Caminamos por la ciudad de México juntos, con nuestros celulares en la mano tratando de utilizar el GPS para ubicar el lugar donde el grupo japonés °C-ute estaría presentándose. Estábamos perdidos y confundidos. Fue ese momento cuando un fan Mexicano (Con el que nos habíamos comunicado antes por vía web.) nos encontró y ayudó a llegar al recinto. Esa situación fue una muestra de la experiencia que se vive en un concierto: amistad, amor y emoción. Ya habiéndonos familiarizado con la ubicación, el día siguiente llegamos al lugar del concierto alrededor de las 10 de la mañana y vimos que algunos fans ya estaban en línea muy emocionados. No eran solamente fans mexicanos, de hecho había personas de muchos lugares incluyendo Canadá, Estados Unidos, Colombia e incluso Japón. Conforme fuimos escuchando los emocionantes fan chants que había en la fila, pudimos ver como varios vendedores colocaban sus pequeños puestos alrededor de la calle. Mientras caminábamos por la fila y hablábamos con los fans, no había nada más que emoción. Esta no era solamente la primera vez que °C-ute se presentaba en México, ni la primera vez que algún grupo de Hello!Project tenía un concierto en este lugar, si no, la primera vez en que un grupo idol tenía una presentación en este país. Las presentaciones fuera de Japón siempre han sido un poco complicadas debido a la gran cantidad de compromisos que hay, es por eso que este fue un gran honor para los fans de °C-ute en México y Norte América. Entre todas las personas que se encontraban reunidas afuera del recinto, había algunos fans que se encontraban vistiendo vestuarios de algunas canciones del grupo. Si bien, había muchísimas personas, quien resaltó más fue un grupo que vestía los lindos vestidos de ‘Sekai ichi Happy na Onna no Ko’. Ellas se esforzaron y dedicaron mucho para reproducir perfectamente las prendas. Mientras que, cruzando la calle, había más fans bailando varias canciones de Hello!Project para pasar el tiempo y entrar en ambiente. Ellos pasaron un tiempo muy agradable e incluso otros fans de cuando en cuando se unían a ellos. Conforme avanzó el tiempo, la emoción continuaba en aumento hasta que dieron las 4:15 pm, cuando las puertas fueron abiertas finalmente para las personas con el boleto VIP y comenzamos a ingresar por las puertas y avanzamos por las escaleras hasta donde se encontraba localizada la mesa con los godos del concierto. Había un set de fotos exclusivas, una playera con un diseño del concierto, una toalla con una muñequera del tour actual y un CD que contenía una selección especial de canciones, las cuales fueron seleccionadas por popularidad y también un ticket para el apretón de manos. Conforme la tensión y la emoción aumentaban, °C-ute finalmente salió y la multitud estalló con emoción. Nada pudo prepararnos para la energía y el ánimo que los fans mexicanos poseían. Los aplausos y gritos eran tan fuertes que podías quedar sordo. La energía era vigorizante. Esto era completa y totalmente contagioso. Fue ese momento en donde realmente comprendimos por qué °C-ute fue a México como si primer concierto en Norte América. Por las enormes sonrisas que poseían las miembros, creo que ellas sentían lo mismo. Sin esperar más, °C-ute salió al escenario. Se presentaron con trajes negros con brillantes tonos plateados y detalles en rojo, al igual que los zapatos que portaron. Ellas tuvieron un impactante comienzo con ‘Kanashiki Heaven’, canción que fue una elección muy inteligente debido, al complicado uso de su voz para cantar. Al terminar esa canción y ‘Adam to Eve no Dilemma’, continuaron con sus presentaciones. Ellas lo hicieron en español, lo cual fue espectacular. Por ejemplo, Maimi dijo que estuvo esperando por este momento y Saki dijo: “¡Vamos a pasarla bien chido!” Después de eso, continuaron con ‘Soku Dakishimete’. Ellas siguieron con ‘I miss you’. Algo que llamó mucho mi atención fue el hecho de que fueron capaces de cantar esa canción, ya que es algo complicada para cantarse en vivo. Como ya esperábamos, ellas se aseguraron de interactuar con la audiencia tanto como fuera posible, lo cual fue un trabajo perfectamente hecho, lo cual incluyó la sección VIP la cual no estaba situada frente a ellas. Con el término de la segunda sección, Maimi y Saki estaban en el escenario mientras las demás fueron a camerinos a descansar y a cambiar de vestuario. En este punto, ellas tuvieron un segmento de rifas, el cual incluyó números que fueron repartidos conforme entrabamos al lugar del concierto. Cuando ellas estaban diciendo los números a los emocionados fans que ganaban los godos, la chica a la que pertenecía el artículo rifado, firmaba el objeto en ese mismo instante. Maimi y Saki después fueron a camerinos, cuando Airi y Mai regresaron a continuar con la lotería con sus propios godos. Fue poco después cuando Chisato apareció usando una máscara de luchador plateada, diciéndose ser “Mil Máscaras.” Fue una de las cosas más torpes y lindas que llamaron la atención del concierto. Todos gritaban su nombre realmente fuerte. Después de jugar un rato, ella fingió ‘atacar’ a Airi y Mai con una ‘llave’ a la cual reaccionaron asustándose de una forma muy linda. Chisato retiró esa máscara para mostrar como ella estaba utilizando otra máscara más bajo esa la cual