Okay! Musume Digest! #9

I's been a half and half week for me, some days longer than others, some rain and two days of sunny sunshine which has kinda killed me a little, because seriously, us Brits aren't used to this amount of heat + sunshine... DX Gaargh, the Heat!!!

Anyway, it's DIGEST TAIMU!~

News wise, this week has been kind of 'Meh' barring two bits of news - the surprise announcement of 2 new Hello! Project Units as well as the shock of Mano Erina's graduation announcement. Yeah... Throw us a happy little ball of sunshine H!P, then kick us in the balls because you hate it when we're happy!

Okay, time to shut up... Guess what? We have a Picture of Le Week!

Do you know how nice it is to see Zukki jumping around all happy and lively? It's beautiful, I tell you... BEAUTIFUL ;____;

Also, a new poll for everyone to take! This week's poll is:

Which Group/Talent would you like to take to the Beach?

Choose wisely now, guys~ ;)

Anyway, in other news...

Nishijima Takahiro is yummy!

People ship weird pairings!

And people state the obvious! Honestly, really? They're losing their sexy image? I don't see how they can lose their sekushii image at all!!! //sarcasm

Okies, let's get into the...

NEWS OF THE WEEK

The latest Hello! Project SATOYAMA Life is out for everyone to enjoy! So, what does this weeks episode bring to the plate?

This episode picks up where we last left off, allowing us to see Maasa, Maimi, Chinami and Daishi finish off their DIY projects that they started the last time. It was interesting to see the finished products in this part of the episode, especially Chinami's, because her idea for her cushion was the most creative out of them all. However, watching Maasa was great too, because she had the most skill out of all four and finished her cushion first with great ease.

We also get a look at the Agricultural part of the show with Haruna, Maimi and Nakky and get to see the girls plant seeds and basically help out on the farm once again. This is a shorter segment on the show, however it is nice to see a bit more on how the girls are coping with farm and life and to see what they are all learning.

Next week: Some more Aika! More DAWA! More Agriculture!!!

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PASSPO☆ have revealed the short PV to their next release, Natsuzora HANABI! The single itself will be released on August 15th.

When I saw that PASSPO☆ had released a short clip from their upcoming PV, I was immediately interested as I didn't know that they were releasing a new single so soon after releasing Next Flight. From the preview, we get a good idea of what to expect from the PV, and I am really happy with the sound as well. It looks like PASSPO☆ are continuing to sport this more mature image, whilst still holding a traditional sound and influence mixed with a modern rock influence. The song sounds like a good mix of the past and present, and I like how it reminds me of a traditional Japanese play where the performers do beautiful fan dances.

I am honestly really looking forward to this release, especially because of the sound it has. The girls all look great, and I like how they are dancing with fans and adding a traditional flare to modern pop dance moves. This release looks to be pretty good. It won't top Next Flight I think, but it will come damn close!

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Tanaka Reina has cut her hair!

Hair cuts aren't really news, but honestly, it's always interesting when a member cuts her hair from a group I like... and considering this is Tanaka Reina, the girl who has boring giant-ass bows permanently and that age-old side ponytail, this is a really interesting topic for me right now, because honestly... WOW! I think she's matured looks wise because of this new do!

Seriously, she looks amazing - the hair style really suits her and compliments her features beautifully, it's nice to see this change. She looks stunning! I'm personally glad that she chose this style, because it really does suit her! My sister calls it 'The Aika cut' because it actually looks like the cut Aika had once before. Anyway, I know that I'm not the only person out there who likes this cut - quite a few fans are really happy with it, and have even speculated that this is Reina's new image for her up-coming band. Well, regardless, this image change (hair wise) is extremely refreshing and unexpected, however I am loving it!

So, what do you guys all think of her new hair-do?

BiS, also known as Brand-new Idol Society, will be holding another audition for a new member.

This news came about on the groups official website after their manager, Watanabe Juunosuke, updated the site with a pop-up announcing that the group will add ing to the group with a brand new member. Recently, BiS gained two new members, were signed under Avex, and released their major debut single.

