NEWS

[unmei]

I wrote more than a dozen NEWS posts already but I never really wrote one fundamental one. Now I know enough to do that.

In a way it comes as no surprise, really. I mean I had a k-pop crush, then a J-rock one so now I had to come full circle and acquire a JE band as well. And what band. Apparently NEWS is the least popular band in their generation of JE (as compared to Arashi or KAT-TUN) and they also had a pretty bumpy road. But I really like them. Also their current average age is the same as mine and it really does matter as in a way we're on a same page in life, even though those pages are very different.

After the great TVXQ demise I try not to invest so much of my heart into bands. So far it's working pretty well, I guess. Of course there are still feelings of affection involved, I just don't take them as seriously as I used to.

Much MORE

As I watched old videos I couldn't help but feel just a little bit sad at the departure of Pi and Ryo and even Uchi and Kusano. But I guess since they started out as 9 and weren't really that close is wasn't that big of a surprise. In the end I kinda think it was a very natural process. On a personal level NEWS made me think about things like popularity and the images people create. I've known about Yama Pi for like 7 years but I never liked him. I just never could understand what was the big deal with him? Why is he so popular? His voice and dancing is average and while he managed to build a nice body 10 years ago he looked like a tadpole. His style in clothes was also pretty bad. And yet nobody even doubted for a mere second his authority and coolness. Tegoshi has been fangirling about him for years too. Ryo was also the epitome of coolness despite or even thanks to his arrogant attitude. It felt like those two were always too cool for the band and the younger ones were often suffocated by their presence. If you watch the lives and the backstage videos is become painfully obvious that Ryo and Pi never quite belonged there, always kept a distance. After they left it felt like the others were able to shed their old skin and finally release their full potential.



I really like the current NEWS. I think there's a certain harmony in this formation. Everyone seems to have a really good relationship. I can see every pairing except for Koyamasu working out. Basically I think 4 people is a really good number for a band. Nobody gets left out. They get on very well but apart from Koyashige it's just good friendship, they aren't preposterously close like JYJ. And at this point I kinda like that better, I guess.

Undoubtedly the basic units are Tegomass and Koyashige. The former were destined to become a unit since before NEWS while the former are... practically married. Since becoming a quartet though there seems to be a certain positioning of Koyatego - Shigemasu which works pretty well too. I developed a certain liking to the former. I noticed that they also have a certain standing order. It's not as fixed as TVXQ but they stand like this a lot especially in the promo photos. I don't really mind it except when there's a gap in the middle. Gives me a bad feeling. But it's pretty much agreed upon that Koyashige are the Mum and Dad and Tegomass are the kids. It applies to both looks and personality and is perfectly endearing.

Apart from the colors now they also kinda have a shape attached to them. I like how it's stylized and incorporated into the name. In a way this time it really feels like a new start. Four names, four letters, four directions.



I'm quite interested in 3 of out of 4 current members but I like them all in very different ways. Tegoshi is someone I deeply admire, someone who fascinates me, someone I want to learn from. Shige is one of the very few artists I can identify with. He's similar to me in many ways. He's not dazzling, will never be among the best and he knows it but he is making a spot for himself and I really respect him for that. Massu is someone I don't understand at all but he's very interesting and very unique and I love people like that. His smile can warm hearts and it's very contagious. I'm not really interested in Koyama on his own but he's like the band's mummy. He's very kind and he loves him fellow members a lot. I also really admire him and his work as a reporter.

I terms of music I don't even know what to say. Obviously this was the case where I was drawn in by personalities only, music wasn't even an issue. So with NEWS instead of downloading the music I just watched them perform and got to know all of the songs that way. At first I thought most songs were boring but gradually I came to like about a half of them, I guess. To me it seems like NEWS' debut was kinda spontaneous and random. They were just a temporary unit that somehow ended up debuting. Some members didn't even know each other and I think most weren't happy to be in the band in the first place. K.K.K.were a lot better off as three, Tegomass had to postpone their debut for 4 years, Ryo and Uchi already had Kanjani8 and Yama Pi was way too cool for all these kids one of which he's never seen before. Like, KAT-TUN's debut was very anticipated and well-planned but NEWS just kinda happened. Thus they were underproduced and most of their early songs were pretty lame. But over time things changed. NEWS gained their own identity and some good songs. 'Color' especially was a really good album. All in all they have some very nice and catchy pop songs. I also like to think they're classier than many JE bands.



Talking about performances though... After being excited about TVXQ for 4 years I still can't get used to the level of fail in JE. I seriously can't even comprehend it. I know JE doesn't do vocal training and kinda got over it, mostly. But it's not just that. The choreography is all over the place too. But I guess in a way I came to see it as a part of the charm. It really made me remember that one secret someone posted long ago. Rather than brilliant performance I expect to see entertainment and that they deliver. Like with this one performance they did last year where Tegoshi completely failed the timing of the dance and then Koyama couldn't get the mike and then Tegoshi almost dropped his and it was so ridiculously bad that it made me laugh hard.

But in terms of voices I'd say Tegoshi's the only one who has good solid vocals. Nobody else can even come close to that. I don't even want to try to rate them because everyone's got good and bad points but... I guess Massu would come second. His voice is not very strong but it's very stable. But I don't think the problem is just about the voices. A lot of it is about songs that don't fit these voices. But I guess in the end like JE isn't about good singing, but engaging the audience. I watched the Unplugged live and I thought everyone did a pretty god job since they actually concentrated on the singing.

I know now isn't the best time to get involved, really. I mean after the fall of Megaupload and then then the major cleanup of Madiafire most link from 2011 and older are dead. Then again that makes it kinda fun - it's like treasure hunting. I feel like I crossed livejournal and blogger back and forth and I keep finding old subbing teams and private stashes nearly every day. I've watched a lot and read a lot and I'm packed with pictures and videos but there's still a lot to discover and I'm excited.

Finally I want to say that thanks to NEWS I was able to understand the JE a lot better. Not just JE but the whole concept of Idols. I used to kinda disregard it. It sounded so lame to me but thanks to Tegoshi I was able to view things in a different light. He's always saying this catchphrase "because I'm a Johnnys" as if it's supposed to justify his awesomeness. When he jumped from 220 m and smiled at the fucking camera I was like "You gotta be kidding me!" And he's afraid of heights. That really made me realize that being an idol is a huge responsibility, a reputation to live up to.

The last several months of my life have been absolutely terrible, even though I'm kinda used to it by now. But I really feel that I have been blessed with something to survive this time by discovering this wonderful band. I needed this in my life. 以上。