Morning Musume - Brainstorming/Kimi sae ireba nani mo iranai REVIEW! (Part 1)

Hello my lovely readers!

Today's post for this blog today will be a overall review of Morning Musume's upcoming single release Brainstorming/Kimi Sae Ireba Nari mo Iranai. Unforunately for some Morning Musume fans this also means sad news due to this single being Tanaka Reina's graduation single. But don't fret guys she will still be on the music scene with her latest rock project Lovendor!

BRAINSTORMING

Now let's start off this review with the fact that I loved this song from the first listen. A lot of people say that this song sounds like a mash up of Wakuteka Take a Chance and HELP ME! which I can agree with to some extent but at the same time I think it's a newer, fresher sound with MoMusu. Of course their last few singles have been the same but I think Tsunku is slowly and surely getting to grips with how to mix into this genre. One thing that stood out to me in this song was how everyone sounded fantastic! Even Riho who I admit at times hasn't impressed me with her vocals, but for once Morning Musume has a song that suits her vocal range. And it also showcases the other member's talents as well! Reina, Sakura and Mizuki sounded fantastic and really stood out to me in this song. I was also very happy with Ayumi and Haruna getting lines because it was huge surprise to hear their voices, and they sounded really good! It might have been due to the production of the song but I was impressed and I hope they continue to impress me. I also liked the rock flavour of the song as well with the samples of electric guitar, it gave it a good contrast with the main techno sound.

The dance routine was also very fantastic and again it did borrow some examples of the Wakuteka Take a Chance choreography but I don't mind. The twist to this dance was the little dance off between the dance aces Riho and Ayumi; they executed it so well! I definitely think it showcased the girls' talents very well and I am very glad they got to have a little dance off because you can't deny a lot of us have wanted it to happen for ages! The dance routine was also simple and fluent throughout, with a good contrast of smoother moves and sharper moves so it gave all of the girls good contrasts in their own little dancing clumps! I especially loved the beginning where Mizuki, Sakura, Riho and Ayumi were dancing together it really made me smile! I also like the use of levels too!

I also loved the outfits of this single and they're some of my favourite costumes since Renai Hunter. The outfits suit all of the girls well and it makes them look cool without having them to try and be sexy. Each girl suits their outfits and I like the divide of colour of red and blue, and I think even though it didn't get used to it's full potential in the dance they were still a good choice of colours. The nicely added touch with the use of accessories is also very effective and brings out the girls' individual personalities well (e.g. Reina with her typical big bow and Haruna with her cap to distinguish her being a tomboy of the group).

Again the PV for this was again another cheap UFP creation but despite the lack of funds they used it to their advantage and used creativity which always impresses me. I really like the use of the member colours being used in the background for the individual members solo shots and I feel like everyone got a good bit of facetime. Riho and Reina definitely got more screentime but it's too obvious to say why! I loved how they were no sparkles either! Thank the heavens that UFP didn't decide to use sparkles because they would have clashed so badly with the use of the screens. The use of the black stage was also very pleasing to the eye. It also showed more clarity of the girls faces and showed their natural beauty to its fullest potential. I just hope that the official morningmusumechannel uploads this PV in HD to maintain it but I guess that's a lot to ask for UFP. For me Reina, Riho, Mizuki and Sayu stood out to me the most in the solo shots, and for me right now they are the beauties of Morning Musume in my opinion for right now. And the other girls really knew how to work the camera too and they have gotten used to being in front of the camera now in comparison to their debuts.

RATING: 10/10

(Part 2 will be up soon and I will be reviewing Kimi Sae so stay tuned for that!)

And here is my lovely oishi Mizupon wishing you a lovely farewell!

And to please visit this blog again for our next review which will be posted this week of Kimi Sae!

Have a lovely week!

~~Kono Machi Review~~

Hey everyone!

How are you? Good? Then let's get cracking!

C-ute released their 20th single this week and it was a cover of Chisato Moritaka's Kono Machi. Unfortunately, it hasn't received a lot of sales and the latest update as I post this is that they have sold 19,000 copes approximately  Which is very low, even for H!P standards, and it is such a smack in the mouth for diehard C-ute fans like me who were so excited that their sales were increasing. And then we get given this single and everything goes downhill.

