I caught my first "Uta Con"（うたコン）in a couple of weeks, and not surprisingly, the theme of the episode this week was the summer song. So, of course, one of the ultimate J-Pop summery bands TUBE showed up, and I have to say that leader and vocalist Nobuteru Maeda（前田亘輝）did a great job with Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）"Ride on Time".
Veteran aidoru group Juice=Juice was also there and if I'm not mistaken, they took care of the finale. They sang their 20th single as a major act, "More! Mi Amore" (Look Hot! Mi Amore) which is actually one-half of a double A-side single accompanying "Shi no Go no Iwazu Satto Wakarete Ageta"（四の五の言わず颯(さっ)と別れてあげた...I Made a Clean Break of It Without Any Fuss）. I'd assumed that the single was their latest from this year but it actually got released in October 2025.
Another crazy assumption that I'd had was that looking at the title, I thought this was some sort of tribute to Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）"Meu Amore" but that's further from the truth. Instead, the song was written and composed by singer-songwriter Aoi Yamazaki（山崎あおい）although both songs have got that frenetic Latin spice infused into their DNA. There's nothing like a Latin-arranged aidoru tune to get the group going all crazy with the choreography which will get the fans all into a lather at the concerts. The single managed to hit No. 2 on Oricon.
I only learned about Juice=Juice this year unless I read about them before on your blog and forgot, but I don't think so. I saw Juice=Juice show up on a music station to sing 「More! Mi Amore」and I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting them to be yet another group that focuses on viral, and hyper-cute Harajuku-style or maybe even like a morning Musume 2.1, but they maybe a little bit more like Akb48.
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. I don't know all that much about Juice=Juice aside from the few entries I've written about them. They've been around since 2013 so it's been quite a while for them. The comparison with Morning Musume is apt since Juice=Juice is also under the Hello Project umbrella just like MM.
DeleteLove this song. Since the group is under Hello! Project, they have a loyal fanbase but the song went viral, which then allowed them to show up on music shows this year and perform at festivals. They're also known for their strong vocals and energetic performances, as expected of H!P groups.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you enjoy "More! Mi Amore". They did make quite a splash on "Uta Con". I'm happy that they've had a lot of longevity.
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