All thoughts and opinions written within this post regarding the group, members, song and music video are completely my own and no one else's, unless otherwise stated beforehand. Here is where I voice my opinion, so please respect the voice I have. If you do not respect the voices of others, then really, how can you expect to be respected yourself?
Christmas is a sentimental time of year. For many it can bring forth happiness, sadness and nostalgia. For myself, Christmas reminds me of happy times with my family, where we all sit around a table and talk, tell really bad Christmas cracker jokes and also where we have fun and sing Christmas songs, or just plain old annoy each other! Either way, it's a fun time of the year for me in both memory and in the present, so each year I look forward to Christmas.
No matter what, it brings my family together, and that is the time where we all seem to be happiest; because we've come together and we know we all appreciate who we are, and where we come from. For that I am thankful.
So for the season of sentimentality, I thought that there would be an appropriate-sounding song to go with the tender side of the winter season, one that was less energetic and more... peaceful in its composition. For this time of the year, please Stay with me...
Now it is 7 Days till Christmas, so the Idols gave to me...
The gift of P.IDL's Stay with me...
When I began my search for Christmas songs on youtube, a pursuit which was actually rather successful, I stumbled upon a playlist of recent Idol songs that would be released throughout November and December, and P.IDL's Stay with me was one of those songs. Before then, I had never heard of P.IDL, so I really had no clue who they were. Turns out that, much like the AKS collective, they are a group split into Teams; Team Pop, Team Idol, Team Dance and Team Lady. There are also the Basic Members who are a part of the group, however it is the Front members who are split into these various Teams and perform in both the songs and music videos. So after listening to their 3rd single's title song and watching the music video, I looked them up a bit and decided that I rather liked them.
Saying that, I actually mean that I like this song, and I really do. After hearing Stay with me, I knew immediately that it ranked higher than GEM's Star Shine Story did, surpassing my original favourite Christmas song this year by a landmine. That was surprising, because I really do adore Star Shine Story, but there is something about Stay with me's quality that speaks more volumes than GEM's Christmas tune...
Anyway, I will finish up my slight rambling here before I get into a review way before its due and quickly move onto the exciting part of the entire post, the Picture Spam! Though there aren't as many images as I usually take (this time, it's 40!) please look at the beauty of P.IDL's 3rd single release music video.
With beauty and serenity in mind, will you join me in watching a sweet winter tune's video? Please, Stay with me...
You know, my immediate thought upon seeing the candle was Hikari no Kage by 9nine. Damn, that was a beautiful PV...
Oh wow, that's some damn pretty stained glass window work, there! This PV is better quality than I thought it was going to be already, and we're barely 10 seconds in!
Oh shit, GHOSTS! The bloody Chapel is HAUNTED!!! ARRRRRGH, QUICK, GET OUT!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!
Wait, you're not a ghost! You're a drop-damn-GORGEOUS girl! Well if you're here, I'll stay!
Ah, and you have two cute Loli's with you! Thanks for making me feel welcome in this Haunted Chapel~
You're adorable~ You also look like one of my friends, but like, a younger version xD You're probably the same age, though
Oh look, more cute/beautiful girls! Well, I do love when my Idols give me gorgeous girls to drool over, muhuhu~
Holy shi--- the pretty one has some real nice legs, guys! Damn!!!
Also, this shot is pretty, but LEGS!!!
...
Is the one on the right Minegishi Minami? -squints-
Holy shit, THEY MULTIPLIED!!! The fudge cookies? o-O
That said, I'm not gonna complain much more! The more Idols, the merrier I become, haha!
Pretty Girl is becoming a favourite, and honestly, I had no preferences in the P.IDL members up until I began screen capping the shit outta this MV XD
Seriously though, she's gorgeous. OSHI'D!!!
That said, this grinner is really appealing too. She feels so refreshing and happy, I just want to hug her!
...
Wait a... -squints- Is... is that... Daaishi?
-squints some more-
Daaamn, that's a pretty looking Chapel! But it's so... so white!
Gosh darnit though, in all of its bright whiteness, it is filled with absolute cuteness! Especially Twintails and her minions, right there!
This girl looks like a gorgeous little China Doll. Makes me want to collect her and put her in my pocket~
Oh gosh, this one! Ahhh, why so adorable!? Isn't she an innocent make-up-less cutie pie!?
You're a looker too, I kinda wanna pet you~ Also, sing for me! You look like you'd happily sing to me!
Basically, P.IDL comes in all forms of cute, beautiful and damn adorable! Perfect for catering to the Chiima Overlord!
I see Duu is once again moonlighting, but this time with another Idol group!? Being rejected for lines and exposure in either MM or Sexy Zone has once again lead her to another group, though this one is less well known...
Still, the lengths that girl goes to to get noticed!
Okay, this is a glorious shot. The fact that P.IDL also seems to be able to hire a band to play behind them is rather impressive!
That said, I do wonder if these lovely ladies are miming it or really playing... hmm...
Gosh dangit,
Doesn't help you're in here the most, nearly! I can't get enough of your face!
I get this... Daaishi feeling from Nanami...
Ahhh, the Baby Predator is strong in this one!
Good things she is adorbs to the max!
ALL THE IDOLS!
Also, one of my favourite moments of the music video. If I wasn't so lazy, I would basically gif the heck out of this for the sake of the dancing.
By the way, anyone noticed that the blonde member in P.IDL, that one in the far left in the back there? Yeah, she's Canadian, and that did indeed impress the heck out of me when I first found out!
