December 27, 2011 - C-ute & Morning Musume 9th Gen On J-Melo
C-ute and Morning Musume’s 9th gen will be featured on J-Melo. From the looks of the website there’s two NHK stations, one called NHK World and the other is NHK. Both list C-ute and Kyuukies under J-melo and I guessing the difference between the two stations is one is exclusive for Japan while the other is world wide. There’s a lot of other artists listed under J-melo so the segment for C-ute and the Kyuukies will most likely be very short but regardless of that I’m happy that they get the chance to appear on the show because it will expose them to fans around the world and also for existing fans like us we get to see it when it airs instead of waiting for a clip on the internet. The program is in English with subtitles. The show will air on NHK World on 1/9 and then on NHK on 1/15.
December 27, 2011 - C-ute’s End Of The Year Party Streaming On “Hagiwara Mai desu ga… Nani ka??”
C-ute will be having a end of the year party which will be streamed on Hagiwara Mai desu ga… Nani ka?? Maimi made the announcement on her blog and says that last year Airi couldn’t make it since she had some Buono! related work. However this year all members will be present so everyone is excited for the event. I don’t remember hearing or seeing anything about their party last year and it’s probably because it wasn’t streamed like this year’s one. Anyways I’m glad that they’re streaming this since they’re putting technology to good work and since it’s a party we’ll most likely see a lot of funny things going on. Maimi also says this will be her last appearance for the 2011 year and it’s probably the same for the other members as well since the New Year is coming up fast, so I hope everyone can check out the show! The stream will be on 12/29 at 3pm JST.
December 26, 2011 - Morning Musume 9th & 10th Gen Online Talk Show Announced
Morning Musume’s 9th and 10th gen members will be starting an online talk show for FC members. First it’s great news that the Kyuukies and Juukies will be able getting a talk show since we can see their true personalities, especially in the case of the Juukies. Also since it’s online there’s a few advantages to that, FC members from all over the world can check it out and seeing as it’s already online, I’m sure someone will be kind enough to share screencaps/clips of the talk show with other non-FC members. I’m glad that they got the opportunity to do this talk show but lately it feels like Morning Musume is two separate groups now that they get this online talk show. The promotional outfits for their next single, the cover for Hello!Channel 7 and now the talk show seems to divide the groups into senior/junior and it just feels like the group isn’t one anymore. The talk show will start on 1/12.
December 22, 2011 - Tsuji Nozomi congratulates Kago Ai’s marriage & pregnancy
Tsuji Nozomi updated her blog with an entry blessing her friend Kago Ai on her marriage and pregnancy. Tsuji was notified of Kago’s marriage in the morning and wrote, “Aibon (Kago), who is a good friend and a partner of mine, will be a housewife and a mama like me…I am truly happy for her. Really happy,” she commented, blessing Kago on this occasion. Tsuji, who married actor Sugiura Taiyo in 2007 and became a mother of two children, shared some advice on pregnancy with Kago. “I am sure that right now is an important time for her, so I hope you do your best to take care of your body and be careful not push yourself too hard,” she said. “Aibon, Really and truly, congratulations.”
December 20, 2011 - Kago Ai suddenly announces marriage & pregnancy
Kago Ai has announced her sudden marriage on her official blog and also revealed that she is currently pregnant. Kago wrote on her official blog: “To everyone who has always been cheering for me and supporting me: I, Kago Ai, would like to announce that I have registered my marriage this month with a person I have known for some time now. Also, recently… I learned that I have a new life growing inside of me. I feel such happiness from the bottom of my heart, and also feel a sense of responsibility. From now on, I would like for us to build an ordinary, quiet, and warm home life as the two of us work together and become closer to one another. Although up until now I’ve caused so much worry, as Kago Ai, in my own way, as a 23 year old woman, a wife, and a mother, for the time being I want to fully embrace and treasure this happiness. I would be truly happy if you continued to watch over me warmly from now on as well.“ In a postscript she noted that she does not plan on holding a press conference about the news, and asked that press inquiries be directed to Diamond Blog.
December 17, 2011 - Nakajima Saki New Radio Show Announced, Titled “Nakajima Saki no Kyuuto na Jikan”
The show’s title is quite cute since it seems like the show will be centered not only around Nakky, but also around C-ute as a whole which makes me hope for some guest appearances from the other members, and knowing Nakky’s great charisma on shows, I’m more than pleased to see that she will be getting a radio show to entertain everyone with her cute topics and her energetic personality.Hopefully everyone who can check it out will tune in on time for the first broadcast that will be held on 1/8. The show will air every sunday starting 1/8.
December 14, 2011- Hagiwara Mai, Nakajima Saki And Okai Chisato To Star In A New Stage Play Titled “STRONGER”
C-ute’s Hagiwara Mai, Nakajima Saki and Okai Chisato will be starring in a new stage play titled STRONGER with Maimai holding the lead role. It seems like the girls already mentionned this stage play on their blogs previously, but since it was just a light mention, no one paid a lot of attention to it until now since we get the confirmation of the stage play alongside a promotional poster featuring Mai in a blue worker outfit standing still and with a strong expression on her face while some greenery surround her on the left side, and even though I have no idea about the storyline of the stage play, hearing that 3 C-ute members will take part in it is great news. Since the play doesn’t have an official site (yet) or a blog, there isn’t a clear summary about its concept, so hopefully the girls will keep us updated through their blogs and give out more information since from the title and the poster alone, this seems like a really great play to attend that most C-ute fans will probably want to see… The stage play will start from 3/14.
December 8, 2011 - Hagiwara Mai New Ustream Show Announced, Titled “Mai desu ga… nani ka?”
A new Ustream show for C-ute member Hagiwara Mai has been announced. It will be titled Mai desu ga… nani ka? (I’m Mai… so what?).the title makes it a great reason for everyone to watch the first broadcast. and it has been announced that fans from around the world can send in questions to Maimai herself on a specific e-mail address which she will read and choose a bunch to respond to during the show, so seeing that international fans will be able to take part in the show in some kind of way is really great news since this will allow Mai’s fans to show her their devotion and what they think of her while being answered directly by her on the show if their question gets picked. Hopefully everyone will be able to tune in on time for the first show when the date is announced to see what it’s about, since I’m sure that it’s set to be entertaining! To send your questions: maidesuga@gmail.com
December 6, 2011 - Kago Ai’s agency demands 100 million yen in damages
Kago Ai’s stream of bad luck doesn’t seem to be
letting up — the president of her agency, Ito Kazuyuki, is setting out to sue the former Morning Musume idol for damages. Ito explains that Kago has cost the company more than 100 million yen (~1.3 million USD) in damages due to a violation of her contract, so he is preparing to fight her in a civil suit for the damages. Ito spoke of the problem to Sankei Sports, “She cancelled her last job at the last minute and it has been about a year since we’ve truly been not able to contact her. Since we love her as a child, we patiently waited for her to come back, but even we have our limits. The lawsuit is for the damages she’s caused the company by canceling her activities and breaking off her contract, which was good until the end of March 2013. It’s likely she has caused more than 100 million yen in damages. I want to hear what she says firsthand before the end of the year in the courtroom.” In September, Kago was shocked to learn that her 44 year old boyfriend was arrested on charges of attempted extortion with his yakuza ties, and as a result she tried to commit suicide. Kago has since been resting, but on November 21st, she re-appeared on her blog and Twitter with the message, “I feel better now! Thanks”.
December 5, 2011 - Nakazawa Yuko is getting married!
It was rumored a while back that she was dating someone and it looks like that’s true since it was announced that they’re getting married. I’m very happy for Yuko since it means that she’s found someone she’s happy with. She’s also worked very hard since making her debut and I think it’s time she find her own happiness outside of work. There’s no information available about the man she’s marry but when the rumor came about I think they said that he was a 40 year old business man, I can’t be sure on that but regardless of his age or occupation I hope them both the best.
December 3, 2011 - Yajima Maimi, Nakajima Saki & Hagiwara Mai- FC Tour Announced
A FC tour for Maimai, Nakky and Maimi have been announced, titled “The three of us are doing a birthday event! ’cause we’re all born in February! Part3″ Like the title says, the 3 of them will be celebrating with their FC. Most H!P member celebrate their birthdays with their FC event but I think it’s nice that they can celebrate together with each other since they’re birth dates are very close to each other. I think at one of their birthday events a few years back the other members of C-ute (this was when Umeda Erika was still part of the group) came out and sang happy birthday to them too as well as provide a cake so maybe they’ll get that surprise this year too from Airi and Chisato. Even though Maimi and Mai’s birthday is a few days after this event date, I hope that everyone will still attend and wish them a happy birthday. The event will be on 2/4 and 2/5.
November 25, 2011 - Takahashi Ai Will Be Part Of The Cast For A Stage Play Titled “La Patisserie”
She will play a character called Morisawa Kaori. The plot hasn’t been translated so it’s hard to know what the story is about, but it seems like Ai-chan’s character Kaori is the owner of a bakery where she’s a pastry chef (as the title mentions). It will be very interesting to see how it turns out since Ai-chan is a really great actress, and with two more main actors it seems like we are in for an interesting play. There’s a total of 10 actors (half men and half women) although there seems to be only about 3 main roles, so hopefully the play turns out well. I encourage anyone in the area to attend the play since it seems like it will have a somewhat short run (compared to her Dance of Vampire play). The play will run from 3/3 ~ 3/11 in Tokyo, 3/20, 3/22 in Osaka and Ishikawa.
November 20, 2011 - Hello! Project and UFA Artists To Participate In “Yuuki no Tsubasa 2011″
Hello! Project and UFA artists will participate in this year’s Toyota Yuuki no Tsubasa 2011. The event is a special holiday activity to interact with adults and children who have disabilities.Here are the members who will appear each day:
11/23 – Yaguchi Mari, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Matsuura Aya, Satoda Mai
Like every year there are always events from UFA that helps to promote a good cause, and this seems like a great way to raise awareness and interact with those with disabilities, especially with a great selection of UFA artists who will most likely do an amazing job at the event. Hopefully everyone who can will attend this event since it seems like a great cause. The event will take place from 11/23 ~ 27.
November 19, 2011 - Mano Erina Will Be In A Movie Titled “Waga Haha no Ki”
Her character helps to take care of another character’s mother. The movie won a special jury award at the 35th Montreal World Film Festival in Canada this past Sunday, and is going to be released in 2012 during Golden Week. – Ragen @ H!O While she isn’t among the main cast of the movie it seems like a nice addition to her long list of appearances of movies since the story seems to be very interesting and touching, so fans of this type of movies will be very happy. The movie will be released in 2012 during Golden Week.
November 19, 2011 - Michishige Sayumi & Tanaka Reina Starring In A New Drama Titled “Suugaku♥Joushi-gakuen”
Michishige Sayumi and Tanaka Reina will be starring in a new drama titled “Suugaku♥Joushi-gakuen” (Mathematics♥Girl’s Academy) The drama features Sayu and Reina as high school rivals in a girl’s school and they compete against each other in mathematics. Other H!P members also appear as rivals for them and they’re Momoko, Maasa, Mano, Maimi, Airi, Nakky, Dawa, Fukuda Kanon, and Tamura. Also starring along with Sayu and Reina is a man named Sakurada Dori famous for his role as Nogami Kotaro/Kamen Rider New Den-O in Tokusatsu's Cho-Den-O . He’s an actor that appeared in a few musicals called The Prince of Tennis and he’s also had a lot of experiences in other TV and movie films too. Hopefully a lot of fans can check it out since it features a few H!P members here and it’s nice if we can support them. The drama is set to air on Wednesday nights at 12:59 starting in January.
