[2016.05.11] Morning Musume '16 - Tokyo to iu Katasumi/The Vision/Utakata Saturday Night

[DonJuan]

To be honest I'm totally fine with the sales because of the digital sales. They might have sold less in physical copics than the last two singles, but digital sales always say something about the general audience. Also, I'm not that much into technology but I'm pretty sure you can't bulk buy digital versions. Which means that there are about 30.000 people who didn't bulk buy.

[Anderei]

I suppose you could if you wanted but wota go physical because even top idols don't do hot digitally. And we've had this discussion before but digital is becoming more important even in Japan. The digital and physical charts look nothing alike.


Utakata is also one of the most liked MVs on their channel. Shame they couldn't getting Music Station this go around. It's the most public friendly song they've had in years.

[Meikochi]

Thank you !

[Solarblade]

Apparantly, the single will be released as a vinyl on e-lineUP! Preorders are from 5/18 to 6/6 and ships out in July
 
http://www.e-lineup.com/shopdetail/000000009639/
 
SIDE A
 
1. Utakata Saturday Night!
2. The Vision
 
SIDE B
 
3. Tokyo to Iu Katasumi
4. Utakata Saturday Night! (Kawanabe Hiroshi REMIX)

[Anderei]

They'll also be on Music Station next week:
http://ameblo.jp/mari-yaguchi/entry-12162236152.html
 
Two weeks after, but better late than never, because they didn't get on at all for the last single. 

[Meikochi]

Hoping Utakata will be performed.

[kira]

Mste site is showing they'll be performing Utakata.


http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/music/contents/m_lineup/cur/

[TicTacAnyone]

A short clip that shows a bit of Utakata live in Aichi and features Suzuki.... I think it was a nice little news segment for MM and Suzuki.

[Noa]

Kanon crying makes me want to cry :(

[Kalle]

I'm planning on getting both it and the ANGERME vinyl. I hope the covers are cute!

[Meikochi]

Today's H!S (#170) features The Vision live at Ikebukuro Sunshine. It has very few close ups so it may be like a kind of dance shot, which is nice since UF decided to not upload them anymore.

[TicTacAnyone]

This week's Upcoming showed Oda, Fukumura and Kudo recording for Utakata.

[JPope]

Kudo seems to be regressing as a singer. 

[MejraThea]

I noticed that also.

[Revangelis]

Why does Kudo sound so unpleasant and nasal in that clip :/ I'll be disappointed if she keeps going that way, because she was better before

[Anderei]

She's possibly always been like that and it was harder to tell when her lines were short or she just did backup vocals? I don't know.

[momoirosaya]

She's often mentioned that MM songs are not in her vocal range and she's had to work at singing that high. I think that she's just not singing songs suited for her voice. Also having 12th gen all be terrible singers (sorry Miki I had hope for you, but it's been 2 years), somehow seems to have really brought down the vocal quality of the group altogether...

[Anderei]

Holy shit, it has been nearly two years hasn't it? Wow. It feels like it was just last year lol.

[JPope]

<div>Kudo hasn't always sounded like this. Go back and listen to her parts on <a class="bbc_url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JmwhZFBZbY" title="External link">"Dream Last Train"</a> with Triplet from the 2014 SATOYAMA CD. She's singing with two very good singers in Chisato and Sayuki, and she totally holds her own. She's not on their level, but she isn't completely outclassed, either. (Before you assume it's studio trickery making her sound good, here's a <a class="bbc_url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aOlOhQUKE0" title="External link">live performance</a>, and she sounds great.) This is the song, btw, that got me excited about Kudo as a  singer. Her interesting timber and easy delivery reminded me of a young Yuko Nakazawa. More recently, she sounded fine on "Oh My Wish!"</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Her live performance of "Mr. Moonlight" from a couple of months ago was an eye opener, but not in a good way, despite being almost universally praised by the overseas MM fandom. On the recording of "Saturday Night" clip, Kudo is completely outclassed by both Oda (which is excusable) and Mizuki. Her once pleasant timber and easy delivery are now grating and forced. To top it off, she's having serious problems hitting and holding notes. It's a dreadful performance, to be honest, and one that I'm shocked was chosen for this video. Anyone who reads this bbs knows that Kudo is one of my favorites in MM, so it pains me to say all of this, but I'm not going to ignore her regression just because I like her.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I guess I shouldn't be surprised. MM girls have been failing to live up to their potential since Koharu joined. </div>

