Survey Final Round / Why Do I Actually Do This? / 2013 Wishes Fulfilled

Too lazy for a legit disclaimer. So to sum it up: My blog = My opinions.

Okay, I'll go ahead and start with the final round for the H!P Survey. You can find that here.

And before I move on, I would like to address one of the comments I got from Round 2:

"Tamura was an option for too many of the questions. Dancing for example, should have had Takeuchi Akari as the S/mileage representative."

Okay, I know most of you don't need to hear this, but since on everything before Round 2 I had a max of 15 votes, and then this time I suddenly had 17, I'm going to say this for anyone else who doesn't go back and read old stuff (not to point fingers or blame, I don't go back and read stuff either). I didn't pick who made it this far. I had a Preliminary survey to let YOU GUYS nominate who YOU think should be in each category. I did this because I didn't want YOU to have to vote off of MY biases. So I don't really care who "should have" been anything, since this isn't about any individual person's opinion. This was about those 15 people who have been following me since I started doing this's opinions.

Okay, that being said, Enjoy the final round. :3

Alrighty, part 1 having been taken care of, moving on to part 2. I was nominated by Chiima for whatever this thing is: 

I dun really get what's going on, but from what I understand I get to answer questions. I like answering questions :3

So the rule things are like dis (as C&P from Chiima):

1. Link back to the Blogger who nominated you for this Spiffing Award. (check)

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you by the blogger whom has so kindly nominated you. (will do)

3. Nominate 11 (however many you can think of) other bloggers with under 200 followers for this spiffing award.

5. Pray that they read this post and find out that they have been nominated!

6. Go to the blogs you have nominated and notify them of what you have done (No sankyuu)

7. Give your nominees 11 wonderful questions. Just don't get personal, kay?

8. You did not realise that I missed out Numero 4 on this list, right? (Totally didn't o 3o)

Unfortunately, I only follow a couple blogs... so I'm only gonna be able to tag like... 2 people or something... I don't know, I'll rack my brain when I get that far. Anyway, first I gets to answer questions -flails happily- ok to do that. LEZ GO.

1. How did you find Idols, and what got you into them?

Funny story actually. Back in late 2007/early 2008, I was into AMV making, and I noticed quite a few of the people I was subscribed to on youtube had started using this cute new anime with a girl with pink hair and little chibis. I got curious so I checked what it was called and looked it up. Shugo Chara became my anime obsession after I started watching it. I got my sister into it, and soon after I got a few of my friends into it. Not long after, two of my friends informed me that the opening and ending theme songs had dance shots and they were learning the dances them and invited me to join. This was right around when Ren'ai Rider had come out, I think, since one friend pointed out "hey, there's a new one" the first time we met up to learn the dances together. I took on Natsuyaki Miyabi's part and we started learning the first 3 dances that they had releases so far. 

I remember that I knew each of their faces in Buono, but for some reason I thought the girl who is Suzuki Airi's name was Tsugunaga Momoko and visa versa. So it wasn't like I mixed up their appearances or anything, I just misunderstood who was who when my friend told me their names. I still laugh back at that memory.

Anyway, I found out they were releasing a CD, so I bought it off of ebay as soon as I could, and got all the songs from it on my ipod and tried to get my dancing friends to sing them with me as well as dancing. They pretended to be interested, but they really weren't.

After a while, (note that we did keep learning Buono dances through co.no.mi.chi during what I'm about to say) Shugo Chara Egg, a now 4 person group, released a dance shot for the opening. I took on Amulet Dia (Wada Ayaka)'s part, but we were missing a 4th member, so we dragged in another friend that we hung out with and made her be our missing link. Now that we had 4 girls, the original two informed us that they found and were learning a Duo's dance, and me and the new girl should learn it too. That was Ai no Imi wo Oshiete by W. I liked the idea and tried out Tsuji Nozomi's part. We were all having fun, so we tried a couple bigger group songs. First, we tried the extremely new song MADAYADE, which the girls let me be Sugaya Risako for. The four of us managed to learn most of the song, but we were still missing 3 people. So we pulled in 3 more people to our little group. Unfortunately, they knew absolutely nothing about the previous dances we had learned, and following this dance shot was a bit harder than the simple ones. So we tried to teach the girls the Buono dances we began with in hopes that it would make learning easier for them. Unfortunately, the more people you have in a group, the easier it is to get distracted, and while I was trying to teach or learn, the rest of the girls started chatting and hanging out. This was our last meet-up to learn dances.

