The Idoling!!! Discussion Thread

[muppet]

I was wondering.....

IRF is a Japanese special unit created for the release of the tribute album TRF Respect Idol Tribute, that features members from five different idol groups. The group name stands for "IDOL RAVE FACTORY". Their promotional photoshoot depicts TRF's "BOY MEETS GIRL" artwork.

Shyoji Mei (TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE)
 Suzuki Yuriya (Cheeky Parade)
 Tachibana Yurika (Idoling!!!)
Hibi Mikoto (Dream5)
 pour lui (BiS)


TRF is a group that earns respect.............

[Hatix]

I quite like these new takes on these classic songs. It sounds fresh but still true to the original. I'd love to hear them in full and the others as well.
(and love to see the version/dancing that Idoling!!! did at 12th live).

[AEUGNewtype]

Man, those songs sound pretty good, even though TRF isn't one of my favorite artists. Its pretty cool you can actually tell their voices apart pretty well, I could easily tell when Yurippe was singing, but I'm not familiar enough with the others to know exactly who they were, but I could tell them apart. I can't wait to see some PVs from this group!

Idoling is dead in the water.

LOL

[roptopsop]

Did they release a natsu yasuming this year and does anyone have it?

[idolingkyugo]

Did they release a natsu yasuming this year and does anyone have it?

They have parts 1 and 2 for Natsu Yasuming 2012 in Hello Online, although there are only 5 seeders, so goodluck on that... I haven't seen it too

[kei_86]

carrying over the talk about Idoling dance choreography from the episode discussion thread, since this is the proper thread.

I do agree that most of their choreography are really simple and mundane and that's usually the first thing people would realize whenever i introduce idoling to them. The first Idoling!!! PV I watched was Kokuhaku and then I found the Heyx3 vid Onegai Fansubbing did on Moteki no Uta and how Downtown said its too easy even they can dance to it, it really staple down to your head that they are really simple. But I guess, its because of that also the girls are more open to just have fun on stage during encore or certain special events. Though what drew me to the group is the show but it was when I watched the 5th live, that was when I was totally hooked on the group. I've never in my life seen an idol group just out there on stage having so much fun with each other. At that particular time, AKB was on the rise and H!P was slowing down a bit and both group are just pretty strict on their performance.

At that particular time, I felt that H!P was really going all out with all sort of dance (I think I recalled C-ute's Namida no Iro just released at that time when I started with Idoling) and AKB just started to go aggresively on the promotions and then here an Idol group that didn't really focus on their dance and actually on various events seen just having fun. 5th Live, 6th Live, Ooiso long beach live, hachitama lives and it seems to me that they were really having fun up there and that is I thought that is a pretty rare scene to see. Its amusing to see and I look forward to such scene all the time that they have a live. The last one I saw was the Yarakai Heart in TIF and that was a blast.

If they are really crazy on the dance routine I don't think that they'd be doing these stuff because, well after working so hard perfecting it of course they'd want to show the end result to the fans. So I'm glad that Idoling!!! has simple routine, it doesn't really bind them to the dances too much.

notice the so many "I", lol this is all just my take on idoling!!! dance. I like it this way.

[Joe]

Just got Ishigaki IDOLING!!! Gravure Idol no Blu-ray Poku Shitemimashitang!!! Kimi to Ita Natsu.
It comes with a hardcover photobook. Disc 1 is pretty good, lots of gravure stuff in gorgeous full HD and the usual water games. Disc 2 is kinda an interactive game. I just saw a little bit of it since I got it yesterday but overall I like it.

[SuzukiRyo]

I think it's about balance.
You just can't force complex vocal/dance to Ojima for example. She still has terrible tempo. Might be covered if singing in full members but remember we have 5-10 members performance frequently, that Ojima's vocal can not be covered. My top 2 worst performer of all time: Suu-chan & Ojima.

We might have 21 members but all have different level of performance either dance or vocal.
Remember that our way of recruiting new member, especially since 4th gen is different from ordinary idol group.
Mostly they got in for being interesting, not for being the best.
1st gen is a special case since they didn't have much options that time. 50 applicants in 2006 vs 3000 applicants in 2011.
Considered lucky we got the current remaining 1st gen.

