Morning Musume: Chokkan 2~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!

(L-R) Tanaka, Takahashi, Niigaki, Ogawa, Konno, Fujimoto, Kamei, Kusumi, Michishige, Yoshizawa

Few topics this year have aroused as much heated debate among the H!P fandom as Morning Musume's 28th single, and in a year peppered with scandals and surprises, that's saying a lot. The birth of the single pretty much kept with recent MM tradition; the release was announced at the very end of August, a mere month after the 27th single's debut, a drop date of 10/26 was given, a week or so later the title "Koi wa Hassou! Do The Hustle!" was learned, the song was performed at MM's fall concert, and finally an audio rip from a fan's recording made its way around the internet. In the brief period of speculation between learning the title and hearing the concert rip, there was some excitement over the title. If anything, it clearly ruled out the possibility of the song being a ballad, and the "Do the Hustle" inclusion led to various disco-infused MM fantasies...more or less, there were a lot of hopes placed on the single just days after its announcement. It should almost go without saying then that the initial concert rip of "Koi wa Hassou" was met with some disappointment, as fans were decidedly underwhelmed, and when news began leaking around mid-September that "Koi wa Hassou" was actually the b-side to an as-yet-unnamed title track, MM devotees across the internet were relieved. Irony, thy name is Tsunku! Confirmation came in early October that Hassou was indeed a coupling track, and the real a-side was posted to the H!P site itself: "Chokkan 2~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizou!" Cue ensuing outrage!

As evident by the title, the single was being established as a sequel of sorts to an earlier track, "Chokkan ~Toki to Shite Koi wa~" from Morning Musume's sixth album, Ai no Dai 6 Kan, released in December of 2004. A zany, upbeat track, Chokkan had been one of the most positively received new songs from the album's release, but fondness for the original was not enough to soften the blow of what seemed to be an ultimately lazily move on Up-Front's part. Though not the first 'sequel' song given to MM (see: "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari 2" also on Ai no Dai 6 Kan), this would mark the first case in which pre-existing material would be granted single status. Is the song itself worth all the spotlight?

"Chokkan 2" is more of a remake than a sequel, utilizing an instrumental nearly identical to that of its namesake, with very few changes to the arrangement. Even the lyrics for the choruses in each are identical, with only the regular verses in "Chokkan 2" being completely new. Like its predecessor, the song is decidedly hyper; the instrumental enforces a very strong 'tribal' sound, complete with gongs and rolling drumbeats that suggest traditional festival songs, reminiscent of shuffle-group 10nin Matsuri's terrific 2001 track, "Dancing Natsumatsuri". There is no lead vocalist or center for "Chokkan 2", a blessing or a curse depending on your point of view, as most of the vocals are sung in group chorus or by pairs of girls with only about seven actual solo lines to the song, one of which is handled capably by young neophyte Koharu. As in the first version, each chorus is overlayed with a subtle vocal track of the members energetically shouting out the lyrics, which might not attract much attention on its own, but it does provide a slightly more childish tone to the song, bringing to mind 2002's cloying "Ganbacchae". Overall, "Chokkan 2" is slightly faster and more hyper than Chokkan, and as is the case for both, the choral vocals and repetitive Tsunku chants don't keep the songs from being somewhat infectious and fun to listen to, but still relatively a step backwards in terms of MM singles.

The beleaguered b-side, "Koi wa Hassou! Do The Hustle!" is an interesting reminder that good music does not always a good song make. The instrumental is a unique combination of guitars, drums, and electronic snippets that could have been lifted from any series of 8-bit video games, with an opening infused with a slight Indian flair courtesy of some sitar-reminiscent strums that repeat after each chorus. The vocals simply don't manage to capitalize on the intriguing groundwork provided by the music. Solo lines in the verses are almost shouted by the girls in a theatrical way, backed with a subtle but annoying echo effect, and little spoken outbursts from members add to the feeling they're yelling a story instead of singing it; the song just sounds strongly like it could have been lifted directly from one of MM's musicals, which is not exactly a compliment. "Koi wa Hassou" improves at the choruses, despite laughably questionable lines like "Koi wa hassou, be the muscle", but not enough so to save the song from its downright mediocrity.

