I heard that they will be hosting Kouhaku again this year, that means no Johnny's Countdown for them. Well obviously this is a bigger gig. They also replaced Matsushita Nao with Inoue Mao. Good move, that Matsushita annoyed the living daylights out of me.
Arashi squeaky cleanness has done well for them these few years. With all the natural catastrophes and all the economic turmoil around, I believe Japan needs some of the rainbow Arashi has to offer, well, as compared to the thug-ness of the other units.
I mean, true that they tried to maintain all of their units squeaky clean, but it seems that even Johnny's couldn't keep the thug-ness of the Akanishi Gundan down. With all their womanising and booze, which, by the way, is helluva sexy. Yes, I know, so much for feminism. I belong in the kitchen.
The question remains, why is Arashi not womanising as much? I mean, considering their age, its not too far apart from those like say in, NEWS or KaT-TUN. So why are they so clean? Apart from a few minor scandals and Ohno's considerably scandalous break from his image with all the pot. I tried digging, am I not digging deep enough? Unless they are that good at keeping it under wraps. =D
This is why they were chosen for Kouhaku. Look how sparkly clean? Bring any one home and daddy will be less hostile, if not pleased.
Owh, well so much for wanting something to talk about, there is nothing but positiveness here, unless I am being biased.
I give them two more years. As much as I obviously favour these boy scouts, I give them a maximum of two years with such momentum. Note that said momentum would be on a downward slope as well. How so? Apart from the fact that they are selling less and less like hot cakes, the K-pop invasion, which I maintain my aversion towards.
Though I highly doubt they will slump back to their 2002-2003 pits, it is unlikely they will rule the yearly charts over that harem of prepubescent teenage girls. Speaking of which, they scare me. Like, I am scared of those girls.
Inoue Mao! I anticipate this upcoming Kouhaku. It appears that they are sprucing up things for a younger demographic. By the way, the red team really has to start winning. Despite the fact that I want all things good for Arashi, I still lack a certain appendage that makes me want to root for the white team excessively.
If this single of theirs outsells Sasuke's version released 7 years ago, I will fuckin' flip.
Not that it is any of my business, but still, it pisses me off to no end.
Do you know how long I had to search to find the song? Not to mention the CD, not in a foreign country.
I had to search high and low because all that appears if you Google "Sasuke" would be that idiot from Naruto.
Sure, they did appear on Kouhaku, but they were such a one-hit-wonder that I have no idea what they are doing right now.
And these two fucking douchebags come along, decided that they'd cover it, add a bit of a "YEAAHHH" and then release it as their own.
This is injustice.
This is the Tegomass' half-assed, lazy cover.
This is the Sasuke version.
I remember when I first heard it. It was on NHK's Kouhaku Utagassen. Was it 2004? No, 2005? I don't quite remember the year. But there I was, stationed in front of the television, waiting for the New Year countdown. NHK was newly available, Kouhaku was on, I was ecstatic, my brother and I were just sitting there, watching, ignoring all the fireworks. J-Pop was all that mattered.
Then this song came up.
What a good song. I have been listening to it frequently since.
Such a great song.
Wait, was that when I first heard Yuzu's "Eikou no Kakehashi"?
I am confused.
Maybe I watched Sasuke on Music Station Super Live?
Anyways, I was watching something and they came up. LOL.
And these fuckers Tegomass had to come and butcher it.
So, right, I can't decide if I like him or hate him. I can't decide if he's okay, or annoying. I have to decide, or I can't sleep.
The reason this came up because because that blasted drama "Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge" and that blasted haircut. And that blasted scene in Episode 7 where he was all wimpy after giving the girl the bracelet. What the hell? And then I was wondering, what annoyed me that much?
What? The thingie he does when he performs. The dramas, I am cool with. I love the dramas. I think he wasn't all that annoying in dramas. Likable even.
Tee-hee. So, I re-watched. "Nobuta wo Produce"and "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi". I'll continue with "Sapuri" and I haven't watched "1 Pound no Fukuin" and that stupid drama about him being a gourmet... Wondered how he pulled that off, convincing people that he actually eats.
I. Cannot. Decide. When I cannot decide, I get annoyed.
I think I'll have to wait till Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge ends. He'd probably have me won over by then. And I really, really find Jin's whole attitude thing annoying.
