wise. This is pretty much starting off easy, I guess, because all of these videos are light hearted and fun in terms of how the video goes, much like the pastiche that is Heart2Heart's 'Facebook Official', which I did enjoy, despite the extreme cheeseyness that it has throughout the entire video. So I think that it was really sweet of Ray to try and find some rather humorous videos that would make me giggle and might just tickle my fancy.
Song 1: Arashi: Kitto Daijoubu
The first link was to a song by the group Arashi, and it is Kitto Daijoubu, and when the first scene opened my immediate reaction was 'What the fuck?'. I guess the rainbow kind of astounded me in a way, but I didn't know what to think about the video. In fact, the first time I saw it I clicked the x button and left it before deciding that I would have to watch it if I really did want to broaden my horizons, and so I finished it.
The video is definitely playful, and I laughed a few times because of the cute playful tone that the video showed me, however the song was the main problem - it didn't interest me at all, and bored me a little. It was the song that killed it for me, sadly, but the video was wonderfully camp and funny, and makes me want to see what other videos Arashi has to offer. That, and the one who was in Hana Yori Dango has suddenly peaked my interest.
Song 2: Kanjani8: Wahaha
Kanjani8's song 'Wahaha' was the second pick from Ray, and I have to admit both the song and the video have proven to be really fun and interesting. The music video is extremely random and funny, and really intrigues me. I'm amazed that these guys are willing to pull faces, to look stupid and make fun of themselves in a video. It's really admirable, but it makes the video so much more interesting to watch, and it makes me like the group because of the risk they took in making themselves look a little stupid and clumsy. The bad point?
They're not really... that good looking to me Dx I have no idea why! But in the video, the bleach Blonde looked HOT! Which one is he?
Song 3: Shigeaki Kato: Shalala Tambourine
The last of Ray's picks, which probably the cutest one out of them all, and undeniably, the best. This song turns the notch up when it comes to absolute playfulness and fun, and I loved every moment of it. The cheeseyness and plyful nature of both the video and the song just makes me really happy and hyper in a way, and it makes me want to bang my head along to it and para para away. The comic book styled writing that appears is cheesey enough for the video, but we get more and more with the fake-nosed man, a cross-dressing school girl and punks going to karaoke. The fun is pretty much never ending for this guy, and I really did enjoy every moment of this video. It is fun and a good giggle. I feel crazy just listening to it, actually! XD
Oh, and plus, Shigeaki Koto is really adorable! I want one! BUY ME ONE NOW!!!!
Song 4: Hey! Say! Jump!: Magic Power
Surprisingly, I searched for this one by myself. I remembered that one of my friends liked this group, and so I decided to see what they were like, and when I looked up the name in the youtube search bar, this was the first song that popped up. Magic Power, I believe, is their latest single.
The video = BEATLES THROWBACK! Or Abba... both of them wore glitter, flares and campy costumes, right? The music reminds me of the Beatles too, actually. Dunno why.
The video is seriously quirky, and I was instantly reminded of the Arashi video I had previously watched. They are both so camp, so enjoyable, and so colourful. I really really like it! Lord, I don't want to, but I do! And Oh my god, this song! Magic Power is gonna be a new crack addiction, I swear! The song is crazy catchy, and the front guy, the one in red - Fuck. YES. PLEASE! He rocks one of the worst costumes ever, seriously. Camp makes him look so good! Fuck, you turned me guy in red, I love you.
Damned song. Makes me so damned happy! How dare it turn my opinions so freakin' quickly!
PS all of them are pretty cute, especially my new bitch, Yamada Ryosuke. Fuck, I wanna hug him and steal him!
Song 5: Kat-Tun: Yorokobi no Uta
Don't they look a little too delicious?
... Okay, so the next, and also the final, song for tonight is a Kat-Tun one, and this was sent to me via a friend of mine, Phob. She was more than happy to drag me into her world of absolute love for this boy band. Seriously, the amount of times she's talked about them is crazy... Okay, I'm derailing a little here.
Anyway, she also sent me two other songs, but I actually really didn't like them, and one of them was by Kat-Tun. This was her second attempt at getting me to like them, and honestly...
I really like this song. This is actually my favourite song out of all of the songs I have listened to today, surprisingly. And I have barely watched the PV to it, so yeah... I like the song enough to want to listen to it without having to force myself to watch the video to it. Actually... this song has been on about 6 times already, so I've been looping the damned thing!