After this, I tried to learn new dances by myself, but the loneliness and frustration would always get to me and I would give up within 5 minutes or less of starting. However, since I bought the first CD, I had begun trying to sing more. And Christmas of 2008, my parents bought me and my sister a karaoke game for our Wii, and the microphone for it was USB. I had noticed some people singing and putting it on youtube before, so I gave it a shot. And I liked it. At this time I only committedly knew of Buono and I actually knew some songs from Mermaid Melody from my AMV making, so I auditioned for and got in my first dubbing project in the Mermaid Melody group. Through this project I was able to expand my horizons to more Berryz and W, as well as learning about new groups such as Morning Musume, C-ute, AKB48, etc. And that's how this crazy obsession began.

2. How long have you been blogging for now?

Hell if I know. This blog is probably like 2 or 3 years old? But I've only been blogging regularly for maybe... 4 months? 5? Not sure. Opening a new tab to look is too much work, though.

3. Think of a random Idol song. The first one that pops into your head, what is it, and what do you think of it?

Say Yeah! -Motto Miracle Night- by Morning Musume. erm . 3.

4. Now think of your favourite Idol song! What is it, and why is it your favourite?

Erm... Say Yeah! -Motto Miracle Night- by Morning Musume > 3>. I didn't realize until after I got into the group that this was actually the first H!P song I was ever exposed to. I had seen a AMV to the song and loved it, but never looked at who did it, so it wasn't until after I was looking through the discography did I notice and recognize the song. (This is also why it was the first to pop into my head, since I was still thinking about when I first got into idols.) It's my favorite still because it's the only song that I've been listening to for as long as 5 years and haven't gotten sick of. Even though I may like other songs better moment to moment, all time, Say Yeah has got to be my favorite :).

5. If you could go to any country right now, which country would it be?

Right Now? Either the UK or the Netherlands to visit friends <3. If I could get a raincheck? Japan in the distant future for Maachan's final day graduation concert (which is hopefully not gonna happen for at least 10 more years >.>)

6. What was your favourite childhood cartoon?

Xiaolin Showdown. I was rewatching it recently and I still understand why I loved it so much back then XD.

7. Did you ever like Anime or Manga before you got into Idols?

I think this question was answered in 1, but yes. I was a big Sailor Moon fan as a kid, and then a friend got me to read my first ever Manga (Fruits Basket) and from there, both my love for anime and manga grew.

8. What was your best subject in school?

Math. Always has been. And now I'm majoring in it <3.

9. What is your favourite book? Have you re-read it?

Erm, probably a tie between Ender's Game and Full Tilt. Neither of them have I re-read since I first read them, but both of them I bought (and ironically, they arrived right after I started this section of this blog post XD) so I'll probably try re-reading at least one of them tonight <3.

10. If you were in a Zombie Apocolypse, who would you ally with? It can be anyone, from fictional to real, to someone you do or do not know! Choose wisely!

Ehm... from watching people play The Walking Dead, I'd probably be happier just dying then trying to live through a Zombie Apocolypse o 3o. But if I had to pick, probably just anyone who has the survival skills that I lack (So... uhm... all of them :3).

11. Would you ever volunteer for the Hunger Games?

Hell no. :3

OKAY SO UHM, I ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS. 

I don't know who to tag other than Chiima back and Sarah's blog thingy. So yeah, if you guys dun mind doing stuff again . 3. <3. Also, anyone who has a blog and reads mine is free to answer these questions too <3 feel free to comment on the post with links to your answers :).

And my questions are~

1. If you could go back in time and introduce your past self to idols sooner, would you, and about when would you do it (like how old would the past you be)? And why that time, if there's a reason?

2. What song do you wish you could have coordinated instead to make it better? (I mean everything from line distribution, to dance formation, to pv design, etc.)

3. If you could make a new idol unit, who would be in it and what would it be called?

4. Who is your favorite idol and why? (Optionally: Did you always like them, and if not, what made you change your mind about them?)

5. If you had any super-power, what would it be and why?

6. Which idol group (or even just 'bunch of random idols') would you want to be included if a new live action of your favorite anime was announced?

