I’ve tried to ask myself this question from different perspectives. One of the first ones was psychology, then biology, a little bit of philosophy, business and marketing, and others. These days it’s from the perspective of rethorics, not the current concept but the Aristotelic one. As it’s a big area, it’s difficult to find a relation with something so specific (a fan, and being even more specific, a fan of idols, as it’s the idea of fan I’m supposed to be familiarized with the most), and plus I don’t know much about it yet.

I think it’s very well related to the actual marketing of idols and celebrities. I don’t know how are the regular shows of other countries that talk about celebrities and super stars, but the ones I’ve seen here are talk as if everything they present is the truth, or at least, facts that most people believe in. This is related to rethorics. It’s not the intention of any discourse to present the truth but rather something plausible. We see this on a lot of stories, be it in the form of books, movies, comics and whatnot.

Now I’ve seen over and over that fans’ favourite idols (or at least a kind of) are the ones that tell a story. Wether it’s with words, through a show or through their entire career, if you’re fascinated or charmed by the story they tell, then it would seem that you like that particular idol.

And it’s the intention of all discourses to appear as if they have no intention, to imitate nature, which, it seems, has no intention or malice. It appears, then, as something ideal, which the discourse will try to imitate.

Every idol must seem natural.

This is why when something seems “off” to some fans who’re casually paying attention to an idol, a common reaction is to say they’re fake, they have fake personality, why does she try to get so much attention, spotlight hog, etc. I mostly remember the words “they’re fake” because I’ve seen them so many times.

All the manufacturation aspect needs to be appear as hidden, or better, as something non-existant, because if it was all over the place, the idol wouldn’t seem natural.

This when the marketing part enters, or should I say, is already visible.

Who they want to appeal to? Mainly fans, but many companies and labels seem to ultimately aim for their idols to become cashcows, grabbing all chances of (succesful) business, including acting, modeling, singing, performing at concerts, etc. The idols themselves probably like this as well. By this, I mean, all of this.

How? This was, personally, difficult for me to understand. Because the discourse was so beliaveable. The marketing is done in a way so that it seems that the fans know the idol. If, ultimately, the belief of knowing the idol is a strong way, the marketing has succeded.

It’s not a secret that rethorics are something that all well-versed publicists and marketers know about. Promoting a product and saying “I’m SELLING this!” would most likely ruin your chances of selling anything. A good seller doesn’t have to say that they’re selling anything at all, and a really good one wouldn’t even insinuate it and still sell something in the end.

Idols promote themselves through that marketing strategy, which is, I think, very related to rethorics. They wouldn’t say they’re selling themselves or their products. What they’d say is “support me from now on” and similar phrases. I’ve barely heard or read the phrase “it’s on sale now” from them, only when it comes to specific releases like CDs.

When I think about it though, such marketing is a big job.

(This is still only an initial idea, but from what I’ve seen, most fans of idols believe their favourite idol is a good person/individual. I say initial because I’ll eventually ask my friends who’re into idols that question and see their answers)

A job so big it involves so many persons… and yet it’s made appear as if what the idol says or does hasn’t had the involvement of so many persons.

This, of course, gives chance for rumours to appear. It’s not the only reason, just one of them. Because everything surrounding the idol is apparently so perfect, ideal, something that perhaps a group of people obssesively look up to, and the center of that attention is usually the image of the idol. So if someone finds a rumour that describes a characteristic that isn’t related to that image people already have the security of “knowing” (believing) or at least the feeling of “knowing”, and the rumour is found out to be real, an entire job could be destroyed or partially destroyed.

It’s a big risk.

You have to keep the fans in check, so they believe that the idol is natural and pure (I don’t mean natural in terms of surgery, and neither pure in the terms of virginity, but, surprise, more than often, natural looks and virginity are part of the rethorics of idols. It shouldn’t be ruled out that some idols do have natural looks and virginity). If the media is also kept in check so no big tabloids or worse, trustable outlets, start talking whatever they want, even better. Publications that have close ties with the companies behind idols know this very well. Yet, simple lines like “Z will do their best with their next song” or “some of the habits of Z are to not to sleep until very late and to not to shower frequently. Z gives you the best of smiles today!” will appear to be as something natural.

