It’s been awhile since Berryz came out with a really catchy song, but this time is certainly different! Their new single is making me go wild, and I must say it’s one of my favourite summer jams this year. It may be a cover of a Thai singer, but so was Jingiskan and that was a big hit. It seems like Berryz can pull of nice covers, almost better than the originals (my biased opinion yes).
Regarding the PV, I think it’s very bright and colorful and fits the song perfectly. Pictures suggested a flash-mob scene would be included in the PV, but unfortunately that was probably only promotion for the single… To bad really. As for the outfits I like how they all look like Thai (or maybe even Indian) princesses, as well as their individual hairstyles look amazing. Especially Risako’s and Miyabi’s hairstyle caught my attention (btw, didn’t Miyabi cut her hair? oOo).
I’m looking forward to watching Momo’s solo PV now! It’s probably going to be pink and flawless ~
Received my copy of Berryz new album yesterday and two days after the release date – yay! I like the theme for this album’s cover, even though the girls hanging from bed sheds just seems so hilarious xD lol. The theme is however a bit ambiguous to me; is it a princess, fairy tale, girls’ choir or Kiki’s Delivery Service theme they are trying to sport here? (Miya totally looks like Kiki, haha) ^^; The DVD extras were pretty neat. A concert performance of their new single Be Genki <Naseba naru!> together with solo shots versions of each member and a Jacket Making of :D For once worth buying the DVD version (*rolls eyes*)
But now to the songs! ^o^
01.Mythology ～Ai no Album～ (Mythology ~Love Album~) I think the intro song is alright, just a bit repetitive maybe. It has a nice funky beat and I the feel of the song is actually quite cool. After some more listens I will probably love it ;)
02.Yononaka Barairo (Rose-colored Society) This song reminds me so much of 80s Japanese punk rock band The Blue Hearts (especially Miya’s deep tones in the beginning of the song!) :O It also reminds me of their earlier single Maji Bomber – this song is just so much better imo :D The acoustic guitar parts are awesome and the girls sing this song really well too. Love this song~
03.Shy boy This is actually a really nice song, so am just puzzled why Tsunku chose to auto-tune the whole thing o_o The lyrics and melody are so cool and mature and then the auto-tune just kinds of ruin it a bit :( But it doesn’t change that this song is very catchy and a nice new mature sound for Berryz as well ^o^ (Have a feeling this song would be nice as a live performance :p)
04.Because happiness Yay~ eurobeat song! I love when Tsunku does these kind of songs :D This song is so Berryz and lovely ^O^ It makes the listener happy and as for me, it makes me want to dance actually xD The title is just typical janglish though :P
05.Renai Moyou (Love Pattern) / Tokunaga Chinami, Sudou Maasa, Kumai Yurina, Sugaya Risako Without competition the best song on the album. This song is a ballad and a sad love song and I’m just in love with the background music in this *o* It’s really nice!! I can’t even describe it, makes me think of Masayume by Aa! maybe. Kind of makes me want to cry of happiness ;o; The girls sang this so well, especially Yurina’s high note – wow! Just the best song, no doubt about it ;D
06.Ai no Dangan (Love Bullet) Ai no Dangan. This song is generally a catchy and awesome girl-power song. And then it’s awesome, enough said ;)
07.Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Saku (On a Bittersweet Spring, The Sakura Blooms) / Berryz工房×℃-ute
Sorry I just can’t take this song >_< Watched the PV once and haven’t watched it since. I wish their new single could have taken this song’s place :( Sorry I just think this song is lifeless and boring T-T
08.Atarashii Hibi (New Everyday) / Shimizu Saki, Tsugunaga Momoko, Natsuyaki Miyabi Yay another cool ballad song! ^o^ These members work so well together – their harmonies are like perfect ♥ And Saki having so many solo lines in one song, just automatically makes this song great. Then adding Momo and Miya (some of the best singers in Berryz) takes this song to a whole new level of H!P-awesomeness xD Wee~
09.Aa, Yo ga Akeru (Ah, Dawn Breaks) Definitely my favorite release from Berryz last year. This song is just incredibly catchy ^^; Love the vocals, the beat, the melody and the tones of this song. I’m glad this song was included on the album and don’t mind it taking up a new song’s place at all. This song just rocks! :D
10.Seishun Gekijou (Youth Theater) / Berryz工房 Ver.