To many inside the H!P fandom and out, a less-than-stellar MM single release could seem to be business as usual anymore, but there's been a fierce negativity associated with "Chokkan 2"'s release that surpasses the mere disappointment expressed about merely disappointing tracks, like last year's unpopular "Namida ga Tomaranai Houkago." The recycling of material is by no means a shocking turn of events for a Hello!Project group, but such tricks are typically reserved to album tracks or concert appearances. A single on the otherhand garners decidedly more spotlight; a music video and singular DVD release, numerous live television performances, a 1000 yen pricetag...all factors that place more urgency on the songs involved, and make it easy to understand why some fans could feel cheated. To eagerly await a new release only to learn it's a song you've already heard (and purchased) before is disappointing to say the least, but carries a more sinister implication; that the naysayers who have been predicting the impeding doom of Hello!Project for years might soon have their theories cemented in truth. Though some would say Morning Musume has maintained a steady downward spiral since as early as Maki's graduation, I'd have to disagree; though 2004 offered a series of disappointing singles, the first three releases of this year, "The Manpower!!", "Osaka Koi no Uta", and "Iroppoi Jirettai", have been songs of mounting quality worthy of comparison to the releases in 2003, one of the best years for the group in terms of consistent quality. This doesn't however qualm a general rising fear for Morning Musume resulting from lackluster sales and the general public's rising ambivalence towards the girls. The release of "Chokkan 2" does seem to slightly suggest Up-Front throwing in the towel on the group and just sitting back content to milk whatever popularity the girls have left, based on their established fanbase and name alone instead of effort and product. With a group that peaked with national notoriety at the top of its game and has been sliding downhill ever since, there's a very real fear that Tsunku's attention will be entirely focused on fresher groups that have nowhere to go but up, such as Berryz Koubou. This might seem like a ridiculous amount of pessimistic speculation to grow from a lone CD release, and to a point it is. Fans will recover, and most are already looking forward to the next release with hope...but some understandable trepidation as well.

Shuji to Akira: Seishun Amigo

Yamashita Tomohisa (Akira), Kamenashi Kazuya (Shuji)

In the world of Japanese pop music, Johnny's Entertainment is more than just an idol factory, it's an almost frighteningly successful business empire. To some western Jpop fans, Hello!Project might seem like an inescapable entity, but their forces simply don't hold a candle to the sheer numbers, cultural influence, and popularity of Johnny's acts. Case in point; the new single entitled "Seishun Amigo" by 'Shuji to Akira', released 11/2.

The title song is the ending theme to a currently running drama series, "Nobuta wo Produce", in which two Johnny's stars, Kamenashi Kazuya and Yamashita Tomohisa, star as the lead characters Shuji and Akira, respectively. Twenty year-old Yamashita, though not the leader, is the most popular member of relatively young group 'NewS', which officially debuted in 2003 and has since seen great chart success with four singles and one album. Kamenashi Kazuya, 19, is also the most popular member of his group, 'KAT-TUN'. 'KAT-TUN' has become a dominate force in the Japanese media over the past couple years, and in 2005 especially; they appear in an endless amount of commercials, print ads, and campaigns, on variety TV shows, in a handful of dramas, and their recent concert DVD holds a position as one of the best-selling discs in Japan this year. All this fame, and the group has yet to even release a single CD. It's no small feat for a musical group to build up such a reputation without any actual music, but none but a Johnny's group could reach such an achievement. 'KAT-TUN' are still considered a "junior" group in the JE hierarchy, and their intense and ever-increasing fandom is left awaiting their official debut when the group is granted their first single.

As such, "Seishun Amigo" is the first CD release with any 'KAT-TUN' involvement, another element adding up to guarantee major hit status for the disc...but is the song worthy of the fervor? As the title suggests, "Seishun Amigo" is an upbeat track with a slight latin flair and a smattering of Spanish words that show up less than one would expect; "mi amigo" is used several times in verses, and a dramatically drawn out "si" precedes each chorus, but other than that, well, it's no "Matsuken Samba." Luckily, the music picks up on the vocals' surprising thematic slack. The song opens and closes with a series of electric guitar twangs and horns that are peculiarly reminiscent of James Bond music. The 007 sound smoothes out into a more refined pop backing for the majority of the song, with a persistent percussion beat and maracas, trumpets, and some excellent guitar strumming providing a subtle but effective mariachi groove. Following the music's tempo changes and revolving instruments, slower solo verses lead up to the faster, joint choruses, aided by background singers. The overall effect is a very lively, fun song that builds on a traditiona Johnny's sound with peppy, competent vocals and unique music. Though falling short in comparison to another Johnny's duet, 'Toraji Haiji''s "Fantastipo", a quirky disco-tune from earlier this year, "Seishun Amigo" is still a strong, likeable song that shines even more with repeated listens.