I’ve already thought of this: so… has the magic been lost? Some think these idols are role models and life inspirations, I think they’re normal people with a job that is related to advertising and one big part of that is rethorics. I mean, I’ve never found myself attracted to a particular kind of idol image more than another one, I see the differences between them (at most) and that’s it. I don’t find myself charmed by the stories they tell on TV -I barely watch it-, or how they’re on TV (it’s the same thing).

I don’t want to be a fan that is completely alienated. The fan side of me, I’ve already accepted, is a dimension of me. Just that. If I don’t recognize myself or that dimension of me when, later on, I read the things I’ve wrote about fandom, I’ll regret it a lot. I don’t want to think “who wrote this? me? why was I like that?”. I mean, in general. Once and then there might be a moment where I have too big of a reaction and I don’t react like I usually would, and might write something that isn’t like me. I’m a person, not just a fan.

I’ve also thought: why would I want to be so serious? It’s just fandom, it’s entertainement, it’s supposed to be fun

It will probably be a long journey until I find the balance between the serious side of me and the one that has sense of humour. For me, I can at least think of finding it if I’m not alienated. Once I start acting like that, it becomes more difficult to even distinguish what could be an horrible joke to someone else and what could be something that brightens someone’s day.

Acting like an alienated fan, I think, makes you advance in just one direction. Or think in, I almost dislike saying it, a way that fits the box. The box that is made of all effective advertising and rethorics.

I am probably now, to many people, an untrue or an incomplete fan.

I don’t care. If one of the requirements to be myself is to be an incomplete fan, then so be it. Perhaps as I live and experience more I’ll change my ways of thinking, but right now I really can’t find a way to combine these two things. I can’t imagine it, being myself but also finding the way to make myself firmly believe in such and such delusion, and ones that seem so obvious to me (that they’re delusions).

What is the part of being an idol fan that I still like?

The music. I think the composition of various idol songs is something I like and can enjoy, and my favourite ones can raise my mood. I also like to cheer on someone that isn’t so sparkly shiny perfect. I see all idols as persons with a job that is called being an idol, not as pure gods or goddesses.

I can see the fun and excitement in that. It works for me. These are the things I take as entertainement, the rest is not something I believe in. Obviously, a lot of fans do, and even if at times I’d like to say to them “you don’t know them!”, they like to believe in idol rethorics, or to say it in a nicer way, they like dreaming, and there’s nothing wrong with that in itself (alienation is about completely believing rethorics, any kind of it, and a sentence like “I want to marry this idol!” doesn’t neccesarily mean the fan is alienated), so I respect that other fans like the plausability of them knowing their idols. If they’re completely alienated, I’ll just have the most basic respect for them.

——

This is something very specific that I really can’t talk about elsewhere.

Soshibond.

I like SNSD since their first MV came out (on the first days of August 2007), and I don’t remember that such a word existed back then, neither in 2008. Since about 2010 I’ve seen that lots of people have been talking about it, over and over. So I’m thinking it must have been created in either 2009 or 2010. And I think it was probably created on forums or places that aren’t meant to allow much discussion (like, opposing opinions… oh, the requirements of posting like a fan in some places), probably soompi and a certain other big forum.

I can’t bring myself to believe in it. I think it’s half real and half fake. I don’t think it’s ~the~ bond in Korean pop or Korean entertainment. I think friendships go through so many stages and so many years, that friends are still friends after some time, and different times, then good. Right now these young woman haven’t even know each other for a decade.

For me it’s disrespectful to speculate about the relationship of existing people (as a joke it’s okay). Worse, to believe in what I speculate about those relationships. Even if it’s idols, even if we only see a limited side of them. I see the interactions (in SNSD) as idols and can laugh or smile at what they do, but that’s just it.

