Tsunku though not available for a audio/video comments on Fujimoto Miki's case of relationship scandal, have expressed his thoughts in his official website.
In his message on the 4th of June 2007:
I went to the GAM and Biyuuden's concert in Tokyo. As everyone know from the news, Fujimoto Miki has decided to resign from Morning Musume. As the leader, though it seems that she may have many deep feelings and emotions, it is her whole-hearted decision. I hope that everyone give their biggest and warmest support. Furthermore, for causing worry and trouble to everyone, we humbly beg your pardon.
Tsunku then proceeds to share the progress and detail of the rehearsal and concert, before finally attributing the lively atmosphere and success of the performance to the support from the fans.
This must be the n-th time we hear members and personnel of the Hello! Project family apologise to the fans for the past many months. I feel sorry for them sometimes. However, no matter how regretful they feel, and how much they have shown to the media of their support to fellow comrades, no one is safe. And as any rational person would, even Tsunku himself have to censor whatever comments he make... including the images that are displayed on his website.
For example.... Tsunku's entry on the 3rd of June about the 21st anniversary of Up Front Groups and its photoshoot event, additionally reflected on some thoughts during his 15 years in association with UFG and his band "Sharan Q" that will come to its 20th anniversary next year. He shared some pictures taken from the photoshoot. However, the ones that have Mikitty in it are not displayed. Here are some of them -->
I'll leave it to you on how you can find the other hidden pictures yourself. I'm sure you can figure it out... ^_^
>> Read the rest of this article
Apparently we have a new member for Gyaruru. And that person is Abe Asami, the younger sister of Morning Musume 1st generation member Abe Natsumi.
In the comments section of Tsunku's official site, he mentioned that he was keen on continuing Gyaruru, that based their gimmick on the Gyaru theme, and was catching on to the masses.
It all started when Tsunku watched Asami's performance in a theater show called "Out of Order" on March and was captivated with her comical but mature act, though he didn't recognize her under the make-up and outfit at first look. He was going "EH~~~!" when he found out who it was. After further research, it was known that back in the high school days, Abe had previously been scouted by another agency while she was shopping in Shibuya. And guess what? She was sporting Kogal fashion! The scouter, of course, was not aware of Abe's identity at that time, and had scouted her with the intention of producing for Kogal starlet that looks like Abe Natsumi. (Yeah, that could have been a cool AV production, innit? ^_^)
After Tsuji's withdrawal, Tsunku thought that it was a good idea to include Abe in the mix. After all, who could have a better credibility to play a part in Gyaruru, than ex-Kogal Abe herself? Abe said that it brings back bitter-sweet memories of her youth, after looking at herself in the mirror wearing Kogal fashion again.
And as is the theme, where competitive eater Gyaru Sone is "Sonene" and Meganekko idol Tokito aMi is "aMiMi" (yeah, I just recently realised that the official spelling for Tokito aMi is with a lowercase "a"), Abe Asami was named "Abebe". Sonene will take the place of Tsuji as leader of Gyaruru.
Tsunku also added in his comments that he had thought of canceling the release of Gyaruru's debut single "Boom Boom Meccha Maccho" because he didn't want an incomplete work to be released and thought that it would be disrespectful to the fans. However, with Abe's addition and her positive participation in the recordings and jacket photoshoot, brought the potential in Gyaruru back to surface again. With that, he was convinced that this will be an attractive single. Lastly, he expressed his regret regarding the delay of the single release to the fans, staff and record stores.
As for me, I didn't expect that it would be Asami. What a surprise indeed! I knew her as a mainstream J-Pop singer-songwriter, and is fairly well-known for her unique style. Also, I think Tsunku did a good job at following up, whether Asami was deliberately a backup plan or not, the timing was just fine. Plus, end of the day, we get to listen to "Meccha Maccho" and all is right in the land.
Gyaruru will hold an "in-store" event on debut day on 20th June in Tokyo record stores. A free live show and a hand-shake event wil be held on 30th June, at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall in Tokyo.
