Last Shot for 8 / How to Fix MM
Eternal and flawless idol group Morning Musume. recently shot what is probably their last photoshoot for a magazine in the latest edition of FRIDAY magazine(you know, the one that pwned Kago Ai, among other legends~).
Not this isn’t just a post on the photos because I find picspam posts absolutely irritating(and a bad excuse to post something when out of ideas, imo) when alone. That’s why I must accompany it with my ever wonderful ~opinions~ that you all love so much.
Step 1: Fix Mitsui Aika
Now don’t call me an Aika hater or whatever, because after that damn graduation, Aika will actually bump up to be my number one MM member. However now that Momusu will only have five members(+ how many 9th gen girls there are), each of the five members has a very important role to play. Unlike how when MM had 12+ members where it was okay if you were never important, now is when Aika NEEDS to shine.
Members like Ai, Reina and Risa already have a big enough fan base to not have to worry about not becoming popular and also talent(which groups like AKB48 don’t posses) while Sayu is massively popular and can continue being as bitchy and talentless as she wishes(much to my disapproval).
Aika on the other hand doesn’t really stand out in the talent nor popularity areas. What she needs is vocal lessons ASAP(although her vocals have definitely improved, if only a small bit) and more attention. A good way to boost her popularity would be to feature her as the main for a single(similar to Yurina in Shining Power) but with the exception of sharing the spotlight with Ai and/or Reina. This way Tsunku doesn’t threaten the large part of the fan base by putting the group’s two most popular members in the back seat and gives Aika the opportunity to shine(like she did in Egao YES Nude).
Step 2: Take a Chance with 9th Gen
With 3/4 of the only members with personality leaving(the other being HBIC Sayu), MM has a huge gap to filled. They lost one of their best dancers, two strong vocalists and 90% of their sexiness(icu Junjun). I’m not sayin 9th gen have to be vocally awesome, sexy members with awesome personalities(well, they should be but they won’t), but 9th gen definitely needs to make a big impact. Especially now with AKB48 on the prowl.
3-4 new members would be the ideal thing for H!P to do. Five would be too much since then the new members and old members would be equal. There still needs to be some authority on the older member’s part. MM needs new girls with personality, maybe slightly scandalous and with talent. If MM wants to be taken seriously as an idol group with talent(which has never really happened), then Tsunku needs to step down Reina as a main vocalist(she can’t sing for shit, admit it) only because she’s popular and hopefully have Ai, Risa + the new members take the lead.
Sayu can take care of causing drama and drawing the media’s attention towards the group~
Step 3: Switch up the Music
I won’t say that I’m absolutely with their recent singles(excluding Sieshun Correction, of course) but I don’t think that it would hurt if tried something new. Sure, this style is new for them compared to their old music, but it’s gotten beyond stale now. I love it, but can we have another song like Egao YES Nude that was reminiscent of their old music?
This also concerns the line distribution. For example, Reina and Ai get an insane amount of lines in Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game with decent attention on Eri and Risa but leaving the other four in the dust. I can understand that Tsunku wants to deliver for the majority of the fan base, but giving Aika or Linlin a few more lines couldn’t hurt at all. At least give Sayu back her ~shouting parts~.
What they should avoid is releasing music like AKB48 does. While they do have amazing a-sides, their music tends to be a lot cuter and poppier while MM verges on synth-pop(we know we love those violins~).
What do you think Momusu should do to gain back their former glory?
I think Momusu is moving away from the idol image in terms of music. Costumes are still very idol-y, but the arrangements themselves don’t scream “idol” at me (though this may be because I’ve been listening to Canaria Club and their music is distinctly idol-y).
I do agree they should not release music like AKB48, because who needs more of that in Japan? Japan needs mainstream ~variety~
So… I want a song like Ooki Hitomi for a single. something exciting!
Or they should do something completely off the wall and hire some random composer off Nico Nico (everyone is now laughing at my suggestion) but seriously there’s some great composing talent (and talent in general) that’s unrecognized.
