℃-ute is going to disband on June 12, 2017. But before they do, I’m going to run through all of the group’s promotional videos for you. For these next four releases, the bloom was definitely off the rose. I have fond memories of these ℃-ute releases: this is where I started paying attention to groups outside of Morning Musume. In particular, I loved “Edo no Temari Uta II” although I think I was in the minority for that song.
Namida no Iro
This is where I officially enter the story. Although I was already a fan of Morning Musume by this point, I hadn’t really delved into the rest of Hello! Project until “Namida no Iro”. At the time I felt there was something a bit misguided yet endearing about a group of teenage Japanese singing a song with clear Spanish influence. I also didn’t think anything particularly about the PV that now looks like corners were cut everywhere. But, MAN that styling department went overtime on the girls. Saki wears the ski cap, Erika dons the fedora, and Airi puts on those hot pants. It’s crazy good.
Edo no Temari Uta II
Interested yet inexperienced in C-ute, the next single didn’t look or sound odd to me. Only later did I find out how incongruent “Edo no Temari no Uta II” was. That said, I love the costuming- stylish kimono influenes in clear color keys always works. I also love the sets, back dancers, and neon solo close ups. This PV let the girls shine in those close ups and this made it easier for me to learn the girls. Maimi’s solo at the end? Priceless.
FOREVER LOVE
OK, first of all you get C-ute wearing stylish ikemen suits, which is a plus. You also get some of the intense choreography that you expect from the group. But, the big drawback here is that “FOREVER LOVE” sets up like a two-girl show with Maimi and Airi taking about 90% of the leads. Here’s a case of “too much of a good thing”. It’s also important to note that Okai Chisato hasn’t emerged as a star vocalist for the group by this point. That’s gonna change.
Bye Bye Bye!
The joke if you remember was C-ute saying “Bye Bye Bye” to Arihara Kanna. I never liked that too much: Kanna was pretty much my favorite at this point. Putting that aside, the metallic outfits with pink accents met with my approval at the time. The Maimi / Airi focus remains, as it does to this day (mostly). Choreography-wise, the girls perform some very goofy looking moves especially in the chorus. With this single, I think we’re officially in the doldrums of the group’s career. Nothing is particularly bad, but then there aren’t too many stand outs. Not surprisingly, this is all happening as the stucture of the group undergoes huge transformations.
Note: This site participates in the amazon.co.jp associates and the cdjapan affiliates programs, a program with hundreds of thousands of members to promote sales on the Internet . Using the links above can help credit up to 10% of your purchase to the site and its writers to help keep this website afloat at no additional cost to you.
℃-ute Official Links
Web Site | Blog | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Google+ | iTunes
