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Japan's Morning Musume, the best band in the world, marched through a blistering set that included "Mikan," "Love Machine" and "Resonant Blue," in their explosive U.S. debut concert Friday at Anime Expo 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

A large portion of the crowd of 7,500 crammed into the Convention Center's main performance hall would not leave, crying "En-cor-e!," "En-cor-e!" over and over again for a full 12 minutes after the show ended. AX 2009 officials had to call in extra security to finally force the glowstick-wielding, fist-pumping crowd -- many of whom had never seen Morning Musume perform either "live" or on  DVDs -- from the main hall.

Photos and recordings were severely restricted. The photos in this report were taken Thursday during opening ceremonies, where limited photography was permitted. No photos or taping were allowed in a Thursday Q&A session, and similar restrictions were in place during the concert itself.

The unbridled joy of Morning Musume's show was in stark contarst to the somber atmosphere surrounding the death of Michael Jackson, who rehearsed in the nearby Staples Center just two days before he died June 25. More on that here:

http://bloggerparty.com/content/michael-jackson-and-morning-musume

As for Friday's historic concert, reaction was electric across the board as Morning Musume's nine-member lineup, with one costume change, also rocked through their newest single, "Shoganai Yume Oibito," a medley of older hits including "The Peace," and two wall-blasting renditions of AX 2009's theme song, "3-2-1 Breakin' Out." 

The world-famous group started the concert wearing brick-red gingham dresses, then cut back to blue-and-red dance outfits in what appeared to be a tribute to U.S. Independence Day which falls on Saturday.

Fans were beyond themselves.

"I can 't believe I've seen them. I've seen Morning Musume in concert!" said Vivian Lee, 18, of Austin, Texas, now a freshman at MIT. Lee was an ad-hoc emcee at a rousing after-party at the nearby Sheraton Hotel, where more than 100 people showed up when only a dozen or so were expected.

"This is the start of a phenomenon -- something really big," Lee said.

 International media members were astonished.

"I've seen DVDs of Morning  Musume, but I can't believe what I just saw and heard," said Brian Camp, program manager for Channel 75, a cable-access TV channel at City University of New York on Fifth Avenue in New York City. "I'm stunned."

AX 2009 executives are still picking their jaws up off the floor.

Steve Rezayat, the new chief financial officer for the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation which runs Anime Expo, was impressed by Morning  Musume, their support crew, and creator/producer Tsunku♂.

"We had dinner with them yesterday [Wednesday]," Rezayat said. "They are a wonderful group an outstanding individuals."

Chase Wang, media coordinator for Anime Expo, said that the announcement of Morning Musume as a guest back in February led, in part, to an increase in signups this year. The convention usually draws upwards of 50,000 attendees annually.

"We won't have hard numbers for awhile yet," Wang said, "but things look promising right now." Friday's convention crowd was so congested that a special route had to be designed to accommodate everyone on the main exhibitors' floor, where Morning Musume T-shirts and CDs were going like hotcackes.

Not everyone was completely convinced.

"Wow. They're much better than I expected, but this still sounds like music for kids to me," said Tommy Gunnz, an aspiring rapper from California and retail electronics account manager. "I have to admit their latest single is a hell of a song."

Anme cosplayer Joseph Kan, whose day job is TV show host in Toronto, Canada, was speechless -- almost.

"What more is there to say?" Kan said.

This ia Rad♂ signing off -- for now.

All nine Morning Musume members looked comfortable and charming during their history-making first full day Thursday at Anime Expo 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Fans new to Morning Musume were visibly stunned by their poise and the beautiful, tiny, light-colored sundresses they wore -- Reina and others in the group required pastel shawls because the air conditioning was so cold. Aika was present, bad toe and all, and no word was mentioned on her condition. It looks as if all nine will perform Friday as scheduled.

Highlights included Reina playing a "rock, scissors, paper" game with a fan during a Q&A session in Petree Hall before an estimated 800 fans -- a crowd size that is rare for such a session, which normally draws far fewer people with most guest artists at Anime Expo.

Reina and the fan tied, flashing the "scissors" sign simultaneously, but then Reina took it to him by flashing "scissors" again, with the fan flashing "paper." In the ancient kid's game, the scissors cuts the paper and wins. The paper will cover the rock, and win, and the rock breaks the scissors.

The fan asked beforehand is he would "receive punishment" if he lost. The interpreter said he would receive punishment whether he woin or lost. The punishment? Act like a cat.

"Meow," the fan murmured. Fans roared. Glowsticks fired up. It got crazy. Reina, Kusumi, Risa and Aichan got the most attention, as did LinLin, who spoke English throughout to the cheers and fist-pumps of the amazing crowd. Newcomers were charmed. The old guard was thrilled. Many flew in from the East Coast.