Watanabe explained that he feels like that the group is still lacking in numbers and therefore they will be holding an audition for the fourth generation on August 15th. The audition will be open for girls between the ages of 10 and 20. Of course they must not be already signed to other record and production companies. The first judging will be done by mail prior to the actual audition. The new member(s) will have the chance of making their debut under avex with BiS’ second release. - Tokyohive

When I first saw this news, I was surprised. Even though I don't follow BiS, I was happy to see that this weirdly wonderful group were getting a major debut as well as having added two new members after having a rather difficult audition process (no one showed up for a good hour I believe), so to see this news, especially after adding two more members, was surprising - maybe as surprising as the S/mileage auditions last year. I have a feeling that no one saw this coming.

However, I think that this might be a good choice. With this new change to BiS, such as a new agency and their major debut, it'll be fine to have a new member without creating too much of a rift for the fans, as the change is still going. Hopefully this time, no one will be late for the auditions!

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Sayashi Riho's 2nd Photobook has been announced. It will be titled un deux trois.


Due to her popularity, I think that it is pretty obvious that Riho would be the first 9th gen member to get a few PB's published, and so here comes the second one! Honestly, we all saw it coming - what with her being the only 9th gen to get a real push right now in terms of spotlight and singing.

This will be a nice little photobook for all the Riho fans, but personally, I'm waiting on Zukki, Eripon, Haruna and Haruka's xD

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A concert preview of C-ute's next single, titled Aitai Aitai Aita na has been released, and has a eurobeat dance sound to it.

I always look forward to C-ute song, because they always have pretty awesome releases, and after their last single, I think that a nice and up-beat song was called for - and here we get a track which sounds pretty good, even in LQ! And we hear a decent amount of everyone too, which is always great (especially as Mai stated on TV that she and Nakky would like a few more lines in the next single). The vocals are powerful from what I can hear, and it seems that we might get another song with an awesome dance added to it!

I'm looking forward to a 'cool' song from C-ute - and a cool image too! And if I'm going to be honest here, I will also say that this rsong slightly reminds me of OK Yeah! from Morning Musume's album 12, Smart.

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An LQ concer preview of Peaberry's first song, titled Cabbage Hakusho, has been released.

Now, let's be bluntly honest here - when I first heard this, I couldn't help but think of this little sentence from darling Nia's blog:

"Which is titled Cabbage Hakusho... goddammit, even the TITLE sounds bland!"

 Which summed it up - the blandness of the song. But after a second listen, I found it to be quite pretty, and realised how much Riho suited slow songs. I will be honest, I hate her voice in up-beat songs - she just can't sing them well live because her voice cracks and she gets pitchy, but here she sounds really nice, and I like that. The song itself is very nice and gentle, and soothing to listen to... until Dawa sings with her girly-fake voice, of course. However, this is only a concert rip - who know? Maybe the studio version will tone her down a bit.

Anyway, I think that everyone knew that these girls would get a slow song - even from their picture you can see that they aren't going to be up-bet and genki! That, and neither of them suit fast, happy up-beat songs live.

It's a nice song, and I look forward to a HQ release.

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S/mileage have released an LQ concert preview of their new song, Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki.

S/mileage, are you trying to win me back, because this song (though low quality) sounds quite awesome. It's definitely a gazillion steps up from Dot Bikini, which was a horrible little release from you lot. For some reason, you made a good move... you mixed cool with cute!

I think that this one will be a promising release - even Meimi sounds decent here, and she always shrieks! I also hear a lot of Akari, which is always a good thing, and I think that I hear some Kana and Rina! Oh my, finally, some Rina and Kana! More so Rina, because she's an awesome singer and beats out everyone else in S/mileage, but I'm glad that I can hear them! If the PV proves me wrong I will hit my wall Dx

Anyway, I am actually looking forward to this S/mileage release! I don't think I've been excited for S/mileage since Miniskirt Postwoman, so of course I'm excited right now, because their last two songs have been a miss for me... also, those costumes <3

Please be an awesome release with no shrieking from the vampire. Please~

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An LQ concert preview for DIY♡'s up-coming debut, titled Fore Fore ~Forest for Rest~ has been uploaded to youtube for everyone to hear!

