Always fun to speculate what the winning criteria for these auditions are, but as far as Tsunku's statement in the previous ep goes, oh boy, do they have some work ahead of them or what?
There are no downright amazing vocals in this bunch, not even downright good vocals, and hell, frankly I ain't even sure about all the potential found here. But, if the focus of the audition truly is on singing, Sara and Haruka are once again in the 'Lock' category. I mean, it'd be kinda silly to say they're looking for a singer, and then overlook the two with the most "potential".
As far as the other vocals go, Satsuki is pure comedy, Fuuka is struggling big time, Masaki, Hinako & Haruna are as amazing as stale bread, and Ayumi is "basic idol" quality (like everything else about her).
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Once again, pretty sure Sara and Haruka are gonna make it into MM. They're the safe bets. As for the rest, who knows.
As we discussed in IRC, Ayumi is a bit of strange case. She's generally a good all-around performer, but we dubbed her the "basic idol" because she seems like someone who'd fit nicely in any of the zillion idol groups infesting Japan right now and look right at home. Just not Morning Musume. But these are just impressions from the training camp and some of the DLH segments I've watched... who knows, maybe she's the best EVER.
Masaki has that intriguing look and a special air about her.. Hokkaido Flower lulz. I think her makeover wasn't an improvement, although I agree that she looks more evil now and that is kind of awesome. I do miss that wavy hair, though. Performance-wise she's in that special zone of being complete crap at the start and improving, if not significantly, at least noticeably, during the training camp. That could work in her favor.
While listening to her sing isn't quite as pleasant, it's easy to fall for Fuuka just watching her, like in the last half of that dancing bit when she was smiling properly. But once again, maybe it's just me. I hope some of the UFA idol selection committee share my views. I know y'all would have to suffer through her lines but I don't give a damn!
Haruna's makeover for the dancing bit was an improvement, but I don't find anything about her to be special. Some might find her look, age and style appealing, so she might have a shot.
Actually the only ones I really don't see having any kind of shot are Hinako and Satsuki. Hinako is just... rough and Satsuki is pure comedy.