Award-winning °C-ute — then and now

 

 

Congratulations to °C-ute for being named Best New Artist of the year by the 49th Japan Music Awards. The future appears bright for the Sensational Seven. This should cast an even more interesting light on the planned “battle concert” between °C-ute and Berryz Kobo now scheduled for  April 20 at Yokohama Arena.

 

At it’s not one, not two – but three shows, all in the same day! Hope these kids have enough left in the tank by the end of that third show.

 

OK, so if the battle is to be staged, then let’s look at the combatants, and this time around we will start with °C-ute, which should be early odds-on favorite of the two junior Hello Project septets. And rather than deal with the last year, which was a banner one for °C-ute, we will delve more deeply into the past.

 

It’s easy to gain appreciation of the talent, strength and endurance of °C-ute when you look back to 2004, even before °C-ute first began as a group. Don’t forget °C-ute was formed from the “leftovers” after Berryz was created. As it turns out, °C-ute now has, in my view, surged past Berryz and is even outselling Morning Musume at present. Keep in mind these were the days before Kanna stepped in, and before Megumi stepped out.

 

Hmm. How did all this happen? Note at the top of this post the tiny trio of Saki, Hagiwara and Chisato, who performed along with Suzuki, Maimi, Umeda and the ill-fated Megumi in the Hello Project Summer 2004 concert. But they were still just the Hello Project Kids, as Berryz made its debut at the time (more on that later).

 

Now look a little lower and we see how those three little-bitty kids became hell-on-wheels pros as of 2007.

 

 

 

I couldn’t dig up a recent Saki-Hagiwara-Chisato

combo of late, but I did land two stunning duets – one in February featuring Chisato and Hagiwara, and the other in April with Saki and Hagiwara cutting a rug with “Disco, Disco.”

 

 

Note that Miami and Umeda haven’t really changed that much in three years, but that Suzuki certainly has. Suzuki gained height but little weight, and developed a silky solo voice that is among the tops in Hello Project at present.

 

She did the job in 2004, singing the old Tanpopo song made famous much earlier by Yaguchi, Rika, Kaori and a tiny and innocent-looking Aibon.

 

But in 2007, Suzuki had two blistering solos during °C-ute’s first two concerts of the year (the group had three major concerts in 2007, one more than even Berryz or Morning Musume), including the dashing “Sayonara Love Song” which she is shown singing as part of the February 2007 bash.

 

In short, Berryz is going to have its hands full, and we will check on their development and lineup next time around as the “battle concert” approaches.

 

This is Radicalipton signing off – for now.