Now, Kono Machi is a lovely song but when I first heard it, it was one of those ballads that took me a long time to finally love it. Usually, with H!P songs they get me within the first few listens, but it took me days for me to like this song. The tune wasn't very memorable and I always forgot how the song went as soon as I finished listening to it. The only thing that made the song stand out for me was the spoken parts because they were so beautiful. The electric guitar interlude that plays in the last spoken parts also made me all sentimental...

What made me love it really was when I saw the English translation of the lyrics. The story of the song is about returning to your hometown to a past childhood love and reminiscing all of the memories you had with this person but also realizing how much home really means to you. The story of the song really made me connect to the song due to me living in a town by the sea and one of the lines mentions how the beach has disappeared now. There is also another line about how it's been two years since everything has passed and both me and my boyfriend live in seaside towns and have been dating two years so this song is just so perfect for me lyrically.

The vocal performances of the girls is also what entices me when I realize what they are actually singing about. And the spoken thoughts they have also makes it more emotionally connecting for all involved.

The PV was also just like the song, plain and not very memorable. Once again, H!P resorted back to the simple white background sets and green screen. The solo shots were also in plain backgrounds so it didn't add much to the video. However, I have to agree that even though the simplicity didn't make it a very memorable PV, if there was a lot more added it would take away from the song.

The pictures they used for the backgrounds were very pretty but they were out of proportion with the girls and I didn't know why they looked glitchy. I also wish they used simpler costumes to make them go with the music video more. I do like the use of red costumes and they are very pretty but I couldn't really use them for a ballad. I would have used the outfits for this PV for another H!P single altogether.

Now Airi looks effortless as always and her vocals were amazing as always. One thing that bothers me a little though and I must be nitpicking but I just wanna point it out. She has had the same hairstyle for PVs for a little while now and I do wish she could have a bit more variety with her hair. Just saying...please don't kill me!

Saki was also cute as always and she always makes me smile. Even though she isn't a lead vocalist I love how she always manages to look like she's having the time of her life in PVs.

Mai, what the hell happened to you? You look beautiful! Usually you were just cute and that was it and never stood out for me. In this PV however, you looked so flawless. I like this new grown up Mai!

Chisato, you blew me away! You were gorgeous and all I have to say is...eyes!!!!

And of course we end on an amazing note with my oishii Maimi! :D You really suited this song and your simple expressions really made me connect with the song. I loved your spoken lines in the best; they were just so flawless! And keep your hair long it looks so beautiful like that! Do not cut it! And one more word...legs!!!

Sorry for the mess up of how I wrote this post. I went from making it into a mature review to just a fangirling of the girls. I do apologize. Even though this song is a beautiful song it won't remain as a memorable C-ute release for me I'm afraid. And this is coming from someone who, apart from Morning Musume, C-ute is their Number 1 H!P group!

RATING: 7/10

(To be honest if I didn't have such a connection to the song I might have given it a lower rating :S Probably a 5...)

AKB48 ~~The Minegishi Minami scandal~~

Hey guys

I know this post is a little different to what I usually post on this blog, but this week I came across some news that made me a little shocked, upset and sympathetic, but I guess at the same time I should really understand this scandal a little more seeing as I know what the idol culture includes.

Now, if you've heard of idol culture of if you're a fan of idols then one of the groups you must have heard about are AKB48. They are an idol group that are also theatre performers and they were created in 2005 by their producer and founder Yasushi Akimoto (or Aki-P to the fans). One of the conditions for these girls (and is also used in many idol groups) is that they are not allowed to date whilst being a member of the group. The reason for this is that their image to fans is that they are pure, innocent girls so it creates a fantasy to their fans (which mainly consist of older males also known as wotas). And a part of their fantasy being maintained is that these girls are not allowed to date.

However, on various occasions this rule has been broken. Not just in AKB48 but other groups have also succumbed to this rule being broken. For example, in Morning Musume 2nd generation member Yaguchi Mari quit the group when she was discovered in a scandal and was caught having a boyfriend, and also 6th generation member Miki Fujimoto was also discovered to have a boyfriend but admitted publicly that these rumours were true, therefore concluding with her leaving the group of her own accord.