7. How do you explain idols if/when people ask you about them/why you like them?

8. What was the first CD you ever bought? (doesn't have to be idol related)

9. Is there a song which does not have a PV, that you wish did? And if so, which song?

10. Are there any idols that you used to like, but then grew to dislike them as you got to know them better?

11. What's your favorite number? O 3O

UGH, I suck at making questions... Which is really terrible for someone who loves answering questions so much xD. 

Finally, the last part of this post. I don't know if anyone remembers, but at the beginning of this year, and again around the middle, I made blog posts about things I hoped to come out of this year. So I'm gonna summarize the few wishes that came true :D.

Dance Unit.

Although still inactive to my knowledge, my desire for a dance unit was fulfilled. This unit not only fulfilled my dance unit wish, but also quite a few of my "members I want to get a sub-unit" wish. Those were: Captain and Nakky, conditionals for Riho and Ayumi, and different conditionals for Maimi and Dawa.

Otsuka Aina Unit.
Unfortunately, she resigned from the unit before it's debut, but Juice=Juice fulfilled my "Otsuka Aina in a Unit" wish.

Umbrella
Surprisingly enough, Hello!Project did release an umbrella O_O. It was for C-ute's Kanashiki Amefuri, and it was really boring, and not the kind I like, BUT IT WAS AN UMBRELLA. Baby steps!

More Graduations and Auditions.
There were more graduations and auditions. To my disadvantage, the graduation wasn't really a graduation as it was a dismissal, and it was my original favorite member of the group (Otsuka Aina), and the Auditions came up with nada in the end (MoMusu Gen 12), but they happened! I guess...

Morning Musume self-cover album.
The Best ~Updated Morning Musume~. Hated most of the songs on the album, but again, it happened :3.

Autotune dy-ing?
I feel like towards the end of the year, there's been a lot less autotune than there was earlier on... so that kinda counts, right?

Awesome?
I don't know if I'd go that far, but I am very happy with how this year has turned out, and I can't wait to see what H!P has to bring next year :).

So, this was... uhm... lots of things. I hope it wasn't too overwhelming. I thought of putting stuff in separate posts, but it seemed like a waste of time. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I'll see you guys next year ;3 Happy New Year!.

Momo's Top 20 (H!P-ish) Songs of 2013!

Everything I put on my blog is purely my opinion. No offense is ever intended, and I do not ever claim my opinion to be any more "right" than anyone else's, so please return the favor and pay me the same respect. Thank you.

Yaaay 2014 is just around the corner, and I think it's time for one of those whole... uhm... I like it... kinda things :3. I was initially going to do top 10, but I like so many songs and wanted to include them allll ; 3;. So this is my top 20 H!P (well, 18 H!P + 2 not really H!P but close enough ;3) songs of 2013. Enjoy!

#20 DiaLady - Lady Mermaid

The first time I heard it, I really didn't like it much, but since then it's grown on me quite a bit. I wouldn't necessarily say I "love" it, but I do listen to it quite a bit compared to some of the other songs that came out this year. It's a nice song.

#19 S/mileage - Ee ka!?

Ee ka!? is probably one of the most creative songs to come out of H!P in a long time, when it comes to sound, but I feel like the pieces don't click entirely. The rap bits are amazing, the verses are amazing, the chorus is amazing, but they're all amazing in different ways that I don't think necessarily go together. So while I think the individual parts of the song are amazing, overall the song is just okay. But it's still good enough to make top 20.

#18 S/mileage - Atarashii Watashi ni Nare!

I honestly liked this song a lot more when it first came out, but since then I'm not sure if I've exhausted myself to it, or just so many good songs have come out this year that, in comparison, this is rather low. I like it more than Ee ka!? honestly, but it in itself isn't quite enough to make top 10 (or even 15). I still listen to it quite a bit, though.

#17 Morning Musume - Brainstorming

Okay, this one I know I burnt myself out to. Not to the point I hate it (obviously, it's in my top 20) but I don't find it nearly as impressive as when I first heard it. I do listen to it regularly, but it doesn't appeal to me as much as a lot of other songs do anymore.

#16 S/mileage - Shin * Nippon no Susume!

I honestly haven't heard any other songs from this album if I recall. The only reason I listened to this one was because a friend suggested it when I asked for something to translate. I couldn't translate it, since it's confusing as hell, but she did manage to get me to listen to the song, and I fell in love with it. It's a really fun song, and although I find it a little lacking in unique-ness, it has it's own charm to it.

