Happy 10th Annivesary Hey! Say! JUMP/How I got into them

I was originally going to write a happy 9th anniversary post last year but I got lazy at it. Anyways, today is Hey! Say! JUMP's 10th anniversary. I cannot believe it has been 10 years since these guys made their debut. It feels just like yesterday when I first saw them as teenagers who made their debut. I'm very proud of all their achievements and the improvements they have made over the years and I wish them good luck to all the years ahead.
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Anyways, my story of how I got into them is a bit long so prepare your popcorn and just sit down and chill.

Back when I was in elementary school, I used to buy a Japanese magazine made for each grade. When I was in 4th grade, I discovered Hey! Say! JUMP when they just made their debut on the December issue of the 4th grade magazine. When I first saw them, they looked a lot younger(and they were) than other boybands such as KAT-TUN, NEWS, Arashi etc. So when I saw the years they were born in, I was happy to discover that all the members were born in the 90s although they are all a bit older than myself. Back then, I did not know the eras in Japan so I didn't know Heisei is a era. So, I just assumed that they were just a group made of guys born in the 90s.

Before I started to actually try to get to know the names of the members, I just made up names for them. For some reason, I refused to read anything on that magazine. I made up a name for Chinen especially and made up a story in my head about how he was a relative of mine(I am not related to him at all). Eventually I found the courage to read and the first name I remember reading was Chinen Yuuri. I thought he was cute and he looked rather close to my age(I was 10 years old back then). By refusing to read anything and at the time though and I couldn't read much Japanese anyways, I ended up mistaking Yamada and Chinen. Yamada was featured in a different page as well and maybe because of their hairstyles being similar in the pictures, that might've been the reason why I mistook them.

The magazine didn't provide much information so I decided to go on the one site that had quite a bit of information. That site was Wikipedia. Normally people would go on YouTube to look up a singer but back then, I thought Wikipedia was the best source to look up anything. Honestly, I thought looking up people on Wikipedia was this scary thing to do so I tried to look them up secretly. I ended up hiding the fact I was interested in HSJ from my parents which was a really big mistake along with looking them up on Wikipedia. But I was able to learn the names of the members and learn basic information about them which I thought was all the information. I continued this for a almost a year and during the middle of it, I think I got bored of them so I ended up taking an interest in things such as Pokemon and Hannah Montana.

It wasn't until I went to Japan in November 2008 that I realized what I've been doing isn't how you get to know a group. My cousin was a fan of them at the time so what I did was watch her fangirl over them. She would have my aunt buy magazines such as Duet for her, watch the dramas they were in and have pictures of them on her desk. I remember her having pictures of a member which I don't really know who it was but I'm assuming it was Yamada since he was her favorite member. This made me feel stressed because it made me realize everything I've been doing was wrong and I just didn't know how to tell anyone that I've known who they are for a year.

When I got back to the U.S, I decided to finally take a step forward and listen to their songs. Due to the fact I've only looked them on Wikipedia, I never listened to any of their songs nor kept up with their current image(I have no clue why I didn't look them up on google images). What I did is I listened to the karaoke tracks of their songs on a Japanese DS game called Daigasso Band Brothers DX. I kept this up for a few weeks or so. I knew that I didn't know what the group itself sounded like so I decided to ask for their CDs from Santa(Yes, I believed in Santa Claus back then). Was I able to get their CDs on Christmas day? Obviously not. But I was able to get a Miley Cyrus CD. This led me to finally look them up on YouTube. I was extremely nervous just typing out HSJ. But I was eventually able to type it and when I clicked on Mayonaka no Shadow Boy, I just got hooked. I got addicted to the song and the music video. It was just something I've never seen before. After finally being able to listen to one of their songs, I just fell in love.

But while my life on the internet was a paradise, my real life wasn't the most happiest. It was winter break and it was 1-2 weeks longer due to the snow so I had more time. But due to spending all my time on the computer, my mom got mad at me and tried to get me to do activities such as piano and to hang out with friends I barely had. I remember when I was at a Japanese grocery store, my mom was saying that I needed to do something that involved a group of people while my dad was saying I should talk to friends who don't live close on Skype. At that store, they have a Kinonkuniya and on that same day, we went in and they had the CD for Mayonaka no Shadow Boy. I was thinking of buying it but my parents were there so I knew that if I bought it, they would ask me what I bought and maybe figure out I was a fan of HSJ. So I ended up not buying it.

I continued watching music videos, makings and variety shows secretly for a while. But around the beginning of January 2009, I finally decided to tell my mom that I was into HSJ. So what I did was I showed her the music video for Mayonaka no Shadow Boy and just told her that I've been interested in them for over year. What did my mom think? She thought it was a normal thing for a girl around that age to be into these things. So she wasn't mad at all and wasn't even surprised when I told her I was a Yamada fan. I remember her saying that I haven't changed at all when I told her that.

