[2014.04.16] Morning Musume '14 - Toki wo Koe, Sora wo Koe / Password is 0

[MejraThea]

I thought so. Thanks for the info though, Anderei.


What do you mean Zoe? What's only 30 yen? I do not understand your statement. Sorry.

[Zoe]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Thea" data-cid="174907" data-time="1397676105">What do you mean Zoe? What's only 30 yen? I do not understand your statement. Sorry.</blockquote>
The tax increase on a 1000 yen single.

[Anderei]

Even though it's a small increase, supposedly people are still making a huge deal of it. People always want things cheaper.
 
Of course, they also removed some of the DVD content and the extra b-sides. Makes buying the more expensive LE Editions pointless unless you really want the cover or a dance shot.

[al kusanagi]

Meanwhile, gas jumps up here 50 cents a gallon in a single day...
 
Either way, yay for the Sayu-era!

[MejraThea]

OH. I see, sorry for my confusion, Zoe. For a country whose economic status has been stable for many years would make it a big thing.

[Purin-chama]

In the danceshot for Password, Masaki reminded me of Rika. Dancing and general look (Black hair era)..

[JPope]

80K seems underwhelming. It's nice that they've reached the point where 100K+ is a given, but they've been at that point for a while now, and I don't foresee them growing any further at this point. 

[Anderei]

Stayed at #1 with 6,454.

[Trinu]

They need a bit less than 13k to get to 100k... let's hope it gets there within the week.
 
Are they performing it anywhere else? MS? That shoud give them a bump.

[Anderei]

No Music Station performance. I mentioned it on the last page I think, but Kyary performed her song two weeks in a row, and I'm assuming that's why MM didn't get an invite. Music Japan and Music Dragon will be this week, though.
 
Here's a comparison of the recent first days and what they went to sell during the first week and then the overall total:
One・Two・Three：56,139 / 100,598 / 110,475

ワクテカ Take a chance：54047/ 81,682 / 88,977

Help me!!：61,291 / 93,286 / 103,936

ブレインストーミング：65,915 / 94,037 / 106,680

わがまま気のまま愛のジョーク：96,075 / 144,061 / 158,915

笑顔の君は太陽さ：119,442 / 149,361 / 160,798
時空を超え宇宙を超え：80,853 / ? / ?
 
So, they'll get 100k for the week. But I feel like they need to do something new or they're going to kill their own momentum. Nearly every single has been electronica + formation dancing + release during slow week so we can get #1 and add it to our total. They had the CM but it looks like it didn't really help unless this single ends up having a much better chart life than it's predecessors. Or like Saya says, they need a legitimate hit a la Love Machine. All of the current singles sell well but only last a month or so on the charts and aren't really doing anything impressive radio or digital-wise.

 
 
Also worth noting that even though Kimi Kawari had a really amazing first day, it's almost neck and neck with Wagamama for overall sales, because Wagamama had a much better second week than most H!P singles do.

[Zoe]

Haruka had to wear sneakers for the performance portion of the release event (you can see that her foot's taped up in some of the pictures here). Really hope they learned their lesson with Aika...

[momoirosaya]

Well Aika is a special case.
 
I feel like they would do better if they kept the multiple B-sides going.

[Anderei]

#1 with 3,134 today.


They'll perform Password on the next Music Station.

[Zoe]

That's weird, they all performed in sneakers on Music Dragon.

[TicTacAnyone]

MM'14 Music Dragon mini talk segment/performance

[Shoujo Q]

The CDTV performance of Password is 0.
 
According to Jplop, it's been 10 years since they last performed on the show.

[TicTacAnyone]

That editingc/amera work makes me dizzy Q_Q

[Kalle]

So as it turns out, that 'Promo Ver.' thing? Turns out the MVs on the singles are cut differently than the Youtube ones!
Comparison: Toki Sora, Pass 0.
 
Makes me wonder if the other H!P 'promo' videos will undergo the same treatment.

[momoirosaya]

It looks like the Promo version for Toki Sora is more dance heavy, and the other version is more artistic. I like the DVD version better personally.
Password looks pretty much the same.

[MejraThea]

It was nice, but not worth buying the DVD to me. I was under-impressed and just as happy with the more simple version. 