I thought we could use some ace dancers to the song like SISTER but then again we have different Music Director from Pony Canyon/Fuji Pacific.
The MD said Umeko is good, but internal staffs might said she is not ace so she can't. We even has conflict between internal staffs, the Producer - the Director - the Floor Director. Uematsu AD might has better taste in music than Mori D and Kado P.
For me, Umeko is definitely better dancer than Asahi and better vocal than Tonchan, but Umeko is not ace.  Sad.
We need to change everything in order to change the performance side.
Yurippe / Ruka could get vocal/dance training at Avex HQ anytime, but not other members. Every talent agencies has it's own focus, and I think only Avex has all the resources needed for performance problem. You can't throw all of them to training academy, because we are not integrated like H!P and definitely not as rich as AKB to able to control member's agency.

But than again, I agree with kei. I'm not asking them to be like E-Girls, but at least I wish they to have decent average performance quality. I'd rather choose 21 decent members rather than giving everything complex to the aces and let the rest just filling the stage.
And give better role to Ruka, please. She is my future 

[cicily]

I think it's about balance.
You just can't force complex vocal/dance to Ojima for example. She still has terrible tempo. Might be covered if singing in full members but remember we have 5-10 members performance frequently, that Ojima's vocal can not be covered. My top 2 worst performer of all time: Suu-chan & Ojima.

We might have 21 members but all have different level of performance either dance or vocal.
Remember that our way of recruiting new member, especially since 4th gen is different from ordinary idol group.
Mostly they got in for being interesting, not for being the best.
1st gen is a special case since they didn't have much options that time. 50 applicants in 2006 vs 3000 applicants in 2011.
Considered lucky we got the current remaining 1st gen.

I thought we could use some ace dancers to the song like SISTER but then again we have different Music Director from Pony Canyon/Fuji Pacific.
The MD said Umeko is good, but internal staffs might said she is not ace so she can't. We even has conflict between internal staffs, the Producer - the Director - the Floor Director. Uematsu AD might has better taste in music than Mori D and Kado P.
For me, Umeko is definitely better dancer than Asahi and better vocal than Tonchan, but Umeko is not ace.  Sad.
We need to change everything in order to change the performance side.
Yurippe / Ruka could get vocal/dance training at Avex HQ anytime, but not other members. Every talent agencies has it's own focus, and I think only Avex has all the resources needed for performance problem. You can't throw all of them to training academy, because we are not integrated like H!P and definitely not as rich as AKB to able to control member's agency.

But than again, I agree with kei. I'm not asking them to be like E-Girls, but at least I wish they to have decent average performance quality. I'd rather choose 21 decent members rather than giving everything complex to the aces and let the rest just filling the stage.

This is why I'm concerned they will never break out of their current plateau in record sales. I suspect most Japanese don't see Idoling!!! as real music artistes, but just as TV idols who happen to record and sell singles. Which is why they can never hit the mainstream audience and more importantly, the female fans, because their music/performances aren't "kakoii", or cool enough. Has any Idoling!!! song ever ranked in the karaoke charts?

I've seen clips of Super Girls, MomoClo, TGS etc. on YouTube in talk/variety settings trying to be interesting. None of them come close (in my biased opinion) to Idoling!!! in terms of being interesting and funny. But as artistes/performers they are leaps and bounds ahead - and that carries over into record sales. TGS, whose singles generally rank worse than Idoling!!!, can even draw a concert at Budokan!

I really think they need to up-level their music/performance. They can still keep all the wacky stuff at concerts, but for once I wished I could go into an Idoling!!! concert and enjoy it because I thought their music/performance was cool and awesome, instead of now, where I enjoy it mainly because I like the group.

And give better role to Ruka, please. She is my future 

I wished they shown a video of the DANCE IDOLING!!! segment at this year's TIF. They did a really nice routine and Ruka really killed it. She even did a b-boy stunt in there!

[idolingkyugo]

Just wanted to ask, are all Idoling members pure Japanese with the exception of Fonchi and Rurika?

[SuzukiRyo]

Just wanted to ask, are all Idoling members pure Japanese with the exception of Fonchi and Rurika?

Who knows.
Fonchi is pure Vietnamese, Michelle is half Australian, while Rurika is quarter Russian.

