Momoiro Clover Z has been at the head of the idol sengoku jidai, a rising group that comes closest to threatening AKB48′s hegemonic hold over the proverbial Iron Throne of Japanese music. In April of 2013, the 5 girls from Stardust Promotions released their second album, titled 5th Dimension. The album reached the top of the Oricon charts, selling a total of nearly 200 thousand copies over three weeks.

The group had a website for their upcoming album before it launched, containing information about the album and its contents. Using crowdsourcing to play the game that was on the site, fans managed to reveal the tracklist, along with the composition and writing credits of each song.  On the hype front, the group couldn’t have done much better; fans around the world were activated to help with the unlocking.

Momoclo continues with an evolution of their theme from previous releases, but this time they took it a step further. Promotional material saw the girls in costumes that came out of science fiction, donning facemasks that would make all but the Hellraiser fans amongst us take a step back. While the radical look should earn some brownie points, one wonders why  it was done in the first place.

The album itself is a 13-track epic that covers more genres than you can shake a stick at. The members themselves have described it as an album with a flowing narrative, and one should listen to it as a concept album as a whole. Personally however, this might have been a lofty goal rather than something the group actually achieved, as there is no indication that it is a concept album. The tracks are individually great, but do not flow into each other as one might imagine in a concept album.

The album perhaps starts a little too ambitious. O Fortune from the Carmina Burana kicks off the album, setting an epic scene only to meet a letdown as Neo Stargate starts proper. It seems like a really awkward way to set the mood, and cheapens one of the most important points of an album. The album picks up steadily, however, and goes into a full gallop at Mugen no Ai. Accompanied by Marty Friedman and operatic backing vocals, Momoclo take their vocal range to the limit and end up with a song that befits their space opera image.

Mugen no Ai is the start of a stretch of solid songs almost unheard of in idol album history. 5 The Power is an organic hip-hop track, Roudou Sanka sounds like it came out of a blaxploitation soundtrack, and Get Down features a ridiculously catchy chorus with an oddly nostalgic sound. If you ever wanted to let your parents hear Momoiro Clover, that song would be your best bet.

Otome Sensou brings back the old Momoclo of yore, and it’s really the first time you hear the ‘idol’ in Momoiro Clover in the album. If you prefer Hashire to any of the songs before this, then Otome Sensou is for you. Tsuki to Gingami rounds up this crazy exploration of genres, and does it with style as the girls sing in harmony to a track that would remind many of Queen.

This is interrupted briefly by Birth Ø Birth, which in this writer’s opinion, is the weakest song of the bunch. Compared to the previous songs, the EDM influence in this song seems rather uninspired and unexciting. While the fact that the Momoiro Clover girls are not the best singers should be known to many, the vocals in this track sound especially bad; while some may appreciate the sentiment of not correcting it, it just sounds grating.

The ending of the album seems to be a homage to history. Jukyou Monogatari is an ode to Momoiro Clover; the excitement is infectious, even without watching them. Sora Tobu would not sound out of place in an old Morning Musume catalog. Saraba rounds up the metal quotient in the album, and Hai to Diamond ends the album on a softer note. It’s an uncharacteristic but poignant end to an album full of experimentation.

Momoiro Clover fans are so for many different reasons. Yet, no matter if you were a fan of their music, their personality or just the zaniness, everything comes through perfectly on 5th Dimension. If there’s only one idol album you should check out for this year, pick up 5th Dimension. You’ll realize why they’ve sold out concerts in 3 minutes and why their rise has been meteoric.

Nakata’s new muse has been having a phenomenal year. Kyary performed at the Nippon Budokan, turned 20, released more great music and is now well under way her first world tour. The music video for Invader Invader, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s upcoming 6th single was released last night. Check it out, it may be one of her best this year yet.

Invader Invader is yet another electro-pop number but there are some surprises built in. It’s being used as the CM song for her new advertisements with GU Japan and we got to see it in full at her YouTube MUSIC WEEK concert.

Compared to his previous acts, Nakata seems to be a lot more experimental with Kyary, and to amazing effect. Kyary’s previous singles have incorporated elements of house and rock. For Invader Invader Kyary Pamyu Pamyu gets all dub steppy.

Invader Invader is Kyary’s second single for GU Japan (the first being Fashion Monster), like the previous it’s a wonderfully catchy song, and judging by its reception at her MUSIC WEEK concert, definitely one for the lives.

Limited Edition Cover.

Invader Invader is scheduled for released next Wednesday on 15th May 2013. It will once again come in two varieties, a 1,800 yen Limited Edition with an extra photobook and a 1,200 yen Regular Edition. First press versions of the regular version will come with a bonus sticker.

Regular Cover.

Much like the other group that uses the tagline ’3MCs, 1DJ’, Rhymeberry couldn’t be farther away from a group you expect to be doing rap. A group of 4 girls, all under the age of 15, they definitely don’t look like they fit anywhere near the vicinity of a dope rhyme. But nevertheless, these girls put on a great show and are fast gaining traction in a ruthless industry full of cutesy pop and frilly dresses.

A group that spawned from the usa☆usa shoujo club collective, Rhymeberry is made up of MCs MIRI, HIME and YUKA. The 3 MCs are supported by DJ HIKARU. While you might think that a U15 turntablist is a ridiculously rare find on its own, DJ HIKARU plays a role that’s not unlike that of a tsundere hype-man, rather than that of a DJ ― she spends most of her time on stage spinning a CD turntable that’s not really connected to anything.