#15 Berryz Koubou - Golden Chinatown

So, I know a lot of people didn't like the song, but I did. I think it's a fun and enjoyable listen, and lots of fun to sing along to. I have been to "Chinatown" in multiple places before, and just the sound of the song suits the name, I feel. So yeah. Haters gonna hate (b >.>)b

#14 S/mileage - Yattaruchan

Yattaruchan is a very fun, encouraging song, and I love singing along to it. Though, that's basically all it is to me. A lot of other songs interest me more, that's why it's so low. By the way, I know it may seem like S/mileage has a lot of songs, but mind you this is my 2nd favorite S/mileage song of they year, and my first barely makes the top 10, so yeah, there's a lot S/mileage that "managed" to make top 20 it seems xD.

#13 Morning Musume - Ai no Gundan

When I first saw the PV for Ai no Gundan, and heard the song, my jaw dropped. It impressed me on so many levels. Since then the song itself has kinda turned out to be a lot less impressive than I first thought, but still a really nice song to listen to once in a while. I love it, but moreso watching it then just listening to it.

#12 Juice=Juice - Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru

At first, I thought this song was good but couldn't compare to their amazing debut indies single. Since then, I've really grown to love this song, even more than their debut. It's a fun, energetic song with a great atmosphere to it, plus it's strong and passionate, and it's a song that's very fun to go all out when singing. Unfortunately, this is my favorite Juice=Juice song and it doesn't even make top 10 just for the year. JuJu seems to have turned into S/mileage for me. When S/mileage was announced, I was so excited, and when their aMa no Jaku came out I was extremely happy. However, from Yumemiru 15sai on, they stopped appealing to me, and the only songs that really interested me anymore were Suki-chan and Otona ni Narutte Muzukashii. Nothing else really peeked (and held) my interest again until Choto Mate Kudasai. JuJu seems to be the same way so far, at first I was excited, but now the only songs that I really like still are this one, and Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne.

#11 Kikkawa Yuu - TO BE...

The first slow song on my top 20 list so far, and an amazing song. I used to just download all of the songs that would come out, and, unless someone pointed on out like with Shin Nippon, I would just end up never actually listening to them. This song happened to come on when I was too lazy to pull out my ipod and change the song, so I got to give it a listen. At the end I was like "Okay, I can tell it was Kikka by her voice, but what the heck was that song?" I fell in love with the song, it's so pretty, as expected out of Kikka. And before I get people commenting that "Kikkawa Yuu isn't H!P anymore" This is one of the songs I mentioned as "Not H!P but close enough" at the beginning, so yes, I realize this.

#10 S/mileage - "Ii Yatsu"

It seems like most people like Ee ka!? more from this single, but I absolutely love "Ii Yatsu". Besides the fact the I felt like S/mileage was reading out the situation I'm in to me upon first watching, it's a really pretty song with a really interesting and unique feel to it. Despite being such a sad(ish?) song, you can hear the girls, especially DAWA and Meimei, put so much feeling and passion into it. I absolutely love it <3. For now it's my favorite S/mileage song ever.

#9 C-ute - The*Treasure Box

The Treasure Box, My 3rd favorite C-ute song of the year, and my 2nd favorite b-side of the year. At first listen I wasn't too fond of it, but then I started imagining things for it (yeah, I tend to do that to make myself like songs a lot, I did that with Asian Celebration). With this song I imagined the girls going on a treasure hunt in their concert pirate outfits. It helped hold my attention long enough on the song to give it a good real listen. And it worked, because I fell in love with the damn thing. I had it on repeat for days after that, and though I don't listen quite THAT much, I still love the song.

#8 Hello!Project Kenshuusei - Oheso no Kuni Kara Konnichiwa

I love the H!P Kenshuusei. I feel bad that I don't know them better. I can only name a few of them, and a few more I can place one of their names (like Yamaki...something), but not their full name. And I don't know basically any of their voices. But it's not like H!P makes it easy for me and I'm just lazy and/or ignorant >.> So when this song was released on Hello!Station, I was so excited. AND ACTUAL SOLOS GUYS. AND A GOOD SONG. Kanojo ni Naritai I've only heard once, and the only part I remember is the "Kanojo ni Naritai..." part. It didn't really hold my attention well. But this. THIS. This masterpiece was on repeat for 3-4 days after it's release, and even now it's one of, probably, my top 5 "start with this song" songs when I listen to music (yes, this is a big thing for me.)