The worst of it though, for me, is to speculate that the so called Soshibond is something human, that it grows and evolves, and that it’s a miracle. And yes, there are people who’ve said that. Who am I to say something like that about the relationship of people I don’t know? I probably wouldn’t have that so shocking if it wasn’t because there’s a rather big amount of fans who believe that, and a few of them are people older than me. They can believe in that, I cannot. And since the first time I’ve seen sentences like that (“it’s a miracle”), I thought, with no hint of doubt, “man, just what, they’re advertising Soshibond”. Because that’s what it just seems to me, that they’re describing it so beautifully, to sell it.

I’ve thought about this over and over, and I think it’s just a matter of believing. That, I mean, different beliefs, I can respect. People have and will defend their beliefs with all their might, and also with rethorics (right now I’m defending a belief as well… lack thereof), and it’s all okay unless they try to obligate me.

So I don’t believe in Soshibond and yet I really like SNSD. Once again my fan side is incomplete and I like it.

—

Perhaps, when my fan side is incomplete, it’s complete. Or perhaps it’s a balance of, a middle point between incompleteness and completeness. I’ll find out.

3:52 am  •  31 March 2011

Like someone at H!O, I’ll reflect on my H!P fandom.

One of the biggest prejudices against H!P fans and wota is that they have poor musical taste, or that all we listen to is “bubblegum pop and high-pitched voices”. But if you see the number and variety of CDs that my parents bought when I was little, you’d be surprised. Before, there used to be a big number of casettes too.

I prefer my musical taste to be extense. I can say with complete confidence that there are many H!P songs that can stand out on its own, for different reasons. Some of them as something that cheers you up, some of them as musical compositions. There are limits of course, afterall most of the music is composed by the same guy. But most fans of H!P happen to like that sound.

In some of the songs, some voices stand out. Perhaps it’s that both the song and the voice are suited for each other.

Aichan’s voice is one of those that stands out a lot. Since she’s been in H!P for a long time and she’s been a vocal lead for quite a few years, it’s difficult for fans to not to notice her, wether they like it or not. I like her voice.

Last November 13 was the 5th anniversary of my H!P fandom. And on October, it was my 20th birthday. Even though I knew of Morning Musume since 2001 and heard about them again in 2003, I didn’t start to actually become interested in them a few days before Yaguchi left the group. In July of that year, during winter vacations, I took a wild interest in the group and started to listen to lots of their songs and watch their videos. But it wasn’t until November that I… strongly felt something when I listened to Koko ni Iruzee. I still remember that sensation/emotion very clearly. Maybe the best way to describe it is inspiration or… being cheered up. I had felt that before, and I still feel it sometimes, with other kinds of music too, but that one time is memorable for me as it was the first time it happened with an H!P song. So I kind of decided to make H!P important for me after I felt that “connection” with that song. A few months passed by… I think it was around May 2006 when I started to become more involved in H!P fandom, ie. actually checking out news in real time, commenting, being friends with other fans. All of that has happened.

In the past year, I’ve reflected a lot on what means to be a fan and also an H!P fan. I’ve made lots of conclusions… and one of the most important ones for me is that being a fan is just a kind of love. This “fan love” isn’t difficult for fans to feel. And it’s a kind of love that has clear limits. Everyone decides their limits as fans. At least for me, since I’ve admitted that I have a fan side in me, it’s much easier to compare it to the other parts of my personality. I’ve always been suspicious, so I critic my fandom most of the time. I hope the outcome of my fandom is good, and if I ever stop being a fan, I want to look back and not regret anything big.

