Shangai Honey - Orange Range (Review)

Hello guys!

Now today's blog post is a little different to my usual blog posts. Usually, I have planned what song I want to review next but this week I've been in the mood to discover some new Japanese acts (well not new-new but acts that I've come across for the first time). Phew! I'm glad I got that confusion out the way! And back to the topic I basically asked people I knew online if they had any requests to send my way and my good friend Nakatsu asked me to review Shangai Honey by Orange Range!

Now the song didn't click with me straight away cause the rapping was a turn off for me (out of the J-Rock bands I know Uverworld is the only band that's impressed me with their rapping) but apart from that I like the rest of the song! The group has a lot of energy and really know how to gel together well. The chorus' were very catchy and I still have them stuck in my head! I'm a big fan of J-Rock and a lot of stuff I get introduced to or discover is usually v-kei and a lot of it is dark, so many J-Rock acts I like have dominantly dark music material. But it's a nice breath of fresh air to discover a band such as Orange Range who are still rock but they have a much more upbeat, positive vibe about them. And it's a very catchy song for me to listen to through the summer and I think with a few more listens I will definitely download it. Songs are only legit for me once they are downloaded onto my mp3 player because I cannot leave the house without it. And i cannot risk 40 minute bus drives to university and back if there isn't any good music to listen to. I think this song will be a grower on my list just for it's catchiness and simplicity. I'm glad it wasn't an  over the top and complicated song.

Then when I watched the PV (Original version) and I just couldn't stop giggling throughout the whole thing. It was like they were doing a slap stick of a typical 90's RnB music video with the bodyguards stood with the speakers and the typical slim women swimming around in a pool. But then you get this other woman who enters who is completely different to the other women (in this case she is much more muscular and less feminine) and suddenly the band are all rushing to grab her attention instead of the typically beautiful women you'd expect them to fawn over. So I loved how they tricked us into thinking they were being serious and then pull one over on us when they do something different to what I expected. So I learned my lesson in the sense that just because you see a beautiful woman doesn't mean every man is going to bow down to her feet to be their prince charming. Thank you Orange Range for giving me morals! (Sorry I sound so hyper in this I'm drinking wine as I'm writing, naughty Jen! haha!)

Speaking of wine as I watched this PV I giggled and laughed a lot at how many sexual innuendos there are in the music video! They're better in screencaps because wording them will not give them justice:

Here is the stereotypical white bikini I always seem to see in music videos to suggest supposed "innocence". All I can think is Beeeatch please!

And the more I watch this the more I realize why they have white bikinis. Well Orange Range don't have X-ray vision do they? Dirrrrty! Hehe! Can't blame a guy for trying!!

However, these girls know what Orange Range's gameplan is and so with their oh-so-awesome dance moves they show the guys that they are thinking to insinuate they have intelligence and should not be just looked at! You go girls you show them! Let them work hard for their Asian rendezvous! GRR!

No, girls this isn't a pure love when you ruin your plans by shaking your toooshe to the camera! I thought we had something here girls but oh well...keep shaking the booty!

Oh but these girls don't care what I have to say do they? I thought it was sisters before misters.

Well no more respect from me! Even though those bikinis are quite pretty!

One compliment and they agree with my thoughts again! Women should not be seen as a common object! So they brought their friend Gunta to prove a point! You go girl! You flex those lady muscles!

Now these guys just can't make their minds up about who they want can they? And you white vest dude, put your mic away! We're in public! Come on it's so strategically placed you have to turn onto dirty mind mode here!

But I think Gunta has the same idea as me about these perverted men! She's shown her rage with lightning and hurricanes to scare them off! Make them work for your affections! Go Gunta!

Pfft! Didn't take long for these two did it! What happened to sisters before misters and bros before hos? You all make me sick! I'll just drink more wine to drown my sorrows!

Now this guy can agree with me! Bring on the bubbly, we'll both get drunk while these young'uns go on with their escapades of orange themed fun!

But don't think that popping that bottle open in that way is going to make me think dirty thoughts!
You sir are totally wrong!
I'm sorry but can anyone else see this innuendo? It's too rude for me to put it simply!