#7 Morning Musume - Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke

Okay, so the outfits aren't the best, but this song is amazing. I, as usual, wish that the lines were distributed a bit more evenly, but I honestly am satisfied with how the distribution sounds in this song, so I don't entirely mind it for once. The song is fun and upbeat and it's dance is amazing, I just love it and am so proud of what Morning Musume has become despite all of the losses they've dealt with in the past 4 years.

#6 C-ute - Adam & Eve no Dilemma

UGH. Just... Ugh. This song is just so amazing, I love it ; 3;. It's kinda strong, but in a gentle way. It's kinda powerful, but in a soft way. It's a really well-balanced song, I feel, and I enjoy listening to it very much. The only thing that would make this song better would be if Nakky and Maimi weren't brushed to the side so much >.> <3.

#5 HI-FIN - Kaigan Seisou Danshi

TOP 5, ARE YOU EXCITED YET? Although it didn't really stand out much to me when I first listened to it, it really grew on me. REALLY grew on me. The song is fun to listen to with creative overlapping-ish lines and amazing harmonies. I can't express how impressed I am with this song considering it has may absolute least favorite member for all 3 full groups who are represented by this group. But despite that, these girls sound amazing, both in the solos and the group lines, and the harmonies just work so well, and even the talking lines are perfect. I love it!

#4 Morning Musume - Watashi no Dekkai Hana

My favorite b-side of the year! This song is just too perfect. When Tsunku said he was writing a song to suit the abilities of each girl, he was very much accurate. With Ayumi's amazing rapping lines, Reina's line whore lines, and even Haruna's lines sound great they way she sings them, even though singing that way for just about any other song would piss me off. This song is just... probably the most thought filled song I can remember ever coming out of H!P. Even if it's not my favorite, I will stand by that claim.

#3 Jurin - Hotaru Matsuri no Hi

When it was first announced and previews were released, a lot of people were saying how it was "Just another Cabbage Hakusho" but I beg to differ. I feel like Hotaru Matsuri no Hi has a lot more feeling put into it, and although those who argue that "Masaki and Karin don't blend for shit" are right, I can't help but love this song anyway. It's a beautiful song, and I can just hear the emotion both of these girls put into it when they sing. And it's not in vain. The emotion in the vocals brings out the feeling of the song even more than the instrumental backing does. I'm so proud of these two, and even if they don't quite blend, they both shine in their own way.

#2 Tasaki Asahi - Tegami

The other "not really H!P" song. I just can't get over how much I love this song. With me, slow songs like this are very much "hit or miss". I'll either love them or I'll really not like them. But this song, UGH, this hit an all new high for love for a slow song. There's so much emotion in the song, and it's just so beautiful. None of Asa-chan's other songs have really stuck to me, but this one just won't get unstuck. And Asahi has an amazing voice, and it's just perfect for this song. I can't imagine liking this song nearly as much if anyone else I can think of sung it. The song is just perfect for her, and she's perfect for the song.

#1 C-ute - Namida mo Denai Kanashiku mo Nai Nanni mo Shitakunai

I've loved this song to death since the first time I heard it. Which is saying a lot for me with a Mai lead song. I really don't like Mai's voice, so for me to love a song which is at least 30% Mai solos just goes to show how amazing the song itself is. Just listening to the song makes my heart ache, it's a powerful enough song to move me before I even think about what it means. And then seeing what it means just pushes those feelings even farther. It's an amazing song and I'd definitely, hands down place it as my #1 for the year. 

So that was my top 20 songs of 2013. I hope you guys enjoyed reading my thoughts, and maybe even gave a listen to some of the songs if you haven't already heard them. I'm looking forward to another year of songs from Hello!Project. I think my biggest hope for next year is that I can put more Berryz songs into my top xx list. See you guys tomorrow, if I remember to do what I wanted to do tomorrow ;3 good night/morning/afternoon/whatever time it is.

MMerry., Berryz, C-utie, Juice=y, S/miley, Mitsui Christmas!

I'm going into this with no idea what I'm gonna actually say, but I assure you that my opinion will most probably be involved somehow... Deal with it. Oh and MMerry Christmas!

