STYLIPS

STYLIPS

A brand new Idol unit has been born under the name Stylips .

Stylips stands for Brand-new style for lips!! Or Stylips and features the veteran idol lineup of Noto Arisa, Ogura Yui, Matsunaga Maho and Ishihara Kaori.

Stylips is actually the rebranding of a unit that I have written about in the past then known as Team Dekaris .

Stylips will be releasing their debut single in February and it will be called STUDYxSTUDY and the single will be used as the ending theme for the anime High School DxD.

Short  introductions have already been released and as someone who thinks Noto Arisa is just the cutest thing ever ,it`s good to see her leading a unit .







http://stylips.jp/

UPDATED
http://pureidolheart.blogspot.com/2012/01/stylips-study-x-study-mini-preview.html

Join and discuss this group and more at our new Message board
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Pure_Idol_Heart/index.php?act=idx

LINQ

LINQ

LinQ is the fastest rising Indies group in idol genre today having only made their debut on April 17 and securing a record contract with Tower Records new idol label T-Palette Records shortly after their debut .T-Palette which started in June by the way is run by Minewaki Ikuo who is a self- professed "wota" and a ranking official of Tower Records is also one of the fastest rising labels in  idol genre with a number of groups nationwide under contract.

LinQ are from Fukuoka and before Aki-P decided to put another 48 in their backyard had joined with several other Fukuoka groups to become the dominate idol groups in Kyushu .
The name LinQ comes from the groups desire to link all of Kyushu in energetic idol love and to make Fukuoka a city of idol culture .

When LinQ was created in February 2011  when a total of 1,162 girls auditioned ranging from the age of 12-24 .After the original roster was selected the group made their debut on April 17 and started to perform lives around Fukuoka and surrounding towns.

In June the group released their debut Indies single ,which resulted in Kyushu media and companies signing the group to endorsements and public appearances around the region.
The success of their debut also attracted attention in the center of the idol world Tokyo .This attention has resulted in the group becoming more active in Tokyo and the landing of a record contract with T-Palette to distribute their releases nationwide through Tower Records.

LinQ is one unit that you should keep a watch on ,if T-Palette is to be a major player in the idol genre it just maybe LinQ who leads the charge.

Newest Release

Live Performances







YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/Linqofficial#g/u

HP
http://www.loveinq.com/

Member Blogs
http://www.loveinq.com/member-blog

Related
My post this summer on the start of T-Palette Records
http://pureidolheart.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-idol-company-t-palette.html

T-Palette Records Idol Groups
http://tower.jp/label/t-paletterecords

MMJ

MMJ
Rising out of the famous Hiroshima Actors School [home of Perfume ,Riho of Morning Musume , Manaminorisa and others] comes MMJ.

MMJ have been called by Hiroshima media the AKB48 of Hiroshima and to a certain degree they are as they are the top group in Hiroshima and the surrounding region. MMJ are inspired in a way by looking up the moe ,uniform ,big unit dance abilities of AKB48 ,much in the same way rock bands have been influenced for decades by Led Zeppelin.

Being influenced , inspired by is much different than sticking a 48 after your name and being more or less a cover group and in this case MMJ`s feelings should be viewed as a complement to AKB48`s success.

Coming from such a respected school ,the expectations for the group to be talented are very high and the group meets those expectations .
Their one drawback that will likely keep them from being national idols is that all the members are 21 and over .

However given their local activities schedule and media and endorsement demands ,staying home may not be a bad thing for MMJ.

Their debut single will be released December 11
PV teaser

Live version


Outdoor Live [yes they do covers of the 48`s songs ,all Indies starting out with limited songs do]


MMJ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/mmjinfo#g/u
Blog
http://ameblo.jp/mmjblog/
http://ameblo.jp/mmj-info/

USTREAM W/Archived shows
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mmj-channel

Fresh Faces: Shimon Chu, Idol Gang Magic, Nagaigoto, Apple Gakuen,

Fresh Faces: Shimon Chu, Idol Gang Magic, Nagaigoto, Apple Gakuen,

It`s time for another round of video profiles of fresh face independent idol units. If you have followed this site for any period of time ,then you know we place a lot of importance on the largest branch of the female idol genre division and that is the independents .There is 100`s of these units across Japan making a name for themselves.
In this video profile I have selected units that have become active this summer and are so new to the idol wars that if they were new cars, they still have that new car smell to them. These units still have much work ahead of them to become national idols, but are making their mark in their regional backyards.