Sorry Yakkun... ^_^ (But then again.... never say never. )
====================== UPDATE 1:11 P.M. This just in.
Tsunku's message in TNX official site, similar with his comments on his own official site. PLUS, messages from Gyaruru members in TNX. See front page and click on the second button under 'News & Topics'. Or more specifically go here.
Translation:
Messages from Gyaruru Members
To the fans that have supported Gyaruru, to company staff that have worked with Gyaruru, and lastly to the members "Sonene" and "aMimi", I truly apologise for causing trouble and worry with my sudden withdrawal.
Although it was a short period working as "Tsujiji", it was fun being able to put on the Ganguro make-up, curled hairdo and fashion that you normaly don't wear. I have heard that we have a new member joining, Asami-chan. I am looking forward to the power-upped and reborn Gyaruru with Asami who will take my place, together with Sonene and aMimi, As former Gyaruru leader, and though I'm going to be a "yanmama" (Young Mama), I will support Gyaruru more passionately than anyone else.
Tsuji Nozomi
Firstly, congratulations to Tsujiji for the marriage and baby! Although it was unfortunate that we were not able to work together, we wish you happiness for always. Next, welcome to Gyaruru, Abebe! Starting with our CD release event, let's all go "BoomBoom" on it (^O^)／!
These are the things that are trademark to Morning Musume. But who started it all? In actuality, Morning Musume was not the original multi-member girl-group type of idols, and certainly the things that they do aren't new either.
During my researching for the article about the relationship between UFG Chairman Yamazaki Naoki and Tsunku, I came across this group that was supposedly Tsunku's initial motivation to become producer for Morning Musume. This group is called "Tokyo Performance Doll" ~ 東京パフォーマンスドール.
Tokyo Performance Doll or TPD for short was formed on April 1990, with Epic-Sony Records. It started out with 3 member unit called "Golbies" as core members, where the remaining future members of TPD will develop on. An interesting trivia is that the unit name "Golbies" was named after then Soviet Union's leader Mikhail Gorbachev nickname "Gorby", with intention of bringing about a "music revolution" within the entertainment industry. TPD's producer was Nakamura Ryouji.
The initial concept for TPD was "girls-next-door idols", but as the concept switched to "pro dancers" it gave them a neo-Takarazuka outlook, TPD's popularity soared to greater heights and attracted many more fans. TPD had since disbanded in 1996 but it became one of the many idol and musical influences to future entertainment acts. I find that Morning Musume is similar to TPD's style and concept in various ways.
Group Building TPD's method of choosing a few core members, then building the group around them by recruiting more members was a new technique at that time and was copied by other entertainer producers. Among them was Okinawa Actor's School from which many popular acts were born, such as Super Monkeys (Amuro Namie and MAX), SPEED, D&D, Folder5, Y'z Factory etc. And of course, Hello! Project's Morning Musume.
Morning Musume started of with but 5 members, but the leads were mostly given to Fukuda Asuka and Abe Natsumi, while the others (Nakazawa Yuuko, Ishiguro Aya and Iida Kaori) provide the seconds and harmonies. With Fukuda's graduation, the main vocal was mainly Abe Natsumi even though the 2nd generation members were recruited, as noted in "Summer Night Town" and "Furusato". When the heat ran out, another ace was required, so in comes Goto Maki for "Love Machine". The entire Momusu act was built around the "aces" and "leads" as core members.
Sub-Units and shuffle units When you have a big group with many members to play with, you can't resist shuffling them up to create new musical products. TPD had 8 sub-units where the core members and the "backing members" were shuffled together. Among them - Golbies, UL-SAYS, ViVA... etc. Hello! Project have many of these sub-units like Tanpopo and Pucchi Moni. And also the now defunct summer shuffle units. One interesting info is that one of the TPD sub-units is called "TWO TOPS". Sound familiar? Yup, that's the nickname that Okamura Takashi of manzai duo Ninety-Nine, gave to "unofficial duo group" of Mechaike Okajo Girls School series -> Tsuji Nozomi and Kago Ai.
