This Is Your Wake Up Call!: The Return of Those SPIRAL MUSIC Idols!

Last year I wrote about the idol groups at SPIRAL MUSIC that I was a fan of. This article will be an update of sorts and will also include information on new idols. Let’s get started.

ww (May 2024): Lila Balding, Onda Mahina, Lin Oberndorff and Kokoa

The international idol group ww has gone through a few changes again. First, Lila Balding graduated from the group on June 23, 2024. During the summer she visited the United States. (You all remember that she’s half American, right?) A new member named Onda Mahina joined on April 14, 2024, and then graduated on September 15. Mahina still posts photos on her X (Twitter) account of when she was in ww and has said that she hopes the fans will continue to show their support for her even if she joins a new group. That right there tells me that she is joining a new group sooner or later. When she does, I will be sure to mention it on my blog. In the meantime, ww only has two members, founding members Lin Oberndorff and Kokoa.

Harajuku Gakuen, who are my current favorite idol group, have released a second single this year! I wasn’t expecting this! Now I will have to think about which single is my favorite for this year’s Year in Review. Or maybe I’ll include them both! Their new single is “Everybody’s Summer”, which was released on October 8, 2024. The music video was shared on YouTube on September 6. It’s pretty obvious (to me, anyway) that some of this video’s footage is from last summer. Right now, it’s pretty cold outside, especially at night, so releasing a summer song now seems a bit strange. Still, I won’t complain about new Harajuku Gakuen music, so on with the video!

Another group that also released a single on October 8 is ULTRA-C. ULTRA-C consists of members from two former idol groups, Cook a dish (Watanabe Arisa, Hananashi Rin and Sarasa) and ULTRA CinderellA (Onodera Kimika, Kawai Riri and Momoi Aya). This new group made their debut on February 24, 2024. As I mentioned on my blog in last year’s Year in Review, Cook a dish was set to release their debut single, “Seishun Shitai”, on December 12, 2023, which was then pushed back to January 23, 2024. Then it was announced that both Cook a dish and ULTRA CinderellA were to disband in February 2024, and that the single was cancelled. A CD-R of the song with two different covers was released to venues only. (See photo below.) I wish I had that CD-R because I’m not only a fan of the group, but I also would like to have a copy of this song with Miura Reika and Shiina Mau singing on it. Reika is now a soloist, but Mau has stopped her idol activities.

The good news is ULTRA-C has now released “Seishun Shitai” as a CD single! Yay! The video for the song is below. The bad news concerns Onodera Kimika, who has announced that she is graduating from the group on January 26, 2025. It seems that Kimika has been experiencing some serious health issues in which she is losing weight rather than gaining it. She wishes to gain weight because she is very thin. I sure hope she becomes better soon.

Changes are happening with SPIRAL’s youngest groups as well. Shiraki Hina, a.k.a. GAL PINA, graduated from NYAAANYA on May 4, 2024, and graduated from SPIRAL MUSIC on July 27. A new member of NYAAANYA named Minami Saki joined the group from July 28, 2024, to October 6, when she had to suddenly graduate. Neko Tiger’s young leader, Kusumoto Miki, graduated from the group and SPIRAL MUSIC on August 24, 2024. Mizushima Sari graduated from Neko Tiger on September 22, 2024, and will be transferred to NYAAANYA sometime. Angelique will graduate from Neko Tiger on November 3, 2024, and also transfer to NYAAANYA on December 15. No, it’s not easy keeping up with all of this.