The two b-sides offered on the single are previously performed solo tracks that had been used in earlier dramas each singer appeared in, and as such, are already established as fan-favorites. "Colorful", Yamashita's solo, was featured in this past summer's drama series "Dragon Zakura", and Kamenashi's "Kizuna" is from last year's "Gokusen 2". "Colorful" has a somewhat mellow pace that is thrown slightly off-balance by some random electrical guitar riffs and a few lines in which Yamashita aggressively rolls his R's in a jarring way. In contrast, the ballad "Kizuna" offers few bells and whistles but manages to be a more impressive, melodic track with its relatively simple arrangement. The song's merit is lessened slightly Kamenashi's thin, overly nasal vocals. Though long established, somewhat undeserved, as the unofficial lead vocalist of 'KAT-TUN', he doesn't quite yet have the chops to fully realize the potential of songs like this that rely more on power and control than style and delivery. Kamenashi is undoubtedly talented, and will surely begin progressing more once his group is given a chance to actually record songs, but on this single, he's easily overshadowed by Yamashita's fuller, smoother, more confidant vocals.

Offering a pretty catchy a-side and decent b-sides, "Seishun Amigo" is a release in which the whole is much, much greater than the sum of its parts. There's an almost absurd amount of traits attached that guarantee amazing sales. Current favorite Johnnys Entertainment member? Check. Most popular member from current favorite boy-band obsession in all of Japan? Check. First CD release ever involving said wildly popular member? Check. Theme song for current hit drama series? Check. Needless to say, "Seishun Amigo" has held the #1 position on the Oricon chart consistantly in the four days since its release, not only assured the top position for the week, but according to a Sanspo article here, also on its way to selling a million copies. If it succeeds, it will become the top selling CD single in Japan this year with just one week of sales under its belt, and as a result? Yamashita's stock will continue to rise, the powers that be will hopefully consider granting 'KAT-TUN' an official debut before their popularity bubble bursts, and Johnny's Entertainment will continue their plan to dominate the country in every forum, one pretty boy at a time.

Five (Semi-Recent) Things To Smile About

A non-review entry for now, just felt like spotlighting some recent artists/songs/shows in the Japanese entertainment world that have had me smiling. It's been a fun couple months in terms of Jpop especially, and looking at future release lists, it's going to get even better throughout the end of this pretty terrific year.


#1: Yuna Ito

For starters, the amazing Yuna Ito. I've been a big fan of the Nana manga series for years, and naturally I soaked up every piece of information on the movie with enthusiasm as soon as it spread across the internet. The casting of Reira, though, I ironically paid little attention to at the time, never having any interest in the character from the manga. When the movie 's theme PVs first started popping up on trackers a month before their release, I was completely caught off-guard. "REIRA starring Yuna Ito: Endless Story" is an amazingly beautiful ballad sung by an amazingly gorgeous singer, with a grace evident in the video that made it hard to believe this was her professional singing debut. The single has performed amazingly well on the Oricon chart, hanging around the top five even two months after the release. Naturally, a good chunk of the sales were a result of the tie-in to a very successful movie, but nonetheless, it means we can definitely expect to see and hear a lot more of Yuna in the future. The very near future, I hope.

#2: Matsuken Samba

It's hard to believe it's been over a year since Matsudaira Ken first shook his sexy hips into our hearts. Originally released in July of 2004, "Matsuken Samba II" was an early hit with lusty housewives, but didn't start sweeping the nation by storm until the song, and Matsudaira's pelvic swiveling, became a topic of parody by a variety of popular shows like SMAPXSMAP. After a very long, healthy shelf-life on the Oricon chart, "Matsuken Samba III" was announced to follow in its predecessor's lucrative footsteps, providing one of my most highly anticipated releases of the year. It's hard to sum up in so many words what makes these singles so damn enjoyable, but it's just near impossible to hear them and not smile. "Matsuken Samba III" is admittedly not quite as catchy as its predecessor, offering a slightly slower tune that better shows off Matsudaira's vocal prowess, peppered with more random Spanish but having less...kick overall. III completely trumps II in the PV department, however; whereas the latter had only a taped performance to circulate, "Matsuken Samba III" was given a PV rife with an army of glittery backup dancers and hilariously cheesy CG effects galore, such as Matsudaira samba-ing all over locations like the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty. Pricelessly tongue-in-cheek, downright addicting, and not easily tiresome thanks to a wealth of surprisingly groovy remixes, both singles are now favorites in my collection. Though I realize it's inevitable the schtick will overstay its welcome, I can only hope it lasts through a fourth samba. Ole!