Aichan has been in H!P for twice the time that I’ve been a fan. I’m fairly sure that she’s dealt with a lot, as have the people she’s worked with (nothing too extreme though, at least not economically-wise… on most cases anyways). She’s been through the last couple of years of the UFA-Dentsu relationship, she’s attended most of the H!P appearances in Kouhaku (the number is still a record for female idol groups, and half of those appearances happened when the UFA-Dentsu relationship didn’t exist or was already over), she’s seen herself being promoted from newbie to frontgirl, she’s seen her senpai and kouhai graduate, she was a lead role in Cinderella, related to her very much liked Takarazuka… and lots more.

In Koko ni iruzee, her solo line near the end was one of the lines that cheered me up the most, back in 2005. Her voice sounded SO strong and bright there. In Aruiteru as well… in 2006, I still remember how that one solo line after the bridge and before the lalala’s, completely amazed me. I could give lots of examples… since she’s sung a lot during the time I’ve been a fan. I’ll always remember this time.

Even though my interest in Morning Musume now isn’t the same of a new fan, and even if I’ve read and seen enough to not to entirely agree with the way this agency or even some sides of industry works (and really, it’s not about promotion or spotlight or TV shows or any of those things. They’ll never be huge again unless something happens behinds the scenes), H!P as a whole will always have a place in my heart and mind. That is, it’s cheesy, and my fandom is already that strong, it’s been that way for a while. But I don’t want this to become all gloomy and dramatic and a nostalgia fest… (a big part of the fandom already is. And it can be summed up in one word: graduations. At least they don’t happen every month). I really don’t want to become a fan that only likes the way when THEY FIRST started to like the fandom. ie. a fan of the “good old times”. If all of this fandom stops for me, I don’t want it to be for that reason. If I move on, I won’t move on that way.

For now, I’m still here. Fandom isn’t the biggest highlight of my life, other aspects of me continue to grow up, my fan side continues to understand more and more things and I realize that while all of this fandom is entertainement or pleasure, it’s still somewhat of a challenge. It’s and will always be a beloved part of my life, but I already know I’ll probably never be completely content or satisfied regarding my fandom. I wouldn’t like to think that it’s just because I’m too addicted that I can’t leave, so I’ve toned down my level of “addiction” ever since I started to realize all that is written in this post. So far it has worked.

I like that this is kind of a challenge.

4:30 pm  •  9 January 2011

(originally posted on June 13, 2010)

しかし現在、AKB48を筆頭に、モーニング娘。アイドリング!!!、Berryz工房、℃-ute、スマイレージ、ももいろクローバー、東京女子流、バニラビーンズと、アイドルグループはまさに戦国時代。いやさ、ワールドカップ状態。

http://twitter.com/Team_PB/status/16058306682

(translation)

But right now, AKB48 (first on the list), Morning Musume, Idoling!!!, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, S/mileage, Momoiro Clover, Tokyo Girls Style and Vanilla Beans are during an era of competition. Like the World Cup.

A funny tweet I stumbled across.

6:35 am  •  23 July 2010

(originally posted on June 5, 2010)

Let’s look at their history.

They were selected from over 13,000 applicants in the Hello! Project Kids auditions.

After the auditions, some time passed, most of them got to do a certain kind of job, like features in magazines, or even participating in short-lived units.

Then eight of the kids selected through the auditions got to form the group Berryz Koubou.

What were the others were?

REJECTS.

And they were very aware of it, if not then, then a few years after, because they have talked about it, and not as if they didn’t care - they did care.

These rejects were named “℃-ute” in 2005.

Back when they were new, they would get a fair amount of promotion, like any new Hello! Project group.

It wasn’t their awards what made me a fan (Although for the girls themselves, the fact that they were rejects and some years later they won an award… it must have been surreal for them).

It surely won’t be their popularity what will make me more of a fan.

It is their hard work, perseverance and dedication.

The message from most of the current Hello! Project works and girls can be said in a single world: “頑張って”. It’s a very simple word to say, but a hard one to live.

And from looking at EVERYTHING these girls do, I say they do a good job at living that message.

Not just C-ute, but every one of them.