[AEUGNewtype]

But I guess, its because of that also the girls are more open to just have fun on stage during encore or certain special events. Though what drew me to the group is the show but it was when I watched the 5th live, that was when I was totally hooked on the group. I've never in my life seen an idol group just out there on stage having so much fun with each other. At that particular time, AKB was on the rise and H!P was slowing down a bit and both group are just pretty strict on their performance.

I really love this as well. Even in the 11th live recently, I noticed a few times where some of them would break the choreography and just start having fun or talking to each other or something, as well as in those old concerts.  Its such a breath of fresh air from the usual stuff we see from idols being so strict on performance. Not dancing as hard also makes it easier for them to save breath and energy for singing, since they actually sing live all the time, which most other idol groups cannot claim.

Remember that our way of recruiting new member, especially since 4th gen is different from ordinary idol group.
Mostly they got in for being interesting, not for being the best.

This is not true, because this is actually the entire premise of Tsunku's H!P, and he says it publically all the time, he does hire girls for being the best, he hires ones that he thinks CAN be good in the future. He thinks that is the best type of idol.

I've seen clips of Super Girls, MomoClo, TGS etc. on YouTube in talk/variety settings trying to be interesting. None of them come close (in my biased opinion) to Idoling!!! in terms of being interesting and funny. But as artistes/performers they are leaps and bounds ahead - and that carries over into record sales. TGS, whose singles generally rank worse than Idoling!!!, can even draw a concert at Budokan!

I 100% agree about them being so much more entertaining than all these other cookie-cutter groups out there today, though I can't 100% agree that being taken more seriously as an "artist" means more record sales.  Most record sales in the idol industry just get really high because of tactics like handshake or voting tickets, having 6 different editions of every release, etc. And it seems odd to me if Idoling isn't thought of as artists when they are one of the only idol groups that actually sings live all the time.  As far as the Budokan thing, I'm pretty sure TGS's management is just pushing that as a marketing tactic.  If you tell people they're good enough and big enough to perform at Budokan, people will start to believe it.  This is suggestive marketing, it happens all the time and Avex is really good at it.


As far as other girls being mixed/foreigner, it seems to me like sometimes Yuna might be Philipino or something, she has a few facial features that aren't very Japanese.  Maipuru also has a non-Japanese nose and skin tone, but skin tone is pretty easily alter-able. I imagine if other people were mixed, they probably would've mentioned it as a selling point, though.  The foreign-ness factor seems to be a big thing for idols.

[idolingkyugo]

As far as other girls being mixed/foreigner, it seems to me like sometimes Yuna might be Philipino or something, she has a few facial features that aren't all that Japanese.  Maipuru also has a non-Japanese nose and skin tone, but skin tone is pretty easily alter-able. I imagine if other people were mixed, they probably wouldn't mentioned it as a selling point, though.  The foreign-ness factor seems to be a big thing for idols.

I'm from the Philippines, I also think that Yuna looks like a Filipina, Suuchan too.
Yeah Maipuru, that's what makes her hot though. 

[SuzukiRyo]

Remember that our way of recruiting new member, especially since 4th gen is different from ordinary idol group.
Mostly they got in for being interesting, not for being the best.

This is not true, because this is actually the entire premise of Tsunku's H!P, and he says it publically all the time, he does hire girls for being the best, he hires ones that he thinks CAN be good in the future. He thinks that is the best type of idol.

Tsunku?
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I mean They = Idoling!!!

[Hatix]

Just wanted to ask, are all Idoling members pure Japanese with the exception of Fonchi and Rurika?

Reia has a Russian grand parent, and Michelle (#18) was from Australia. I think the rest are pure Japanese.

Edit: oh, SuzukiRyo already answered
Wasn't it Reia who was a quarter Russian instead of Rurika?

[SuzukiRyo]

Just wanted to ask, are all Idoling members pure Japanese with the exception of Fonchi and Rurika?

Reia has a Russian grand parent, and Michelle (#18) was from Australia. I think the rest are pure Japanese.

Edit: oh, SuzukiRyo already answered
Wasn't it Reia who was a quarter Russian instead of Rurika?

Both

[AEUGNewtype]

Remember that our way of recruiting new member, especially since 4th gen is different from ordinary idol group.
Mostly they got in for being interesting, not for being the best.