HEY GUYS! So, uhm... I've kinda gotten sick of Christmas... the Holiday which is supposed to bring cheer and joy to everyone just ends up bringing paranoia and stress. So what better to do then blog? Plus I feel like I owe it to at least do some sorta Christmas special blog post. So... uhh.. here it is... I've got 0 inspiration whatsoever right now, though, so I'm kinda making this up as I go along.

On a random note: I FRIGGEN LOVE THE MOMUSU CHRISTMAS COSTUMES THIS YEAR. OMG. <333

Anyway, I figure there's nothin better than a little music for Christmas, right? Right. So I guess I'll just put down some of my Christmas jams so you people can give them a listen, okay? Okay. That sounds do-able.

Wa~ MERRY PIN X-mas! is far from my first choice, but it's one of them, and it's the first to come to mind since a friend did a parody dub of it for Christmas. That was "Wa~ Merry-pon Christmas" by Nerupyon if you wanna check that out. This song is originally a duet by Shigepinku (Michishige Sayumi) and Kohappinku (Kusumi Koharu) (Also known as Rainbow Pink, I believe?) on Morning Musume's 7.5 mini fuyu album thing. The title, "Merry Pin-Christmas," is a pun of sorts. The kind where you take two words that end/begin with the same thing and put them together? Anyway, in this case, it's short for "Merry Pink Christmas," but since Pink ends with "KU" and Christmas starts with "KU" they combine it into (in japanese pronunciation) "PIN.KU.RISUMASU" which I find quite creative. The song overall I enjoy as it brings out the cute personalities of the two girls, especially in the "e~ e~" parts in the choruses.

One of my favorite winter/Christmas songs, and not even H!P, is Winter Love Story by JYONGRI. The video has a bit of a Wintertime Cinderella theme to it, though the song isn't like that at all unless it's the "Winter Love Story" being referred to. Anyway, one of the things I love about this song is the fact that it's a half and half song! Half Japanese, half English. I always seem to have a weakness for songs like this. Plus, this girl has some amazing pronunciation in both languages. The overall song is so sweet, and yeah, it's not technically a "Christmas" song, but I said MY Christmas jams, so that means "song I like to listen to at Christmas-time." Be grateful that this one is at least Winter-y, cause one I got on my mind isn't even that ;3

I really love Santa-san by Momoiro Clover Z! It's a really cute song about believing in, awaiting, pleading to, etc Santa. It's pretty fun when they joke about Australia having Christmas in Summer and go on with a parody of their own song Coco☆Natsu. Santa-san is probably in my top 5 MomoClo songs (though that's not saying much since I only regularly listen to 6-7, but that's aside the point!)

I know there we a lot of people who poked fun at this song, primarily because of the outfits, but you know what? I love this song AND the outfits. So yeah. Those of you who don't know what I'm talking about: The song is titled "Samui ne." which means "It's cold." so a lot of people made fun that "If you would dress properly, maybe you wouldn't be so cold." But, honestly, where I live, it can be "cold" to me, but I'll be wearing something as light as that, so it really doesn't bother me much. Anyway, this song is a really nice listen at Christmas time, especially when I'm in a sad mood and don't really wanna listen to something all happy and cheery. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChV0hbFW00o

For some reason the video won't show up when I try to do the whole video thing... anyway, remember when I said a Christmas Jam that isn't even technically winter-y? Yep, this is one of those things ;) Morning Musume's Mickey Mouse March ~ Matsuura Aya's Disney Medley is a pair of songs that for reason I find especially enjoyable at this time of year. Why? Heck if I know. But anyway, these two songs consist of a cute little Mickey Mouse theme-like song by Morning Musume from Platinum Era, and a Disney Medley by Matsuura Aya from a dinner performance, if I'm correct. The Medley consists of the Japanese versions fo Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, Bippity Boppity Boo, and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The Japanese versions of these songs are SO much better than the English, especially the last one (hell if I'm typing that word again), and it's such a fun medley.

I always forget how much I love this song until I listen to it again! Shiroi Tokyo by ZYX may be one of my favorite one-shot unit songs ever (yes, I consider ZYX a one-shot unit even though the got 2 singles. I feel the same about DEF.DIVA too). Everytime it reminds me just how much I miss Megumi. I really shouldn't be saying this, since she was already gone when I got into H!P, but I don't care! Megumi is, was, and always will be my all-time favorite H!P Kid. Oh yeah, the song. Shiroi Tokyo's biggest weakness, in my opinion, is the fact it's 100% solos. I really would have liked to hear some group lines, like they tend to do when they make concert versions of the song. 