“Yeah, but every group works hard”. Very possible. Who knows, a few companies can explote their artists even more. All companies do that to some extent.

But what are the things than can make you STAY as a fan?

I’ve already thought of C-ute as a disbanded group, imagining them and myself ten years later, and listening to their songs as if they were a group of the past. Since I also like groups that have also disbanded, that’s not hard at all to imagine.

What do I want to think then, seeing as if they WILL disband sometime?

Mourn the loss of the members who will never come back anyways, or enjoy the present?

These two choices are not the only things I could do, that’s for sure, but in the end, after thinking about this so many times over and over, to me it comes down to that.

Maybe it’s difficult to love something that has changed.

But what I do, that’s my choice. And it’s my choice to love them, regardless the changes. Regardless of their popularity. I mention the popularity thing again because of the group pressure that goes around in things such as pop groups. Once something is popular it’s like… sales and awards become the most important things. People want them to “take over the world”, in the sense of popularity, THEN being loved by a large number of people (<- that’s an exception. It doesn’t happen everyday. So what if they aren’t the most popular idol group anyways? Or even not in the range of popular idol groups?).

I’ve already seen that happen with SNSD, and to me that’s sad. During Kissing You days, I was SO INCREDIBILY HAPPY with their Music Bank win. It was their first win, and one attached to a bad event too (a car accident - with no major problems thankfully). Noawadays people seem to want just bigger and bigger awards, bigger points, bigger events, bigger everything but the girls’ health. Not all fans are like that, but a good bunch of them is. I’m not in that group of fans.

But back to C-ute.

I don’t feel anything other than fan support when I check for their updates. I do not do that in hope that they’ll disband, but because I care for them.

The fan-idol relation is still amazing and dear to me. It’s one of the many kinds of love I hope to feel while I’m alive.

頑張って can be interpreted as:

- Tomorrow will be a better day

- Leaving is a new beginning (a phrase from Linlin)

And so many more interpretations as well. During one’s entire life. Just because it’s a simple message, it doesn’t mean it can only be lived when one is a child.

When C-ute doesn’t bring me happiness anymore, or… more bad feelings instead of happiness, I’ll leave all of this.

That hasn’t happened yet. The group I enjoy checking updates of the most is C-ute. The group I enjoy the most songs of is C-ute. The group I have supported the most is C-ute.

And the group I will continue to love and support the most is C-ute.

Strong feelings are hard to feel and live, that’s why they are called strong feelings. But we don’t have to feel them in a strong/passionate way all the time. That’s tiring, and when love becomes tiring, something went wrong in the way.

Even if C-ute becomes a duo (unlikely to happen), I’ll support them.

Even if they bashed by millions of people (unlikely to happen as well), I’ll support them.

“So whatever they do, you’ll support?”. You’re getting the wrong idea here.

Whatever they do, as long as I see it has some kind of love in it, and it makes me happy, THAT I’ll support.

We fans have a grasp (unsure) knowledge of what’s happened with Megumi, Kanna and Umeda. Resignements have been made, graduations and tears have happened. Those things, won’t happen again in the same way. Whatever damage has been done, it’s done. Whatever spark they have lost, it’s lost. I don’t want them to come back, not after everything that has happened.

I refuse to think of the current five girls as the “remaining” ones, I don’t find that respectful at all.

“So, your expectations are pretty high then”.

Not. at. all.

I love C-ute. That’s all that needs to be understood about this.

So, 5nin C-ute?

BRING IT ON.

6:34 am  •  23 July 2010

(originally posted on May 31, 2010)

I guess it makes me sad seeing them going through different paths in life, since at one point they all were together at the same time. And they are still so young.

But it happens, doesn’t it. Friends leave as well.

I’ve been a C-ute fan since 2007, and I wouldn’t change that time for being a fan of any other artist/idol. Never.

What is C-ute? Who are they? Because members have left, some people are not too sure what is C-ute anymore. I myself wonder about this sometimes.