Nevertheless, the group seems to have a dynamic that fits, and each of the girls brings something to the table that comes together to form an idol-voltron. While a hip-hop influence is not particularly uncommon in idol music, Rhymeberry is one of few to really tackle the genre of rap proper without sugarcoating it with idol-pop. Their catalog fits better alongside a record of Teriyaki Boyz than it does HALCALI.

Speaking of catalogs, Rhymeberry does not really have much of one. Their first single (a brother-con single titled HEY! BROTHER) was released in July last year and a double A-side is dropping at the end of this month. The group has a throwback sound, with their backing tracks sounding funky, bassy and organic. To quote a friend who heard them, Rhymeberry has “better instrumentals than actual rappers”.

The brilliant use of instrumentals combine very well with the girls’ own energy, serving to supplement rather than drown, and the girls themselves are very good at hyping out the crowd at their live performances. The call and response of rap translates really well to the idol fan crowd and it adds a lot of energy to their performances. While they’ve shared stages with other groups like lyrical school, the fans always seem to always seem more excited when Rhymberry comes on.

Rhymeberry is a refreshing take on an idol group, and it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here. The group is in fact so underground, they don’t really have an official page, and instead has an official Twitter account. They also seem to regularly upload live videos on their YouTube channel. Hip-hop heads should definitely check this fledgling group out, if only to pad their backpacker credentials.

I should had suspected something was amiss when the members of Fairies had started to introduce themselves with idol-y catchphrases the last time I had seen them. Last month, avex’s edgy R&B and hip hop dance group Fairies surprised us with the announcement of a new idol themed sub-unit, the group’s first.

Consisting of the group’s three youngest members, the group is formed by Fujita Miria, Shimomura Miki and Hayashida Mahiro, calling themselves M Three (Mスリー). Fairies’ 4th “M”, Ito Momoka is notably absent. Innuendos aside, I can think of at least one adhesive company that wouldn’t be too thrilled.

M Three’s first single Yumemiru Dancing Doll  (夢見るダンシングドール), due later this month on 27th March is a retro inspired, sickly sweet pop tune with visuals straight out of the 90s. Some avex humor or the Fairies’ attempt at breaking into the wota market? Whatever the case, M Three’s Yumemiru Dancing Doll appears to have replaced this season’s regular Fairies single.

Last week the unit uploaded their full video Yumemiru Dancing Doll online.

There’s also a surreal alternative dance shot version.

Tongue in cheek or selling out? You decide.

Avex’s lovable girls’ dance and vocal group released their eagerly-awaited third album in end January. Fresh from their record-breaking concert at Nippon Budoukan, the girls face a challenge of living up to lofty expectations as the new year begins. How does Yakusoku (約束) stand next to the rest of their albums? We take a look.

Tokyo Girls’ Style has always been a group that differentiated itself from the rest of the pop sphere. Likewise, this comes through in their music as well. While I expected Yakusoku to continue on the usual path of catchy funky pop tunes of Limited Addiction and Kodou no Himitsu, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that the group went for even more experimentation in their new album.

Intro

While it would seem a little superfluous to write about the start of an album, I found this rather interesting tidbit while listening to the album for the first time. The intro track actually provides a pretty good description of the feel for the album; the intro of Yakusoku is in the outro of Limited Addiction. It is also a little reminiscent of Electric Light Orchestra, at the start.

Bad Flower

The first proper track of the album is their most recent single, Bad Flower. The transition from the Intro is a little haphazard, but it works well enough that you probably want to listen to them in order. I’m not particularly fond of the track myself, but it has a catchy hook and Ayano’s voice fits the song very well.

Tsuioku

The single version of Tsuioku makes an appearance in the album. The girls show off their well-honed harmonizing in this slow song, and each girl gets an opportunity to show off her solo chops. While not a bad song overall, there’s not much to note of it, other than being very pleasant to listen to.

Discord

The first thing anyone notices when it comes to Discord is the vocoded vocals at the start of the song. An uptempo guitar number, it’s also the theme song for the Transformers anime that’s currently airing. It’s a great song to get pumped up to, and the guitar has just the right amount of cheese to rock out to.

Sore de Ii Jan

The first of the new album songs is Sore de Ii Jan, a midtempo song with what I would term the ‘TGS sound’. Many I talked to loved this song the most on the album, mostly due to its great funk sound and great singing. There’s even a part near the end where the keyboard and guitar faces off in a short interlude.

Taisetsu na Kotoba

According to the girls themselves, this is the only ‘kawaii’ song on the album. I am not inclined to disagree myself. The melody and use of horns in this song certainly makes it rather uplifting, and it’s no wonder that this was the second A-side to accompany the slower Tsuioku when they were released as a single. Overall, it’s a track that demonstrates TGS’ youthful side very well.

Tsuki to Sayonara

Personally, this is the best track on the album. With music done by Hiroshi Matsui, the track sounds like it belongs more in a JiLL-Decoy association release than a Tokyo Girls’ Style one. The track is a brilliant example of great production; the infectious bassline is supplemented well by the horns and the girls do a good job of sounding mature as they sing for this one. This track would not be out of place in a jazz bar’s playlist.

Maboroshi

The jazz is thrown out for funk in Maboroshi; the jazzy lines are substituted for tight bass slapping, and the music speeds up considerably. In terms of exploring the girls’ ranges, Maboroshi definitely gives the girls in a challenge in that aspect, as they reach for the higher notes. While it perfectly complements the music, it remains to be seen how this song will song live, as good as it sounds recorded.