November 18, 2011 - Lin Lin To MC An Anime Festival In Shanghai
Lin Lin will be the MC for an anime festival in Shanghai titled Japan Anime Festival in Shanghai.Being an MC for an anime festival isn’t as big as being on a show like Jun Jun, but it’s the next best thing for fans who will be attending the event since it gives them a chance to check out the various events and anime related stuff while enjoying an interesting MC by Lin Lin. Lin Lin has a very catchy and unique personality so it was no surprise why they decided to choose her, but while I have no idea how long the event will be I encourage everyone who is in the area to check out the event. Hopefully we get to see even more events featuring Lin Lin and Jun Jun in the future. The festival will be on 11/26.
November 17, 2011 - Buono! ”Gomenasai” DVD Release Announced
There will be 2 DVD editions, a deluxe and a regular and this is also a blu-ray edition available. The deluxe edition includes bonus DVD contents like the making of and a booklet. I’m glad that this is getting a DVD release because it’s great exposure for Buono! and for fans that didn’t get to attend to the movie they can watch it on DVD instead. The movie itself had some pretty scary scenes in it but since Buono! is one of my favorite groups I would try to put up with it just to watch Buono!. If you can’t support Buono! by reserving a copy of the DVD I would suggest reserving a copy of their 13th single instead. Hopefully everyone can reserve a copy, the release date is set for 2/18.
November 13, 2011 - Berryz Koubou To Attend AnimeNEXT In New Jersey, USA
Just announced at their Berikyuu concert, Berryz Koubou will attend AnimeNEXT in Somerset, New Jersey, USA in June 2012. Recently there was a tweet from a UFA Twitter account that mentioned there would be a surprise at today’s concert and I’m happy to see that it turned out to be another overseas trip since fans from this area will be able to enjoy Berryz Koubou without traveling that much. This has been confirmed by the H!P site so it seems that once again Berryz will perform in the US for sure, which is great news following the recent announcement that Buono would also be performing overseas since fans in those areas will be able to enjoy H!P without having to go to Japan. I’m surprised to see that they will perform in New Jersey since it doesn’t immediately jump into mind as being one of the most common tourist locations for people from other countries, but it’s a rare opportunity for fans near New Jersey, such as New York and the surrounding areas, since it’s among the first H!P concerts on the other side of the US. For now there isn’t that much information about the actual event since it was just announced but once more details are released we will update with more details. The event will take place from 6/8 ~ 10, 2012 at the Garden State Exhibit Center.
November 12, 2011 - Buono! To Perform In Paris
According to an announcement by the official H!P site, Buono! will perform a live in Paris, France. They will perform at La Machine du Moulin Rouge. Overseas performances usually come about once or twice a year for H!P groups, so it’s really surprising to see that a Paris live has been announced for Buono since it’s usually larger groups like Momusu or Berryz, but I’m a big Buono fan so I’m really happy to see that they can perform overseas since there are quite a lot of Buono fans in Europe. As most of you might remember back in 2009 Buono was among the guests that were invited to perform in Sweden, but due to a few economic problems it was canceled and the group didn’t get to go, but this seems like a perfect way to make up for it since European fans will be able to enjoy their performances next year at a place other than an Anime Expo (it seems to be a live house). Like always I highly encourage fans who are in the area or who can make it to attend since this is a rare opportunity to see Buono perform without having to go to Japan, and while there is still about 3 months to go for the performance it’s plenty of time for everyone to plan out their trip and practice their cheering and dancing for the songs. Buono! will perform on 2/12/2012.
November 12, 2011 - Mano Erina Will Be In A Reading Drama Titled “Moshimo Kimi ga.- Last Christmas”
Mano Erina will be part of the cast for the reading drama titled Moshimo Kimi ga. – Last Christmas. She will pair with Shirahama Aran and Yusuke Onuki on different days. As the description suggests Mano will be on stage reading the drama so it doesn’t involve that much physical acting, and while it might not be a stage play it seems like the next best way for her to show off her acting skills. I would imagine that reading a drama would be equally or more difficult as performing it since you don’t rely on physical movements to show the story, instead it would depend mostly on your voice so it will be somewhat difficult, but I look forward to finding out how it will turn out since the image for the story seems interesting since it has a somewhat sad tone to it mixed with a Christmas setting. Hopefully everyone in the area can check it out since it seems like an interesting way to enjoy a story from Mano. She will pair with Shirahama Aran on 12/21 and Yusuke Onuki on 12/25.
November 10, 2011 - Berryz Koubou & C-ute attend pre-screening event for their new horror movie
Berryz Koubou and C-ute attended a pre-screening event for their new horror movie “Ousama Game” (King Game). This is the first time that all the members of both groups have appeared in a movie, which brought about a friendly bragging competition between the two groups. C-ute’s leader Yajima Maimi boasted about her group, “We have great unity and teamwork”. The comment only caused Berryz Koubou’s captain Shimizu Saki to spout back, “No way, Berryz won’t lose when it comes to unity.” After the fireworks went off between the groups, Shimizu commented, “We’re all really good friends, but we’re rivals too.” “Ousama Game” is a suspense-horror film that is based off of the popular mobile novel by the same name. It’s about a “king” who keeps commanding a high school class to do certain things. The main protagonist, Chiemi, is played by Berryz Koubou member Kumai Yurina. It has been roughly eight years since the last time she was in a movie, “I was so nervous that I couldn’t eat. There was just so much pressure,” she commented. Also, when Kumai was asked what she would make the members do if she were a ‘king’ she responded with, “I’m the tallest, so I would make all of the members besides me grow taller. I want to be the shortest.” The unreasonable order caused the other members to burst out laughing. “Ousama Game” will be in theaters on December 17th.
November 10, 2011 - Matsuura Aya 10th Anniversary Best Announced
A Best Of celebrating Matsuura Aya’s 10th year anniversary has been announced.It will be a CD+DVD release. When I heard the news, I was extremely happy since the last news we heard from her was about her endometriosis, and hearing that she will be releasing a Best Of soon is a great news for all of her fans, even though I can’t help but think that this could also be a last release as a Best Of due to her disease… Apart form that, the Best Of should feature a lot of her previous releases and singles mainly which will please everyone since her songs are classic H!P songs, always being performed at concerts and such, so having a special Best Of release is the best way for fans to provide themselves with all of her amazing songs while enjoying some bonuses in one set. The release date is set for 12/21.
November 8, 2011 - “Morning Musume All Single Music Video Files Blu-ray 2011″ Announced
The DVD has been announced which will feature all of Morning Musume’s PV, titled “Morning Musume All Single Music Video Files Blu-ray 2011“. This DVD will be featuring all singles, starting with Morning Coffee all the way to Kono Chikyu/Kare to Issho and when I think about watching the PV’s from the beginning until now it will be very interesting to see how the group has progressed since their debut. I think comparing the PV styles and how the lineup has changed from approximately 14 years ago will be extremely fun. According to some fans this is one of H!P’s most expensive product but regardless of that this is a perfect addition to every collection since it will satisfy both the new and long term fans, so hopefully everyone can reserve a copy. The release date is set for 12/28.
November 7, 2011 - Jun Jun Participating In A Chinese Competition Show
Jun Jun is currently participating in a Chinese voter-based show titled 我为校花狂 Crazy for School Beauty. The competition is based on singing, dancing, and beauty. It has been a while since we last heard from Jun Jun, but it seems that her career is going well since after appearing in a movie she is now part of a show which seems to have a somewhat similar style of many other singing competition shows since it’s based on votes as well as singing and dancing. The episode was available to stream at the site below although I am having a few problems seeing it. so hopefully it works for those who are interested in seeing the show, although you can see a short clip of Jun Jun by clicking on her picture where she introduces herself.The show is voter based so there is a counter on the site as well as a button to vote and from what I can tell it’s open to everyone, so I encourage all Jun Jun fans to check the site out and vote for her, although it seems that she already has quite a lot of support since she’s currently at about 17800 votes with second place at around 4200.
November 3, 2011 - Mobekimasu Featured In Bijin-Tenki App
Mobekimasu members are currently being featured on a iPhone/Android app titled Bijin-Tenki.
The following members are included so far:
Shimizu Saki
Tsugunaga Momoko
Kumai Yurina
Natsuyaki Miyabi
Maeda Yuuka
Fukuda Kanon
Wada Ayaka
On 11/8 the following members will also be added:
Michishige Sayumi
Tanaka Reina
Sayashi Riho
Iikubo Haruna
Kudou Haruka
Yajima Maimi
Nakajima Saki
Suzuki Airi
Okai Chisato
Hagiwara Mai
Mano Erina
Hello! Project members appearing in apps is nothing new since there have been a few special edition apps by H!P released to promote singles, but H!P members appearing in other apps hasn’t happened, until now. Many might be familiar with the Bijin-Tenki app, but for those who don’t know it’s a Japanese app which shows pretty girls holding up signs that show the time or weather. Promotion for Mobekimasu’s single has been strong and while the traditional promotions work well it’s usually the original promotions that are most effective, so I’m really happy to see that members are appearing in the Biji-Tenki app to promote their single. So far it seems that only a few members from each group will appear (C-ute being the exception since all members are scheduled to appear), and while it might be a bit disappointing to see only a few members appear I am still glad that they decided to do this promotion since it seems like a pretty original way to promote. The app features five pictures per member so fans should have plenty to enjoy each day, and while I’m not sure if it’s temporary (it probably is) I hope we can continue to see the members after they have all had a chance to appear.Hopefully we get to see more of this unique promotion strategies since they seem like a fun way of promoting the members and releases.
November 2, 2011 - Nakajima, Chisato, Hagiwara, and Tanabe To Star In A Stage Play
C-ute members Nakajima Saki, Okai Chisato, and Hagiwara Mai along with Hello! Pro Egg member Tanabe Nanami will star in a play titled Sanpo Douraku Tokubetsu Kouen Stronger. While the plot of the play is a bit hard to understand without a proper translation, I am still excited to hear about this play since Nakky, Chisa, and Maimai will be able to show off their acting skills as the stars of the play. They have acted in a few plays recently so it seems that they will be quite busy preparing for this one, although the play will start in about 4 months so there is still plenty of time.Hopefully more info is release soon since this seems like a very interesting play and cast.The play will run from 3/14 ~ 20.
October 28, 2011 - Dream Morning Musume’s Nakazawa Yuko reported to be dating a businessman
Nakazawa Yuuko
On October 27th, tabloid magazine ‘Friday‘ reported that Morning Musume’s first generation leader and current Dream Morning Musume member, Nakazawa Yuko (38), is currently in a relationship with a regular businessman. The gossip magazine enclosed a picture of Nakazawa and her rumored boyfriend, seen embracing one another in front of a house as they made their way in. According to “Friday”, her boyfriend is a handsome IT businessman who bears a close resemblance to actor Uchino Masaaki. The couple is rumored to have met through a mutual friend, and supposedly started dating in August. Nakazawa’s agency stated, “We will not comment on this issue as this is a private matter.” However, they did not outright deny the relationship.
Previously, Nakazawa held a long-time relationship with V6’s Sakamoto Masayuki (40), but their relationship ended last year.