combinaba con su tercer vestuario, uno plateado brilloso con detalles en blanco. Ella termino por retirarse esa máscara también, la cual mencionó era muy calurosa para usar, después de eso, se presentó como ‘Chisato Okai’. Después de haber arreglado su cabello rápidamente, ellas continuaron la rifa de godos autografiados. Chisato firmó la máscara dorada para rifar. Los godos incluían playeras, toallas, un set de aretes que fue parte de uno de sus vestuarios, la máscara de luchador, algunos folders e incluso un peluche de Suu-san, personaje que fue creado por Airi. Estos godos fueron entregados a los fans después del concierto. Después de que terminó la rifa, ellas se prepararon para iniciar la tercer parte con ‘Tokkaiko Junjou’. La audiencia se volvió loca y, sus gritos fueron tan fuertes que °C-ute no escuchó la entrada de la canción. Con muchísima habilidad y después del pequeño ‘tropiezo’, continuaron con ‘Tokkaiko Junjou’ con una energía impresionante que irradiaba por todo el lugar. Afortunadamente, para nosotros, también cantaron ‘The Middle Management – Josei Chuukan Kanrishoku~’ la cual fue una de las presentaciones más impresionantes en el concierto. Ellas cerraron la tercer parte con ‘Dance de Bakoon!’ la cual fue sin duda alguna la que tuvo las reacciones más ruidosas del público. ‘Dance de Bakoon’ cuenta con mucha energía, por lo cual haberla cantado fue una muy buena elección para cerrar de forma impresionante. Después de haber abandonado el escenario, la audiencia comenzó a gritar. Estaban gritando muchísimo para que ellas volvieran con un ‘Encore’ incluyeron incluso porras meramente Mexicanas. Ellos gritaban ‘¡Olé Olé Olé! Kyuuto Kyuuto!” Realmente no supimos cuánto duró esto, ya que era muy fácil perderse entre tantos gritos, porras, a los cuales terminabas uniéndote sin darte cuenta, aunque creemos duró entre 10 y 15 minutos. Ellas volvieron a salir entre fuertes gritos. Estaban vistiendo la playera del concierto junto con lindas faltas con vehículos que combinaban con su color representativo. El encoré comenzó con el cásico ‘Sakura Chirari’ Cada miembro leyó mensajes para el público. Maimi agradeció a todos por haber asistido, Saki dijo que estuvieron esperando para conocer a sus fans, Airi dijo estar muy feliz por tener la oportunidad de cantar finalmente en México, Chisato le pidió al publico el seguir apoyándolas para así poder regresar Mai, por último dijo estar muy feliz por haber conocido la cultura Mexicana. Ellas dijeron que cada uno de los asistentes eran parte del Team °C-ute y mostraron mucha gratitud y amor. Después de esto, ellas cantaron ‘Gamusha Lifre’ y cerraron el concierto con ‘JUMP’. Esas fueron elecciones fantásticas porque les permitieron ser un poco más informales con el cierre. El final conto con más interacciones para con el público, una forma muy efectiva para despedirse. Eso dejó a los fans imágenes muy positivas de ellas. Tan rápido como comenzó el concierto, así mismo termino. El lugar después fue dividido en dos grupos: VIP y General. Las personas con el boleto VIP tenían el beneficio del apretón de manos con las chicas, seguidos por el público de General, los cuales debían adquirir el CD. (Para así contar por el ticket del handshake.) Las chicas estaban realmente entusiasmadas conforme los asistentes iban acercándose a ellas en una fila. Ellas agradecían de corazón al público con unas sonriendo enormemente. Al final, pude decirle a Maimi que yo era de América y que ellas tenían muchísimos fans ahí. Muchos fans tenían mensajes similares para ellas, los cuales eran mencionados conforme avanzaban en la fila. Los portadores del pase Vip después del handshake recibían su fotografía firmada, el disco y los pases para el handshake (En caso de que quisieran guardarlo como parte de su colección.)
Cansados, calurosos y con casi nada de voz, salimos del lugar del concierto y comenzamos a pensar en lo que acababa de suceder. Nosotros ya habíamos escuchado cosas impresionantes acerca de lo genial que es °C-ute en sus presentaciones. Ellas no sólo demostraron ser buenas, si no que en realidad son mejor de lo que imaginamos. Entre la contagiosa energía y positivismo de los fans mexicanos, la impresionante presentación de °C-ute y la fantástica selección de canciones, nosotros batallaremos mucho en encontrar algo del concierto para quejarnos. Conforme caminábamos para buscar algo de comer, nosotros ya sabíamos que este concierto va a ser uno que nunca podremos olvidar. A-To-J Connections está muy orgulloso de ser parte de esta ocasión tan especial. Ahora tenemos la esperanza de que °C-ute pueda viajar al extranjero para que los fans sean capaces de tener una experiencia como la nuestra. °C-ute es: ◆ Yajima Maimi (矢島舞美, Líder) ◆ Nakajima Saki (中島早貴) ◆ Suzuki Airi (鈴木愛理) ◆ Okai Chisato (岡井千聖) ◆ Hagiwara Mai (萩原舞) Lista de canciones del concierto: 1. Kanashiki Heaven 2. Adam to Eve no Dilemma 3 MC (Introductions in Spanish) 4. Soku Dakishimete 5. I miss you 6. Forever Love 7. Massara Blue Jeans 8. Ookina Ai de Motenashite 9. Sekai ichi Happy na Onna no ko 10. Namida no Iro 11. Aitai Aitai Aitaina 12. Crazy Kanzen na Otona 13. MC (Lottery Corner) 14. Tokaikko Junjou 15. Love take it all 16. The Middle Management ~Josei Chuukan Kanrishoku~ 17. Midnight Temptation 18. Kiss Me Aishiteru 19. Dance de Bakoon! ENCORE 20. Sakura Chirari 21. MC (Messages) 22. Gamusha Life 23. JUMP -Teepu (Bowser05) -Traducción: Rubi (U-bi) Para más información acerca de °C-ute, Up-FRONT y Hello!Project, visita: Twitter: @UpFrontLink Facebook: facebook.com/upfrontlink Fotografías: ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Utilizados con créditos. Recently, Morning Musume。'