Overnight Sensation ~Jidai ga Anata ni Yudaneteru~

TGS cover avex seniors TRF on this particular track. They have been performing this at live performances for the longest time; before this it was only available on a compilation album, so it is nice to have this in CD quality. IRF leader Shoji Mei has several lines in this song, and in lives takes over the hype-man position from Arai very well.

Futarikiri

This track is Yakusoku’s W.M.A.D. Opening with a guitar solo, this track has moodmaker written all over it. It is a ridiculously effective earworm; after one or two listens there’s no way you’re getting the chorus out of your head. The parts where the crowd participation is supposed to be is made clear with the inclusion of ‘yay’ chants as they sing. While the description sounds a bit silly, it adds to the excitement when you listen to it, definitely.

Lolita☆Strawberry in summer

The mood of the album mellows out a little bit as the album draws near to its close. Lolita is a SweetS cover, and is quite the favourite amongst fans. This is a throwback to the rather stereotypical avex girlgroup sound; nevertheless, it is a good interpretation of a fan classic.

Yakusoku

The album comes to a close with its title track, Yakusoku. The mood of the song definitely fits the title – it’s a little slow and there’s a lot more group singing parts; the older fans of the group would definitely feel some pangs of nostalgia as the song goes along. While it’s a little off-kilter compared to the rest of the album, it shows the versatility of TGS and is a great closer to a great album.

Himawari no Hoshikuzu

TGS’ second non-Japanese track after the Chinese language Onnaji Kimochi is an English version of Himawari to Hoshikuzu. While it is a little weird to hear in English and some parts are near incomprehensible, the enunciation in the chorus is crisp and there is clear indication that the girls spent a lot of time practising for this. One is left wondering why it came after the outro instead of with the rest of the album, however.

The number of singles in between albums has lessened in between album releases for Tokyo Girls’ Style. While this would be a bad idea for most groups (at least those in the Japanese pop limelight), I feel like this is a good direction to go in for TGS. They have a versatility in their sound that is better exploited in an album format, and I feel like releasing singles (even if they’re all double A-sides) seeks to only narrow this.

Concerns aside, Tokyo Girls’ Style has done it yet again. Despite making a marked departure from the sounds of the previous two albums, they have managed to keep a firm grasp on their style, thus keeping fans who love their established sound happy. The experimentation and its subsequent success however, is what really makes TGS so interesting to follow.

In a scene where girl-group is synonymous to idol group, one particular group stands out against the backdrop of pop idols to bring a new sound into the mix. A subgroup spawned from Sakura Gakuin; itself an idol group, Babymetal is one of the ‘clubs’ in the academy setting of Sakura Gakuin, named the Heavy Music Club. Making waves both locally and overseas, we take a look at Babymetal and see whether these girls are as metal as they claim to be.

The group is made up of Su-metal, Moametal and Yuimetal. The first song by Babymetal, Doki Doki Morning, appeared on the 2011 Sakura Gakuin album ~message~. However, this song was only officially released digitally, and the girls have another 2 singles released with the third Ijime, Dame, Zettai (IDZ) coming in the second week of 2013. Over the past year, the girls have shared stages with many artists, including artists like SuG and Tamurapan.

YUIMETAL, SU-METAL and MOAMETAL respectively.

What’s interesting is how Babymetal fits into the idol scene. An example is how the usually (barely) Satanic connotation of the devil horn hand-sign is made into their own by incorporating it into the Babymetal mythos; To them it is instead a fox sign, used to show devotion to the fox god that rules over all of metal. It is one of the many ways to make metal a little less brutal for the masses to consume, and having fun with it.

As the name obviously implies, Babymetal’s sound is metal. While there are other groups that incorporate a rock sound like BiS or Party Rockets, Babymetal’s is the only one whose style you can really call metal. There is a mixture of metal sub-genres spread around their music; for example, Iine! incorporates a style that resembles Attack Attack more than it does Slayer, mixing techno, hip hop and death metal growls.

Their most recent single Headbanger and upcoming IDZ seem to represent a move to refine the sound a little further. The two title tracks are an attempt to go towards a more mainstream metal sound. Maybe IDZ will be similar to Headbanger in that any experimentation will be kept to the B-side of the single (as seen by the dubstep influences of Uki Uki Midnight). It’s not really a bad idea to diversify, so here’s to hoping that doesn’t go away.

Su-metal is the only proper singer in the group, with the two two acting as hype men in live shows and chiming in once in a while. It was a little disappointing to see that they didn’t have her doing the growls, but perfectly understandable when you consider how much damage that would do to a young girl’s throat. Instead the approach to vocals relies on Su-metal’s angelic voice supplementing the heavy music, sounding more like Nightwish than Arch Enemy.

We saw them live last year at AFA 2012, and the girls are great at putting on a show. There are reports of walls of death and them utilizing a live band in shows staged in Japan, but unfortunately there was nothing of that sort in AFA. Hopefully when big enough they will perform full-time with a live band. Off-stage, the girls are mostly bubbly personalities right up to the point where they assume their ‘metal personalities’, at which point they morph from middle schoolers to metal maidens.

The future of Babymetal is a little uncertain, since as part of Sakura Gakuin, they are also bound by its rules, which state that only girls that have not yet reached high school age are allowed to stay in the group. Nakamoto Suzuka (Su-metal’s unassuming alter ego) turns 16 this year and makes that jump; no one really knows the fate of the group post-graduation, and whether or not it will continue. Stopping it would definitely be throwing a wrench into what is possibly the coolest idol group yet.