Kotatsu no Uta ~jyuken story~ is a really important song to me, especially around this time of year. It reminds me of two of my dear friends who, between the three of us, all of our MoMusu top Oshi's are in this one song. This song, like Wa~ MERRY PIN X'mas was on the 7.5 mini fuyu album thing, and I know at least one person didn't understand what it had to do with winter. As far as I've bothered to tell, the main thing is that a Kotatsu is only used in winter (if I recall correctly). Maybe there's more winter-y stuff in the song, but I never paid enough attention to tell. But yeah, it's one of my Christmas jams, so close enough.

While we're on the topic of that mini-album, how about some Samui Kara Fuyu damon! ~Dou mo Kou mo Naissu yo Mikitty~? I have a certain bias to Mikitty, as she was the first H!P soloist I ever heard a song by. So I've loved this song ever since I heard it. But it's a really good song, even without the Mikitty bias. I usually only listen to it once or twice a year, though, but guess when that is! NOW. So yeah, enjoy :3.

This was really popular a couple years ago, I would have like 5 different friends all sending me this video in a span of like 3 days. But it's always really nice hearing Morning Musume try and sing in English (always? Not like they do it much... but still). But this is a Christmas Cover Medley by Morning Musume. The medley consists of the songs:
Santa Claus is Coming to Town (All)

The Loco-Motion (Abe Natsumi, Ishikawa Rika, and Fujimoto Miki)

Please Mr. Postman (Iida Kaori, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Ogawa Makoto, and Konno Asami)

Be My Baby (Yaguchi Mari, Tsuji Nozomi, Kago Ai, Takahashi Ai, and Niigaki Risa)

Love Machine (All)

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Kamei Eri, Michishige Sayumi, and Tanaka Reina --> All)

It's a really cool Medley, and though I may not necessarily agree with the distribution, it was really interesting.

And that's about it, I think. There's probably other songs, but I can't think of them. AND NO, I DID NOT FORGET AITAI LONELY CHRISTMAS. THAT SONG. OMFG THAT SONG! That song was so over-used the year it came out. And the year after. I'm just so done with it. It's a good song, but I'm sick of it. Srsly. 4reel. >o. Ugh I feel like I should write more but I don't know what else to say. I was kinda hoping I could stall until midnight so I could at least say it was alreayd Christmas here, but it's only 8:30... WELL IT'S CHRISTMAS IN JAPAN, THAT'S ENOUGH FOR ME. So Merry Christmas, everyone, whether it's Christmas yet or not, and enjoy some Morning Musume Christmas outfit spam <3

 

Categorical Choruses / Momo's Chorus Pet Peeves

Everything written in this post is purely my opinion. Don't like it? To bad. Welcome to blogging. I'm entitled to my opinion, and I'm fully justified in sharing it. I'm always welcome to an constructive argument that will strengthen the opinions of all parties involved, but please take any bullshit, whining, or straight up stupidity elsewhere. kthxbai.

I've probably mentioned my pet peeve about choruses that aren't choruses on here, and I know I've mentioned it to other people. Most responses to statements like these are under the lines of "._." "?" or "what". I'd like to first start off by explaining that when I use the phrase "choruses that aren't choruses" I'm using two different definitions of the word "chorus" as I know them. The first "chorus" is referring to what most people probably are understanding them both as - the part of a song. However the second "chorus" I'm referring to is the definition that's rather synonymous to "choir". That is, when all singers present sing in unison.

So I decided, oh, about 5 minutes ago that I was going to make a blog post about the different types of "choruses" and which ones I like and dislike (and which ones just annoy the shit outta me). I'll be making up random names for them just to separate them out. So yeah, here we go.

The ALL FOR ONE Chorus

Probably the best example of this I can give is the Kenshuusei version of Ten Made Nobore! as that whole song is a chorus, however, I'm only referring to the chorus part, so even Berryz Koubou's WANT! would classify under this category. This is a rather straightforward category. It simply requires that all members be singing the entire chorus together in unison. These types of choruses aren't by any means my favorite, but they're far from my least favorite, so I'm usually pretty happy with songs that have choruses as such.