October 27,2011 - Yajima Maimi Will Be In A BS-TBS Drama Titled “Mannequin Girls”
As the title suggests the series will have a mannequin theme where Maimi will play one of the four mannequins who come to life after a store closes, and from what I can see it’s a fairly interesting concept since not many series have that theme. Maimi has always been a favorite for dramas (along with Mano and Airi) so it’s not surprising to see that she was selected since she is pretty cute (fitting the stylish mannequin look) and has an athletic personality which the character also seems to have. I’m not sure how long the series will run since the page only mentions the first two episodes, but it’s safe to say that there will be at least one season for fans to enjoy each month, so I highly recommend everyone check it out once it’s released so they can check out this fun themed drama.The BS-TBS site has a lot of info about the series so if anyone is interested they can check out the site for more info about Maimi’s character as well as a synopsis of the first two episodes (I tried my best but I understood less with Google Translate), but it seems like an interesting series that all Maimi fans will enjoy.The series will start on 11/7.
October 27, 2011 - Lin Lin Will Be On A New Show titled Life’s Big Explosion.
Here is the translated blog entry.“Life’s Big Explosion” showevery Saturday and Sunday 7 pm at Huang Zhou TV broadcast for 5 ep.The weather is getting colder, everyone please keep yourself warm and don’t catch a cold~LinLin knew that everyone is missing me, I missed everyone a lot too~ Although we cannot meet frequently, although we are in different places, our hearts are tightly linked! The existent of the missing between us now must be for leading us to look more forward to our next meeting~ LinLin will always try my best, for the fate of meeting my forever family(you guys) again.I love you all~
October 26, 2011 - Buono! 2012 Winter Concert Tour Announced
Buono!’s upcoming 2012 Winter Concert Tour, currently untitled, has been announced.Since Buono! are now officially back after releasing a mini-album and a single with another on the way, I have high expectations for everything that they are going to do from now on, and specially after watching the Rock n’ Buono!4 stream on YouTube that prove me how aweome Buono! performances are and what amazing talents the girl can bring out during the concerts.Even though we have absolutely no details concerning this upcoming concert tour, I’m impatiently waiting for a title and even for the logo since Rock n’ Buono!4′s title was kind of predicted to be the same as the previous ones, but hopefully this being a winter concert tour, they will give it an original idea since I can’t help but always think of the 2009 Winter concert tour that was amazing in all kind of ways…Hopefully more details will be out soon so that we can start figuring out the theme of the concert tour, but having a confirmation of it is already amazing.The concert tour will start on 1/28 after the H!P 2012 Winter concert tour ends.
October 24, 2011 - Maeda Yuuka To Graduate From S/mileage and Hello! Project
It’s been reported that S/mileage’s Maeda Yuuka (16) will retire from the entertainment industry on December 31st in order to concentrate, study, and prepare for a entrance exam for college. Maeda who has been a member of S/mileage ever since its formation back in April 2009, commented, “I noticed that my feeling of wanting to go to college has been getting bigger and bigger.” Producer, Tsunku♂ (42) also commented, “Though she could have worn two hats (juggling career & school), she is the type of a girl who wants to put all of her full effort into one thing.” Maeda will conclude with the promotional activities for their upcoming single “Please Minisuka Post Woman!” which will be released on December 28th. Maeda Yuuka will graduate on 12/31
October 23, 2011 - Niigaki Risa Starring In A New Stage Play Called “Sanada Juyushi”
Niigaki Risa will be featured in an upcoming stage play titled Sanada Juyushi playing the role of Yukino. Since the main cast members are all men, it seems that Gaki’s role is somewhat important since she is featured as the main female role on the stage play’s Cast section immediately after the 11 actor’s profiles, and it seems to be a stage play with a great story taking place in the 17th century about 11 warriors or samurais (with the main part going to Syugo Oshinari that plays the role of Sanada from the stage play’s title), and since she will be providing the main female role in the play, hopefully this will get her more attention since it seems that only 3 women take part in the play alongside the 11 men. The stage play will run from 12/2~11.
October 17, 2011- Temporary Goto Maki Ameba Blog Opened
The blog will be open for 510 hours (Goto = 510), which is roughly 21.25 days.It’s surprising to see that Goto hadn’t opened a blog already, but it’s a nice touch since everyone will be able to enjoy a temporary place where they can enjoy updates from her, and while it will close sometime next month it should be enough time for everyone to find out more about her activities as she prepares for her final performance before her hiatus. the design it’s overwhelmingly red, which matches the outfit for her album while making the blog stand out from among others. So far there has only been one post and the design is a bit simple so there isn’t that much to see, but I encourage everyone to take a look and if possible follow the blog since it’s a rare opportunity to check out Goto.The blog will close around 11/7.
October 17, 2011 - Goto Maki & Tsuji Nozomi make a surprise appearance at Dream Morning Musume’s concert
Former Morning Musume members, Goto Maki and Tsuji Nozomi, made a guest appearance at Dream Morning Musume’s concert, which was held at Nakano Sun Plaza on October 16th. It’s been about four years since Goto stood on the same stage as her fellow Morning Musume graduates, the last time being in July 2007 for the concert ,”Hello☆Pro Natsu Matsuri“. Greeting the audience with a huge smile, Goto beamed, “It’s been a long time! I’m glad to be able to be together with everybody.” She then shook hands with the group’s leader, Nakazawa Yuko. Member Fujimoto Miki was absent due to her pregnancy, but Tsuji and Goto managed to draw wild cheers from 2,200 fans by standing on stage with the OG members. Fellow member Yaguchi Mari said, “It’s amazing that these members are on the stage together,” while Nakazawa playfully told the audience, “Your cheers are louder compared to when it’s the nine of us [Dream Morning Musume members], but I’m happy. Today is the festival!” Iida Kaori mused, “Though it’s been quite a while, why it doesn’t feel out of place?“, confirming the strong bond between the members, even after a such long time. Goto revealed that she received an invitation to come on stage from her “foster father”, Tsunku♂. When Goto made an appearance on TV program “Waratte Iitomo!” last month, she received a message from Tsunku♂. Goto explained, “He wrote ‘Why don’t you come to Dream Morning Musume’s concert?’ on the message. So I told him I will go see it, but he actually meant, ‘Why don’t you come on the stage?‘.” She then turned to the members and invited them to her own concert, saying, “I will be holding a live on December 4th before I go on hiatus, so I want you guys to come to the live as well.”
October 16, 2011 - S/mileage Sub-Members Are Now Official Members
At today’s S/mileage Tachiagaaru event the sub-members were announced to be full members.As most of you might remember a while back Tsunku announced that the sub-members who were chosen would pass through a test in order to find out who would be part of S/mileage, and along with the usual dancing and singing judging there was also a Smile campaign announced with stricter rules, which all combined would give Tsunku an idea of who would be a perfect member for the group.According to fan reports from 2ch some of the members were already crying as they arrived to the stage.Congratulations to Katsuta, Nakanishi, Meimi, and Takeuchi on becoming full members of S/mileage!
October 15, 2011 - Saito Hitomi and Hachimitsu Jiro Have Divorced
According to Sanspo, former Melon Kinenbi’s Saito Hitomi and Tokyo Dynamite’s Hachimitsu Jiro have divorced.The divorce happened this summer, about a year after their marriage back in August 2010.The reason for the divorce wasn’t announced but it was confirmed by Jiro’s agency, so we don’t have any clear idea why they decided to separate. It’s disappointing to hear this since she was among the few former H!P members who was married, but not all marriages work so it’s understandable that the marriage was so short.Saito doesn’t have a blog (which is why we heard of the news from other news sites) but we might hear something related to this in some other member’s blog if we are lucky, but for now we wish the best to Saito.
October 13, 2011 - Tsunku to open ‘idol training cafe’ in Akihabara
It’s been announced that music producer Tsunku will be opening an idol training cafe called “AKIHABARA Backstage Pass” in November. The cafe will be located in “AKIBA Culture ZONE” in Akihabara, about a 3-minute walk from the “AKB Theater“. The employees of the cafe will be comprised of girls who aspire to become idols and singers. While interacting with customers, they will mature into full-fledged idols who’ll eventually be ready to make their debut. The scenario has been described to be a ‘realistic idol raising simulation’, where the customers are the ‘producers’. Additionally, the cafe will bring in idols and singers who have already made their debut. For the project, Tsunku will team up with multi-creator Shikura Chiyomaru, who is known for producing the concept cafe, “Ouritsu Afilia Mahou Gakuin“, and the popular game, “Stein’s Gate“. The cafe also has plans to collaborate with anime and games periodically. “AKIHABARA Backstage Pass” is scheduled to open its doors in late November. An official website will also be launched at the end of this month.
October 12, 2011 - Kusumi Koharu Is Currently Out Of Work Due To Stomach Flu
Kusumi Koharu is currently out sick with the stomach flu.Due to her illness Koha will be missing the Dream Morning Musume event on 10/12. A return date hasn’t been specified yet but I hope she gets well soon and according to the official announcement this is the only event she’s missing. However it is possible that other events that she will be making an appearance in will be cancelled so fans will have to stay tuned until then.A stomach flu isn’t life threatening and I’m sure Koha will make a full recovery, so until then please keep her in your thoughts!
October 11, 2011 - Takahashi Ai To Become The New MC Of The Ameba Studio Show “Joshiryoku Café ~Aisu Chris~”
The show’s description says it’s a show to talk about various things concerning women specially, talking about girl power, girls daily talks, etc… Many Ai-chan fans should be extremely happy about this news since this announcement not only means that we’ll get another way to see Ai and her amazing personality on a variety show, but also it shows that she’s still into doing things related to the television instead of just focusing on stage plays and her studies as she stated recently, so I’m sure that many will be looking forward to this show just to enjoy Ai-chan’s amazing personality.The show is said to be aired regularly and on a weekly basis, and alongside the announcement, Ai-chan started blogging again after a shot lapsus of time after her graduation, so since things are starting to kick back up for Ai-chan, I’m really excited to see what she’ll be doing in the future and specially in this show since it’s a very interesting show judging from the description (focus on girl power), and I’m mostly happy to see that she is getting such an opportunity to appear regularly on the show as an MC that will hopefully help her fans catch up with her.Hopefully everyone can tune in on time on Wednesdays (even though it’s weekdays) to catch up an episode and see Ai-chan!The show will be aired every Wednesday starting from 10/12 at 10PM (JST).