#3: Otsuka Ai's ballads
It's almost uncanny how one artist could do such a 180 in my mind in the short span of one year. The songs that first gave Otsuka success and popularity were the very ones that turned me off from her career. Instant hit "Sakuranbo" had a catchy chorus and a cavity-inducing level of cuteness, which proved to be too much sugar for me, even as an H!P fan. Her next big hit, or at least the next one that registered on my non-fan radar, was "Happy Days", which I can only describe with two words: "helium" and "insane". I thought I was destined to be one of the seemingly few not smitten with this increasingly popular artist, but then the Otsuka Ai Ballad was first introduced to me with "Kuroge Wagyu Joshio Tanyaki 680 Yen". I became unexpectedly hooked on the song and was completely blown away by her voice, which sounded nothing at all like the chirpy chipmunk I'd been turned off by. Her following ballads, "Neko ni Fuusen" and the recent, amazing "Planetarium" and a great contribution to the "Love for Nana" album proved Kuroge (aka the "meat song") was not just a flash in the pan, and inspired me to go back to her older releases to newly discover gems like "Momo no Hanabira" and "Kingyo Hanabi". Unfortunately even my freshly mounting fondness for her couldn't make me enjoy her one non-ballad release of the year, the upbeat summer tune "SMILY", but I remain fully content to focus only on one side of Otsuka's amusingly bipolar career. I'm eagerly anticipating her third album's December release.

#4: SweetS' survival

Like most fans, I was disappointed when I first heard the news about Aki and Aya's temporary hiatus from SweetS, a group that had really exceeded expectations over the last two years. As the two oldest members and coincidentlly also my favorites, I couldn't imagine the group without Aki's leadership and Aya's dominant voice, but the new trio's single released today, "On the Way~Yakusoku no Bashou he", offers a pleasant, reassuring surprise. Having shared the lead vocals in allprecedingg singles, Haruna proves here that she's entirely capable of taking the reigns on her own, and though they're not on the same level, it's nice to hear Miori and Mai get solo lines in a single. The song itself is one of their best since "Sky" in my opinion, which makes this a triumphant release on all counts. I plan on doing a full review of the single, possibly tomorrow, but for now I'm just content to have such solid proof that this (severely underappreciated) group is definitely not going to falter anytime soon.


#5: The new drama season
There's one thing to be learned from the new fall season of Japanese dramas; Johnny's Entertainment will someday rule the earth. Of the 15 new shows, Johnny's members hold major roles in about eight of them. Not exactly unusual anymore, but still, amazing. Regardless of your feelings on the boy band factory extraordinaire, if you're even remotely a fan of dramas, the packed schedule surely offers something to pique your interest. There are a lot of shows I'd like to see purely based on cast, but there are only three I'm actively following currently; "Ichi Ritoru no Namida", "Nobuta wo Produce", and "Hana Yori Dango", each entirely different in tone. Inspired by a true story and only three episodes in, Ichi Ritoru is promising to be heart-breaking enough to make "Beautiful Life" seem comparatively light-hearted. Nobuta, the most comedic of the bunch, is also the least impressive, but seems to be picking up from its slow start. If anything it's somewhat amusing for NewS fans to see Yama-P acting in a state of permanent drunkenness to portray his inexplicably 'special' character. Last but not least and my favorite of the new bunch, "Hana Yori Dango" has been a long time coming. Based on the best selling girls' manga series in history, which ran for 11 years ending in 2003, Hanadan has seen a number of prior adaptations; an anime series, an anime movie, a live-action Japanese movie, and a Taiwanese drama series. I've sampled them all and most took quite a few liberties with the story, particularly the very successful F4-spawning Taiwan series. The painfully cheesy Japanese movie version, starring a young Fujiki Naohito, Fujiawara Noriko, and Uchida Yuki as a Shaolin Soccer-esque Tsukushi, came to me in the form of a barely viewable, ninth-generation copy of a raw rental tape about eight years ago, and though I thought it was an awful movie, I have fond memories of some better moments, such as Uchida's hilarious flying kick..butt I digress. Only two episodes in, the new drama adaptation seems to finally be offering a faithful version of the story. Moving at a moderately fast pace, assumedly to squeeze in as much of the 36-volume plot as possible into 10 hour-long episodes, the series seems to have instantly hooked a lot of fellow Jpop fans, and with good reason. The lead actors, spunky Inoue Mao and uncharacteristically-evil Matsumoto Jun (of ARASHI fame) are pitch-perfect in their roles, though Matsujun's Doumyouji borders on too sadistically creepy at times. This Friday's episode harkens the arrival of tabloid magnet and queen of dramas Matsushima Nanako as Doumyouji's older sister, a nice little casting coup that I'm very much looking forward to, and in the meantime maybe I can catch up other series. I guess it should be no surprise that drama(s) can exhaust a person!