The ALL vs ONE Chorus

This type of chorus is when, if it's the chorus, then either everyone is singing, or it's a solo. This is my personal favorite kind of chorus, especially when it's chorus-dominant. The first example that comes to mind is the 50:50 chorus/solo song, Morning Musume's Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game. I say it's 50:50 because first you have a chorus line, then a solo, then a chorus line, then a solo, and between the choruses and solos, the chorus is split about 50:50. An example of a chorus-dominant one, as I mentioned above, would be S/mileage's Shortcut. In that song, only the last word of the chorus is a solo. Though even Berryz Koubou's Golden China Town would fall under a chorus-dominant one to me, so it doesn't have to be that extreme. On the flip-side, a solo-dominant chorus for this category would be something like, for a more extreme example, Berryz Koubou's Ai no Dangan. Where, like Shortcut, only one word is chorus. While a less extreme example would me something like Juice=Juice's Ijiwaru Shinaide Dakishimete yo.

The ONE FOR ALL Chorus

This category is for when the entire chorus is a solo. Maybe not all by the same person, but every line in the chorus is 100% solo anyway. This is my absolute least favorite type of choruses, and chances are, it's the type that cause me to mention my pet peeve about choruses in the first place. One example of this category is Morning Musume's Only You. The fact that choruses were like this is one of the main reasons I initially hated this song. It eventually grew on me, but I still hate how the chorus is all solos. Another example of this type of chorus is Morning Musume's Aishite Aishite Atto Ippun (discluding the last chorus).

The BIT BY BIT Chorus.

This would be referring to when the chorus is 100% duos or small groups. In other words, between 2 and n-1 people, where n is how many people are in the group :3. One example of this is C-ute's Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku. The whole chorus is basically rotating duets. Another good example, which is more common to see I think, is Morning Musume's Mikan. Of course, you gotta ignore the end we're Reina goes on strike and leads everyone into an ALL FOR ONE Chorus type >.>

The BITS 'n PIECES Chorus.

This is when it's all 2 to n-1 groups, as mentioned above, plus solos. But no full group parts. These are, as far as I see, the most common "BIT BY BIT" form you'll see. A great example of this is Morning Musume's Kanashiki Twilight. Morning Musume's Kimi Sae Ireba Nanimo Iranai is also a more recent version of this category.

The MORE THAN ONE Chorus

As the name probably implies, as long as more than one person is singing throughout the chorus, it's okay :D. But in all seriousness, this is when the chorus has both small group lines (2 to n-1 singers) and chorus lines (n singers ;3) together. A good example of this is HI-FIN's Kaigan Seisou Danshi. You get mostly chorus, but then for one part you have bits. Another example that's more bit-heavy is Berryz Koubou's MADAYADE. In that, you have all bits until the final "BIYOOOOOOON" at the end of each chorus. And yes, this means that Berryz Koubou's Piriri to Yukou would also fall under this category as well.

The EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK Chorus

The last type of chorus is the kind where there's a little of everything. For example, in Morning Musume's Help Me!! you get a bunch of bits, followed by a solo, topped off with a chorus line. Or in Morning Musume's Ren'ai Hunter, you get a chorus part, followed by a bit, followed by a solo and then repeated again. These can oftentimes be some of the more fun choruses to listen to, as you can hear a variety, not only of voices, but of mixtures of different types and numbers of voices.

So let's review, shall we? If we refer to each of the parts as choruses (n members singing), bits (2 to n-1 members singing), and solos (1 member singing), then we get 7 possible combinations (technically 8, but if we didn't have any of them, there wouldn't be a chorus, now would there?)

1. Choruses (ALL FOR ONE)

2. Choruses&Solos (ALL vs ONE)

3. Solos (ONE FOR ALL)

4. Bits (BIT BY BIT)

5. Bits&Solos (BITS 'n PIECES)

6. Bits&Choruses (MORE THAN ONE)

7. Bits&Choruses&Solos (EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK)

Unless I'm forgetting something, or you want to go into even more detail, any song should be able to be classified under one of these 7 categories. Songs like Mikan, though, where the last chorus gets trippy in comparison to the category of the first ones, may be harder to place, as you might not know whether or not to count the last chorus when classifying the song. But whatever, who really cares about that weird stuff? 8D

This has been Random Facts With Momo, featuring Momo and her random facts. Have a nice life guys~ See you next time I come up with some crappy idea for something to go on about :3 Thanks for reading <3