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Last time I posted here was at least two Ling Ling hairstyles ago, so I have a lot to catch up on. The BiS elections sure were a convoluted way just to have Aya and Nel trade places, but I guess all that matters is they sold a lot of CDs. I'm fine with the new lineups anyways. I think one of the WAgg members (Uta) is Yui Ga Jackson from the last audition camp. Glad the promised avex solo singles are finally actually happening. Note that Aina isn't just credited with lyrics but also music. I think this is a first for a WACK member. This is the song Chitti is covering:

Watanabe announced that BiS1st will be made up of the top 4 instead of the top 5. Here's a new interview with all of 1st. Click here to view the Tweet Anyone know what Muropanako is saying in this tweet? It's posted as images so I can't even autotranslate. Welcome aboard! I saw your website recently and found it useful, so keep up the good work!

Pan is extremely competitive to the point that it's a bit scary. I will not forget the morning race in the training camp where she nearly won even though she had to eat a whole loaf of melonpan halfway through. As you may know, the first few runners to reach the midpoint are usually given something to consume (crackers, rice ball, soda, etc) before they can continue the race, which they get extra points for but often means losing the race. The items change day to day and depend on what order they reach the midpoint so nobody knows what they'll get beforehand, if anything. On that day, the first five to the midpoint all got melonpan, which is probably the most difficult item of all. Mikina Empire arrived sixth so she didn't have to eat anything and probably figured she had a clear path to victory, but on the final stretch she turned her head to see Pan bolting up the road behind her. Over a distance of about 1.5 km, Pan had nearly closed Mikina's head start of about 1.5 minutes. Mikina sped up as much as she could and looked sort of like she was trying to escape from a monster in a horror movie. She barely managed to beat Pan by like a second, then they both collapsed in exhausted heaps. It was a little frightening to watch. Pan's determination is amazing. She seems like someone who doesn't believe in the concept of limits.

Preliminary results for BiS voting will be posted periodically until voting ends: https://bisleague.tokyo/vote/result/pre_result.html Currently it looks like my prediction of BiS1st ending up as the 5 older members might come true, but there are still thousands of votes yet to come in. Today I got my delivery which included the regular BiS2nd and the deluxe BiS1st single with its really fancy packaging, so I have two serial numbers but haven't completely decided how I'll vote.

Here's the full version of the BiS1st performance, including the part for premium members that was cut out of the videos above (four more songs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mME2b9QZh4I I feel like 1st is a very solid unit as they are now. Everyone brings something unique and necessary to the group and no one is overused or underused (and I love Nel's weird singing). 2nd seems more unbalanced but of course I'd have to see more than one song to make a proper judgement. edit: and a new live of BILLIE IDLE. Never thought I'd see Puu and Non-chan harmonizing again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cMKLRu_Y8s

That might be my favorite BiSH MV ever. That's the sort of sci-fi concept I was hoping for back when the cover art for Promise the Star was first revealed. I love how the song and visuals are so epic but they're combined with lyrics that are basically meaningless and/or vulgar nonsense. I love how they kept this a surprise guerrilla release to come out alongside their more mainstream "serious" single and how the title seems to be a reference to how so many of their recent songs are tie-ups to anime/dramas/ads/etc. Meanwhile you can check out the WACKè¬ç½ª hashtag on twitter to follow the apology campaign. Some people noticed that there were apology books being handed out by unknown schoolgirls. Some pictures for reference in case they end up being wAGG trainees: Also found translations of the members' hypothetical apologies from this wiki:

That seems like a pretty good campaign to pique the curiosity of people who aren't familiar with WACK groups. I like it. Don't think this was mentioned yet but EMPiRE is releasing a mini album called EMPiRE originals on Sept. 5. The physical version will be a cassette release again. I wonder how many years back you'd have to go to find an artist with higher cassette sales than EMPiRE. The new BiS members have finally had some interviews. Mewclub: https://storywriter.tokyo/2018/06/22/0179/ Muropanako: https://storywriter.tokyo/2018/06/23/0180/ Hana: https://ototoy.jp/feature/2018062107/ Nel: https://ototoy.jp/feature/2018062207/ Muropanako admits that she went to the same high school as Ayuni D in Hokkaido and they were friends before she auditioned. This reminds me of the time when Ayuni first got a twitter account, before she even had enough followers to have her face revealed, she reached out to NicamoQ (also from Hokkaido, who was in BPM15Q at the time) and said something like "follow me back so we can DM." But I don't think either has ever mentioned knowing each other since. Muro also mentions that her stage name was inspired by the actor Tsuyoshi Muro. I prefer my pet theory that she picked a name that approximates having the four Playstation button symbols in it since she's often wearing Playstation clothes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxwa9ptLVQQ