AKB48 has been in the Japanese tabloids last year for a various number of scandals that included their members but as we wade into 2013 AKB48 has already been involved in another scandal. But even though it was just the same as any other scandal, due to much more extreme measures being followed after the rule breaking, it has managed to make worldwide news. It has been broadcast on Australian television and British television broadcaster BBC.

The Scandal~~

Minegishi Minami, a founding and 1st generation member of AKB48, has been a member since a young age in 2006. She has gained a lot of popularity within her time of being a member and always came at a high number ranking in fan elections. However at the end of January it was revealed in a Japanese tabloid that Minegishi was caught in a picture leaving the home of male company. The identity of this male company was a boy band dancer Alan Shirahama who has not yet solely spoke to the public about his side of events, but his management did release a short statement.

Now after the revelation of this scandal, a few hours later, on the official AKB48 website, a video was broadcast with Minegishi Minami with her head shaved, and giving a four-minute-long apology. This included taking full responsibility for what she had done, and continued to apologise to the fans, the staff and fellow AKB48 members for the trouble she also caused to them.

From various sources, it has been established that the Minegishi solely chose to shave her own head as her own self-punishment, and in Japan it is also a sign of remorse. Not only did she punish herself, but the management also had to step in for her breaching her contract. Instead of them firing or removing her from AKB48, instead she was demoted to a member of the trainee team. This way she could continue her work within the AKB48 company, but she would have to go from the bottom up.

Now because of this news, and due to the fact that Minegishi shaved her own head and added more controversy than the usual AKB48 scandal, not only did this scandal make its way to Japanese tabloids, but it also made it's way to international news sources. And it has also created a lot of opinions from fans of AKB48, to idol fans, and to people who have discovered AKB48 and the idol culture through this piece of news (sadly). People believe what the management has done is right due to a contract being breached; there is speculation as to whether Minegishi shaved her own head and people also wonder if management made her do it for extra publicity. And then there are people who have sided with Minegishi and it has made them think that the whole "no-dating" rule should be thought twice about or boycotted.

What do you think about all of this?

What I think personally~~

Now, before you read the rest of this, this is just my sole opinion and if anything I say offends or annoys you then I apologise in advance. None of what I say will be demeaning or insulting any side of the argument.

Now, when I first came across the video I didn't know what had happened. I had come across youtube as I usually do and I saw the video uploaded onto the AKB48 youtube channel and I didn't think anything of it. From what I could see of the small thumbnail it looked oddly like Minegishi had tied her hair back, but I didn't watch the video. Then later that day, I came across the news on tokyohive and it shocked me so much when I read it.

From the instance of seeing the pictures, my instant reaction was "If the management have made her do this, then...I will be very angry and upset." Then I read the news and watched the video of her apology and I felt so much sympathy for the young girl and and I was crying when I watched the video. I hate this kind of stuff to be broadcast to the public because she could say whatever she wants on the screen but at the end of the day it might be much worse in her head than what she wants us to see from her words.

When I first got into AKB48 when I first saw Minegishi Minami the first reaction I had of her was "Oh my god she is so cute! She is so sweet and infectious I wanna pinch those cheeks!" and she did make me smile whenever I saw her in PVs.

Now this girl is only 19, the same age as me. And in my culture, in the UK, a lot of girls my age have boyfriends and go out dating. Now, this girl is under strict instruction not to break her contract, but there must be some days where you see a gorgeous guy and try your hardest not to approach them and flirt. So there is a part of me that understands why these idols break the rules, and I mean, how can the management not expect these kinds of things to happen. So, in case they have things like this happen, then they know the right ways to punish them.

In my opinion I think the "no-dating" rules are there for a reason and for business purposes so when these girls audition they know what they are signing up for. So they know what they get themselves into when their scandals are unveiled. Then again, I feel sympathy for these girls because they should be entitled to a life of their own. Yes, they sing and dance and release photobooks etc for their own fans, but out of work they have their own personal lives too, in which they should be entitled to. Their lives 24/7 shouldn't be under contract, just their working time.

