June 28, 2011

A member of a top Japanese pop group was not actually a real human being, it has been revealed.

Eguchi Aimi was supposed to be the newest member of all-girl groupAKB48, but she was actually a composite of six of her bandmates. A video has been released showing how the girls' features were blended together for the rather convincing publicity stunt.

The band has now released an application where you can...e pop star.

AKB48 formed in 2005 and have their own theatre in the Akihabaradistrict of Tokyo. Because they perform several times a day, as well as on TV shows and adverts, they are actually divided into four separate 'teams' and, as a result, they are already in the Guinness Book Of Records as the "pop group with the greatest number of members" – currently 58 (or is that now 57?).

To date they have had eight Number One singles in Japan.

http://www.nme.com/news/v...ists/57638

[Edited 6/29/11 6:35am]

I like some jpop artists but this group is terrible.

Imagine the Spice Girls at 14 years old with even lesser talent.

i like japanese music. i just think the koreans are better with their Idol music. I like kara better. however i do enjoy the computer generated member in a ways its kinda like gorrillaz.

[Edited 6/28/11 20:55pm]

And to think, people came down hard on Milli Vanilli some 20 years ago.

baroque said:

i like japanese music. i just think the koreans are better with their Idol music. I like kara better. however i do enjoy the computer generated member in a ways its kinda like gorrillaz.

[Edited 6/28/11 20:55pm]

I honestly think all most of the "idol" music in Korea and Japan sound the same. When I say I can't tell SNSD and Wondergirls apart I'm not being a racist I'm comparing their songs and performance style I used to like Boa

And they DIDN'T fix the ears...

Emancipation89 said:

baroque said:

i like japanese music. i just think the koreans are better with their Idol music. I like kara better. however i do enjoy the computer generated member in a ways its kinda like gorrillaz.

[Edited 6/28/11 20:55pm]

I honestly think all most of the "idol" music in Korea and Japan sound the same. When I say I can't tell SNSD and Wondergirls apart I'm not being a racist I'm comparing their songs and performance style I used to like Boa

i agree with this. but then i think Idol music should be taken so seriously. i assume the only people that do are teenage girls or boys. in essence this music is created mostly by talent agencies and managers trying to ride the wave of some sort music trend and as such i feel one need to be worry about it because at the end of the day cellophone and neon colors are beautiful to look at then one moves along. i like visual kei lol which some people say its like Idol music. alas! never really like boa or utada hikaru.

Nothing new the USA has been doing this for years.

lazycrockett said:

Nothing new the USA has been doing this for years.

Yeah but we all knew Erykah, Jill, Corinne, and Esperanza were basically the same person. (Jill being the thick girl version.)

Smittyrock70 said:

And to think, people came down hard on Milli Vanilli some 20 years ago.

Right!

Emancipation89 said:

baroque said:

i like japanese music. i just think the koreans are better with their Idol music. I like kara better. however i do enjoy the computer generated member in a ways its kinda like gorrillaz.

[Edited 6/28/11 20:55pm]

I honestly think all most of the "idol" music in Korea and Japan sound the same. When I say I can't tell SNSD and Wondergirls apart I'm not being a racist I'm comparing their songs and performance style I used to like Boa

I can't tell the girl groups apart either.

I think kpop is better than jpop because it's a bit closer to American pop.

tbh The girl groups are really basic. I'm more into the male performers.

Layzie said:

Emancipation89 said:

I honestly think all most of the "idol" music in Korea and Japan sound the same. When I say I can't tell SNSD and Wondergirls apart I'm not being a racist I'm comparing their songs and performance style I used to like Boa

I can't tell the girl groups apart either.

I think kpop is better than jpop because it's a bit closer to American pop.

tbh The girl groups are really basic. I'm more into the male performers.

Huh? I think most Korean male performers are JT/Usher copycats... I think Jpop is a bit more creative and cutting edge in general...but I like Kpop more lol

Emancipation89 said:

Layzie said:

I can't tell the girl groups apart either.

I think kpop is better than jpop because it's a bit closer to American pop.

tbh The girl groups are really basic. I'm more into the male performers.

Huh? I think most Korean male performers are JT/Usher copycats... I think Jpop is a bit more creative and cutting edge in general...but I like Kpop more lol

Oh, boo.

JT and Usher aren't good enough to wipe Rain's ass after he takes a shit.

Honestly - during that whole era where people were trying to crown a new "King of Pop", Rain/Bi is the only one that is actually talented enough to own that title. He's appallingly, phenomenally talented; MJ-level, talent.

[Edited 6/28/11 22:28pm]

armpit said:

Emancipation89 said:

Huh? I think most Korean male performers are JT/Usher copycats... I think Jpop is a bit more creative and cutting edge in general...but I like Kpop more lol

Oh, boo.

JT and Usher aren't good enough to wipe Rain's ass after he takes a shit.