Haruna's dancing is cute and fun to watch. She always has a look on her face like she's concentrating super hard on what move comes next. Also remember that some of her awkwardness comes from still being basically a kid. I think she's the youngest member WACK has ever had. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XG88TbLntI Here's BiSH at Yatsui Fest a couple days ago. I prefer these raw live videos from before avex adds processing to the vocals. Notable moments: 8:15 Chitti stagedives during OTNK while singing her line in midair (you hardly ever see them do that anymore). 38:40 one of the best performances of Promise the Star I've seen them do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haHGTSEA_sg This video is a couple months old but it came up as recommended. Two American fans see BiSH at a girls-only show. Much of the video is in English.

New GANG PARADE single CAN'T STOP out 9/11. GANG 2 finished 5th on the weekly Oricon chart with 28.4k sold. I think that's only about 10k less than what BiSH got for #1 a couple months ago, but that was a much less competitive week, not the same week as AKB48's election single. Still, I can't think of any other non-major-label idol group that can do that well in 2018. Maybe their labelmates Negicco would come closest. Don't miss it!! has been hopelessly stuck in my head the past few days and I realized the singing voices that I'm imagining are members of BiS1st way more often than 2nd. Nel's voice is just so distinct and Hana almost sounds like a cross between Chitti and Momose Momo, which is definitely a good thing. Seems like I've changed my mind and now prefer 1st over 2nd. I need to hear more and the apparent recording ban on their live shows is killing me.

Looks like the BiS1st MV was filmed in Hong Kong maybe? WACK sure has been shooting a lot of videos if foreign countries lately even though I can't recall any of the groups ever playing a concert outside Japan, even going back to original BiS. I agree 2nd ended up being stronger overall. I like the fact that each group comes up with their own choreo. I wish the new members had more lines, although Nel got a decent amount. Surprised they didn't give more to Hana since she's probably the strongest vocalist of all the new WACK members. Any predictions on how the lineups will change after the voting is done? It seems plausible that 1st will end up just having the 5 older members due to popularity, though out of the new members I think Yuina and Muropanako have a good chance of being promoted.

Yeah that tweet was referring to Dockson's MV and it was a very important announcement indeed. Just about everything I could have hoped for from a Yui Ga Dockson solo. In case you're interested, this GANG PARADE fan blog has English translations of many of their interviews, including the most recent two from the past few days: from OTOTOY (Maika, Tsukino, Haruna) from Natalie (all members) some choice quotes: RE: WAgg, I guess it's not surprising that Watanabe is once again doing something similar to H!P since that's what he's been saying he's going to do for a while, but if it means the end of the audition camps I definitely think it's a bad idea. Those camps are pretty unique in the idol world and end up providing so many iconic moments both good and bad that end up shaping WACK lore and members personalities. Sure, it's basically trashy reality TV content and mostly mundane but the fact that it's live and unedited gives the applicants a chance to do something outstanding and gain fans before debut. Having trainees who practice in secret for a long time and finally debut when they're already polished is what most other companies do. When BiS reformed they were playing shows immediately after the audition camp ended and they were super rough at first but that's the WACK aesthetic. Also not sure about the fact that the age range for applicants keeps getting younger each time a new audition is announced (maybe Saki demanded it this way in order to grow her kindergarten).

Their names often contain an element of their real names (or a stage name they've used in the past) and/or a reference to something that happened at the audition camps. Peri Ubu is a reference to the band Pere Ubu but I think the "Ubu" part is also based on the scene of her crying into a bowl of death sauce curry that she was trying to finish as she was announced as a BiS member on the final day. Aya Eight Prince got her name because she's from Hachioji, which literally means eight prince. Pan Luna Leafy got her name because during the morning races of the audition camp, she was usually first to the halfway point of the race and had to eat a loaf of melon pan before running back. Momoland's name was based on a shirt she wore at the camp that said Pugland. Haruna Bacchin was named Haruna Nanami when she was in Shuuengo Buppan. Tsukino Usagi was Tsukino Yuki as a Miss iD candidate. Nel Nehru used to cosplay using the name Neru Neru. Toraiezu Hana was known as Minami Hana when she was in a group called Naturalluim.vivid. Not sure what Mewclub or Murapanako are referencing.

