Friday, March 27, 2009

»» NEW H!P UNIT

Everyone who checks Hello!Online on a regular basis probably already knows this, but I have got to talk about it. There is a new H!P unit in the works! I've been longing for a new unit for some time now, so I'm loving this. Especially because some of my favourite H!P members are in it!



It's Aika, NakaSaki and Yurina in the same unit! The reason why I'm not fainting right now is beyond me. My favourite MM member, my favourite C-ute member and one of my favourite BK members (though I don't really have a favourite BK member, I love many of them). I'm guessing H!P owns Aika and NakaSaki something, 'cause it's their second unit. They were both in Athena & Robikerottsu, which was absolutely awesome too. Omakase! Guardian, the first single, isn't going to be released 'til May 27th, so there's still some time left to wait. I'm just thinking of how many good units this Shugo Chara anime has produced. Buono!, Shugo Chara Egg! and now 4 Guardians. I hope this one will be as successful as Buono! and will stay around for very long. There is no such thing as too much Aika or NakaSaki.



SO full of win.

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by Sairo!


Friday, March 20, 2009

»» BoA - BoA

01. I Did It for Love ft. Sean Garrett
02. Energetic
03. Did Ya
04. Look Who's Talking
05. Eat You Up
06. Obsessed
07. Touched
08. Scream
09. Girls On Top
10. Dress Off
11. Hypnotic Dancefloor

The girl did it! BoA's debut english album is out, and it's absolutely on fire!

First track is second single, I Did It for Love ft. Sean Garrett. The song, just like all other songs in this album, is very catchy and full of synth. The lyrics are great (it's fun to understand what she's singing for once) and the chorus is the catchiest thing ever! I totally loved it when I first listened to it, and I have yet to grow tired of it. Sean Garrett's vocals are good, though they don't match his image at all xD

Energetic is absolutely awesome, very catchy, I looooooooove the male voice that keep saying 'I feel so energetic don't think I can ever get it' and the beat is totally insane! This is too good!

Did Ya slows down things a bit. It's very bubbly and fun, and her voice isn't so synthed, which is good. Though her english isn't perfect, maybe they should've included a ballad in this album, so people can see she can actually sing. Anyway, back to Did Ya: the chorus is very fun, and the lyrics are also cool. Though I can't really understand everything she's singing.

Look Who's Talking was going to be the album's title song and second single before they switched it to a self-titled album and made I Did It for Love the second single. Honestly, I'm glad they did. This song is ridiculous xD The lyrics are a bit too over the top, I don't think she can really pull this off. As for the song itself, it's ok. The beat is strong and all. Not the best song in the album, definitely.

Everyone already knows Eat You Up, it's been out for quite some time, and it's been loved by many. It failed to make an impact in the US, but it's really good.

Now fasten your seat belts, 'cause Obsessed is next. Man, how am I supposed to review this? This song is perfect! The lyrics are the coolest thing ever, her vocals are perfect, the beats are killing me right now, and whoever produced this deserves a producing Nobel prize.

Touched is weird. It doesn't sound like BoA! And I don't mean the music, 'cause none of these sound particularly like her previous works. It's the vocals! It's not BoA's voice!! I can't really enjoy this song.

Scream is a cover of the Monrose song by the same name. BoA had already covered this in the Anyband project, but it was called Daydream back then. I'm not really used to it yet, 'cause I really love Daydream, but the song is great. I love it when she sings 'It's only you and me and all of your fears'. Juicy.

The english version of Girls On Top doesn't even come close to the original korean version. I think maybe she shouldn't have done it, but maybe it will make new fans go check her previous work. It simply sounds weird to listen to this in english. It's probably awesome to everyone else who didn't know it yet, though.

Dress Off had a great bridge and a great chorus, but in comparison to all the other awesome tracks, it doesn't really stand out.

Hypnotic Dancefloor is pure greatness. This is how you end an album. This song is going to make it big in US clubs, I'm sure. The chorus is crazy, you can't help but dance to it, and her voice sounds quite clear in it. Her pronunciation is also much better than some other moments in the album. Awesome, awesome song.

After this, everyone must have already realized BoA is serious about this American career thing. She totally let go of her usual sound and turned into a dance artist who isn't kidding about making it big in the US. I'm sure that if SM stops screwing around and promotes this album right, it will make quite an impact in the US market.

