Jpop Mix: Country Girls - Boogie Woogie Love, Koi wa Magnet, Ran Ra Run

I've had this post in the "drafting" stage since March. Oops. This is coming much later then I originally intended, but Country Girls has not released a new single, so it's not too late right? ;) Well, I've always had this sort of "I'm-not-so-sure" relationship with Country Girls. They were the group where I liked most of the members individually but in terms of the group itself - nah, I didn't care much for them. I did quite like Itooshikutte Gomen Ne, and while I originally thought I would soon tire of it, I still find myself listening to it. Haha, so if I could revise my original review, I would probably give their debut single 4/5, hehe. But! Their follow-up didn't really grab my attention at all and I sort of gave up on the group. 

Well, in the later half of 2015, two new members were added to the line-up, Hello!Project trainees Funaki Musubu and Yanagawa Nanami. This kept my interest only for a bit, but then I saw the new line-up perform their debut single and I was blown away. Like, these new girls had charisma and it's not that the previous line-up was bad, but with the additional two members, I felt like Country Girls as a whole just came alive. I waited patiently for a new single to be released and I was not disappointed. 

A triple A-side, this single is amazing in that it highlights a pair of girls in each song. The main A-side is Boogie Woogie Love which was a song that I immediately loved due to its retro style and jazz undertones. The music video looks like it was filmed in a diner and their outfits are so cute and definitely fit the era of the 50's. I felt like Funakki and Nanami were both featured in a way that wasn't overwhelming and I really liked their little solo dances in the middle. It's a fun song that I listen to often.

Music Mix: Morning Musume '15 Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi/Endless Sky/One and Only

Just two months ago, I wrote an entire blog post dedicated to one of my favorite idols of recent years, Sayashi Riho, who had just announced her graduation from the group, Morning Musume. Being that she graduates in two days time (one if you're in Japan's time zone), Morning Musume dropped one final single with Riho as a member. A tripe A-side single, this single hits a perfect balance between featuring Riho and providing a final farewell from her and looking to the future of the group. In this post, I will tell you of ALLLLL my feels and general feelings about each song.

The single's first song and main A-side is "Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi", whose official translation is "The Cold Wind and Lonely Love". The song was originally intended to be Riho's graduation solo song, however, the song was rearranged to include all members so that it can be promoted into 2016, after Riho's graduation. The song is a melancholy ballad that has sprinkled EDM dance breaks which sounds bad in written form but actually works very nicely in the song itself. The dance breaks are specifically for Riho to perform her solo dance(s) as she is known for being an AMAZING dancer.

I'll be honest, I'm kind of upset Riho herself didn't choreograph these solo's since I think she would do a much better job, but eh, she pulls it off. Some of the dance steps seem a bit off in certain parts but overall, she does a great job and this song stands as a great homage to Riho's skill and status as ace of the group during her tenure. The music video does a good job of showing us how much Riho has grown and her solo dance breaks are especially good because they really reflect Riho as a person: a solitary girl with great talent and a passion for performing. This music video is definitely my favorite of the three.

Jpop Mix: Tsubaki Factory, Seishun Manmannaka!

How long has it been since I've done one of these? Wow, a while. There have been a lot (and I mean A LOT) of releases among my favorite singers/groups in the last few months but I'm going to zero in on one and post my thoughts on their newest release. This time I will introduce a new group that just made their indies debut earlier this month: Tsubaki Factory. Hey, doesn't that sounds a lot like Kobushi Factory? Yes, yes it does and this is because the groups are meant to be "sister" groups of sorts, thus the "Factory" in both of their names.

I will be the first to admit that my initial impression of Tsubaki was not all that great. This is probably because the girls of Kobushi Factory are so polished. While not bad singers nor bad dancers, Tsubaki factory lacks the vocal prowess that their older sister group is consistently praised for. Further, the girls are still a bit awkward on stage. While I would normally find this endearing, it is a stark contrast when compared to Kobushi's confidence and obvious superior stage presence. While I know the two groups shouldn't be compared, I really can't help it. Since they were formed so close to each other and have the sister group tag, it's so hard not to compare them!

Jpop Mix: Morning Musume '15, Seishun Kozou ga Naiteiru/Yuugure wa Ameagari/Ima Koko Kara

Earlier this year, I introduced the idol group Morning Musume by reviewing their 2014 album, 14 Shou ~The Message. With the start of a new year, Morning Musume has now evolved into Morning Musume '15, and has released their first single with Mizuki Fukumura as leader. This is also the first single that includes the new 12th generation members.

Titled Seishun Kozou ga Naiteiru/Yuugure wa Ameagari/Ima Koko Kara, Morning Musume '15 starts the year off by releasing a Triple A side single (meaning that all three tracks are main tracks and equally promoted). With 13 members, the girls come back as a group trying to evolve; starting out by providing three very different tracks and featuring rotating centers. 

Jpop Mix: Juice=Juice, Wonderful World/Ça va ? Ça va ?

Another Music Mix post? Yes indeed. I realize that this is the third one already this month, but there have been tons of releases in 2015 that I wanted to review so I've been trying to knock them out as quickly as possible. 

This time, Juice=Juice's newest single is up. Juice=Juice is an idol group signed to Hello Project! (the same group that manages C-ute, Morning Musume and Country Girls). They are considered a newer group, since they debuted two years ago; despite being one of the newer groups, they are largely considered a professional and sleek group, with strong teamwork that mirrors C-ute. The two groups are compared often as they both have 5 members, 3 main vocalists and 2 supporting vocalists. In addition, Juice=Juice is remarkably versatile, just like their seniors. 

Juice=Juice originally boasted a very unique sound. The majority of their music featured strong jazz undertones and really made them stand out amongst the other groups in Hello Project! The release of songs such as Hadaka no hadaka no hadaka no kiss and Black Butterfly marked a departure from their earlier style and the girls began to release music in a variety of different styles. They continue in this new direction with their newest release, the double A-side single, Wonderful World/Ça va ? Ça va ?

Jpop Mix: Morning Musume '14, 14 Shou ~The Message~

I didn't think I would actually review this album because I bought it on iTunes way back in September. But then I realized that technically, I could still write a review because I promised that no releases would be more than a year old. Since that year is still a ways away, I decided to go ahead and review this album. 

Morning Musume is an all-female idol group formed in Japan in 1997. The group has a graduation system, where girls leave the group or "graduate" when they see fit to leave or when their producer decides a girl is ready to go. The average time a girl will spend in the group is about 4 years, although Morning Musume does boast a total of 4 girls that have stayed for over a decade. Each new addition is referred to as a "generation", the largest being the 1st generation - the 5 girls that founded the group. The smallest generations are the 3rd, the 7th, and the 11th, each consisting of only one girl. As of 2015, Morning Musume has had 12 generations and currently has 13 members. During the time of the release of the album 14 Shou ~The Message~, the group had 11 generations and 10 members.