The Official Unofficial Kenshuusei Guide + News Source

[Solarblade]

So on Hello Dream, we got the 10 songs the KSS will have to choose from for the upcoming Shinden Test!

- Suggoi FEVER!
- Aisubekibeki Human Life
- Ijiwaru Shinaide Dakishimete yo
- Skip Skip Skip
- Renai Bugyou
- Suhada wa Nettaiya
- Golden Chinatown
- Massara Blue Jeans
- Nen ni wa Nen
- Boogie-Woogie LOVE

===Assigned Order===

1. Golden Chinatown / Nishimura
2. Skip Skip Skip / Makino
3. Nen ni wa Nen / Yoshida
4. Suggoi FEVER! / Kawano
5. Boogie-Woogie LOVE / Sugihara
6. Aisubekibeki Human Life / Otsubo
7. Renai Bugyou / Souma
8. Boogie-Woogie LOVE / Shimakawa
9. Nen ni wa Nen / Hayashi
10. Ijiwaru Shinaide Dakishimete yo / Miyakoshi
11. Boogie-Woogie LOVE / Asano
12. Massara Blue Jeans / Hattori

===Free Song Choice===

1. Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi / Miyakoshi
2. Wake-up Call ~Mezameru Toki~ / Yoshida
3. Mousou Dake Nara Freedom / Souma
4. Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun / Asano
5. Furusato / Makino
6. Sakura Chirari / Otsubo
7. Akai Freesia / Kawano
8. I&YOU&I&YOU&I / Shimakawa
9. Kiss me Aishiteru / Hattori
10. Platonic Planet / Hayashi
11. RED LINE / Sugihara
12. Aisaresugiru Koto wa Nai no yo / Nishimura

[JPope]

5. Furusato / Makino

Woah. I guess we're gonna find out if she learned how to sing over the last year!

I'm honestly pulling for her based on how she handled her crash-and-burn at last year's Shinden test. I'm also looking forward to see how much Nina has progressed.

[Shoujo Q]

Nina is for sure getting put into a group if she’s progressed more than where she was last year.

[DonJuan]

Happy birthday Hello Pro Kenshuusei, or rather the overall H!P trainee programme!

20 years of:

- legends like Kitahara Sayaka, Maeda Irori, Okada Yui, The Possible, Up Up Girls and Kikkawa Yuu
- the great exodus of 2010 after a lot of girls realized they had no future in H!P
- the reorganisation into H!P Kenshuusei
- several questionable choices and probably broken dreams (Kaneko Rie, Tanabe Nanami, Tanaka Karen, Jang Da Yeon, Inoue Hikaru
- whatever that 2017 Shin Member Audition was lol
- groups like S/mileage/ANGERME, Juice=Juice, Kobushi Factory, Tsubaki Factory, BEYOOOOONDS, OCHA NORMA and the upcoming H!P KSS Unit that were made up completely or mostly of KSS
- 9/47 members of Morning Musume, 17/25 members of S/mileage/ANGERME, 11/18 members of Juice=Juice, 4/8 members of Country Girls, all of Kobushi Factory, 10/16 members of Tsubaki Factory, 9/12 members of BEYOOOOONDS, 8/10 members of OCHA NORMA

I will be honest, I think not every KSS can make it as an idol. But we found some real gems here.

[Solarblade]

Winners of the Test are

Makoto Award: Souma
Dancing Award: Sugihara
Singing Award: Yoshida
Inaba & Ogata Award: Nishimura
Best Performance Award: Hayashi

[JPope]

Oh shit, I forgot about this. Did anyone stream it? Normally we expect the Best Performance winner to debut within the year, but the current state of the KSS is kid of odd with a unit of vets set to debut, and a bunch of really young n00bs, so I'd be surprised if Niina debuts before next year. I really want to see her performance, though.

[Solarblade]

Oh shit, I forgot about this. Did anyone stream it? Normally we expect the Best Performance winner to debut within the year, but the current state of the KSS is kid of odd with a unit of vets set to debut, and a bunch of really young n00bs, so I'd be surprised if Niina debuts before next year. I really want to see her performance, though.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1ex4y1 ... c947417440

Here's the Digest of the performances.

[JPope]

Thanks for that!

Definitely check this out if you're interested in the KSS, because in terms of overall performance level, this is pretty good considering how new all of these girls are.

With only two exception, all of girls improved from their assigned songs to their free-song performances. Toa can actually sorta carry a tune now, but choosing Furusato was -- how can I put this gently -- ill advised. UF set her up for success with "Skip Skip Skip," then she pissed it all away with a ballad that will reveal every flaw, of which she has many. Still, she's come a long way from 2023. The other who slipped a bit was the current KSS baby, Rua Hattori, who was merely very good on her second song instead of great like on her first. She's got legit easy power and solid pitch, but her energy on "Kiss me Aishiteru" was oddly low. I think she's an ace in the making, though.

I don't have any problem with any of the award selections, honestly, and I think a lot of these were won in the free-song round. Sugihara, in particular, looked like a different performer on her free-song. Nishimura was really good in all phases and not only had to go first, she had to watch everyone else perform twice before closing it out with an even better performance than her opener.

The star of the show, though, was Niina Hayashi. Guys, the surprise of 2023 has become a fucking monster. The baby-deer awkwardness is gone, replaced by a confident swagger, and her solid-but-raw voice is now polished, powerful and controlled. Since 2021 I've been taking notes while watching these, and this is what I wrote during her free-song round: "10. Hayashi Niina - Platonic Planet: LMFAO, she's so fucking good, ha ha!" Seriously, she could debut tomorrow and she doesn't turn 13 until next month. I'm not sure what I want them to do with her, but I think that I don't want her in the new group. Not sure why, though. I think I want her in J=J.