From our other sites
Opinions split on a 5ch thread over the frontrunners for the Hello! Project Song of the Year 2026 award, with several titles thrown into the ring. Juice=Juice’s “Kurakura☆Climax,” Tsubaki Factory’s new song “Ai=Un+En+On” (lit. “Love = Luck + Bond + Gratitude”), “Dantotsu,” and “Wacha” all came up as contenders, with posters citing YouTube view counts and the growth of live-performance clips as evidence for their predictions. Some comments also brought up how the bloc-voting system works and pointed to past winning songs.
[Breaking] Tsubaki Factory's new song "Ai=Un+En+On" is genuinely great! It might just become the group's answer to Juice=Juice
15 Anonymous 2026/08/27 (Thu) 07:16:39.80 0
This year's Hello! Project Song of the Year lineup is stacked
15 Anonymous 2026/08/27 (Thu) 07:16:39.80 0
This year's Hello! Project Song of the Year lineup is stacked
No way it's Kurakura.
It's gotta be Wacha.
Tsubaki's lineup is just too weak this year.
Climax is the only real contender here — everything else is way too much of a dud song.
>>5
Ku-ra-ku-raaa
Cliiiimaaax
So cheesy.
Ku-ra-ku-raaa
Cliiiimaaax
So cheesy.
Just kidding — it's actually Ninmin Friends.
It's Dantotsu or Wacha.
Juice fans (Juice=Juice otaku) were trashing Kurakura as a crap song for the longest time,
but it's really not that great a song either.
In that sense, Dantotsu might deserve the top prize.
Though it'll probably win by vote count anyway.
but it's really not that great a song either.
In that sense, Dantotsu might deserve the top prize.
Though it'll probably win by vote count anyway.
The fact that nobody's calling out the blank "A" slot says it all.
Kura or Mizari.
Probably Wacha~
That one's just fun.
That one's just fun.
Dantotsu, hands down (get it — "dantotsu" literally means "by far"), 'cause Mikumiku looked so cool.
Don't know it well, but wasn't "Celebrate Celebrate" from this year? Or was it last year?
>>13
That's from last year's album.
That's from last year's album.
So Juice=Juice's just excluding every song after "Moremi," huh.
Depends on BEYOOOOONDS' B-side track.
Dantotsu didn't break out as much as people expected,
so it'll probably come down to a battle between Kurakura and Ai=Un+En+On.
so it'll probably come down to a battle between Kurakura and Ai=Un+En+On.
Looks like it's shaping up to be a head-to-head between Kurakura and Wacha.
Kurakura☆Climax
Ai=Un+En+On
Liar Liner
Ninmin Friends
That's my shortlist so far.
Ai=Un+En+On
Liar Liner
Ninmin Friends
That's my shortlist so far.
Dantotsu's got the golden combo — Aoi, who Hello! otaku love, paired with Shunsuke Suzuki.
That's the strongest contender for the award.
That's the strongest contender for the award.
>>20
That combo's song "A Woman's Charm" only ranked 5th though — what's so "golden" about it?
That combo's song "A Woman's Charm" only ranked 5th though — what's so "golden" about it?
To the general public it's Kurakura✩Climax,
but among Hello! otaku, opinions are split.
but among Hello! otaku, opinions are split.
>>22
What "general public" are you even talking about.
What "general public" are you even talking about.
They're still doing a Song of the Year award even though literally nobody wants it, lol.
>>23
It's just gonna feed Izuhara's ego for nothing.
It's just gonna feed Izuhara's ego for nothing.
In the very first year, 2002, an album track by Tanpopo took first place.
Let's just merge it into one big "Dekabo" category and cut out the pointless fighting.
It's gotta be Kurakura, Burabare, or Amaenna — settled.
Ba-ba-ba-niraaa!!!! lmaooooo
I like Dantotsu, but I think it'll end up being Kurakura.
If it's Wacha, I'd say "High Tension" is actually the better-made track.
Though honestly, neither one's really all that special anyway.
Though honestly, neither one's really all that special anyway.
No music video, no shot at first place.
>>37
The Hello! Project YouTube video that grew the most this year is the Kurakura☆Climax live clip.
The Hello! Project YouTube video that grew the most this year is the Kurakura☆Climax live clip.
>>37
Kurakura Live: 3.24M
Burabare Live: 2.5M
Amaenna Live: 2.25M
Kurakura Live: 3.24M
Burabare Live: 2.5M
Amaenna Live: 2.25M
Now that streaming's unlocked and Spotify numbers are visible to everyone, there's something charming about the Song of the Year still being decided by a small group of otaku brute-forcing it with bloc voting — like real "public opinion."
But Spotify's only like 40% of the total anyway.
It used to be Morning Musume。's bloc vote against everyone else, but starting this year Juice=Juice's bloc vote joins in too.
More like a changing of the guard than "joining," really —
Morning Musume。's been weak for a while now.
Morning Musume。's been weak for a while now.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[Great News] Hello! Project Song of the Year 2026 Is Shaping Up to Be Seriously Strong lolololololololololololololololololololol.”
Leave a Reply