October 3, 2011 - Takahashi Ai Is Now Part Of The M-line Club
Ai-chan’s graduation was always mentioned to be only from Momusu and Hello! Project so it was just a matter of time until we got a confirmation that she would be part of M-line since it includes all Momusu members that are still part of UFA, and not surprisingly we did, although it’s great news for everyone since that means that Ai-chan’s performances will be easier to follow and she will also have her own FC.We haven’t recieved a confirmation that she will be part of Dream Morning Musume though, but she will probably focus more on her acting for now so we have no idea if she will be part of the group in the future. Despite that I look forward to finding out if she will since that would mean that we would get to see her perform along with the other DMM members at concerts (if they continue to do so).For now I’m glad to see that Ai-chan will still be part of UFA since it gives everyone a chance to follow her releases and events better due to her profile page as a member of UFA, and while it’s empty now we will probably see many events and performances appear once she starts her acting and hopefully her singing career.
october 1, 2011 - Mano Erina Will Be In The Movie “Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO MOVIE Taisen MEGAMAX”
Mano will play the character Misaki Nadeshiko/Kamen Rider Nadeshiko, named after the winning Japan women’s soccer team Nadeshiko Japan.Mano Erina will be among the cast for the movie Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO MOVIE Taisen MEGAMAX.She will play the character Misaki Nadeshiko/Kamen Rider Nadeshiko, named after the winning Japan women’s soccer team Nadeshiko Japan.While Mano’s releases as an idol have been somewhat slow lately it seems that her acting career is going really well, and with this announcement that she will be among the cast for a Kamen Rider movie it seems that it will get even better.For those who might not be aware Kamen Rider is an amazingly popular series starting back in 1971 which features masked heroes as the main protagonists, and while I have heard quite a lot about them I wouldn’t have guessed that one day we would see an H!P member become one of the Kamen Riders since not many females have become Kamen Riders.As for Mano’s costume it seems that she will have a blue and silver colored Kamen outfit so fans will easily be able to recognize her from among the other actors (she’s also holding the “fourze” which will probably be a big part of the movie), and while we only have two pictures of her from the set it seems that this will be an amazing movie to check out once it’s released due to the popularity of the Kamen Riders series as well as Mano’s appearance.Hopefully everyone can check it out once it’s released in December!
September 30, 2011 -Takahashi Ai Officially Graduates From Morning Musume And H!P
Today was the last Morning Musume Concert Tour 2011 Aki Ai Believe ~Takahashi Ai Graduation Memory Special~ tour and Takahashi Ai Officially Graduates From Morning Musume And H!P.
September 29, 2011 - Morning Musume 10th Generation Members Announced
dol group Morning Musume had it's new 10th generation members announced on 29th Spetember at the Nippon Budokan (Takahashi Ai's graduation Special). The newly 4 members have just had their new debut. 6000 people auditioned but only 4 suceeded. They are Iikubo Haruna (16), Ishida Ayumi (14), Satou Masaki (12) and former Hello! Project eggs member Kudo Haruka (11). The following day will be leader, Takahashi Ai's (25) graduation she sent a yell to the new members "from here on I hope for a steady progression", the next leader Niigaki Risa (22) with a new birth "I want us to do our best with this fresh feeling." The enthusasim which was said by Morning Musume. Here is what Tsunku had to say about the new
10th Generation
members.
Iikubo Haruna from Tokyo (16): She has a pure-like personality and I feel her singing will bloom over time.
Ishida Ayumi from Miyagi Prefecture (14): Her singing and dancing is outstanding, she has great will power and her vision towards Morning Musume is very firm.
Satou Masaki from Hokkaido (12): She is quite an unknown factor but this time she gets the prize for most photogenic.
H!P egg Kudo Haruka from Saitama Prefecture(11): As an egg she has experience in lessons and singing. She has had a great determination [in joining] Morning Musume.
September 27, 2011 - Matsuura Aya Has Graduated From Her Position as Co-host of “Meringue no Kimochi”
Matsuura Aya graduated a few days ago from her position as co-host of the show Meringue no Kimochi.The reason for her leaving the show was her endometriosis.Fans will most likely be disappointed that she is leaving her position on the show since it was one of the few regular places where we could watch her, but due to her condition it seems that she reached a point where it was just too much to handle and decided to leave the show.It’s a sad announcement but it seems like a necessary choice since the condition most likely affected her too much, especially during a regular show where she had to endure the pain while she was on camera.I think I speak for many when I say that we all support her and wish her the best as she moves on from the show.
September 24, 2011 - Fukuda Asuka In A Band Called PEACE$TONE
For 1st Generation Morning Musume Member Fukuda Asuka, it’s been awhile since she has made any public appearance so for anyone who doesn’t remember, she was one of the 1st gen members of Morning Musume and also the first to graduate from the group. Since her graduation she was said to be working at her family bar and other than that she didn’t participate in anything else in the entertainment world so hearing that she’s in a band now is a bit of a surprise. PEACE$tone will be releasing their first album titled “Double Fantasy” in November and from fan forums they say that the music style ranges from acoustic, Jack Johnson, and the Beatles. This type of music and it looks as though they’re trying to attract older fans.
September 23, 2011 - Takahashi Ai To Be Appointed Ambassador For Fukui
Takahashi Ai will be appointed ambassador for her hometown by the governor of Fukui. This is a very happy moment to see this since not many artists can become ambassadors for their hometowns, but Ai-chan is the perfect choice since she seems to be very proud of her birthplace and will most likely do her best to promote it around Japan. As far as what this means, it seems to be more symbolic than political although the article mentions that she might be part of more activities to promote events around the city so fans from Fukui will most likely see her more in campaigns around town. Congratulations to Ai-chan in becoming ambassador for her town! Ai-chan will be appointed an ambassador on 9/26
September 23, 2011 - C-ute’s FIVE STARS Radio Show To End
According to Nakajima Saki’s blog, C-ute’s FIVE STARS radio show will end next week. There is a possibility of the other FIVE STARS radio shows (Morning Musume and S/mileage) ending too, although it hasn’t been confirmed. For the most part I’m not that surprised to see that the radio show will end since that’s usually what happens with some of them, and while many C-ute fans might be disappointed by the end of the show there is still another C-ute show available, that being Yajima Maimi’s I MY ME show. The possibility of the FIVE STARS radio program ending for everyone is equally disappointing but I hope we get to see more radio shows for the groups appear in the future since they are great opportunities for the members to socialize while giving everyone previews of their new songs. A confirmation of the FIVE STARS radio program for all groups has been released, but for now I encourage everyone that usually tunes in to check out the final episode next week for C-ute’s program. The radio show will end on 9/27.
September 22, 2011 - Morning Musume’s 48th Single Announced
Morning Musume’s 48th single, currently untitled, has been announced. H!P and UFA have verified this, but like the Pucchi Best album this release was expected and it was just a matter of time until we saw it being announced.So far only the date of release has been announced and other than that, there is'nt much else since the title hasn’t been announced yet, but like everyone already knows this will be the first single with Gaki as leader and with the 10th generation so it will most likely be a very anticipated release for everyone since we don’t know what kind of sound it might have, and since this is the first single in 10 years to not have an Ai-chan vocal it will be a large change for the group. The 10th generation hav'nt been confirmed yet to be on the single, but it’s almost guaranteed that they will be in it since they will be presented in about a week at Budokan, meaning that there is about 3 months for them to get used to the group. I’m really looking forward to this release since I have no idea what to expect from this new Momusu, and while the lack of Ai-chan will be very notable it will be interesting to see what kind of direction the group goes from here onward. Hopefully we get a confirmation of the date as well as a title soon since this will most likely be the most awaited single for Momusu in quite some time. The release date is set for 12/21.
September 22, 2011 - Hello! Project Mobekimasu – “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku” Preview cover Released
Hello! Project Mobekimasu – “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku” LQ Cover Preview Released
A preview of one of the limited edition covers for Hello! Project Mobekimasu’s upcoming single titled Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku has been released. Since we don’t know yet which limited edition this cover is for, we’ll still have to wait until H!P’s official site puts the LQ covers or until amazon has large covers, but thanks to this preview we can at least set ourselves in what the covers will look like, and this cover specially seems to give us a hint at the main members of the single. The cover features all of the Mobekimasu members (excluding Ai-chan and including the sub-members of S/mileage) wearing the the jacket outfits for the single, and they are all positionned in bigger or smaller frames probably according to how important they are in the single, which got me wondering if the ones in the big frames were the main members, which should be the best explanation since Risako and Airi are standing back-to-back sharing a big square as well as Miyabi and Risa underneath, and the other main big pictures feature Reina, Maimi, Mano, Yuuka and Riho, which would fit to my theory since they are all very popular members and are the ones who usually get many lines. Apart from the arrangement of the pictures, it is quite sad to see how lifeless the cover looks since the pictures seem to have been added randomly and in a somewhat messy way, and without any flashing title or cool background, It is a little plain, but since this is only one of the covers from the many editions, we are hoping the other ones will look a little better. Overall, it is excited to finding out how the other covers look like (which will hopefully feature the other members better). Hopefully we can get to see the other covers soon so that fans can pick their favorite edition and connect it to it’s cover. The release date is set for 11/16.
September 22, 2011 - Hello! Project “Pucchi Best 12″ Announced
The 12th edition of Hello! Project’s annual compilation album titled Pucchi Best 12 has been announced. A DVD is expected to be released as well. Like most announcements with only an image as a source it hasn’t been verified by H!P or UFA yet, but this is most likely accurate since there has been a Pucchi Best release each year for a long time, meaning that the only thing that we didn’t know is the exact content of the album and the release date. Thankfully we have a preview at what we can expect to see as well as a title for the release, and I’m glad to see that there is so much content since it gives fans a chance to own a song from each group in an album, and while it might not be the same as a single or a group album it’s still the next best thing since it’s a taste at the many amazing releases that H!P has had in the past year. It seems that most of the releases will be focused on their latest singles, except for Momusu which will feature Maji Desu ka Ska! instead of their 47th single (most likely because it would be too much Momusu content), which is a bit disappointing since every other group will have their latest release in the album, including Mobekimasu, Berikyuu, Ai-chan, Buono, and S/mileage. We haven’t seen the full tracklist so it’s hard to tell how this release will look like, so I’ll wait for a confirmation with an official tracklist before getting excited, but for anyone else who is already looking forward to this I encourage you to reserve your copy as soon as it’s available. The release date is set for 12/21.
September 22, 2011 - Kusumi Koharu Now Part of Illume Models
Koharu has accomplished already since her graduation message mentioned that she wanted to try modeling and after a few years it seems that she has reached her goal by joining Illume models, which is great news for everyone since it will most likely make future appearances in magazines and events more likely. As for her CanCam appearance, I somewhat expected to see her appear once again since she seems to fit perfectly, and I’m happy to see that she did get another chance to appear in the magazine since it’s a large step in her modeling career as well as a great sign that she has a bright future ahead.Hopefully anyone who can will get a copy of the CanCam November issue since the images are really impressive, but meanwhile congratulations to Koha on joining a model agency!
September 15, 2011 - S/mileage’s 9/18 Concert To Be Streamed Live On YouTube
S/mileage’s official YouTube channel has announced that S/mileage’s 9/18 evening concert for their 2011 Fall Concert Tour ~Gakushuu no Chou Mini Skirt~ will be streamed live on YouTube.The concert will be streamed live on YouTube on 9/18 at 6PM JST.
September 12, 2011 - Fujimoto Miki Is Pregnant
Fujimoto Miki has announced on her blog that she is pregnant.The news was first revealed on Nikkan where it was then confirmed by Miki herself, along with a comment regarding her absence in the autumn Dream Morning Musume tour due to the pregnancy.It seems that Miki found out just recently that she was pregnant, so it’s great to see that she has confirmed the news since it gives everyone a chance to congratulate the couple for their soon to be new family member, and while it might be a bit too early for any details I hope we soon get to find out if it will be a boy or a girl, and with luck the name they chose for their baby.With most UFA related pregnancies there aren’t usually many details apart from “It’s a boy/girl” and “He/She’s born” between now and when the baby is born, but I hope Miki keeps us up to date with the details, but like always being pregnant is a moment of celebration so congratulations both to Mikkity and her husband for the pregnancy!
