Haven’t caught the FNS Kayosai in a while but wanted to see what Chisato Moritaka was going to be offering us this year~ Since she was co-host I thought they’d showcase a few of her songs, and made a point to grab the special when it came up! Chisato's stage ended up being a tofubeats remix of her 1995 song “LaLa Sunshine” ...I was disappointed that she didn't do another medley like before, but still, she looked and sounded as terrific as she always did!
Chisato Moritaka: LaLa Sunshine with tofubeats
Woooot! Gal still GOT IT!
The FNS Kayosai is pretty famous for bringing back old nostalgic guests, and they did it again this year, surprising me with the return of My Little Lover! Boy, I really liked this act back in the day and it was great seeing them again, performing their classic “Hello Again”! Mmm, Akko-chan has aged gracefully!
My Little Lover Akko
"Hello Again" My Little Lover
It was Johnny’s groupV6’s 20th Anniversary, so they opened the show with a medley of their past hits sung with other johnnys groups like NEWS, Sexy Zone, Tackey and Tusbasa and the like- When they got around to singing “Honey Beat”, it really took me back! Too bad they didn’t do “Over”, my all-time favorite song from them…
V6 20th Anniversary Medley!
And on the Johnny’s front, this is the first time I’ve seen KAT-TUN since they because a foursome (yes, their name should be a proper KTUN right now) and it looks and sounds like they’re doing just fine without Tanaka and Akanishi! And taking a look at NEWS, it looks like quite a FEW Johnnys groups are now down to 4 members, ne?
KAT-TUN
NEWS
Once again the Year End specials were a big GIRL GROUPS thing, with acts like the E-Girls Super Team, Momoiro Clover-Z and the AKB48 troupes out in full force! Morning Musume’15 did a rousing perf of “Love Machine”, making me realize just how long it has been since Momusu were the “new” gals on the block!
Hello Project and AKB48 "Love Machine"
Hello Project and AKB48
E-Girls
Dream
Flower
Happiness
Whoa, and check out HAPPINESS! Seems like only yesterday they were a cute little group singing catchy little tunes (I just loved their single Happy Talk), now they've all grown up into these cool and sultry groovin' ladies!
Happiness
AKB48 and Momoiro Clover Z
The Cute, The Zany: Momoiro Clover Z
And speaking of Girl groups, on the SKE48 front, just before their stage singing “Okey-Dokey”, Team Leader Miyazawa Sae announced her graduation! An emotional performance for the girls!
SKE48
Pretty Sae Miyazawa Announces Graduation
One complaint I had about this year’s broadcast was the AWFUL sound! Oh, the VOCAL track was fine, but all the other music: Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keyboards, etc, were mixed down SO low that you just couldn’t really get into the songs… this is the FNS, folks, Get yo STUFF TOGETHER!!! Not that any mixed-down backing music stopped Kiyoe Yoshioka from making the most of HER peformance- She and Ikimonogakari were, in my opinion, one of the best performances this year, so cute, so fun, and she was so over-the-top GENKI! Oh, if ONLY the music was a bit LOUDER!
Ikimonogakari
Kiyoe Launches into the Stratosphere!
Well, that's the report for THIS year's offering! See Ya All NEXT year! Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
Say, either I'm getting older or Pop units nowadays are gettin' younger! After falling in love with the absolutely catchy song "Happy Talk!" by cute group HAPPINESS, I went online to find out more about them, and was taken aback to find out that I've been into J-pop longer than any of them have been ALIVE! Who would have thought that C-ute would have been this influential to future idol groups?
Anyway, I loved Happy Talk so much that I had to find a copy of the accompanying PV, and I have to tell you, I was just amazed at how awesome the choreography in this video is! I have to say that it's been awhile since I saw such energetic bust-a-movin'! Members Sayaka, Mimu, Kaede, Mayu, Miyu, Karen and Yurino all have these perpetual smiles on their faces and the "joy of performance" you see here is totally infectious! Happiness is a group that is VERY aptly named! A song to put a smile on your face!
Sweet Sweet Heaven Oh Change My Life!!!
Note: Apparently the above PV was tied into a Mister Donut promo (hence the pastries and logos everywhere) that they did way before their actual "Debut", that why they look so YOUNG here (those pink outfits don't help), additionally, I just realized someone is missing from this video, but I can't figure out who!
Addendum: Well, no WONDER these gals is so crip wit da dance moves- I just found out that they're all graduates of the EXILE dance school, and have been background performers for their videos and concerts since elementary school!
From MusicJapan:
EXILE Sister Unit "Happiness" Announce Debut!
2011-01-17
debut / Happiness / EXILE
It has been learned their newly formed dance unit "Happiness", consisting of seven girls will be making its debut. And while not many may be knowing the name of the group just yet, they are in fact a sister unit of popular dance and vocal group EXILE.
The members are all in their middle school years and at an average of 14.5 years old. The members have all graduated from the EXILE dance school EXPG and been put together as a group of two vocalists and five performers.
So far they have been taking part in the EXILE dome and stadium tour, and while still being very young, they do have an astounding record.
EXILE's HIRO commented: "From elementary school on, they have been taking part in EXILE's music videos and tours and they have showed a splendid performance. I hope that by watching them perform, everyone becomes a bit happier." "Happiness" will be debuting with their single "Kiss Me" on February 9th and you can surely be looking forward as to what kind of performance the girls will be showing.
Addendum to the Addendum: Thanks to zafire on the 6Theory Website, I've finally matched the names of the girls to their faces and confirmed three things- 1:"Karen" is the vocalist for Happy Talk, 2: "Mayu" is the seventh member who wasn't in the PV, and 3: "Sayaka" is my favorite member!