Not only is he immortal, having lived centuries. (Don't remind me that he recently admitted his age, that's like telling kids that Santa's actually their dad in a fatsuit... or... their fat dad. Whatever. Not good.) he eats people now. That's savvy.
Ah I miss watching Gackt talk about his crotch and sex life. Dude's probably got a thingie that has the same diameter as my arm, since he's got the confidence to flash it around.
Damn I am freaked out by him. If you stare long enough, you'll get goosebumps. I sure did. Dude's a freak.
I need to know what products he uses. Cos I once aspired to be so fair, it hurts to look at me when I am under the sun. Gackt's exactly that.
He used to be my Arashi when I was... 16? 17? Thereabouts. I'd watch Moonchild three times a day. You think I am kidding, don't you? I sure did. I could recite the lines before the devil himself uttered them. Good times, good times.
Why can't I like cool people? Like... I don't know... Jay-Z or something. See, my all things Japanese started with Gackt, a wannabe vampire whom I suspect to be Satan himself, then there's Queen (OMG Freddie Mercury and his wifebeater. I wanted to dig my eyes out. Uh... bless his soul. God knows I love the band)... there's that orgy called Arashi which I have dedicated too many hours of my life to.
My friend recently got in to Johnny's Jimusho. I warned her and she got in anyway. Told her it is like falling from the top of Taipei 101, then a hole opened up and hell swallowed you up. You can't get out.
Oh yeah, this is my 'review' of Mr. Brain, which disappointed me. I wanted to punch Kamenashi in there. I seriously wanted to punch him and throw him to Gackt and have him eaten. Kame looks like an alligator. Have I said that before? Well I haven't said it enough times.
There's my 'review' some Gackt reminiscing, some ranting and dissing.
I am in awe. Seriously? Top three AND number 5? There's a couple of weeks more to go, so I guess we'll just chill and see.
Frankly, I am not sure if anyone should have such an honour. If the last time someone dominated the top two spots of the Oricon yearly singles ranking was in 1989 (or was it 1988 again?) then when was the last time someone grabbed all three?
Nevertheless, it is kind of amazing, isn't it? I remember scratching my head wondering why Arashi wasn't as popular as... uh... KAT-TUN. Now their popularity seems to have exponentially increased since the year 2008, all very suddenly and I was there to witness it. I am still not sure what was the cause of it. I am pleased though. How can I not be pleased?
Things have changed in the scene since I was updated with news about it. There's a new kid who's receiving much attention. Nakayama something. I hate kids. Jin and Pi got to release solo(-ish) singles. Apparently Jin's is for some movie where he's a wannabe rocker. Oh I care. I've heard Pi's and wasn't impressed.
I saw Ohno's "Kumori Nochi Kaisei" PV on MTV once. I was so excited. I never thought I'd see a Johnny's video on MTV, you know what I mean? Even those Japanese videos time slots, usually they'd have... Ayu, Tohoshinki, Asian Kung-Fu Generation... then there's Arashi.
Did you hear that Arashi's going to appear in Kouhaku? What was that all about? O_o why all of a sudden like this? Strange. Oh well, means one more thing to catch. Good thing is I have NHK at home. =D
Arashi had 4 singles this year. In July, at the rate that they were releasing single, I thought they'd do it on a bi-monthly basis. But thank goodness they didn't. "My Girl" was nothing special. I've heard it all before, it is just... very Arashi, skewed towards the mellow side. I am having trouble picking my favourite Arashi single of the year. The two double A-sides released earlier this year are definitely good. I am going off to play it as of this moment. I'll have a decision by the end of this entry. =D
What brought me back? I am not like back-back. I thought I'll pop back for an update or something. Actually, I've began to watch them again since... a month or so ago. I read a comment here that they've had a million seller, I was curious, but then I found out that their million seller is an album. =X I'd be really psyched if it was a single.
It took me a month to blog here again because you need time to catch up with half a year of absence. I think I've got all the information that I need. Nothing much has been happening for the other groups. Not as far as I've seen.
I am not quite sure about V6 and TOKIO, but what the hell happened to Takki and Tsubasa? Oh wait, Takki had a solo single or... rather a couple of those. What happened to Tsubasa? Seriously, the man has like, disappeared. Poof and he's gone. I saw Takki in "Orthros no Inu" though I haven't finished watching it. Meh, I don't have time.
