Idoling!!! (Part 1/2)

Here is Idoling!!!'s cast member page at their official website. They've really taken a page from Morning Musume's book, in that they started off with nine girls making up the first generation and from there they've had members come and go. They added their 4th gen in 2010 and currently have 20 girls overall.

When you first look at a list of all the singers who've been in Momusu, along with their generation and what year they left the group- it can really make you feel lost. When I started looking into Idoling because of TIF, I had had no idea that they were running their group in a similar way. I saw all the girls' pictures and their numbers and the different gens and was like 'oh. . .'

But -as when it comes to the 'getting to know who's who' part regardless of who the group is- if you take it a bit at a time it's not all that daunting. I feel that before I jump right into their first performance in TIF, I should share a little bit of their early works. And of their first three singles, one is very befitting at the moment.

Ganbare Otome (Warai) was their debut release and though it's nothing smashing, it is quite catchy and a 'grow on you' song. Kokuhaku was their third single, I've only listened to it a few times and I'm not a big fan of it either, though it's not bad. I do really like their second single, Snow Celebration. And the reason it is befitting, is because I woke up this morning (11/05/10) and there was snow on the ground!!

Egah, winter is coming. I'm not celebrating, but I think the PV for the song is simple and really pretty. I love in the chorus when the girls are laying in a circle and light + graphics flash making them appear as a snowflake! Genius and beautiful. The song is really pretty as well, and I think it easily outshines their 1st and 3rd singles. I also love the part they sing in the beginning and end, with one group of girls holding out a note and the other singing lyrics. The overlapping sounds awesome.

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I started this entry towards the end of last week (it is now the 9th), and haven't gotten around to finishing it until now. Another thing I feel I should talk about before I get into TIF, is the group that originally sang the song that the first group of girls perform. Idoling!!! has it's fair share of subunits, though sadly they only seem to release about one song per unit. Perhaps because of graduations breaking the units up? idk.

"Hannin wa Anata Desu♡ / NA・GA・RA is Idoling!!!'s fifth single. Eight members were divided in two units. Furifuri Idoling!!! is formed by Endo Mai, Yokoyama Rurika, Morita Suzuka and Sakai Hitomi; Gizagiza Idoling!!! is formed by Koizumi Rumi, Fonchi, Miyake Hitomi and Michelle Miki." ~ The first song is sung by Furi and the second by Giza. The single also has instrumentals of both, plus a Live Version of their third single Kokuhaku (2008).


Hannin wa Anata Desu♡ is exactly the kind of song I'd expect from Idoling. And I don't mean that in a negative way, it just...has a very idol-group sound to it. It's a mix of catchy, cute and fun and the girls' outfits plus the PV set (etc) work really well with it. It's cute how they're detectives, and then they also have the pretty white dresses. Not to mention the "who done it"s are adorable. It took a few listens to grow on me, but I really like the melodies, and the girls are all really good singers.

NA・GA・RA is very different than Idoling's first four singles. In those, they stick more to the cute image. Their outfits are mainly colorful or pretty, the songs are all very idoly (lol). In Nagara, there is definitely more of a sexy atmosphere trying to be achieved; the colors are mainly dark (aside from the pink), some of the poses are provocative (the icecream!), and the outfits are....short and more like something you'd see an AKB subunit wearing.

I suppose the people behind Idoling decided to try something different, which even though I find the shortness of Miyake and Michelle outfits distasteful, I think the overall finished result is good and I really like the song. I also like the standing mics- the only other PVs I've seen them in (that I recall) is Himawari To Hoshikuzu by Tokyo Girls' Style, and ○○ Ganbaranakutemo Eenende by S/mileage (and maybe a song by THE Possible...?)

[Click for part 2]