I've decided I have watched enough of the video to know that they are all gorgeous, and that I want at least one of them. But I love the song so much, I don't care about the video - it's actually too dark for my liking, one of the reasons why I don't really watch Nanchatte Renai by Morning Musume much. I hate Dark PV's, give me rainbows and Beatles styled costumes any day.
PS Love the raps in the song, I dunno why, but Raps always strike a chord in my heart... despite the fact that my most hated song is a rap (Salt5's Get Up Rapper, to be exact), however this song is just really... awesome, and I really like it.
SO, this is the beginning of me stepping out into the Jpop world a little more and taking on boy bands. Tomorrow, I will try to explore Arashi songs a bit more, because in all honesty Kitto Daijoubu did nothing for me, other than the video being really cute and playful, and it was disappointing in a way. So, whilst I try and explore Arashi a bit more, I will also look through other JEnt. boy bands that might tickle my fancy, and who knows, I might find that I like them more than I thought I ever would.
So, any suggestions? Songs or JEnt. bands welcome~ As long as it isn't Kpop, I need to try and get myself into that one slowly (though Rainie Yang and Show Lou can help me along with that, despite being Taiwanese singers)
Oh, and meet Show Lou - he's my freakin' GOD!!!!! Lord, he's SEXY <3
Personal preferences <3
Chiima~
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I am not gonna comment on the girl scout thing... XD
Hi, I found your blog through International Wota and as a big Johnny's fan I'm happy to see someone discovering these groups for the first time.
ReplyDeleteIf you liked Kato Shigeaki's song then I would recommend weeeeek (yes the extra e's are meant to be there) from NEWS (the group he's from). It's a really fun PV and it's one of the groups biggest hits as well as a fan favorite. Also any of the songs Shige does with his BFF Koyama Keiichiro (also a member of NEWS) sound like they may be to your liking.
Kanjani8 does get that kind of reaction but they have the most songs that are just fun to listen to. And the group is all from Osaka so they play into the comedy image entertainers from there have so it shouldn't be hard to find other PVs as fun as Wahaha. I would recommend Kyu Jyu Show and Musekinin Hero. Also the blond would be Yasuda Shota.
Hey! Say! JUMP is one of the groups I just adore. If you're looking for more cute songs you need to listen to their earlier singles as they begin to move to a more "cool" image until Magic Power but they still have some cute B-sides like Aiing -Aishiteru- which was on their previous single OVER and Romeo & Juliet on the single before that. Or since you like Yamada you can try NYC which is a group made up of him, Chinen Yuri (HSJ member) and Nakayama Yuma (not from HSJ). They've only released three singles and have a much greater cute focus than HSJ.
I find KAT-TUN to be very hit or miss for me. I do love Yorokobi no Uta though and if our tastes line up then you might enjoy RESCUE and Change Ur World which are two of the other songs I love from them. But most of their PVs are dark as they are the group that's meant to be the "cool" group from the agency. I will recommend that you give Taguchi Junnosuke's solos a try, especially Samurai Love Attack, as he tends to go for the more fun songs for his solos. And if you can find his live performance of it from one of KAT-TUN's concert DVDs you can see him wearing one of the most ridiculous samurai outfits ever with fake sword fighting.
Then for a recommendation purely because I love the group I would suggest trying Kis-My-Ft2. They just debuted a couple of months ago so they only have one single but they've been a group for much longer than that so you can find quite a few pre-debut performances for them. But I would suggest starting with their debut song Everybody Go or one of their first group songs pre-debut Kis My Me Mine. In both they use their trademark roller skates.
I appreciate...the whole, like KAT-TUN section. And the part with my name in it *w*
ReplyDelete@Thennary - WOW that is one lovely list! Because I already posted Day 2's post, I will save these suggestions for Day 3 and be sure to use them all! You are a really dedicated fan to these guys! It's really nice to see that, because obviously I'm a H!P fan, I'm dedicated too (in a way), but thanks for all this help! It's very much welcome, and I will be sure to check out all of these videos!
ReplyDeleteThank you once again for the comment! I enjoyed reading it,a nd I can see that you love Johnny's Entertainment just as much as I love Hello Project :D So thank you!
@Phob I had a feeling you would enjoy it XD It's praise for Kat-Tun xD
Can I just say that you and me are pretty much the same person. XD I was a 90's baby too (born in 92) But I actually did get into boybands a lot. Mostly because my older sister was into them and I pretty just listened to whatever music she did back then.