Since idols connect themselves with fans, they are something in fans’ hearts, they earn a place there. When you become devoted to a group or an artist, they become your #1.

All of them, Erika, Maimi, Megu, Kanna, Nakky, Airi, Chisa and Maimai are #1 in my heart. I can’t say Erika, Megu and Kanna are members of C-ute anymore, because they aren’t, that’s why I get confused, because I’m too attached to the group I guess. I need to accept it though, that C-ute is now five girls, and the other three are never coming back to the group.

That has good and bad sides. The good is that I still adore the current (NOT “remaining”) five girls, the bad is that the other three… are not there anymore.

Were they supposed to leave? Could had it been possible for them to not to leave?

We’ll probably never know.

It’s still, afterall, a job, that they can quit, and have all the rights to quit.

I can’t help but feel sad when I think that they were 8 and 7 girls once. But it’s happened, some of them have left, and I’ll see reminders of that from now on, since most likely both Erika and Kanna will be active in their blogs.

“At least I can still see them”, I guess. That’s good, because when Kanna left I was greatly worried about her health. And the updates we’ll see from them are not an intrusion to their private life.

This is confusing as well, because for once I have to see them from the point of view of a non-fan, and not just for a moment, in fact, I have to put myself in the position of a non-fan for enough time to think about this. It feels strange.

Am I still a fan after that…

I wonder. To me, a fan is someone who supports the group/artist through good and bad times.

And bad times will have to come, it’s normal. Ups and downs.

I still wouldn’t change this time. Because I still feel (fan) love towards them.

Lately, their songs have been good to me as well (I enjoy them, Everyday Zekkouchou and Campus Life are real good energizers during long hours of translating, and Shocking 5 as a whole is very relaxing), it’s just the change of members what confuses me.

All of C-ute fans that have been with them since 2006 or at least 2007 know that there’s been a change of members. The ones that are still fans are really some of the most inspiring fans I’ve seen (not counting me). The ones that don’t care, well, I don’t pay attention to them.

It will still be some time till C-ute disbands. Because of the members leaving, I’ve thought about that a lot, but afterall… there’s still time. I should enjoy that time as a fan more, because it won’t last forever.

It’s difficult sometimes. But it’s alright. There’ll never many devoted fans, never, even if I really wish that would happen. Fan love is a rare thing, and I say that because of all the years I’ve been a C-ute fan.

Accepting the hurting sides of reality is strange, even if it’s fandom reality. Will I able to still love that? Hopefully. The lyrics of Everyday Zekkouchou come to mind.

6:29 am  •  23 July 2010

(originally posted on April 14, 2010)

My two favourite idol groups are C-ute (Japan, Hello! Project) and So Nyuh Shi Dae (Korea, SME). I’ve been a bit interested in C-ute before they debuted, started to like them on August 2006 and became a fan in early 2007. I’ve liked SNSD since their debut days and became a fan in early-mid 2008. There have been good and bad times for both groups, but as a fan, I’ve supported them all the time.

Like many other Hello! Project groups, C-ute got a lot of support from the company in the beginning. 2006 and 2007 were good in terms of promotion, the rest of the years not so much. That aside, they’ve always been a changing unit. Even since their beginning. They were the Hello! Project Kids “rejects”, the ones not chosen to form Berryz Koubou. For almost two years they were simply known as “Hello! Project Kids”. When they debuted they got indies singles first, instead of going major. They were also sent to all major cities to promote those singles, and they performed in malls and other small places. When they held their first mini concert, they already had a fanbase.

In October 2006, they lost a member, Murakami Megumi. I have a theory regarding “scandals” (with boyfriends/love interest) in Hello! Project. 1st, 2nd and 4th (the oldest - 3rd gen member Goto Maki would be there too, but she’s in avex now) generations Morning Musume get priority, the others are more disposable. It sounds sad… and I’ve strangely gotten used to it (it doesn’t hurt any less though). It makes sense to me, considering the amount of money the oldest girls have made for UFA (and they’re still making profit of that). Megumi was photographed with a boy, linking hands, and a couple of days later she quit. The other members were sad, specially Maimi - she could barely talk in a concert they had a week later. Some weeks before Megumi left, she mentioned how she wanted to hold a live tour with C-ute.