Trainees One element that sets TPD apart from other entertainment groups is the use of "trainees". Additional members that would join TPD were scouted and trained. These young hopefuls were normally used as back-dancers for TPD on live shows during their internship and training. After a period of observation and evaluation, gradually they would be included into official groups. A "newcomer's performance" was held in Harajuku Ruido 1 to 2 times per year where the trainees performed songs from the TPD official groups.
Again, sound familiar? Why, it's the Hello! Project Eggs of course. These young talents were in the Hello! Project grooming stables for some time now, and were normally used as back-dancers for Hello! Project concerts. The H!P Eggs are now preparing for their first "Newcomer's Concert" in May, where they will perform song from Hello! Project official acts. Joining them are Jyun Jyun and Rin Rin(an H!P Egg herself), two Chinese girls added into Morning Musume as "exchange students"... or should we say "trainees" of sorts.
Conclusion Seems like Tokyo Performance Doll's "music revolution" movement had influenced Hello! Project in more ways than one. From the looks of it, Hello! Project is now returning to its roots and the original reason why Tsunku accepted the role of producer and main songwriter for Hello! Project works in the first place. It would be a matter of time till the Summer Shuffle Units are brought back.... I think. ^_^
Through the many marketing strategies employed by UFA, this girl-group concept was brought to a higher level, and appealed to the fans more than TPD could have done. From my personal view, if TPD was a "revolution", then Hello! Project has expanded the concept through "evolution".
Thanks for reading. (^_^)/
Additional Info: Other 'Performance Dolls' Following with the success of Tokyo Performance Doll, there were other 'Performance Dolls' that try to imitate their path. For example, four Chinese girls formed Shanghai Performance Dolls (SPD) and Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. Ltd produced a sister group to TPD called Osaka Performance Dolls (OPD). It is with OPD that an indirect connection between TPD and Hello! Project was created. Because the one of the founding members of OPD later became a member of Hello! Project group 'Taiyo and Ciscomoon'(later renamed to T&C Bomber) -> Inaba Atsuko. Inaba is currently Hello! Project chorus singer, MC, and dance choreographer.
And now, here are some of the videos of Tokyo Performance Doll in action.
Footnote: In an upcoming post, I will discuss about yet another all-girl performing group that has been an influence to Hello! Project works, and is certainly one that I regard as the mother of all girl groups - the 52-member Onyanko Club. I had wanted to combine them with this post, but it felt like a little more research was deemed necessary before it gets published.
>> Read the rest of this article
I forget when was the last time I wrote a proper essay on this blog. For the past few months, the Hello! Project world has been riddled with gossip, news and scandals, I barely had time to sit down and write. Here's one out from my drafts. Have done extensive research on this one.
"Why, Tsunku why?!" "Why did Tsunku graduate Nacchi?" "What is Tsunku thinking?" "Tsunku messed up." "One new member only? What is on Tsunku's head?"
Sound familiar? I bet most of us fans of Hello! Project have said something similar at some point. Problem is... Is Tsunku really to be blamed?
Commenter Malmeingehr seems to agree and has supplied a link that he thought "will be of interest" to me. That link was a result of crowd-sourcing work and contained collective links and information of the man which I am going to talk about - Yamazaki Naoki 山﨑直樹.
Background Yamazaki Naoki, born 25th June 1949, is the current Chairman and Representative Director of Up-Front Group Co. Ltd.. I have touched a bit on Up Front Groups, and the functions of related companies, in brief again, is a mother company which has a group companies related to it, such as Up-Front Agency, Up-Front Works and Up-Front Planning. Yamazaki is also one of the Directors of the Japan Visual Industry Guild. He is often compared to the other giants in the entertainment biz such as Max Matsuura of Avex Group Holding and Johnny Kitagawa of Johnny's Office Co. Ltd. However, there are no public information about him anywhere, even photographs of him are scarce and outdated. But here's one, from 2004 H!P Sports festival, it's the short gentlemen on the left with white hair.
