1. Abe Natsumi (LaLuce)
2. Nagatsuki Midori (LaLuce & Chou Cream Rockets)
3. Majima Wakana (Someday Somewhere)
4. Yasuda Airi (LaLuce)
5. Ohmori Rio (Love Cocchi)
6. Yamamoto Airi (Love Cocchi)
7. Nishimura Honoka (Love Cocchi)
8. Ozawa Aimi (Chou Cream Rockets)
9. Machida Honoka (2nd Gen Main Group)
10. Okamura Mana (2nd Gen Unders)
11. Momiyama Himeri (Someday Somewhere)
12. Hata Misaki (2nd Gen Main Group)
13. Shinohara Nozomi (2nd Gen Unders)
14. Matsumoto Momona (Chou Cream Rockets)
15. Okumura Yuki (2nd Gen Unders)
16. Yoneda Miina (2nd Gen Unders)
17. Oba Yume (2nd Gen Main Group)
18. Shiraishi Mana (2nd Gen Unders)
I have to say, the uniforms look great. I wasn't expecting something like this. They're quite a departure from the previous AKB style ones they wore for the 6th single and the Keyakizaka style ones for the 7th.
/#ラストアイドル— ラストアイドルファミリー公式 (@last_idol_pr) February 19, 2020
8thシングル『愛を知る』
選抜メンバー18名が決定🎊
\#阿部菜々実 #長月翠 #間島和奏#安田愛里 #大森莉緒 #山本愛梨#西村歩乃果 #小澤愛実 #町田穂花#岡村茉奈 #籾山ひめり #畑美紗起#篠原望 #松本ももな #奥村優希#米田みいな #大場結女 #白石真菜https://t.co/iITAZh5Aja pic.twitter.com/pzzvalMPtU
They played it safe and went with the Abe, Midori, and Wakana as the top 3. This formula has worked before, so it makes sense (These three were at the top for the 3rd single "Suki de Suki de" and the 6th single "Otona Survivor". The only difference with the 3rd single is that Wakana was the center instead of Abe). Abe was the only choice for the center. There's no way Wakana was going to be chosen. While she does have an aura, she's not nearly as consistent as Abe. On top of that, Wakana's aura only comes through in MVs. It's not apparent during live performances.
Abe just seems to have so much confidence. Right before Lasu Ai, Yoroshiku! began, several members were selected to participate in the pre-release prayer (I can't remember, but it might have been for the 4th single). I don't know if it's still being done, but there was a trend where groups would go base jumping and say a short prayer for the single's success. Abe ended up going twice even though she didn't have to. That's the kind of person she is.
After taking her place, Abe said:
"Even though I've been the center on the previous two singles, there were times when I was unsatisfied with myself. This time, I will succeed. Thank you very much."
It's a bit hard to translate part of Abe's speech. She says "Shoubu" which translates to either "victory/defeat" or "sport/contest". I went with succeed because I think Abe wants to make this a challenge like it's a contest with herself.
Midori's so charismatic and has a great voice, so her being number 2 again is the right choice. She seemed quite humbled. It makes up for her not making it into the top 7 of the Dragon Egg Battle (she placed 8th). For those unaware, Dragon Egg is a very popular mobile battling game. It's doing a tie-in with the 8th single and the title track will be used in commercials for the game which is a big deal. Because of this, they held a battle involving fan participation. The rules are complicated, but fans could help members by sending them in game items. At the end of the competition, the members that ranked 1 - 7 would participate in a special commercial for Dragon Egg. The winners also received special golden dragon eggs with their names on them. It helped if you were good at the game and several of the members who placed in the top 7 are gamers, so that gave them an edge.
Midori said:
"I'd been standing next to Abe for such a long time during single promotions, but when Seishun Train was released, I dropped down a little. I didn't show it, but I was disappointed. This time, I became happy because I thought I would have the chance to stand next to Abe again. I feel that, standing in this position, I have to be great representative of Last Idol. This time, I will work harder than ever before. Thank you very much.
As I said earlier, Wakana wasn't going to be chosen as the center. The 3rd single with her as center was Last Idol's lowest selling up to the point. I don't think it was entirely Wakana's fault. They announced the single in the middle of the 2nd Producer Battle, which caught fans off guard. They were probably saving up to buy the single by the winners of that season and not prepared for a surprise single that would be released only 2 weeks after the announcement. It was poor planning on managements part, but considering how polarizing Wakana is, her role as center most likely hurt it as well. After being selected for the 3rd position, Wakana kept her speech surprisingly short.
All Wakana said was:
"I want to make Last Idol bigger. I'll do my best. Thank you very much."
I could go on an on about each member, so I'll make my comments brief about the rest of the selection process.
LaLuce's Airi seemed genuinely surprised to be 4th. She said: "when Last Idol debuted, #4 was my original position, so I'm happy to return to here." It's worth noting that the top 4 contains 3 members from LaLuce showing just how strong they are as performers.
I believe this is the highest position for Love Cocchi's Rio, so she was understandably emotional. She said: "I worked really hard to become the center of Last Idol and put allot of emotion in it. I was really worried about what I would do if I wasn't selected, but I'm happy to be standing here. Thank you for choosing me."
Personally, I would have switched positions for Love Cocchi's Airi and Rio. They're the two best performers in their Unit, but I'd put Airi ahead of Rio.
Aimi was also really emotional. She really wanted to be selected, but had allot of doubts. However, she thought it would useless if she said to herself "I can't do it" and instead thought positively. She came alive after hearing that she passed.
There are 3 choices I don't agree with:
- Good Tears's Kana should have been selected. Kana was better in her dance and vocal performances than some of the members who passed. Not only that, but Good Tears the only Unit not represented in the lineup. That's really odd.
- Hata Misaki should have been disqualified after forgetting the lyrics during her vocal performance. It doesn't feel right to select her when other members gave better performances.
- I feel the same way about Wakana. She shouldn't have been selected after her terrible vocal performance. Giving her such a high position only solidifies her reputation as Aki-P's favorite. I don't expect this will endear her to fans.
- I would also say that the 2nd Gen's Yoneda Miina should have been placed higher.
The judges commented, but I'm just going to summarize them. Akane said that the members who weren't selected weren't really that bad and they shouldn't feel depressed. She wants the members who were selected to evolve with the awareness that they are representatives.
Yoshida commented that the goodness of everyone came out. All the judges evaluated the members on different criteria, but the members that were selected had something that really shined.
This is how the rows will look.
I've read that one of the reasons fans think certain members were selected because they've been doing Gravure shoots so this helps marketability. They're actually doing a Gravure Battle to decide which Unit will sing the coupling song (I'll do a write up for that later). Naturally, some fans question what's the point of even doing an audition if the line up is chosen by management behind closes doors. It was pointed out that this kind of event is good because you can see how members have grown as performers. It can help their popularity grow. One fan said: "No matter what criteria is used to choose the lineup, whether it's ability, popularity, or appearance, someone will complain."
So very true.
8th Single Selection:
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