Haven't really paid much attention to Hello Project! in the last several years aside from the odd Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）song, but back in 2021, a new group was born from selected members within the Hello Project! trainees. The group was dubbed OCHA NORMA as a Japanese pun on the word "ocha no ma"（お茶の間...Japanese-style living room） and with the second word norma being the Latin word meaning "standard". Basically, the powers-that-be were hoping that OCHA NORMA "would become the new standard for entertainment in the living rooms of the nation" according to Oricon News.
OCHA NORMA's 4th single "Chihayaburu/Tomodachi Tentaizu"（ちはやぶる/友達天体図）was released in September 2024. For this article, I'm covering "Chihayaburu" which is translated into English as "Divine Force". Sounding like it's a perfect candidate for a teenager-based J-Drama, the music by Sho Hoshibe（星部ショウ）has the razzmatazz of a 1960s spy caper soundtrack with some extra oomph coming from the electric guitar. The lyrics by songwriter and nail artist Shoko Ohmori（大森祥子） seem to deal with a high school kid fighting the usual interpersonal politics of image and vowing to stay to her true self, no matter what is said. The single reached No. 4 on Oricon.
Such a fun group. I haven't checked out their recent music in a while but when they debuted they reminded me so much of early Morning Musume.
ReplyDeleteThose early years of MM were some good ones. Very nostalgic when I look back.
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