As a tradition, Berryz once again ends their album with a “chorus and piano” ballad song (but this time Tsunku joined the choir though ;P) A nice song, but also quite typical. Doesn’t really leave me with any kind of impact, if you know what I mean :/But I guess it’s an overall nice song :)
This album felt quite short, as there only were 10 songs on it, but it still contained some pretty awesome songs! I actually loved them all apart from Amazuppai Haru and Seishun Gekijou :) Otherwise I think Tsunku once again did a pretty good job on Berryz ^_~ I’m not sure if I think this album is better than their previous ones (whom I enjoyed just as much) but it’s definitely not below them in standard!! So generally a strong album – well done Berryz ♥
Last week I added two new albums to my idol collection:
7 Berryz Times and Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo ~message~
But it cost me a lot to get them >o< For one thing, I bought the albums from the Japanese HMV page, where shipping costs around 1500 yen (19 dollars), but I chose to “split shipping” so I had to pay 2 x 1500 yen (37 dollars) total for shipping X_X
And last but not least… both packages were collected on delivery, because they had surpassed the maximum limit of money you are allowed to spend outside the EU borders :’( So I had to pay additional 87 dollars to get both my packages at the post office… (T – T) Usually they only collect the bigger packages – but of course I had to be THAT unlucky Dx
You could actually say I paid around 110 dollars for each album! ( ; _ ;) Good grief…
But now to the good stuff! :D I will start with a review of the Berryz album ;)
First the songs ♪
Icchoume Rock! (一丁目ロック!)
Really nice and uplifting idol-rock song to start off the album with ^_^ I like that you can hear crowd cheering Oi! Oi! Oi! and other cheer sounds in the background music to this song! :D
Heroine ni Narou ka! (ヒロインになろうか!)
This song is just plain awesome ♥ I love it so much. Definitely my favorite Berryz song since Otakebi Boy WAO! (much better than Shining Power and Maji Bomber!!) The background beat is just mesmerizing and the vocals catchy as hell xD Can just listen to this song on repeat nonstop without getting sick of it :P My favorite part of the song is when the girls pitch their voices a little higher in the last chorus of the song ^O^ ♥ OMG – Epic!
BOMB BOMB JUMP
This song is very humorous with the “bomb bomb bomb” parts in the start of the song. Sounds pretty catchy too ;) I love that Chinami, Maasa and Yurina get to sing all the solo verses in this song; practically you could say it’s their song ^o^ Yay~ So this album is not completely without shuffle groups :) The song is really happy too – happy songs = pure win~! x3
Masshiroi ano kumo (真っ白いあの雲)
The first ballad song of the album. My opinion in short: AMAZING! I just love love love Berryz ballads in general (so maybe I’m a bit biased xP) but this song is really great. I think their voices are in perfect harmony plus the music is nice and calming.
I’m in love ♥
Maji Bomber!! (本気ボンバー!!)
I don’t have a lot to say about this song. I think it’s okay, but it’s definitely one of my least favorite songs on the album. I think the girls’ vocals are really powerful, but the song is just boring to me >_<; I like it performed at concerts though :)
Joshikai The Night (女子会 The Night)
This songs is COOL :D Sounds like a MM song in the beginning of the song (before the singing starts xD). Miyabi and Risako lead this song and I really like the whisper parts, they sound sekushii :P But I think it’s fine there’s only one song of this kind on the album, because it made room for more awesome ballads xD (lol)
Girls Times (ガールズタイムス)
This song is nice and cheery and it’s the song with the most Momo lines, so of course I like it xD Some of the “yeah yeah” parts remind me of Gaki – so this song also gives me a MM feeling (heh) ^^ Maybe this is not one of the most remarkable songs on the album, but it’s good nonetheless ; )
Onna no Pride (女のプライド)
The last ballad song on the album. This song is just pure Berryz. I don’t know what it is, but the style of the songs really reminds me of early Berryz, which I just LOOVE! ♥ *Kya* I actually think this song is my favorite song on the album :3 Just amazing – Wow.
Shining Power! (シャイニング パワー!)
Yurina rocks this song~ and if I have to describe this song with one word, it would probably be FUNKY. It’s a song you just can’t stop bopping your head to ^o^ (lol) I like it – but it just can’t beat Heroine *_*
Magical Future! (マジカルフューチャー!)