About the boss Yamazaki is known to dislike the mass media. Not up to the point that he hates them, but because he has been always unavailable to the mass media for comments. It is his silence that caused the fans to picture him with image of, to quote Dilbert, "the evil pointy-haired boss". Furthermore suggesting that he does not care for the opinions of fans and makes decisions based on his own instincts, despite protests and criticism from fans.
The REAL producer of Morning Musume? In 1997, an audition was held in ASAYAN to find a solo female vocalist for Tsunku's rock band Sharan Q. The winner was Heike Michiyo, and as we know, Morning Musume was formed out of the remaining finalist. However, during the course of the audition, the participating girls were put into a training-camp, where Tsunku mentioned that it was necessary to test "cooperativeness in group activity". This unnatural decision led to many believe that the audition was probably never meant to find a solo vocalist in the first place. (If that was true, then I pity Heike for her fate.)
In an interview with Cyzo, Yamazaki Naoki admitted that initially he wanted to form Morning Musume with around 10 members. But the cost of managing even with 5 members costs 5 million yen per month, and since the potential was still uncertain at that time, the idea was scrapped. He said that he created Morning Musume with reference to an American group that also have members joining and graduating from the band. Furthermore, every graduation and addition of members into Morning Musume will be decided by him beforehand. (Note: It was not stated what American group it was. But I'm thinking along the lines of Jefferson Airplane. )
Additionally, Yamazaki decided that the group presents each member to her own personality. Tsunku comes up with the names for his ideas, like Tanpopo or Puchi Moni. But in the end, the (initial) planning was from Yamazaki, and Tsunku took care of music and the plan execution. However, Yamazaki denied that he used ASAYAN as a PR tool to market his projects. (Right up to ASAYAN's cancellation in 2002, which consists of Heike Michiyo, 4th gen Morning Musume, Nakazawa Yuuko, Tanpopo, Puchi Moni and Shuffle Units.)
In Conclusion Looks like Hello! Project was not Tsunku's baby project after all. And even Morning Musume was not Tsunku's idea at all. Clearly, the chairman Yamazaki was behind all decisions within the UFG banner, and Tsunku just produce the music.
I must say that it's a bit weird. With all due respect, yes he's the CHAIRMAN of UFG. But doesn't the difference between two different business entities account for anything at all? Can he just cross-over to UFA/UFW anytime and decide on just anything at all?
Better yet..... did he have anything to do with Aibon's dismissal?
Among the things/ideas that apparently was decided by the chairman himself: - Fujimoto Miki joining Morning Musume on the 6th gen intake - Goto Maki's solo debut once she reaches 15 years of age on her birthday - Yasuda Kei's graduation announcement, 6 months before the actual day - 'Lending' Ishikawa Rika into Country Musume - Rinne and Asami (Country Musume) was told to cut their hair short. :D LOL
Two interesting things about the chairman which caught my attention: - He is keen on popularising Takahashi Ai (Sounds good!) - Niigaki Risa was rumoured to be his granddaughter (What the heck?!)
Back to Tsunku... From what I found out, Tsunku took part as producer for Morning Musume because he was into Tokyo Performance Doll(a 90's Japanese Dance-Pop group disbanded on 1996) and was interested in managing a girl group like that. However, it probably turns out that Hello! Project was not what he expected, given the limited creative control he has over the girls. It was not made known to the public about his limitations, but something must have led him into creating his own company TNX, where he has direct control over his own artistes, to go whatever direction he wants.
I foresee someday Tsunku breaking away from Hello! Project. But Tsunku himself have said in an interview, that he would hate it if Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou and C-ute songs/lyrics were written by someone else other than him. So I guess he'll stick around for a while.
Tsunku attended a press conference in Harajuku, Tokyo. Because of his producing of comedian duo Ogiyahagi's debut single. What transpired there, and why he is producing a comedy group's song I don't know (well, the song was supposed to be released as a tune to some commercial also). My focus is that he finally talks about Kago Ai. After the "no comment" from Tsuji Nozomi, finally Tsunku himself comments about Aibon.
"It is regrettable, because I was looking forward towards the comeback. Whether she will return to the entertainment biz (in the future) or not, I will give support from a different parental love, and a teacher's heart. But rules are rules. We will take it (seriously)."