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by Sairo!


Tuesday, March 17, 2009

»» Morning Musume - Platinum 9 DISC

01. SONGS
02. Resonant Blue
03. Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou
04. Take off is now!
05. Naichau Kamo
06. Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito
07. Guruguru Jump
08. Mikan
09. Jounetsu no Kiss wo Hitotsu
10. It's You
11. Onna ni Sachi Are
12. Kataomoi no Owari ni
13. Kanashimi Twilight

SONGS starts off very slowly, but then picks up with a little funny instrumental and becomes some kind of funky R'nB song with synth vocals and lines sung in unison. Morning Musume has had quite a few awesome album openers over the years, and this one is really just as awesome as HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN, Genki+ and Nagisa no Sinbad.

Resonant Blue. Period.

Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou is a beautiful ballad. At first I was like 'too bad it's all sung in unison, but now I think that works well with the instrumental and the melody. JunJun and LinLin sing a little bit in chinese in the end, and it's absolutely amazing. LinLin's high note in the end was not breath-taking, but it was sure pretty.

Take off is now! is the song where Ai can be 22 for a minute or two. The song sounds really grown-up and is catchy as hell. I'm definitely burnin' this to a CD and givin' it to my friends, everyone is going to love it. Great vocals, too.

Naichau Kamo is the latest single, and probably the second best off this era. I'm not sure if I should count Kanashimi Twilight as part of this era, since it was released so long ago and was in the 10th Anniversary album, but if you don't count it, Naichau Kamo and Resonant Blue are the two most amazing singles they released in this era.

Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito is Mittsi's solo song. You see, I had high hopes for this one. Aika is my favourite member of Morning Musume right now, and I just loved to know she was getting a solo song. However, the song isn't all that good... It's fun and all, but not too enjoyable, and has almost no replay value. Aika can carry the tune, but doesn't give it much of her own character. Nice try, Aika, but try again some time soon.

Guruguru Jump is definitely a very fun song. LinLin is the funniest MM in the group right now, and Koharu can sound quite interesting when she tries. JunJun also sounds good, but it's a bit awkward to have a 21-year-old singing this kind of song. The song is very catchy, very fun, and doesn't really qualify as a filler track. :)

Mikan is the bad single. But it's awesome. It sold very poorly, but I think it's a greaaaaat single. The melody, the instrumental, the vocals, everything is very endearing about it. It's really a shame it didn't sell well, so probably they aren't going to make a similar song anytime soon.

Jounetsu no Kiss wo Hitotsu is kind of a filler track. I don't really like it. Once again, it's Ai, Reina and Risa.

You see, I love Sayumi Michishige. I absolutely adore her. But I gotta say this, her song is no good. Her voice sounds OK in It's You, which is unexpected (though she did sound good in Yowamushi), but the song itself is absolutely boring. I was really happy when I heard she was going to have a solo song, but this was going to be it, they could have left it out.

Onna ni Sachi Are was the pandas' debut, and it's so fucking awesome. They all sound good, the beat is awesome, and I love the title (Good Luck, Girls). There isn't much to say about it, since it's been around for so long already, so everyone already knows it.

Kataomoi no Owari ni is Eri's solo song. This is probably the best solo song off this album. But it isn't all that awesome either. Eri has proven everyone she is really good, and will carry Morning Musume when the time comes for Ai and Risa to graduate (let's hope that's not very soon). The song sounds a lot like 90's songs, and Eri sounds it in a way that reminds me of Haru Beautiful Everyday, one of my favourite MM songs. The melody is endearing, and Eri seems to have gotten rid of some of her vocal flaws, which is great. Still, it's a bit bland and doesn't stand out much. It's the only solo song I don't skip, though. I'm immensely sorry for Aika.

I don't think I even have to talk about Kanashimi Twilight. Everyone knows it's Yossy's graduation single, and that just couldn't have been bad. The song kicks ass, Aika's solo lines are awesome, the guitar riffs are awesome, the video was awesome, and Yossy is the personification of awesome. We all miss her, that's for sure. There's also Miki, who is great, and is also missed.