If you’ve been following the feed over at my twitter, then you’ve likely heard a little about this idol group that has recently caught my attention, Dempagumi.inc. Dempagumi.inc is brought to you by none other than Dear Stage, Akihabara’s most famous all-in-one underground idol live house, bar and agency. The same Dear Stage which we had previously interviewed two other artists, Yoshikawa Sunao and Sasakama Risuko from.

Denpagumi.inc (でんぱ組.inc) have been operating at Dear Stage as far back as 2008. The group’s name means something along the lines of “Radio Wave Group Inc” though it is officially transliterated as Dempagumi.inc. Like the other Dear Stage representatives, they perform regularly at the club in Akihabara both, alone and as a group.

Together, they’ve released a number of singles to date (including an interesting cover on the Beastie Boy’s Sabotage) and while not groundbreaking, Dempagumi.inc do seem to be steadily growing in popularity.

Though they’ve made appearances at past years’ Tokyo Idol Festivals, it is their interesting new direction this year and especially their 6th and latest double A-Side single release W.W.D / Fuyu e to Hashiri Dasu o! that has finally made me pay notice.

Denpagumi.inc, together with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

The first song W.W.D or World Wide Denpa is a seemingly nonsensical mix of hooks. Those still following the pop scene would definitely hear some similarities to the recent music from Momoiro Clover (Z) and there is good reason too.

A quick search informs us that Dempagumi.inc had recently abandoned Lantis, to join forces with the TOY’S FACTORY label. With the change comes an image change, new members and a lot more pushing power, even if Dempagumi.inc’s primary target audience will still inevitably dwell in Akihabara.

Two members I’m keeping a lookout for are Yumemi Nemu and Mogami Moga (bottom and top left in the above picture respectively). Were not the other members quite tall themselves, Nemu who stands at 1.7 meters would easily tower over them. The model and DJ bears a raspy voice reminiscent of Toyosaki Aki. Moga on the other hand is one of the group’s two new members and exudes a unique surreal charm.

One invaluable asset the group did earn from their stint with Lantis though was getting Maeyamada Kenichi on their side. We have him to thank for the familiar sound. Maeyamada (who gained internet celebrity status as “Hyadain”) provides arrangements for both Momoiro Clover Z and now Dempagumi.inc.

Dempagumi’s new song throws just about everything at you and while disorientating at first, W.W.D eventually becomes quite catchy indeed. It might not suit refined tastes, but it is this fresh new sound that has brought Momoiro Clover the extreme popularity they are enjoying in Japan now.

Fuyu e to Hashiri Dasu o! is the more straightforward idol song of the two. It’s a pleasant tune that is easy to listen to and the simpleness of the song helps it enter your head all the more easier. Probably not one for the lives though.

The music video for Fuyu e to Hashiri Dasu o! is special in that it uses bits of video recorded by the girls themselves on their iPhones, though it is quite apparent that the footage is not entirely candid. The concept is commendable however, as it makes for a nice, no frills video that suits the song quite well.

If you have the time to spare, do check out the two songs embedded above. Both tracks are rather catchy and will serve a suitable distraction from the typical idol formula. Thanks to TOY’S FACTORY, we also have access to the full length music videos for both songs on YouTube. If you wish to support these fledging artists though the physical copies of W.W.D / Fuyu e to Hashiri Dasu o! will be released on January 16 2013.

Personally, I’ve repeated the above two songs a good dozen times at least in the past week but am still not quite sure to make of the group. If any of our readers have any tidbits of information about Denpagumi do share below.

It isn’t often that a group of five musicians takes the world by storm, but it appears that Arashi could be the next group to do so. Is it coincidence or destiny that Arashi means storm?

The Arashi band was formed on September 15. 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The five talented boys were signed by Pony Canyon and released their first CD on November 3, 1999. After releasing one album and six singles, the group signed with Johnny & Associates and recorded under the J Storm label. Although their first album appeared at the top of the Oricon weekly charts, their popularity declined.

When their 18th single, “Love So Sweet,” became the opening theme of the drama “Hana Yori Dango 2,” their popularity began to rise. The group’s first single among the top five sold over 400,000 copies in 2007. In the next two years, they made recording history by having the top singles of the Oricon yearly chart with “Truth/Kaze no Muko e” and “One Love.”

Although the group depends on lyricists, composers and musicians for most of their songs, rapper Sho Sakurai wrote the song “Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono,” and became the lyricist for all of their rap songs.

In 2006, the group began releasing recordings outside Japan. They also began a publicity tour called the Jet Storm Tour, and represented Japan in the Asia Song Festival.

Ohno Satoshi.

Matsumoto Jun.

Ninomiya Kazunari.

Sakurai Sho.

Aiba Masaki.

Awards

Arashi won Oricon’s Artists Top Sales award in 2009 with sales of over $172 million. In 2010, they became Japan’s top-selling artists for the second year with sales of over $204 million. In 2010, their recording “Troublemaker” won Hot 100 of the Year and Hot 100 Singles of the Year awards. Arashi has received 22 Gold Disc awards since 2008.

Johnny & Associates recently announced that Arashi will hold another concert at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo in 2013. This will be their 5th consecutive appearance there since 2008. Arashi’s latest album “Popcorn”, their eleventh studio album and will be released October 31, 2012.