But through all of my mind war games of morals and people popping mics and bottles we forgot about one poor little fellow! The drummer who hasn't managed to have a break! Through the PV I realized the drummer was not interested in those women at all. He's probably looking for an intelligent woman to share clever banter with, I can spare some time comrade!

Or you could hang out with these two cool speaker dudes and fill out the health and safety forms? With all of that water you knew there would be loads of paperwork! You could have ran with the ladies but instead you decided to work hard! Good for you!

Sorry for the weirdest screen caps! It's just when I watched this music video this is what I was thinking throughout the whole thing. There were so many suggestions and innuendos that with all of the wine I've had it made me giggle so much and I had to share this with you! It's a very fun music video to watch and it was a simple stage set, pool and beach and I liked the whole white and orange themes of the women's bikinis to showcase different things. From my perspective I think the white represented the plain look that we get given in the media when it comes to women in Japan and then we get this orange bikini'd woman who is not the type of girl we see in the magazine, and the way the band are attracted to her proves something. That girls we see everyday in the magazines aren't what men always want. Everyone has different types and it's a shame the media can't really recognize that.

I think I might give Orange Range a chance and listen to more of their songs! Despite it being catchy it didn't click with me straight away so I might check out more of their other songs to see if they can still pull me in and make me a fan! And thank you to Nakatsu again for this request I had a lot of fun writing this blog post!

Guys if you have anymore requests for me in the future, please do not hesitate to request them to me! They can be H!P, AKB, any other idol groups, J-Rock or even some K-Pop if you feel adventurous!

Thanks for reading!

Tanaka Reina ~~Graduation Commemoration Post~~

How can you write about a Morning Musume member who is due to graduate yet you don't really know what to write? Tomorrow is Tanaka Reina's graduation from Morning Musume and of course a lot of wotas and fans hearts will be breaking that their MoMusu oishii will be leaving. Do not fear though Reina will not be disappearing from the face of the earth, she will still be in the music industry with her new rock project Lovendor. So it is a big massive part of Morning Musume that will be graduating but at the same time it isn't going to end the world.

Now when I first became a fan of Morning Musume Reina did stand out to me at the start. At this point the first song I'd come across by Morning Musume was Onna ni Sachi Are and Reina was one of the girls that was pushed to the front. So, really I had no choice but to take notice of her. And she did stand out to me, with her sultry glares, I would have said stares but glares sounds more like our yankee Reina. I thought she was very beautiful and really fit with the theme of the song with her pretty vocals. I've never thought of Reina as having a strong voice in terms of Ai and Gaki but she always had this pretty tone to her voice that I always liked.

However, after a while and becoming more familiar with Morning Musume and all of their other member, I learned to realise that this was the Reina I would always be given. In Onna ni Sachi Are I thought her careless attitude was due to the song being a serious one and this was just her relating to the songs. However, in singles after that and even to this day I realised this was the Reina we would always have. She still had amazing talents and looks but it never seemed like she was as passionate about Morning Musume like Michishige Sayumi for example.

In earlier songs such as Shabondama Reina had passion and looked like she enjoyed herself and that was the Reina I loved. I will be honest and say I loved Reina from the beginning of her Morning Musume career compared to the Reina now. I still like her, but I loved her energy and much more mature sounding voice in her earlier years in comparison to now. Through the Platinum Era Reina's vocals turned very squeaky and now she does sometimes sound mature but that's only depending on the kind of song she is given to sing.

There was times where I really loved Reina in her career and then there were times where I still liked her but she just meshed with the other members of Morning Musume who also just meshed into the background. But I have never had a dislike towards Reina, she has always been one of my favourite vocalists. Of course behind Ai, because if you know me, you will know that no other idol no matter what will top Ai in being the perfect idol. And in terms of being an idol, despite all of the glitter and cat ears etc, Reina never really seemed like an idol to me. Her bored personality kind of took her away from that and her lack of an idol personality made me think of Reina as more of a much more serious, professional singer. From what I've heard of Lovendor so far Reina does need to transition from her idol vocals to a much more rockier vocals but it isn't going to happen overnight. And if Reina doesn't want to be seen as an idol anymore she really needs to get rid of the glitter and cat ears she has been wearing in performances because even if she is graduating, it still makes Lovendor Reina look like the Morning Musume Reina.