I want to say Platinum 9 DISC is a great album, but I'm not so sure. I think it outshines SEXY 8 BEAT, but it relies more on the single tracks than that album. It had 5 absolutely terrific singles, and that might have made me think they'd reaaally raise the bar here, specially after SEXY 8 BEAT had Genki+ and Haru Beautiful Everyday, which are two of the most greatest album tracks MM has ever put out IMO. Platinum 9 DISC has SONGS, Ame no Furanai... and Take of is now!, but they kind of pale in comparison to the singles, which didn't happen in SEXY 8 BEAT, which had Aruiteru to ruin it for everyone. I still think it's a good album, though, and I intend on buying it soon.

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by Sairo!


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

»» Boys, Boys, Boys, and then some...

Lots of news, lots of new stuff. The new Tohoshinki single, Survivor, just came out. The new Super Junior song, Sorry Sorry, came out. BoA's english album is about to come out. The new AAA tour just started. Lots of news.

The new Tohoshinki song, Survivor, has had a demo (in english) out in the net for quite some time. While their last single, Bolero, was absolutely awesome, this sounds a bit rushed. In fact, I prefer the english demo over their version. The PV is no MIROTIC, but is ok. They're on a high right now, so I'm guessing avex wants to release as many singles as possible and profit all they can from them. Their new album is coming out later this month, and it's going to be called The Secret Code. If it's anything like their previous japanese albums, I'm sure I'll like it.

I'm not a SuJu fan at all. In fact, I actually dislike them. 13 people is too much for 1 group and some of them are simply not talented. However, I can't deny the fact that they've produced some damn catchy songs over the years. The M unit was also pretty great. Now their new song, Sorry Sorry, is probably going to set the Korean charts on fire, 'cause it's absolutely awesome. if features a lot of synth, synth vocals, electronic beats, a catchy chorus, and I can almost see them performing a killer choreography on the MV. SM knows how to do things, no one can deny that.

Another example of SM greatness is BoA's english album. Ok, they messed up by not promoting Eat You Up very well, but they certainly did things better then Se7en's and Rain's labels, who have been there for 2 years and they're nowhere to be seen. BoA's album comes out on the 17th, and I can tell from the previews that it is going to be E-P-I-C. First of all, and kind of a downer thing about it, there are no ballads. It's pure dance music with heavy synthed vocals and beats. BoA doesn't need that, everyone knows she can sing like hell, but they're obviously doing it to cover up her english speaking flaws. All I can say is that I hope she doesn't get better anytime soom, 'cause the songs are sounding absolutely fantastic so far. Another 6 days and we'll know for sure.

The new AAA tour has just started. It's called A depAture pArty, and here's the setlist:

01. SAVE YOUR SOUL
02. Red Soul
03. Samurai Heart
04. BEYOND～ｶﾗﾀﾞﾉｶﾅﾀ (karada no kanata)
05. 始まりのキセキ (hajimari no kiseki)

06. Getﾁｭｰ！
07. Wonderful Girls
08. a piece of my word
09. 唇からロマンチカ (kuchibiru kara romanchika)

10. 夢ノカケラ (yume no kakera)
11. 出逢いのチカラ (deai no chikara)
12. HORIZON
13. Mosaic
14. ﾊﾘｹｰﾝ･ﾘﾘ,ﾎﾞｽﾄﾝ･ﾏﾘ

15. ZERO
16. Let it beat!
17. "Q"
18. ハレルヤ (Hallejuah)

-ENCORE-
19. Jamboree!!
20. Winter Lander
21. 旅ダチノウタ (Tabidachi no Uta)
22. MUSIC!!!

I like the fact that it features almost all songs from depArture, but I'm beyond tired of Hurricane Riri, Boston Mari, and Winter lander!! isn't their best song. Other than that, I think it's going to be a nice DVD xD The pictures are looking good, the outfits are cool, and Chiaki's new hair is actually quite cute.

Not that many news, maybe?

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by Sairo!


Monday, March 9, 2009

»» Hold me, Hold me

Berryz Koubou!!! The new Berryz single is out (the day after tomorrow, one would say) and I just can't hold back on this one. Ever since the video was out, I've been longing to talk about this, but I find it weird to talk about songs who aren't out yet.