The fact that Minegish shaved her own head really made me scared for the girl and I worried for her deeply. Is her mindset really okay for her to do this to herself? This scandal really did have a massive impact on this girl and made her think about her actions. And even though she did ask the management herself to broadcast the apology video, why did the management say yes? Yes, Minegishi wanted this, but if I was management I wouldn't have allowed it. I would have felt so bad for this young girl if the apology had a massive negative impact. I know how harsh the internet is so I wouldn't want to think about what people could say about her. So I think it is demeaning for the management to still continue to broadcast this video. However, I can see why the video was broadcast; so the public couldn't make rash and negative assumptions without knowing more details of what happened and from truthful sources.

Not only does this have a bad impact on the group, but it also showcases idol culture in a bad spotlight. Now that this scandal has been broadcast internationally, this might be the first link for a lot of people outside of Japan to come across AKB48 and idol culture. The idol culture, when I first came across it, I did raise my eyebrows a little when I found out about the "no-dating" rule but I've got used to it and I can understand why it happens and this kind of thing does make me think it would be best if this rule was dropped. I mean, who thought it would be a good rule to introduce in the first place? And I find it a little ill-natured how the worldwide media has caught onto this just because Minegishi shaved her head (and compare it to Britney Spears).

People I know from my university friends, boyfriend, close friends and family love songs by Morning Musume and AKB48 but don't know anything about their culture. So when people come across this piece of news and find out about idol culture, I don't want people to hate it and have a bad view on it. Because like everything, I admit it does have its bad points, but I think what these girls have done in regards to scandals, is actually nothing compared to what a lot of Western stars have done. For example, a couple of years ago Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna brutually, but to this day he still gets given a lot of success from his music (apart from the slight negative publicity from getting a tattoo of Rihanna's abused face etc). But if this kind of stuff happened in Japan the star who did this probably wouldn't be heard from again, or would have to work again from scratch, because the Japanese society places these kinds of things in a very bad and unforgivable light.

So that's what I think of the overall situation. I do hope Minegishi does learn from this and become stronger from this. And I wish her all the best for the rest of her AKB career, whichever path it takes.

Just a little prediction I have for H!P!

Hey guys!
And welcome to 2013! I hope everyone is having a fantastic 2013 and continues to have a wonderful 2013! It's only been a few days since New Years but I have been enjoying the holidays and getting back into the swing of things with university work, learning Japanese, dubbing, singing and also updating this blog!

In this post I want to do a few predictions of what I think/would like to happen for Hello!Project this year!

Reina Tanaka's graduation!

Now I know Reina's graduation isn't happening for a few months yet but I definitely think that when she graduates it will shake up Hello!Project a lot for the months to come aftewards. I know when the graduation was announced there was a wide divide of opinions about the news. Of course, with Reina being a very popular member of Morning Musume in her duration, it wasn't surprising to see that her fanbase and wotas were heartbroken at the news. Then there were also fans who were sad to see her go, but think it would shake it up for the group. Reina has been a vocal dominance in MoMusu since her debut, and even though she does have a beautiful voice, I think it will be interesting to see how MoMusu continues when Reina is absent from the group.

Berryz Kobou's image

This is more of something I think is slowly happening. From the dark costumes of WANT! to the images of Berryz Kobou for their latest album cover, and the preview of their 31st single Asian Celebration, they are starting to remind of the Platinum Era of Morning Musume. And I might be thinking too much into this but Morning Musume definitely had a very mature look and music style when they were promoting themselves in China. And now Berryz are doing promotions in Thailand, I think UFP are using the same promotion techniques with giving Berryz a much more mature image and sound. I don't want to get too much into it, just in case I am wrong, but I am very curious as to what happens for Berryz this year.

C-ute's image

2012 has been a very successful year for C-ute this year! With Kimi wa Jitensha... and AAAN getting very good singles sales and outselling a lot of their earlier singles, C-ute's popularity is starting to slowly rise. Even at promotional events they have also attracted a lot of female fans so I do think that C-ute will be promoted, not just as an idol group, but as a proper girl group so it caters not just to wotas, but also to female fans. And with Airi being the face of H!P that is just an added bonus to C-ute's popularity. I do hope that this same success continues into 2013 and I do hope they get a 50k single!