September 09, 2011 - Kosuga Fuyuka To Leave S/mileage, Diagnosed With “Severe Anemia”
It has been announced on S/mileage’s official site that current S/mileage sub-member Kosuga Fuyuka will be leaving S/mileage due to severe anemia, and will later on join Hello! Project Eggs after her long recovery.According to the S/mileage site announcement, Fuu-chan has been feeling bad and was immediately transferred to the hospital because of her terrible condition, and later on diagnosed with “sever anemia” which seems to be when the body doesn’t produce enough red blood cells that provide oxygen, which causes dizziness, breathing troubles,etc…This seems like a really bad timing for S/mileage and Fuu-chan specially since S/mileage will now only continue with 7 members while their next single includes 8, and it seems like the upcoming concert tour will have to undergo some changes because of Fuu-chan’s loss, but what consoles me is that she has an assured place within H!P Eggs for when she fully heals which is a great relief for her fans since it is assured that she will keep on being active.Even though she is set to rest for a few month, I really wish Fuyuka and S/mileage a good continuation because thanks to all of the sudden changes the group has experienced, it surely isn’t easy for the members, so hopefully everyone can keep on supporting S/mileage as well as Fuu-chan for her return in a few month as a H!P Egg.Hopefully we will have more information as time goes by concerning her health condition, and we wish her a quick recovery.
September 01,2011 - Official “Tsunku Project” Site Opened
A site featuring info about many of Tsunku’s projects titled Tsunku Project has been opened.For the most part the site is a pretty interesting addition since it has info about many things that are related to him, such as info about the movie he will be directing, his Rhythm Tengoku games, links to blogs of many UFA members, his Twitter, his blog, as well as episodes of his show Tsuntube, and it’s simply a great way to find info about Tsunku and his activities.
August 26, 2011 - Morning Musume’s 5th Generation celebrate their 10th anniversary!
On this day, 10 years ago, four lucky girls passed the Morning Musume 5th Generation audition, “Love Audition 21”. They brought the group’s roster up to 13 members and had their debut with the hit song “Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~”. Those members were Takahashi Ai, Konno Asami, Ogawa Makoto, and Niigaki Risa. 10 years later, the members still show love for one another. Niigaki Risa blogged, “It’s amazing that it has been 10 years. Konkon (Konno Asami) and Makochii (Ogawa Makoto) have been working hard by themselves, and Ai-chan and I have been doing activities in Morning Musume for 10 whole years”. Fans have been sending messages congratulating them on their 10th year and 9th generation member Ikuta Erina sent Niigaki a message at 12am sharp saying, “Congratulations on your 10th anniversary!”, which made Niigaki extremely happy. Niigaki wrote, “Ai-chan is preparing to graduate soon. In the beginning the four of us were together, but now each of us is doing our best on our own paths. Indeed, the 5th Generation is special, even though we aren’t doing activities together, we still feel connected. I thought once again, ‘I’m glad to be a member of this generation’. The three of you, thank you so much for always supporting me ( ´ー`) You’ve helped me more than you can imagine ☆ Let’s forever continue looking after one another in the future ☆ I love you guuuys (人>U<)♪. I want the four of us to have a 10th anniversary party soon.” Lastly, Niigaki left a special message for Takahashi who is graduating shortly, “Ai-chan. Let’s do our best together with the time we have left!!!”. In addition to her post, Niigaki also uploaded some goofy pictures of the 5th generation minus Konno Asami.
August 25, 2011 - Is Former Morning Musume member Konno Asami in a relationship?
It appears that former Morning Musume member and current TV Tokyo announcer Konno Asami is in a relationship. According to “FRIDAY”, her companion is named Matsumoto Takanori (25) and is part of a consulting firm. Konno and Matsumoto are said to have had a junior-senior relationship in the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University and it seems that the two are currently living together in Tokyo. “FRIDAY” snapped pictures of the two leaving Konno’s apartment and walking closely together as well as gently embracing each other at the subway station. The couple was also seen eating together at a buffet restaurant and heading back home to the “love nest” thereafter. When Sankei Sports contacted TV Tokyo’s PR department for a comment they said, “Since this is a personal matter, we, as a station, cannot comment.”
August 25, 2011 - Sayashi Riho and Mitsui Aika’s Injuries
According to a recent announcement by the official H!P site, Sayashi Riho is cleared and will be back in time for her PB event this week, she will also be able to participate in the Morning Musume Fall 2011 concert tour as well as the stage play.Mitsui Aika unfortunately didn’t get cleared and still has a few more weeks of rest left from the advised 8 weeks, so she will be limited with her performances in the upcoming Morning Musume concert tour and stage play.Mitsui’s injury seems a bit slower in healing (most likely because it’s a bit more severe than Riho’s injury) but there is still time for her to heal since she still has a few more weeks of advised rest, and while we don’t know for sure how limited she will be at the concerts or how well the injury is healing I am still a bit glad to see that she will be able to attend the concert tour and won’t have to miss out on any days, just a few performances where she will probably have to sit down and sing.
August 23, 2011 - Ogawa Saki To Graduate From Hello! Project and S/mileage
According to an announcement from the S/mileage site, Ogawa Saki will graduate from Hello! Project and S/mileage. Here’s a translation of the post by Takamaruyo:This is an important announcement concerning S/mileage. Thanks for always supporting S/mileage. We have an important announcement about S/mileage’s Ogawa Saki. Following the Uchouten LOVE Live Event on August 27th at Higashi Betsuin Hall in Nagoya, Ogawa Saki will be graduating from S/mileage and Hello! Project.Comment from TsunkuThank you gratefully for your continual support of Hello! Project and myself. Let’s get right to the announcement I want to tell you. From S/mileage, who has recently gain 5 sub-members, Ogawa Saki will be graduating from S/mileage and subsequently from Hello! Project. Early in May this year “Earlier, I have been contemplated and consolidated with staffs, about returning to being a normal middle school student. I feel very strongly about this, please let me quit.” She has made this request. Even being the youngest in the group, I have entrusted her with her singing skills. However, now, from here on and out, as a group and each member individually, their strong desires to improve persist. Even as a producer, it’s not in the best interest of the group and members to continue to force a member in doubt to endure more group activities, therefore Ogawa’s request has been accepted. It was officially announced at first that this unit’s member might increase or decrease, it was due this is reason that an urgent S/mileage member audition was held in June this year. Due to various conditions of the group, herself and other parties involved, as well as terms and conditions on contract, it was not until today that this information and her will can be reported, please accept my apologizes. Also, she is still an immature student. A working adult would understand that abandoning work half way is an inexcusable act, but please consider her straight and strong feelings, and watch over her with your warm and love. Therefore, all fans, please take care of S/mileage which is still in its infant stage. For this hasty written letter as a report, please excuse me 2011/08/24 S/mileage Producer TsunkuComment from Ogawa SakiThank you for always supporting me. As of August 27th 2011 I, Ogawa Saki, will graduate from S/mileage as well as Hello! Project. Since our major debut last year in May, I have enjoyed every single day as part of S/mileage. However, somewhere down in my heart, I felt there was a gap between myself and the S/mileage me. I have talked it over with the staff many times and have been constantly worrying about it, and with everyone working their hardest to move forward and myself still uncertain of things, I decided that it was not in the best interest of S/mileage and I will return to being just a normal girl. I apologize for the last minute announcement. While there may be feelings of sadness, S/mileage will always be a group with it’s trademark smile! I’ll be working my hardest to end with a smile until my last event on 8/27, I know there isn’t a lot of time left but I hope you can support me! The new members will power up S/mileage after I graduate so I hope you’ll continue to support them. Thank you very much for all your support up til now. 2011/08/24 S/mileage Ogawa Saki
August 21, 2011 - Buono!’s Rock n’ Buono! 4 To Be Streamed Live On YouTube
Buono! announced through a video message on their official channel that they will be streaming their Rock n’ Buono! 4 concert performance on 28/8 at the Yokohama Blitz live on YouTube. The concert will be streamed live on 28/8 at 14:00 (JST) on Buonochannel.
August 16, 2011 - Hello! Project Group Websites redesigned
The Hello! Project just redesigned the Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, ºC-ute, Mano Erina, and S/mileage's websites on helloproject.com
August 14, 2011 - New S/mileage Members Announced
Katsuta Rina,Kosuga Fuyuka,Nakanishi Kana,Tamura Meimi,Takeuchi Akari have been annouced as S/mileage's newest members and will be featured in S/mileage's upcoming single "Tachigaaru".
August 13, 2011 - °C-ute and S/mileage To Perform On The 2011 “24H TV Marathon”
C-ute and S/mileage will hold a special live and a charity auction on the annual 24H TV Marathon. This event is held every year to help collect money many donations as possible for many charities, and to gather more money, famous artists and celebrities are invited to take calls from the donators who call, as well as other ways such as special appearances and live shows. There will also be and auction held which will give fans a chance to buy Hello! Project related items.
August 12, 2011 - “Morning Days Happy Holiday Tanaka Reina Fanclub Tour in Fukuoka” Announced
A solo FC tour for Tanaka Reina titled Morning Days Happy Holiday Tanaka Reina Fanclub Tour in Fukuoka has been announced.
August 12, 2011 - Jun Jun To Appear In a Movie Titled “Love in a second”
According to Jun Jun’s weibo account, she will be part of the cast for a movie drama titled Love in a second (or in Chinese Ai yi Miao). She will play a school girl. Not many details have been released about this movie but it seems like this will be a somewhat simple movie where Jun Jun will play a small role, although it’s still a role and a good sign that she is still active in the entertainment industry which is great news for all Jun Jun fans.
August 12, 2011 - Lin Lin and Saho Akari Will Form a Special Unit For A Mini-live
According to a tweet from famous Japanese Pop Culture writer Takamasa Sakurai, Lin Lin and Saho Akari from Up Up Girls will form a special unit and perform in a mini-live for a Chinese girl’s Harajuku fashion show in China.
August 12, 2011 - Mano Erina Invited To Tokyo Idol Festival 2011
Mano Erina is among the many idols invited to perform at this year’s Tokyo Idol Festival 2011 Eco & Smile. The event will feature a total of 45 performers including TNX’s THE Possible. The title is a perfect description for what fans can expect to see since there will be a lot of groups performing at this event, but fans who regularly watch Tsunku’s Youtube show Tsuntube will probably be familiar with some of them, such as The Possible and Afilia Saga East so it will be interesting to see how these different groups compare to one another.
August 10, 2011 - Is Abe Natsumi dating Yamazaki Ikusaburo?
On the August 11th issue of tabloid magazine “Josei Seven“, it was reported that former Morning Musume member Abe Natsumi (30) was seen interacting very intimately with musical actor Yamazaki Ikusaburo (25). Abe and Yamazaki co-starred in the musical, “Arashi Ga Oka“, which wrapped up on July 24th. According to the magazine, the two attended a get-together at a hotel on the 23rd, and were seen kissing five times within ten minutes. Abe’s agency stated, “No comment,” to a Sankei Sports query.