After that, I was finally able to get started on everything. I was able to get the CDs and DVDs from my grandma in Japan, buy magazines at Kinokuniya. However, it wasn't until last year that I went to their concert but I was able to do all the basic things fans do. If I didn't discover Hey! Say! JUMP, my life would've been so much different. I would've not listened to any of the music I listen to now, watch the shows I watch and I just would be doing something that is extremely different. These guys made me who I am today. So again, congratulations on their 10th anniversary and I can't wait to see where the future takes them.

Anyways, listening to how other people got into them, I know my way is a bit unusual. What did you think? And if anyone is willing to share how they got into them, feel free to comment below and share your story.

Suzuki Kanon-Tribute Post

A day after Meimi's graduation, now it's Kanon's turn. I'm just so sad about the fact that 2 of my favorite members are graduating around the same time. So this girl, the one thing I have to say is that she was the best! I feel like Zukki dealt with so many things in the group such as her weight gain and loss and the amount of hate she got just for that. But she was always smiling and didn't give up till the end. She was known as an chubby idol and was able to turn that into something people knew her for.

The one thing I remember about her in the audition was that she has an potential to have a powerful voice. I was right about that. Although she didn't get a lot lines in the singles, her voice always just stood out(in a good way). When she lost 9kg, I honestly thought she looked more prettier. But I figured that it wasn't a healthy weight for her. I remember how the Japanese fans said she looks a lot prettier when she lost weight and I agreed with that but losing that much weight in a short amount of time, again it just wasn't good for her. Although she lost the weight and gained it back, I was happy that someone like Zukki was in the group. Someone who isn't skinny in an idol group isn't very common unless it's an chubby idol group. She was someone who was able to show that you don't have to be skinny to be an idol and I wish there are more people who can represent that. I feel like we need more different type of people to show that nobody is perfect and it's okay to not be skinny as long as you're happy.

Anyways, I ended up getting off topic. I'm really really going to miss Zukki. She was just a special gem in the group and I hope she will still make a lot of people with the job she wants to do in the future.

Tamura Meimi-Tribute Post

So today is the day. Tamura Meimi is going to graduate from ANGERME and Hello! Project. I swear, it feels like yesterday when she joined S/mileage originally as a sub member then the next day her graduation was announced and the day after, she's graduating. It's just so hard to believe it's already been 4 years since she joined the group and it's just so sad that she's  not going to be ANGERME anymore.

During the audition for 2nd generation, she was known as that girl with the high pitch cutesy voice. I remember so many people disliking her because of that and she shouldn't have got in. I thought that too at the time. Then she started getting more lines in the singles and when I first heard her "powerful" voice, I was thinking to myself "this girl is actually good at singing". Slowly I started realizing the voice she had was the voice S/mileage needed. Also she was starting to become my favorite member. Whenever I would see her on Girls Live, she just made me smile and I can just tell this girl is just so full of energy. But I didn't realize that she was my favorite till maybe 1 or 2 years ago. I remember going to the Hello Project store and I didn't get any pictures of her because at the time, she wasn't my absolute favorite and I highly regret that.

In conclusion, I hope Meimi will achieve her dream of becoming a musical actress. I am going to miss her but it's better to follow your passion than to just stay where you are if there's a bigger goal you want to achieve. Also, seeing her acting in plays and musicals, this girl is going to be an awesome actress and I wish her the best of luck. 

 

Music Playlist of the Month: January

It has been so long since I've last updated this blog. Since January is coming to an end, I have decided to show what songs I've been listening to this month.For this month, I've listened to a lot of new and older songs.

Suki Sugite Baka Mitai/DEF.DIVA

I've always liked this song but when I was finally able to find the instrumental, it just made me like it more. This song is just a classic and I feel like no matter how new someone is to Hello Project or how long someone's been a fan, this song will be a awesome discovery.

 Kedakaku Sakihokore/Tsubaki Factory

Tsubaki Factory is back with an amazing new song! These girls are improving pretty rapidly. They're getting so much better. Anyways, what I really like about this song is how it's more intense compared to Seishun Manmannaka and you can just hear their improvement. Also I think it's really cool how they included a rap part to it.

ladi dadi/lol

First of all,I honestly like how this song had less autotune compared to their last one. I just think it's just better than fire!. The one thing I don't like about the song is how it's a little long and it's kind of unorganized. But other than that, I think it's pretty good.

Stand up/M2 Junior

I finally decided to watch the drama after it being on my list of shows to watch on netflix for the longest time and I'm only on episode 3 but so far I'm liking the drama. My favorite part of the song has to be Seung-Yeon's rap. I just really like her because compared to other girls who pretends to be a guy in other dramas, she's willing to take risks, mischievous and she really looks like a guy.