Morning Musume promotions/success

Slowly, but surely this year has been very successful for Morning Musume! The sales of One Two Three and Wakuteka Take a Chance surpassed a lot of older single sales, and with UFP taking notice of this, they have slowly upped their game when it comes to PVs and promotions. It started off badly with the music video of One Two Three, it was the 50th single, yet we were only given a simple set and sparkly effects. To kind of make up for it though they did a lot of promotion for the single for them to earn 100,000 sales which is an amazing 2012 feature of Morning Musume. Wakuteka Take a Chance then picked up the pace with constant promotions and the use of effects and green screen in the music video were a little better than One Two Three. And now with Morning Musume having promotions in all 47 prefectures of Japan, I am very excited that a larger majority of Japan will take notice of Morning Musume and allow them get a lot more popularity. And for the music video for HELP ME!, even though it still has the same solo shot/dance shot combo, the green screen is much more professional looking which makes me think that UFP are not being tight anymore and are spending a little more money into Morning Musume. One thing I do wish for this year is for Morning Musume not to continue with green screen music videos. I think it would add more variety if they did different locations in their PVs, outside and inside.

Kanashiki Heaven - ºC-ute Review

Here is my review on the B-side of C-ute's Aitai Aitai Aitai Na. When I first heard this song I instantly fell in love with it! I am a massive fan of acoustic songs so when the vocal harmonies kicked in with the simple guitar riffs I was hypnotised. Maimi is my favourite member of C-ute but I don't blame Tsunku for teaming Airi and Chisato together for this amazing epitome of music! They have blended well together in past C-ute singles, and I should have seen a duet like this coming.

When it comes to who sang which harmony I am happy that Airi was allocated with the lower harmonies because in recent lives she can belt out a good note in her lower register. So of course with powerful vocals needed in this song, Airi pulls it off perfectly with her low, rocky vocals. There was also a good reason for her to be placed in Buono! also!

Chisato, would be as I call it, C-ute's underdog. When C-ute first debuted she wasn't one of the main vocalists of the group but in recent singles she has slowly risen from the flames and bloomed in her own right. I never noticed her vocals until Sekaiichi Happy No Onna no ko which is a shame because I feel bad that I didn't notice her as much when I first discovered C-ute. The higher melodies that were given to her in this song allowed her to carry off this beautiful, sweet but strong vocal that blended well with Airi. I am also kind of glad that Chisato was more dominant in the recording of this song for my ears. Airi is very dominant in C-ute singles and even though she sounds fantastic in this I'm glad she didn't overdo her lower harmony to outshine Chisato.

Then the rest of the C-ute line up also add their vocals to the first lines of the chorus' which allows a more rich introduction to the main parts of the song. The chorus' of the song is what draws me in the most with the song and allows a good pace from the chorus to the music to introduce the next verse.

Then as soon as the rest of the instrumentation kicks in the vocals carry from this sweet melody to a full blown refrain about reminiscing a relationship and looking across the city. Then I also loved the middle 8 part of the song where an electric guitar riff allows for a perfect instrumentation for the rest of the C-ute members to dance to. I have seen parts of the dance that they do from the live performance and the MV and they are just amazing. No one can beat Morning Musume in the H!P groups, but C-ute are really starting to shine with their professional talents!

And the music video just made me love the song more! I loved the shots of the two girls in what appears to be a warehouse of some kind and it does remind me of the set of Morning Musume's Nanchatte Renai. I also adored the outfits and I'm glad this music video has a darker theme in terms of set and costume for this PV because it breaks away from the lighter shades that are usually used in C-ute music videos. Airi and Chisato both look like tasteful, sexy rock stars and I wasn't surprised to see Airi's midriff because to be honest she has a fit body (and I am a straight girl) and Chisato's curves were gorgeous in this PV too and her dramatic stars in the solo shots also made her look sophisticated sexy!

I also loved the shots that were used from the live to add variety to the music video but I just think this was a way for UFP to kill two birds with one stone and make two videos out of one set of shots. Despite that I think the edit between the two girls performing in the music video and the live performance along with the live choreography flowed well and made a fantastic music video. I do have to say it was one of the best H!P music videos I've seen this year!