This song is kind of different from the others. The sound and feel is different, but I’m loving the beat ~♪ ^O^ Somehow it just feels wrong as an ending song for the album – like you think “huh?” when the album ends. I like it better when albums end with ballad songs xD Even though I know the last Berryz album ended with an upbeat song as well ^^; (Heh)
The DVD content~
Really great extras this time! :O There are included both a concert performance, dance mix version and a solo dance version with each member of Heroine ni Narou ka on the DVD – plus the making of the album jacket. Wow! That’s really something xD Really great content for the money (if you look away from my case >_>)…
The jacket/cover~
I love the black dresses. They make the girls look more like their actual age (which is saying a lot in Momo’s case – lol!) As for the hair I think I like everyones’ except Yurina’s. For a long time she has just had that same hair style: hair hanging loose on her shoulders. Seriously! Couldn’t they make it a little less plain? I just find it really boring. Even though Maasa’s hair is hanging loose too, hers is at least a little wavy and it’s rare her hair is loose like that. But why does Yurina always have to have that same boring hairstyle? It’s really tiring… Sorry ^o^; I think the girls’ jewelry is pretty, but maybe Risako’s huge pearl necklace is a bit over the top. Otherwise great cover, even though I think they should have left out the tape marks on the member pictures xD Looks totally wrong (too school-like) O_O Jeez
Conclusion:
I find this album the strongest Berryz album since 4th Ai Nanchara no Shisou – there aren’t really any weak songs on this album, not even Girls Times. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy their last albums, I just think this album has a stronger quality and I love the flow of the album (even with the little too upbeat ending song – lol) ^o^ I’m happy I bought it, even though I would have done that anyway (because I support Berryz no-matter-what).
Now to the Sakura Gakuin album :D
The songs~
FLY AWAY
I love the first song on the album ♥ A lot of Suzuka solo lines, an upbeat and happy feel and a rockish melody- could I ask for more? xD Definitely one of my favorite songs on the album ;3
Hello! IVY
This is one of my favorite Sakura Gakuin songs and probably the song that got me really interested in the group :D The “wow wow wow” parts sound like “vov vov vov” (wuff wuff/wan wan dog barks in my Danish ears xD lol) which I find really cute ♥ All the girls’ voices just go together really well in this group and that’s really something you notice with this song :)
Chime (チャイム)
This song has a lot of solo verses and I just love when the girls sing solo! ♥o♥ The song has a nice and fresh feel and somehow makes me feel more confident and brave – like you won’t ever be afraid of tomorrow. It has that kind of power. Just an amazing song ^^ People should make more songs like this ;)
Cooking Club Mini Parti – Happy Birthday (ハッピーバースデー)
This is a cute song, but I’m not that crazy about it. It just feels a little repetitious at times, like it could go on forever, which is just too bad. I’m also a little disappointed neither of the members got solo lines, not anyone you notice anyway. I hope Mini Pati’s future songs will get better >_<
Go Home Club sleepiece – Medaka no Kyodai (めだかの兄妹)
I like this song better than Happy Birthday, but I still think the song lacks something compared to the other album songs. The song has a cute and fun melody, but is also pretty repetitious. There aren’t any solo lines in this song as well *Buhuu* :(
Baton Club Twinklestars – Dear Mr. Socrates
Now to a song I LOVE! ♥ \(^o^)/ This song is really charming and cute. All the girls have solo lines, but of course Ayami gets to sing a little more (because her voice is so good xD). The melody is lovely with happy “papapa” chants in the background – makes one giddy and entertained throughout the whole song ^_^ Twinklestars is definitely one of the strongest units from SG and currently the only sub unit that has released their own single. I look forward to their second single being released the 6th of July! :3
Newspaper Club SCOOPERS – Brand New Day
This song is pretty cool – not amazing, but I have a feeling it will grow on me. I like the rock-feel and I think Ayaka’s and Airi’s voices mix well together :) I also think it sounds cute when they sing “hello hello” ♥ Look forward to more Scoopers~ ^^
Heavy Music Club BABYMETAL – Doki Doki☆Morning (ド・キ・ド・キ☆モーニング)
No doubt the best song on the entire album xD I’ve never heard an idol song like this ever. Amazing Suzuka singing to Moa’s and Yui’s young childish voices with metal-like rock music in the background just sounds freaking awesome! And I must not forget to mention I love the song’s intro going from cute idol-like innocence to hardcore rock style in less than 10 seconds xD Just too epic for words *o* I can’t wait to hear more BABYMETAL songs – this sub unit is just the best thing ever created! (lol) ♥
Yume ni Mukatte (夢に向かって)
This song is really catchy and has that same “fresh” feel like Chime has. This is also the group’s main song on their first single and has a lot of energy ^^ I love it when the girls pull out the SG flag in the dance routine of the PV (I actually love it so much I bought the flag myself xD yes that’s right) ;P
message
The one and only ballad song on the album, so of course I love it xD I’m just a sucker for ballad songs, but this songs is actually really good and not the typical ballad song. It has a sort of school choir feel – really nice ♥ I love the solo verses in the end of the song and the “lalala” parts – sounds fantastic~ Also one of my favorite songs on the album :)
The jacket/cover~
I love the cover art for the album, it simple but really lovely ♥ The girls’ uniforms are so cute (want one myself!) and the cover art on the discs themselves are really creative with the girls’ silhouettes in movement ^o^ I’m so happy I got the BABYMETAL additional cover (a HMV novelty) it’s soo cool~ *o* and the Mini Pati photo card it okay with me too :)
The DVD content~
There were a lot of nice special features on the DVD, like an interview with BABYMETAL and SCOOPERS, the message PV + making of and a school class drama act. The drama act was really funny and I was surprised to discover that Ayaka can introduce herself in Korean! :O Wow~ すごいね.