16 was able to come to Houston, Texas to participate in the popular Anime Matsuri convention as the guest of honor. The last time they were able to make it over to the United States for a convention (Anime Expo) was back in 2009 in LA. Since then, the lineup has completely changed and the direction of the group has evolved greatly. Lucky attendees of the convention were able to experience Morning Musume。'16 in all their glory throughout the weekend via a multitude of events. Their adventures at the convention began on the first day (February 26th, Friday). They attended the Opening Ceremonies, where they were introduced to a standing ovation. Miki Nonaka presented the group to the attendees using her English skills, which she acquired from her 8 year stay in Alabama as a young child. Before they were sent off-stage, a couple of hard-working fans were able to present a special welcome banner to the girls. This banner contained messages from various fans hailing from a multitude of locations. This gesture moved the girls and they were ecstatic to receive such a welcoming gift from their overseas fans. As they left the stage, they walked around the seats on the floor waving to everybody and proudly displaying the banner, before finally heading back to their seats. Directly following the Opening Ceremonies, there was a Q&A Panel with the group. The girls specifically requested that the fans be allowed to sit as close to the stage as possible, in order to afford a more personal interaction. As soon as the attendees were seated on the ground surrounding the stage, the session began immediately in order to not waste a minute. Keep in mind that the following transcript provided contains rough translations of the answers. Fan: Now that she’s (Riho Sayashi) gone, she has opened the position of center ace that is unfilled in the group. So I was wondering which one of you plans to take that spot and how do you plan to do it? -EVERYONE RAISES THEIR HAND- Haruna Iikubo: Everybody wants to be the ace! Fan: Hi. ALL: Hi! Fan: Um, when members graduate, how do you guys go about deciding lines? Does the management decide or is it between you guys? Maa-chan got lots of Reina’s lines. Is it because she likes her or is it because management decides to give it to them? Masaki Sato: The management actually decides it. They listen to the voices and find the one that fits the line the most. Fan: Maa-chan, do you have any funny episodes about your new hamster? Masaki Sato: My hamster only listens to my father. So when my father is not around it won’t listen to anyone, but when my dad is there it will actually listen and sit down. Fan: Ayumi-san, now that Sayashi Riho is gone, do you have a favorite person you like to dance with? Ayumi Ishida: We’re in the middle of rehearsal for our spring tour. I MIGHT be pairing up with one of them. I really loved dancing with Riho but after she graduated I had more of a chance to dance with other people. It’s a different experience but I really enjoy it too! Fan: For the girls that have been to America before, how are you finding Houston and for the girls who have not been to America before what are your favorite things about America so far? Haruna Ogata: I’m Ogata Haruna! It’s my first time coming here in America and I really enjoyed the bagel from the lunch buffet. It was really yummy. Kanon Suzuki: I’ve been to New York back in 2014 but I feel like it’s really different. When I landed in the airport I thought the air was really different. I really wish, even for one month, I really wish I can live here then I’ll feel better. Haruna Iikubo: When we did the New York concert Kanon’s cheer was the loudest back then. Even in Houston she gets the loudest cheer, I’m impressed! Fan: Zukki, I know you’re going to be leaving soon and of course your fans are sad, but I want to know what are some of your happiest memories being part of Morning Musume。? Kanon Suzuki: I have a really great memory from when I was 14. For my birthday I received a book with a lot of messages from fans all over the world. It is really surreal that people know me through the internet and through people and relationships people got to know me and I feel really surreal. It’s my most precious treasure in my life. Fan: I’ve been waiting 7 years to meet Morning Musume。, I’ve been a fan since I was 11 years old. My question is, would you support overseas idols? Erina Ikuta: Because I am an idol fan as well, I would really like to see and support foreign idols as well. Miki Nonaka: I can speak English too so…. I really want to talk with idols overseas. Yeah I want to do a lot of things with idols overseas. I want to see a combination of our group and other idol groups. Fan: Hi Zukki. I wanted to tell you that you are one of my favorites. My sons introduced me to Morning Musume。 