Until yesterday, I'd never even heard of this man or his creations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasushi_Akimoto

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKB48

Mr Akimoto is, IMO, a genius. Whatever you think of this clip or J-Pop, his marketing is spot on - surely its only a matter of time before Thailand has their own 'BKK48' ? Bring it on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D36N2_62zZ4

I dont care if none of those mikes were even switched on - pure gold. I would happily pay to see a spectacle like that - YMMV.

Take that, North Korea !

Watching that'll give you tooth decay and diabetes, mate

Might be saccharine sweet. but I think I'm in more danger of going blind. Can you imagine checking into a hotel when that busload of J-Beauties rolled up outside ? I have a thing for Japanese women, but given that this is a family board I'll leave it there

Female. And proud of it. What could be wrong with that?

Maybe there is a god.

I don't see the attraction.

I don't see the attraction.

It's the girls dancing.

I think blokes find them attractive, and the little girls see them as role models.

Or maybe it could be the music - I watched it with the sound turned off.

I felt it was a bit sickly sweet for my taste, though as another poster pointed out, it was probably artificial sweetener.

Anyway, that sort of thing only helps as part of a calorie-controlled diet.

Personally, I still prefer Stock, Aitken and Waterman, although in terms of sheer mass-produced quality, that was outstanding - I would rate that as the McDonalds, the Coca Cola even, of manufactured pop.

The Coca Cola of pop. I hope that you can all enjoy the irony of that.

SC

Irny wid be Irny Bru, bytheway, Cowboy, and ye'll no' git Irny like that better than in G68 Cumbernauld

EDIT: You should check your facts before you post, Imam

Where can I order those microchips ?

and can we have the cheerleader version 2.0 ?

Talk about herding cats....or Hello kittys they did a great job

Ohh and youtube "kpop girls playlist" lots of energy , peppy songs and BIG money spent on the videos.......

The first bar to play something like this will be a fun place , but most of the old farts will want earplugs

maybe they need it on big screen and a dance to the video contest !

What is it with Asian men liking the cutesy schoolgirl look. Cultural training for objectification and paederasty! Can't they take real grown up women?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEuehBgznKU

From such hideous nonsense comes a monster in true Japanese style, currently taking the world by storm and dividing the Rock/Metal community, having won over the toughest audience in Metal at Sonisphere festival in the UK, before wiping the floor with Lady Gaga in the US, Babymetal are now considered a serious Metal act and several headlining shows in the US and UK were rapid sell outs and 'red hot' tickets, many predict they will be one of the acts of 2015.

Personally I likes them. When kids start wandering towards bilge like One Direction and other 'boy band' garbage, babymetal seem the perfect antidote to such silliness. The music is well crafted, driven hard metal, and they are lucky enough to have a virtuoso band behind them, including Takayoshi Ohmura.

I'm not sure if the girl 31st from the end..........................actually is (a girl).

Maybe I've just been in Thailand too long, sorta spoiled the video a bit for me.......................... .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEuehBgznKU

From such hideous nonsense comes a monster in true Japanese style, currently taking the world by storm and dividing the Rock/Metal community, having won over the toughest audience in Metal at Sonisphere festival in the UK, before wiping the floor with Lady Gaga in the US, Babymetal are now considered a serious Metal act and several headlining shows in the US and UK were rapid sell outs and 'red hot' tickets, many predict they will be one of the acts of 2015.

Personally I likes them. When kids start wandering towards bilge like One Direction and other 'boy band' garbage, babymetal seem the perfect antidote to such silliness. The music is well crafted, driven hard metal, and they are lucky enough to have a virtuoso band behind them, including Takayoshi Ohmura.

BM are just another marketing exercise - I posted the OP as an example of one man's marketing nous in putting together an act that -

a. has given his company sales in the hundreds of millions (USD) at a time when many acts struggle to make a living

b. has many upsides and few downsides from a business POV - what happens if one of the BM muppets gets sick or decides she doesnt want to play the game any more ?

I dont listen to cutesy Japanese pop any more than i listen to Miley Cyrus, but that's a spectacular clip when you consider that he had a concept and he's making it work - I could give a rat's about the comments re Asian men and pederasty. I agree that the band they put together for BM is gifted, but when you have the momentum they have behind them it's not hard to start waving checks in front of people : the rest is a no brainer. Megitsune was OK and I like the live version of 'li ne' - the rest just leaves me cold. I appreciate the energy level and the theatrical aspects, but there just isnt enough meat in the other tracks for mine.

If you want to see a woman out front of a real J-Metal band, I'd suggest you check out these two vids:

For those who dont relate to U's vocal stylings and long for a little more eye candy, Doll$Box are no worse than the likes of Kitty and far better looking:

Most of the commercial metal acts in the West with a woman out front play the style over substance angle - Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and a host of lesser acts - and i get that from a monetary POV. Even Arch Enemy have copped a serve from fans since Angela stepped down to concentrate on managing the band, but they all have to make a living if they want to be able to tour and be fulltime musos. I was saddened to hear one of the guys from Insomnium, arguably the most popular melodic death metal band in the world, say that they all still need day jobs to pay the bills - disgraceful, but that's reality in 2014 for many, many bands. The power seems to have moved from the record companies to streaming and download services and the band's cut is smaller as a result.

Still plenty of room for vintage Maiden, Priest and Sabbath in my playlists and that's a slot Babymetal will never occupy. By the time the muppets are old enough to join AKS48, BM will be a distant memory for everyone bar their management's bank manager. The girls will just move on to whatever options remain for them at 18 in an industry notorious for chewing kids up and spitting them out - hopefully they'll make better choices than some of their peers, but I wouldnt be surprised to see one or all of them singing saccharine-sweet pop 3-5 years now. Right now, they're happy to ride this gravy train for all it's worth, and I dont doubt that it's worth a hell of a lot to someone behind the scenes.

End of the day, it's all just entertainment - we get very territorial about our favorite genres and I'm afraid I remain cynical about the extent to which BM - beyond the musos themselves - could actually give a hoot about metal. It's a meal ticket, and a very lucrative one at that. I wish them every success, and I'll keep a weather eye on their future career moves. In the meantime, my unassuming little Japanese man has a concept that can go on for as long as people keep lapping it up - constantly refreshing the line-ups and building the momentum around the groups, not individuals. It may be saccharine and it may offend some here, but he had the guts to go out and recruit the first 48 - the rest is history,

I guess there is music for angry young men , I never was into that it made my ears bleed !

I really enjoy the Kpop girls band mix on Youtube as its upbeat , but DO NOT look at the ones with English subtitles as its just a bunch of whining , at least the ones I saw

But the production is great , it looks like the girls are having fun and since I do not understand any of it I can just enjoy the energy.....

At one time I thought the only "real" bands played and wrote everything on an album.......thats just not the way it is anymore,

it now an act , a production that can only be put on in a large arena , you are not going to see acts like this at a 100 seat

bar somewhere.....

Merry christmas....ho Ho Ho