Aaaand that wraps up this long-winded babbling session. Until next time, viva samba!

Biyuden's First Album: Suite Room Number 1

Crazy, Sexy, Cool: Okada Yui, Ishikawa Rika, Miyoshi Erika

Roughly 13 months after their debut, three-person H!P unit Biyuden caps off an impressively catchy string of singles with their first album release, titled "Suite Room Number 1" and dropping on 10/26. When the announcement of Rika's graduation and subsequent formation of her new unit came, seemingly ages ago in the warped timeline of the H!P world, not many would have guessed that one of the worst singers in Morning Musume history could lead a new group into building and sustaining a reputation for consistent, quality releases. Let's face it; Rika may have long been adored as a PB pin-up queen and pinnacle of burriko-enriched cuteness in Japan, but among the English-speaking fan community, her musical talents or lack thereof were typically a heavy strike against her. Many fans were simply thrilled at the prospect of no longer having to suffer her voice in Morning Musume, and seemingly few were voicing honest excitement about Biyuden's potential at the time of its announcement. So what happened?

Good music, that's what happened. Tsunku and his Up-Front cronies matched their fan-favorite up with two girls perfectly capable of picking up her vocal slack; Okada Yui, selected from the H!P Egg auditions, and Miyoshi Erika, winner of an earlier audition for an H!P soloist. Their debut single took a lot of fans by surprise by just simply being that good, and their subsequent releases have maintained, and in a couple cases surpassed, the standards set by "Koi no Nukegara". Does their first full-length album manage to do the same?

"Suite Room Number 1", as the title suggests, is a uniquely themed release with the concept that the three girls are enjoying a hotel stay, in apparently luxurious accommodations no less, the kind poor neglected Melon Kinenbi can only dream about. The album has short intro and closing dialogue tracks, "Check In" and "Check Out" that sustain the theme but offer little value other than brief amusement at the wooden English conversations in the opener. Fittingly, the intro segues into the group's second single, "Kacchoiize! Japan", a rousing, drum-heavy song used in a national tourism campaign to welcome visitors to Japan, and it perfectly sets the energy level for the first half of the album.

The first original song follows, "Ai~Suite Room", which may very well have you hooked within the first ten seconds. All eurotrance-lite with a head-bopping chorus and somewhat midi-esque synthesized instrumental diddies here and there, the only (easily forgiven!) flaw to the song lies in Tsunku's ever-present background vocals, which here just simply don't mesh entirely too well with the music and are, as is often the case, just a tad bit overdone. "Ajisai Ai AI Monogatari" their third and quite deservedly best-selling single, in which Erika's vocals prove her audition win was not based on looks alone. Though a shame she never got the solo career she originally was selected for, she certainly gets put to good use in Biyuden, shining as the indisputably best vocalist.

The second new track, "Tea Break", comes sandwiched between two more singles, "Koi no Nukegara" and "Hitorijime". "Tea Break" is a pleasant surprise, after early speculation had fans worrying it would be a third instrumental track, a little diddy of an interlude to compliment the intro and closer. Instead, it's a full, bouncy 80's tune that would have sounded right at home on W's own first album. Amusingly, when the girls sing "TEA BREAK!" during the chorus it comes out sounding more like "DEFECT!", which would hold humorous weight if the song had been granted another PV in which the only objective for Rika and Erika was to alienate Yui. "Koi no Nukegara" withstands the test of time and still manages to be one of the group's best efforts to date. What's not to love about a slightly aggressive pop tune with lyrics worthy of Melon Kinenbi and guitar riffs lifted directly from The Police? "Hitorijime" seems to be the group's most ridiculously underrated effort, perhaps thanks to the song's half-Schizoid, half-Flashdance choreography that few fans can shake out of their head, no pun intended. With a gorgeous instrumental and overall excellent vocal performances in which even Rika sounds lovely, "Hitorijime" has the heart of a ballad, but without all the...boredom.