July 29, 2011 - Mitsui Aika and Sayashi Riho Have Been Advised To Rest For A Few Weeks
According to the official H!P site, after her checkup Mitsui Aika has been advised by doctors to rest for 8 weeks. Sayashi Riho was also told to rest 6 weeks due to ischium nerve pain on her right side.They will both miss the rest of the Hello! Project 2011 Summer tour.As always injuries are one of the main concerns for fans and while both Mitsui and Riho will miss the rest of the tour it’s good to see that they will follow the doctors orders and rest to heal their injuries since their health is the top priority.Mitsui’s left ankle bone fracture seems to need a bit more rest before healing, and while she did appear at events and concerts and sat down during the performances it seems that it’s for the best for her to miss the the remainder of the H!P tour to make sure her injury heals well.Riho’s injuries are a bit more sever than I thought since I had the idea that she had only suffered a minor sprain, but it seems that she has ischium nerve pain, which according to Wikipedia is a fairly common lower hip bone injury caused by sudden movements during some sports although in this case it was due to the many hours of dancing that members need to due during performances.Despite the reason for the injury, I wish both Mitsui and Riho a complete and fast recovery and hopefully after the 6 and 8 weeks they are both well healed and in perfect shape to perform once again.
July 20, 2011 - Saho Akari and Satou Ayano To Appear In a TV Drama
According to a blog entry on the UP UP GIRLS blog, Saho Akari and Satou Ayano will appear in a drama titled Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro on TV Tokyo.A set date for their appearance hasn’t been released so we don’t have a clear idea when they might be on but it will most likely be in the next few weeks or sometime soon since the announcement was done about a week ago.The drama seems to center around comedy with a focus on a more historical theme, although from what I can tell Saho and Satou won’t have that big of a part since the drama already started a few weeks ago, but they may be the main characters in their episode so we’ll have to wait to find out.Despite not having that much info about their appearance we should find out soon what kind of role they had so hopefully we get to see a clip or two once the episode airs.The drama airs every Friday at midnight (24:00 JST).
July 16, 2011 - berryz Kobo,C-ute,Mano Erina,S/mileage Releasing A Special Song Titled “Makeruna Wasshoi!”
It’s kind of sudden to hear that they released a special song together since no one hinted that they were working on one but regardless of that I think this is a wonderful announcement since we haven’t had an H!P group song in awhile. Even though it’s not really an H!P song, because Morning Musume isn’t included, this special song is something to look forward to.For now the song is available for download on Chaku-uta so I’m unsure if they will treat this like another single with promotion pictures, tv appearances etc but I hope they do since it will be an excuse to see them altogether. Hopefully a preview is released soon, please support the group and download the song
July 14, 2011 - Tsunku Opens Up A Facebook Account
There’s not much on his page yet except for his profile picture and his biography. The only thing I see of interest so far is Tsunku tweeted two photos of the H!P girls practicing for their upcoming summer concert. Since his facebook is connected to his twitter and blog his Facebook is a much easier way to stay up to date with things. Also Facebook is one of the most popular social sites so it’s good promotion for himself.
July 09, 2011 - Buono! Will Be In A Movie Titled “Gomennasai”
They will be performing the theme song for the movie so I’m taking it as a hint for the 13th single. That isn’t confirmed however since the theme song is untitled I’m hoping for another single.According to the articles regarding the announcement it seems like Buono will be playing high school students and the translation is bad but it looks like the movie is about a curse and there’s also some mention of harassment and high school fears. I’m not too surprised that it’s a thriller/horror movie and it would make sense for that since a majority of movies with H!P members so far have been that genre.The release date is set for this Fall.
July 07, 2011 - S/mileage Second Generation Auditions!
On S/mileage's YouTube channel, the auditions have been uploaded to YouTube. A 6 minute and 20 second video was put together show some of the girls who could be S/mileage's new members.
July 05, 2011 - Kumai Yurina And Suzuki Airi To Appear In A Horror Movie Titled “Oosama Game”
the movie is basically a reproduction on film of a novel from the same title, and the story is mainly about 2mysterious high-school students and a cell-phone.Kumai is playing the lead role of Honda Chiemi, while Airi plays the role of Honda’s mysterious classmate Iwamura Ria.I have to say that when I first read the description of the movie, I immediately though of Airi’s recent straight-to-DVD movie Keitai Kanojo which also had something to do with cellphones, and even though Airi has appeared in Keitai Kanojo and her most recent movie Vampire Stories – BROTHERS, I’m really happy to see that she will be appearing next to Kumai in this movie since the main spotlight will be on Yurina, with the accompanying role going to Airi, which is always great to see since we never had the chance to see those 2 interact together in a real movie.Another interesting mention in the description of the movie is that many other artists will be appearing in this movie, such as Yoshizawa Hitomi, as well as small appearances from every single C-ute and Berryz Koubou member, which is something I really didn’t expect, and this makes me really impatient to see what the final result will be like since the producer of the movie who picked both Airi and Kumai himself is positive about the release saying that “it wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that a masterpiece of high-school horror has been made”.
June 30, 2011 - Tanaka Reina, Sudou Maasa, Shimizu Saki- “Taishou Roman Haikara Tantei Aoi Ruby Satsujinjiken” On Ustream
the stage play featuring Tanaka Reina, Sudou Maasa, Shimisu Saki will be airing on Ustream.The play will be streaming on the Ustream website however it is only available if you pay for it.It doesn’t say weather it is live or pre-recorded but by streaming it on the internet it let’s fans worldwide take a look at the play instead of waiting until the DVD comes out.I’m also not too surprised by the announcement because they streamed C-ute concert on youtube and they did something similar to Morning Musume’s fall concert last year. Also the stage play featuring C-ute and Berryz Koubou will be using the ustream pay per view method so it might seem like UFA is trying to reach a out to fans worldwide with their streaming methods.The play is to stream from 4-8pm on 7/2.
June 28, 2011 - Mano Erina Will Perform A Studio Live On “U-LA-LA@7″
Mano doesn’t usually have many TV performances for her singles but I’m really glad to see that she at least has two so far for this single (the other being her appearance with Kikka) since it gives viewers a chance to check out the song and hopefully buy the single afterwards and since it will be a studio live it should give us a chance to check out the song performance and how the outfit and choreography will look.The performance is scheduled for the day that her single is released so it should be of great help with the sales throughout the first week, and even though I’m not completely sure how popular the show is, any promotion is good promotion since her singles haven’t been doing that well lately (they usually sell around 13,000 ~ 15,000).Hopefully this performance helps with her sales throughout the first week since it is a really good song, but for now I hope fans have their copies reserved since the single will be released soon (tomorrow in Japan).The show is set for 6/29at 7:00 ~ 8:00
June 24, 2011 - Takahashi Ai’s Ameba Blog Store Has Her First Item Available
Takahashi Ai’s Ameba Blog store has her first produced item available for sale.I wasn’t expecting anything to be released until after her graduation but her first product is an iPhone 4 cover that was made with the help of Gizmobiles.The design is real simple as well as cute. The front is black with the words “push” where the center button is and the back is white with a strawberry splash in the corner. Unfortunately for the guys, the cover seems more for girls, but if your a guy that doesn’t mean you can’t support Ai and buy one anyways.Also I wanted to mention that this is the only H!P related phone cover I’ve ever seen, I’m not sure if anyone even makes H!P phone covers so I see it as something special since it was created by Ai-chan.
June 23, 2011 - Kusumi Koharu Will Appear In The Fashion Magazine CanCam
Kusumi Koharu will appear in the August issue of the popular fashion magazine CanCam in a 10 page spread.According to her it was her dream to be a model for the magazine since she was in elementary.the magazine started quite a while ago in 1981 and it usually features 500,000 copies in circulation each month – which is a fairly good indicator that this magazine is really popular and since this is a real fashion magazine instead of the usual idol fashion magazine it’s a great indicator that Koha is becoming a serious fashion model.I’m really happy to see that Koha has become one of the models since she is really talented and a really good model, and if she manages to regularly appear then she would have reached her goal to be a senzoku model (an exclusive CanCam model), which is even better, but for now she has only appeared once which is still pretty amazing.
June 22, 2011 - Goto Maki To Take A Break From Show Business
According to a letter on her site Goto Maki will take a break from the entertainment business January of next year. Here is a short summary of what the letter says (credit to Sohee from Jplop): In January 2012, she will take a break from showbiz. She wrote a personal letter on her website to her fans about it. Wrote that she’s lived for someone else most of this time (joined H!P to get money for her family etc, and continued singing cause her mom loved it etc etc) and when her mom passed away last year, she started to think a lot. She feels as there’s a big hole inside of her right now and she has no idea of what to do or how to live for herself. Which is why she’ll put her career as “Gomaki” on hold. She also wrote about certain events that will happen before this though. In July her new song will be able for download (via cellphone) and she will take part in a-nation. She’ll also release her first full album this fall and in December she’ll have a solo concert for the first time in about 4 years. More details will be announced in July
June 16, 2011 - Arihara Kanna Will Be In a Movie Titled “Joshikousei Tokumu Sousakan Nagi & Saya”
Arihara Kanna will be featured in a low budget, straight to DVD movie titled Joshikousei Tokumo Sousakan Nagi & Saya (Eng: Schoolgirl Investigators Nagi & Saya).I didn’t expect to see Kanna in a movie anytime soon but she has already released a PB, two solo DVDs, and been in a play so it seems like this is the most logical next step, and for the most part I am very happy to see that she will be among the main characters of this movie since it will give her a chance to show off her acting skills.As you might notice from the scenes of the movie it is somewhat obvious that they didn’t seem to have that much of a budget but nonetheless Kanna fans will have a great opportunity to see her act in a DVD movie, and even though we don’t really have an idea of what the movie will be about (it seems that it might be a detective style action movie) I look forward to seeing it once it is released.
June 14, 2011 - Ichii Sayaka Has Divorced Her Husband
According to Tokyograph, Ichii Sayaka has recently divorced her husband Yoshizawa Naoki in May. Here is a quote of the translation: According to the latest issue of “Josei Jishin“, Sayaka was dissatisfied with her husband’s uncooperative attitude in raising their two daughters. She was also said to be frustrated with Yoshizawa when he quit being a guitarist and settled into a period where he had no work. Ichii’s agency admitted that it is true that the couple divorced, but they did not disclose the reason why.
June 13, 2011 - Ishikawa Rika and Okai Chisato To Appear In a Mini Drama
Starting this July, Ishikawa Rika and Okai Chisato will appear in a mini drama titled Tokusou Shirei! Aichi Police. The news was revealed by a blog entry from what appears to be one of the actors (in other words it’s not officially confirmed yet but it’s most likely true). The episodes will be 4 minutes long each and will feature Chisa as the character called “Mai” while Rika will be her boss. The episodes will air starting 7/4 on Nagoya TV from 18:56 ~ 19:00.
June 13, 2011 - HANGRY&ANGRY, Yaguchi Mari, and Mano Erina May Be Guests At Japan Festa 2011
HANGRY&ANGRY, Yaguchi Mari, and Mano Erina will be guests at this year’s Japan Festa 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. There is no confirmation as to whether they will perform. It seems that only one of the three will appear at Japan Festa although the guest won’t be announced until 6/15. The event will be from 8/27 ~ 28.
June 9, 2011 Up-Front Girls Official NicoNico Channel Opened
it seems like another nice way to introduce the girls to the people who usually spend their time on this site and check out the channels in it.Their channel has a nice banner of their recent pictures with many colors and pancakes and sweets on the background which is a nice touch to the look of the channel overall, and it features so far 3 videos (more should be uploaded): their latest dance cover of Dance de Bakoon!, Romantic Ukare Mode which they performed during their FC event as well as Akari’s announcement about joining the group.I have to say that I’m happy to see that they aren’t taking the K-pop dance covers too seriously since they seem to start doing H!P dance covers too.I hope that everyone can check the channel!
