Single Iwasa Misaki 3rd [Tomonoura bojou] (2014/01/08)

Will be a very sad day for AKB the day Yuko graduates....


Just suggested on the JKT48 thread for Harugon that they give her a single, in Indonesian, to do with her experience in moving to Indonesia making a new home and freinds etc.....would be appropriate for her now.

Also...I think would be a good idea if Wasamin produced a Mandarin version of one of her singles...it would be a curiosity for Taiwan and China AKB fans.....and give her a wedge into performing in Taiwan also at SNH. And isn't so unusual really.... IT will certainly generate some interest in Wasamin all round....and this is what she needs to do too.

 

Covers her album and single..

You can tell from the interview..Wasamin acts so sensible and mature...simply she is an anti-idol type. Not surprising she doesn't rank high.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ni6PgkYjOg[/yt]

 

There's another 'anti-idol' type sitting at the top of the election Although they are polar opposites in personalities but still. Not everyone has to fit to a certain archetype to become popular.

I hope Wasamin doesn't fall out of the rankings next year if they decide to keep the election to 64 places - she's stuck in the same rut of declining popularity as Aamin, Sakiko and Suzuran - shoved out of the spotlight in lieu of the 'new' new gen.

 

The top idol of AKB... is the comedian, popular because she is a spectacular failure at all things idol...except the comedy type stuff and that she is a good talker. Like Paruru's salty character becomes a selling point.

Wasamin is attractive, pretty, but not cutish in a lolita or idol sense I don't think...her attractiveness is more in the classical sense. Her personality as she and her colleagues have said..is boring, or introverted - in comparison to many around her. She always looks as though she feels totally comfortable and performs well in the company of adults on TV...but looks a bit awkward and not sure how to act when with her peers.. she tries to get into the idol routine and behavior, sometimes looks contrived and awkward ..it isn't natural to her I don't think...though she is getting better at it and getting more natural.

But anyway I think it a bit late for her to try to improve her rating by means of the classical idol method. Too many young and up and comers around her..and too many ranked ones above her.

To get attention you need to do something that stands out, unusual, gets noticed and is different. Wasamin singing a song in Mandarin in Taiwan and or Cantonese song in HK or a song at a SNH event, Thai in Bangkok... or even at a JKT event... anything really...and it isn't hard to learn a song in another language.
Would get her notice among the enka crowd .. and would evoke memories of other enka singers who did two languages.

I mean that is one idea among a few....one of things I would like her to do.

ONE smart thing they are doing is letting a lot of Wasamin stuff stay up on Youtube....so people who go looking for her will find something decent.

 

Already watched both of them at least 10 times without even knowing about this push. I'll keep on, Wasamin really deserves more exposure.

 

No worries. .will wear out the reload button

 

Tomonoura Bojou just entered the Yusen chart, ranking at #133. Mujin Eki and Moshi Sora peaked at #5 and #2 on this chart, which is a major determining factor of the Yusen Award. Hope this single will get a good result.

http://www.cansystem.info/chart/?cn=ranking1&sn=100&en=50&ct=1

 

Cool, and not even officially released yet.

And wow Kiyoshi Hikawa really still so popular for so long.. at No.1 and my love Mizumori Kaori No.3


One nice thing about almost all Wasamin's releases on Youtube is the high 'like' ratio. WHEN people get to notice and listen...they like it. Just a matter of getting more and more to notice.

 

I don't mean to spoil your excitement, but songs usually start to rank 2 weeks before the date of release.

To make it up, take a look at this. According to the newspaper cutting, Wasamin has been appointed as the special PR ambassador for Tomonoura by Fukuyama City for one year starting from 7th January 2014. However, until this moment, I can't find an online source for the news. I googled "美濃政友", and found that this person is a reporter of The Sanyo Shimbun. I don't see any related news on the website of the newspaper. I also looked for clues in the homepage of Fukuyama City and the City's Tourism Board, but nothing comes up. As a result, I'll remain cautious about the authenticity of this piece of news. It's not that I don't believe it's true. The newspaper clip looks pretty convincing to me, and the content makes a lot of sense. I mean, who would say no to an AKB member promoting your hometown to the rest of Japan and the world? But until an official announcement is made, or a more reliable source is available, let's just sit back, relax, and wait.