As for joining members: 3-4 is a good number. I’m just hoping Tsunku doesn’t pull the same thing he did in the 7th audition and pick no one…
I 100% agree on finding composers from niconico. >;O I was thinking of that before too!! NND has an effing lot of awesome composers! Take for example Halyosy, DATEKEN, Hoehoe-P, DECO*27, etc… I could go on and on and on… *.* omygawd you are so right.
tbh, I wouldn’t consider AKB to be ‘on the prowl’ =/
and reina being in the front because she’s popular is standard for idol groups. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, talent has never been important for idols. MM fans are lucky that a lot of the front members /have/ been talented to some degree (Nacchi, Mikitty, Aichan), but tbh it doesn’t matter whether they’re talented or not. Sayu’s pretty talentless, as you’ve said, but because she’s so popular on variety shows and such she’s the third most popular member in H!P (judging by mixi rankings)
And I’m sick of violins. I would rather have ska stuff like My Love or Koko ni Iruzee!, and I think that appare was the best single MM has released since Mikan, for sure
MM + ska = win. I support this :P
I can’t believe you just said Appare was a good single. I also can’t believe you put Mikan over songs like Resonant Blue, Shouganai, Kimagure Princess, etc… Oh well, to each his own. :3
I still don’t see the big deal with Resonant Blue. I only liked Sayumi’s “Help Me!” at the end and the chorus in that. It was really the most unfair single to the girls since Furusato and Furusato can’t even be called unfair anymore since only about four girls out of the group never sang it solo or sang a majority of the lines for it.
Ai, Risa and Reina need to GTFO (Sayumi can stay because, let’s face it, she’ll make a good leader despite her CAN’T SING AT ALL problem), and Tsunku needs to actually put effort into their music.
Oh yeah, Aika FTW.
If they screw up 9th gen, things will turn from bad to worse. >.< 9th gen better be awesome, for the sake of MM!
I think that MM should try to just mix things up a bit.
Main problem with the 9th Gen auditions is that because they’ve decided to allow the eggs into the audition, so the number of new members might not be 3-4, it might be more to keep it fair for those who are not apart of the eggs.
I completely agree with everything tho. They need a new cherograhper as well as a new stylist (especially for Reina) ASAP. The costumes for Onna to Otoko need to be burned.
I don’t find the outfits THAT terrible. The dresses are pretty simple but those boots need to diaf. I also liked the different colors~
-sigh- You must really have it in for AKB48. Its people like you that make me wish MM will never get back on their feet. I wanted MM to live for a century until 2006 then other girl groups showed up with talent and people started to insult them and insult them and insult them and I just wanted MM to take a fucking hit and never recover from it. AKB48 and its sister groups seem to be the bullets from a gun going straight through MM and the rest of H!P and I’m happy about it because maybe one of these days people like you will shut the fuck up. -frustrated sigh-
Onto the fixing of the group.
1: Use Mitsui Aika (she has a good voice and if they use her it will get better every time, with experience comes growth after all)
2: Use Michishige Sayumi (frequent one-liners or short verses or even just one word (i.e “aisowarai” – Nanchatte Renai), more t.v appearances, more photobooks (face it the girl is easily marketable as both cute and beautiful), send her to a vocal trainer overseas like with Taiyou to Ciscomoon’s members it’ll do wonders for her both her and MM. If Konno Asami can get better by secretly going to vocal trainers then Michishige Sayumi can definitely be an asset to MM if properly vocal trained)
3: Use Niiigaki Risa (Rise has a great voice and half of Ai-chan’s lines should be going to her. It’s because of the lack of Risa shining that I wish Ai-chan would have a scandal and have to leave the group, also Risa and Sayumi would be a killer personality duo on t.v they both like to speak their mind and usually the results are hilarious)
4: Find an ace during the 9th gen auditions and by all means send them all to vocal training so MM can vocally be on the same level for the most part.
5: Promote the damned group instead of spending all the money on getting merchandise of them for the wotas.
5: Make the pvs like Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game and Nanchatte Renai’s. More outfits and backgrounds = lack of boredom while watching a pv. Also if they’re going to keep using the same lead singers at least no-one will grow bored while having to listen to those same two voices for 3-5minutes.
6: Get another Hello! Project show on t.v to regenerate the interest in the groups.
Lol, Aika and Sayu will never be able to sing, bottom line. Plus, Japan doesn’t really care about vocals. It’s all about the image.
Just look at AKB48. None of them have any vocal talent better than… Reina for example, and that’s not saying much(at all).