Photos and video recordiong was not alowed duiring this session, again a rarity since these sessions are often used as promos for the convention nand its guests. Not this time. Anyone caught with a camera out, even in someone's lap, was escorted out of the room, their camera confiscated and their convention credential revoked. Harsh.

However, it was much looser in the 9 a.m. opening ceremonies when Morning Musume wasa trotted out with the other guests of honbr for Anime Expo 2009. Photros were allowed, but only from a distance.

Enthusiasm is high. The historic U.S. debut concert is Friday, 2 p.m. PDT. Layout for the concert looks superb. It is in a spacious performing hall with full-blown lighting and sound. However, there is no stadium-style seating so sight lines will be very difficult for anyone in the back.

Still, it all looks so cool! History in the making.

This is Rad signing off -- for now.

 

Hel-lo ... Hel-lo ... Hel-lo ... Hel-lo  Dan-cing!

Hel-lo ... Hel-lo ... Hel-lo ... Hel-lo  Sing-ing!

Hel-lo ... Hel-lo ... Hel-lo ... Hel-lo  Ex-cit-ing!

Hel-lo ... Hel-lo ... HEL-LO!

-- Hello! Project Eggs, opening, Winter 2007, Yokohama Arena.

Here's to the best band in the world, Morning Musume, the best music company in the world, Hello! Project, the best performing-arts marketing machine in the world, UFA, and the best composer in the world, Tsunku♂! Good luck at AX 2009! You did it! See ... you ... there!

They made it!

http://sayunii.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/morning-musume-arrive-in-la/

This is Rad♂ signing off -- for now.

 

The term “Hachama” often greets viewers at the start of each Hello! Project concert DVD. The term is shorthand for “Have a Child’s Mind Again,” and that is precisely the core philosophy of this music company.

 

No matter what the company might admit on this topic, the research on what makes the Japanese music industry tick – most notably the work by Sharon Kinsella in the mid-1990s, right before the birth of Morning Musume in 1997 – lays the foundation for this remarkable phenomenon known as Japanese idol music.

 

Indeed, there might be even deeper rationale for such creativity:

 

http://bloggerparty.com/content/why-japan-step-closer-heaven

 

Kinsella and other researchers conclude that growing up is something nobody really wants to do in Japan, and that goes for the U.S. and other countries for that matter. Perpetual youth becomes the goal. It’s all over modern non-traditional Japanese culture – anime, music, everything.

 

In short, adulthood sucks. There is no disagreement here. We all know this, whether we admit it or not. In the U.S., we deal with this with rampant consumerism, which leads to further complications such as obesity and drug abuse. In Japan, there's another way, a better way: Music, performed by charming, exceptional young people with the best support, training and technical infrastructrure in the world.

 

Staying young for as long as possible, therefore, becomes the only option. That has become a defining goal not only for Japanese fans of anime and J-pop but for people the world over. Adulthood is aligned with dark, sad, ever-encroaching evil. Youth is aligned with bright, happy, ultimate good.

 

That is the miracle of Morning Musume. Already the world’s top band, Morning Musume is also … perpetual. Tsunku♂’s unique system of “graduating” older members and taking on new young talent – as he did in Korea just this past week, and as he has done in Taiwan last year with Ice Cream Musume, even from China where his two most recent Morning Musume members, LinLin and JunJun, originated – ensures immortality of the Morning Musume legacy as long as Tsunku♂ or those who follow him wish to pursue this line of performing arts.

 

It is … eternal.

 

So as Anime Expo 2009 unfolds and Morning Musume makes its mark in America, it’s time to celebrate “Hachama.” It’s time to go back to being a child, at least for the period of July 2-5 at the Log Angeles Convention Center.

 

To sign up for Anime Expo 2009, go to:

 

http://anime-expo.org

 

To download Hello! Project songs, including Morning Musume's, latest, check out:

 

http://japanfiles.com

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

Here they come, ready or not. Morning Musume is headed to the United States. Not for a vacation, but a concert. Throw in a Q&A, autograph session, another Q&A for Tsunku♂ himself, an American Idol-style singing competition with Tsunku♂ as one of the judges and the final kicker of Yossie, well, you've got it all.

The whole package unfolds Thursday through Sunday [July 2-5] at Anime Expo 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Sign up here:

http://anime-expo.org

Download Morning Musume's latest hits here:

http://japanfiles.com

As wonderful as all this is, we hope it doesn't turn into a J-pop convention with anime taking a second seat to Morning Musume. After all, had it not been fo Ninja Resurrection, Ghost in the Shell, Bleach, Inuyahsa, Shugo Chara! and all the rest, this would never happen.

Note that J-pop should follow anime's lead like this more often:

http://www.bloggerparty.com/content/why-anime-succeeds-where-j-pop-does-not 

My take on all this is that Morning Musume's first-ever appearance in the U.S. will initially receive a somewhat lukewarm response from the competition-sensitive mainstream music industry, and we already know that mainstream media are indifferent thus far.