Beginning on November 16, the group will tour the five big Domes of Japan. The Domes are Kyocera Dome Osaka, Sapporo Dome, Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome, Tokyo Dome, and Nagoya Dome.

With their rising popularity, you might consider what is the best credit card to use to buy tickets to their concerts. Obviously, the credit card that pays the most rewards.

Tokyo Girls’ Style will be releasing their 11th single, “ROAD TO BUDOKAN 2012 ～Bad Flower～” tomorrow. It’s been quite a long time since any release from Tokyo Joshiryu because of a two months break, announced during their “Rock you!” concert in May, to further improve their dance and vocals.

During that same concert, Tokyo Girls’ Style were also informed that they would be having their first solo live concert at Nippon Budokan later this year, thus the subtitle for the single. In Bad Flower, the girls go for a darker image, they appear in black outfits with red details and long skirts that double as “capes”. Another key item in their video is the use of trump (トランプ) playing cards. Here’s a preview of the song.

For this release, only one CD + Extra version, Type C, will be going for 1,050 yen. As usual, there will be two CD + DVD versions, Type A and B, priced at 2,100 yen and 1,890 yen respectively.

Type A cover

Apart from Bad Flower, the single will consist of two others songs. LolitA☆Strawberry in summer, which is another of their rendition from the group SweetS, and Discord (ディスコード), a brand new song that made it as the new ending theme song for the animated series, Transformers: Prime. Only Type A will consist of all three songs. LolitA☆Strawberry in summer will be included in Type B, and Discord will be the coupling for Type C.

Type B cover

Those getting a copy will also want to take note of the changes to the extra bonuses. The “Making Movie” will be in Type A this time round and the Odekake (going out) Movie is in the Type B, the reverse of their previous single. Type C, will once again hold another segment of a live concert. It will also contain one of six random jacket size photo cards.

Type C cover

Bad Flower is Tokyo Girls’ Style’s most rock-inspired tune to date. Being that way, it isn’t very catchy when compared to past releases. It’s still a pretty decent sounding song, that will get stuck in your head. But Bad Flower leaves one questioning the direction of the group and wondering if they’ll continue to experiment outside of their usual style.

They will be appearing at the following times:

Friday
12.45 PM
4.30 PM

Saturday
12.45 PM
3.00 PM

Scheduled for release next Wednesday on October 3, Wing is the 6th major single from the Japanese travel themed idol group, PASSPO. The last in their world inspired series of singles after “Next Flight” featured LA Metal and “Natsuzora Hanabi”, Japanese Punk, Wing takes PASSPO to Europe for some German Metal.

PASSPO’s previous single Natsuzora Hanabi had been one of their catchiest in a while, but overall, Wing lives up to expectations. It features the same sort of rock music and heavy riffs that fans have come to know the group for. Oddly though, they’ve gone with a vampire theme for the music video. You’d think there must be dozens of other things to associate Germany with before Nosferatu.

Despite the flight attendant thing PASSPO’s has going on looking like a narrower theme, the group has consistently churned out some great costumes. For Wing, their outfits have been based off elements from German airlines Lufthansa’s.

Wing will come in two main versions. A regular “Economy Class” CD version for 1,000 yen and a 1,680 yen “First Class” CD+DVD version which will include the promotional video for Wing, and an entry ticket for their special “Passpo Fes vol.3″ live performance at Zepp Tokyo in October. There are also two special “flight” versions (the term PASSPO uses to refer to their concerts) which include tickets for their Osaka or Tokyo concerts in November at 2,500 yen each.

Gingham Check marks the last time AKB48 ace Maeda Atsuko ever graces a release as a member of AKB48. It also represents a new era for the pop group; the latest Senbatsu election saw many new faces making it into the single. How does the future look for post-Maeda AKB48, and does it hold any promise? I believe the answer lies in Gingham Check.

The title song is pretty standard as idol songs go, with the main melody being guitar-based and a relatively safe sound. The chorus is ear-worm material as well, and you’ll find yourself humming it after one listen. However, the whole song feels and sounds rather formulaic; while this is of course no fault of the group, it does make one wonder how much longer they can carry on releasing songs like this before people get tired.

Much of the hype for the single came from its promotional video by renowned director Joseph Kahn. Intending it to be an homage to Japan, the video is full of pop-culture references of kitschy parodies. As one can tell from the title, the costume of the single is a gingham-pattern, with the girls dancing in the comical costumes interspersed with the ‘movie’ scenes. Those who grew up at the advent of J-culture would definitely have a bit of fun with spotting the references, and making fun of the costumes.

Limited covers types A and B.

As is usual with Senbatsu election singles, the rest of the girls are split into different units for the rest of the songs on the single.

Nante Bohemian

A fusion of South-Asian melodies and electronica, it is personally the most interesting song on the single. The quirky intro leaves a lasting impression; if that didn’t however, there’s the dubstep break in the middle to help you jog your senses. While it comes from beyond left-field, it adds a dimension to the song rarely explored in singles, where many songs rarely go beyond one musical genre.

Do Re Mi Fa Onchi

An electronic number led by enka-whiz Iwasa Misaki. The lineup for Next Girls features many surprise entrants, including Nakaya Sayaka and Nakata Chisato. It’s great to see that are finally new faces in the singles, no doubt aided by the expansion of the system to include 64 members. Unfortunately, Do Re Mi isn’t very memorable on its own, and ranks the lowest in that respect under the rest of the songs in the single.