It isn't going to happen overnight but if Reina manages to change her image and vocals to conform better to a rock group then they will sound fantastic. And from the previews I've heard of their first album so far I have good hopes for this group, but I don't know how they will do sales wise.

In terms of Reina's graduation I do hope she goes out with a good farewell due to her 10 long hard working years as a member of Morning Musume. I do hope the concert is one that showcases Reina well with plenty of glitter and bows to last a lifetime. Even though there were times where Reina didn't stand out the most to me, I've always liked her and respected her as a member of Morning Musume. There have been times in her career where she was isolated from the rest of the group but she still managed to go onto the stage with a smile and interact with her fans which I think is a true quality in an idol. No matter what happens you can always smile and keep the spirit within your fans hearts. I will miss Reina, but at the same time I am very excited to hear what Morning Musume have to offer once Reina is gone.

What do you think of Reina's graduation? With only 24 hours left I will be excited to hear what the other members have to say to Reina as their farewells. Another member of an amazing era has retired her idol microphone ready for the next line up of Morning Musume to take it's place.

Farewell to the glittery yankee of Morning Musume! I wish you all the best for Lovendor!

Cascada - Glorious (Review (The Cheesy Eurovision Edition))

Today is the final of the Eurovision song contest and it's an hour before it airs in my country! Now one of my favorite contenders this year to be the winner of Eurovision 2013 is Germany's entry this year which is Glorious by the world famous Cascada. Unlike the UK, sorry to bash my country but it's true we suck with out entries, apart from Jade Ewen, Germany have took a good card out of the deck and have crowned Cascada as their representatives for this year. So I decided to review Glorious. I know it's a lot different to my Japanese music reviews but with Eurovision airing tonight I knew I had to review this song.

Cascada is a band that I grew up listening to since their first single Everytime We Touch and they've gone through quite a transformation since their debut and they are pretty famous in the dance scene in Europe now. So when I found out they were performing in Eurovision this year I was quite shocked yet so excited to see what they had up their sleeves. I was quite shocked because a lot of UK acts have used Eurovision as an excuse to push themselves back into the spotlight which doesn't work, but luckily Cascada have managed to maintain popularity since their debut. And their vocalist Natalie Horner is one of the best vocalists I have heard out there in my music favourites.

Now I decided to in this review express my opinions on not just the song but also the performance because I saw it for the first time in the semi-final performance and it gave me goosebumps from the get go. I'm not just saying this because I love Natalie Horner, but because I went through some years where I hadn't listened to Cascada at all. So this year is the first event in a while where I've listened to them again, and Natalie's voice is still as amazing as ever, if not better than when I last heard her. And she is also one of them rare talents where they sound amazing in both recordings and live performances.

Now I was very happy with this performance because it still maintained the pink colour scheme that it had from the music video. I also loved the simplicity of it because out of Eurovision all of my favourite acts have always had simple performances and not over the top stage performances that a lot of countries use in Eurovision. The simple staging in this performance was a platform with stairs leading to the real stage, two backing singers and white drapes that were used well so they could change colour depending on the lighting which was also very simple and didn't distract away from the performance itself. Just Natalie's amazing vocals did it justice by itself and I loved how the backing singers didn't try to sing too loud because sometimes backing singers can really clash with the main vocalists badly.

Natalie's costume was also very pretty and I loved how it matched the drapes of the stage but also maintained the classical costume that she has worn in Cascada performances in previous years. The top half which looks like some sort of sparkly corset reminded me of the Because the Night music video so I loved the connection with that. She also wore a simple, short, white skirt with a lace trail at the back to add an elegance to it. And I cannot deny that it showcased her beautiful legs well. She might as well add some sexiness to get votes eh? ;)

When I was watching this performance it actually felt like I was watching a winners performance and I loved the energy that Natalie was showcasing throughout the song and that's a quality I love in her as a performer. She knows how to work the song, the crowd and still maintain the emotion of the song whilst also maintaining the technicality of her amazing vocals. I am not lying but I had chills throughout the performance! And it made me love the song all the more! I also think her voice sounds just like the recorded version but it had a more raw sound to it in the performance to add more raw emotion in it and she knows how to belt a good chorus!