KinKi Kids threw out "Swan Song" after "Yakusoku". I have the video stashed somewhere, haven't got to watch it yet. But I am very well updated with them through their show. I mean, you gotta be there to witness the moment Koichi can be declared senile, right? Gosh, they're hilarious.
There's Kanjani8's "Kyu Jou Show". This is it about Kanjani8, if you look at the A-sides of the singles alone, it is hard to like them. I mean, "Kyu Ju Show" was not impressive, turn to the B-side and you've got some better songs. My favourite out of Kanjani8 in 2009 should be "Puzzle", a Saito Kazuyoshi work. It is oh-so-very amazing I am still listening to it VERY often. Love that song. "Hitotsu no Uta" isn't bad as well. Neither is "Fuka-fuka Love the Earth". I heard Can!Jani ended. It replaced with something else. Hmm... haven't got to watch it yet. There's the drama with two of the members, forgot whom. There's the "Puzzle Tour" DVD, which I ADORE. There's Ryo's "Orthros no Inu" drama. What else there is? Hmm... I think Ryo has an SP drama also, I think it is stashed somewhere in my room, forgotten. Oh well.
NEWS has had nothing since April except a DVD which I think I've browsed through for a bit. Saw the ugliest wannabe girl of a pretty boy. I always thought Tegoshi looked like a girl, I take it back. He'd be a real fat one if he is one. The last one was "Koi no ABO" which had a fun streak to it, but was bland a la NEWS. I think they've got a TV show with the three duds and the femmie. Not sure if Pi and Ryo appears on that show. Not watching.
KAT-TUN's had nothing since March. O_o What happened? "Rescue" did respectably in the charts and earned a place on my playlist, a recurring place too. Then Jin had to do that Bandage thing right? I don't know. Let me see... I don't quite care. But it'd be nice if they did something like "Rescue" again.
Oh shit I almost forgot, they're going to make a drama out of "Yamato Nadeshiko no Shichihenge". God I loved that manga, and they're making Kame -out of all the people- lead. They're putting Tegoshi and Uchi in. I'll think about watching it, but I am not pleased. Not at all.
[BTW, got an answer after listening to the four songs from the Double A-sides of Arashi. I like "Believe/Kumori Nochi Kaisei" better. There's more of an impact there. While I love "Ashita no Kioku" and it came at the right time for me... released near my graduation and all, "Crazy Moon~ Kimi wa Muteki~ brought it down a notch for me, being not bad, but a bit bland and it doesn't leave much of an impression for me. On the other hand, Ohno's solo, "Kumori Nochi Kaisei" had a very refreshing, entertaining, happy beat to it which is good. But I have to say, this single (Ashita/Crazy) comes REALLY close to my favourite Arashi single of the year. VERY CLOSE.]
And... I am done. End of the year events! MSSL, Kouhaku, FNS Kayousai, Best Artists, Johnny's Countdown. I hope they have something more... while for this year's Countdown cos last year's was a big fat mess. Gather everyone for fuck's sake. Like, it is only once a year and you can't pull your people together?
I am HOOKED on "The Quiz Show". And frankly, I haven't thought about watching "Smile".
The "Smile" storyline just doesn't attract me at all and I was watching Jun on Hanamaru Cafe and the preview showed Jun crying in a telephone booth or something. Well, that alone could have turned me off.
"The Quiz Show" one the other hand. I would pretend that Yoko is reading this blog and then ask him to do unmentionable things with myself in presence, but then, I am trying to not sound so freaky. So, I am just going to say... he's hot in a creepy way. The double-personality thing Sho's Kamiyama has going on is... okay, so, if you are an amnesiac, you don't just transform from a confident, cocky host into a crazy, panicky mental patient just like that.
The whole drama has a wtf thing going on. It is wtf that attracts the audience. I cannot help but wonder wth is going on with the storyline.
Both Yoko and Sho are GREAT in there. Not being biased, seriously. But Yoko has an evil Seishiro going on, that was all. But that alone was enough to prove that he can act, have you seen Yoko as Yoko? Sho... so very believable as a quiz show host, the type that makes you want to smack him or turn the TV off, but you don't because you are curious.
I didn't like Ayaya a few years ago, until I watched "Ao no Honoo", the girl is famous/popular for a reason. Maya Miki, always great.
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