music. We went to New York in 2014 to see you in Manhattan and we had a blast. We had so much fun and my question for you is, what are you going to do after you graduate? Are you going to school or what’s your future look like? Kanon Suzuki: After graduation I would like to be a social worker, like a counselor and helper. I really enjoyed helping people through singing and dancing and after I graduate I won’t be able to do that in front of people but in another way I’d still like to help people out. Fan: I’m a big fan of video games. I love Final Fantasy, it’s one of my favorite series. I was wondering, are any of you fans of Final Fantasy? Which one is your favorite? If not, what is your favorite video game if any of you play video games? -THEY ALL INDICATE THEY DON’T PLAY FINAL FANTASY- Haruna Iikubo: Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest Online, Monster Hunter, Biohazard (Resident Evil). Oh and also Zelda! Ayumi Ishida: I like dance…dance appear please. -FAN DANCES AND IS NOTICED- Fan: HI ODA! I have a question. So my question is, you have a lot of songs. I was wondering if there was one that you really liked to perform that means a lot to you. Sakura Oda: It’s a song that I’m not originally in, but I love ‘Roman My Dear Boy.’ Ayumi Ishida: I AM SHOCK! (In response to the fan asking Sakura the question instead of Ayumi, since she’s the one who picked him.) Masaki Sato: Rock, scissor, paper! –FANS PLAY AGAINST HER- -LAST MATCH IS TWO FANS AGAINST EACH OTHER TO BE ABLE TO ASK THE QUESTION- Fan: I wanted to thank you guys for coming here since I didn’t get to see you in New York. I honestly didn’t think I would have another chance to see you. So I wanted to ask Mizuki what you find the hardest part of being leader. Mizuki Fukumura: The hardest thing to do…because there’s so many of them, is to get all 12 of them in one place! Fan: Some of you already have been to America. Where are some other places you’d like to travel in the world? Haruka Kudo: I want to go to Brazil and see the real soccer there. Fan (Same person who asked the previous question.): Sakura I love you! Haruka Kudo: I AM SHOCK! I am shock. Fan: First of all I got introduced to the play ‘LILIUM’ last year. My favorite play! What was your best memory of doing that? Sakura Oda: I played Sylvatica. One of my last scenes is me jumping off from the tower. I actually really jumped off from the top tower. It was really scary for me! Fan: Obviously you guys are my favorite female Jpop group. My favorite male Jpop group is Arashi. So I was wondering if you also like Arashi and who’s your favorite member from Arashi? Haruna Ogata: A little while back we were doing a fitting and someone told me that if you put Morning Musume。 in Arashi I’m like the Ohno position. So I’d really like to see him and meet him one day. -IT’S MIKI’S TURN TO PICK AND SHE NOTICES A SIGN AND PICKS THAT PERSON- Miki Nonaka: Welcome home Miki. Fan: First I would like to welcome you back home. –FANS CLAP- Now, being able to speak both English and Japanese, what was your initial feeling when you were chosen to be in Morning Musume。? Where do you want to take it in the future? Miki Nonaka: Yeah I can speak Japanese and English, both of them. So I really can speak Japanese more than English so I thought I had to study English too, but I really like doing concerts in my country Japan too. But I really really love to do concerts overseas, this time in Houston. I’m so excited so I couldn’t hardly wait for this event. So yeah I’m very happy to come overseas. Thank you very much! Maria Makino: I am Maria. Nice to meet you! I love baseball, and you? –NOTICES SOMEONE WEARING A FIGHTERS CAP- Fighters! I love Fighters! Fan: Are the Fighters going to win the Japanese series this year? Maria Makino: Of course! Number one! -FAN YELLS ‘ERIPON SMILE’ BECAUSE SHE HAD A SERIOUS FACE FOR A MOMENT. SHE SMILES WIDELY- Fan: My question is to the newest members. What’s been your favorite experience since joining the group? Akane Haga: I was in the play ‘Triangle’ last year and I was in drama club. So it was a really good experience for me to be in an actual musical. Maria Makino: Because I love Michishige Sayumi. For me to be able to be a member of Morning Musume。 and to be able to meet Sayumi was the biggest and nicest experience for me. Miki Nonaka: So the biggest…the biggest is right now!!! Haruna Ogata: If I wasn’t a member of Morning Musume。 I wouldn’t have been able to come abroad, so just being here is the biggest experience for me. Mizuki Fukumura: Thank you so much everyone for all the questions you asked us. So tomorrow we’re going to have a live concert and we have practiced the MC in English, so look forward to it…come and enjoy. -Q&A ENDS- Much later in the evening, A-To-J Connections hosted our Hello! Project panel (with a heavier focus on Morning Musume。, of course) which was a major success. We even had the pleasure of having Aika Mitsui (former 8th Generation member of Morning Musume。) attend a portion of our panel. There was also a fan-held party called Hello! Disco that was held partially during (and after) our panel. At this party, fans gathered together to have a great time celebrating their common interests in Morning Musume。'16 and Hello! Project as a whole. Aika actually made a surprise appearance at this party as well, much to the delight of all attending fans.