Ichido Ichie/Ciao Bella Cinquetti

First of all, I think this song has a good message and it inspires me to take chances as if they're my first and only chance to take them. Also, this group is so underated! They deserve so much more! They're so talented and listening to this single and some of their older songs when they were The Possible, I feel like they're just being pushed behind and they should be promoted more.

Doushiyou Watashi/Ciao Bella Cinquetti

Fukuda Kanon actually did a pretty nice good writing the lyrics. This song is obviously more mature compared to Ichido Ichie. I like how the single has a hard rock kind of song and a techno mature song.

Rev.From DVL/Okujou no Sukima, Shiroi Sora

This has to be my favorite Rev.From DVL song so far! I never thought they would have a hard rock type of song. Also what I thought was awesome was how they had some of the other members have solos although Kanna has the most solos.

Cinderella Complex/High-King

I don't know why I never took an actual listen to song but after putting it on my ipod, I couldn't stop listening to it. I've just been more focused on Destiny Love and Kioku no Meiro that I didn't really care for this as much although it's the main song in the single.

So that is it for my Playlist of the Month. I'm sorry that I haven't been updating as much. I'll try to update more this year so hope you look forward to my future posts.

Music Playlist of the Month:August

Today is the first day of September! So, I will show you what songs I listened to often during the month of August.

Oh My Wish/Morning Musume'15

Oh god! I don't know what to say about this song! It's just epic! I don't want to go into detail but this song just has to be my favorite MoMusu song since Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke.

fire!/lol

This song has been around for a while and I was so happy when I found out this group was making their debut. This song honestly is  a hard song to listen to for those who can't stand autotune but if you try to look over the autotune, it's a pretty good song.

Shoujo Koukyouku/Wake Up,Girls!

The girls are finally back! When I first heard this, I just couldn't wait for it to be out! This song has a dark sound in the beginning up till the chorus which I like because it has both of a happy and mellow sound to it.

Wakatteiru no ni Gomen ne/Country Girls

These girls cannot get anymore cuter than this! This song is just awesome! Though I'm usually not one of those people who like cutesy songs, I just love their songs. I really don't know why. The thing I like about this song the most is how it has a typical young love storyline to it.

Say the Word/Kim Possible

So there are times when I go back watching some shows from my childhood. For some reason, I couldn't stop listening to this. I even tried to find the CD because I had it when I was a kid. But I was too lazy. I really like these types of songs and I wish that mainstream American pop music was more like this rather than it being a mess.

That is it for the month of august! If there is a song that you liked, please let me know!

Single Review:Iinjanai/Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!

It's been a while since I've last done a single review. So as you can see I will be reviewing LovendoЯ's debut single Iinjanai/Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare! 

Iinjanai: This song definitely reflects a new start for LovendoЯ and was just the right song for their debut. Like how it shows in the music video, this song is like the band is getting out of a dark cave and joining the light. Still, this song has a hard rock sound to it just like their indie songs, but it's more bright in a way. I really like how the lyrics are laid back and saying it's okay to relax and have some fun. I think this song is a good song to listen to especially when you're down or stressed. 

Futsuu no Watashi Ganbare!: Compared to Iinjanai, this song is rather girly and cute. Due to that, I didn't like it at first but it grew on me. I think both songs in this single has a similar meaning. The difference is that I think this song is more for girls than guys. Lastly, I think the lyrics are really unique and I'm so glad Tsunku-san wrote the lyrics for it. 

In conclusion, I think this single is a strong single and it showed more of the silly and fun side of LovendoЯ which I liked. I'm a little concerned if they're upcoming singles will be songs like this because I prefer if they released some songs like the ones from their mini albums. But overall, LovendoЯ is LovendoЯ and I think this single showed how they're capable of singing other types of music.

Music Playlist of the Month: July

I know that July ended a while ago but I still wanted to share with you guys some of the songs that I really liked last month.

Nana Korobi ya Oki/ANGERME

I was just in love with this song! This song is just epic! It really showcases their vocals and dance, and having the dancers and all that, it just made this song more amazing. I never thought this group would get songs like this so I hope they will have more in the future.

Shining Diamond/Seventeen

To be honest, I didn't like this song as much when I first listened to it but I gave it a few listens and I started liking it. This group is very talented considering the fact they just made their debut a few months ago(well they trained before they made their debut so yeah, obviously).

Yuki toki/Nagi Yanagi

This song is more rather peaceful and something that makes me want to listen to when I get sick of edm music. The singer's voice is very soothing in my opinion and it just nice to listen to when I just want to listen to non-idol music. I'm planning to write a review about My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU so please forward to it.

Iinjanai/Lovendor

This song is a lot different than what they sang during their indie era. I just like how it's energetic but at the same time, it still has a rock sound to it and it's just cool. This song probably will make me feel better when I'm down.

So that was it! I know it isn't a lot of songs. I really need to start keeping track of what I listen to because I tend to forget pretty easily. There are a lot of months that I missed so I'm planning to make a post of all the songs that I didn't post so please look forward to that.