This really has been a GREAT year for Hello! Project. The groups have finally used a lot more promotion and had awesome songs that charted pretty good (just look at °C-ute renewing their highest selling single everytime they release something!). Also, all of Momosu's three singles charted at number 1 and H!P really seems to love these double/ triple A-sides nowadays.. (Where did Tsunku get all the creativity??)
There were of course a few downsides, especially the graduation of Mano Erina and Tanaka Reina. Also, I didn't hear anything from Mitsui Aika, and now that she announced jer hiatus, I guess I won't ever talk about her again (we will see..). I won't talk that much about these members, but I will resume the activities of all the groups a bit.
Juice=Juice
The group was just founded this year and they already are very popular, selling even more than some other H!P groups. Their indie singles ''Watashi ga iu mae ni Dakishimenakya ne'' and ''Samidare Bijo ga samidareru'' were already pretty good and their major triple A-side debut single consisting of ''Romance no Tochuu'' and memorial edits of their two idie's singles. And well, it placed second on the weekly Oricon charts! Their second single ''Ijiwaru Shinaide Dakishimete yo/ Hashimete wo Keikenchuu'' wasn't as awesome as their first one in my opinion, but it was still a good single and sold even a bit more than their debut single! Well, and lastly they were nominated for the Japan record award for best new Artist. Sadly, they didn't win it, but that's alone a great achievement and their performance was very good! But the worst thing for was the sudden graduation of Aina, so shortly before their major debut. Even though I didn't really like her voice, it's still sad that she left so early.. -.- I hope the surrent line-up will stay like this and that they will be even more succesful next year! (and also, I hope their song titles will be less complicated next year.. -.-)
S/mileage
Last year, I didn't even know about S/mileage, and I didn't like their appearance at the beginning of the year because ''Tabidachi no haru ga kita'' was a rather boring song. But with ''Atarashii watashi ni nare/ Yattaruchan'' everything changed and I began to like them. Okay, they aren't really a group i follow, but their latest release ''Eeka!/ Ii yatsu'' was also amazing, so I really enjoy their songs right now. Some of their older songs are also pretty awesome, and even though their voices still annoy me sometimes (Dawa!!) some of them improved and it actually sounds fun in their recent songs, especially in songs like ''Yattaruchan'' and ''Eeka!''. This year has been good for them and they also improved in sales again. They are still the lowest selling H!P group, but they are improving!! :)
°C-ute
C-ute really outdid themselves this year! All their three singles were amazing, and I liked especially ''Crazy Kanken Otona'' and ''Adam to Eve no Dilemma''. They improved their saled, performed in Paris and finally at the Budokan. Their bond seems to be pretty great and they are really good performes, probably the best out of H!P. So only good things for them this year, and I'm happy about it!!
Berryz Koubou
In terms of song originality Berryz didn't do that well this year. Also, it seems like they don't get that much promotions and their PV's are kinda shitty, too. But of course this was also a great year for them, since they sold pretty good. Adding to that they got to perform at Budokan for the first time!! And ''Sayonara Utsosuki no watashi'' is actually a really good song (the best from them this year). It's just that compared to the other groups this doesn't seem that great, even though it is a great accomplishment! I just hope their song and video quality will improve a lot next year!!
Morning Musume
And finally the flagship group itself. With one new amazing member Oda Sakura, the graduation of one of the core members Tanaka Reina, the dance formation sensation and THREE number 1 hits, this was a great year for them. Especially since the latest single sold the best since 10 years!! All their singles have been amazing and I like especially the songs ''Brainstorming'' and ''Wagamama Ki no mama Ai no Joke''. But ''Help Me!'' also marks a very important single, since it was their first number 1 in three years and also the first single of Sakura.
We can really call this an awakening year for Morning Musume, as they also had some great appearances in shows and such. Sadly, they didn't get invited to Kouhaku, let's hope they will reach that goal next year. Also, there is now a name change for them, which means that Morning Musume will be Morning Musume ´14 in 2014, Morning Musume ´15 in 2015 etc.. I think it's a bit unnecessary, but well. Let's see what Morning Musume ´14 will bring to us next year. ;)
I still didn't really get into the Kenshuusei, but ''Oheso no Kuni kara Konnichiwa'' and the debut of Juice=Juice was a great beginning, so I hope I will learn more about them next year!! xD
To sum it up, I really loved Hello! Projects releases this year. The quality of videos and covers got better and as a hole this ahs been a pretty good year sales-wise. Hello Pro! Station is a good way to show more of the members, even though I still hope for them to get a TV shows! But yeah, great job for this year!
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