Actually, I don't quite understand that second last sentence => "芸能界に復帰するかどうかは別として親心、師匠気分で応援はしていきたい". "別として親心"?? Can anyone help, please? Malmeingehr, if you are reading this, I need your help please... Onegai shimasu~~ m(_ _)m
"It is regrettable, although we* have worked hard on the comeback. Aside from the return to the entertainment biz, will continue to give my support from a producer's parental love in an important way/sense."
* I'm not sure Tsunku is referring to himself or Aibon. So I'm don't know if it was a "we" or a "she".
I know that there are always some discrepancies in the news reports depending on the reporter. But this time the differences are significant to me..... because I understand them with totally different meanings.
I mean.... - Who decided on the termination? UFA? Tsunku? Or both? - It sounded as if Tsunku wasn't part of the decision making.... Or was he? - Does he want to take Aibon under his wing (TNX) after this? - Was the comeback forced on Aibon or not?
So what's next... oh yeah, Flash (a men's magazine) have released their topic titles, and will talk about "the background history of the man who destroyed Kago Ai". This dude will be hounded with news till the end of the year, it seems.
This is not going anywhere... when will all this END??
Foreword: Had only 5 hours of sleep for the past two days, big crisis at work. It's tough working in a managed hosting line. As a result, I missed my appointment with the neurologist, and my headache came back. My family got pissed with me on missing the appointment (that I have waited for 3 months). And this blog post got delayed. *Sigh*... Welp, back to work. (^_^)v
Just when I thought I could escape the bland world of Chinese music (in Mando-pop and Canto-pop) that is riddled with loads of ballads, predictable music, shallow PR, and lame covers.... Hello! Project just came back and presented two Chinese girls, Li Chun (Jyun Jyun) and Qian Li (Rin Rin) as Morning Musume members to me. Funny how things come around. ^_^
To be clear, I am Chinese myself. What more can a Chinaman want, but to see a brethren of his own race taken to such a high degree of recognition. But I remain neutral on this. While a part of me is happy, the Momusu-otaku side of me is complaining.
Firstly, some news. Japan-Zone acknowledges the news and notes that the new girls will take dance, vocal and Japanese lessons, and will blend in with the Momusu members easily. While Hello! Online notes that while the China-dolls are inducted, they will not be part of the next Morning Musume next single "Kanashimi Twilight" on April. But they will officially debut and introduced to the fans on Yoshizawa Hitomi's graduation on May. Some long period for image training, voice coaching and dance drills perhaps? H!O also notes initial reaction by Yossie - absolutely shocked. Heh! Who can blame her? Tomorrow's Hello! Morning episode will be interesting indeed. ^_^
As for me, I am surprised with this decision. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Tsunku has a huge appetite, but I think he may be biting off more than he can chew.
We all know Tsunku has ambitions to advance to the Asian market as announced in the Happy 8 Audition. By but "Asia", what it really meant is "East-Asia". Otherwise he would have chosen some girls with Indian descents to sing Morning Curry and Koi no Dance Site to make the transition easier. ^_^ As in all sales and marketing strategies, the best first step is always your neighbours and the ones around you. Tsunku chose China. (He has already invaded Korea with Goto Maki and affliating with Harmony Promotions by taking in Sonim.)
This be not the first time Tsunku has tried the Chinese market, and I think a lot of us can recall several examples. I would like to highlight Ji Minjia, also widely known as "Jia Jia" (notice the pattern? ^_^), whom he took under his wing in TNX, starting with an anime opening song for The Galaxy Railways. Jia Jia also took part in "The Japan-China Exchange Year of Culture and Sports 2007" as representive from China for the opening act in the Super Live event a few days ago. Jia Jia also doubles as an "ecological ambassador" from China.
We always say that Morning Musume has a "National Idol" tag in Japan, and as we all know, there were many political undertones in their work (ecology campaign, political campaign) and in song (Love Machine). As you can see, this time it's not any different - UFW is moving alongside with Japan-China relations policy.