You do realize you’re talking to someone who’s been through idols since Onyanko Club’s days right? I know vocal talent when I see it. Aika has some vocal talent (she could handle small verses in songs as could Sayumi (like in Nanchatte Renai)). You’ve got a lot a hate for AKB48. Have you heard their theater performances, seen them live, paid attention enough to realize 78% of them have Risa level voices? I don’t think so. I think you’re just like everyone else who hates on them mind you, someone who just can’t accept that something new and fresh has come around and is taking over.
MM’s recovery depends on if they go back to singing genki mainstream music. That is all. They need at least 10 members. I Wish and Renai Revolution 21 type of stuff FTW!
Anyone can sing but not everyone can sing well. That’s all.
As for AKB48, that’s very very untrue. Akimoto Sayaka’s voice is better than all the girls in MM now put together. Most of Team A and Team K have girls who can sing better than all of MM of today.
If you want to fix Aika, you first have to give her a decent hair style. The last time she did have something like this was… well, let me think for a second or two… ah, right, ‘Shouganai Yume Oibito’. Although this only applied to the dance shot scenes, but better than nothing I guess. Besides that there’s nothing wrong with her, she’s a good singer and got a nice personality.
But I’m still indifferent about the upcoming generation. Will they really help the group to gain more popularity again? Or isn’t the public just tired of Morning Musume., no matter if they change their style to heavy-metal (please don’t), add new members or graduate the existing ones altogether? Wait, the last one sounds interesting. Let’s start a whole new Morning Musume. No more awesome Takahashi Ai, forget about Michishige ‘Genius’ Sayumi and all their likes. Too drastic in your opinion? Well, I do think they’ve got nothing to lose, considering their current situation. So, let’s do this… bring on the underaged girls, we all love to death (note: this is not my personal opinion).
What else is left? Right, the music itself. Well, that’s one thing they totally shouldn’t change at the moment. I really like the direction they’ve taken since “Platinum 9 Disc” and their latest LP was just an ear-gasm from the beginning till the end. And having listenend to the first previews of their upcoming album, I’m very confident they’ll deliver another hit record this year… although the majority in Japan won’t give a damn… once again.
In order to win back people they really need to release more fun singles. Chokkan 2 was my absolute favorite single from them, and it wasnt even supposed to be the A-side. Muten Musume was a kind of sad attempt at something different. They really need to put more thought and effort into making something original or at least eye-poppingly interesting.
Former glory? As in sales wise?
First off, for a group that’s been called dead for years, Morning Musume isn’t doing half-bad. I think overseas fans should realize that million+ or even half million+ sales are the exception far far faaaaaaar from the norm. Many groups would kill to get the sales MM get.
Second, you can try to improve MM all you want, but it won’t mean shit unless you promote the hell out of them. And by promote I mean promote your shit on programs that people watch, not just ones at “Otaku o’clock”. You have no idea how many people say “Oh cool they’re gonna be on this program! It’s bound to sell a lot!” only to realize it’s on at 3 A.M. :|
I think they should do to her what they said with Kusumi Koharu in Resonant Blue, did that work by any chance? I think it did for me cause I was irritated by her even more.
But I like Aika honestly. I wish she’d get a boost up in vocals. I also hope Tsunku adds 3 members at least to the group or even 5!!
I actually found out the reason why Aika isn’t used as a main vocal. She carries an inhaler with her at concerts because of breathing problems. She may have a good voice but she can’t carry a lot of lines due to her issue with singing and dancing at the same time and maintaining a good breathing pattern.
I don’t think we’re going to be seeing any sexy members when the girls are going to be younger than Aika.
Meh. Smoker never really interested me. I actually hoped she would leave soon LOL. She does nothing. She’s not the cutest and not the most interesting. She made minor changes, voice-wise. She’s just…not that cool.
I agree with taking a chance with Gen 9. Their music has been pretty good since Resonant Blue(with the exception of Naichau Kamo & Pepper Keibu). What I think shot them down for so long is that most of them are over the age of 20, and doing these hyper, upbeat songs. It doesn’t match. Onna to Otoko & Kimagure Princess are perfect examples of what they need to be doing.