[showraniy]

Cool, I like that there are differences. There kind of has to be something to justify buying the DVD after all, so I guess I'm happy they're paying attention to that.


I like Password is 0, but I find it a little sad that one of the best songs of MM's career, Toki wo Koe, is flying under the radar with these low sales. I'm hoping UFP doesn't translate that as a failure and go back to the strict EDM they've been doing. It's getting just a little stale at this point to not mix it up a little and Toki wo Koe is the best possible mix up of that style with something different, so I want more of it.

[Anderei]

Yesterday and today: #1 both days with 9,457 and 2,447. Total is 102,345.
 
It's had a weaker week overall even compared to previous singles that sold less with the exception of yesterday. It's a shame that they finally got a big cm deal and used it to promote two mediocre songs.
 
Music Japan performance

[JPope]

"Toki wo Koe" is not a mediocre song. 

[star]

^Thank You

[Anderei]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JPope" data-cid="174998" data-time="1398028392">
"Toki wo Koe" is not a mediocre song.</blockquote>


Maybe not but it's wasted on a lineup that's not going to win people over with their vocals. It's not what people want and they're not popular enough to make anything sell. And the choreo is straight up awful.

[smtmissin]

True. I love MM so I tried liistening to the songs many times to get used to them but can't. Toki wo Koe is a beautiful song but their vocals don't bring out the emotions the song tries to convey. Maybe a Sakura solo of this song (or an Odatomo version) can do better.

[zlilzlilzlil]

MM sold today 16697 which brings them to a total of 119042!
 
They got 1st all week.

[Trinu]

It isn't bad-bad, but I guess we were all expecting them to sell more with each release.
 
120k is still a good result. The 40k difference might be due to the lack of "big" promotion in MS? I've heard bumps in sales after performances there by other artists, so maybe that's one reason. 
I doubt there's people looking at MM (or any other idol group) in search of great voices. That's not what an idol is about. They release cute, catchy, nice songs to humm around and that's it. And I think they did great with this single (at least now we know Tsunku hasn't gone out of ideas).
 
So... yeah, let's hope the 57th single (the week before AKB's 37th should be safe) gets better results!

[JPope]

[quote="Anderei"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JPope" data-cid="174998" data-time="1398028392">
"Toki wo Koe" is not a mediocre song.
</blockquote>


Maybe not but it's wasted on a lineup that's not going to win people over with their vocals. It's not what people want and they're not popular enough to make anything sell. And the choreo is straight up awful.
 
[/quote]
 
<div>Idol groups become popular for any number of reasons, of which music is but one (and usually not the most important). While I want MM to become more popular and enjoy ever increasing sales, my experience following Jpop idols tells me that, at a certain point personalities and dumb-luck zeitgeist matter more than music or ability with the consumer. The new MM seemed poised to enter the dumb-luck zeitgeist level, the proof of which would be a mediocre single continuing the trend of increasing sales, but they haven't and likely won't as currently constructed. If any of these girls was ever going to capture the imagination of Jpop fans to the point where it would catapult the group to a level where they could seriously challenge AKB, it would have happened by now. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The cliche is that MM needs a new "Love Machine" to reach such a level, but it's hard to know how much of the success of that song, and thus that group, was due to the music and how much was due to Maki Goto. Would it have sold a million without Maki? We'll never know. I'm pretty sure that "Koi no Dance Site" wouldn't have sold over a million had it been released before LM as opposed to following it, though. In my opinion, MM needs a new Maki Goto -- as in, a new member who, for whatever reason, immediately captures the attention of a wide swath of the Japanese public -- and a new "Love Machine" will follow. But that falls into the "dumb-luck zeitgeist" category. That you can't predict such things is the beauty of pop.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>All other things being equal, I prefer good songs that sell moderately over average (or bad) songs that sell a lot. MM has restored enough of the lustre to consistently move over 100K every time out now, which should guarantee that they'll not be disbanded anytime soon. Which means more revitalized Tsunku goodness, and that's really all I personally care about.</div>

[Shoujo Q]

Music Station performance of Password is 0. (Watch it before it gets taken down.)


Probably the best TV performance of the promotional run.