The next day of the convention was also quite busy for the group (February 27th, Saturday). The day kicked off with a Press Conference, where various news outlets were able to interview Morning Musume。'16. Following this was a special autograph session that was held specifically for Super Pass holders of the convention. Attendees were allowed to get any official Anime Matsuri or Morning Musume。'16 merchandise signed by the girls. This session was especially loved by fans because it granted time for some very fun and personal interactions with the members. At the end of the autograph session, the girls took a group photo with the fans in the back. This photo, we were told, would be featured on the official site for a time. The final event of the day, which was the event most people were waiting for, was the concert itself. The concert was an absolute success, with an extremely high attendance rate (of fans and newly interested attendees alike). A link to our full concert report will be provided below. On the final day of the convention (February 28th, Sunday), there was a final autograph session held specifically for general attendees. Like the Super Pass session, this provided fans with a wonderful opportunity to interact and have fun with the girls as everyone was able to get their beloved autographs. From here, Morning Musume。‘16 left the convention after an extremely exciting and eventful weekend. Fans were able to share in a special kind of experience with Morning Musume。'16 at Anime Matsuri, the kind of which you don't see normally even in Japan. There is no doubt that this will be long remembered as one of the most exciting Hello! Project events in the USA, and all fans who were able to attend will forever cherish it. For more coverage of Morning Musume。'16, check out our official concert report and our exciting interview (links provided below)! - Teepu Morning Musume。’16 Is: - Fukumura Mizuki (譜久村聖; 9th Generation) Leader - Ikuta Erina (生田衣梨奈; 9th Generation) Sub-Leader - Suzuki Kanon (鈴木香音; 9th Generation) - Iikubo Haruna (飯窪春奈; 10th Generation) Sub-Leader - Ishida Ayumi (石田亜佑美; 10th Generation) - Sato Masaki (佐藤優樹; 10th Generation) - Kudo Haruka (工藤遥; 10th Generation) - Oda Sakura (小田さくら; 11th Generation) - Ogata Haruna (尾形春水; 12th Generation) - Nonaka Miki (野中美希; 12th Generation) - Makino Maria (牧野真莉愛; 12th Generation) - Haga Akane (羽賀朱音; 12th Generation) A-To-J Concert Report: http://a-to-jconnections.com/idols/-take-off-is-now-morning-musume16-in-houston A-To-J Interview: Official Morning Musume。’16 Links Website: http://www.helloproject.com/morningmusume/ Google+: https://plus.google.com/+morningmusume/posts Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Morningmusume.Official/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorningMusumeMg YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/morningmusumechannel UP-FRONT LINK Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upfrontlink/ UP-FRONT LINK Twitter: https://twitter.com/UpFrontLink Anime Matsuri Link: http://www.animematsuri.com/ All pictures ©UP-FRONT PROMOTION Co., Ltd. Used with permission. Walking through the doors to the concert hall, the first thing we all saw was the various Hello! Project music videos being shown on the main screen on stage. As we all shuffled into our optimal positions the reality of the situation started to sink in: Morning Musume。'16 was in Houston! As we waited patiently for the hall to fill and for the girls to come out, people pumped up some balloons and started throwing them around the crowd. Meanwhile, some small clusters of fans rocked out to whatever song happened to be playing on the screen. The people behind the convention came up for a short message and to welcome Morning Musume。’16 with some cheers. Before long, the lights dimmed, the screen turned off, and the girls came out to thunderous cheering wearing their modified ‘One and Only’ outfits (with cute Sheriff Badges to boot). They jumped right into their brand-new all-English song 'One and Only'. The crowd went wild and most of the people around me burst into song along with the girls. It was rather touching. They then lead right into 'Oh my wish!’ kicking off the concert with an unimaginable amount of energy. Miki Nonaka was in a chair of course, due to her injury, but put forth just as much energy and excitement as the rest of the group! The girls took a moment to introduce themselves, and they even did so in English. It was clear that they worked incredibly hard to learn the English for their introductions, and they all did a fantastic job. They then jumped into another of their brand new songs: ‘ENDLESS SKY’. After that they jumped into high-energy songs like ‘Renai Hunter’ and ‘Sukatto My Heart’. They were doing an absolutely fantastic job of mixing in both old and new songs in order to keep the crowd interested. Their formation dancing, singing skills and coordination were particularly impressive throughout the show. 'Love & Peace! HERO ga Yattekita' was performed to close out this section of the show. Half the group went backstage to change into new outfits while the rest stayed up in order to have another MC section. Aika Mitsui, former 8th Generation Morning Musume。