This is not true, because this is actually the entire premise of Tsunku's H!P, and he says it publically all the time, he does hire girls for being the best, he hires ones that he thinks CAN be good in the future. He thinks that is the best type of idol.

Tsunku?
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
I mean They = Idoling!!!

I was actually replying to your statement that the fact of Idoling!!! 4-6th gens being selected not because they are the best.  You said this factor is "different from ordinary idol groups" but that is the entire premise of Hello!Project, so Idoling is not so unique in this decision.

I already sent the design to the shop and now only waiting for the product to be finished. I'll snap some pics when its done 

I posted this earlier on Twitter as well, but figured I'd post here.  I submitted to have a car sticker made from the logos you provided and I got it made in 2 days and it only cost me $4 from a local place around here.  My car is a piece of crap, but it turned out pretty well:

[kei_86]

That's looking cool man  a little bit different than how I asked for mine but still, 

In regards to TGS and budoukan, it just shows the difference in the management tactics as how AEUG said. I mean like, they announce it 5 months back, have a single named "Road to Budoukan 2012 - Bad Flower" and it became a single uniting cause to every event that they do, which is to spread the word about the Budoukan live. Avex is really good in this and it works I'd say. Plus TGS has so many things attached to them that warrants them to be considered as more serious act, they even call themselves as a "Dance & Vocal group" instead of idol and have Asia breakthrough as a goal. Pony canyon however, only starting promoting Idoling!!! as an artist this year with One Up and still haven't set a new goal for Idoling!!! since they got #1 in oricon.

That's the problem with Idoling!!!, they don't really have an end goal which is clearly mentioned. MCZ has been harping about wanting to appear on Kouhaku, this year they got it. TGS aims for being big even until Asia, went overseas once and Budoukan is the first step. Having a clear goal like this helps fans enthusiasm too since we can aid for the cause. So what does Idoling!!! aim for actually?

Regardless, Idoling!!! do mirror Bakarhythm success. He has been there in the entertainment business for quite a while, slowly getting famous without anyone even realizing and by the time everyone came to their sense, He's already big. Instead of rising up to stardom super fast and then fall as hard, both Idoling!!! and Masuno just drift there slowly and surely.

[AEUGNewtype]

In regards to TGS and budoukan, it just shows the difference in the management tactics as how AEUG said. I mean like, they announce it 5 months back, have a single named "Road to Budoukan 2012 - Bad Flower" and it became a single uniting cause to every event that they do, which is to spread the word about the Budoukan live. Avex is really good in this and it works I'd say. Plus TGS has so many things attached to them that warrants them to be considered as more serious act, they even call themselves as a "Dance & Vocal group" instead of idol and have Asia breakthrough as a goal. Pony canyon however, only starting promoting Idoling!!! as an artist this year with One Up and still haven't set a new goal for Idoling!!! since they got #1 in oricon.

That's the problem with Idoling!!!, they don't really have an end goal which is clearly mentioned. MCZ has been harping about wanting to appear on Kouhaku, this year they got it. TGS aims for being big even until Asia, went overseas once and Budoukan is the first step. Having a clear goal like this helps fans enthusiasm too since we can aid for the cause. So what does Idoling!!! aim for actually?

Regardless, Idoling!!! do mirror Bakarhythm success. He has been there in the entertainment business for quite a while, slowly getting famous without anyone even realizing and by the time everyone came to their sense, He's already big. Instead of rising up to stardom super fast and then fall as hard, both Idoling!!! and Masuno just drift there slowly and surely.

Very good points, all of that is really valid and makes you wonder about these kinds of things, like what will MCZ aim for now that they got their goal? What comes next? Since Idoling!!! got high on Oricon, what is the next step? Does there even need to be a next step? The part about having these goals gives a lot for fans to rally behind, and it really makes fans go crazy over it, though I think its a little too deceptive for me.

[kei_86]

Well it might be a bit too deceptive but its okay I guess. I mean, imagine the happiness of all the MCZ fans when the kouhaku list was announced. After all the "hard work" in supporting now one goal is achieved. Whether its just a marketing strategy or indeed a pure goal both are satisfies, fans and artist. I say its all good, we're talking about the idol culture anyways.