But all that will change after Morning Musume's show in L.A., and as JapanFiles.com's marketing of Morning Musume and the other Hello! Project acts gains further traction.

It's going to be an earthquake.

And, not to beat a dead horse, but this so reminds me of the Beatles' entry into the U.S. in 1963, when EMI's U.S. division kept blocking Beatles' releases here until "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" finally exploded, as did "Hard Day's Night" and the first Beatles film of the same name.
 
I lived in Japan in 1962-65 and saw all this unfold from that vantage point. Japan was taken by storm as was everybody else. History is going to repeat itself -- only this time it's Sony, not EMI, that will have to capitulate to the rapidly growing non-Asian market for Hello! Project CDs and DVDs right here is the U.S.

Tsunku♂ is every bit as prolific and complete as a composer and arranger as the likes of Stravinsky, Copeland, Mancini, Welk, Ellington, Miller, Goodman, Lennon, McCartney, Basie and all the rest, in any genre.

Just look at these latest singles that just took my breath away when I perused them yesterday on DohhhUp!.com -- °C-ute, Berryz Kobo (3 new singles right in a row), Morning Musume ("3-2-1 Breakin' Out" is just the latest). Note the tone of these songs: 3-2-1 is hard-rock blues with an R&B flavor and hip-hop choreography. What a can't-miss combination! °C-ute and Berryz are gaining a tougher edge and starting to deviate from cutesy pieces (if they ever did any of that to begin with).

In short, Morning Musume's appearance will trigger an avalanche of interest in Japanese music in this country. It is all so different and so exciting to anyone who gives it a chance.

It's going ro be a roller-coaster ride.

This is Rad♂ signing off -- for now.

 

Wow. Just when you think things can’t possibly get any better, something like this happens. Yossie, one of the greatest names in the history of Japanese pop music, will join Morning Musume at Anime Expo 2009, July 2-5 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

 

Imagine Yossie, however unlikely this might be, performing “Love Machine” with many of her former bandmates. Aichan, Sayumi, Risa, Eri, Reina, Kusumi and Aika were all with Yossie when she graduated in that unforgettable Saitama Siper Arena extravaganza in May 2007.

 

Critics thought that concert to be flat, but to true fans, it was an appropriate sendoff. Note Yossie, during her graduation ceremony, kept stopping her bandmates from crying as they delivered the usual verbal sendoffs.

 

She would have none of it.

 

Yes, Yossie would still end up dying on the vine in 2007-08 as Tsunku♂ placed her in Ongaku Gatas, which in turn graduated – leaving one of the most famous Morning Musume singers of all without a future.

 

But, no, Yossie teamed with former Morning Musume bandmate Rika to form Hangry & Angry, which actually beat Morning Musume to the U.S. last April at the Sakura Con in Seattle, Wash. That show was a smash, leading many to believe that Morning Musume’s upcoming U.S. debut at Anime Expo 2009 will leave an even greater impression among American fans, many of whom have never really heard of Morning Musume or Japanese idol music overall.

 

It’s just another piece to what is becoming a delightful J-pop puzzle.

 

Sign up for Anime Expo 2009 here:

 

http://anime-expo.org

 

Download Morning Musume’s latest hits here:

 

http://japanfiles.com

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

Rumors are flying hot and heavy as Morning Musume’s historic debut performance at Anime Expo 2009 approaches on July 2-5 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The biggest is that a “mystery guest connected with Hello! Project” will also attend.

 

Hmm. OK, who might that be? Here are my guesses in the order of likelihood:

 

*** Miki Fujimoto.

*** Buono!

*** Hangry & Angry.

*** Ayaya.

*** Shugo Chara! ensemble from the Eggs.

 

Miki seems to be a likely pick only because of her mainstream appeal in Japan. Buono! had their bags all packed and ready to go to Sweden in May, but the anime convention there was canceled. Buono!’s strong linkage to anime would make them a great addition, but they might upstage Morning Musume. Oops.

 

Then there’s Rika and Yossie in Hangry & Angry, and due to their sensational show at the Sakura Con in Seattle last April, Tsunku♂ might find room on the plane for them. Finally, Ayaya, but she will have to carve out some time in her busy dinner-concert schedule to make it.

 

And don’t forget the persistent rumor that a U.S. Fan Club for Hello! Project might be in the offing.

 

And … there’s also a rumor that Morning Musume is being scheduled for a Saturday appearance of some kind even after their Friday concert July 3. What kind of appearance? Another … concert? Let’s all hope! Hey, it’s shaping up to be an explosive Fourth of July weekend at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

 

Sign up now at:

www.anime-expo.org

 

Download the latest Hello! Project hits at:

 

www.japanfiles.com

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

One of the industry rumors now percolating out of Anime Expo 2009 and Morning Musume’s appearance therein is that Hello! Project is seriously thinking about – or has already set up – a U.S. fan club.