[DonJuan]

I think it's interesting that some singers get notibly worse once they're in the spotlight. Mizuki around Pyoko Pyoko Ultra? Nice and soft, I thought she might become the next Kamei Eri. Nowadays she's so whiny it's not nice anymore. Oda when she joined? Great talent, nice feel for music. Now she's weirdly pitchy. Now Kudo, well. I think some people also had hopes for Masaki but I really, really can't stand her singing, especially not at the moment. Even her recorded lines for The Vision sound so bad I can't believe some people put her on the same level as Sayuki.
 
Is it really that they don't live up to their potential, or is it the singing technique that ruins their singing? Kudo might be the first option, but for Sakura I'd definitely go for the technique.

[Farrah]

Most people instinctually try to compensate for strain or vocal fatigue by singing through their nose.  This is probably a bad habit she has been steadily developing that has only recently become noticeable because she is relying on it more frequently.  MM's recent discography is really high pitched for someone who doesn't know what they're doing - even for someone like me who has had formal training and years of experience, they can be really tricky because they dip into the fifth octave left and right.  H!P's vocal instructors strongly encourage nasal, shout-y singing because it's "moe" but it's also fucking terrible for you.  You can also hear a distinct lack of "warmth" or robustness in her tone that was definitely present a couple years ago, which is a tell-tale sign of damaged vocal cords.  It just makes me sad, honestly. 
 
I don't even have a degree but at this point they'd probably be better of hiring me LOL.
 
 
 
[quote="arcobaleno"]
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="DonJuan" data-cid="197711" data-time="1464560314">
<div>
. I think some people also had hopes for Masaki but I really, really can't stand her singing, especially not at the moment. Even her recorded lines for The Vision sound so bad I can't believe some people put her on the same level as Sayuki.
[/quote]
 
To be honest, I DO put them on the same level. I think they're both horrible.
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I don't enjoy Sayuki's vocal tone but objectively she's one of the most stable singers in the current H!P roster.  Don't worry though, she'll get nodes just like Chisato in a few years LOL.

[Anderei]

Sayuki's already had bleeding in her throat, so...

[MejraThea]

Bleeding, sounding horrible. I have her as my lest favorite member in my profile, but honestly I wouldn't have her as least if she didn't sound like she was dying and proud of the sound.

[Farrah]

I'm just basing this off of her recording session in one of the episodes of that show - I think it was recording for a song for the J=J album? She did very well there - healthy vocal placement, actual vibrato rather than just a vocal waver, etc.  Can't remember for the life of me what song it was though, I don't really follow J=J anymore.

[momoirosaya]

Dang just watched the recording of Utakata... Is it just me or do Mizuki and Duu sound a bit sick and stuffed up?

They really need to start writing songs that fit the groups vocal abilities, even Sakura was having to reach for some of those notes. It feels like MM is a choir where they have a bunch of alto's, but they keep making them sing the soprano parts.

[Meikochi]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Saya" data-cid="197850" data-time="1464845183">
Dang just watched the recording of Utakata... Is it just me or do Mizuki and Duu sound a bit sick and stuffed up?</blockquote>

I also thought Duu sounded sick but her speaking voice sounded fine so I'm confused and hope really bad she won't sound like that anymore.

[Revangelis]

Upcoming has footage of Ikuta, Iikubo, and Suzuki recording for Utakata.
 
https://youtu.be/9SWtUQXK414?t=8m25s

[JPope]

Zukki is arguably better than Sakura on this song. She definitely sings with more soul than anyone in the group. Iikubo does fairly well, although her timbre is really unpleasant to my ears. Ikuta... made it to the studio. I really wish she was leaving instead of Zukki.

[Meikochi]

[quote="JPope"]
Iikubo does fairly well, although her timbre is really unpleasant to my ears. Ikuta... made it to the studio. I really wish she was leaving instead of Zukki.
[/quote]
 
A lot of comments highlighted how "skilled" Ikuta became (I thought like you when I read them : Ikuta is the worst for now in my opinion).

[momoirosaya]

She got these moments now where one note will sound good, and then she goes back to being shouts and off pitch.

Ogata is worse than Eripon....