Now in terms of the song itself I think it's a very impressive song for a Eurovision entry and to also cater to Cascada's original fan base. The song maintains that same formula of verse, chorus, long instrumental, verse, chorus, long instrumental, chorus. It allows the classical European dance sound to emit itself in classical Cascada style, so it makes me want to dance to it like I would do with any other Cascada track. However, in terms of lyrics and how the chorus' are so powerful and carry the themes of believing in yourself, it also conforms itself well to the typical poppy formula that is seen in Eurovision.

In terms of competition, I can't say for sure whether Cascada will win but they have a pretty good chance, They are pretty popular all over Europe so just the mention of their name may give them votes. However, there are some other fantastic acts in Eurovision this year and in such a huge competition like this it's never easy to predict a winner for certain. Even if she doesn't win I know for sure she'll be a very high ranking in the table! I just gotta listen through a long hour or so of the points being tallied by the different countries!

Who do you think will win Eurovision this year?

Jane Doe - Minami Takahashi REVIEW

After a flurry of my favorite AKB48 members being given solo careers, and after listening to Minami Takahashi's Jane Doe for the umpteenth time (and I will be ordering this single tomorrow!) I decided to finally review it. Before, I found difficulty to review it due to there being a lack of a PV online, however I luckily managed to find it on youtube.

Now Minami has to be my second favourite AKB member and when I found out she was having a solo career I was so excited to hear the single and the covers of the single pleased me so much and raised my expectations from this single. And for the first time in a long time I wasn't disappointed! The music video, the covers, the song were all amazing and gave me a fantastic package for what is an amazing solo debut for Minami!

Now the music video begins with many establishing shots of Minami as she is walking through what seems to be a church? And then suddenly her beautiful vocals are introduced and we have a variation of rotating shots of her face as she transforms from her red dress to her much more darker, and sexier, leather black outfit so it introduces two sides of Minami within the story line of the music video. I love the use of the mirrors too because it looks like she is looking at a different person through the reflection, and she is about to do something that she doesn't want to. She then starts into the song with pretty soft vocals over a soft piano playing in the background, allowing a light introduction before the full instrumentation of the song kicks into action and picks up the pace.

We are then introduced to two parallel goings on and these are separated with the two outfits that Minami wears. In her red dress, she walks onto a catwalk of a stage and throughout the rest of the music video she is stood there in a beautiful red dress where she is performing this song to an audience. Again, mirrors are re-introduced and in my opinion these mirrors are there to highlight the innocent side of Minami and showcase her innocent beauty through the mirrors and we're seeing the same image in all of these reflections which highlights how this is all we see to her when she is performing. We just see a performer, and there is no interest into what this girl is actually about.

Whereas, in contrast to the other scenes where Minami is wearing black, her stance is much more strong and she is much more empowered and has a stronger sight of what she wants to achieve. This allows us to identify to a much more truthful Minami, who is powerful and determined to achieve what she wants.She also has much more freedom in this field in comparison to how she has to carry herself as an admired doll on stage. This time Minami isn't on stage but it looks to be as if she is a kind of Robin Hood who is stealing from the rich to give to the poor, even though we aren't shown who is the poor. There are all of these rich people here, in what I think is a theatre, who are out to see a show but they are so dressed up that it looks kind of ridiculous. It's like me going to the cinema in my prom dress!!! However, Minami seems to have the same thoughts as me and in this she steals a silver necklace from a woman and manages to escape onto the rooftop of the theatre and in cheesy idol fashion throws it out into the sky to create a bright light of "heroic innocence". You get my drift with what I'm going with. Basically in a nutshell Minami is Robin Hood in the theatre and steals a necklace from a woman to teaches us that we should be happy with the better things in life and not base our happiness around materialistic things.

The music video was fantastic to me, and it ticked all of my boxes. When it comes to music videos I love a darker tone of it but with a moral undertone and this music video did just that. Minami does look like a villain in the black but her actions speak otherwise. I also loved all of the shots of the mirrors and the symbolism they carried, and I do love simple symbolism in a music video. H!P take note...sorry I had to go there!

Anyhow back on track, I was also impressed with the track because just like the music video, I love a dark rocky song that still upholds a positive message and gives it a bit of light so it isn't all depressing. It also showcased how amazing Minami is as a solo singer, and the dark tonality of the song also complimented Minami's lower voice as well. She was in her comfort zone and even though it didn't blow me away she did sound amazing! And I do hope the continues to release these kinds of singles. As I said, this whole release ticked a lot of boxes for me, and even though it's been in and out of the charts now, I'm still going to buy the single regardless! I want that music video in beautiful HD!

