No English subtitles but the Piano playing is self expressive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDa4vNF3wm4

The narrator sounds like a maniac lol

Sakiko is a 東京音楽大学 piano student? No wonder she's so good. Is the Teppen competition something big?

It's a TV competition that pits celebrates that are experts in some field against each other to see who is the best. Other competitions are like dance, ping pong, juggling etc...

The AKB girl beat the three year reigning champion.

Morisaki must not be some ordinary cooking expert lol

^ Is that what the reigning champion did? lol.

Yeah, Japanese Celebs have weird alternate lives or something like that.

Many of the male comedians do body building or kickboxing on their spare time. Other male or female celebs are first rate chefs! Two celebs in particular are experts on wild foods of Japan.

everyone wanna be a bodybuilder, but no one wanna lift heavy @$$ weiggggghtttttt

I've noticed that. Maybe they influence each other being in the same business. Yoshimoto comedians seem to have a strong network.

This show reviews AKB48's history comprehensively.

AKB48 Kin Sma Special (Jan. 6, 2012)

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:M5BINGFPL6H5WRTREGAGRUICRYP32M5Z
2.6 GB
01:57:19

I don't know if English sub is available.

Yes and over all the show was accurate but it told the AKB story as Aki-P wants people to think.

First off, the song Aitakatta, third single in 2006, ranked 12th on Orican charts. This proves that compared to 2005 when they started, by 2006, they had a small set of fans and most people following the Jpop scene new their name. The show gave the impression AKB was ready to collapse anytime until 2009. Not entirely true.

The biggest complaint I have is the story made the turning point for AKB as the fan ranking senbatsu. It gives the illusion that AKB48 exploded in popularity when AKJI-P gave democracy to AKB by using fan ranking for senbatsu - not true. AKB gradually gained its big time popularity because of a late night show called "AKB １時　５９分"　aired locally in the Tokyo area at 2AM starting Jan 2008. Within 4 months(May) the show was able to creep up one hour ahead renamed as "AKB 0時　５９分"(1AM). In Oct of 2008(same year), the show went national renamed as "AKBingo!" By this time AKB members were all ready famous like Maeda Atsuko(who was already staring in a drama), Oshima Yuko, Shinoda Mariko, Itano Tomomi etc... The success of this show prompted a new show called Nemousu TV(Oct 2008).

By 2009 when the fan senbatsu began, most people in Japan already knew about AKB48. Two new shows were added to the lineup, Shukan AKB and Ariyoshi Kyowakoku. In 2010, AKB added other shows like AKB to XX as well as appear as guest on famous variety shows.

Currently AKB and it's sister groups have more than 10 shows not counting the shows they guest in(they guest in 20~30 shows). The shows are what made AKB famous.

Yeah, they didn't talk about the TV shows. Maybe they have some rules against indirectly promoting other TV stations' programs? Kin Sma is on TBS and AKBingo! is on Nippon TV for example.

Btw, the oldest member Shinoda Mariko will be 26 years old soon. Do you think she will have to "graduate" in a few years?

^ No, I think Aki-p wants AKB to be remembered as singers not TV personalities. Barbarically, AKBingo became popular because it made pretty girls do things that was unheard of until then: eat bugs, bungee jump, have fart perfume sprayed on them, get thrown into a pit of white powder, go up to a stranger and eat food of his plate, etc...

Marikosama and many others will be graduating in the next few years. They are all scrambling to set up their careers for post AKB. Can AKB maintain its popularity after many of their most famous faces leave? Only time will tell.

Sidenote: just watched NHK Kohaku Utagassen. It is the New Year song show that everybody watches and so it's very prestigious. BOA was the first foreigner to ever be invited to participate in the Utagassen. This year, both KARA and SNSD were there. They should feel very honored since many Japanese groups never appeared on the Utagassen even once. At the same time, they should pat themselves on the back since being invited to the Utagassen means recognition of their hard work in the music industry.

Mariko looks cool as a fashion model. I read she's the editor of her own "Mariko Magazine". She's also an exclusive model for a magazine named "MORE".