The idea behind the mentioned Japan-China relations policy, while serving to improve the relations between the two country, it is also, in my opinion, used to reconcile the past war sins of Japan to China. Because China still have bitter memories of the Japanese invasion and occupation in World War 2. And so that Super Live was born, to use music as a universal tool for inter-cultural communication and promote good relations. I can almost hear the top guys in UFW say "What better marketing strategy than acquiring assistance of political influence?"
That said, I am half-supportive about Tsunku taking in Jyun Jyun and Rin Rin to join Momusu, even if they were dubbed "exchange student". Mostly due to my involvement in the Chinese music scene in the past. My take - good that Tsunku is ambitious, but he should tread carefully.
The Chinese music scene is a very wide and extensive, because there also Chinese in other countries. So by venturing in their market, it also introduces your material to other countries. BUT it also very harsh and unforgiving. Same goes for Japan. After visiting the Japanese blogs and BBS, I find that more than 60% of the reactions have been on the negative side. A lot of fans in Japan are angered over the intake of the two China-dolls, expressing that Momusu should stay 100% Japanese. I only visited a few Chinese sites, saw a mixture of positive and negative comments. I wonder if the overall reaction are the same as Japan. With that, I'm thinking that there may just be a chance that this move by Tsunku will backfire on him.
It's up to the guys in UFW to work on that. I would suggest that he move into the younger audience. My friends keep telling me that the younger generations in China have no problems with what happened in WW2, saying "the past is past". And it is most evident in Taiwan especially, where Japanese fashion and culture run amok in the streets. Lots of them are even pro-Japanese. Perhaps, on the plus side, we may get to hear more R&B and up-beat mainstream Pop music from Morning Musume.
Personally, I wish that Morning Musume stay purely Japanese. Create another Chinese Musume or China Musume or Chan Pon Chan Musume, if they have to. But on the other hand, I am intrigued to see on how this plan will work out. I mean, Mini Moni came out just fine, with Hawaiian born Mika in the mix.
This isn't the first time we have an inter-cultural group in Jpop. There was (now disbanded) Black Biscuits consisting of comedians Kyoya Nanami and Amazan, female vocalist Keddy(who joined later) and Taiwanese Vivian Hsu.
I enjoyed their songs back then in 1998, especially with jumpy, dance-able tunes of Stamina and Taimingu (Timing). But guess what was their ambition of this group ..... "Advancing to the Asia market". Unfortunately, they didn't last long enough to realize that dream. However, Vivian is fluent in Japanese, making her acceptance easier. Could this mean that there is always an ambition inside the of hearts of Japanese (showbiz) to conquer Asia?
For now, it's another "wait and see" situation for me. If Jyun Jyun and Rin Rin can emulate Mika's example in Mini Moni and Vivian in Black Biscuits, they might be able to fit right in. I'm still skeptical, but perhaps time will change my mind, just as my acceptance of Koharu-chan and Mittsi has.
Big news! As part of the 8th generation, two new addition to Morning Musume in the form of "exchange student" from China - Li Chun (Jyun Jyun) and Qian Lin (Rin Rin). Here's the summary from the announcement made in Hello! Project site, Tsunku's official site and Up Front Works.
Apparently at the time of the Happy 8 Audition, Jyun Jyun took part in an audition in Beijing, China. And Rin Rin was an exchange student in Hello Project eggs. Tsunku saw potential in them when he saw them perform in a concert.
Tsunku reiterates his goal of 2007 to break into the Asian market, and looks at these two girls as the "key person", and it is his best decision to include them in Morning Musume.
He comments that these girls possess a "character" that Morning Musume did not have so far. He is convinced that in their singing skills he sees that they are "members with a great new hidden possibility" (I hope I phrase that correctly)
He continues to say that "This year is the 10th anniversary of Morning Musume since its formation. So far, in the repetition of various graduations and additions, it became a vocal unit with unending evolution and is loved by all. To further this growth, it is with my great expectation that this a good opportunity for another evolution with the addition of Jyun Jyun and Rin Rin."
