BiS and Dorothy Little Happy Are Gonna Get You!

A month ago, it was announced that idol groups Brand-new Idol Society and Dorothy Little Happy would be collaborating on a single entitled Get You. Who thought this would happen? I mean seriously, who in the hell would have ever thought this would happen? I didn't! Then again, an idol group like BiS does seem to have knack for coming up with the curviest curveballs to throw at us! As for Dorothy Little Happy... I know squat about them but let's talk about this odd collaboration!

I really didn't see this coming; I didn't even know these two groups were under the same label! These two idols are just about as different as you can get. On one end, you have Dorothy Little Happy, a group I only know about thanks to the fact that Ishida Ayumi used to be one of their backup dancers. I did some research (aka I watched every video I could find) and they're... okay, I guess. Personally, I found their music to be really boring. I'd never follow them but they're pretty much your run-of-the-mill idol group. On the other end is BiS and they're known for being "unconventional" and doing things like filming nude PVs, holding 24-hour lives, selling their cleaning services on the Internet, and generally doing their best to shake up the idol world. They're kind of like Momoiro Clover Z if MomoClo turned to the dark side. I've never been a huge fan of BiS' PVs (save of PPCC) even though their music is freaking awesome so I did wonder how a collaboration would turn out. Would the groups be too different to merge successfully? If the other group was more hardcore in terms of idol-ness (I'm thinking again of Momoiro Clover Z), then I could definitely see some interesting stuff but from what I've seen of DLH, they're a pretty average idol group. I don't see any real gimmicks or defining traits; they exist to please their fanbase and please their fanbase they shall. Aside from the leading A-side, the two B-sides on the BiS/DLH single are actually covers of their own songs. So DLH will be covering the BiS' nerve and BiS will be covering DLH s Sayonara demo. Now I'm certain the nerve cover will be fine as nerve is a pretty hard song to really screw over. What interests me is how BiS is going to cover Sayonara demo and what kind of spin they'll put on it to fit their image. I listened to the song and it's pretty generic so at this point, I'm highly intrigued as to how a BiS version would sound! I'm actually strongly considering doing a single review of this because I do want to talk about how each cover turns out. But I'll save that for a future post because today we're going to talk about the A-side in question!

So when I first read the title of the song, the first thing that came into my mind was "One way or another, I'm gonna find you, I'm gonna GET YOU GET YOU GET YOU GET YOU!!!" That is a pretty hopping song but I didn't think this BiS/DLH song was going to sound like Blondie that much. If anything, I thought maybe it would be sort of a blend of idol pop and alternative. Not sure how that would turn out but I was hoping it would be interesting! I was also a little worried the song wouldn't find a good balance and one group's sound would wash out the other (like the BiS sound overpowering the DLH sound and vice-versa). The song instantly grabbed me with the opening chorus, especially with the repetition of "Get You" and the nice sounding melody. Unfortunately, I don't like the verses as much as I like the chorus. I wouldn't say they're bad but the verses didn't keep me as interested as the chorus and I started paying more attention toward the buildup toward the chorus. I admit, bits and pieces have grown on me but it'll probably be a few weeks before I enjoy the song on an equal level for every part! I think the best way I can describe Get You is that it's very... light? Even then, that doesn't feel like the right word to describe it but the song sounds like it's sort of drifting through the air, if you know what I mean. It's a very strange kind of pretty and I do enjoy the song more and more with every listen! It was a good median for two extremes of idol groups to meet. It has some BiS quirkiness but doesn't reach Idol Is Dead levels and the song is most definitely an idol song but not too idol-y. I've always enjoyed the diverse vocals in BiS and I couldn't help but wonder how they would blend with a group like DLH. Well, honestly... there really isn't much blending in this song. Sure, there are plenty of solos from both groups but they hardly ever sing together. During the parts where the vocals are blended, it feels a little bit like BiS has more vocal dominance but I think that's because their voices are just so different from DLH. Thanks to the split vocals, it feels more like the song is sort of this... lyrical conversation. Then again, I'm just going off the sound since I speak about as much Japanese as a whale.

Overall, those are just nit-picky details because I really do enjoy this song! I like the flow a lot and the chorus has a very catchy hook that keeps me listening! It's a very nice collaboration and I think it has both groups step out of their comfort zones. But the real test is the PV... what in the hell could happen with two extremely different idols in the same video together? Well... lots of physical violence! Onto the screencap!

Here we have Dorothy Little Happy, a group I will probably never care about.

It's the BiS Invasion; I wonder if there's going to be like some idol showdown or something!