MORE TV commercial



Kohaku is definitely the biggest music show of the year in Japan. The viewer rating seems exceptionally high. I think Cho Yong Pil was the first foreigner ever to be invited to Kohaku, which happened in 1987. BoA was just the first one relevant to us.

1987 第38回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

チョー・ヨンピル（韓国） 窓の外の女 // 조용필 (初)

1988 第39回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

ケー・ウンスク（韓国） すずめの涙 // 계은숙 (初)
チョーヨンピル・（韓国） 恨五百年 // 조용필 (2)

1989 第40回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

キム・ヨンジャ（韓国） 朝の国から // 김연자 (初)
ケー・ウンスク（韓国） 酔いどれて // 계은숙 (2)
パティー・キム（韓国） 離別（イビョル） // 패티 김 (初)
チョー・ヨンピル（韓国） Ｑ // 조용필 (3)

1990 第41回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

ケー・ウンスク（韓国） 真夜中のシャワー // 계은숙 (3)
チョー・ヨンピル（韓国） 釜山港へ帰れ // 조용필 (4)

1991 第42回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

ケー・ウンスク（韓国） 悲しみの訪問者 // 계은숙 (4)

1992 第43回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

ケー・ウンスク（堀内孝雄とデュエット） 都会の天使たち // 계은숙 (Takao Horiuchi와 듀엣) (5)

1993 第44回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

ケー・ウンスク（韓国） アモーレ～はげしく愛して～ // 계은숙 (6)

1994 第45回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

ケー・ウンスク（韓国） 花のように鳥のように // 계은숙 (7)
キム・ヨンジャ 川の流れのように // 김연자 (2)

2001 第52回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

キム・ヨンジャ イムジン河 // 김연자 (3)

2002 第53回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

BoA VALENTI (初)

2003 第54回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

BoA DOUBLE (2)

2004 第55回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

BoA QUINCY (3)
イ・ジョンヒョン（韓国） Heaven 2004 // 이정현 (初)
Ryu（韓国） 最初から今まで (初)

2005 第56回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

BoA 抱きしめる (4)

2006 第57回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

BoA 七色の明日 ～brand new beat～ (5)

2007 第58回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

BoA ウィンター・バラード・スペシャル (6)

2008 第59回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

東方神起 Purple Line～どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう？ (初)

2009 第60回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

東方神起 Stand by U (2)

2011 第62回 NHK 紅白歌合戦

東方神起 (3)
KARA (初)
少女時代 (初)

^ Wow. Must have sung Enka since I fast forward Enka songs!




One of my favorites, Sashihara Rino, will star in a short drama called Muse no Kagami
http://www.tokyograph.com/news/akb48s-sash...muse-no-kagami/

Sasshi will also get a solo debut. This girl is skyrocketing in popularity.
http://www.tokyohive.com/tag/muse-no-kagami/

It seems Rino was in Senbatsu top 10 last year. What made her become so popular?

Kojiharu spam.

^I want to marry Haruna....

Me and about every guy in Japan!

Sasshi was like below the 20 in rank until she started blogging on Ameba pigg. Her blog is very popular, sometimes out ranking Maeda Atsuko's blog.Sasshi's Blog

Management noticed and gave her a small TV show called "Sashiko no Kuseni", it was pretty successful. That got her a spot on the subunit "Not Yet". The TV appearances she does for Not Yet and her regular position on the show "Warratte mo II" has made her a vary popular and very well known AKB member. She jump to 9th place in a year. I'm thinking she''ll take 4th or 5th next year.

Do you find something special from her blog entries? It looks Sasshi was majorly recognized first as a blog queen and since then she has raised her popularity on TV shows. She seems to have an interesting character being a bit of a "bluffing pushover/hetare next-door girl".

^ She is basically a good talker. Her conversation timing and ability to sense the atmosphere is more like a veteran talk show host than a young AKB girl. And she is funny. She has a hetare personality that is new the the Idol world. It makes people wish for her success.

My ranking of favorite AKB members:
Sasshi
Kojiharu
KitaRie
Matsui Rena
Miichan
Yuria
Shiori
Fujie Reina
Myao
Yukirin
Akicha
Mikapon
....

Man my list keeps going...