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forgetmenots wrote:And man in general so many of the girls seem like they've leveled up recently. I guess with Sayu's graduation looming they're pushing themselves harder, which is one of the things I love most about this group. They're always striving to improve it seems.

Maybe this belongs in the musings thread, but I was musing that MM (and most of the rest of H!P) don't get more mainstream attention because as idols go, they're rather intimidating. They're so pretty and classy, and their dancing is so polished (relative to other idols), that mainstream audiences simply don't know what to do with them. They have the aura of artists, but they still sell themselves as idols.

The thought came up again today when this appeared in my feed…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDLuyitHP-M

They seem so plain, how can they be the second biggest group behind only *48? Even some of our Kenshūsei are prettier and have more stage presence, and I don't pay much attention to the Kenshūsei.

Of course, I could just be incredibly biased, but… *shrug*

This is my opnion, but I think it all comes down to money really. Momoclo's company puts a lot into promoting the songs and unlike Musume, they don't release singles and albums nearly as often as Morning Musume does. They, like Morning Musume put a lot of work into their dance routines so their concerts are usually a very big draw for people. Their company is also very grassroots with the idols, having them do street performances and working their way up. This gives them more of a connection to their fans and what draws people in to supporting them.

Morning Musume. '14 taping for Music Japan, 9/22. Sayumi's last Music Japan appearance.
http://www.helloproject.com/news/1966/
https://pid.nhk.or.jp/event/PPG0248462/index.html

Waiting for a preview is making me a lil anxious. I'm...so excited to hear this live

Celedam wrote:They seem so plain, how can they be the second biggest group behind only *48? Even some of our Kenshūsei are prettier and have more stage presence, and I don't pay much attention to the Kenshūsei.

Okay, I know you're just speaking rhetorically here, but the answer is marketing. It's as simple as that. Momoclo's management get them good deals and tie-ins, and they're on many more TV shows and stuff than MM。and other H!P groups are.

They also have a gimmick, and their kind of image sells. MM。's only "thing" is their formation dances, and even that is recent.

Plus maybe people are more likely to support a group where the members don't change as much? I dunno. I know they do in the *48 groups, but honestly, that's also marketing and pushing them in everyone's faces.

Starra wrote:Okay, I know you're just speaking rhetorically here, but the answer is marketing. It's as simple as that. Momoclo's management get them good deals and tie-ins, and they're on many more TV shows and stuff than MM。and other H!P groups are.

They also have a gimmick, and their kind of image sells. MM。's only "thing" is their formation dances, and even that is recent.

I think this is pretty much it. Somehow they stood out, they caught on, and then they're promoted like crazy. There's no formula for success and there are factors that you can't control. Like timing. Star Wars wouldn't have been as big as it was if it didn't come out when it did. Of course, some people seem to have a sense for that sort of thing, but... yeah.

Celedam wrote:They seem so plain, how can they be the second biggest group behind only *48? Even some of our Kenshūsei are prettier and have more stage presence, and I don't pay much attention to the Kenshūsei.

This isn't really directed at you because you don't regularly make comments like this, but it makes me uncomfortable when I see this kind of comment. I was a hardcore Riho fan when she was first introduced and it got pretty tiring seeing people say stuff like: "Riho can't sing and looks like a boy! Mizuki is cuter and a better singer and should be more popular!" (Anyway, I agree about their looks, but aren't they supposed to be really energetic performers? I don't know because I don't follow them and never have.)

edit: typo. -_-

Supposedly they're pretty bad at performing, lol. Then again, like you, I don't really follow them, so y'know.

In Momoclo's defence, as much as I don't like them, they do have some really good songs. It's annoying because I want to ignore them, but I can't.

I got the impression that they were really bad singers but fun to watch. And they do interesting stuff... like that shrimp jump thing.

Do you guys think its possible we'll get a Mikaeri Bijin performance on Music Japan?

We'll probably get something concert-related before that, can be assumed.

^^the only thing momoclo related I've ever seen is some prank the staff did on them with a spinning stage or something.