Probably knowing that the mixing of genders in one idol group would lead to speculations of relationships within the group, they took the only singing female (Uno Misako, perhaps better known as the girl raped to death under the covers by the Grudge ghost) and the popular frontman (Nishijima Takahiro, known in 52 states and various outlying countries as “Nissy”) and had them sing a duet on the group’s debut album.
Kimitsu considers the Takauno pairing in AAA and why some fans are so attached to the concept.
Fandom’s a funny thing, really. It’s like politics. The things you can say and can’t, the alliances and pandering and insult-lobbying, the image you need to keep up if you’re known for any sort of reason… it’s all there. That last one in particular.
Kimitsu considers the lure of actor Saitou Ryuusei and how he changed her perspective on younger idols.
In the case of the music industry, the vocoder seems to be the easy way out of actually having to be a good vocalist and still be able to sell. Turn on the radio these days and you’ll probably bump into a song that uses it, but in the technopop world it’s hard to find a song without it. It is this effect that serves as technopop vocalists’ greatest weapon and also their biggest crutch when improperly used.
johpan looks at the mechanics and aesthetics of the much-maligned electronic instrument.
She is distant not only in space, but, as manifest to us in her screen and singing career, also in time. To pursue one’s suit, already hopeless, over the chasm of time, is the truest of all leaps of faith, and in direct proportion to its foolishness, so are its rewards great.
Quentin finds the deep underlying bonds between an American idol of yesteryear and the Japanese idols of today.
The age of superidols is over, and it was that age which gave us these stars. Perhaps it wasn’t so much a prevailing desire for superidols as it was a public willingness to bite the marketing hook that avex started baiting so expertly in the late 90’s.
Vee considers how the past year went for the top three fillies in the Avex Trax stable.
