°C-ute’s ‘Jump!,’ Part 4: Choreography

この地球(ほし)に涙があり
だからこそ 優しくなれる

 

Kono hoshi ni namida ga ari
dakara koso yasashiku nareru

 

There are tears on this planet
So, we can become gentle

 

– °C-ute (all), “Jump!” (translation courtesy Projecthello.com).

 

Hello! Project units have always been dominated by dance, to the point where it is hard to fathom how they get through a typical show. Groups like Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo and, of course, °C-ute, often string together three or four numbers without a break and – especially in the case of “Jump!” – seem to inject much more physicality into their routines than appears possible with performers so young.

 

It takes scads of practice, unending energy and the willingness to give up your childhood while enduring diet regimens and constant nagging injury. °C-ute was part of the giant Hello! Project Winter 2008 Awards Show at Yokohama Arena, and although they skipped “Jump!” (I still haven’t forgiven Tsunku for that one), they pretty much leaped, jumped and ran all over that huge circular walkway, main stage and three launch pads.

 

But they had been doing that for the better part of a year. Keep in mind that °C-ute had its major concert debut in the H!P Winter 2007 show, and launched into a brutal eight-month, three-tour grind that has been broken down in this series on “Jump!” Quite a year for such a young, upstart junior unit just starting out.

 

The first major-league concert when °C-ute had to carry the entire show was in February 2007 (they did some concerts in 2006, but that was in the middle of the Megumi fiasco and the current seven-member lineup was not yet set). The beginning was sweetly ironic. The fans thought they were going to get another dose of the pink-and-white, frilly cuteness that dominated 2006, but they were wrong (the image for this show tops this post).

 

Instead, the stage exploded with “Jump!,” and fans sort of knew about the song because it was the flip side of “Sakura Chirari.” But unlike that debut single, “Jump” was a head-banger. It was a smash hit, performed “live” with fans. Somehow, though, because “Sakura Chirari” has already been out, and °C-ute had already performed that poofy single in January at Wonderful Hearts and the big bash at Yokohama Arena, it was never the chart-leader it should have been.

 

Nonetheless, the dance portion of “Jump!” not only dominated that show, it was used by Tsunku to electrify audiences during a late-spring series of shows, including an April concert that was amazing in its own right, as “Jump!” was, as Hagiwara would say, the “Last-ah, num-bah,” used at the end of the show. Minor drawback: The insufferable blue outfits with white polka dots. Almost everyone that has seen clips of that concert squints at those blue skirts and halters.

 

“Jump!” showed its muscle in late July 2007 at the Hello! Project Summer 2007 extravaganza at Saitama Super Arena, and quite likely saved that concert from oblivion because of the boyfriend scandal that sent Miki Fujimoto packing in May – right after Yossie graduated. Tsunku even offered refunds to Hello! Project club members because Miki would not be in that concert.

 

But from the looks of “Jump!,” which was again used at the end, there weren’t many empty seats, even in cavernous Saitama. And the whole company, especially °C-ute and the then-awesome Eggs (The Possible had not yet graduated), danced and jumped the hell out of that song, and kept the massive crowd jumping, too. Costumes and dance? First-rate, probably the best ever.

 

Then we come to the fall of 2007 when the “Cutie Curcuit” again used “Jump!” as a closer, and it was a killer closer in those tight venues – school gyms, small theaters, whatever – and the glittering silver outfits were breathtaking.

 

The finale came at the Yokohama Blitz on Sept. 30 when °C-ute, then decked out as multicolor rainbow warriors, sequins and all, blew the doors off with a version of “Jump” that saw Hagiwara and company practically jump out of the building. That was on top of the staggering "Tokaikko Junjou" that kicked off this powerful show replete with painfully hot-pink unis (but that is a different story for another day).

 

It just doesn’t get any better than this.

 

*** Part 5: Next up, special moments starring Saki and Umeda in the immortal "Jump!"

 

This is Rad signing off – for now.