Shimon Chu [しもんchu♪]




http://www.shimonchu.com/

Idol Gang Magic
http://twitter.com/#!/idolgangmagic
http://igm.love-mark.jp/profile/
http://ameblo.jp/i-g-m/

Made their debut this August ,no releases yet . or live video yet

Nagaigoto [Wishes]
Sister unit to Idol Gang Magic
Made their debut this summer





http://ameblo.jp/negaigoto-5/

Apple Gakuen







This unit also has members who compete in professional wrestling and their producer is also a professional wrestler.







Apple Gakuen has these mini shows on their web site to get to know the members better.
Here is the first episode there as of this posting 10 more on the web site.



http://www.apple-gakuen.com/page0006.html
http://applegakuen.naganoblog.jp/
On their blog there is at times English posts or little bits of English

Fresh Faces ASAS And More

Fresh Faces ASAS And More

If you watched the newest episode of Tsunku`s new show ,then you saw some new idol groups that had not been on the show ,I thought that it would be a good show you some of the artists outside of Tsunku`s show that we have not covered on PIH .

First up is ASAS which stands for As Soon As. ASAS is a new unit signed under Victor Entertainment and recently had a debut release. The group is from Kansai and they like use Kansai dialect in their music.




Member profile video w/ their blog links in the video



http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Profile/A023778.html
http://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/id467338880
http://www.youtube.com/user/asaskansai#g/u

GAL♡DOLL
Is a Shibuya based unit that is a part of the whole Shibuya Gal culture of blonde hair and spray on tans.









http://galdoll.jp/?guid=on

http://www.crownrecord.co.jp/artist/galdoll/whats.html

O-SYA-MA
http://o-sya-ma.com/mobile/
http://www.o-sya-ma.com/index.html

AD
For those who don`t know it the girl on the show known as AD is actually an idol and has been a member of a couple of groups


http://www.youtube.com/user/2010MBCS#g/u

http://ameblo.jp/mbcs-nagisa/

Apple-Tale




http://apple-tale.com/

Lovely ★DOLL

http://ameblo.jp/love-lovelydoll/

Related
http://pureidolheart.blogspot.com/2011/10/tsuntube-18.html

Tsuntube #18

Tsuntube #18
Another week and more Tsunku and idols, this week another audition episode for fresh idols for the show and AD becomes a judge.


As an added bonus I have put some of the groups that are in this episode that we have not covered yet on PIH in a separate video and link post.

Related
http://pureidolheart.blogspot.com/2011/10/fresh-faces-asas-and-more.html

Dorothy Little Happy Concert

Dorothy Little Happy Concert

On the 22nd Dorothy Little Happy held a live concert on USTREAM .This actually happens regularly by this group. This concert had a little bit of everything new costumes, TEAM DOROTHY back dancers and a fun time was had by all.
DLH will be releasing another single soon, so be sure to continue to follow the group on PIH.

Note-As to DLH blog translations that we started and stopped ,Ryo has had some personal things to tend to and right now ,I am the only staffer and my time is limited as to what I will cover each day and something’s have had to be sacrificed .
When Ryo takes care of his family needs the DLH blog translations and other projects that are planned for PIH will resume.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18029909

Milky Holmes Live In Budokan

Milky Holmes Live In Budokan

Seiyuu idol unit Milky Holmes announced at their recent live that on May 20, 2012 they will hold a concert at the famed Nippon Budokan.

For readers unfamiliar with the group Milky Holmes is made of four voice actresses [Seiyuu] who are Mimori Suzuko, Tokui Sora, Sasaki Mikoi, and Kitta Izumi .The members of Milky Holmes are currently the voices for the anime series “Tantei Opera Milky Homes”. The groups costume concept is based on the Sherlock Shellingford series which the four members were the character voices and is also related to the Milky Holmes anime.