"Kura kura Dinner Time" is the sort of perfectly pleasant yet still-not-memorable tune that would usually serve best as a b-side. It's cheerful enough, with vocals that tend to sound just a little bit cloying, but evokes so little emotion it's hard to sum up, be it negatively or positively, which leads for a very welcome segue into "Kurenai no Kisetsu", the last pre-album single released just this same month. Definitely Biyuden's most interesting effort to date, the track's music and breathy, slightly dramatic background vocals successfully lend the song the air of maturity they were desperately hoping for, if the PV is any indication. Utilizing the most harmonization the trio has taken on yet, the choruses lead to a unique vocal exchange between the girls as solo lines are passed around deftly to each as the remaining two provide support. Kurenai no Kisetsu's non-chorus verses are split a little too heavily in Rika's favor, but considering how relatively little favoritism has been shown to her previously despite being the undeniable star of the group, it's hardly a weighty complaint.

"Kuchibiru Kara Ai wo Choudai" (dirty!) has a funky synthesized sound and a whole lot of flair. The lyrics are chirped out in the sort of short, tight manner heard on their second b-side, "Bi~Hit Parade", but whereas that track had stronger (and better) vocals and a more contagious chorus, Kuchibiru's music, spiced up by the exotic flute bits, wins hands down. After this somewhat rousing song, it's time to wind down, and what better way to do so than with a song entitled "Pajama na Jikan" (A Pajama Time)?

True to its title, "Pajama na Jikan" begins with gentle strings of music that would be perfectly suited to a lullaby. Erika starts off the vocals with a slightly quieted, almost 'cuter' voice than usual, and it's all very soothing...and then Yui shatters the calm into a thousand pieces with the sudden banshee screech of her voice. Now, I normally consider Yui to be quite an asset to Biyuden, and not just for her famed chest, she truly does have a good voice, and isn't very far behind Erika in terms of talent. I'm not faulting her for the travesty occurring here, but rather, whatever insane producer thought it would be a great idea to have Yui wheeze her verses out of her nose in a key high enough to channel dogs from beyond the grave. Clearly there was an ambitious plan to have an angelic, choir-like chorus to match the sweet innocence of the music, and it never hurts to have a dream...but how and why Yui's vocals here got through production and onto the actual, finished product is something I'll never know. Her voice wavers and shakes in an embarrassingly noticeable way, and to say her high notes were a misguided choice is putting it very gently. Few could disagree that listening to "Pajama na Jikan" the first time is a jarring experience, to say the least.

The 'winding down' period of the album continues, but thankfully with more success. The final closing track before "Check Out" is a clear, slow ballad titled "Magokoro no Michi". Songs like this are rarely given a fair chance as many fans are too quick to write off any ballads as boring and repetitive, and that's a shame. Sure, this track won't get stuck in your head for hours on end, but it's just overwhelmingly pleasant to listen to, a soothing song accompanied by real! instruments! and devoid of any painfully flamboyant background vocals. No bells and whistles, just old fashioned, sweet-sounding notes, a perfect album closer that almost erases the emotional scars left by "Pajama na Jikan". Almost.


With five stellar singles, several great original tracks and only one (somewhat humorous) minor misstep, "Suite Room Number One" is a thoroughly satisfying release from a group that has come a long way in such short time. Biyuden started as a punchline, saw promise with "Koi no Nukegara", and by the third single firmly established itself as a fully capable group whose consistent, quality releases put them at the top of the H!P hierarchy. In a year more dominated by youth than ever, with the Berryz empire ever-expanding, the formation of C-ute, the average age of MM dropping faster than their sales, and the very grown-up W continuing to sell an image their ages belie, the mature, sexy sound and appeal of Biyuden is more than just a relief, it's nearly a necessity for some fans. With the truly unfortunate near-abandonment of the once glorious 'older' acts, Country Musume and Melon Kinenbi (to the repeated lament of many), Biyuden's releases offer welcome lapses in cuteness of the sugar-coated H!P world. Truly they're no Melons, but Biyuden is comparably excellent in its own right and worthy of more respect than they're given. Who could have guessed that "Charmy" Ishikawa would one day head the most 'mature' unit in Hello!Project?

