Fri, May 8, 2009 (3:15pm EDT)
Last month, producer Tsunku announced the creation of a new Hello! Project unit. Now, the group has finally been given a name, S/mileage, a combination of the words "smile" and "mileage."
The group consists of Hello! Pro Eggs members Ayaka Wada, Yuka Maeda, Kanon Fukuda, and Saki Ogawa. The first three were previously part of the temporary Shugo Chara Eggs! unit from last year.
Although S/mileage is currently under an indie label, Tsunku plans to have them make their major label debut near the end of this year.
The group consists of Hello! Pro Eggs members Ayaka Wada, Yuka Maeda, Kanon Fukuda, and Saki Ogawa. The first three were previously part of the temporary Shugo Chara Eggs! unit from last year.
Although S/mileage is currently under an indie label, Tsunku plans to have them make their major label debut near the end of this year.
Fri, May 8, 2009 (4:37am EDT)
With Mother's Day just around the corner, the research division of company P-NEST surveyed more than a thousand females in junior high and high school about the holiday. The highlight of the survey was the unexpected result of the question, "Which celebrity do you think is the ideal mother?"
The #1 answer was former Morning Musume member Nozomi Tsuji (21), who got married in 2007 and gave birth to a daughter the same year. She received roughly 10% of the votes in the survey, spread almost evenly across the junior high and high school students.
The top five were the same among both groups, but in a slightly different order. The junior high students ranked model Tsubasa Masuwaka (23) at #2, followed by a tie between Miki Maya (45) and Nanako Matsushima (35). Hitomi Kuroki (48) ranked 5th.
On the other hand, high school girls placed Kuroki at #2 and Matsushima at #3. Masuwaka and Maya tied for 4th.
The #1 answer was former Morning Musume member Nozomi Tsuji (21), who got married in 2007 and gave birth to a daughter the same year. She received roughly 10% of the votes in the survey, spread almost evenly across the junior high and high school students.
The top five were the same among both groups, but in a slightly different order. The junior high students ranked model Tsubasa Masuwaka (23) at #2, followed by a tie between Miki Maya (45) and Nanako Matsushima (35). Hitomi Kuroki (48) ranked 5th.
On the other hand, high school girls placed Kuroki at #2 and Matsushima at #3. Masuwaka and Maya tied for 4th.
Fri, May 8, 2009 (4:14am EDT)
Viewership numbers for television dramas have been dropping across the board in recent years, but on Thursday they hit a new low for Fuji TV when the ratings for "Konkatsu!" were revealed.
The series, which stars Masahiro Nakai (of SMAP) and Aya Ueto, had its third episode aired on Monday. Ratings in the Kanto region amounted to just 9.4%, marking the worst ever performance for a show in Fuji TV's flagship "Getsu 9" time slot (Monday 9:00pm) since it was established in the late '80s.
Last season's "Voice," which starred Eita, dipped as low as 10.2% in its 9th episode. However, no "Getsu 9" series has fallen to single digits before now.
"Konkatsu!" started out at 16.3% for its premiere but dropped sharply to 11.2% for the second episode. Part of the decline may have resulted from the recent arrest of fellow SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. The group's show "SMAP x SMAP" (which goes on the air right after the "Getsu 9" time slot) also saw a significant drop last week after the arrest, and this past Monday it fell further to 11.2%, its worst ratings so far this year.
The series, which stars Masahiro Nakai (of SMAP) and Aya Ueto, had its third episode aired on Monday. Ratings in the Kanto region amounted to just 9.4%, marking the worst ever performance for a show in Fuji TV's flagship "Getsu 9" time slot (Monday 9:00pm) since it was established in the late '80s.
Last season's "Voice," which starred Eita, dipped as low as 10.2% in its 9th episode. However, no "Getsu 9" series has fallen to single digits before now.
"Konkatsu!" started out at 16.3% for its premiere but dropped sharply to 11.2% for the second episode. Part of the decline may have resulted from the recent arrest of fellow SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. The group's show "SMAP x SMAP" (which goes on the air right after the "Getsu 9" time slot) also saw a significant drop last week after the arrest, and this past Monday it fell further to 11.2%, its worst ratings so far this year.
Fri, May 8, 2009 (3:53am EDT)
The members of girl band BON-BON BLANCO have announced on their official blog that they will be going on hiatus at the end of this month. The group, which debuted in 2002, reportedly broke the news already to their fan club members.
The band's last performance was a concert at Tokyo's Studio Cube 326 on May 2. They plan to continue updating their blog and doing other activities as a band until May 31, though there are no more live performances scheduled.
The band's last performance was a concert at Tokyo's Studio Cube 326 on May 2. They plan to continue updating their blog and doing other activities as a band until May 31, though there are no more live performances scheduled.
Fri, May 8, 2009 (3:43am EDT)
Illustrator Jun Miura (51) and R&B singer-songwriter bird (33) have finally married, it was learned on Thursday. bird's management agency confirmed the news, but said that it did not know when the marriage happened.
The pair first met several years ago through work, and it developed into a relationship. In November 2005, bird announced that she was pregnant, and she gave birth two months later in January 2006. Later that same year, it was publicly discovered that Miura was the child's father, despite him already being married at the time. Miura divorced the following spring.
Miura and bird have been living together for more than two years now. They have previously stated that they had no plans to marry, but they apparently decided to do it after they learned that bird is expecting another child. She is currently in her sixth month of pregnancy.
The pair first met several years ago through work, and it developed into a relationship. In November 2005, bird announced that she was pregnant, and she gave birth two months later in January 2006. Later that same year, it was publicly discovered that Miura was the child's father, despite him already being married at the time. Miura divorced the following spring.
Miura and bird have been living together for more than two years now. They have previously stated that they had no plans to marry, but they apparently decided to do it after they learned that bird is expecting another child. She is currently in her sixth month of pregnancy.
