The summer shuffles have been an H!P tradition since 2000. Every summer, there are 3 units consisting of different Hello! Project members. All of the members of the H!P would be in it. It’s a chance for members from different groups to be together. In 2000, 2001, and 2002, all 3 groups released different singles. In 2003, they put the singles for that years shuffles all on the same CD. 2004 was a little different- the whole H!P was in one huge mega unit, the H!P All Stars. They released one single, all together. In 2005, the H!P was too big so only select members got in the shuffles. Their singles, like in 2003, were released on one CD.
I will be making an article for each of the 6 (and counting) Hello! Project Summer Shuffles rounds. First, of course, comes the 2000 shuffles: Akagumi 4, Kiiro 5, and Aoiro 7. The theme is colors- Aka means red, kiiro is yellow, and ao is blue.
Akagumi 4 consisted of Yuko Nakazawa and Maki Goto (MM members), Danielle Delaunay (Coconuts Musume), and Miho Shinoda (T&C Bomber). Their single was Akai Nikkichou, which means ‘red diary’. The song is a ballad, but it has it’s upbeat parts as well. Danielle, who is fluent in English, does a great beginning dialogue in English. The rest of the song has lots of Maki lines, with the other girls having some solo lines in between. It’s a very pretty song, but the singing in some parts doesn’t transition well at all, and some of the singing just plain isn’t that great.
Kiiro 5 was the yellow group, which had Natsumi Abe and Kei Yasuda from MM, Ayaka (Coconuts Musume), RuRu (T&C Bomber), and Michiyo Heike (a solo artist). Their song was Kiiroi Sora de BOOM BOOM BOOM, a fun, upbeat song. I really do love this song, but, as with the Akagumi 4 song, the singing just isn’t that great. Bad transitions, mediocre singing, eek. It’s kinda thrown all over the place, and the background music overpowers the vocals. Natsumi Abe covered this song on her solo album, and it was much better. Perhaps they just got better recording equipment than in 2000, I don’t know.
Aoiro 7, the blue group, had Sayaka Ichii, Mari Yaguchi, and Kaori Iida from MM, Mika and Lehua from Coconuts musume, and Inaba Atsuko and Miwa Kominato from T&C Bomber. Their song, my favorite out of these shuffles, is Aoi Sports Car no Otoko (the boy with a blue sports car). This song also happens to be one of my favorite all time H!P songs. It’s an awesome punk rock song with amazing guitars, vocals, and really everything. It seems like they did so much more work on this one; everything about it is so much better than the others in my opinion. This song truly rocks.
- Akai Nikkichou
- Hello! no Theme (Akagumi 4 Version)
- Akai Nikkichou (Instrumental)
- Kiiroi Sora de BOOM BOOM BOOM
- Hello! no Theme (Kiiro 5 Version)
- Kiiroi Sora de BOOM BOOM BOOM (Instrumental)
- Aoi Sports Car no Otoko
- Hello! no Theme (Aoiro 7 Version)
- Aoi Sports Car no Otoko (Instrumental)
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4 responses so far ↓
Rinoa
// Feb 13, 2006 at 6:31 am
Oooh sounds pretty neat! I’m slowly getting into H!P and I must say Aoi Sports Car no Otoko is pretty addictive with an interesting beat. I would have preferred if the song was more lively but it’s interesting nonetheless as if they’re racing down the road while singing this song.
yukino
// May 22, 2006 at 12:50 pm
These songs are pretty catchy, but I have to say that the singing could use a little work… thanks for the great article anyways, Lainay.
Matthew Ramsden
// Aug 23, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Hello Lainay.
I like these shuffles, as well as you being a H!P freak. I sort of am. I like Aoiro 7 and Akagumi 4 the best even though I am an Ayaka fan. Hey, Lainay, you know what, I think you should do a page on Sharan Q seem as it has Tsunku-san. Please, do a page on Morning Musume as well.
You must, well you don’t have to but it would be good seem as Morning Musume are the main group.
Matthew Ramsden
MrJimmy
// Jan 23, 2007 at 12:37 am
I just listened to these, and they leave much to be desired. Although I find them catchy, they leave quite a bit of room for work. The instruments, at least in “Kiiroi Sora de BOOM BOOM BOOM” I noticed has the sound quality of a Sonic the Hedgehog game on the Sega Genesis; it brought back fond memories, but I expect my J-pop to have a slightly more realistic synth line.
I didn’t actually notice a difference in singing quality, but then again I’m only recently striking out into J-pop with origins in American bands that focus more on grit. One thing that I did notice about the singing was that all the songs sounded like they were recorded in a room where they were forced to sing as quietly as they could muster, without not-singing.
I’m hoping the next set of shuffle songs are better.
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