Pour Lui is joining BILLIE IDLE. There has been speculation that this might happen, especially after they posted a video on April Fool's Day that indicated as much. New album July 4 (same day as new BiS single lol). https://natalie.mu/music/news/281930

English subbed video of Ayuna's appeal from the last night of the audition: That channel has some other subbed WACK videos to check out if you haven't seen them before, including the first MC from Pan and Momoland, which is especially sad to watch now.

One thing about Watanabe is that he specifically makes it part of his job to take flack for the decisions he makes. By playing the role of a psychopathic manager the fans feel more sympathy for the members, and if scandal hits the blame is shifted onto him instead of the girls. This seems like such an obvious business strategy for idols I'm surprised you don't see it more often. EMPiRE on The Night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p90Dye2v7rM

To put things in perspective, in all of 2017, a year that was particularly disastrous for Japanese idols graduating or disbanding, WACK lost zero members and gained seven. So far in 2018 they've lost two members but gained nine. Despite their chaotic appearance I think WACK has been one of the most stable and successful idol agencies in Japan right now. Of course this could also just be the start of a cascade of graduations. I hope not but you never know. When you watch the announcement of the audition results and BiS being split into two, you can just about pinpoint the moment that Momoland cements her decision to quit. I remember having the gut feeling that she would be the next to leave when watching this live on stream and I really hate that I was right. Momoland had such a genuine talent for being cute and charming even if she wasn't a great singer or dancer, it just came out naturally in every thing she did. I was just thinking of the time she sketched out blueprints for a sort of bunny toast to make for breakfast in the morning. Just the idea of her sitting up at night planning how to start tomorrow off in the most adorable way she could. Even if she disappears into private life from now on I will always remember that I'm on the same planet as a person who does such cute things. Also how she made a believer out of Kamiya Saki. Click here to view the Tweet God's Mercy: Click here to view the Tweet God's Wrath: Click here to view the Tweet

I hope Momoland is okay. She is so relatable to me because her extreme quietness reminds me of myself when I was younger. It's definitely unusual that the announcement would disclose that they weren't able to contact her. Any other company would give a generic "can't perform today because of poor physical condition" or something, especially if they didn't know all the information themselves. The full Kirin song:

It's been a couple years since I last visited this forum but I've been looking for a good place to talk about WACK stuff after the audition camp sort of rekindled my interest. It's nice to see this thread is more active now and I especially appreciate the translations people have provided. Thanks for that! I think Yui got an indie single because she ranked highest among the losers. The election only officially recognized the top 15 and the rest were unranked (in other words she was 16th). Here are the first official interviews with the new GP members: Haruna: https://storywriter.tokyo/2018/04/17/0058/ Tsukino: https://storywriter.tokyo/2018/04/17/0057/ Haruna seems to have a pretty interesting worldview and she also talks about her troubled home life. Tsukino is more straightforward and she talks a bit about being a Miss iD candidate. She ended up winning a special "most photogenic" award. Here's her video if you've never seen it: Coincidentally Haruna's ex-bandmate from Shuuengo Buppan ended up winning the Grand Prix. It seems she can't escape being in groups with Miss iD candidates.

Information about BiSH is kind of scarce but if you haven't already, you should definitely check out their OTOTOY interviews, translated by Lurkette on Hello Online.

You can sort of guess their birth years using the dates from the baby pictures in the new MV. My estimations: Hug Mii - 89 or 90 Atsuko - 91 Chitti - 93 Aina - 94 Momoko - 94 or 95 Ling Ling - no dates on her pictures but she is the youngest and is at least 18

Billie Idle and friends.

  It's such a shame we didn't get more than two songs out of that brief Nami Tamaki + Shinichi Osawa era.

The irony of some 48G fans calling this song boring or generic... It sounds like classic Hello Project or something plus it has saxophone therefore it's instantly one of their best songs.

You could also include info about the other former members: Yufu Terashima aka Yuffie, currently a solo idol under Universal Music Japan. Rina Yokoyama aka Rinahamu, does solo idol activity as well and has formed a "Yume-kawaii" electro duo with DJ/model Nicamoq called BPM15Q. https://soundcloud.com/nicamoq/bpm15qnicamoq-remix Yukiko Nakayama aka UK, in the band Morphine Tokyo. And also Yurika Wakisaki (Wacky) and Rio Michibayashi (Mitchel) who are not currently active.