Honestly - during that whole era where people were trying to crown a new "King of Pop", Rain/Bi is the only one that is actually talented enough to own that title. He's appallingly, phenomenally talented; MJ-level, talent.

[Edited 6/28/11 22:28pm]

Sorry I'm kinda thick...you're being sarcastic right? RIGHT??!!??!?

Emancipation89 said:

armpit said:

Oh, boo.

JT and Usher aren't good enough to wipe Rain's ass after he takes a shit.

Honestly - during that whole era where people were trying to crown a new "King of Pop", Rain/Bi is the only one that is actually talented enough to own that title. He's appallingly, phenomenally talented; MJ-level, talent.

[Edited 6/28/11 22:28pm]

Sorry I'm kinda thick...you're being sarcastic right? RIGHT??!!??!?

Not at all. Not even a little bit.

armpit said:

Emancipation89 said:

Sorry I'm kinda thick...you're being sarcastic right? RIGHT??!!??!?

Not at all. Not even a little bit.

......I think Rain himself would be embarrassed by that kind of complement. He used to be a backup dancer and he debuted his first album with less than 2 years of vocal training which explains why he can't really sing. To me, besides dancing he has no extraordinary talent or creativity. He seems to be pretty dedicated to his work but...that's about it.

I loved him in Full House though

Emancipation89 said:

armpit said:

Not at all. Not even a little bit.

......I think Rain himself would be embarrassed by that kind of complement. He used to be a backup dancer and he debuted his first album with less than 2 years of vocal training which explains why he can't really sing. To me, besides dancing he has no extraordinary talent or creativity. He seems to be pretty dedicated to his work but...that's about it.

I loved him in Full House though

Being a backup dancer isn't synonymous with a lack of talent - hell, MJ started out doing open cattle talent shows on the Apollo and singing love songs to rats named Ben.

Rain is the first male singer to come along in a long time in the pop vein who is a really, really good singer AND a really, really good dancer; the two things Michael Jackson was known for. He absolutely has the talent to fill MJ's shoes, although I'm sure he wouldn't want to and would prefer to carve out his own path.

But yeah, he's a really amazing actor too - he was heart-wrenching in "I'm a Cyborg (But It's Okay)".

armpit said:

Emancipation89 said:

......I think Rain himself would be embarrassed by that kind of complement. He used to be a backup dancer and he debuted his first album with less than 2 years of vocal training which explains why he can't really sing. To me, besides dancing he has no extraordinary talent or creativity. He seems to be pretty dedicated to his work but...that's about it.

I loved him in Full House though

Being a backup dancer isn't synonymous with a lack of talent - hell, MJ started out doing open cattle talent shows on the Apollo and singing love songs to rats named Ben.

Rain is the first male singer to come along in a long time in the pop vein who is a really, really good singer AND a really, really good dancer; the two things Michael Jackson was known for. He absolutely has the talent to fill MJ's shoes, although I'm sure he wouldn't want to and would prefer to carve out his own path.

But yeah, he's a really amazing actor too - he was heart-wrenching in "I'm a Cyborg (But It's Okay)".

Yes but MJ was a little kid when he started out doing talent shows. Rain was already an adult when he got discovered for his dancing. Not singing, just dancing. And Rain is a really good singer?! 0_o...Rain is far from great performer imo. He can dance sure but so can most of other Korean male performers like Taeyang, Seven, 2pm or 2am...etc. Still I can't say he's a "great" dancer. When he gets rid of 10 backup dancers and moves the crowd under single spotlight with his dancing...let me know. He doesn't have charisma like MJ did on stage but I guess we'll never agree on this issue...

[Edited 6/28/11 23:30pm]

Emancipation89 said:

armpit said:

Being a backup dancer isn't synonymous with a lack of talent - hell, MJ started out doing open cattle talent shows on the Apollo and singing love songs to rats named Ben.

Rain is the first male singer to come along in a long time in the pop vein who is a really, really good singer AND a really, really good dancer; the two things Michael Jackson was known for. He absolutely has the talent to fill MJ's shoes, although I'm sure he wouldn't want to and would prefer to carve out his own path.

But yeah, he's a really amazing actor too - he was heart-wrenching in "I'm a Cyborg (But It's Okay)".

Yes but MJ was a little kid when he started out doing talent shows. Rain was already an adult when he got discovered for his dancing. Not singing, just dancing. And Rain is a really good singer?! 0_o...Rain is far from great performer imo. He can dance sure but so can most of other Korean male performers like Taeyang, Seven, 2pm or 2am...etc. Still I can't say he's a "great" dancer. When he gets rid of 10 backup dancers and moves the crowd under single spotlight with his dancing...let me know. He doesn't have charisma like MJ did on stage but I guess we'll never agree on this issue...