He ends the announcement while asking for everyone to extend their support, and he wishes all a great springtime.
Background Information
Jyun Jyun Real Name: Li Chun Birthday: 11 February 1988 Age: 19 years old Birthplace: Hunan, China Height: 168 cm
Musical instruments: Piano, 2 years Hobby and Specialty: Singing, acting Foreign Language: English (Beginner Level) Favourite Artist: Wayne Lin Jun Jie, Cyndi Wang Xin Ling Performing history: 2006 Super Girl, Area Best 50 in ChangshaLink Here Jyun Jyun in action in Super Girl 2006
Rin Rin Real name: Qian Lin Birthdate: 11 March 1991 Age: 16 years Birthplace: Hangzhou, China Height: 153cm
Special Skills: Emcee, acting, impersonation, singing, dance, piano, guitar, swimming... etc. Performing history: Scouted in elementary school (2nd Grade). Acted in TV dorama (soap opera) and hosted television shows. Started to join the showbiz in China
>> Read the rest of this article
Mystery, mystery... I wonder what he has in his mind? Here's what popped into me head when I think about it. Of course, I assumed that it has something to do with Morning Musume. Don't think they'd show that last frame of Momusu for nothing.
(Not in order of possibility) 1) Tsunku is handing over the role of producer of Hello! Project and Morning Musume to someone else. Maybe he wants to concentrate on his company TNX to promote his protegees Tokito Ami and The Possible. And of course his restaurant "It's a Gohan World".
2) Repeat history, and send the Momusu girls to sell 50,000 copies for the next single "Kanashimi Twilight" in 5 days, just like the the first generation members.
3) An extreme promotion plan for Morning Musume, in accordance with his goal of breaking to the Asia market, just as he has announced during the Happy 8th Audition.
4) A surprise addition of a new member to Morning Musume, probably from the dropouts of the Happy 8 Audition. I'm thinking Kikkawa Yu.
5) Set a record breaking event for Morning Musume. e.g. The most concert tour shows in history of Japan entertainment history.
Later, news came from the Hello! Project site and if that's what it's all about, then I am half-right at number 3 and 4.
Two Chinese girls! Li Chun （Jyun Jyun） 19 years old Qian Lin ( Rin Rin ) 16 years old
Tsunku was DAMN serious on breaking the Asia market, wasn't he? ... although it is stated that they will be in an identity of.... "exchange students" ?!
Later I found out that Tsunku, Yaguchi Mari and Iida Kaori are part of the supporting team for the mayor election in Kyushuu. Source from WHG.
Now I hold nothing against what they are doing... but just where the heck is the connection?! Tsunku is from Osaka, Marippe is from Kanagawa and Kaorin is from Hokkaidou.
Something tells me that these are old pictures, cos' Marippe's hairdo wasn't like this in the recent "Yaguchi Hitori" show. If that's so, this means this ain't the first time they are doing this. (Or maybe Yaguchi has used extensions in her show)
Is Tsunku's appetite for exposure that strong, so as to be affiliated with politics as well? It's fine that Hello! Project participates in various promotions of other merchandise and public campaigns. But does Tsunku intend to allow Hello! Project to be available for bookings in political activities as well?
So Tsunku has gone and start another enterprise of his own, yet again. I wonder what does he have on his mind. All I can say that it's pretty ambitious, and he has a huge appetite. His marketing stragegy is smart too.
As reported, Tsunku absorbs his Good Factory Record and Tsunku Town Theater into TNX.
TNX produces for all kinds of events and products related to the entertainment business. Up till now, he has a few separate companies that caters for each of its own purposes, like recruiting, selling merchandise, music studio, music producing etc. Now he is probably slowly lumping it all together to create a new entertainment giant, and if successful, will become a great presense in the business. His future sights have been set to an international level. As mentioned in his announcement, he plans to "promote japanese entertainment to the world". He also plans to produce Chinese and Korean artists (which he has already started doing so)
I categorise TNX as not only a recording label, but an "event management company cum recording label". Yes it will continue to produce works as any recording label would. But I find that his army of staffs and artists has been very versatile in what they can do. So in a way, it also functions as an event management company.