DEF.DIVA: Suki Sugite Baka Mitai

H!P's leading streetwalkers...err, 'divas': Ishikawa Rika, Abe Natsumi, Goto Maki, Matsuura Aya

In the ever-changing world of Hello!Project, surprise announcements from the mouth of that mischevious little minx of a powerhouse pop-producer named Tsunku have become so common that they can't even really be considered 'surprises' anymore. As such, when the news broke last month that yet another one-time special H!P unit was to debut, hot on the heels of Nochiura Natsumi and the precedent-setting Gomattou before it, it should have seemed like business as usual in the H!P 'verse. However the newly-formed group, DEF.DIVA, proved to have a few tricks up its sleeves to rile fans up in all the right ways.

For starters, the group ditched the irksome combined-names titling format that had been questionable with Gomattou and downright absurd with Nochiura Natsumi, instead opting for an always timeless combination of randomly capitalized English words. Breaking a second tradition, a non-soloist was added to the group in the form of one very fan-polarizing Ishikawa Rika. Her placement in the group became a quick topic of debate, and rather unneccessarily. Without Rika, the group would just be NUN 2.0, which kind of ruins the one-time special unit factor. Sad though it is, Fujimoto Miki's solo-career is a thing of the past, and her membership in MM would quite obviously disqualify her. As for other H!P soloists, well...let's just pretend that Maeda Yuki's schedule was completely booked and Nakazawa Yuko refused to wear the gogo boots.

Always one to rub in her superiority, Maki helpfully points out Rika's outsider status in the group.

Earth-shattering innovation aside, the group's single maintains the consistent streak upheld by the previous units and delivers a solid, catchy tune that can definitely be considered a highlight in the year's H!P releases. Arriving in Japanese stores on 10/19, the single "Suki Sugite Baka Mitai" consists of four tracks that are all variations of the title tune, including two remixes and the usual instrumental track.

"Suki Sugite Baka Mitai" is a relentlessly snappy, addictive dance-pop tune that fuses the sound of Avex with the charm and personality that personify H!P. To an instrumental slightly reminiscent of 90's synth-pop, the four girls engage in a game of musical tag, fluidly exchanging verses over a course of tempo changes that build at the chorus and later flourish down to a few extended glory lines for the vocal powerhouses of the group, Maki and Aya.

Each of the girls offer an excellent vocal performance here, and fans initially wary of Rika's addition to the group should be pleasantly surprised by how very non-jarring her voice is in the song. After her graduation from MM, Rika seems to have unexpectedly blossomed as a performer; she sounds considerably better in Biyuden then she did earlier in her career. In "Suki Sugite Baka Mitai", she sings with an increased 'cute' quality to her voice that sounds a slight bit forced; either she was making an extra effort, or she was instructed to really lay on thick what could arguably be her one unique contribution to the group. Nevertheless, her voice sounds pleasant, she remains on-key throughout, and overall she just simply fits right in.

To the surprise of no one, the infallible Maki pulls off another confident, flawless performance. Surprisingly, Aya does as well, and that's no knock on her talent. Few could argue against the fact that Matsuura is one of the leading vocalists in H!P, as evidenced by her many beautiful (if slightly unpopular) ballads. However, Aya's unfortunate habit of adopting a strangely affected voice in group settings has long been a bane to many a fan, reaching a peak of debate after Salt 5's "Get Up Rapper", in which her performance could best be likened to a drunken Japanese Kermit the frog. Here in "Suki Sugite Baka Mitai", she thankfully turns in great vocals, utilizing the full capability of her voice.

Last but not least, as an H!P founding member and the long-time prized pupil of Tsunku, Nacchi proves that even at the incredibly ripe old age of 24, she can still keep up with the kids. Though not really a style of song she's worked with since "Datte Ikite Kanakucha" (incidentally also what I consider to be her best solo effort) and still yards behind Maki and Aya in vocal talent, she fits in pleasantly. ...Except during the live performances, in which the other three girls writhe around offering coy, sexy glances to the camera while Nacchi keeps the same alarmingly wide smile frozen on her face and scares millions of kiddies watching from the safety of their homes. But I digress!