member, joined them as the surprise guest and interpreter for this. Aika mentioned that she had been interviewing fans before the concert and that she was going to ask the members questions that the fans had asked. Unlike their previous times in the USA, this MC section felt a lot more like the ones in Japan, which was really neat and fun. Aika even decided to teach us a Japanese phrase: 'Ganbatte ikimasshoi'. She explained that backstage, before a concert, all the girls say this to each other as they place their hands on top of each other's while gathered in a circle. She said that this was a great way to get hyped or to lift somebody's spirit. The girls on stage then demonstrated how they do it. At this time, Miki (who was still in her chair) got up excitedly to join the group and they all said 'Ganbatte ikimasshoi!' Miki later jokingly said that she probably shouldn't have gotten up but she got so excited and wanted to do it with everyone. It was extremely adorable. After this, the girls from backstage were changed and switched spots with the ones who were not. The new outfits were black with puffy skirts and some frills as well. They were pretty. Aika then continued by asking the next set of girls questions from the fans. One of the most standout questions was when she asked the girls which graduated Morning Musume。 members they looked up to. Maria Makino was first to answer, and immediately said that Sayumi Michishige (who graduated in 2014) was her favorite. Each of the other members said that Aika was their favorite, as a joke. Even Erina Ikuta said this, despite Aika pointing out that everyone knows that Risa Niigaki is her favorite (who graduated in 2013). All of the girls were asked to give Aika hugs, except Maria since she said Sayumi was her favorite. They all ran to Aika and gave her a huge hug while Maria sat down and pouted. Eventually Aika invited Maria for a hug too which she happily complied to. Aika also taught the crowd another Japanese term: 'Ichiban suki' (meaning you love something the most). After a good time, the rest of the group came out, ready to continue the performance. As Aika left, everyone cheered for her. The next section was kicked off with a medley consisting of the classics 'Souda! WE'RE ALIVE', 'LOVE Machine' and 'Renai Revolution 21'. These are some very beloved songs, especially for overseas fans, so the amount of energy and love that the crowd threw at Morning Musume。'16 was to be expected. There was a very clever outfit change in the middle of ‘Renai Revolution 21’. They folded a layer of their outfit over the black to create a new white outfit. This one had the American flag on the skirt and an outline of a rocket on the upper portion (referring to the NASA center in Houston), with variations for each member. It was an extremely cute and clever way to express a theme that screams Houston and America. Once the superb medley was over, the group took a picture with the whole crowd, which we were told would appear on the official site. From there, they jumped right back into the performance with ‘Tsumetai Kaze-to Kataomoi’, a personal favorite of mine. This song originally had Riho Sayashi (who graduated on the last day of 2015) doing some graceful solo dances during the song. With her not in the group anymore, Ayumi Ishida took over the spot with extreme finesse and amazing control. It made for a very touching performance that I’m sure would have made Riho proud. They then continued with some more favorites. The two that stood out to me the most were ‘Wagamama Kinomama Aino Joke’ and ‘What is LOVE?’ These songs got an extremely powerful crowd response and I felt like they did some of their best dancing during these songs. They left after that, and shortly after the crowd exploded into a chant to bring the girls out again for a song or two more. Eventually most of the crowd who had glow sticks that could change color changed to green, which is the color for Kanon Suzuki. Kanon will be graduating from the group at the end of their spring tour, so this was her last performance overseas within the group. The fans had all agreed beforehand to do this in her honor and everyone broke into a call for her using her nickname ‘Zukki’. It was quite touching to see, and we could all see that Kanon felt the same way when they all came out for the encore. They jumped into ‘HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN? ~Nihon wa Dona Kanji Dekka?~’ which was also a crowd pleaser. They were wearing their outfits from their previous tour (Gradation) which displayed each of their member colors prominently. With the concert clearly reaching a close, Mizuki read a letter to the crowd. During this time, the crowd gave Kanon a ‘Zukki’ call again, which brought her to tears on stage. With that, she caught her breath, and told the whole crowd “Thank you, I LOVE YOU!” with that huge contagious smile that nobody could hate. Following that, they jumped into the final song: ‘One Two Three’. They put their all into this final song, as did the audience. Before we knew it, it was over. The members all thanked the crowd and went off-stage. We were promised a set list of upbeat and fun songs, and they delivered in full force. Slowly, we all shuffled out of the concert hall. Without a doubt, we knew that this had been the best performance we’ve seen out of Morning Musume。’