I am intrigued by this group even more...
The little dance segment is really nice, seriously.
I should stop being lazy and actually gif these sorts of scenes, because y'know, it'd be helpful. That said, the effect would be lost without the lovely sound of this song...
Also, that Chapel is really pretty, and the girls just enhance the beauty of it, I swear!
Typically, I hate it when a scene cuts out the song for some time, but this one works. Actually, I really like this scene.
Ahh, so calming, so peaceful...
... That TRANSITION!!!
Holy crap, I never actually realised that when she lights the candle and we switch back, the tone and lighting has completely changed as well! WOW!
Nice transitioning from Day to Evening! This is PRETTY!!! <3
Officially a favourite scene, because it's so gosh-darned beautiful!
This one is a stunner, the Miichan look-alike called Natsumi. I like her, too!
This one is pretty beautiful, though she will never beat...
MAIKA!!! <3 I wanna hug you like a teddy bear!
Okay, that's a gorgeous scene. I love how it's all lit up! It looks so serene and innocent!
Seriously, this group... gaaah! <3 So lovely!
Nanami may not be my favourite in the group from first glance, but honestly, she is lovely to watch. She has such a calming effect on me~
In general, they all seem like Idols I could like. Also, they look so professional! Ahhh!
I am enjoying the fact that, not only is Nanami in this close up shot, but so is Maika! MAIKA!!! <3
And the ending scene is quite possibly the sweetest way to end the video, with her lip-synching the words Stay with me. Ending = PERFECT! EEEP!!! <3
Okay okay, enough fangirling over my still images of Stay with me, because now it's time to actually review the song and video itself! Where to start...?
I admit that, whilst I generally enjoy the more energetic Christmas songs around this time of the year, I really do enjoy the gentle ones as well. I love serious ones too actually, but when it comes to my typical Christmas tune, I usually go for the upbeat, happy-go-lucky ones that make me want to jump up and dance around the room like a lunatic. So, when I find a song like this one that really captures my attention despite how low-key it is compared to a hyperactive jingle, I really do appreciate these sorts of songs that little bit more; I suppose its because it feels like there is more depth to the sound than a regular Christmas tune, and yeah, there seems to be a lot of depth in P.IDL's Stay with me.
The song is sweet and gentle, nothing like the hyperactive songs I have been obsessed with this winter. Granted, the songs I have been obsessed with actually vary (there is a serious one in there, actually) but in terms of the songs that really hype me up for Christmas, this one is different - it's calming, it allows me to feel nostalgic and happy, yet it can also evoke sadness depending on the mood I am at the time of listening to it. It's a strong sound that is really nice to listen to overall, and the mixing behind it is really beautiful. In sound and structure, it is a great song to me, music to my ears if you will. Stay with me, as of right now, is my favourite winter track this year, probably my top Christmas song of 2014 so far.
It surpassed the expectations I had of it originally, and it has made me want to follow P.IDL as well. The song itself is addictive, but it's allowed me to find a new group to potentially become a fan of.
Concerning the PV, it works in perfect harmony with the song and honestly, I find very little to be disappointed about with it. The video is, at first glance, this bright and simplistic music video filled with really cute and beautiful girls. In all of its simplicity though, it's really professional and well organised I find. Yes, it can feel over-crowded at times thanks to the amount of girls in P.IDL performing in such a small chapel, but it never detracts from the beauty of the video itself or the quality of it. In fact, I suppose it enhances it; it makes it look and feel like a Chapel Choir in a way, which may have been the look the director was going for. It looks good and works for the image of the song.
Regarding the effects used in the music video, for once I like the use of the soft focus that was implemented in the video; I typically dislike soft-focus because it feels so over-used, as if the editor just went a little trigger-happy with it, but here it was used well, only brushing the edges of the video and keeping a focus to the center - seriously, I am thankful for this! It gives the video a more dream-like look, and it befits the feel of the song well. Then there is the transition effect into the evening scene that I like, too; I really didn't notice that until I was looking back at my screen captions of the video, and was surprised how I had never noticed it before then, but after seeing it I do love how smoothly the transition from the stark-white day scenes to the candle and light lit evening scenes comes along. Really, it's a very beautiful scene, and I think that added the scene with the candle was the perfect way to bring those two scenes together and make the video truly breath-taking at this point. Additionally, I also have to commend the use of the fake snow in this; typically, it feels like most Idol groups use a simulator or effect engine of sorts to create the snow, but this time they used something that looked real to add to the effect of the video overall, and I did like that.
Finally, whilst I found very little wrong with the video itself, I did want to take note of how certain members within the group did not get solo shots at all within the entire video. This is, obviously, an age-old complaint in regards to many Idol groups from around Japan, however we usually see at least one solo shot of a girl or boy in a group, yet here it's obvious that some members aren't featured at all. Currently, that's my only gripe towards the editing of the video. Aside from that, I really enjoy it and find it aesthetically pleasing.
Overall, I am impressed with this video. In all of its simplicity, Stay with me is a sweet video that is calming in sound and look, continuing to look truly beautiful no matter how many times I view or hear it. As a song and video, I have truly fallen in love with Stay with me and now have the urge to follow P.IDL and their future releases as a group. For me, this is my favourite Winter release, one that I really do adore listening to.
Stay with me, a beautiful winter melody. Will it bring you happiness too?
Together, let's share a lifetime of happiness...
Much Love,
Chiima~
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