The group has been recently on a summer tour and has released a DVD called Colourful Garden.

Tsunku And The Indies #17

Tsunku And The Indies #17
I almost forgot about this episode, because I have been so busy. This episode we have part two of the dart game episode .Tsunku can throw a good game as well.
Overall I feel the show is starting to slip a bit I the creativity department , but what I am excited about is Tsunku has taken the show one step beyond the television , by producing live single day concert festivals with the groups on the show.

Fresh Faces: Pureful

Fresh Faces: Pureful
Back in June I made a brief post on two members of this group getting injured in a television taping; now it is time to introduce the group.

Pureful is a heavy metal/rock idol unit and are members of a company known as Alice Project .AP features Pureful their sister units Prism, Cherry Blossom and Alice Juban.
Pureful is made up of the following members Fujisaki Asami, Mori Kanon, Ayakawa Komugi, Koitabashi YU-KI, Tsukimura Reika, and Sakura Nodoka. The absolute number one thing that I like about Pureful is that they stage dive into the wotas at lives. The second thing that I like about Pureful is that on the weekends when not working you can find them out cosplaying with non-idols on their free time and the last reason that I like them is because when you ask them why they stage dive, they will gladly say to you “it reflects our current common sense”.
Pureful made their stage diving assault on the idol genre in 2010 and have two CDs to date. While I love Pureful, I think the idol unit HY4_4YH have a harder music sound to them .While both are heavy metal idol units, HY4_4YH holds a specialness to me for being one brick short of a full load and are just plain insane on stage, Pureful gets a slight edge overall in my heart because of the stage dives at lives and because of their lives, they are an experience that you just have to see to fully understand this unit.

The Stage Diving Idols
Ready set ,2 minutes kick wotas in face and it`s 1,2,3,4, idols stage dive.









Street Live

 

HP
http://www.alice-project.biz/pureful/

Fresh Faces: LSP

Fresh Faces: LSP

LSP [Larval Stage Planning] is a group made up of Kirishima Airi, Maisaki Nami and Asami Rin. LSP belong to a company based in Sapporo called I`ve Sound or I`ve for short .I`ve is a techno/trance style company that have created works for a number of entertainment fields.
LSP is a real fresh faced unit having made their recording debut in June 2010 on an I`ve compilation album before making their single debut this past July with “Kimi+Nazo+Watashi de JUMP!!”

For some reason that I just can`t explain with words [it`s just a gut feeling type thing] this group interests me and I have found their works and live events enjoyable. Would I call them idols? Yes and no ,they are not traditional idols ,but fit the general wotas like them rule ,so they fit ,lol.















HP
http://ive.mu/lsp/

Tsunku And Indie Idols #16

Tsunku And Indie Idols #16

Episode of Tsuntube, this time he takes the idols for a game of darts
It`s idol & pro player team format.

SUPER☆GiRLS Declare Revenge

SUPER☆GiRLS Declare Revenge

SUPER☆GiRLS Declare Revenge

Avex Idol unit SUPER☆GiRLS have declared revenge on a venue of all things. On February 5 2012, SUPER☆GiRLS will be holding a revenge concert at Nippon Seinenkan. Nippon Seinenkan was to be the site of their debut concert; however, the event was cancelled due to low-ticket sales. Since that time, the group has made tremendous gains in the industry and is set to return to the building in triumph.

Group leader Yasaka Saori recently expressed the feelings of the group about their revenge concert.

“In January, it was canceled because of our lack of power, but this time, we want to show our growth!”

Tsunku And The Indies #15

Tsunku And The Indies #15

Sorry that I could not get this up yesterday as I had other commitments. This week we get to see more of the recording. I am still on the fence as to if I like the song or not just yet , but as long as Tsunku keeps helping out Indie Idols and growing this genre ,I am in his corner on this show.
This episode it`s hard to pick who has the best voice ,they are all so special in their own way and you may want to watch it more then once just to take in all the voices recording today.

BiS To Give Fans A Kiss

BiS To Give Fans A Kiss

Let me ask the guys who read PIH a question. If your idol offered to give you a kiss if you buy a ticket to her concert, would you buy the ticket?


