UFP/OG Spam Thread :: All things non-Hello!Project Related!

[Shoujo Q]

Daaaaaaamn Mari? WHat the heck. But then again it just looks like a bad camera angle to me.

[emily]

Yeah. Bad photo. Not that bad even it is just the close up of her chin that is particularly unflattering. She looks fine zoomed out.

[ShiroiChanUK]

I really hope that's just a bad picture because she looks terrible :(

[Anderei]

I don't know if anyone cares, but The Possible's single sold 13k on it's first day. Which is more than their previous single's total. I guess idols have really come back in vogue.
 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDEQ9o9RhbU">Video making of.</a>

[ShiroiChanUK]

I never really cared for THE Possible that much but I'm happy for them :) 
 
I think it's safe to say that thanks to the 48 family and MomoClo the idol industry is once again becoming a goldmine :)

[Anderei]

Kei had an FC event and her guest was... Risa. Weird, I know.
 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... C160g">But here's a recording of them doing AS FOR ONE DAY and Koko ni Iruzee!</a>
 
Ugh, I really love Kei's voice you guys.
 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYUblFE3dhc">And a recording of Takahashi singing I WISH.</a>

[arcobaleno]

Kei had one of the most gorgeous voices MM ever had. We need something like that again in the future.
 
But Gaki as her guest, lol. Talk about random.

[Elpis]

I found this version of Wakuteka Take a Chance. It was by Takahashi Ai. Its on YouTube. (I can't put it here since I'm at school and youTube is blocked).
 
It sounds pretty cool, Ai in my opinion sounds way better in the Reina/Riho parts.

[Anderei]

I think it was posted. It's not too recent.

[JPope]

Kei is in the upper 20% of singers to have been in MM. If she had more classic idol looks, she could have had a solo career. Lord knows she had the personality.

[Anderei]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVK1khz2 ... ">Speaking of, a video of Kei and her husband.</a> They're cute.

[Shoujo Q]

Tsuji was hospitalized with Aseptic Meningitis. <a href="http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/entertainm ... >Source</a> / <a href="http://ameblo.jp/tsuji-nozomi/entry-116 ... l">Tsuji's [Staff] Blog Post</a>
She'll be in for about a week or so, hopefully it was caught in time.
 
Everyone keep her in your thoughts, okay?  I may not be the biggest Tsuji fan, but I hope she makes a full recovery soon.  I think any type of meningitis is scary. ;x

[Anderei]

Poor Tsuji. :(

[aine]

<a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... atlabor">I wish Mano could labour me with her Labor</a>, if you know what I mean.

Also Oshii directing again, hell yeah!

[pandapanda]

[quote="aine"]


<a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... atlabor">I wish Mano could labour me with her Labor</a>, if you know what I mean.


Also Oshii directing again, hell yeah!
[/quote]
 
Woah 20 million budget.  This is fo' real.

[Zoe]

[quote="Shoujo Q"]
Tsuji was hospitalized with Aseptic Meningitis. <a href="http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/entertainm ... >Source</a> / <a href="http://ameblo.jp/tsuji-nozomi/entry-116 ... l">Tsuji's [Staff] Blog Post</a>
She'll be in for about a week or so, hopefully it was caught in time.
 
Everyone keep her in your thoughts, okay?  I may not be the biggest Tsuji fan, but I hope she makes a full recovery soon.  I think any type of meningitis is scary. ;x
[/quote]
Hopefully it's just viral, not bacterial... Taiyou's been quiet on the blog front too :(

[yuzuriha]

Oh no, I hope Tsuji is ok!  SHe's still in my top 5 OGs of all time, but I wouldn't wish meningitis on anyone. :(

[arcobaleno]

I love Nozomi, so I hope she recovers fully :c

[aine]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="pandapanda" data-cid="163745" data-time="1380104906"><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="aine" data-cid="163735" data-time="1380092362">

<a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... atlabor">I wish Mano could labour me with her Labor</a>, if you know what I mean.

Also Oshii directing again, hell yeah!</blockquote> 
Woah 20 million budget.  This is fo' real.</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?isv7tg0r1lcwllf">Press Conference</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3djorShfcE">Conference Digest</a>

[al kusanagi]

So it's supposed to be a dozen hour long "episodes" that will show in theaters, and then a full length movie to wrap it up.

[AurA]

Is that a normal format in Japan? I've never heard about anything like that.

[Zoe]

Well, it was scant with details, but Taiyou finally put up a new blog post saying that Tsuji is getting better.

[Anderei]

This was never mentioned, but on the English version of Bark's website, they've been doing a series of interviews with Tsunku. Scroll down to the bottom to see the other pieces. The interviews are broken into halves.
 
Summary for people who are too lazy to read:
 
Interesting tidbits from vol. 1:
He often tells the members of MM to focus on ranking 1st on Oricon (but also mentions it's not as big a deal to rank 1 now as it used to be so this entire paragraph read weird)
He mentions that Tsuji, Kago, Maki and Ayaya all had that instant 'it' factor.
Originally, MM were going to break up after their first Kohaku and go out with a farewell tour.
 
 
Interesting tidbits from vol. 2:
Sharam Q would hand out flyers in front of venues where other bands would play to get their name out.
Shoppai Ne was an unreleased Takashi Miki song he was asked if he wanted to sing.
He wishes that Sharam Q would have written at least one happy song.
He thinks that a lot of newer bands are terrible at writing lyrics.
After they finish up their 25th anniversary stuff, he thinks the next time they'll probably get together will be for their 30th.
 