With those hats on they kind of look like elves though...

Helloooo sparkles! You're not going to go crazy and turn into the One Two Three sparkles, right? Right!?

Yufu!! I love Yufu, she's probably my favorite in BiS and she looks so lovely in this close-up!

Oh hi, physical violence! Fancy seeing you show up in this PV!

Whoa, what's up with that look? You got beef with BiS or something!?

Man, death glares all around... Let the idol showdown begin!

Oh my god, I swear this girl looks just like Ayano from Tokyo Girls' Style. It's surreal O_o.

I admit, my least favorite part of the song is the rap/talking with style bits but luckily they're pretty short!

So I guess this is the violent version of rock-paper-scissors... I'm not surprised it didn't catch on!

Look at her face! She's practically gleeful that she gets to cause pain to others!

Of course a slap from Pour Lui wiped that grin right off her face.

And here's another violent children's game!

I think it's the way her hair's parted but the DLH girl really reminds me of Yamabe Miyu from again, Tokyo Girls' Style!

So are Wacky and Mitchel in like... hell or something? Because that's what the background reminds me of!

God, I think Dorothy Little Happy is more violent than BiS!

Ouch. Poor Wacky... that's gotta hurt!

This sure is one odd children's game...

Okay, DLH girl, you are having way too much fun inflicting pain on other people!

I just wanna give everyone a hug and tell them to get along and make cake or something!

I will say, this is probably the "prettiest" I've seen BiS look. The styling looks less grungy and intentionally messy than usual!

My, don't you look very... pissed off.

And so does Mitchel! I don't know why but she kinda looks like Mikiko (Perfume's choreographer) in this shot...

You know, I wonder if the slaps used in this PV are genuine or just stage combat.

Because everyone looks like they're in pain! Maybe these idols are just good actors...

Not gonna lie, Yufu kind of looks like a witch in this shot. I blame the hat.

So when they say "Get you" I can't help but wonder what exactly they're referring to. Are they going to get you a Coke or something?

Nozomi! Where the hell has she been this whole PV!? I swear this is the only shot I've seen of her outside the group shot!

Aggressive, aren't we?

Okay, DLH girl, you have issues just like everyone else in your psychotic group!

You monster! I can't believe you'd hurt Nozomi like that...

Okay, you can't see in a still shot but in the video, Nozomi's cheek ripples from the impact of that slap.

HA! That's what you GET for hurting Nozomi!

Oh my god... I just spent a whole screen cap cheering on physical violence... what kind of person am I!?

I'll just assume they all became friends after four minutes of slapping the crap out each other.

So technically this is edited PV and about 15 seconds of it are just the making of footage sped up so I decided to go ahead and review it! So before we dive into anything analytical, my first impression of the PV is that's it's really pretty, probably the prettiest thing I've seen from a group like BiS. I guess I'm just used to seeing BiS in grunge makeup, school swimsuits, and occasionally naked in these really messy and gritty PVs. Here the girls are still made up in dark way but it just feels more clean and in a strange way, kind of innocent. The DLH girls also look innocent but that's because I think they're meant to place the role of innocents in this PV. But yeah, I like both outfits a lot for the PVs, though I think BiS could have gone without stealing Perfume's hats. The entire atmosphere of the PV also feels very pretty too; the set is incredibly simplistic but it's very pretty. The special effects edited on top of it also add to that pretty atmosphere. At times, I think the editors did go a little overboard with the special effects but overall most of the shots that used them look very clean and it doesn't feel like the effects are overwhelming the PV. My favorite part where they're used is in the close-ups for each group. Like DLH has a very bright and sparkly background and BiS has a much darker and grittier background! It really helped show the obvious contrast between the groups. That was also nice; if you'd never heard of either one of these groups, I still think you'd be able to tell each group's image. BiS is the dark idol group and DLH is the light idol group. Or so it says. I'll delve into that in a little bit. But I think it was a cool idea to show how different these groups were from each other on a visual standpoint. I also enjoyed the interactions they had. The shots where the girls are playing violent children's games with each other are the most interesting parts of the PV because it's just so surreal. It's even more surreal when you know the images of each group going into the PV. I was very curious as to see what kind of direction they would take with this collaboration because again, I literally had no idea how this was going to turn out. The result is definitely... interesting!