Despite losing a front girl (and I’m quite positive that she was going to be THE front girl), they went ahead and had their major debut in 2007. Handshakes back then were a novelty in Hello! Project (unlike now, they gotta change that strategy sometime), and they accomplished lots of sales thanks to those. They worked hard, and had three singles in total that year. They also traveled through the whole country again. Their 3rd single, Tokaikko Junjou, managed to be quite popular. It was their first “mature” single, although not their first mature song (they already covered Endless Love in their first album and sang Bishoujo Shinri for a b-side - and the dances for both songs are nothing like Sakura Chirari). I say popular because this song was nominated for a radio award, and two other major award shows. They won one of those, the Best Newcomer Award.

I’m still a bit bitter the staffs didn’t chose a “right” follow-up song. It was good, yeah, but not the thing you’d hype after those nominations. In mid 2008, a member (Arihara Kanna) appeared in a tabloid (Bubka) with a Jhonnys member. It’s said that after that, in an event, many fans skipped her during the handshake, and she cried backstage. At the end of the year they were nominated for Best Artist, and didn’t won. The lyrics for the same song they were nominated for (Edo no Temari Uta II) did won another award though.

It’s speculated that it was that boyfriend scandal what made Kanna leave. There are too many rumours around the story. The official version (given by UFA) was that she had bunions and needed to go on a medical leave (announced in February 2009), then that she left Hello! Project to live a normal life (announced in July 2009). Other than that, nothing else was announced. No word about her health or words from the other members. She left without a graduation, just like Megumi.

Just a month late, member Umeda Erika (the girl up there) announced she would be graduating from Hello! Project to become a model. After a month or so, I thought that maybe those two events (Umeda’s graduation and Kanna’s departure) were linked. Although Ume had before said she had interest in modeling (something along the lines of being her dream, in 2008, and a feature in a fashion magazine in May 2009).

In the same year (2009), my other favourite idol group (So Nyuh Shi Dae) went through popular times. 2008 wasn’t the best year for them, they gained many anti-fans (which they already had since before), and received silence treatment (along with more worse things) in an important event (Dream Concert). They were always hardworking though, and it’s that hardwork what I like in my idols. Their popularity came mostly thanks to a fashionable image (no change of concept though - their So Nyuh concept is still there) and a very catchy song (not just catchy though). It was those nine girls’ passionate dancing in Into The New World what made me notice them, and after finding some interesting trivia about them, I decided to be their fan.

After Umeda left, there was no news of her for a while. Her graduation was pretty calm compared to most graduations, there were no long messages or flowers on stages. The girls did speak a bit, but nothing too long, and she did got flowers backstage. My guess is that she got this uncommon graduation ceremony because of the situation in C-ute (all the changes and stuff). Did they cry backstage? Yes. A recording of that surfaced and they were moaning. Part of that was shown in the DVD. In early April, news of her joining a model agency (ILLUME) were announced. ILLUME isn’t that popular of an agency, but her models are often featured in popular fashion magazines.

Now that Umeda says she likes So Nyuh Shi Dae… I find myself thinking about my support for both groups, and how much they’ve changed with the years. I’d like to think I’ve learned quite a few things from that. From the silence treatment So Nyuh Shi Dae, I definitely learned that no one deserves to get that, no matter if you like them or not. From Kanna’s departure I learned that theory I mentioned above - that girls who aren’t old in the company aren’t going to receive priority treatment.

Ume had also shown interest towards Korea in October last year. Apparently her first interest was dramas. She also knew a bit of hangul, as she wrote saranghae yo in two photo cards.