May 29, 2011 Official Mano Erina Facebook Page Opened
So far the page has about a dozen images or so, but we should see plenty more once promotion for her single starts, and since she (most likely her manager) seems to uploading plenty of images from her concert we should see some great exclusive images on her page from her many events.part from the rapidly increasing “people like this” counter there are some interesting notes, such as her name in English, Japanese, and Korean. as well as other details about her current events, such as her concert tour and her upcoming single My Days For You.It’s not a normal Facebook page (it’s a musician page, like the one for C-ute) but it is a great sign that H!P and UFA are finally using popular sites to promote their artists, and while there are only two official H!P groups/artists on Facebook I hope we get to see more sometime soon so that fans all over the world can post messages in support of their favorite H!P artist.
May 28, 2011 - New S/mileage Member Auditions Announced
The requirements are: By 1st of May 2011 a girl who is in middle- or high school. Or in that age (13~18)Must have parental/guardian’s agreement agreement, sign and stamp. The first round will require singing and an interview in Shibuya in June. Tsunku mentioned when S/mileage were formed that the members weren’t final and might change (he just mentioned it again after a fan tweeted a question), so there was always the possibility of the group changing (many fans thought he dropped the idea, but apparently not), The audition age requirements seem to be a bit higher than Momusu’s since the lowest limit is placed at 13 years, instead of Momusu’s 10 years (S/mileage are also looking for members up to 18 years, in contrast to Momusu’s 17 year old limit), which is interesting to see since they might be looking for members on the same age group as the current members (the current age range for members is 16 years (Wada) – 14 years (Ogawa) so the range is close).Another difference to the Momusu audition is that the auditions will happen in about a week (Momusu’s will be about two weeks after but there was a notice a month ago), which doesn’t give much time for many people to practice and it seems that this way is a better way since we can find out if someone is naturally talented.It will be very interesting to see what type of girls show up to the audition since this seems like it will be the first audition for an H!P group that isn’t Momusu (in recent years), and since S/mileage is slowly growing as a group there might be a bigger selection of girls auditioning. The auditions will take place on 6/4 ~ 5 from 11:00 ~17:00
May 27, 2011 - Mano Erina’s 3rd Solo DVD Titled “From Days”
Mano Erina’s 3rd solo DVD’s title has been announced to be From Days.I have to say that I really like how the title sounds since it fits the theme of her single perfectly and it’s nice to see that they are keeping the track on the same setting and theme, so hopefully this means that we’ll see some more mature-looking Mano in the DVD for everyone to enjoy.Even though Mano doesn’t have as many fans as other H!P groups, I’m really excited to see what kind of release.The release date is set for 6/22.
May 21, 2011 - Yaguchi Mari Is Getting Married
According to Sports Nippon, Yaguchi Mari and her boyfriend Nakamura Masaya will be registering for marriage tomorrow. There were some rumors back in December that Yaguchi was going to get married to her boyfriend Nakamura (that she quickly dismissed saying that the plans weren’t finalized) but they made it official today, which is great news since we finally get a confirmation and we can celebrate another marriage. They will register for marriage tomorrow, May 22.
May 18, 2011 - Ichii Sayaka Will Be In A Movie Titled “Ashita ni Kakeru Ai”
Ichii Sayaka will be in a movie titled Ashita ni Kakeru Ai (Eng: Love Over Troubled Water)While the summary of the movie is given in the article I can’t understand much of it, but it seems that there are quite a lot of extras and the movie will feature a theme having to do with China and Japan since it will be set in Beijing and it will be released both in China and Japan at the same time. Even though I didn’t understand the plot of the movie I am glad to see that Ichii is appearing in more and more dramas and movies since that means we might see her in many more releases in the following months, but for now this movie seems to have an interesting theme that many people will like.
Hopefully we get a preview of some sort before the movie is released, although it seems that for now we might have to wait quite some time since the movie will be released in about a year. The movie will be released in Spring 2012.
May 16, 2011 - Suzuki Airi’s 7th PB Titled “OASIS”
The title for Suzuki Airi’s 7th PB has been revealed to be OASIS. I was surprised when I saw what the title for her new PB would be since most of the recent PBs have some kind of relation to their name or a cute title, but instead of that we get a somewhat tropical title of OASIS, which most likely means that we can expect to see plenty of bikini pictures as well as a more tropical setting. Apart from the tropical setting there doesn’t seem to be much of a hint as to what the PB will contain, but we will most likely find out how it relates once the cover for the PB and a few previews have been released. Airi has never disappointed with a PB release so I am excited to find out what kind of themes we can expect to see from the new PB as well as what kind of outfits and bikinis she will wear, so hopefully we get a chance to see a few previews in the next few weeks.For now I hope that fans have already reserved their copy of the PB so that they are among the first to receive it once it is released since it seems like this PB will be a great release. The release date is set for 6/23.
May 8, 2011 - Morning Musume 10th Generation Auditions Announced
The 10th generation auditions for Morning Musume titled Morning Musume 10ki Member ~Genki Jirushi~ Audition has been announced.The official website opened for the audition has some information about the qualifications necessary to enter the audition, and it seems that they are looking to add 2 girls from 10 to 17 years old into the group, just like the requirements for the previous audition, and the description sais something between the lines of “looking for girls with positive personalities and confidence to boost Japan’s mood”.
May 7, 2011 - Hangry & Angry To Appear At Japan Expo 2011 In Paris
Hangry & Angry will appear in this year’s Japan Expo 2011 in Paris. The news was revealed on the site of the expo. After the (so far unconfirmed) announcement about them going to Singapore at the end of July I didn’t expect to hear about them so soon since the group has been inactive for quite some time, and even though that may be the case I am glad to see that the group will go to the same event that Momusu attended last year since fans from Paris can enjoy yet another UFA group.
April 17, 2011 - Melon Kinenbi reunites for the first time since disbanding
On April 17th, the four members of former Hello! Project idol group, Melon Kinenbi, reunited for the first time since breaking up in order to raise funds to donate to victims of the recent disasters.
April 7, 2011 - Up-Front Agency’s artists reveal cover of “Ai wa Katsu”!
Up-Front Agency’s earthquake relief group, called “Gabaro Nippon Ai wa Katsu“, has released a YouTube video of their cover of KAN’s 1990 classic, “Ai wa Katsu“. 131 members were involved in the recording of the song, including members and graduates of Hello! Project. In addition, a total of 98 artists will sing the track live at the upcoming charity event on April 9th. Check it out below Gabaro Nippon Ai wa Katsu
April 4, 2011 - Murakami Megumi Is In A New Entertainment Agency Called “WANTS”
Former C-ute member Murakami Megumi is in a new entertainment agency called WANTS.
April 4, 2011 - Konno Asami Officially Leaves Gatas
Konno Asami has officially left Gatas Brillhantes to start her new job as an announcer for TV Tokyo. Her message appeared on the official Gatas site alongside a message from the team captain Yoshizawa Hitomi, and even though it is a basic farewell message about how she enjoyed being a member for seven years and how she will miss being a member it is a great message from Konno for fans to read.
April 4, 2011 - Nagate Ayaka Is Pregnant With Her First Child
Nagate Ayaka, former Coconuts Musume member, revealed on her blog that she is pregnant with her first child. The announcement seems to be somewhat calm since Ayaka begins talking about it being cherry blossom season but after the mention of her having a baby belly she seems to be very excited and looking forward to her baby, and while we barely have the announcement with almost no other information I am very glad for her.
March 31, 2011 - Murata Megumi Officially Leaves Up Front Agency
Murata Megumi has officially left Up Front Agency. She posted on her blog a short message saying goodbye to show business and Up Front Agency as well as posting a goodbye message to her fans for 11 years of support.
March 31, 2011 - S/mileage’s Regular Show Titled “SMILE FACTORY” Announced
S/mileage’s new regular show titled SMILE FACTORY has been announced. The show will air every 4th Tuesday of each month at 21:00 ~ 21:30 PM (JST) on SPACE SHOWER TV from. S/mileage have already had a regular webcast through Ustream so I’m glad to see that they will have their own regular show on a bigger network since fans will be able to check out their monthly show while they promote their releases and future appearances.
March 31, 2011 - Kikkawa Yuu To Appear On Happy Music
Kikkawa Yuu will appear as a talk and performance guest on the show Happy Music to promote her debut single titled Kikkake wa YOU!
March 31, 2011 - Niigaki Risa’s Movie Title Changed To “Watashi ga Aitsu ni Natta Toki…”
The title for Niigaki Risa’s movie previously titled Bad Days Reason has been changed to Watashi ga Aitsu ni Natta Toki… (Eng: The time when I became him).
March 15, 2010 - H!P Events Postponed Or Possibly Cancelled Due To Earthquake
Due to the Earthquake the following Hello!Project releases and events are postponed or possibly cancelled. I’ll add more information as it’s released.
Morning Musume
“Maji Desu Ka Ska!!” release date, postponed
“Rival Survival”(Bluray) release date also, postponed
Berryz Koubou
“Heroine ni narou ka!” release events, postponed
C-ute
Stage play 1974( Ikunaiyo) is reschedule, it’s now running 12/14 – 12/18. (Original date was 3/17-3/22.)
“Chou Wonderful! 6″ Album, delay release
Kikkawa Yuu
“Kikkawa You“, single and debut, postponed
S/mileage
Fukuda Kanon reported that S/Mileage’s Limited Live “S/mile Factory” will either be cancelled or reschedule.
H!P Graduates/Other
Murata Megumi, cancelled her planned graduation on 3/31. Her family was affected by the tsunami.
Upfront has taken down all Youtube Videos since all new releases are postponed.
March 12, 2011 - Maki Goto to get married soon? Thoughts on Morning Musume, AKB48 + new album!
25 year old Maki Goto has exactly 5 more years to get married – that is, if she sticks to the plan she’s laid out now. The sexy solo singer and former Morning Musume idol attended an event in Tokyo for the movie “The Runaways“, where she was questioned about her personal plans for the future.
March 11, 2011 - Compilation of celebrity statuses after earthquake/tsunami
Many people have been expressing concern for the safety of their celebrities, so we’ve decided to compile a list of those who have confirmed statuses. From Up-Front Agency: Abe Natsumi, Arihara Kanna, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, Fujimoto Miki, Hello! Pro Egg's (Updated Them), Goto Maki (Updated Her), Ichii Sayaka (Updated her), Iida Kaori (Updated Her), Ishiguro Aya (Updated her), Kago Ai, Kusumi Koharu (Updated Her), Maeda Yuuki (Updated Her), Mano Erina, Morning Musume, Muto Mika (Updated Her), Nakasawa Yuuko (Updated Her), Noto Arisa (Updated Her), S/mileage, Satoda Mai (Updated Her), Tsuji Nozomi, Umeda Erika (Updated Her), Yaguchi Mari (Updated Her), and Yasuda Kei (Updated Her). They're many more artist that said they are okay if you want to see who is okay go to Tokyohive. I will keep updating who is okay from former members and current members.
March 6, 2011 - C-ute Official Facebook Page Opened
The official facebook page for C-ute has been opened today. The news was announced from a tweet by their manager. The facebook page can be found here.
March 6, 2011 - UFZS Starring A New H!P Show Titled “Up-Front Girls”
The recent group formed by H!P Egg members called UFZS have been announced to be starring in a new H!P show called Up-Front Girls. The show will air on SkyPerfectTV on 4/2 in various times of the day.