You see, the video for Dakishimete Dakishimete was quite epic. Its budget wasn't much higher than the average recent Berryz video. In fact, MADAYADE probably costed a lot more. But, you see, you don't get to see them act this fierce all the time. Some girls had it bad, but Risako, Captain, and most importantly, Chinami, totally owned this PV. Let me get you some caps.


Chinami looking absolutely hot.

Risako looking absolutely hot.

Has she ever looked this hot?

Captain is always fierce.

Miyabi, Maasa and Yurina also looked fine. Love Yurina's hair.

Risako's chest...

...has an important role in this PV.


As you can obviously see, this PV is absolutely full of win. I don't think BK has had a PV with this much win since... ever? Jiriri Kiteru was nice, but the song sucked. I have not mentioned the song yet, have I? I was saving the best for last! Dakishimete Dakishimete reminds me of the amazing Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteru YOU KNOW? which was my favourite BK song for quite some time and features the most amazing H!P girl ever: Ishimura Maiha!! <3333 Dakishimete Dakishimete is kind of a clubbing song, and I hope BK is going down that road (though it's unlikely they'll ever go down any road, since they're so experimental). The b-side, Sonosubete no ai ni is slow and mellow, sounds like the kind of song groups do when they're going to split. BK isn't going to split, so they thought it'd be a good b-side. It is, sort of.

Long story short, this is an awesome release by the Berryz Koubou girls. Buy this if you can, support H!P!!

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by Sairo!


Tuesday, March 3, 2009

»» This week in singles

So far, I've downloaded 3 singles that are going to be released tomorrow: AKB48's 10nen Sakura, Yuna Ito's trust you, and ARASHI's Believe / Kumori Nochi, Kaisei. I'm not a huge fan of any of those three acts, so I think I can be fairly impartial about these releases.

First off, AKB48. I'm not familiar with them at all. I always knew they existed, but had never tried any of their music. I must say 10nen Sakura didn't dissapoint me at all. The song is very happy and fun, and I love the pitch changes in it. The girls sound decent (though I have no idea who's singing this. There are 48 of them, and I don't know a single one.) and the chorus is a real explosion of fun! The bridge is absolutely catchy. I might check their previous works very soon, really. The b-side, Sakura Ito no Sora no Shita de continues the sakura concept, and is very sweet, with a nice and well-thought melody, though a bit generic.

Now, on to Yuna Ito. Yuna Ito has many awesome ballads under her belt. ENDLESS STORY, Precious, Faith, Truth, you name it. They're all terrific. That's exactly why trust you doesn't stand out. If if was released by any other singer, it would be an epic ballad. But Yuna Ito has the brightest background when it comes to ballads. She is made of epic ballads. trust you isn't one. On the bright side, if you try to forget about all those other amazing songs, or if you're a new fan, this works very well, it's still pretty good. Brand New World, the b-side, is a bit lackluster. She's been trying this new "groovy" sound since her preview single Koi wa groovy x2 (which was great), and it worked pretty well back then, but this time it feels like trying a bit too hard. It's quite generic and sounds like everything that's been done before. The Koi wa groovy x2 remix in the single is very cool and really gives the song a new feeling, kind of a little samba thing or something. I like it :) The single is consistent, and I really wish her the best of luck. Her sales are dropping reaaaaaaaaaally fast. Koi wa groovy x2, for example, was a great song and sold 5k. Really sad. I really hope she can pick it back up.

I'm not a big fan of ARASHI. In fact, I think they're terribly overrated. They've been around for 10 years, and the only decent song from them I've ever heard is truth. Still, they sell like crazy. Believe is the second decent song from them I've ever heard. It's a great pop song, very catchy, fast chorus, and somehow stands out. It's formulaic, but at the same time it's not. This is really a great effort. Vocals are as good as JE goes. One of them sounds a bit off, but I have absolutely no idea which one. I don't even know their names, really xD Kumori Nochi, Kaisei is the second a-side song. It's got a feel-good feeling, with little piano riffs (not played on a real piano, but still), and a "friendly" melody. This is the kind of song you sing in the end of your concert, right after the encore emotional ballad. It's pretty fun, but doesn't really stand out. Is it sung by only one member of the group, or do they all sound similar? Tobira is the b-side song. It's another happy song. It's a huge filler, so many singers have sung this exact same song in the past. It's still enjoyable if you're not paying too much attention to it, though.

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by Sairo!