 

This would mean increased access to Hello! Project concerts, merchandise and other products for fans in America. Right now, anyone outside Japan has to go through a Hello! Project Fan Club insider to get into any Hello! Project performance in Japan, a process than can be both expensive and tedious.

 

This also marks a tremendous collaboration between anime and J-pop, as was encouraged here last year:

 

http://bloggerparty.com/content/anime-j-pop-should-join-forces-%E2%80%93-now

 

A major announcement along those lines is expected at AX 2009. Morning Musume and their creator, Tsunku♂, are expected to show, and Tsunku♂ is in line to judge an American Idol-style singing contest.

 

It's all the fulfillment of a prophecy of sorts as outlined here:

 

http://bloggerparty.com/setting_right_for_morning_musume_in_the_us

 

Meanwhile, more on the latest on Morning Musume’s historic first-ever appearance in the U.S. at AX 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center on July 2-5:

 

*** Press conference for the group is set for 2 p.m. on July 2, a Thursday, and will last, hopefully, as long as an hour, sources say. This is along the same lines that Shokotan’s press conference was set at AX 2008, and she performed the next night at the nearby Nokia Theater.

 

*** The actual show is Friday, July 3, and will probably be around 7 p.m., the heart of AX 2009’s events. Word has it that at least “Resonant Blue,” “Shoganai Yume Oibito” and perhaps even “Love Machine” will be on the setlist. Site for the concert will likely be the large ballroom at the Los Angeles Convention Center which can squeeze in 3,000 or so. The Nokia has been ruled out because of expense, sources say.

 

*** Speaking of “Shoganai,” the single was No. 1 recently on both the Oricon daily and weekly charts and has been atop seller on JapanFiles.com’s download offerings.

 

Look for some more surprises as Morning Musume’s appearance and AX 2009 ramp up in just a matter of three weeks or so.

 

This is Rad♂ signing off – for now.

Just when you think these ensembles can't get any better, up crops somethiing like Berryz Kobo's newest single now on DohhhUp!

I don't even know what its name is (methinks it's called "Rival" but I can't be sure), nor what the song is even about. But it has such a beautiful, upbeat, smooth, harmonic, happy retro '60s feel (much like Buono!'s "Rottara Rottara"). Here it is:

http://www.dohhhup.com/movie/T6WrqBIkWyJ3reKBrysDEizu4K8SssPE/view.php

The outfits are sensational, and the members all have dynamite new haircuts. It's just joy on a stick. That's all I can really say about this. I'm looping it forever on whatever players or computers I can get my hands on!

It's no wonder that blogger and J-pop expert Celestia, in a recent review of the Elder Club graduation concert that occurred on Jan. 31-Feb. 1, said that Berryz Kobo was getting better than flagship Morning Musume. I would take it a step further and say that Berryz Kobo is the best in the world right now, surpassing even °C-ute in my mind.

Why? Because, finally, Berryz is catching the more upbeat of Tsunku♂'s most recent song creations and staying away from those mediocre ballads (costuming has been upgraded, too, in a big way). Meanwhile, °C-ute (Kanna) and Morning Musume (Aika) are fighting injury problems. Further, Momoko and Miyabi of Berryz are wreaking havoc as two-thirds of the smash-hit trip Buono! (Suzuki of °C-ute making up the third segment of that superb band). 

Capt. Saki blows everyone a big-time kiss near the end of this one for Berryz. More on the Captain's legacy here:

http://bloggerparty.com/content/berryz-kobo%E2%80%99s-magnificent-%E2%80%98little-captain%E2%80%99

Zush has a gushing report here:

http://www.berryz-kobo-international.com/blog/?p=496

This is Rad♂ signing off -- for now.

First Kanna of °C-ute, now Aika of Morning Musume. Tokyograph reports on yet another Hello! Project injury – and, again, like with Kanna, it’s a toe problem. Check the report:

 

http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-4812

 

And, unlike Kanna, who is apparently just resting to regain use of her toe, Aika of Morning Musume will have to undergo some kind of surgery and will miss a fan event May 23-24.

 

It is not known whether the condition will keep Aika, the youngest of the current nine Morning Musume members, from Anime Expo 2009, where the famed Japanese all-female ensemble is due to make its U.S. debut on July 3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

 

Keeping these stars healthy is almost as hard, it seems, as keeping pro football players on the field, as dancing’s athleticism can pose similar drawbacks. It’s not easy being an idol singer-dancer:

 

http://bloggerparty.com/content/hello-project-girls-are-physical-miracles

 

Let’s hope for the best for both Aika and Kanna in the days ahead.

 

This is Rad signing off – for now.