RATING: 9/10

Takahashi Ai due to undergo surgery for vocal nodules

It has been announced that lately Takahashi Ai, an ex-member of Morning Musume has recently been suffering from vocal nodules. She announced on her personal blog:

“I do not feel any pain, so no need to worry! When the surgery is over, and I recover completely, I will sing with all my heart in front of you guys again, and improve my acting skill as an actress as well.”

Now vocal nodules are usually found on the vocal chords and without surgery it can have leave permanent damage. And to be honest it isn't a surprise Ai has suddenly needed surgery for this. I keep track of her activities since her graduation and she has been a very busy bee with being in stage plays such as Dance of the Vampire, The Wedding Singer and Anne of Green Gables to name a few as well as television work. It seems like she is constantly working and maybe it is just taking it's toll in the form of nodules.

Luckily, she is undergoing surgery and should hopefully make an excellent recovery. I hope the surgery goes well, I don't want it to be the end of Ai's reign as an amazing singer! She has the gift and she shouldn't lose it!

Luckily her appearance at the reader theatre "Watashi no Atama no Naka no Kashigomu 5th letter" will be postponed from June 4th to the 12th.

Get well soon Ai-chan!!!!!

Itano Tomomi announces her graduation: my thoughts!

Way back in February of this year AKB48 announced another graduation of one of their 1st generation members, Itano Tomomi. Known as the cute style icon of AKB48, Itano has managed to charm a lot of fans with her doe eye look and her cute little tooth! You know what tooth I'm talking about! You can't deny the kawaiiness at all!

Now the graduation was announced through an interview Itano participated in in AKB48's documentary "DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48: NO FLOWER WITHOUT RAIN...". She announced:

“The interview for this documentary was supposed to be about the members of AKB48, their scandals last year, AKB48 in the future, and the graduation of (Maeda) Atsuko, but my feelings towards graduation became stronger. I decided to announce it like this.”

So I guess from Itano's graduation announcement it looks like she was influenced to graduate from Atsuko's graduation. Now we know AKB48 is a beginning platform for these girls to gain the experience of getting into the entertainment industry. Through Itano's eyes she feels like it is her time to graduate AKB48 and go into the future to new ventures, whether it be singing or acting!

The graduation date has not yet been confirmed but I do hope that it's towards the end of 2013 so I can get myself emotionally prepared for this graduation even though I know I'm going to be sobbing. I haven't been a fan of AKB48 as long as I have been a fan of MoMusu but in the duration of myself being an AKB fan Itano was always my favorite  Her beauty and cute innocence really pulled me in to take notice of her, and her style is also fantastic! She has a pretty good voice and she has sounded fantastic in her solo material so I do hope she continues to sing after graduating AKB48!

I am going to be very sad when Itano graduates from AKB48 and it will be difficult for me to keep listening to them if my favorite member has departed. But I am big fans of Takahashi Minami, Yuki Kashiwagi, Mariko Shinoda and Yuko Oshima. Fingers crossed Takahashi and Yuki don't decide to graduate anytime soon...they've just started their solo careers and I want to hear of them as much as possible!!!

But despite how saddened I am with Itano's graduation, I wish her all the best for the future! If she doesn't continue in performance I hope she has a career in fashion!!!

Morning Musume - Brainstorming/Kimi sae ireba nani mo iranai REVIEW! (Part 2)

Hello my lovely readers!
Today I will be continuing on from my last blog post and I will be reviewing the second A-side of Tanaka Reina's graduation single and Morning Musume's 53rd single release! Now this full single looks to be a promising release with two A-sides and three B-sides it looks to be another promising release for fans and wotas alike with a good assortment of songs.

Now my first listening to Kimi Sae was through a 30-second preview that was released and I have to admit I was very disappointed. However, due to it only being a short preview I thought I'd shrug my pessimism to one side and decide on what I thought of the song when I heard the full thing. When I saw the dance shot and heard the song fully for the first time, I liked it but didn't fall in love with it like I did Brainstorming.

