Hello! Project - 2011 in Review

With many new members, the debut of monster unit Mobekimasu and releases full of something called creativity, 2011 has been a year of change for Hello! Project.


Best Group - Morning Musume

   2011 has been an exciting year for Momusu. 3 singles, I album, 2 concert tours, 1 graduation and no less than 8 new members. Morning Musume really have been hurtling forward at full speed this year. I find it odd to think that just last year every single member of the group was older than me but now 7 out of 12 are younger than me! The Kyuukies were a breath of fresh air at the beginning of the year, bringing a whole new wave of talent and energy. Their first single, while not exactly my cup of tea, had an element of fun and silliness that had been missing in the more recent singles.

   The 30th of September brought the much dreaded, in my case, graduation of leader Takahashi Ai. And what a great way to go. A concert held at Budokan, while plagued by old fashioned green lasers, really was something special. One of the most perfect setlists in years (in my opinion) also helped. During Ai's years as leader the group seemed to become much more tightly knit, with the senpai/kouhai system being less of a barrier. Morning Musume also became a bit of a performing machine, with choreography more in time than it had ever been. Ai seemed to really care about the group, as do Gaki, Sayu, Reina and Aika. Although the chances of it happening are practically nil, I would love to see all 4 of them become leaders one day.

   The 10th generation members, or Juukies, were announced on the 29th of September, just a day before Ai's graduation. I've got to admit that I was fairly surprised when the 10th generation auditions were announced. Even once I had come to terms with this I was only expecting one or two new members, not another four. That said, there was a lot of potential between all of the finalists and I am sure the four picked in the end will prove themselves to be great idols. My personal favourite of the four is Masaki but I am looking forward to seeing all 4 of the girls grow as idols.

   As far as musical output goes, this year Morning Musume have released 3 singles; 'Maji desu ka Ska!' (not half bad), 'Only you' (fantastic) and the double A side 'Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!/ Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!' (very good indeed) and 1 album, '12 Smart' which was a huge step up from the slightly lacklustre 'Fantasy Juuichi'.

  I think we can conclude that 2011 has been a great year to be a Momusu fan. Here's to 2012!

Top 10 H!P Songs

10. Uchouten LOVE
Insanely catchy high energy fun!
9. Kiss me Aishiteru
Great when it was released in February, still great now.
8. Midnight Temptation
That guitar solo . . . . . Great chorus as well.
7. OK YEAH!
It's madness! The good kind of course.
6. Runaway Train
The best song on the Zassou no Uta single. Great lyrics too.
5. Aa Yo ga Akeru
Loved this from the moment I heard it. A great style for the Berryz. 
4. Suki da na Kimi ga
While some may say it was a Perfume rip-off, this style was new for H!P and that's what made the song so interesting.
3. Heroine ni Narou ka
Brilliant from start to finish. Stuck in my head almost constantly.
2. Silver no Udedokei
I love it when Momusu does r&b. I love it when Gaki raps. I love it when Reina sings with some kind of emotion. I love this song.
1. Only You
A powerful chorus, an odd yet effective rhythm in the verses, great use of vocoder, nice vocals. What more could you want?

Top Members of 2011

Takahashi Ai
Ai had a certain fire about her this year. It's like she wanted to give her all before graduation and it really showed. With her role in Dance of the Vampire she has shown us that she will have that "fire" for many years to come.

Michishige Sayumi
Another great year for Sayu. She really represents Morning Musume on tv now and I have to admire her for her ability to always come up with jokes and things to say right off the top of her head. She is far from stupid this girl. Her photobook 'Sayuminglandoll' really broke the mould and showed us that the bikini formula is not the way to go. Her involvement in the photobook really shows, I hope H!P girls can get more involved in things like this, it seems to work.

Ikuta Erina
When she first joined Eripon was the girl no-one was really sure about. Many people doubted her capabilities. She proved us wrong and over the course of the year has become a great entertainer and is a quickly improving performer.

Tsugunaga Momoko
Although some find her "kawaii" character very irritating it really has worked for her this year. Momo is to Berryz what Sayu is to Momusu.

Mano Erina
Manoeri is another who has really come into her own this year. Her voice is improving, 'My Days for You' showed us what kind of music she should be doing more of, and everyone noticed how attractive she is.

Bonus Awards!

Confusing hair of the year - Takahashi Ai
Nice vibrato of the year - Tanaka Reina
Growler of the year - Sugaya Risako
Cavity inducing sweetness of the year - S/mileage
Worst instrumentation of the year - Kono Ai wo Kasanete
Bad-ass idol rappers of the year - Niigaki Risa and Mitsui Aika
Successful annoyance of the year - Yurushite nyan!, Cinderella Revolution
Fashionista of the year - Hagiwara Mai
Insect impersonator of the year - Suzuki Kanon
Pervy Sayu of the year - Michishige Sayumi    (it's a given)
Legs of the year - Yajima Maimi