This will probably become one of my most anticipated songs from Hello! Project for now, because it has a nice sound and has that mature and more cool feel to it than Peaberry do. From what we can hear, it seems like everyone gets at least one line, and it sounds like a Maimi lead - yeah, that's disappointed me because she isn't my favourite voice in Hello! Project, but meh, she sounds good here. I can't wait for a video to be released showing the girls dancing too, as well as the image they will take on. Honestly, I am anticipating this release right now~ Doubtful that this will be my favourite song ever, but it's one of the better songs I have heard out of the current releases from the latest concert!

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Actress and 9nine member Kawashima Umika will release her new photobook, titled Umi Kore. ~Kawashima Umika Actress Collection~ on September 27th. The photobook will hold pictures that show Umika's growth over the past two and a half years, featuring unpublished pictures from Umika's Moments... She commented, 

“I hope people can find where I’ve grown up ♪ I want everyone to see my growth process.”

When I first saw this news, I was really happy - I'm a fan of 9nine, and I try to follow them as much as possible, so of course I love seeing updates on the girls. As everyone who is a fan of Uika may know, she is popular as both an actress and as a member of 9nine, so to hear that she will recieve a new photobook is great news for her! I like how this photobook will be made up of old and new pictures, and how the pictures themselves will show how much she has matured and become a woman. I actually look forward to seeing more pictures leaked for this photobook so that we can get a glimpse of Umika's younger self and her present self.

For now, here are some previews:

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AAA have performed their latest single, titled 777 ~We can Sing a Song!~ on CDTV.

Whilst this isn't news itself, I thought that it would be nice to post this video on the Digest because I absolutely adore it. It's a nice refreshing summer song, and whilst it may not be AAA's best work, this is the song that made me start looking the group up... Oh, and of course the adorable Takahiro, who I think is my new Male Lover <3

It's a nice little performance I think, and I like all of their voices live. If you're into summer songs, check this one out - especially the PV, it's really nice to watch!

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Sashihara Rino has had her final Theatre performance with AKB48 on 23rd July. The special event was titled Sashihara Rino's Send-off Party.

During the middle of the event, Sashihara addressed the audience and commented, “There’s no doubt that I’m sad, but at the same time now, I am very positive and full of drive. In this way, everybody will send me off and welcome me to my new start with smiles. I’m very thankful.” -Tokyohive

In all honesty, what can I say about this? Sashihara Rino, a girl I recently started to like, is now in a group that hasn't really done much in the 48 family as of yet... But to know that Rino is now officially a part of HKT48, and no longer in the AKB theatre, I am hoping that there will be a lot to do or the group, such as a debut or something. Hopefully, Sashihara will work well with her new members. It's sad that she's had to leave the AKB theatre where she did a lot of her work and growing up, but I would like to see how she is in HKT as well from now on~

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Avex has opened auditions for a unique unit. Currently, they are taking applications from juvenile delinquent girls for their 'Yankee Idol Audition'. Avex aim to create the ultimate 'Tough Idol' group, contrasting with the usual sweet, innocent image that regular Idol groups portray.

I pretty much just saw this, and was intrigued by this audition that Avex have going on now - Yankee's as Idols? Wo... The only other 'Yankee' Idol I know of is Reina Tanaka, and honestly, even she isn't that Yankee, just how she looks. This is a really interesting step forward for Avex, and I actually can't wait to see what they come up with! There is the big BIG chance that I won't keep up with these auditions, because I do like my cute Idols, but I hope that Avex get a lot of applications!

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S/mileage will be holding a handshake event and a mini live in Osaka on August 23rd!

Handshake events and mini lives are always good news, because it means 1) More promotion and 2) More Idol love. Of course, this will be promotion for their new single and will allow S/mileage to appeal to their fans more whilst delivering songs and cuteness all around. Hopefully, anyone who can make it will be there!

And that's all the news or this week! Hopefully, next week will be better ;)

Chiima~


PING!!! Idolminded Recommended Reading: July 24th, 2012