RATING: 10/10

Berryz工房『WANT!』 Review

Sorry for the lack of activity on this blog, I started university a couple of months ago and it has kept me busy with the amount of work we do so I do apologise for not updating this blog. But hopefully in the next few weeks, I can update this blog with more music reviews because a few singles from my favourite J-Pop artists have been released and there are also a few releases in the future I am looking forward to!

Now one of the latest releases from H!P is Berryz Kobou's 30th single! Now a lot BK's fans were very excited for this single because this marked a memorable time in their career with hitting 30 singles, and I do admit I was also one of these fans who was also looking forward to this. Due to their last single, cha cha SING, sounding fantastic, of course I had high hopes for this single.

The first thing that caught me when I first listened to this song was the instrumentation. Due to the recent success of H!P latest releases being dance/techno (and with them charting fairly well compared to the in past such as C-ute's Aitai Aitai Aitai Na), I wasn't surprised that this single would also follow in those footsteps. The introduction of the song pulled me in and even though it was very memorable to begin with, after a few more listens I am addicted to this song. Of course, I did love cha cha SING so with the huge contrast from that single to this one it did throw me back when I heard the radio preview of this song.

One thing I'm also loving about BK at the moment is the fair use of line distribution in their singles, every member gets at least one line to make it fair but the lead singers (Risako, Miyabi, Momoko and Yurina) get given a bit of a bigger push so the single sounds good to the listeners ear. Every member in this song got their chances to shine and of course Risako impressed me (my BK oishii), she sung more with attitude than trying to force power out of her voice that she seems to lack control of sometimes. But this song allowed her to strut her stuff but also sound excellent.

I also love the variety in Miyabi's vocals. Of course she has a very mature voice but I loved how she switched it up between the chorus' and the verses so her voice blended in well with the rest of the girls. I don't really have anything else to say about Miyabi's vocals, she is a fantastic singer, but I have nothing to really criticise.

Other members that also stood out to me were Yurina because her voice is really starting to improve and impress me lately and I definitely see more potential with Captain! (It's just a shame she didn't get to rap in this single!) Her voice is definitely starting to sound mature!

One thing that does put me off from listening to the song a million times again and again is because of the structure of the song. It isn't bad, but I just feel that the verses sound separate from the bridge and the chorus, so it feels like Tsunku pieced two separate songs together and thought this would pass off as a good single. I also wished they'd shortened the length of the song too because the verses did seem to have the same line structure over and over again, repeated itself over and over and become tiring to listen to halfway through them. But I do adore the bridges and chorus', and even when I don't listen to this song I still hum to it all the time.

The costumes were very out there for me when I first caught sight of them so I thought they'd be doing a sexy song, but the lyrics of a song are about being in a serious relationship so I don't see the connection there. The outfits also don't match the PV apart from the dance shot. In the rotating sets shot I would have placed the girls into much more casual outfits so then they would have fit into their separate "rooms" better. However, despite the outfits not fitting in with the music video I think the girls do look stunning in these, especially Risako, Miyabi, Yurina and Saki!

I loved the black set with the white screen in the background for the dance shot, it was simple yet it still looked visually fantastic so it added composition to the dance but also didn't distract the viewers from the girls' movements. I also liked the coloured frame of the white background to represent all of the members colours, it added more to it so it wasn't a simple, cheap black and white background.

Then for the rotating rooms, I did like the idea but I felt like this could have been used as a separate idea for another single. I believe the use of sets and props for each seperate member was appropriate so it suited all of the individual members, (Momo's was also pretty obvious, the pretty-in-pink set promoted her Momochii character well, and I did prefer the use of this to those god awful ponytails she wore in cha cha SING). Also when the rooms rotated it forced you to keep a close eye on each member as they rotated round, and my attention was caught on each member. Of course, who else stood out to me more than Miyabi? She was placing herself into all different positions so she could definitely show a much more sexy side to her, but it was done in an appropriate way so she was seen as sexy and not trashy! Then when it came to the close up shots of the girls, Miyabi's wink really made me smile. Then Risako looked effortlessly beautiful with her doe-eye-stares, it made you intrigued to keep looking at her. Then even though Yurina didn't move around too much her eye contact with the camera really did pull you in and carried off a sexy innocence like Risako but in a different way.