Now I'm going to start this review with my thoughts on the song, now that I've listened to it a lot more. Now the first thing I heard in this song was 2000 people on the dance floor and even though it was such an odd addition to the song, I liked it and thought it was quite a catchy intro to draw you in. You then get the format of different verses where the lines are divided between pairs of members and then of course we get lead vocals from Reina, Riho and Sakura which isn't surprising. Then you get an uplifting chorus that gives you hope and if you know the English translation of the lyrics it emphasizes it more.

Now the thing I liked about this song better than Brainstorming is when I saw the English translations to each song. Brainstorming has the same old message of being empowered and living life to its full potential but I feel like this kind of message has been repeated a lot in the last few releases and it's getting a bit tedious for me to hear the same old kind of storyline through the lyrics. However in this it also bases itself on a lover and helping each other through life and being there for each other through thick and thin, which I think is a better message. I mean it's good to be independent but sometimes it's nice to have someone there to share the memories of success with. Oh, I'm going off on a tangent. Being a Performing Arts student I get into the habit of going through the meanings of things and reading between the lines. Now back on track.

I thought it was fantastic that the members had some good lines paired up, but the downside was that the use of auto tune didn't allow you to pick out who was singing and who wasn't. I love to hear the different sounds of the girls and they all just sounded the same apart from the solo lines that had less auto tune on them.

The only parts of the song I loved were the 2000 people on the dancefloor hooks (even though it's clearly only 11 members on the dancefloor) Oh Tsunku! Time to go back to school to learn to count haha! I also adored the chorus, because it was just so empowering and really made me want to sing out loud. I think this song will be a fantastic one for them to perform live.

Now of course, the PV is just another cheap UFP production with just a dance shot and close ups within the dance shot, which is a slight disappointment in the case that this is Reina's graduation single. However, just because it's cheap doesn't mean it can't be excellent creativity wise. The use of the rotating camera shots throughout the dance gave it variety and allowed different girls to stand out with their dance skill even if they weren't at the front in the spotlight. Sayumi stood out a lot to me even though she didn't have any singing lines, but her movements in the dance and expressions really stood out to me. Well done leader-sama!!! /bows/

I also really adored how happy Reina seemed in this PV, she seemed to enjoy herself and it's nice to see that in her last PV shooting as a Morning Musume member. And I am a big fan of her little beret with the cute little yellow bow, it wouldn't be the real Reina without some cute bows and accessories galore! Her vocals were stunning in Brainstorming but in Kimi Sae she didn't sound as good, she held a good tune but that was about it. The same with Sakura, her voice just didn't shine for me, and I am surprised to say that Riho sang better than them in my opinion in this song. A lot of people will disagree with me, but I, who hasn't always been a fan of Riho's voice, think she has improved loads and it does show in Kimi Sae and Brainstorming.

The set was simple with a stage and a white curtain that allowed the lighting to shine through and it gave it a good effect and it contrasted with the yellow well to make their costumes stand out. I also liked the contrast of when the lighting would dim at the right times of the song to really create tension with the lyrics and then the lights would burst in the chorus' to emphasize the hope that the lyrics showcase.

In terms of the costumes, I didn't like them when I first saw them, but when I saw the girls dancing in them, the looseness of the dresses allowed them to flow fantastically in the dance. And the girls were all so sharp in the dance and I love their thrusting moves within the chorus! Especially Mizuki she stood out to me the most in terms of that. And Haruna danced fantastically in this too, she has improved in leaps and bounds so much! Again Zukki didn't stand out to me at all which is a shame. When she first debuted in Maji Desu ka Ska she was fantastic and was a breath of fresh air to MoMusu but now she's kind of diminished to me a little and I don't like it. I still like the girl but she doesn't attract me to her as a fan in terms of girls like Reina and Mizuki.

The funny thing within this PV as well were the little errors. I didn't notice them until people pointed them out to me but there is a point in the PV where you can clearly see a staff member stood in the frame. And you can also see the studio ceiling. People make mistakes but when it comes to the flagship group of UFP it can't really be forgotten about. If mistakes like this appear in PVs it makes people wonder about the professionalism of the company.

Overall I enjoyed this song and I still love to listen to it now and again but it didn't have an impact on me like it did with Brainstorming.

RATING: 7/10