I wrote a fan letter to her before her graduation. Support is always needed, but it’s particularly needed in times like graduations - times where other fans leave, and where the girls are probably needing all the kind words they can get. In my letter I wrote that she didn’t need new charms for her new career, and that “C-ute’s Umeda Erika” would end soon, but “Umeda Erika (model)” would begin soon, and asked her to always stay as “Umeda Erika”.

Now I guess I really gotta write another letter to her soon…

To many So Nyuh Shi Dae fans Umeda is just another girl showing interest in a currently top K-pop girlgroup. To the Korean press it’s probably just that. To me it’s… quite different. Supporting C-ute, Umeda, Kanna (she seems to be doing fine, thankfully, Ume recently posted a photo with her on her blog) and So Nyuh Shi Dae… this is something that doesn’t happen everyday.

6:27 am  •  23 July 2010

(originally posted on April 6, 2010)

Black concept in recent k-pop girlgroups

It’s only a colour, which has the advantage of going really well with bold concepts. It’s not new, Fin.K.L’s “Now” comes to mind inmediately. So what does 2010 kpop girlgroups bring to the table?

So Nyuh Shi Dae is pulling off the “sassy” theme. To me, their overall concept is written right there in their name, so nyuh. I think that every concept SM gives to them is an stereotype of girls/woman. It’s a whole theme to explore, and I’m sure they won’t run out of concepts in a while. This time, they’ve went through quite a change. Oh! is a cheery song, and including “oppa, I love you” in the lyrics means it’s written in femenine language, ie. it would sound weird if a guy was singing it. Of course, that kind of language (not exact lyrics) can be found in nearly all of their lyrics.

Run Devil Run’ image is totally different from Oh!. They sing about how they don’t need a guy that cheats on girls. I think the feeling of the song can be found in the dance and singing, their outfits colour is a plus to me. The dance has attitude and is not so simple. To me, creating a dance of that kind is a work of art. It’s known that the choreographer of the dance is Lisette Bustamante, so congrats to her for creating a dance like that one :) So Nyuh Shi Dae members have said the song is for “unnies” (girls older than them), and I agree with them. Some people have said the song has “SM social lyrics” (not really SOCIAL, but more like… more social than the standard pop lyrics). I agree with that in the sense that it’s not really common in current mainstream k-pop lyrics where they girl disses the guy. About the black colour, like I said, it’s a plus for me. It creates a certain kind of effect. It would create another effect if the girls were dressed in say, pink clothes.

I find T-ara’ Crazy because of you not so original, but still really catchy. I think it’s very similar to Son Dambi’s Crazy and Brown Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra, except with a more catchy dance, and more autotune :P Not that autotune is bad, I just don’t like it all the time. I think it works better with certain kind of songs. Anyways, I think T-ara is a bit like a younger version of Jewelry. Some of the dance moves of both groups are very addictive. I’d like to see more non-autotuned vocals in T-ara’s songs, I really how they sound in Good Person (from their first album). Perhaps the girls aren’t quite ready to sing live for a title track promotion? If that’s the case, that’s understable, they’re still a new group.

I think KARA’s Lupin image is kind of old school. In that sense, it’s a bit different from So Nyuh Shi Dae’ Run Devil Run futuristic image. Some have said it’s almost like an unisex image. I sort of think so. The girls do a lot of leg moves, and the outfits don’t reveal a lot of skin, at least not at first sight. As usual with current k-pop, it has a hook dance move, the “running to the door” one. It’s really fun to do. KARA seems to be following the maturing so nyuh theme too, but differently from SNSD. For one, KARA features rap in many of their songs, SNSD does not. I’d like to think that contributes (or not) to the quality of their songs, depending of the song. I especially liked Nicole’s “two oh one oh” here. I’m very satisfied with Lupin, moreso because I can’t remember the last time where the first title song from a DSP release has been succesful, usually they do wrong choices regarding their title songs.

6:22 am  •  23 July 2010  •  1 note