Show Fight

Show Fight sounds like something a group from Johnny’s Entertainment would release, rather than something from the AKB family. With a bassy beat and singing that’s more akin to rapping, the song has a fast tempo. It differentiates itself from the rest of the songs on Gingham Check, and those looking for more punch (quite literally) from their songs would definitely love this one. It features many of the new girls in AKB, and is definitely an interesting starting point.

The regular type covers.

Yume no Kawa

Yume no Kawa is Maeda Atsuko’s swansong as a member of AKB48. While the song features most of the popular girls in the group, the combination of lyrics and music make it clear that this is a song for Acchan. She takes the lead for many of the lines, as the rest of the members sing supporting lines solo.

It’s a song that will definitely reduce many fans to tears in nostalgia, and is quite a nice way to commemorate Maeda’s contributions to the group. It was a nice touch to include her in Gingham Check, as the single was actually released two days after her graduation from the group.

Gingham Check does well in showcasing the new girls that make up the new guard of the family who will take up the reins from the early generations. It remains to be seen if they will succeed, but the single is promising.

Akai Jyonetsu (赤い情熱) is SUPER☆GiRLS 5th upcoming single to be released next month on October 24th. Translated as “Red Passion”, Akai Jyonetsu breaks SUPER☆GiRLS out of their usual formula for an uncharacteristically “cool” single, just in time for AKB48′s own scheduled release for this time of the year.

But while AKB48 prefers to to layer their Autumn releases with more hip hop influences, Akai Jyonetsu doesn’t stray far and is still undeniably pop. Even though we can see them trying, Akai Jyonetsu doesn’t feel different enough from the SUPER☆GiRLS norm.

The Spanish influences in Akai Jyonetsu are quite apparent. One of SUPER☆GiRLS strongest points are perhaps their costumes, and that high standard is still retained in Akai Jyonetsu. This time the girl’s costumes are heavily inspired by Torero costumes, though slightly reminiscent of last year’s Joshiryoku Paradise. There’s a little bit of matador action going on in the dance but outside of the costumes, Latin elements are used liberally.

Unfortunately, SUPER☆GiRLS recent releases have been lacking where it most counts. And despite the slight change of image, Akai Jyonetsu’s arrangement is methodic at best. It’s not terrible, but the song is rather predictable and a whole lot less catchy them previous releases.

Interestingly, it ends up sounding quite like something we’d expect from Morning Musume instead, all the way down to the jazzy interlude. So it might please certain fans. Maeshima Ami is back in center for this single too, and the producers have even tried giving her a few singing lines.

CD + DVD Version. 1,890 yen.

As per any idol group these days, SUPER☆GiRLS new single will come in a variety of versions. The three shown here, as well as an additional regular and 11 different cover versions (for each individual member) which are only available from avex’s online store.

Limited Edition CD Only Version. 1,260 yen.

The members will also be touring Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa and Hokkaido to promote the new single through mini-live and handshake events. And each copy of Akai Jyonetsu will come with a handshake event ticket. There will also be a special 2-shot event where fans who have purchased all 11 member versions of the CD will be able to take a photograph together with their member of choice.

Regular CD Only Version. 1,000 yen.

Personally, I wish all the idol groups would invest less in all these gimmicks and more time making better music. But I guess that wouldn’t sell as many CDs. It’s been more than 2 year’s since SUPER☆GiRLS debut, so it’s easy to forget that they’ve only had a handful of releases so far, most of which have been pretty awesome so we’ll let this one slide this time. Let’s see how things go for avex’s pop idol group.

Earlier this month, Junior High School idol group Sakura Gakuin released their 4th single Wonderful Journey. The first single since the departure of graduated members Matsui Airi, Miyoshi Ayaka and former student council president Muto Ayami. Wonderful Journey plays on the group’s usual school theme to urge the audience to learn about the world together with Sakura Gakuin.

Wonderful Journey is typical idol fare as far as the arrangement goes. Choir-like vocals are backed by band instrumentals, though the group tends to focus more on the former more than others. The girls from Sakura Gakuin sing of curiosity, aspiration and excitement but for the most part, the song is about nonsensical references to various countries around the world and bits of their languages.

Wonderful Journey would not be particularly notable, if not for the somewhat catchy tune and refreshing theme. The theme also lends itself quite nicely to Sakura Gakuin’s use of flags, which can be likened to the arbitrary use of glow sticks and face towels in the choreography for all Japanese idol and rock groups.

Wonderful Journey.

With other Japanese idol groups slowly gaining ground overseas, and Sakura Gakuin’s own spin-off sub-unit BABYMETAL visiting Singapore later this year as part of the Anime Festival Asia 2012, could it be that Sakura Gakuin themselves are looking towards the rest of the world?

AKB48 releases their long awaited fourth album on the 15 August. Its title 1830m, alludes to the distance from the AKB48 theater to the girls’ destination, Tokyo Dome. AKB48 albums tend to be full of already released content, and as such rarely worth it for non-diehard fans. We take a look at 1830m and see if it’s the case here as well.

The album is notable for a variety of reasons, the most obvious of which is the title. The group’s official blog title is loosely translated as ‘The Path to Tokyo Dome’, and 1830m’s release only weeks before the momentous concerts at Tokyo Dome; according to leader Takahashi Minami, AKB48 is at a turning point now, with the album being the last one that also has ace Maeda Atsuko in it. Symbolically, 1830m is AKB48′s most important album yet.

As far as albums go, 1830m comes close as one of the longest, with a whopping 34 tracks spread over 2 discs.

