Thursday, September 18, 2014

JS Idol Spotlight: Pocchimo


Yesterday I mentioned that I was watching some new idol videos including one by a group named Pocchimo.  Pocchimo are what is known as a JS idol group, or elementary school age idol group.   JS idols are not new at all, but there has been a new wave of them lately.  Perhaps many of these groups won't achieve the level of success of an AKB48, but the tide is turning in the idol world and they are poised to become the next big thing.

Pocchimo is a group created by Pony Canyon who made their live debut on May 10, 2014.  All three girls are child models and TV actresses.  The group's blog was created on May 1, and a Twitter account was made on May 11.  The video for Pocchimo's debut single, "JS Datte!! Ima Shika Nai!!", was uploaded in a 360p version to YouTube on July 31, with the CD (and CD + DVD set) being released on August 20.  Also on August 20 the group's website appeared.

The Limited Edition of Pocchimo's single comes with a Region 2 DVD.  If you have a DVD player capable of playing this or VLC Media Player on your computer then you are all set!  The DVD menu screen is in both Japanese and English, with options such as "All Play", "Music Video", "Dance Shot Version" and "Making Of Shooting".  As you can guess, the picture quality of the music video is superior to the video that you can see on YouTube.  The dance shot version is fun as the clothes on the girls changes every so often.  The making of the video is pretty standard, but fun to see the girls be themselves behind-the-scenes.      

Pocchimo's musical style is mid-paced traditional pop.  What I personally like about them is that they are not trying to copy a popular idol group, they don't have an anime tie-in (at least not yet), they aren't an autotune electronica group nor are they a fan-service group.  Pocchimo are simply trying to be a cute pop group that wants to entertain people and have fun.  The girls are young and they act like it too.  No one is trying to be mature and dress up in clothing to make them look older.  This is refreshing to me.

Since I already linked the video for "JS Datte!! Ima Shika Nai!!" in my last post, I'll share some other Pocchimo videos.  The first one is a low quality video of their live debut.

 
Pocchimo dancing videos....

"Attack Hip" (Sorry, I can't embed this.)

"Nanana Gymnastics":


The Making of "Nanana Gymnastics":


Members:
Hata Mei, Leader - Born on April 10, 2002
Ishii Momoka (Momo) - Born on December 19, 2002
Shinta Maki - Born on March 7, 2005

Single:
"JS Datte!! Ima Shika Nai!!" (August 20, 2014)

Official Website
Official Blog
Official Twitter
Official Vine