Oh by the way, Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 is going to appear on Count Down TV Special together with other 48G girls. Wasamin is not singing Tomonoura Bojou though. Hope someone at least brings this topic up. Sigh...so predicatable .

 

Wasamin is going to appear on TV Tokyo's 木曜8時のコンサート～名曲！にっぽんの歌～ (the one in which she sang PRIDE). The recording will take part on 16 January.
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/official/meikyoku/

 

I start contract work again on 7th january ...depending on how bad a condition this corporations affairs are in...I am hoping to squeeze a week in Tokyo in April. May. ....ok Wasamin how about a 4th single. . Been 14 years since wife and I have actually had a real holiday together. .. ..


May would be good timing for her next...

 

@Cristafari: Thanks! I just want to pass the message on to her so she could think about it or seek some advice. I don't want to make her feel that fans are criticizing her. I'm sure the Japanese wotas know how to handle it.

@Aisansan: Hm...the only person who can release 2 enka singles in a year is Hikawa Kiyoshi as far as I can remember. And for enka singles, the release date is usually determined around 6 months in advance. So...unlikely.

 

Wasamin not really in the same boat as enka singers I don't think.

Most of her supporters, buyers of CDs, would still be her idol fans and the strategy should be to build her momentum and make maximum use of her AKB tenure and the AKB marketing/exposure machine...since the next few years will pass very quickly for her.

This is momentum they failed to build after Mujin Eki by leaving it far too long for a follow up, and started to build again with a single right after her album. They should be looking at two CDs a year with Wasamin while in AKB else they are wasting a free resource...including the ability of singing enka versions of AKB songs which help her profile and sales.

Outside of AKB selling CDs will be a very hard proposition for her...unless she can build the highest profile she can over the next few years. Likewise building a name and profile to get herself constant gigs when outside of AKB is also something to aim at. The album ticks the box of having a suitable foundation repertoire to sing from for enka work.

She won't always be a teenager/youth....I will keep pushing the need and real urgency of raising Wasamin's profile in various areas..non singing TV gigs and CMs also should be on the cards.

Have a few Hikawa Kiyoshi songs on my Phone that I listen to in the car most days...along with Wasamin, Teng, Mizumori etc.... I actually 'discovered' him some years ago whilst trolling through Youtube looking for some decent Japanese voices.

 

@Aisansan: I understand what you mean. I share your views that it's a misstep for not covering another AKB theatre song in the new single, just like Kikyou in Mujin Eki. I also agree that there are too little cooperation between Nagarapro and AKS. Unfortunately it's useless for you to repeat your viewpoints here in this forum which nobody actually cares. Get someone who can write in Japanese and email them. Nagarapro is not best known for their creativity when coming to promote their singers, and there's very little that fans can do on this part. I think letting Wasamin sing a "local song" is actually a good start, and I see it as an attempt to boost her popularity in places outside Kanto region. However I would strongly disagree if Nagarapro are trying to transform Wasamin into Mizumori Kaori ver. 2.0. She can never have a breakthrough if what she does is following suit. Too early to tell now though.

About the interval between releasing singles/albums, don't forget how strict HIERARCHY matters in the enka industry. Having a dual identity of idol and enka singer can't be an excuse. It's an inconvenient truth, and again, it's not something that fans nor agency can do anything since it's conventional. I mean, even Hikawa Kiyoshi (debuted in 2000) complains about not earning enough respect from the old senpais, what could you expect for Wasamin?

In addition, there could be a detrimental effect on the sales figure if the intervals between the singles are too close together. Hikawa Kiyoshi can release two singles and an album in one year simply because his fan base is large enough. In addition, most of them are ladies who have retired and saved money throughout their lives. On the other hand, just like what you said, the sales figures of Wasamin's works are somehow boosted by die-hard fans buying multiple singles. God knows what "multiple" means. Do you really think they have the same financial power after only a few months?

I agree that Nagarapro needs to be creative and maintain the momentum of Wasamin. However, releasing 2 singles within a short period of time is unrealistic, as far as I'm concerned.

 

wasamin looks gorgeous in the pv!!! im happy kfc in the single, i thought it was in the cover request album!

 

Welcome to the thread. KFC is too new and J-pop-ish to be included in the album, I suppose.

By the way @Cristafari, I've been following the Wasamin thread on 2ch, and it seems that fans haven't found out that Wasamin's recording on 16th Jan. You may want to remind Wild-san or whoever else you know. Cheers.

Happy new year!