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The story
The 5th-round sellout results for Morning Musume。’26’s 77th single “Lonely…But not Alone / Yes ka No ka Watashi ka” individual cheki (photo/handshake) sessions were posted to 5ch’s Hello! Project board. The sellout rate for talk tickets dropped sharply — from 61% (209/340 slots) for the 76th single to just 37% (154/416 slots) for the 77th — and posters were split on whether the drop stemmed from the new identity-verification requirement for talk tickets or a genuine decline in popularity. In the individual rankings, Suzuki steadily grew her sellout numbers across the 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds, while discussion also centered on why Ishikawa and Sugihara are popular within the 18th generation, and how members having their first solo session were being received.
What people said
Cheki Session
10/03 Shibuya, Part 1 → Oda, Nonaka, Okamura, Yamazaki, Sakurai, Yumigeta, Suzuki
77th Talk, 5th round: 154 slots sold out
76th Talk 5th-round sellout rate: 61% ≈ 209/340 slots sold out
77th Talk 5th-round sellout rate: 37% ≈ 154/416 slots sold out
Bet they'll drop the talk ticket ID checks soon
They're just not selling
In: Ino, Sugi, Yasu (an "oshi swap" — old favorites dropped for new ones)
Still wait-and-see on the new members
It's not like they can even resell them this time…
The going rate for Oda's talk tickets is like 3,000 yen, so even tossing the rest, it's still a better deal than usual
Looks like you got fooled by a Yasuda fan spamming the thread lol
Feels like quite a few fans got hooked on her at Wakoshi
Suzuki's sellouts have climbed by one each round — 3rd, 4th, 5th — so there's no reason for it to stop now
Next round could see 2 sold out
Her visuals have leveled up
I think there's some effect
But for talk sessions, there wasn't really anyone strong besides Oda to begin with, so it doesn't feel like that big a hit
Mei-chan was also in the bottom alongside Haga at her first solo session, but she climbed a lot the next time
There weren't really any group-oshi to begin with
The group couldn't move the needle because the overall look/visual level never improved
This is the result once people actually got to know her personality
If it'd happened at the same time as before, she might've sold a bit more
Says the Yasuda fan
I think Suumo's just cute in a childlike way, but you guys really go for that kind of thing
Kind of like how Matsumoto Wakana was when she debuted?
Homatan was popular early on too
It shows just how much the Sato fans who were about to graduate were also buying for Homatan and Mei-chan back then
Both of them dropped off a cliff the moment Sato graduated
This is her first solo session though?
Suzuki > Ishikawa > Sugihara > Yasuda
Sugihara's daily-rotation slots were left unsold though
If trading was allowed, people would've thrown in a fair amount
That sense of security from being able to trade meant everyone bought a certain number
Trading only really matters for people who do it based on 'rates' (trade-value calculations)
Is it because she's the youngest?
Because her smile is charming and cute
Are you joking or being serious
Where, exactly? (Kansai-dialect pushback)
Background and Discussion Points
Sellout rates for individual cheki and talk sessions remain one of the few quantitative gauges of member popularity in the Hello! Project fan community, now that handshake-event culture has shrunk. In recent years, more groups have introduced identity verification for talk tickets, ostensibly to curb scalping and bulk-buying by proxies — but this can also make actual sales figures undershoot true popularity. In the thread, opinions were split on whether the drop from a 61% sellout rate (209/340 slots) for the 76th single to 37% (154/416 slots) for the 77th was driven by the new ID-check requirement or by shifts in individual members’ popularity; the thread offered no way to separate the two factors, so the real cause remains unconfirmed. It’s also worth noting that terms like “rori” (slang for a young, childlike idol appeal) and “talk ID checks” are jargon specific to Hello! Project fandom that may be unfamiliar to readers outside the board.
※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Morning Musume。’26 77th Single “Lonely…But not Alone / Yes ka No ka Watashi ka” — Individual 5th-Round Results.”
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