So, technical and visual critiques aside, let's get to the one thing that really matters in this PV: violence! Now remember kids, physical violence will never solve your problems. Part of me thinks that there may be some kind of hidden symbolism behind this but then the other part of me comes up and says "Nia! You review idols, not Freud! Don't overthink this!" Well, seeing as I just finished a semester of psychology, I think it's time to see if any of that is stuck in my brain after the boatload of exams I just finished. So before we get in too deep, let's take a look at what the PV is up-front. There really isn't much to the PV beyond the close-ups and group shots but the other shots we do see are that of what appears to be two children's games. One game consist of rock-paper-scissors and the loser gets slapped in the face. The other game involves two people pushing one another one top of a table/bench until one person falls off. You know what they remind me of? Those pain games I played back in elementary school. You know, the ones where two kids hit, kicked, pinched, etc. each other until one kid gave in, asked to stop and as a consequence, lost the game. Teachers tried their best to keep those games from happening, but we totally got away with them anyways. Ah, those were the days... So I think that's definitely an interesting thing to look at especially because of how the girls react when one girl inflicts pain on the other. Something I noticed in the PV was that DLH does a lot more hitting and pushing than BiS does. In total, DLH pushes/slaps BiS 9 times and BiS only pushes/slaps DLH 5 times. What's up with that? Why is DLH so much more violent than BiS in this PV? Another thing to note is that DLH has a lot more... enthusiasm when it comes to participating in the violence. You see the girls with these gleeful smiles as they enthusiastically slap and push the BiS girls even though it's clearly visible that they're in pain. So that made me wonder why? Both groups hit each other a lot but the DLH girls seem to get more a kick out of it than BiS. Sure, BiS give some vaguely amused smiles but they never look downright psychotically happy about the violent game they're playing.

So here's my theory: before I get into it, please remember that I'm not referring to the girls as their actual personalities but the characters they play as idols in this PV. As characters, the girls of BiS are totally used to darkness and violence; they have tons of it in their PVs already. But violence is a totally new concept to a group like DLH, who's only had cliched idol PVs as sweet as sugar. When they have the opportunity to try this new and different game involving violence, they're enthralled by it because it's the complete opposite of what they're used to doing. They enjoy the pain that they have the power to cause without being reprimanded and for the first time, they can do whatever the hell they want instead of complying to the typical "idol" image they've had in the past. Stereotypically, you'd think that BiS would be the group that would be more violent because of their dark image but the irony is that DLH is despite being so pure and light. You know the Black Swan concept? Well if you don't, in this movie called Black Swan there are two ballerinas: a "light" ballerina who's naive and innocent and a "dark" ballerina who's sensual and crass. It's more complex than that but the main theme is how the light ballerina is consumed by her own inner demons and darkness she tried so hard to repress for most of her life, essentially becoming as dark as the dark ballerina. Now, I'm not saying DLH have inner demons or anything of that nature but perhaps this PV was meant to show that despite how different two idol groups may seem on the outside, at the core, they're still the same. Maybe this whole PV is meant to be a representation of what happens when the unconscious is allowed to take action without any consequences! And maybe the physical violence Dorothy Little Happy partakes in so willingly is really their subconscious wants and needs that they're forced to repress! Maybe this whole PV is a social commentary on the forced images idols have to keep and what happens when that image is peeled away!

OR MAYBE I'M COMPLETELY OVERTHINKING THIS AND THIS WHOLE THEORY IS A RESULT OF MY DRAINED MIND FROM ALL THE EXAMS I JUST TOOK!

...Yeah, I'll probably go with that last one. You can take my theories with a grain of salt but at its core, Get You is definitely an interesting PV. It's a simple PV but it is still a pretty neat PV and a great collaboration between the dark side and light side of idol groups!

I'm gonna get you four out of five apples, BiS/DLH. It's a pretty spontaneous collaboration from two very different idol groups but the result is enjoyable! The song is a very nice to listen to the and the accompanying PV is simple but very interesting. I can definitely say I'm looking forward to reviewing the single when it's released!

Whose Line is it Anyway? -The Worst Line Distribution I've Seen in Idol Music-

For my last post on line distribution, I tried my best to show some of the bright, shiny subversions of line distribution. The harsh truth is for a lot of idol music, cases of really even line distribution are rare. Most groups rely on lead singers and aces like a pair of crutches and it's inevitable that some girls will get shafted, especially with larger idol groups.

This is focusing on the worst of the worst.

To me there's bad line distribution and then there's bad line distribution. This goes beyond just having lead singers getting more lines than the others. This is having lead singers getting the only lines in the song, this is shafting everyone so fantastically you can't help but wonder how awkward the studio recording must have been. Once again, I've taken examples from idols that I follow and be warned: there's a lot of Morning Musume on this list. In fact... they even start off this list! So let's go to number 10, shall we?

