I wasn't planning to make a post about Last Idol's 8th Single Audition, but I've been thinking more about it this week and felt the need to write down my thoughts.
Back in December, at the 2nd Anniversary concert held on Christmas Day, there was a surprise announcement of the 8th single. This time, it would be a competition, something we haven't seen since the 5th single. Out of the current 41 members in Last Idol Family, 18 would be selected to sing on the title track.
After the announcement, Midori said she was a little excited and Abe said that lately she's been a little unsatisfied. Maybe Abe's looking for a challenge. The 2nd Gen's Machida Honoka said she's already scared and about to cry and Chou Cream Rockets's Aimi said it's been a long time since she's battled, so she's nervous.
I expected it to be more like the one on one battles of the past, but thankfully, it was a more casual type of audition. Members drew numbers and were put into groups.
Each group would then perform in front of a panel of Judges, 9 in total, who would award them from 0 - 100 points. They are judged in 3 catagories:
- Dancing
- Singing
- Single Phrase performance (This is sort of like an appeal)
There are some familiar faces among the Judges like Omori Seiko, Go Yoshida, CRE8BOY, and Akane who did the choreography for Last Idol's 7th single, "Seishun Train".
Yoshida commented that he'll do his best to create another flare up. It's really hard to find an English translation, but flare up means creating controversy. Of course, Yoshida is referencing his controversial decision to eliminate Midori from the 1st season, despite the other 3 Judges voting for her. He made a similar decision during the 2nd Gen's survival show, but it didn't have the same impact.
Each group does the dancing portion simultaneously and they all perform the same 30 second choreo put together by Akane. For the singing portion, they perform individually. I'm not going to review every member, just those that stood out for better or for worse.
For the dancing portion:
- Abe looked good as expected. She's so tall and really stretched her body out. One fan referred to her as "Abe Boss", so I don't know if that's an actual nickname, or something they gave her. I've always just called her "Giant Abe" after the wrestler Giant Baba. Yoshida said Abe's dancing was overwhelming.
- The 2nd Gen Unders Himari caught my attention during the battle for the 2nd Generation. She's kind of in the mold of Keyakizaka46's Hirate. Himari's dancing here was good, but she didn't stand out as much as I thought she would.
- I was really surprised by LaLuce's Haruka. She moved really well and showed allot of confidence.
I wasn't expecting this at all.
I think Akane expressed concern because none of them showed any expression while dancing.
- Good Tear's Kana was another stand out. My eyes were immediately drawn to her and even the judges pointed out that she was the only one who smiled. Kana even got a pick up shot.
There really isn't much to say about the rest of the groups since most were done in a digest. It's worth noting that Midori's dancing wasn't good as expected. It looked like she was just flailing her arms and legs, lol. I don't know how much time they had to prepare, but I imagine the routine was a bit higher level then she was used to (After watching the episode a second time, Midori didn't look as bad).
Regardless of the weakness of certain members, Akane said the field was good and it was a perfect score in this category. She was glad to see their growth.
For the singing portion:
- Abe sang Silent Majority. She didn't sound quite as good as she usually does. Abe's very consistent,
but something was a little off here. Even the judges pointed it out. Some fans commented that she didn't choose the best song for her voice. Song selection can go a long way to showcasing your singing ability, so that's a good point. Omori Seiko even commented that she didn't think it was the right song to showcase Abe's range.
For her Single Phrase performance, Abe said: "My motto for my Idol life is 'I'll always aim to be my best'".
- Again, Himari, the Hirate inspired girl, didn't impress me as much as she did in the 5th Gen battle, so it's a bit disappointing.
- Laluce's Haruka performed a very simple song and was complimented for it. She cried afterwards, so I'm not sure what was up.
There were two members in the middle groups that really stood out. Both are in the 2nd Gen, so I'm not familiar with them:
- The 2nd Gen Unders's Yoneda Miina has a fantastic voice! She picked the perfect song for her, so that really helped. She might be the best pure vocalist in Last Idol Family. Another judge, HKT48's Yuukosu, said she didn't expect to hear this kind of singing ability at an Idol audition. I don't know if that's a compliment, lol.
- The 2nd Gen's Machida Honoka also sounded really good. Another nice surprise. Yoshida said that her dancing and singing is the best at the moment.
- Midori sounded great as expected. Her voice was clear and strong. I still think she's in the top 5 vocalists in the entire group. Yoshida commented that the song choice was good and he hopes she passes at the time of selection.