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome that you are getting into JE more, because honestly they are amazing. I am exactly how you are. Before I became a JE fangirl I listned to pretty much nothing but H!P, pretty much religiously. And I still do. H!P is still my absolutely favorite idol agency. And I listen to them the most. And because of that when I got into JE I only listened to the groups that reminded me of H!P. Which were Hey! Say! JUMP and NEWS. They are the happy, upbeat, cutesy groups in Johnny's.
I feel kinda said that Thennary Nak beat me to the punch in this post. Because they recomended nearly everything I was going to. XD (But I can still song spam you!)
But if you like H!P your best bets are NEWS and Hey! Say! JUMP.
NEWS is great I heard Weeeek and was instanly hooked. Some songs that you might like by them are: Weeeek, Cherish, Teppen, Summer Time, Chiraizumu, Murarisuto (Which are KoyaShige songs, and are extremely fun.) Nantoka Naru Sa, Mafuyu no Nagareboshi, Smile Maker, Minna ga Iru Sekai wo Hitotsu ni Ai wo Motto Give & Take Shimashou, D.T.F, Live, Say Hello, Fiesta, Beach Angel, Koi Yake, Kirameki no Kanata he.
Since Hey! Say! JUMP are the youngest Johnny's group they are still releasing a lot of cutesy, sightly childish songs. Which are very H!P like and would be right up your alley. And HSJ only have 8 singles and 1 album, so it's super easy to get into them. Though they do have some unreleased songs. And Hey! Say! JUMP are split into 2 different groups. The 5 older ones are in Hey! Say! BEST and they release more mature songs. And they younger 4 (used to be 5, and might eventually be 5 again) are Hey! Say! 7 and they release the cuter happier song. You'd probably like them more. I'm a Hey! Say! 7 fan myself. And Yamada Ryosuke is part of 7, so there you go. ;)
Songs you might like by Hey! Say! JUMP are: Mayonaka no Shadow Boy, Over, Nounai Dance, You Gotta More, Kagayaki Days, Bouken Rider, Su.Ri.Ru, Ai ING Aishiteru, Romeo & Juliet, Ai Scream, Shinku, (basically a Ryosuke solo) Smile Song, Dash, Ganbarettsugo, and Tobira no Mukou. You should also listen to Hey Say by the original Hey! Say! 7.
(my post was so long I had to add 2 comments. O_O)
ReplyDeleteAs for sub-groups you would love Tegomass and NYC. NYC is very cutesy. Tegomass is a little cutesy, they mostly release love songs. But they are worth a listen. You would probably like nearly any song by them.
You also have to give Seishun Amigo by Shuji to Akira a listen. It's a great song, and was the highest selling single of 2005. Berryz Koubou even sang it at Kohaku. (I think it was Kohaku. XD)
You might also like Kanjani8. Though I totally agree that they aren't they best looking group in Johnny's. Pretty much only Nishikido Ryo and Tadayoshi Ohkura are cute. And very rarely Subaru Shibutani and Yu Yokoyama look not so ugly. Kanjani8's whole theme is to be as funny and crazy as the Kansai region of Japan, so they do release some fun weird songs. I'm not the biggest fan of them. But you might want to check out It's My Soul, Kanfuu Fighting, Zukkoke Otokomichi, T.W.L, and Wonderful World. They have a bunch of mature songs, but I don't know if you want mature song too. XD
KAT-TUN is another song that I really only listen to their singles. Their album songs just aren't as good in my opinion. KAT-TUN is supposed to be like the "rock" group. So a lot of their songs are like that. And I love that you love the raps, as the rapper, Tanaka Koki, is my favorite member. Some songs by KAT-TUN you might like are Change UR World, Perfect, Real Face, Lips, Ten-G, Ultimate Wheels, Signal, One Drop, No More Pain, and Run For You. You would probably like Singal the most since it's a song that seems so unlike them. XD
Kis-My-Ft2 is another group that has a rock feel. I've only every heard 2 songs by them. Everybody Go and FIRE BEAT. But both where really great songs.
I won't even bother recomending Arashi songs as you said you are going to explore them more tomorrow. XD
Sorry if this post seems long. But JE is actually really great. And I was in the exact same boat as you. Where I only listened to H!P, but JE is actually a lot more similar to H!P then you even realize. Which is a main reason I love them.
Hey Say Jump is having more music now ~!
ReplyDeleteP.S. have you ever heard Yamada Ryosuke solo songs? That's the reason I'm into HSJ & KAT-TUN atm. ♥
OOOH YAY! I watched a video of theirs recently, actually. Seriously catchy song!
DeleteAnd I haven't heard Ryosuke's solo songs yet, but if they're good and fun, I might need to find time to check them out! :D Thank you!