Conclusion:
Even though some of the songs disappointed me, the awesomeness of the BABYMETAL song totally makes up for it xD And most of the songs I already knew and loved, so nothing new there. I think this is a pretty strong debut album for a group with such young members (it’s definitely much stronger than Super Girls’ debut album – lol). I just can’t wait for new releases from this group, which I find myself immensely interested in x3
SG fighting!
Sakura Gakuin 1st single: Hello! IVY/ Yume ni Mukatte
Karen Girls’ album: Fly to the Future
Berryz Koubou concert: Berryz Koubou Concert Tour 2010 Aki ~BerryKou Fest!~
Idol magazine “Next Idol Break!” Vol. 1
Sakura Gakuin photos and fan flag
Buono! 11th single: Zassou no Uta
I’m so happy that Buono is finally back and rockin’. They were inactive for a whole year, so I was very worried the group would disband or die out >o<
So this single is like a miracle from heaven *__* I think all three songs are really great and I especially like Zassou no Uta. JUICY@HEART is cool too, but I just think there something special about this song. It has a completely different sound than their previous songs, so that’s really nice ^^b
I also love love love the PV for this song :D xD
Sakura Gakuin 1st single: Hello! IVY/ Yume ni Mukatte
I have just recently started to know this group, but I already love it so much. I will even admit I think I ordered this single only one day after learning about them xD I think this is a really strong first single, but they are still very unknown. I definitely like Hello! IVY the best, it’s so catchy! They are releasing their first album March the 23th – so maybe people will start noticing them more ^o^
<— I got this cute photo card, as I ordered my copy from HMV. It’s with Raura, Ayami and Nene. I really love these girls :3
I will maybe a post about this group really soon~
Karen Girls’ album: Fly to the Future
I got to know this group, because Suzuka and Ayami from Sakura Gakuin used to be in this group back in 2008 – 09. I really think they did some cool and energetic dance/trance songs and it’s sad such a great idol group had to disband, just because they only did songs for the anime Zettai Karen :(
But anyway this album (which was the only album they got to release) is really great! Even though it only has 7 tracks, I liked all the songs on the album :D Of course the previously released single tracks, Over the Future – MY WINGS – Top Secret, are really good – but I enjoyed the other 4 songs very much too. I think my favorite tracks of the new songs are Kiratto Piratto! Dash Girl’s and Bye! Bye! Bye! ^^
<— I got the Yuika card. Well, I actually wanted Suzuka’s card T-T But I guess I will survive… xD
Berryz Koubou concert:Berryz Koubou Concert Tour 2010 Aki ~BeriKou Fest!~
Two words: AMAZING CONCERT
This concert is a really strong comeback after the Otakebi House concert (a present from my parents for my birhtday), which wasn’t one of their best concerts in my opinion. First I would like to say that choosing Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteruu YOU KNOW? as the opening song, was a really wise choice ^O^ (My favorite Berryz song) *o* And then I would like to say I loved that they choose to perform so many songs from the fourth album (my favorite Berryz album xD) I was also really happy they finally got to perform Kimi no Tomodachi - which was my favorite song on Berryz’s 6th album :3 and MOON POWER ^O^ Fantastic songs.