10. One Two Three – Morning Musume: Starting off the list with the least bad distribution compared to everything else on the list is one of Morning Musume's more recent songs! Now I'll before you really get into this: there's a lot of Momusu. And why not? The group is notorious for having some of the most disproportionate line distribution in the idol industry! Every now and then, yeah, there's a hope spot that maybe their line distribution will get better but that's a sucker punch for their next song to have two girls singing lead. In this case, the two leads in question are Reina and Riho. Yay. Yeah, you all know I'm not the hugest fan of Riho and it doesn't help that she's Autotuned to hell (so much I nicknamed her RiDOS). I mean, if a song has bad line distribution but is still a good song then I can at least enjoy the song and ignore that aspect of it. While I do enjoy One Two Three a lot, it would be so much better to me if there were other girls singing it. Like girls in the group that can sing. Come one UFP, it's not like you're so lacking in the talent department of Momusu that you can only rely on two people to carry the songs! Oh well, maybe I'll get another hope spot for the 52nd single...

9. Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku - Mobekimasu: Now this group was a cool idea! What a better throwback to the H!P All Stars than to have all the current idols in Hello! Project together again under one giant group! It could be just like old times where all the members could be put in groups and sing harmonious group solos- oh wait, except it's totally not. I was very surprised when I found out the line distribution for this song. The verses consists of nothing but duets and solos from all the popular girls of Morning Musume and everyone else doesn't even get to sing until the chorus kicks in. Even then, that's just each group singing one part and so on. And a lot of other people were also pretty miffed that only the faces of Hello! Project really got to sing on a song that was supposed to represent H!P as a whole. In letting only the popular girls sing, it felt less like MoBeKiMaSu and more like RisAiYuRiMaGaReMi. The song also didn't stand out to me and the sheer fact that the line distribution was bad only lowered my opinion of the song even more. Seriously, Manatsu no Sounds good! had more girls in it and they had better line distribution! Man, I wish I'd had a blog when this song was released so I could bitch about this song even more...

8. Limited Addiction – Tokyo Girls’ Style: Now this is actually one of the few songs on the list that I really, really like. In fact, it's probably my favorite TGS song because I think it perfectly captures that sound that works best for the girls. It's got an awesome intro that builds up to an even awesome-r song with the highlight being the sheer... awesomeness of Ayano's voice. You think pre-teen girls can't sing because their voices haven't developed? Listen to Limited Addiction and see if Ayano can change your mind. Speaking of Ayano... the song is pretty much her and Hitomi. True, Mei, Yuri and Miyu do get a few small-ish solo lines but the song is still pretty much just those two leading. I mean, in past TGS songs, Hitomi and Ayano had lead a lot of the songs but it always felt a little more balanced than it does here. As great as I think Limited Addiction is, the only time the other three members get to sing is in the chorus and even than they only get to sing part of that so Ayano can blow everyone away with her amazing voice. But yeah, the verses also consist of just Ayano and Hitomi singing. So does the line distribution ruin the song for me? Well... no. Not really. Limited Addiction is a damn awesome song regardless of the disproportionate vocal distribution!

7. The Matenrou Show – Morning Musume: Oh, UFP, how many ways did you mess up this single? Aside from this A-side being promoted like a B-side, one of the many things I dislike about this song is that it has terrible line distribution. Okay, so One Two Three's was also really bad but choosing between the two songs, I'm glad One Two Three got the huge promotion instead of this song! Okay, that's like picking which level of electroshock you wanna get but still! This entire song is just Reina and Riho bouncing back and forth with the vocals, much like two banshees swinging across trees. Everyone else gets to sing parts of the song but it's usually just backing vocals. The members who definitely get the shortest end of the already short stick are Haruna, Eripon, Zukki and Haruka; they pretty much get only backing vocals. I guess I'd be a little less angry with this song if I actually liked the idols who are leading it but as I've said on more than one occasion, I don't care for Riho and I'm not particularly fond of Reina either. Neither one of them sounds really good in this song either; hell, everyone sounds bored out of their minds in The Matenrou Fail. And shouldn't they? I'll bet the recording for everyone who's not Riho/Reina was almost as dull as recording for the next song was!

6. Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~ – Morning Musume: Look, I love this song. I really love this song and it’s sure as hell one of my favorite Morning Musume songs ever. The PV is just as flawless as the song mainly because of the hot, smoldering bifauxnen flawlessness of Yossie. But… even though I adore this song I think everyone kind of forgets that basically only three people sang this song. At the time this song was made, there were thirteen members of Morning Musume. That's ten girls standing around signing "Mr. Moonlight!" and "Lalala!" every so often in this song. They don't even get to sing in the chorus! It feels a little weird to be putting a song I adore so much in the Top 5 but I can't deny that it has some really poorly done line distribution. It does little to showcase the new 5th Generation (save for Gaki's opening solo) and it had more focus on the two aces of the group (Nacchi and Maki) and Yossie because this song has her name written all over it! The weird thing is, despite the bad distribution I can't see this song being sung by anyone else. So even though I love this song, in the end I can acknowledge that the line distribution still sucks... Eh, who cares? YOSSIE!!!

5. SHOCK! – C-ute: I wish I'd been following C-ute around the time they released this single because I really wanted to see how other people reacted to it. So in the past, C-ute has always had shaky line distribution at best. I think a lot of people were used to Airi and Maimi getting the most lines with everyone else getting one every now and then to keep the fandom calm. Looking at their past PVs, I noticed that a lot of girls got shafted but not really shafted... is there even a difference? Well, for Shock! there was and this time around it wasn't Airi and Maimi leading the song. It was just Airi. Lots and lots of Airi. I mean seriously, she has chunks of lines where she sings and all the other girls of C-ute just awkwardly dance in the background with these really pissed off expressions on their faces. I love Airi and her epic derpiness but even I think that Shock! had way too much of her! And salt on the wound was that Erika had just graduated and this was the first song to feature 5nin C-ute. More like 1nin C-ute! Get it? Yeah... I guess you do. When I first saw the PV, it was very disheartening to see such a horrible shaft of four other really talented idols. Fortunately, now judging by their current singles I think UFP has managed to give all the C-ute girls pretty even line distribution and hopefully nothing as shocking as Shock! will happen again!

4. ONLY YOU – Morning Musume: Maji Desu ka Ska! was a hope spot for me. It was the first current single I saw released after discovering Morning Musume and as I said in my last list, the line distribution was great. I was excited for Only You and hopeful that the trend would continue! Naturally, my hopes and dreams for an equal Momusu were sadistically crushed by UFA and the Ai/Reina show that had been so prevalent in the Emo Musume era. Now I wasn't around when this era was in full swing but I listened to the songs, I saw how Ai and Reina dominated vocally. Only You could pretty much blend in with those songs because Ai and Reina are all over it. It was also my first taste of Riho the Ace I'm Not Okay With. Look, I was wary of Riho even during the auditions because I feared that if she got in, then UFA would dump all the promotion on her and shaft everyone else in the 9th Generation. Only You proved that I was right although I sorely hoped it was just a one-time thing. Now, five singles later with Riho still in the center, I was horribly right. These three make up 90% of the song and every now and then one of the other members gets a line or duet but yeah. It's the Ai and Reina Show Featuring Riho. And I'm not okay with that.

3. Resonant Blue – Morning Musume: You! You started this! You started this whole trend of Ai and Reina being the only people to get lines in Morning Musume singles! Actually no, but this was the first song in a long time that had a really disproportionate amount of lines for each member. I mean, up until this point I could tell that there had been leads but there had also been minor vocalists to back them up and everyone got a least one line here or there. But with Resonant Blue, the song is pretty much Ai and Reina with Koharu popping up every few verses or so. In that sense, it reminds me a lot of Only You except Riho replacing Koharu and at least the girls got to sing actual words. Here, everyone else sans Gaki and Eri only sing "Fu!" "Wow~" and other various sex noises. And even Gaki and Eri barely get to sing much outside the chorus and two little duets. The song is Ai and Reina and from what I've read digging through old reviews from other blogs, not a lot of people were happy with that. Also, people were pretty divided about giving Koharu vocals considering her lack of... vocal talent. I do admit, of all the minors to go with Koharu seems like an odd choice to me but I guess she was good promotion material. Still, this song did a crapsack job of promoting everyone else and that trend has continued to this very day for Momusu!

2. Furusato – Morning Musume: Here it is. The song that started it all. When I say "all" I mean the trend of giving Morning Musume really crappy line distribution. Hell, Furusato is notorious for having line distribution at is worst for Momusu. I mean, the color-coded lyrics speak for themselves! The text is nothing but red with a few backup harmonies thrown in here and there. Whenever someone complains about the bad line distribution in Morning Musume, there will always be someone to pop up and say "Well, you should just get used to it because they've had the lines done like this since Furusato. Newb." It's pretty clear that Nacchi is the ace of the old Morning Musume in this song, at least until Goto Maki came prancing in. I will say, despite its notoriety, I actually think it's a very pretty song. However, I think it should have just been released as a solo single for Nocchi instead of dragging six other very talented (and probably very jealous) other girls into the mix. You know, I've always wondered how the other idols who don't get a lot of lines feel about that. Do they mad? Do they get bummed? Do they just get used to it? Oh well, at this rate I'll never know unless one just pulls up to my driveway and wants to give an English interview!

