Hello Project's artistic vision built to last

Hello! Project, spring 2007: The staff and ensembles have shrunk considerably since

Music groups come and go, but occasionally, an idea can stay alive almost indefinitely. As many ensembles disband or simply outgrow whatever artistic niche they might have invented, developed or occupied, Morning Musume, Berryz

Tsunku♂

Kobo, C-ute, the Hello Project Eggs, old-line quartets like Melon Kinenbi and newly reassembled groups like V-u-den and Ongaku Gatas can stay around for years – even if the original components might have to step aside and move on.

Morning Musume 2007

This brings an eerie sense of immortality to what Tsunku set out to create 10 years ago. It is admirable what this man and this company have done. As this first decade of Morning Musume closes out, it is interesting to note exactly what has been accomplished and what lies ahead.

Excellent J-pop groups like BeForU, which is reportedly disbanding soon, and Speed, which was founded just before Morning Musume in 1996 and worked together as a group until 2000, had all the elements of success – they just didn’t have the numbers or the long-term vision to sustain what they had started. It’s also a miracle that Puffy AmiYumi has stuck around for as long, or longer, than Morning Musume and they are just getting better. But there’s only two of them – Ami and Yumi – and it would be foolish to think that style and pinache could ever be replaced simply with new bodies. The concept of BeForU, Speed and Puffy pretty much begins and ends with the original performers.

Berryz Kobo 2007

This is not the case for Morning Musume and Hello Project, but certainly no reason to think that they are in any way superior. They’ve just been able to stick around longer, and develop talent through a vigilant, Spartan-like, almost professional-sports-team model of apprenticeship, training and development. It's no surprise, for example, that Gatas is going to put together its soccer team again, and that Hello Project singers take part in track-and-field events. It also helps to have 100 songs a year available to artists, and a person, Tsunku, who is able to pull it off without boring people from year to year.

Recycling older, foundational songs using new artists has been a hallmark of Hello Project. For example, the anthem “It’s All Right” comes to mind. In July, the combined forces of Berryz Kobo and C-ute – 14 singers in all – performed “It’s All Right” in Saitama Super Arena, and it served two purposes: One, it’s just a cool song and Berryz and C-ute looked and sounded great. But, two, it was a tribute to the golden age of Morning Musume, and brought back moments like the winter 2004 concert at Yokahama Arena when Abe graduated. “It’s All Right” has never outlived its message as a positive outlook on life and friendship, no matter who sings it or when.

All for One, One for All - 2004

Same goes for “All for One” which has been a signature song for the entire company for years now. It never gets old. One year, summer 2006, Tsunku uses it to kick off a Hello Project concert. In other years, like winter 2005 and winter 2007, he uses it to end concerts. It works every time, no matter who sings it or when.

C-ute 2007

“Love Machine,” one of the greatest of all Morning Musume songs, has been repackaged in so many ways, and it has worked every single time. It has been used is Morning Musume reunions, and it worked as a superb finishing song in the winter 2007 H!P concert. A song like that keeps older fans from forgetting the early years, and keeps newer fans appreciative of what has become an illustrious artistic legacy.

This recycling continues with songs from the younger ensembles Berryz Kobo and C-ute. It was C-ute who made the song “Jump” what it is today. They came out with it early 2007, used in their concerts this year and it became a major finishing number in the July 2007 H!P event, with arguably some of the most dramatic costuming yet designed for the company (along with the sweeping dance designs).

My guess is that Tsunku -- should he hold to form -- will do a flip-flop and make “Jump” the opener next month in the Winter 2008 concert. No matter what is sung, or how old or young the songs are, they are surrounded by an aura of permanence that transcends the usual throwaway nature of pop music. It is something to be enjoyed and appreciated before it, too, fades into history.