The we will make our own rules idols are back on PIH and doing things their way. On December 20th BiS will be releasing an yet untitled new single ,plus they will be holding their first oneman live concert [one group concert] .The concert will be titled  `IDOL is DEAD`  and promises to take the rebel group to a new level of doing things their way.

As part of the promotion there is two special gifts connected ,any fan who buy tickets for the live will be able to buy the CD in advance .But it gets much better then just an advance copy of the CD and that is an kiss from an idol.

On October 29 and 30th at the groups, record company offices [Tsubasa Records] BiS will be holding a kiss fan event. If you bring your ticket to the event, the member of your choice will kiss the ticket and leave her lipstick print on your ticket.

Plans are underway to give lipstick kisses to fans that cannot attend the live.

Tsunku And The Indie Idols #14

Tsunku And The Indie Idols #14

If you have been following this show since I have started posting it, then you may notice that this show seemed to be building up to a point, was it an audition? Did Tsunku-san have something in mind? The answers to both questions are yes.

This week you will see why Tsunku-san has been gathering Indie Idol groups from across Tokyo for weeks now.

You may notice that these episodes get a lot of dislike votes on youtube ,these come from anti the Possible fan who feel that Tsunku-san spends more time with them and other Indies when he should instead spend every second of his life on H!P .

This small band of antis spend all of their time voting down anything that the Possible or their sister groups are on.

Fresh Faces :FLOWER

FLOWER

This summer the pop group EXILE created another female group along the lines of Happiness called FLOWER.

The original lineup featured five members Mizuno Erina, Fujii Shuuka, Shigetome Manami, and Nakajima Mio who have since been joined by four other members by way of the “EXILE Presents VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION3 ~For Girls~“ which featured 30,000 girls competing for contracts.

FLOWER is known for having beautiful legs and hope that it will help them stand out among the other groups. The group has already gained valuable stage experience ahead of their October single release with appearances on the recent Avex a-nation tour.

FLOWER members are the following
Mizuno Erina 2-8-1993

Fujii Shuuka 10-14-1994

Shgietome Manami 12-11-1994

Nakajima Mio 11-23-1993

Washio Reina 1-20-1994

Muto Chiharu 4-3-1995

Ichiki Kyouka 1-4-1997

Bando Nozomi 9-4-1997

Sato Harumi 6-8-1995

Debut -“Still” out October 12
















http://www.flower-ldh.jp/

Tsunku and Indie Idols Week 13

This week Tsunku brings in more groups to sing for his pleasure four songs will not air this wee.
We have the H!P guest , and the normal cast of Indie Idols and some fresh faces and the weekly required Possible swimsuit promotions.

More or less it`s the same thing we have seen for all the episodes.

Tsunku and Indie Idols Week 12

Tsunku and Indie Idols Week 12

Sorry for the lateness of this as I am currently not feeling well.

This week Tsunku brings in more groups to sing for his pleasure or scout for Aichan`s replacement as this show is feeling more and more like a giant audition.

We have the H!P guest ,Afilia intimidated by the size of one Possible member and the weekly required Possible promotions.

More or less it`s the same thing we have seen for the last 11 episodes. As entertaining as it is to see Indies on a national stage ,there is a lot to be said about AKB48 having a TV/Music producer as boss. Will somebody fire a Dodgeball or a pie at somebody once please ,lol.

S/mileage Sub Members Given An Entry Test

S/mileage Sub Members Given An Entry Test

Tsunku has decided that the fresh faces have to take an entry test for full membership .The sub members have take on a test called “Smile Upload Campaign” to get full membership into the group!

What this means is that the new members have to go out, take peoples pictures, just like their big sisters did, and they have to ask people to upload pictures of their smiles and send it to them via twitter, Facebook, mixi.

This is an interesting test as the members not only have to go out and have to take pictures of people, with that person's cell phone, but also get the person to upload that picture to his/her blog or twitter and post that they have done to using the S/mileage twitter tag. It`s a test of determination and courage.

The results are expected October 16





[uploader by the way has poster entire concert in their account]