You might be wondering what song could possibly top Furusato in terms of bad line distribution? I didn't think anything else could and the song was originally in my number one spot. But then I looked up the color-codes for one more group and the minute I saw them, the song in question skyrocketed to the number one spot. Yes, the song I have found with the worst line distribution ever is none other than...

1. More Kiss – Fairies: This song. This... I need to explain something. I haven't really emphasized this much but poor line distribution in a song can turn me off from a new group. It's that important to me. I can't suck it up and deal with it because my reasoning is why should I listen to a group if it's not even really a group? For that reason, More Kiss turned me off from Fairies faster than a light switch. I don't care if they all look good, I don't care if Momoka has a good voice, I don't care if they can all dance, when you have seven girls and only use one to sing an entire fucking song I'm not going to get interested. Look up the color-coded lyrics to this song. Seriously, do that now. The whole song is highlighted in pink. Freaking pink! Literally nobody else gets to sing in this song, not even to do harmonies. At least the Momusu girls got some harmonies to back up Nacchi! Here it is 100% Momoka and that really pisses me off. Avex isn't exactly known for stellar line distribution but I've never seen it get this bad. I don't even know why it was released under a group; it's a solo single with glorified backup dancers. From what I've seen, the line distribution has gotten marginally better since More Kiss but it's still not enough for me to get interested in this group.

So I've decided to make one more little poll just to balance out the first poll. The poll question is Which idol group do you think has the worst line distribution? The options are the same as the first poll so be careful not to get the polls mixed up!

Whose Line is it Anyway? -The Best Line Distribution I've Seen in Idol Music-

So. Line distribution.

I think of all the many topics that fans in the idol world constantly argue over, the biggest one is line distribution. Left and right you get complaints of this girl getting too many lines and that girl getting not enough lines. It's quite exhausting! I admit, I've complained on more than one occasion when I dislike the line distribution for a certain song. And why not? Bad line distribution bothers me! Ever since I entered the idol fandom, it's bothered me! Sure, I've learned to tolerate it (to an extent) but it's still one of the things about idols (or the agency that manage them at least) that really bothers me. I think I wouldn't mind so much if there weren't groups and songs that showed yes, it is possible for idols to have good line distribution. Doing so gives me a little hope spot for a world with even line distribution filled with rainbows and flowers and glowsticks. Alas, that's not happening ever but I still would like to go over some of the best examples of good line distribution that I've come across! Now I'm not a walking, talking hard-drive so I can't cover every idol in the world so I went off the idols I follow and drew examples from their music or even the group itself! Naturally, there are probably lots more examples out there of good line distribution and if you feel inclined to let me know, just leave a comment! Or attempt to telepathically send it to me. I won't say that'll work but you'll get a star for trying!

10. AKB48: Initially, this one might seem kind of surprising, especially now that there's a great debate raging on about who should be the next ace of AKB48. The group has built itself up around having one "face" to get the center of attention and have a lot of focus in PVs, promotions, dancing position, etc. But I've looked up the color coded lyrics to their songs, and the line distribution is surprisingly even. You still have semi-leads but hardly anyone ever gets a solo and almost every girl gets to share a duet/trio/quartet at some point in the song. Now it's true that the screen distribution is incredibly uneven in their PVs but when it comes down to just the vocals, I was pleasantly surprised at how even it was. I think it's because the way AKB48's singles are done (selecting the most popular girls to represent the group) that they have such even line distribution. And don't get me wrong, it's not completely balanced; girls like Oshima Yuko and Watanabe Mayu get a slightly larger amount of lines than some of the less popular girls like Kitahara Rie and Minegishi Minami. And there have also been solos in the past, particularly in their early singles like Skirt, Hirari and Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru. But for the most part, AKB48 has some of the better line distribution out there, especially for being the top idol group in Japan.