And even though people did have issues with Risako's red shade of hair, I think she made the right move in changing it. The red shade suits her a lot better than the purple shade, even though I was growing to it. I think if she had kept the purple it would have blended in too much with the purple outfits and she wouldn't have stood out as much. I do hope she keeps the same red shade for the next few singles at least. However, I wished Saki could have least kept the shame lighter shade from cha cha SING for this single, because even though I do love her dark shade of hair now, I think there was too many dark shades in the costumes and the other members hair so Saki didn't stand out as much as I wished her too.

This single I believe was a very good choice for Berryz's 30th single release because it's catchy and memorable after a few more listens and the music video had a lot of simple creativity. It isn't as amazing as cha cha SING but it is a fantastic single, and apart from the little minor issues I do have, I can easily forgive and forget them and I can safely say that WANT! is one of my top H!P single releases this year!

RATING: 8/10

theGazettE - Derangment/Ibitsu Preview Reviews

A few days ago J-Rock/visual kei band theGazettE released two twenty second previews to what appears to be two singles releases (maybe) from their new upcoming album DIVISION which is due to be released on the 28th of August. Being a diehard fan of theGazettE when I saw these two video clips pop up onto my youtube home page a little fangirl in me squealed.

Ibitsu was the first clip I saw and to be honest even though it's only a small segment of the song I am very excited to hear the full thing. I love heavy instrumentation from theGazettE because it does make me pumped when I listen to songs of theirs that follow that pattern. I am also massive fan of Ruki's voice and because of the autotune that was heavily used in their last album TOXIC I was very happy to hear clean vocals in this song. The smoothness of the vocals and the simplicity of the effects used on the voice makes it simple and underrated when put together with the instrumentation so it sounds fantastic but it isn't too heavy for my little ears to bear. The music video does look simple in this with the use of the black and white and there are just clips of the band but then again this is only a small fragment of the music video so there may be a storyline that could also be showcased in this but who knows? We'll just have to wait and see. The use of the black and white does make the music video look sleek and clean, but this effect has been used in previous PVs before like Pledge and Remember The Urge so I hope there's something in this video that breaks it away from them other two singles.

I then listened to Derangment straight after Ibitsu and again I like this song as well but not as much as Ibitsu. This does sound like something you could hear from TOXIC so it does make me wonder whether they will be going with near enough the same sound for the DIVISION album. Again there is heavy instrumentation in this track yet again, but it seems more jagged whereas in Ibitsu the progression was much more clean cut for me. I do like the transition from Ibitsu to this though. I definitely see this as a single that will be released. The vocals aren't as clean on this due to some distortion and autotune on the vocals but it does add more layers to the song and allows it to be a very busy with the instrumentation. I really do like the cuts used in this video and how there are red filters on some shots of Ruki, and it does remind me of The Invisible Wall which was the first theGazettE song I heard so it's nice to remember those memories through this song. The storyline in this video seems to be centred around a male protagonist who is engaging in some sort of sexual activity with a female and for some reason he does remind me of the male protagonist from The Suicide Circus. Maybe it's the same guy? I am interested to see where the storyline goes. Again there are English lyrics in this song and I can hear it from Ruki's Engrish. I sometimes find it difficult to understand what Ruki is singing when he's singing in English but once I find the lyrics then I will be excited to hear what the song is about! They also seem to be maintaining the same simple style that they had from TOXIC so it is a shame that they have gone safe with their look because through their career they have been known to change it up to make it exciting but this time they've decided to keep it safe for their own reasons. Maybe it is to make fans concentrate on the music? Or maybe some other reason? Anyhow I do like this style even if some people may like their more extravagant styles that they have gone for in the past.

Both of these songs are amazing so it does make me as a fan get high expectations for the album. The title DIVISION sounds kick ass so I hope the album is too!

IBITSU: 10/10

DERANGMENT: 8/10