°C-ute’s ‘Jump!,’ Part 5: Saki, Umeda step up

好きこそが
上手なれ

 

Suki koso ga
jouzu nare

 

I get good
at what I like

 

– Saki, “Jump!” (translation courtesy Projecthello.com).

 

 最後は絶対笑ってやる
やる

 

Saigo wa zettai waratte yaru
yaru

 

I'll laugh in the end for sure
For sure

 

– Umeda, “Jump!” (translation courtesy Projecthello.com).

 

 

Tsunku does something that is seldom seen in pop music – he injects carefully planned little mini-moments in which a single member of a given unit can shine. Normally, that moment is duplicated at the same time, every time the song is performed. Fans love it, and you know the girls love the idea they will be at the center of attention, even for the fraction of a second.

 

That’s especially true for “Jump!,” as we have seen with the “Chisato Whoop” in Part 2. Two more such moments are well-executed by Saki and Umeda, two members of °C-ute who deserve more attention anyway.

 

In Saki’s case, she is permitted the honor of adding a stinger at the end of each performance of “Jump!” by shooting a finger-gun at the audience while saying, “Oh, yeah!” It is a great touch and she makes the most of each shot.

 

Umeda, meanwhile, does what we will call the “Umeda Twist” when she says “I’ll laugh in the end for sure.” Except for the first videograph of this song on Feb. 25, 2007, when the video cut away right before Umeda could secure her little place in the sun, the videographers then went overboard in the other four shows as if to make up for that early indiscretion.

 

Saki’s first “Oh yeah!” was a real sparkler and ended up being one of four such treasured insertions – Umeda’s twist, Chisato’s whoop, the Saki “Oh yeah!” and, finally, the joint “Owww!” at the very end with high leg-kick (a separate post on that is forthcoming).

 

The whole package of these mini-moments make “Jump!” a very special song. It can be argued that such shouts, yells, whoops, laughs, yelps and whatever else can be uttered by a human voice make Tsunku’s songs unique in the world of musi.

 

As mentioned earlier, Saki got the best of Umeda in the first DVD, but Saki was short-changed in almost the very same way in the April show – the video cutting to a wide shot showing Saki shooting her imaginary pistol on the wide screen only. Interesting wrinkle there.

 

Moving on to Saitama Super Arena in July, both girls looked spectacular, and Umeda’s twist, Chisato’s whoop, Saki’s “Oh yeah!” and the huge “Owww!” at the end by all 60 or so Hello! Project singers made up an unmatched ending for any concert. It also sent another strong signal – that °C-ute had arrived to the big-time, surpassing in many respects its bigger sisters in Berryz Kobo and even Morning Musume, at least for that moment.

 

Saki and Umeda went on to majestically jackstomp their respective min-moments on the “Cutie Circuit” tour. The silver outfits flowed like so much metallic taffy, and the girls were ever so confident.

 

Finally, on Sept. 30 at the Yokohama Blitz, Umeda appeared to capture the moment moreso than did Saki – and opposite impression from when the “Jump!” odyssey began eight months earlier. It’s no wonder, actually, why Tsunku pulled the song for the Hello! Project Winter 2008 Awards Show since it was probably overexposed to that point (but why, then, were “Aozora” and Berryz Kobo’s “Special Generation” reprised then? Hmm.).

 

*** Part 6: In this final installment, "Jump!'s" rousing end game gets a closer look.

 

This is Rad signing off – for now.