16 in America so far. Concerts like this not only bring Morning Musume。’16 to new places, but they bring fans from all walks of life together via a special unbreakable bond. We can only hope that the girls will have the opportunity to come back to the USA again in the near future. GANBATTE IKIMASSHOI! - Teepu (Official UP-FRONT pictures used with permission. All other copyright A-To-J Connections) CONCERT SETLIST 1. One and Only 2. Oh my wish! -MC- 3. ENDLESS SKY 4. Renai Hunter 5. Sukatto My Heart 6. Love & Peace! HERO ga Yattekita -MC- (Aika Mitsui as Surprise Guest) 7. -MEDLEY- Souda! WE’RE ALIVE LOVE Machine Renai Revolution 21 -MC- (Photo Session) 8. Tsumetai Kaze-to Kataomoi 9. The Matenrou Show 10. Aino Gundan 11. Wagamama Ki-nomama Ai-no Joke 12. What is LOVE? -ENCORE- (Zukki Call) 13. HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN? ~Nihon wa Donna Kanji Dekka?~ -MC- 14. One Two Three Morning Musume。’16 Is: - Fukumura Mizuki (譜久村聖; 9th Generation) Leader - Ikuta Erina (生田衣梨奈; 9th Generation) Sub-Leader - Suzuki Kanon (鈴木香音; 9th Generation) - Iikubo Haruna (飯窪春奈; 10th Generation) Sub-Leader - Ishida Ayumi (石田亜佑美; 10th Generation) - Sato Masaki (佐藤優樹; 10th Generation) - Kudo Haruka (工藤遥; 10th Generation) - Oda Sakura (小田さくら; 11th Generation) - Ogata Haruna (尾形春水; 12th Generation) - Nonaka Miki (野中美希; 12th Generation) - Makino Maria (牧野真莉愛; 12th Generation) - Haga Akane (羽賀朱音; 12th Generation) A-To-J Event Report: http://a-to-jconnections.com/idols/morning-musume-16s-landing-in-houston A-To-J Interview: Official Morning Musume。 ’16 Links Website: http://www.helloproject.com/morningmusume/ Google+: https://plus.google.com/+morningmusume/posts Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Morningmusume.Official/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorningMusumeMg YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/morningmusumechannel UP-FRONT LINK Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upfrontlink/ UP-FRONT LINK Twitter: https://twitter.com/UpFrontLink Being a fan of idol groups, graduations are to be expected. Yet, whenever they happen, we are never prepared. The last couple years have been really challenging for Hello! Project fans with graduations, a group going on indefinite hiatus and the mastermind behind the groups having officially declared retirement.
Most recently, Morning Musume '15's 9th Generation member, Riho Sayashi, graduated on December 31st. Now, with people starting to settle down with the group as it is now, we received another piece of news thrown at us in the form of Kanon Suzuki's (also a 9th Generation member) graduation. She's been in the group for 5 years, and joined during a time that Morning Musume was suffering from lower popularity. Her youthful attitude, positive outlook and caring demeanor has completely driven her up as one of the most popular members overseas. In her official announcement, she indicated that she wants to pursue a career that involves helping others. There were no specifics made beyond that, but she did point out that doing the SATOYAMA events helped put this attitude into perspective and to make her more determined. Kanon announced that she'll be graduating at the end of this spring tour. As always, make sure all you fans out there keep supporting her, and give her your best for those of us who will see her in Texas later this month. Also, don't forget that this is the nature of Morning Musume '16. Let's keep supporting them not only in honor of Kanon, but also in the upcoming excitement of inevitable 13th generation members. Hold strong! - Teepu Official Announcement: http://helloproject.com/news/4322/ Translation of Announcement from Up-Front Link: https://www.facebook.com/notes/up-front-link/en-concerning-kanon-suzuki-from-morning-musume16/1016601485065435 Everybody loves vinyl. They are a relic of times past. They also represent a level of aural quality that sounds quite a bit more natural than the digital spectrum. These are some of the main reasons many decide to stick with the medium whenever they can.
Considering the importance of ℃-ute’s last single, it came as no surprise that they would release it as a vinyl alongside the standard digital and CD copies. That being said, this practice is not the norm within Hello! Project. In fact, it is quite a rare occurrence. In a surprising turn of events, we are being blessed with yet another 12-inch vinyl release. Morning Musume ‘16’s most recent single, ‘Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi / ENDLESS SKY / One and Only’, is getting a vinyl release as well (released under ‘Morning Musume ‘15’). Included will be the original three songs recorded in analog specifically for the vinyl along with a special track. The special track is a classical arrangement of the song ‘Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi’. This arrangement is particularly pleasing to me, because I always felt like that song would be able to take immense advantage of a classical arrangement. It looks like my dream has come true, and I hope the arrangement does the song justice. ENLESS SKY is a song presented as a farewell to Riho