http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/06/idol-group-tokyo-cheer2-party-encourages-the-workers-of-japan/
This is a really cute thing that is a bit of promotion, but also a good thing to do for the country, as well.
I admit that this is another group that I don't know too much about. According to Japanese Wikipedia, they were formed in 2010 and have 17 members; the leader Sawa Miho is 18 but will turn 19 in a couple of days, whereas the youngest member Hirayama Kurumi is 10; quite a large age range!
They've released one single "Todoke! Yell Ai Kotoba" just in April this year, so I imagine that they'll perform this at the idol festival, unless they're really trying to promote future releases. They've also done a lot of other idol festivals like this, the one I found was the Idol Festival in Hibiya, so they seem like they're really trying to make a name for themselves.
I can't find a video for their first single, unfortunately; here's the one thing I found, something from their first event:
Dorothy Little Happy: I didn't know of this group before I started searching for the Tokyo Idol Festival, but apparently they do have a pretty good following! Pure Idol Heart did a wonderful write-up of them back in March, and that's honestly so well done that I'm going to link it here:
http://pureidolheart.blogspot.com/2011/03/dorothy-little-happy-goes-major.html
If your current thought is "But Serenyty, clicking links is HARD and I love your blog so much"... first off, you're lying (but thank you for loving my blog <3), but here's a quick thing about them. Dorothy Little Happy is a Sendai local idol unit formed early 2010.
The reason they're named Dorothy Little Happy is because the producer apparently took inspiration from the character Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and wanted the girls to be like Dorothy. So far they've released two singles as well as a mini-album which was released by avextrax, so the fact that they've started to do things with Avex definitely raises their profile some. Vocals wise, they do have one main singer, Mari, but the other girls do sing some. Their music is definitely rock-tinged, which is interesting if you tend to like rock-influenced idol music.
I don't know if I'm completely won over yet, but these girls definitely have a lot of promise, and I'm excited to see more from them!
Natural Point: This is another fairly obscure idol group, that was actually formed all the way back in 2005, believe it or not. They're currently a duo group, though they originally had three members. As far as original music goes, they only released two singles. They released one, "Lovely" in 2005 and "Shinin'" in 2007, so they don't have that much original stuff that has actually been released. They actually did perform at last year's Tokyo Idol Festival, though I don't think I saw their performance, so maybe they have songs that they just never performed.
From this official site it seems like they're active onlilne and also have their own DVD, but that's currently about it.
So really, these girls are pretty unknown; they're considered local idols. Still, Nachupo is a pretty cute group, regardless!
Vanilla Beans: Another group I know! They're an idol duo that does more retro/classic idol sound, performing similar to much more old fashioned idols. And despite being on an indies label ( Flower Label) they've actually made a bit of a name for themselves within the idol world. Just last year they appeared on Music Japan's female idol special, which also hosted Morning Musume, Momoiro Clover, S/Mileage, and AKB48, among other groups. So seeing that they've performed at the last Tokyo Idol Festival and will now perform at the 2011 festival is a bit of a surprise to me.
Still, I suppose that their sales really aren't that great, which doesn't really surprise me given the fact that they are appealing more to a niche demographic and not trying to make themselves the type of group that would appeal to absolutely everyone.
Despite some poor sales from the group, they actually released a single earlier this year and are slated to release their second full album in a week (they do have a mini album and a best of album, too). So they really are one of the more well-known/active acts of the Tokyo Idol Festival. Likeability wise, if you like the type of music they do you'll love them. If your thing is energetic/happy idols, you'll probably appreciate Vanilla Beans, but you probably won't be inclined to follow them.
Vanilla Beans: Another group I know! They're an idol duo that does more retro/classic idol sound, performing similar to much more old fashioned idols. And despite being on an indies label ( Flower Label) they've actually made a bit of a name for themselves within the idol world. Just last year they appeared on Music Japan's female idol special, which also hosted Morning Musume, Momoiro Clover, S/Mileage, and AKB48, among other groups. So seeing that they've performed at the last Tokyo Idol Festival and will now perform at the 2011 festival is a bit of a surprise to me.
Still, I suppose that their sales really aren't that great, which doesn't really surprise me given the fact that they are appealing more to a niche demographic and not trying to make themselves the type of group that would appeal to absolutely everyone.
Despite some poor sales from the group, they actually released a single earlier this year and are slated to release their second full album in a week (they do have a mini album and a best of album, too). So they really are one of the more well-known/active acts of the Tokyo Idol Festival. Likeability wise, if you like the type of music they do you'll love them. If your thing is energetic/happy idols, you'll probably appreciate Vanilla Beans, but you probably won't be inclined to follow them.
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