It was cool – many of the songs were performed in a different way than usual. I especially noticed TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY, Gaki Taishou and Rival :O And that Otakebi Boy WAO! performance had so much force – so amazing! XD
Here it is:
Just amazing! *O*
Idol magazine “Next Idol Break!” Vol. 1
I was surprised this magazine was so tiny (just like the YanYan mag) but it still had a lot of cool content ;D It had a lot of pages with Momoclo in their Pinky Jones clothes and Super Girls as one can see on the cover. But there were also pages with Sakura Gakuin, Tokyo Girls’ Style and Passpo :D Yay~ There followed a radio interview with Momoclo and Super Girls on a CD as well :3
Sakura Gakuin photos and fan flag
I really love my Sakura Gakuin flag <3 (Can’t stop swinging it whenever I get the chance ^^) and those photos are really adorable. I have placed them right beside my bed, so every time I wake up I see these lovely smiling girls :)
I got these items from Asmart, if anyone would like to know ^^
6/4 – AKB48‘s second studio album: Title TBA (+DVD) (First Press Limited Special Box)
Yeah I know… I spend too much money on idol stuff. I just can’t help myself, there is being released so much idol music right now, it’s hard not to spend a lot of money xD Haha
Got the Airi card, which of course is really pretty… but would really had liked the Momo card >O<,,, *sob*
Now to the album! Gosh it's heavy! I know it contains a DVD, but it stills weights a lot! :O I soon found out the reason: the photo book inside is crazy thick! :O Now I ordered their last album in regular edition but that photo book was so much thinner! O: (but of course, I don't complain! xD) While looking through the book I noticed a lot of solo photos of the members, so neat!! <3 I like the sofa pictures a lot and the out fits are just stunning!~ I like they both have a cool/rough look and a more cute/stylish look. They all look really beautiful~ ^ ^
Now the songs! ^o^ One Way = My Way A really nice catchy starting song :9 Thumbs up for that! ^^b And such an awesome title xD The song makes me really happy~ Our Songs Their newest single :) I like this song really much, I'm glad it's number two on the album ^O^ I just love love the chorus and the rock solo is just love<3<3 Airi sounds so good in this song :) (Another awesome song title!) Independent Girl～独立女子であるために(dokuretsu joshi de aru tame ni)Whoa – ! Is this Buono!? xD This song has such a different sound to it! It's very rock/bad-ass/cool/tough type song, which so much equals awesomeness!!! >O< I must say it stand out on this album :O The guitar sounds so cool *O* MY BOYNothing beats this song – enough said ^O^ うらはら(Urahara) My favorite song on this album ~ahh I really like the easy breasy sound to this song!! It's both relaxing and rockish, great combo! xD The song title means "Opposite" or "Contrary" ;3 Neat~ Take It Easy! Yay the nice heart-warming sound continues in this wonderful lovely summer song<3 ^^ This songs just keeps getting better every time I hear it, and of course makes me take it easy and just relax :D The ultimate vacation song! Imo ^o^; Wee~ Bravo☆BravoThis song really gives a cheering feeling ne? ^^ I always feel in high spirits after listening to this :) カタオモイ(Kataomoi)I love Momo's low toned voice in the intro of this song<3 The songs means "Unrequited Love" and makes me really curious too read a translation of this song xD Another cool guitar solo for this song ^o^ They sing really well in this song too~ ^O^ Blue-Sky-Blue Wow such a different sound too… I really like the light voices they make in the intro of every verse in the beginning of the song, sounds really nice *3* I just love the slow tempo rock ballad styled songs, some how they tend to make the biggest impressions on me, they are just so different from Buono's usual style in single songs ^^b Got to love the title of this song too<3 ~o~ 紅茶の美味しい店 (koucha no oishii mise) Yay – an R&B style song xD Well at any rate the chorus verses :P Wish they did more songs in this style<3 The song title means "Delicious Black Tea Shop" wtf?! XD Would like to read a translation of this song too! タビダチの歌(Tabidachi no uta) Nice~ acoustic guitar ;D a good song too, the title sounds familiar (think Arashi has a song with the same title ^^) The ending of the song has a little bit Arashi sound to it too! (think it's the violin) XD Lol. The ~la la la~ part always gets my approval of course ;3 We are Buono!～Buono!のテーマ(Buono! no Theme) Wow! This song sounds so much better in the album version! :O When I listened to this song on youtube I didn't understand why everyone was so crazy about this song, but now I get it! xD Haha It has true Buono spirit~ ^ ^ a great song to end this amazing album :D Rating: 9/10 stars ;3 Because the album has so many great songs, there's not a single song I would skip while listening to this wonder disc<3 ;D