- Back in the first season when the 1st Gen battle took place, Love Cocchi's Airi really stood out. Along with Abe, I thought she was the best overall performer. I think she could even go solo. However, just like Abe earlier, I found her singing a bit lacking. Not sure why.
- Airi's group mate, Rio sound really good however. Very clean and clear vocals. She and Airi have always carried Love Cocchi in the vocals department, so she came through here.
- Love Cocchi's Honoka has never been a good dancer or singer. She's more of a Variety talent and likes to showboat. She brought 4 talisman's to the audition to help her chances. She sounded okay here, but for some reason held out a fake eye to the Judges. The title of the song translates to "Drop Your Eyes Out", so I guess she wanted to work in some kind of gimmick.
- Mizuno Mana, who was one half of the W Center for the 5th single performed by the 2nd Gen, didn't impress me too much with her vocals. I expected more considering she started the survival show as the center and remained there the entire season. Mana gave a very weird single phrase performance. She did some kind of cheer about having 337 beats. I didn't get it.
- LaLuce's Airi injured her eye, so she was wearing a patch over it. When she came out, Omori Seiko started laughing. The song Airi chose to sing was called "Pupil" and Yoshida commented that someone who injured their eye is singing Pupil. The Judges made the connection with Honoka's earlier performance when she held out the fake eye which they showed on screen. The coincidence was too perfect.
- The 2nd Gen's Oba Yume was the first one who sounded really bad. She had allot of trouble during her performance and was crying. For her Single Phrase performance, Yume said: "I would like to grow in the future so my weediness becomes attractive". The SHOWROOM President, Maeda, still complimented her on her performance saying that it was great and he got a good impression from her.
- Hata Misaki A popular 2nd Gen member who participated in allot of interviews for the 6th single, forgot the words halfway through her performance. She was understandably upset afterwards and I'm sure she lost allot of points.
- In general, there were allot of mediocre and outright bad vocal performances. They focused particularly on 2nd Unders Shiraishi Mana who's eyes were bugging out. The pic below doesn't do it justice, lol. Her vocals were pretty bad, but she was praised for her expression. I don't know, I thought the whole thing was pretty cringey.
It's worth noting that the Judges aren't going to outright say you were terrible. They'll find some way to compliment you even if you stunk the place up. In the case of Chou Cream Rockets Momoka, Yoshida said she still has a long way to go, but did improve.
- Now we get to Someday Somewhere's Wakana. Before her performance, she gave a speech:
"In the early days of group activity, it was confusing for fans and members often felt uneasy and conflicted with each other. I want Last Idol to become national Idols. I want to be the Last Idol and do my best."
She can be very melodramatic and has expressed these sentiments before. Wakana then proceeds to perform Bandwagon along with the full choreography. It's been over 2 yrs. since she was eliminated from the 1st Gen battle, and she still hasn't gotten over it. I get that it's disappointing, but she made this too personal. Wakana gets so emotional, that her performance completely falls apart. She's a good dancer, but her voice has always been shakey and can't hold a note to save her life. Wakana made it worse for herself by picking such a triggering song like Bandwagon. She cries and her vocals are a mess.
Omori Seiko is moved to tears, likely because she was the one who was called on to vote during Wakana's battle against Abe and she chose Abe, thereby causing her elimination.
Seiko: "I was reminded that the first time I saw "Bandwagon" performed, Wakana was the center. Seeing her perform it again made me realize the burden I'd been carrying. I feel like I'll do my best too. Thank you very much."
Yoshida commented that even though her performance wasn't the best, she managed to convey something in it. One fan thought that this was meant to provide closure between Wakana and Seiko, so maybe there's something to that.
I just thought this whole thing was ridiculous. It's should have been a straightforward and drama free audition, but Wakana chose to make it about herself. It's entirely possible she was put up to it by management, but we'll never know. Despite Seiko complimenting Wakana after the perf, I can't imagine she got many points for this. Also, this display will only feed Wakana's anti's more.
A few Judges gave some closing comments.
Akane said that out of the 1st Gen, she thought the overall skill of the LaLuce members was overwhelming.
Seiko thinks that Abe is the best singer and dancer.
Yoshida said he wants to see Wakana's strength and determination.
That's it for the audition phase. I'll be back to talk about the final selection which was announced last Wednesday. You can watch both episodes of the audition here:
Ep. 1: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av87038860
Ep. 2: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av88586225/?spm_id_from=333.788.videocard.2