…What’s with the hate for AKB48? I really don’t understand why everyone hates them so much. Yes, they have a bigger fanbase than H!P. Yes, they sell WAY FUCKING MORE than any H!P group. Why the hell are those reasons to hate them? Don’t make one or two snobs in AKB a downfall for the whole group.
After the single dropped 17 ranks in its 2nd week all I can say is UFA need to get their asses in gear and promote these girls. Not only did they push aside Berryz Kobo and C-ute for the sake of promoting Morning Musume but when they did they didn’t promote them nearly as much as they should’ve.
I’m thinking with how small H!P has gotten they could totally start a t.v show featuring MM twice a week, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, and S/mileage once a week, and Mano Erina everyday (she’s the one in the biggest need of promotion after all). I think it’d be easy for a company as renowned as them. They just seem to want to keep their money and exploit the girls till they have nothing left to offer that will make the company money. It’s depressing. Sorry for putting this here, but I just had to get this off my chest. I’m just so depressed about the sales this year.
I think Sammy’s right about the t.v show for H!P. Considering how groups both men and women have totally snuffed out soloist counterparts it’s a perfect time for a comeback for H!P as a whole.
Berryz Kobo and C-ute only need some mainstream exposure to rise to the level of their competition they’ve worked out all their line distribution issues this year.
Morning Musume needs to get bigger again. Evidently small Morning Musume never satisfied Tsunku for long so I’ve always wondered why he allowed the 9-nin before Koharu’s graduation to last so long and why he didn’t just pull graduations for 9th generation when she was finally gone.
He totally failed miserably with both the latest lineups of the group. Meanwhile back in 2001 he destroyed the group by adding a 5th generation too early. That 9-nin was perfect he didn’t need to disrupt their balance by adding four other girls. They should have been added when Goto Maki graduated. And then he held 6th generation back for no plausible reason. I’m hoping he has learned something from the trial an error up till now and realizes we need at least a 10nin Morning Musume for the group to get back in the game.
Agree with this sfm. I thought I was the only one in the world who thought that 5th gen was added to early. I mean, only four golden 9-nin singles? That’s very little.
That 9-nin had only one single (the peace!) after that 5th gen came and they did Mr. Moonlight before that they did Renai Revolution 21 with Yuu-chan. But yes definitely 5th gens came way too early.
Oh right, I forgot Yuko left after RR21~
I honestly don’t think there’s anything to fix. Morning Musume has always been up and down and up and down. Good single, crappy single, good album, crappy album. The best thing they have is their concerts and ever since Single Daizenshuu the concerts have actually been less bad-ass. These ups and downs are the real reason behind their downfall they can’t just stick to doing things right they have to keep playing around like a kids club rather than an idol group.
A little thing on AKB48 (whom I only got into this year), that group is successful because the fans practically run the most important aspect of the group, who gets what on the singles. That alone will keep them on top for years to come. The other reason they succeed is the amount of songs on their singles. It’s not just two tracks like H!P groups which 90 percent of the time will simply end up boring everyone.
If I had to give some honest thoughts on how to fix Morning Musume the first thing I’d say is get the group a total of 10 members. After that it would be write four singles for 2011 with catchier tunes and more substantial lyrics. Third would be Tsunku and UFA getting those singles different composers and arrangers so each one doesn’t sound exactly like the one before. And getting different composers and arrangers for each b-side couldn’t hurt either.
Fourth would be the key thing, get the girls exposure so people actually have interest in Morning Musume again. Japan’s got trucks and buses with AKB48, KARA, and Girls’ Generation advertisements all over the place. Morning Musume has become less exposed to the public than that creature who supposedly predicts if we’re getting six more weeks of winter.
3 easy steps to giving Morning Musume a decent future.
1: Use the system of everyone getting some sort of solo continuously even if those solos are one to two words like Iida Kaori’s “Nee waratte” and Michishige Sayumi’s “Aisowarai” – The less bias in line distribution there is the more the group will appeal to the public.
2: Let Tsunku write the songs, but don’t keep using the same composers and arrangers every time. Even if your lyrics may be the same stuff as before rephrased the sound being different can make a world of difference.
3: Give the group back its strength in numbers. 10 or 12 members will certainly rejuvenate interest in the group as no-one will really know who’s who anymore just like when new members kept coming and going.
It’s simple, trash the entire lineup and get 10 new ones. You’ll have the size to work with and the clean slate.