Offering two remixes of the original track in lieu of b-sides, the DEF.DIVA single could stand to disappoint those still fawning over the one-two punch of "Renai Sentai Shitsuranger" and "Love Like Crazy" from last year's NUN single, but what this single lacks in quantity it makes up in quality. Both remixes, the "Joou" mix and "Crazy J-G Jazz" mix, offer slightly slower, funkier versions of the title track with reconstructed instrumentals that make it possible to listen to the single in its entirety several times over without boredom.

In its first day of sales yesterday, the DEF.DIVA single debuted at #1 on the Oricon Daily Chart, a rare feat for any H!P group as of late. Admittedly it is a slightly uneventful release week, but with the overall package that "Suki Sugite Baka Mitai" delivers, it's a position well-deserved, and hopefully they'll manage to hold the position, or near it, in the completed week tallies. With a fun, frisky tune and four of the brightest stars in one of Japan's biggest girl-pop factories dancing around in gogo boots and saucy majorette outfits, there's little not to love about DEF.DIVA. "Suki Sugite Baka Mitai" is assuredly going to be a highlight of the year for many H!P fans; and also, a song closeted MM fans just might feel confident enough to use in their attempts to bring friends over to the dark side.





"Suki Sugita Baka Mitai"
DEF.DIVA
EPCE-5381
1000¥
CD Japan link

Seamo (who?) ft. Bennie K: A Love Story

Landing on the market today in a release sure to pique some interest among the English-speaking jpop fandom, relative unknown Seamo teams up with awesome hip-hop starlets Bennie K for the 10/12 release of "A Love Story".

Hot on the heels of their collaboration on m-flo's "Beat Space Nine" album, the addictive "Taste Your Stuff", this single had a lot to live up to, and in my opinion, it delivers. With rousing beats interspersed with Yuki's power vocals and Cico's aggressive rapping, "A Love Story" doesn't break very far away from the formulaic hip-pop sound that has worked so well for their last couple years' worth of efforts, but though not revolutionary, it's still a damn catchy, fun song.

Listening to the song, it's hard to remember that Bennie K are the guests here, not the main act, because together they are far more prominent in the song than the headlining artist. Several sites have already mislabeled the track as a Bennie K single. TokyoNights, the first tracker to have a rip of the single posted here, tagged it as Bennie K with Seamo, and they're not far off. Seamo opens the song with a quirky, rapid rap segment, and then is mostly relegated to supporting vocalist status with the choruses. His rapping sounds like a sort of mesh between the Beastie Boys and Ketsumeishi, not half-bad. So who exactly IS he, anyway?

I could be alone in the dark on this one, but I'd never heard of Seamo, and hadn't noticed any discussion or fandom for him creeping onto the english-language sites, so I had not a clue. Looking up his official site, he's a 30 year-old hip-hop artist who used to be part of a duo? group? called "Seamo-nator & DJ TAKI-SHIT". Yes, this group, sounding for all the world like some gay japanese fetish mag, seems to have been pretty active, with a list of releases dating back to early 2000. Kind of matches his physical appearance. With the first few shots of him on screen in the "A Love Story" PV and I could have sworn he was a drag king, small build, thin eye-brows, and facial hair that looked for all the world like pubic hair glued to his chin. Confusing, but I digress.

Seamo's solo career, according to his site, started just this year and as such, "A Love Story" is only his third single, which is pretty impressive. His biography also shows he's a fan of MC Hammer and The Terminator, which, provided with his assumed interest in Bennie K, make him a man of impeccable taste.

It's going to be all too easy for Bennie K fans who are pulled to this single for them to forget entirely about Seamo ten seconds later, but I found myself enjoying his voice. He's got a solid delivery with a bit of humor and quirkiness to it, and seemingly a pretty great team working with him. The b-sides to the title track, "Runnin'" and "Honey Honey" (oddly, a remix of the b-side on his second single) hold enough merit for repeat listenings on their own. "A Love Story" is still the best on the disc and Bennie K are very much the main attraction, but Senor Seamo manages to prove he's an artist worthy of his own recognition. I'll definitely be interested to give his future efforts a listen, hot diva guest stars or not.


"A Love Story"
Seamo with Bennie K
BVCR-19956
1000¥
CDJapan Link

Everything old is new again!