Sayashi, who graduated from Morning Musume ’15 on December 31st, 2015. Finally, One and Only is the first song that the group has ever done entirely in English. To top everything off, this single was the first single to reach #1 in the Oricon Weekly charts since Sayumi Michishige graduated back in 2014. That should speak volumes about the quality of the release. The vinyl is being sold on Up-Front’s official online shop: e-LineUP! Pre-orders for it have already begun, and will end on February 9th. The expected ship and release date is sometime in late March. These vinyl tend to sell out and are released in limited numbers. If you decide to order it, I highly recommend you do it soon. If you aren’t sure which third-party export service to use, I highly recommend checking out Michael’s shop on Facebook called ‘No Country For Tall Men Exports’. He specializes in acquiring good for fans overseas, is very professional and offers some of the best commission prices I’ve seen. Links are provided below. Whatever service you ultimately decide to use, don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity! Let’s hope this recent trend becomes a new standard from Hello! Project. - Teepu Official e-LineUP! Listing: http://www.e-lineup.com/shopdetail/000000008306/ No Country For Tall Men Exports: https://www.facebook.com/NoCountryForTallMenExports/ Happy Aloha Friday folks! If anyone has ever been to Hawai’i, then you are sure to know that Fridays are known as Aloha Friday (the best day of the week)! Not only is today Aloha Friday, but it also happens to be Feature Idol Friday again as well! With this installment of our Feature Idol Friday we will be talking about Kobushi Factory (こぶしファクトリー). [Editor's Note: For a bit of information on the reference "Aloha Friday" check here!] On January 2nd of 2015, in the midst of the annual Hello! Project WINTER concert, the announcement of a new group was made. This group would be made up of 8 members, Rio Fujii, Ayaka Hirose, Minami Nomura, Reina Ogawa, Ayano Hamaura, Natsumi Taguchi, Sakurako Wada, and Rei Inoue. The name for this group would remain unknown until February 25th, when they were given the name of Kobushi Factory. When it comes to meaning, the word Kobushi can have a few. In the case of this group, Kobushi is said to contain the meaning of both the coming of spring and the refinement of the kobushi magnolia (辛夷) as well as the strength of a fist (拳). As far as the factory goes, it is a tribute to the ever so fantastic group Berryz Koubou (工房) where the “Koubou” means “Workshop.” Kobushi released their first Indie DVD single on March 26th of 2015 titled “Nen ni wa Nen / Survivor” (念には念 “Be Double Sure” / サバイバー). Survivor is the theme song of the musical Week End Survivor which starred the 8 members of Kobushi Factory as well as Sudo Maasa (Berryz工房). I really enjoyed the stern, serious feel of Survivor as it seemed to make the song very powerful. I would recommend using this song as a warmup song for working out! Survivor Rec/Off-shoot Video Nen ni wa Nen is definitely one of those songs that you can just blast at full volume and dance and sing along as loud as you can while having a crazy amount of fun! Nen ni wa Nen PV On June 14th, it was announced that Kobushi Factory were going to have their major debut on September 2nd with a single titled "Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan / Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta / Nen ni wa Nen (Nen'iri Ver.)." (ドスコイ!ケンキョにダイタン / ラーメン大好き小泉さんの唄 / 念には念(念入りVer.)) Since Kobushi Factory haven’t even been around for an entire year yet, this was a very big announcement, because only a few groups have made their major debuts in such short amount of time. Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta (A cover of "Ramen Daisuki Koike-san no Uta" by Sharam Q) is another one of those songs that you dance yourself silly to. Its fun and simple dance will undoubtedly keep you scooping noodles, draining the water, and eating ramen for days to come! Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta PV If you thought the Ramen song was fun, just wait until you hear Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan. Not only is this song one of my favorite hype songs of all of 2015, it was also a huge factor in the winning of an award later in the year. Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan PVKobushi Factory - Best Newcomer Award + Dosukoi! Performance More good news for Kobushi fans is that there has just been an announcement made that they will be having their 2nd single released on February 17th and it will be titled Sakura Night Fever / Chotto Guchoku ni! Chototsu Moushin / Osu! Kobushi Tamashii (桜ナイトフィーバー/チョット愚直に!猪突猛進/押忍!こぶし魂)! So far the released from Kobushi Factory has been awesome and I cannot wait to see how great this upcoming single will be! -Eric (BerryzGenius) For More Information: Second Single Information Official Hello! Project Profile Kobushi Factory (Magnolia Factory) Introduction In English by Mitsui Aika Hello! Station EP. 148 Kobushi History Pt.1 (34:32 – 45:00)Hello! Station EP. 149 Kobushi History Pt.2 (35:00 – 44:55)Hello! Station EP. 125 Major Debut Announcement (11:42 – 16:35) |
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