Check out their current artist list: (Was about to write a comprehensive report on their artist list but I changed my mind. Found out a great deal about them but too much work to elaborate. Check them out yourselves) They've got a gravure idol cum recording artist, boy rock-idol, theater and drama actor, girl group (H!P Egg), even a variety magician. Also I think Tsunku is planning to record himself under this label.
He is probably planning big things and wants to have a piece of every bit of the entertainment biz. TNX produces recording artists, recruits and trains hopeful entertainers, produce CDs, DVDs, visuals, televison shows, merchandises, commercials, concert visuals, recording studios, theaters etc. Now you know why i said event management? Wait till he starts on producing non-entertainment projects.
His business stragegies (if I speculated correctly) are like this: 1) He WILL continue to work on his Hello!Project and Up Front Works projects. And in turn each of his projects will continue to feed his new company TNX with projects to work on. e.g. DVDs, CDs, albums, recordings etc. 2) Although there was an official reason on why GAM's first single is titled "Thanks!". (The producer calls them 'Great!', in turn they say 'Thanks!'). I find that the word "Thanks!" in his TNX logo suspicious. Business marketeers calls this "embedded marketing". Smart way to promote his new company name. 3) Break into the Asian market for expansion. Using public campaigns such as the environmental campaigns or sports campaign. 4) Have more auditions via H!P or others in order recruit more people under his wing.
Really brilliant, no?
I don't think Tsunku will retire any time soon. But I think he is more business minded than musically inclined now. My only hope is that all this does not dampen his work quality on producing Morning Musume projects.
p.s. I hope if/when Tsunku sees this article, he will thank me for promoting his company. Probably give me a recording contract or something. Heh! ^_^
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Tsunku came, Tsunku saw, Tsunku even ate, but Tsunku left without leaving anything for us Aibon-hungry fans.
The highly anticipated announcement about Kago Ai's fate at the dinner show at Nara never took place. The streets of the cyber forums went amok, everyone was almost sure that Aibon will never come back. Well no announcement is maybe better, if the announcement is a negative one of course.
So what's next?
Most comments I found, and most fans agree, since Aibon is not part of the Winter Tour 2007 show, is that she may never return this year, but maybe after she reaches 20 years of age. Not good at all.
Being realistic, observing the common lawful usage of contracts, is that UFA may want to stall the activity of Aibon, until her contract expires. Then she may be released after that. Or she may be released prematurely with a certain amount of compensation. Compensation not to Aibon may be, cos one may argue that Aibon breached the contract in terms of personal conduct. UFA may need to continue compensate all related parties for monetary loss, however. Like the music publications and stuff.
If you want to be hopeful, here are some points to consider, based on my personal observation:
1) Aibon's profile is still in H!P site. She may return later. If she is deemed to be terminated, her profile should be long gone by now. H!P is very effective when it comes to such things. Konno Asami's references have been removed entirely from the artist list though her pictues remained intact (can't be helped) 2) Tsuji did not get any solo act. Though she is scheduled to a variety of activities such as Hello! Morning, variety show appearances, FLETS, concerts, etc. She has never been scheduled for any musical project. You see, she is never considered to be a solo artist. Like Ishikawa Rika, Tsuji doesn't have a personal artist bio in Hello! Project nor Up Front Works. So W is the only way for her to perform. You can't have Tsuji act as a variety idol for 2 years, can you? (Err, well maybe you can, looking at Yaguchi Mari's current condition. But that's different) Therefore, we may expected Tsuji to be able to perform when W is reactivated, along with Aibon or when Aibon is replaced with someone else. 3) There's that link about the suspension of Aibon and W activities, as mentioned before. And it's STILL there, lingering on the front page 'Topics' and the news list. What gives? H!P wants us to forget about Aibon, but not wanting us to forget her entirely? It's just not natural, you have an old link mixing around with the newer news. Something is brewing. I just know it.
Right now, I'm sadly listening to the continuous loop of W's rendition of "Matsu wa" (I will wait)...
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