I tried to think of a post to do this week, but really there’s not
much I could have done other than Tsunku’s Morning Musume
announcement. I mean, look at the options. It could have been a huge
announcement of world-shaking proportions, and I would have definitely
had to write about that. However, what happened was underwhelming for
most people, to say the least, and now this is an interesting jumping
off point to talk about.

From here, I’m going to break this down into two parts:

1. The announcement, or rather the hype around it.

2. The CM itself, and how this will affect Morning Musume.

– The Announcement/hype –

From the beginning, when Tsunku announced that there was going to be a big announement, I noticed a split of two camps within the people who actually cared about this: there were the people who were excited and possibly nervous about such an announcement, and there were the people who were convinced this was nothing at the getgo.

I think both sides are fair, but I was on the side of being probably convinced it was nothing. While Tsunku said that it was a risky move, very few moves Up-Front ever really does are risky. I didn’t expect there would be a huge announcement of something risky when that’s just not how Morning Musume operates.

Still, despite being pretty certain it had to be nothing, I still dutifully sat down and watched the livestream at the conference. Why was that? Because despite nothing ending up happening, there was a lot of hype and discussion.

It was hype for hype’s sake, essentially. It was Tsunku getting people to talk about Morning Musume even though all the theories and ideas about what it could be were most likely false. If you’re promoting something, you want people to be talking about it. Even if it’s just the fans getting worked up, it’s still keeping interest on the group (as opposed to another group).

– CMs-

I think people are underestimating the power of a national CM. Yes, it’s fairly underwhelming. However, more press for Morning Musume is a good thing, and this could do a lot to show the new lineup of Morning Musume to the current public who doesn’t know MM.

Personally, I don’t listen to any American radio; the music I like generally doesn’t get much airtime, and I prefer being able to listen to my ipod. I watch talk shows only if a guest I like is on (and then I generally only watch for the celebrity I like). The only way I’m aware of top 40 American music is pretty much through word of mouth and commercials.

That’s the kind of audience that MM could reach through a CM. I’m not saying it’s going to generate a lot of new fans, but it could, in a way, raise some awareness for the group from people who have similar habits to me or who just ignore that group entirely.

Plus, the CM is actually pretty humorous; I love that it implies that Tsunku makes bad decisions about Morning Musume while drinking. This could also get people talking.

It’s not going to be a huge turning point, but this kind of shows that Morning Musume is getting back to being fairly big national idols again. This kind of campaign won’t change everything, but it’s more emblematic of the place that Morning Musume has gotten to. And that’s exciting.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know and you will be featured in my “Your Thoughts” post next week!