 We recently dropped by San Francisco's J-POP Summit and we were lucky enough to interview Babyraids JAPAN, an idol group who mixes rock and idol music to create their own genre of "Emotional Idorock"! We discussed their stay in San Francisco, their upcoming concert, and their thoughts on their latest singles! Be sure to check it out and look forward to more content from J-POP Summit 2017 soon!
Babyraids JAPAN originally formed as "Babyraids" in 2012 and released their first single, also titled "Babyraids", that September. In December 2014 they held a solo concert at Nippon Budokan, one of the most prestigious venues in Japan. To commemorate this major milestone they changed their name to "Babyraids JAPAN". They recently released their fourteenth single "Maru Maru Maru Maru Maru" in August and even more recently released their latest MV, "Bokura wa Koko ni Iru" days before their appearance at J-POP Summit. J-POP Summit 2017 marks their US debut, but the group performed at Paris' Japan Expo in 2016. The five-member group is partly produced by former Idoling!!! member Kikuchi Ami.
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 Golden Age devotees Bed In burst onto the idol scene last year with their explosive debut album RICH. Now the self-proclaimed "underground sexy idol" duo is back with a new single off their upcoming second album TOKYO.
 Almost 3 years ago, the AKB48 YouTube channel, along with its other sister group channels, were blocked in the US due to a change in YouTube’s contract. As of today, AKB48 has opened back up its channel for US viewers.
The jump to including overseas fans began back in June 2017. AKB48 began expanding their ticket sales for overseas fans by setting up an multi-language version of their ticketing website. Before expanding ticket services, AKB48 partnered with buyee.jp to set up an AKB48 Online Shop for users of the proxy service. Now, as we predicted, AKB48 opened back up their YouTube channel for US viewers. However, their sister groups, SKE48, HKT48, NGT48, and JKT48 are still inaccessible to the US. This leads to speculation. Does AKB48 have something planned for the US? Did they finally realize how valuable the foreign fans really are? Will the sister group channels be changed soon? What do you think is the reasoning behind this sudden change? ~Alana (Milky Kitty) In the Alt Idol world, eyes were on CY8ER this summer as they hit us with double releases- Kakushemu in June and Koi Natsu at the end of July. But what’s all the talk about? Who are these Cy8er kids and what makes them special? CY8ER, born from the duo formally known as BPM15Q, was founded by ex-BiS member Ichigo Rinahamu after the departure of DJ Nicamoq. An entrepreneur in all things Harajuku, Rinahamu’s quirks fall not only in her many ventures-fashion, modeling, producing- but in her Yume Kawaii esthetic that shows in the groups she manages under her own company, Ichigo Style. Hailing from strawberry kingdom as she likes to say, its only appropriate she would have equally quirky members by her side. Enter CY8ER!  CY8ER official logo  WACK, the idol management company headed by the infamous Junnosuke Watanabe, has just introduced a new group into their avex family. Made up of five hooded members, EMPiRE is thus far a mystery. With the alternative idol scene becoming as bloated as it is, is there room for another group in the WACK style? Will this be more of the same, or will EMPiRE break into some formerly-unexplored territory? We'll have to wait and see. Feel free to speculate in the comments! Relevant social media links are below.
-Justin  Enigmatic dream pop idols ········· (or Dots) are one of the most experimental idol groups out there. Currently on the cusp of releasing a 70-minute song, they just dropped this MV which is probably the least absurd thing they've ever done.
 Clef Leaf is the second group to debut under NIPPON Columbia’s Label the Garden project. Although they are in many ways following in the footsteps of their predecessor Flower Notes, the group is by no means a copy of the former. Each member of this five-member group has a very unique personality. Izumi Kamiya (20), known as Izumin, is a self-described “unfunny girl from Kansai” who attaches herself at the hip to those she calls friends. Nana Yukishige (19), known as Hachi, is a goofy girl who seems to live in her own world most of the time. Kanami Ihara (17), known as Kanamin, is the most down to earth member of the group and loves to dance. Kana Itabashi (20), known as Kanana, is a girl with a lot of energy and an obsession with using the English alphabet in her speech. Miyabi Sakashita (15), known by her first name, is a girl who is more mature than her age in many ways and yet loves to talk your ear off like your average teenager. Together, the girls become a group who may be hard to control but will never bore you.
 Synthpop-punk-throwback idol supergroup (feel free to suggest more buzzwords) BILLIE IDLE is set to return once again with their forthcoming single My Way, to be released August 23rd. Until then, we've been blessed with this new MV for the lovely title track. It's a simple video that does a great job of exemplifying each member's personality, and what else could you want from a BILLIE IDLE video? Highlights include Momo's surprisingly standout vocals, Nozomi being her usual self, and FSU doing whatever it is she's doing. Watch the video below.
-Justin |
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