Fans who have been buying AKB48 releases consistently might balk at the selection of songs for the first disc, which is crowded with already-released single songs and b-sides. Nevertheless, previously unreleased songs like Miniskirt no Yousei (performed by the Research Students) are available on the first disc. Also on it are the tie-up songs Yasai Uranai and Ren’ai Sousenkyo.

More interesting is the second disc, which contains original songs and specially formed units. There are songs available from all the teams, of AKB48, and even one song that incorporates all the sister groups. We look at some of the more notable songs, and how they stand together as an album.

The front and back covers for the 2CD/DVD version.

Plastic no Kuchibiru

Shinoda Mariko’s first foray into solo singing for AKB48 results in an electronic dance track. The song is a little house-y with copious loads of autotune, no doubt to mask the fact that AKB48′s fashion ladder can’t keep a pitch if her life depended on it. Nevertheless, it is a good effort, and the song sounds pleasant enough, if you’re not turned off by the vocal modification.

Omoide no Hotondo

A ballad with the power duo, Maeda Atsuko and Takahashi Minami. A ballad with lyrics alluding to the pair’s partnership over the course of the past 6 years, fans who have followed ‘Atsumina’ will be in tears by the end of the song. There is minimal accompanying music, with much of the song driven by the girls’ naked vocals. It is a fitting song for the voices that have dominated every AKB48 single, and a fitting tribute to a partnership that will continue to grow forward after Acchan’s departure.

Bokutachi wa Ima, Hanashiau beki Nanda

This song is sung by a combination that came from left field in Itano Tomomi and Kashiwagi Yuki. Much like how unexpected the pairing is, also unexpected is how their voices go well together. While the gap in singing ability is apparent whenever they sing consecutive lines, the girls generally harmonize well together. Disappointing however, is the fact that the song itself is rather bland and not very memorable.

Sakura no Hanabira

The last song on the album has Maeda Atsuko covering AKB48′s well-known debut, Sakura no Hanabiratachi. Maeda gets a bad rap for being at the center of the group without any ostensible talents, but this song is proof that definitely can hold her own, even if most of her live performances have been plagued by nerves.

It is no accident that she sings the song she first sang with the rest of first-gen AKB48. Sakura no Hanabira is an excellent nod to Acchan’s contributions to AKB48, and an excellent close to an album full of symbolism and nostalgia.

Theater version covers.

Listening to fan comments about music videos, Akimoto Yasushi decided that 1830m will allow fans to pick a song (limited to AKB48′s) that they feel deserves a music video, with the top song getting a music video that will be included in the single slated for release in December.

Sparking from a meeting about which songs deserve a music video of their own, the producer decided it best to let the fans decide, in what has been called AKB48 Music Video Request 2012. The voting period will last from release date to 20 September.

All in all, 1830m far eclipses any of the previous albums, especially in the tracklist. Coupled with the fact that 1830m is such an important part of AKB48′s history, it’s definitely worth a buy.

When they announced that Nogizaka46′s 3rd single was to be released on the 22th August, I couldn’t contain the excitement as the previous 2 single releases for the AKB48 official rival group have been excellent. Though there’s still days remaining to release date, you can count on AKS to have snuck in previews into their variety shows and other media, giving fans the chance to decide for themselves if the new single is worth its value.

Following their previous singles, Hashire! Bicycle goes through the same format of utilizing the heavy use of rhythmic and piano to achieve a more old school feel. While sadly compared to Guruguru Curtain or Oide Shampoo, it is not as rhythmic as the former nor as catchy as the latte, Hashire! Bicycle is still a pretty solid song on its own right.

The Nogizaka french pop girls.

While I’ll like to be more positive regarding the other several aspects on this new single release, there’s really much to be desired. So let me start with the costumes. Given past experiences on the costume designs for Nogizaka46, I would say that it is not one of their strong points, but Hashire! Bicycle has brought it on to another level.

What makes it slightly different from the previous two singles is that, in addition to the usual single’s performing costume, this time round there’s also a french doll costume incorporated into the promotional video. While I personally find the french pop girls, with their dorky bow cut wig and pastel colored dress much favorable, their main performing costume was more of a letdown, sporting of a highly glittery one piece with matching short pants.

The alternate Hashire! Bicycle performing costume.

Anyone that has managed to take a sneak peek of the video would agree with me that the brighter pastel colors is a nice change to the previous darker settings of the last 2 singles. To top it off, there’s even laces borders embedded to the whole video to give it a more dreamy feel. What has been making headlines was the inclusion of french subtitles. To some, it was pretty novel, but I did find that the subtitles managed to block a lot of otherwise good shots of the girls.

Unfortunately, the video suffers from really bad direction. The whole thing is filmed on a static set with the girls alternating the choreography in the french pop and the glitter costumes. While I’m no film director myself, it’s pretty evident that the whole dancing part was cut up awkwardly.

What really makes the video a poor promotional video though was the fact that there’s literally only split second closeup shots of the front girls with the rest of the video being far shots. Thanks to this and the wigs, it’s difficult to make out any of the members. Geometric objects placed in the foreground obscure the girls far too often too.

Hashire! Bicycle Limited A and B cover respectively.

Following its previous type releases, there will be 3 limited CD + DVD editions and a regular one for Hashire! Bicycle. While there’s a different B-side in each type, the main means of getting fans to buy all the versions are still the Creator x Nogizaka shows where each girl is paired with a famous designer/artist/film maker to create unique shows according to the theme and this time round it will be about travel. The videos are also uploaded to Nogizaka46′s YouTube page for viewing, but confusingly access is limited to only Japan.