Interesting tidbits from vol. 3:
Tsunku has written over 1600 songs.
He composes first, and then lyrics come later.
He thought Memory Seishun no Hikari was going to sell better than it did, and because it didn't, he went in a different musical direction for Love Machine.
HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN was originally meant to be more hiphop than rock and then the lyrics were changed to fit the new sound.
Happy Summer Wedding was originally titled “Massaka Summer Holiday” and that was also the chorus.
 
Interesting tidbits from vol.4:
After having kids, he tried to cut back on how long MCs and songs were.
He rocked his kids to music and believes that they now physically understand rhythm.
He doesn't think that the general public outside of Japan would find H!P interesting and that a Japanese artist who could be popular internationally probably wouldn't be popular in Japan.
He wants to make a movie, but doesn't think it's a realistic goal until H!P is over.
He worries about the girls who don't get married.
He writes lyrics with specific singers in mind.
 
 
That said, if you've ever wanted to read more about Tsunku, how he works, or Sharam Q you should check it out because parts of it are actually very interesting.
 
 

[AurA]

Thanks Anderei that's some interesting stuff. Interesting that he wants to make a movie after H!P is over.


I couldn't imagine H!P ending, if they did I don't know what I would do, maybe get into more AKB, and anime songs

[Shoujo Q]

I'd like to imagine Tsunku as the next Johnny, doing this till he rolls over into his grave, but you know less pervy. 
 
 
Also, to add. Another Eri sighting has been reported. Another one with Takahashi.

[Anderei]

It was probably only ever briefly mentioned, but around the same time as the Lovendor auditions, UFP announced a Roxy Girls Audition where the winners would also start a band. They're called DRUGSTORE.
 
Segawa Ami (Vocals)

 
Souma Tsugumi (Guitar, chorus)

 
Kaneko Natsuki (Drums)

 
Saeka (Sax, Keyboards)

 
 
They did have a bassist who has apparently already left. Here is their website. Tsugumi used to be part of RunTime and was an original member of RED WORKER'z. She was also part of two bands after that.
 
It looks like they just got stuff up and running, but there is a clip of Tsugumi playing guitar on it.
 
And it looks like you can email their gmail account also. If you wanted.

[JPope]

That's a great interview with Tsunku. He's pretty candid about a lot of stuff, or at least seems to be. A few things stood out to me.
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">── Do you really want to be strict with them? (Talking about their dancing)



Tsunku♂：Yes. In movements, sometimes they are slow or not in unity. I want to make sure that is a ‘no’. The Japanese entertainment industry is very forgiving in that respect. Morning Musume。only looks sharpened because of the broader sense of acceptance without having to be challenged.</blockquote>
 
Something we all know, but it's cool to see a big shot in the industry admit it so plainly.
 
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">── The “it” factor seems to vary. For instance, one can sing surprisingly well, is a smart talker, has charismatic look and stuff. Can you define the “it” factor that you consider? (Talking about what he looks for when selecting new members.)


Tsunku♂：If someone was a better singer, that doesn’t mean she would absolutely be a star. It is hard to be specific. If she has “it”, that naturally shines through her with no maintenance. Let’s say, if we had a 14-year-old Namie Amuro with us right now, that would be very powerful. Like Tsuji, Kago, Goto, and Aya Matsuura had that sparkly stuff.</blockquote>
 
Something to consider the next time your favorite auditionee doesn't make it, ore your least favorite does.
 
The other thing is where he talks about how some members need to break free of the "Hello! Project curse, or spell" and others that have.
 
All in all, a very interesting read.
 

[emily]

Yesterday marked the 2nd anniversary since Takahashi's graduation..

[Anderei]

Most of the 1st-4th gen OGs, Up Up Girls, Lovendor and Ayaya have been moved to Up Front Create. Takahashi moved to this part of the company pretty soon after graduating. Turns out this is also who is managing Asahi.
 
I'm not sure why they moved all of them. I could have sworn Create was started for the people in the agency who were focusing on acting.

[ShiroiChanUK]

[quote="Anderei"]
This was never mentioned, but on the English version of Bark's website, they've been doing a series of interviews with Tsunku. Scroll down to the bottom to see the other pieces. The interviews are broken into halves.
 
Summary for people who are too lazy to read:
 
Interesting tidbits from vol. 1:
Originally, MM were going to break up after their first Kohaku and go out with a farewell tour.
 
Interesting tidbits from vol. 3:
Tsunku has written over 1600 songs.
He thought Memory Seishun no Hikari was going to sell better than it did, and because it didn't, he went in a different musical direction for Love Machine.
 
Interesting tidbits from vol.4:
He doesn't think that the general public outside of Japan would find H!P interesting and that a Japanese artist who could be popular internationally probably wouldn't be popular in Japan.
He wants to make a movie, but doesn't think it's a realistic goal until H!P is over.
He worries about the girls who don't get married.
 
That said, if you've ever wanted to read more about Tsunku, how he works, or Sharam Q you should check it out because parts of it are actually very interesting.
[/quote]
First of all thank you :) Secondly I'm not too lazy to read I just don't have that much free time on my hands these days
 
About Vol.1
I'm so glad they remained active because I probably would've never discovered them otherwise and that would've been awful 
 
About Vol.3
This guy doesn't get enough credit in my opinion.
I understand, that song is quite depressing. Not what you'd normally expect from an idol group.
 
About Vol.4
The guy is smart. I think K-pop bigwigs need to take this on board because K-pop is not "taking over the world" people!
I know all good things come to an end eventually but I still don't want H!P to end! Wait... If MoMusu did disband after only one year does that mean that H!P would've never existed?!
It's really sweet that he wants the girls to eventually break away from the roller coaster that is the idol world and settle down and live a happy life with a family :) He really is like a second father to these girls :)
 
P.S. This...

Spoiler: [+]