[Edited 6/28/11 23:30pm]

A lot of really, really talented people didn't get signed until they were adults - that doesn't mean they lacked talent.

And...Rain can't sing? For reals?

And Rain's more than just a passable dancer, he's heads and shoulders above his K-Pop peers :

...Do I expect you to watch ALL of these? No. But they make my point. It's kinda hard to watch this stuff and then say afterwords, with a straight face, that this guy isn't extremely, extremely talented. Let's give credit where it's due, now.

I've heard about the controversy concerning the fictional Eguchi Aimi. And I must say that computer AND music technology is so advanced that I'm surprise the Japaneses never thought about bring Michael Jackson back to life through compeuter generation!

Emancipation89 said:

Layzie said:

I can't tell the girl groups apart either.

I think kpop is better than jpop because it's a bit closer to American pop.

tbh The girl groups are really basic. I'm more into the male performers.

Huh? I think most Korean male performers are JT/Usher copycats... I think Jpop is a bit more creative and cutting edge in general...but I like Kpop more lol

They kinda are.

I love Rain. I love his voice. It's so deep and soothing. I wouldn't call him a great dancer tho. And I certainly wouldn't call him the next MJ. The Asian MJ is and will always be Taeyang.

Ah, those wacky Japanese and their computer chicks...

Layzie said:

Emancipation89 said:

Huh? I think most Korean male performers are JT/Usher copycats... I think Jpop is a bit more creative and cutting edge in general...but I like Kpop more lol

They kinda are.

I love Rain. I love his voice. It's so deep and soothing. I wouldn't call him a great dancer tho. And I certainly wouldn't call him the next MJ. The Asian MJ is and will always be Taeyang.

You see my avatar, right?

ScarletScandal said:

Layzie said:

They kinda are.

I love Rain. I love his voice. It's so deep and soothing. I wouldn't call him a great dancer tho. And I certainly wouldn't call him the next MJ. The Asian MJ is and will always be Taeyang.

You see my avatar, right?

Yep, he's flawless.

Layzie said:

Emancipation89 said:

Huh? I think most Korean male performers are JT/Usher copycats... I think Jpop is a bit more creative and cutting edge in general...but I like Kpop more lol

They kinda are.

I love Rain. I love his voice. It's so deep and soothing. I wouldn't call him a great dancer tho. And I certainly wouldn't call him the next MJ. The Asian MJ is and will always be Taeyang.

I would. The man can dance his ass off. Every time people say he can't dance I'm always like, "Are we seriously watching the same guy?"

Honestly, to be completely real about it, I think people are kinda just bullshitting and don't want to give Rain the props he deserves because they somehow feel that doing so would be taking away from MJ in some way. It isn't. MJ was damn talented. We all know that. But I'm not going to sit here and say there aren't other people just as talented. Rain is, easily, the only guy I've seen come along since MJ that I think has that same level of talent both with his vocals and his dancing. He's a beast, and Rain would wipe the floor with Taeyang without even really trying.

...An odd coincidence : Michael died on Rain's birthday. That wasn't lost on me. Rain is the musical 'heir-apparent' - that is, if he wants it, which I don't think he does.

[Edited 6/29/11 10:16am]

Funny as I've been wondering if this is the case with those like Lady Gaga and Britney

armpit said:

Layzie said:

They kinda are.

I love Rain. I love his voice. It's so deep and soothing. I wouldn't call him a great dancer tho. And I certainly wouldn't call him the next MJ. The Asian MJ is and will always be Taeyang.

I would. The man can dance his ass off. Every time people say he can't dance I'm always like, "Are we seriously watching the same guy?"

Honestly, to be completely real about it, I think people are kinda just bullshitting and don't want to give Rain the props he deserves because they somehow feel that doing so would be taking away from MJ in some way. It isn't. MJ was damn talented. We all know that. But I'm not going to sit here and say there aren't other people just as talented. Rain is, easily, the only guy I've seen come along since MJ that I think has that same level of talent both with his vocals and his dancing. He's a beast, and Rain would wipe the floor with Taeyang without even really trying.

...An odd coincidence : Michael died on Rain's birthday. That wasn't lost on me. Rain is the musical 'heir-apparent' - that is, if he wants it, which I don't think he does.

[Edited 6/29/11 10:16am]

Child please, Taeyang would dance circles around Rain.

I agree with you about MJ tho. It's like you can't compare other entertainers to him without people jumping down your throat. I don't think anyone is wanting to take anything away from MJ by doing that. It's just when a person is exceptionally talented, MJ comes to mind, and comparisons are made.

I think Rain can dance, but idk there's an awkwardness about his dancing that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it's because of his height.

Even with that, Japan still has more cool artists than we do in America.

Dir en Grey!?

Timmy84 said:

Even with that, Japan still has more cool artists than we do in America.

Dir en Grey!?

Ever heard of Gackt?