Hashire! Bicycle Limited C cover and regular version respectively.

Even though it’s only the 3rd single so far, I can safely say that like their previous releases, Hashire! Bicycle will go on to snag a sweet spot on the Oricon charts. With their previous 1st and 2nd singles taking second and first places on the charts respectively, one can easily foresee what the end result will be.  This is of course partly owing to the fact that Nogizaka46 positions themselves as rivals to their hugely popular cousin group.

3 months after the release of summer single Nagiichi, NMB48 returns with one titled Virginity. The Namba-based idol group’s 5th single release marks their first single after completing a 4-single cycle so commonly associated with the AKB family. Is Virginity as memorable as its name, or does it fall flat from the excessive hype?

Type A and B covers respectively.

Unsurprisingly, there are no changes to the single structure. The single comes in 4 flavours, from Type A to C and a Theater version. The Akagumi and Shirogumi system for coupling songs is still in place, and there doesn’t look to be any shake-ups in that respect.

The covers for Type C and Theater version.

The naming of Virginity definitely shocked a few fans. Even with Akimoto Yasushi’s history of controversy, a title so blatant still came out of left field for many fans. With the group’s propensity to find itself embroiled in scandal after scandal, it didn’t seem to be wise to further disturb the balance. Nevertheless, the lyrics of the song are rather tame, and par for the course in terms of a 48-family release. Maybe it can all be attributed to the Japanese tendency to lose some nuance when borrowing English terminology.

All in all, the song is pretty solid, and personally ranks near the top amongst all of NMB’s songs. The song has a sizable ska influence, with horns in much of the song, including the interlude. For the many genres that Akimoto goes into, ska is one that he hasn’t worked with a whole lot; it’s definitely a nice change from the status quo. This also sets it apart from many other recent releases, so it should be interesting to see how much the public warms up to it.

The promotional video for the single is surprisingly low budget. Mainly showing the girls dancing at night in an open field with moving floodlights, they probably spent more on the lighting and crane than anything else in the PV. The director definitely knows the appeal of NMB, with long shots and pans to show the girls dancing. Given the group’s reputation as some of the best dancers in the franchise, this makes for some good viewing coupled with the choreography showcasing precise synchronized movement.

Much like Nagiichi’s association with Round 1, Virginity’s main coupling song Mousou Girlfriend is a tie-up with Minmin Daha, a drink previously promoted by the now-defunct SDN48. Playing off the acronym NMB, the campaign centers around ‘Minmin Daha NoMeBa?’, encouraging viewers to try the energy drink line. Targeting the right demographic seems to be the reason for the catgirl theme of the promotional video of Mousou Girlfriend.

The song itself isn’t much to write home about. Being a CM song, the chorus is of course very catchy, but that is all the song has going for it. Much of the appeal of the song is from the promotional video, which I suspect was the intended outcome. The PV for this one is directly opposite that of the title song, with the girls dancing in the field in the day. Seeing as how you can spot the same trees in the background, its highly likely they did it all at the same time.

After the horrendous sounding Nagiichi (which still managed to top NMB48′s sales), anything would be an improvement. With it’s relatively new direction for music and all-around polish, Virginity is deserving of a good placing all on its own even without the comparison. Hopefully, many others share this sentiment and it’s reflected in the numbers on Oricon.

The whole audition will conclude in October this year, with the winner making her debut with the group in this year’s Anime Festival Asia in Singapore. Should you be a female of the age of 17-22 and possess singing ability, details of the audition are found here.

Continuing her expansion onto Japanese shores, IU will be releasing her second Japanese language single on the 18th of July. This time, the single will be YOU & I, the leading track for her second Korean album, Last Fantasy. Will this be the release to give IU the boost she needs to get into the Japanese mainstream, or will it prove to be a tougher-than-expected nut to crack?

YOU & I charted at the top of Billboard Korea for 5 weeks in a row, quickly becoming the song many people associated with IU. This was further solidified when she went on stage at the Blizzard Cup (which played host to the GOM Starcraft League finals) to perform it. IU performed not just for the Korean viewers at the event, but for thousands from around the world who were watching the event on stream.

Type A comes with a DVD that has a documentary on IU’s activities in Japan.

Much like her previous single Good Day, YOU & I has a characteristic sound that can only really be described as cheerfully poppy. The mainly string-instrument driven melody distinguishes it from both J-pop and K-pop hits of recent times. However, it manages to avoid the kitschy feel that a string driven melody might sometimes convey, through clever mixing.

Type B’s DVD contains a 27-minute video for Every End of the Day.

The music moves in and out of the background seamlessly, allowing it to drive the song forward without needing to overpower IU’s vocals. A great example would be in the last quarter of the song, where it drops to just a few notes on a piano, as it ramps up to a powerful chorus.

However, in the end, YOU & I remains just another straight adaptation from Korean to Japanese. While IU’s own Japanese ability is passable, the song still sounds like it’s in Korean, partly because of the need to have similar enunciation in order to replicate the sound.

Regular version CD jacket.

While this is no doubt a little disappointing, it’s understandable that IU’s entry would be spearheaded by releases that were tried and tested already. Hopefully, the next releases will feature songs written natively in Japanese.

Nevertheless, YOU & I is one of IU’s best tracks; while it should have little trouble beating Good Day’s sales of 20 thousand copies, it remains to be seen if the Japanese public thinks the same.