9. Shabondama - Morning Musume: I love this song for a lot of reasons. The fact that the line distribution is good is one of those many reason. This song goes to show that just because Morning Musume has leads doesn't mean they can't give lines to everyone else! Long before the days of the reign of Ai and Reina and only Ai and Reina, they lead the 6th Generation's debut song. And they do a really nice job; they sound strong and powerful and have a lot of emotion. But do you know what the nice thing about this song is that sets it apart from other songs with Ai and Reina as leads? They're not the only ones with solos; in Shabondama, everyone got some kind of solo. Even Sayumi! And keep in mind there were fifteen girls in Morning Musume at the time this song was recorded and they all got solos. Not all of them were long but they were still solos! Besides they all couldn't lead the song otherwise it would be a 10-minute song at the least but still! It just goes to show that if you do it right, you can have a song with good line distribution that still has leads! It helps that this song is one of my favorites from Morning Musume and I'm still longing for the day they release another song with even line distribution. Oh well... I can hope for the 52nd single, right?

8. Chou HAPPY SONG - Berrikyuu: I love this idea; I loved it when the two separate songs by two separate idol groups were merged together to create one! Even better? Those groups were Berryz Koubou and C-ute? And even better? Those respective songs had good line distribution! Especially C-ute's song, Shiawase no Tochuu! Everyone got 3 or 4 solos lines which is nice compared to their older songs which had really sucky line distribution! Then again, recently C-ute's been doing well with even line distribution so I'm not terribly surprised! Because Happiness by Berryz Koubou is a little less uneven since Maasa and Chinami don't get any lines but they still get some duets here and there! And it's nice that Saki got some lines since she doesn't normally get any! But I think the best part is when you get the songs blended together to make Chou Happy Song. You get to hear so many different solos and voices in this fusion song that the effect is really cool! The sheer act of getting the Hello! Project Kids back together was a great idea in is own. I think the numerous amount of solos in Chou Happy Song helped to show how diverse these girls are in terms of vocals and how their voices blend together! It's just a great song that sprung from a great idea and has great vocal distribution!

7. Heroine ni Narou ka! - Berryz Koubou: So this was the first Berryz song that was released post-Inazuma promotions and already there was a change in line distribution. For all the Inazuma theme songs, they pretty heavily featured Miyabi, Risako, Momoko and Yurina (to an extent) and usually Maasa, Chinami and Saki got a solo every now and then in the collection of songs. Overall, Berryz probably has some of the better line distribution of the H!P groups but it could be better. You have front girls like Miya, Risako, Momoko and Yurina but everyone else is kind of pushed to the back. Personally, I thought it was kind of stagnant to have the same four girls sing lead even though it is quite impressive to have four leads in one song! Heroine ni Narou ka! pretty much doesn't have a lead. True, Yurina's Autotuned backing vocals give her the most lines total but it still feels more like everyone got a nicely even amount of lines. It was a nice change to hear girls like Maasa and Chinami (especially Maasa who never gets more than one solo line) having a chance to give a lot of vocals into a Berryz song! It was just really awesome listening to this song and being able to hear everyone a lot for a change!

6. Maji Desu ka Ska! - Morning Musume: This is another generation song that I think fits the quintessential generation song! I will admit, I've said a lot that I have to be in the right mood to listen to Maji Desu ka Ska! but something I've always admired about the song is how even the line distribution is! In terms of vocals, the entire 9th Generation gets showed off equally; each girl (even Riho the Ace I'm Not Okay With) gets two lines. Same goes for the older members; they all get two lines each. Except Reina and Ai but even then they get three lines each! Even when those two get a marginally bigger amount of lines, it still feels like a song sung by everyone and it's a great way to highlight the 9th Generation. Giving them all an equal amount of lines is like introducing them to the fandom! I remember I was so happy with the line distribution in this so to have that really good line distribution disappear so quickly was terrible. Ever since Maji Desu ka Ska! UFP's become hell-bent on making Riho the next Takahashi Ai and pushing everyone else to the back. It really stinks because in Maji Desu ka Ska! you could hear the potential in all the new members. At the level of line distribution right now, I highly doubt Momusu's line distribution will be like this again for a very long time.

5. Perfume: Okay, so technically speaking, Perfume pretty much isn't an idol group (my philosophy is indies Perfume was an idol group but after Polyrhythm, they transitioned into artists). But they're my number-one group I write about and naturally, if I have an opportunity to praise them, I shall do so! I love Perfume. That's obvious but one of the reasons I love Perfume is because each member is promoted equally and in their songs they get really good line distribution! It's a little hard to tell since their vocoded voices make each girl hard to distinguish but their vocals are pretty evenly spread out! Every now and then one girl might get one or two lines more but overall, they all get a bunch of vocals and that's mainly because of their size and how they're promoted equally. I think Perfume is one of the reasons I love smaller idol groups: because in a smaller idol group, each girl has a better chance of shining. In larger groups, you get girls who are shafted but not in Perfume. In Perfume, A-chan, Nocchi and Kashiyuka all have attention and are recognized as individuals that make up a group. Now there is a faction of the fandom that has a bigger bias towards one girl or the other but let's not talk about that and just enjoy their really good line distribution!

4. Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~ - Morning Musume: I loved the concept for this song: putting the girls into color-coded teams and having each team sing parts of the song! There were no solos, no leads, just everyone singing in their respective team? Why can't Morning Musume do that now? It worked great back then, they could shuffle all the members and divide them into teams! How awesome and non-shafting would that be? Yeah, something I really like about this song is that there are no leads and everything is sung in groups. It feels a lot like what AKB48 does now except the vocals are even more evenly distributed! And it makes sense considering the Momusu lineup was about as big as the Senbatsu for AKB48 is today. The teams all get a nice amount of group lines each! I don't want to say it sounds like a chorus because it's not but this song reminds me a bit of One for All and One for All only with less girls and no solos! The color-coded teams were a really fun concept and the best part was they made way for some really well-done line distribution!

3. Edo no Temari Uta II - C-ute: Remember the days when C-ute's line distribution sucked? I don't but I can tell from past videos it did! At this point in time, C-ute had released five singles under a major label and they were all pretty heavy on using Airi and Maimi and sometimes featuring Maimai and/or Nakky with minor vocals. If UFA was in the right mood. The previous single, Namida no Iro, was especially heavy on Airi and Maimi solos and that song would probably be in my top 20 or maybe 30 songs with bad line distribution. This song was a completely 180 from the line distribution in Namida no Iro. Edo no Temari Uta II is a relatively short song (under 3 minutes I think) but in that time, everyone gets a solo line, even less popular members like Chissa and Kanna! In fact, this was the first C-ute song where everyone got a solo; it only took them 4 indies and 5 more singles to reach that point! Each girl gets just one line except for Airi who gets two because Airi is Airi but it's a great way to lay out all the solos! Everyone sings the chorus and everyone gets a line! It's a perfect balance! And then they released Forever Love which was 90% Airi and Maimi again. So much for even line distribution...

2. Buono!: Buono! was actually the first Hello! Project group that really caught my eye. I think it was because they were a trio just like Perfume and also their really rocking music but the nice thing was I could recognize each member! They all had really distinctive voices and it was easy to tell each one apart! When I started, getting into other H!P groups and began realizing how bad their line distribution was, I also realized how valuable Buono! was. Other than S/mileage, they were the only group in H!P that seemed to show off each member equally! I think that was once again, because Buono! is too small for anyone to get shafted. The only time I can remember the line distribution being really off was for Natsu Dakara! (one of my least favorite songs of 2011) which basically featured a lot of Airi and a little bit of Miyabi and Momoko. Luckily that was gone with their next single and every since then, the group gets really nice and even line distribution! It was incredibly refreshing to see no one left in the back or anyone without solos in comparison to groups like Morning Musume. You know, Buono! is a lot like the number 1 group on my list in terms of line distribution! Speaking of number 1...

1. 4nin S/mileage: Yeah, I'm saying 4nin S/mileage because the current S/mileage sucks in terms of line distribution. Oh, I miss the old S/mileage so much. The even line distribution is one of the many things I miss about old S/mileage. I was worried how adding new members would affect their great line distribution and unfortunately, the newbs really upset the great balance the old S/mileage had. Before there were more newbs than OGs, the old S/mileage was hailed as having the best line distribution in Hello! Project outside of Buono! And it was true; all four girls in S/mileage got a lot of lines and it didn't really feel like anyone was leading the songs. Sometimes, girls like Yuuka and Saki would get an extra line or two but most of the time, everyone in old S/mileage got an equal amount of lines. And I miss that. Now, S/mileage has members that get shafted! What happened to the days where no one got shafted? The smallness of the original S/mileage is another example of why I think having less members in an idol group is a beneficial thing! Oh well, I'll just wistfully stare out the window and think of a better, simpler time in which S/mileage had even line distribution...

Now wasn't that nice and positive? I always love writing positive things and I've decided to share the positiveness with a poll! Yeah, I'm actually doing another one! The poll question this time is Which idol group has the best line distribution? I put down a various array of artists (I tried to keep it current as there are a lot of old subgroups that could be in there). If you feel like spreading the positiveness, feel free to vote!