March 4, 2011 - Michishige Sayumi, Tanaka Reina, Mitsui Aika FC Bus Tour Details Released
The title for the bus tour has been revealed to be ~ Morning Days Happy Holiday ~ Michishige Sayumi, Tanaka Reina, Mistui Aika Fan Club Tour in Bousou. The bus tour will take place on 5/28-29. FC official page about event
March 4, 2011 - Official “Keitai Kanojo” and “BLACK ANGELS” Sites Opened
Official sites for both Suzuki Airi’s movie titled Keitai Kanojo and Yajima Maimi’s movie BLACK ANGELS have been opened. The release date for Keitai Kanojo is set for 4/6. The release date for BLACK ANGELS is set for 4/27. Official Keitai Kanojo site. Official BLACK ANGELS site.
March 3, 2011 - New K-Pop Dance Project For 5 H!P Eggs
A new project have been announced for 5 of the H!P Eggs which are Satou Ayano, Arai Manami, Sekine Azusa, Furukawa Konatsu, and Mori Saki. The project that was mentionned is really special since it consists of these girls forming atemporary dance group called UFZS that will represent Up-Front Agency in this particular type of dance covers that other Japanese groups and artists are also doing, where each agency/compagny will be represented by a group of their artists. Their debut will be during the event on 3/31 called DREAM ON! vol.2 at Shibuya O-East.
March 3, 2011 - Official “Abed ~Hatachi no Koi” Site Opened
The official site for Mano Erina’s movie titled Abed ~Hatachi no Koi has been opened. The movie will be released on 4/16. The movie's site can be found here.
March 2, 2011 - Murata Megumi is Leaving The Entertainment Industry
Murata Megumi announces she is leaving the Entertainment Industry. From her blog it seems like she’s saying at 30 years old she’s experienced enough and decided to resign. Murata announced that she will be leaving the industry on 3/31.
March 1, 2011 - Dream Morning Musume Will Be On “Megami no Kiseki”
Dream Morning Musume will be on the show ”Megami no Kiseki.” Dream Morning Musume will appear on 3/8.
March 1, 2011 - S/mileage Mini Live And Handshake Event Announced
S/mileage will have a mini live and a special handshake event to promote their 5th single titled Koi ni Booing Buu!. The event will take place on 5/5 in Kagawa.
March 1, 2011 - SI☆NA Announced They Are Disbanding
Upfront Kansai made an announcement that SI☆NA will be disbanding after their final concert Tanosina Stage.
February 27, 2011 - Morning Musume Will Be On Melodix
Morning Musume is scheduled to appear on Melodix on March 26. Their appearance will be 3 days after their single is released, so it should help in promotion so that the single sells well throughout the week.
February 26, 2011 - Abe Natsumi Will Be In The Musical “Dracula”
Abe Natsumi will play Lucy in the musical Dracula. According to the site the musical is based of another Dracula musical from Graz, Austria. The musical will run from 8/20 ~ 9/18.
February 25, 2011 - Suzuki Airi Websites Opened At Wani Books
Wani Books have opened 2 new websites for Suzuki Airi, one for her appearance on the cover of UTB magazine’s 203rd issue, and the other to promote her 2 upcoming PBs. The release date for the PBs is set for 4/23 and 5/23.
February 24, 2011 - Fujimoto Miki To Open Up A Restaurant
Fujimoto Miki has opened up a Yakiniku restaurant in Yokohama. According to Miki all of the menu will be 99% off as a special discount on opening day. The restaurant will open on 2/26.
February 16, 2011 - Suzuki Airi and Tanaka Reina Release Songs on iTunes for “Hello!Cover”
The next members on the list of the Helo!Covers are Suzuki Airi with the song Furusato and Tanaka Reina with Koi no Hana and Egao ni Namida ~THANK YOU! DEAR MY FRIENDS~. Airi's iTunes is can be found here and Reina's can be found here.
February 14, 2011 - Yajima Maimi – “Kaifuu” e-Hello DVD Announced
The e-Hello DVD for Yajima Maimi titled Kaifuu (Sea Breeze) has been announced. The release date is set for 23/2.
February 4, 2011 - Yoshizawa Hitomi Holding Solo Fanclub Event
Yoshizawa Hitomi will be holding a solo FC event for her birthday. Her FC event will be 4/2.
February 3, 2011 - Michishige Sayumi’s e-Hello! DVD Titled “homey”
The title for Michishige Sayumi’s e-Hello! DVD has been revealed to be homey. The DVD will be up for preorder from now until 2/11.
February 2, 2011 - Berryz Koubou's “Heroine ni Narou ka!” Radio Preview Released
A short radio preview for Berryz Koubou’s 25th single titled Heroine ni Narou ka! has been released. The release date is set for 3/2. A preview can be seen here.
February 1, 2011 - Kago Ai Starts Diamond Blog
Kago Ai started a new blog on Diamond Blog. It can be found here
January 31, 2011 - Furukawa Konatsu Has Completed Her H!P Egg Traning
It was announced on H!P official FC website that Furukawa Konatsu has officially completed her H!P Egg training. Her next activity is same to Minami and Saki’s which is starring in a stage play which will be held from 3/9 ~ 4/10 and it will be titled Worsal Theater Produce Jikan Souzoubu～Super Time Management～.
January 31, 2011 - Matsuura Aya Attending “Hibari 7 Days”
Matsuura Aya will be attending “Hibari 7 Days” on their closing day. The attending date will be on February 27.
January 31, 2011 - Berryz Koubou’s Serend Mini Blogs Will Be Restarted
Berryz Koubou’s Serend blogs will be reopened on Valentines day. Their Serend blog pages can be found here
January 31, 2011 - Buono’s Official Ameba Blog Opened
Buono has opened their official blog on Ameba. Their blog can be found here
January 28, 2011 - Dream Morning Musume announces upcoming Fall concert and new album
Dream Morning Musume announced that they will be holding a Fall concert currently “Untitled“. The news is on their official site and the concerts will start somewhere in September 2011.Pre-sale tickets for the concert is currently available and the concert is planned for 9/2011.
Dream Morning Musume announced at a press conference that they will be releasing their 1st album titled “Dream 1“. There will be two versions, the limited and regular edition. The limited edition comes with a DVD while the regular comes with a postcard. The album will be released on 4/20.
January 27, 2011 - Takahashi Ai and Tanaka Reina Released A Song On Itunes For “Hello Cover”
Takahashi Ai and Tanaka Reina released 1 cover song on Itunes for the “Hello Cover” Series. Takahashi Ai released “Koi wo Shichaimashita” which is a cover of Tanpopo’s song and Tanaka Reina released “Manatsu no Kousen” which is a cover of Morning Musume’s 5th single. Ai’s Itunes Page found here. Reina’s Itunes Page found here.
January 27, 2011 - Niigaki Risa Releases 8 Songs In The “Hello Cover” Series
Niigaki Risa releases 8 cover songs in the “Hello Cover” Series. The songs being: Manatsu no Kousen by Morning Musume, Furusato by Morning Musume, Koi wo Shichai Mashita by Tanpopo, Seinaru Kane ga Hibiku Yoru by Tanpopo, Egao ni Namida ~THANK YOU! DEAR MY FRIENDS~ by Matsuura Aya, LOVE Namida Iro by Matsuura Aya, Koi no Hana by Abe Natsumi, Onegai Miwaku no Target by Melon Kinenbi, and Kousui by Melon Kinenbi. Gaki’s Itunes Page found here
January 27, 2011 - Kaori Iida Holding 2 Small Lives In February
Kaori Iida announced on her blog that she will be holding 2 small lives in February. She said that she would be performing love songs at Vinoteca Stage and they will be love themed for Valentine’s Day. The event dates will be on 2/8 and 2/14. Article here.
January 26, 2011 - Kikkawa Yuu’s 1st Single Announced
The first single for Kikkawa Yuu titled Kikkake wa YOU! has been announced. The single will be available in 4 versions, Regular, Limited A, B and C and each limited edition will feature a different B-side from the 3 different songs she performed as the opening act for H!P’s 2011 winter concert tour.
January 26, 2011 - Berryz Koubou 7th Anniversary PB Announced
A group PB for Berryz Koubou titled Berryz Koubou 7 Shuunen Kinen PHOTO BOOK 「7」 will be released on their 7th anniversary as a group.
January 25, 2011 - Wada Ayaka’s First PB Announced
Wada Ayaka’s 1st PB, currently untitled, has been announced. The release date is set for 2/25.
January 24, 2011 - Takahashi Ai Starring In A Musical Titled “Dance of the Vampire”
Takahashi Ai will be the main heroine starring in a musical titled Dance of the Vampire. It will be her first activity after she graduates.
January 20, 2011 - Tahahashi Ai Starring in A Drama Titled “Koi Choco – Bitter Sweet Angel”
Takahashi Ai will be the lead actress in a special Valentine Day’s drama titled Koi Choco - Bitter Sweet Angel (Chocolate Love – Bitter Sweet Angel).
January 16, 2011 - Kikkawa Yuu Holding A Press Conference
Kikkawa Yuu announced that she will be holding a press conference somewhere in Tokyo on 1/26.
January 16, 2011 - Tsuji Nozomi re-opens the comments section on her official blog
Tsuji Nozomi has announced that she decided to re-open the comments section on her official blog. Back in August of 2010, she stopped allowing comments on her blog because of the harsh comments she received sometimes, especially since she was pregnant with her second baby at that time.
January 8, 2011 - Takahashi Ai to Graduate from Morning Musume and Hello! Project
Current Leader of Morning Musume, Takahashi Ai, will be graduating from the group and Hello! Project at the end of Morning Musume 2011 Autumn concert tour. After her graduation, Niigaki Risa shall take over leader position with Michishige as sub-leader. Takahashi shall continue to work in music and live theatre after her graduation.
January 2, 2011 -S/mileage's special event to promote a new TV show
S/mileage will have a special one night event to celebrate and promote a new monthly TV show starting in April. The title for the event is S/mileage 2011 Haru Limited Live ~Smile Factory~. The event will take place on 3/20 at STUDIO COAST (Tokyo) from 14:45 to 15:30/17:45 to 18:30.
January 2, 2011 - Title for C-ute's Concert Tour 2011 Spring Announced
The title for C-ute’s Spring Concert Tour 2011 has been announced to be ℃-ute Concert Tour 2011 Haru ~Chou! Chou Wonderful Tour~.
January 2, 2011 - Ex-Morning Musume member Yaguchi Mari is getting married to Nakamura Masaya?
Some media outlets reported that ex-Morning Musume member Yaguchi Mari will be getting married to her boyfriend, Nakamura Masaya. According to a related source, Yaguchi has already said that she would be getting married, and now she needs to report her marriage and decide the day to register the marriage.
January 2, 2011 - Morning Musume 9th Generation members are are Sayashi Riho, Suzuki Kanon, Ikuta Erina & Fukumura Mizuki.
It was announced on the first date of the Hello! Project 2011 WINTER～Kangei Shinsen Matsuri～ concert, it was anounced that the new members of Morning Musume's 9th Generation are Sayashi Riho, Suzuki Kanon, Ikuta Erina & H!P Egg Fukumura Mizuki. Congratulations girls!
January 1, 2011 - Happy New Year Everyone!!! ♥
May we all have another awesome year with Hello! Project! ★
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