H!P Concurrent Group System

[AyuHikaru]

Yeah the Kobushi situation probably stalled a lot of things. That was the biggest scandal that H!P has had in awhile after all.

[Zunu]

So what have they been doing for the past year?

For one, waiting for Ichioka's talent to kick in?
I mean clearly she's got something, or they wouldn't keep her in the stable, but she also clearly has deficiencies or she would've debuted a long time ago. And as we saw from a recent video, it's only natural for young performers to improve, in some cases drastically, over time. So I think to some extent they have been just waiting for her to ripen.

H!P is not like your daddy's H!P where just being cute was enough to get you a debut and if they wound up with groups like Berryz where half the members couldn't sing, it was ok because they had kick-ass songs to work with and H!P was the only game in town anyway. There are too many idol groups crawling around for the strength of the H!P brand name to guarantee success. That was never fully true even in the gravy days, when their seeming impregnableness was belied by one off novelty releases that would sell dismally. But now, with the AK empire from above and all those little Junjou no Afilia / Idol College type groups nipping at then from below, there's precious little room to experiment with quirkiness. Leading to the greater level of polish which was elsewhere the cause of Starra's lament.

[AyuHikaru]

The further we get away from Berryz, the more I realize how unique they actually were. Something lik Berryz just can't exist in todays idol climate.

[Amped]

So what have they been doing for the past year?

For one, waiting for Ichioka's talent to kick in?
I mean clearly she's got something, or they wouldn't keep her in the stable, but she also clearly has deficiencies or she would've debuted a long time ago.

Hina Fes 2018

Midnight Temptation / Ichioka, Takase, Kiyono, Inaba


Their expressions have vastly improved. They have erased that "Kenshuusei" image.

[Zunu]

They're on point Amped, but Ichioka still seems like the weakest link to me. I'd rate them:

1) Manakan
2) Flan-chan
3) the other one
4) Ichioka

[Amped]

1 year ago (6/26), everyone got shook.



Their 1st anniversary since they joined the groups.

[Amped]

Continuing the new concurrent system :

Announcement about Country Girls Yamaki Risa

Yamaki Risa will be in a joint project between Spacecraft Group (campus pageant audition "Campus Queen") & Upfront Group. She will be actively participating in a 25 member female university idol group called "college cosmos". This group is an intellectual idol group who can be active in a wide range of fields while attending college. The members have auditioned for the Campus Queen auditions.

From now on, Yamaki Risa will continue her activities as country girls and concurrent with "college cosmos"

http://www.helloproject.com/news/9300/

official site
https://collegecosmos.jp/


Yamaki Risa's statement about the concurrent system, what college cosmos is, and also reveals she is studying at the Faculty of Commerce at Keio University. While learning mathematics that was originally interesting, she learns about marketing and accounting! She will be balancing being a member of Country Girls, College Cosmos, and as a college student.
https://ameblo.jp/countrygirls/entry-12409341602.html

member profiles

https://collegecosmos.jp/profiles



They will be the opening act at the Hello! Project Hello! Fest 2018 and appear at theSatoyama and Satoumi 2018 event in Kumagaya on 10/20~10/21
https://collegecosmos.jp/contents/202079

College Cosmos' first MV "Kotoba no Mizu wo roka Shitai" 言葉の水を濾過したい “I Want to Filter the Water of Words.” Written by Ohashi Riko


"Kotoba no Mizu wo roka Shitai" digital single iTunes released under Upfront
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/1436824133

College Cosmos will make their CD debut next Spring

official twitter
https://twitter.com/collegecosmos

news reports and Yamaki Risa's new group and so many more details

Yamaki Risa shares the "double center" position in the group with fellow college member Matsui Mari
https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2120707/full/
https://www.hochi.co.jp/entertainment/2 ... 50093.html
https://mdpr.jp/news/1796429

[JonCC]

That's a big group.

Spacecraft Group

Nice Girl Project! Take 2?

[Nayoko-Kihara]

^ Too big. I could swear I remember seeing different 15-20+ member groups in long skirted school-esque uniforms singing mild mid-tempo song in a large open field at least once a month this year.

Not that I'll be able to closely follow them anyway (not sure I would even if I were able to, despite loving Yamaki), so it doesn't really matter. I am pretty done with the concurrent business though.

[JonCC]

Wait and see. Song isn't half bad. Your typical large group unison song.
It seems very Nogizaka46-like at the moment.

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Also: maybe they should fully launch their own new group(s) and finish up their own audition(s) before randomly starting another one somewhere?