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The story
With EBiDAN’s M!LK enjoying a strong run, posters on a 5ch live-chat and general-discussion thread began asking whether Hello! Project should be promoting its whole roster — Juice=Juice included — the same way. The thread split between those citing BEYOOOOONDS’ rise as proof that individual groups can grow on their own, and those insisting the agency should put out a song featuring everyone together. Some pointed to past all-member Hello! Project songs that reportedly flopped, while others noted the budget gap between Up-Front (Hello! Project’s agency) and EBiDAN’s backers, turning the thread into a broader debate over the two camps’ differing promotion strategies.
What people said
That's basically just BULLET TRAIN blowing up on their own — that's not the point.
They're saying put out a song with everyone instead.
I think the point is: show some fighting spirit, or you don't get a free ride.
What about Morning Musume's new single?
Ako (a BEYOOOOONDS member) is popular, and yeah — boy-band idols really do have it easier.
So you're saying my oshi (favorite idol) isn't selling because Up-Front (Hello! Project's agency) is too weak?
Plus there's no way they could pull off something like 'Yes! Tokyo' again —
remember how those all-hands songs turned out in the past.
So you're saying my oshi doesn't sell because Up-Front is too weak to spend the money and promote them properly! 👈 Is that the argument?
It's because M!LK has completely taken the top spot.
Juice=Juice is still at the 'handing out business cards' stage…
Then again, even Johnny's (the major boy-band agency) groups that fell from the top don't necessarily bother doing that either, right?
More recently there's 'YEAH YEAH YEAH.'
Yeah, they probably will.
EBiDAN does it with a select lineup, though.
Then how about a 'Deca-beat' unit? (joking name for an all-star lineup)
Hello! Project doesn't do select lineups.
So then it's everyone? That's too many — it won't sell.
Reminder: there's no Johnny's group beating that 'garbage' in the numbers anyway.
Honestly they haven't had a hit in 20 years — they clearly don't know how to engineer a breakout.
That's because they kept pushing hollow hype with nothing to back it up.
Juice=Juice actually delivers numbers and gets results.
Even if they try to ride Juice=Juice's coattails and do the same thing, what they'll put out will be 'Hana, Tan no Toki'- or 'YEAH YEAH YEAH'-level quality.
And that's a shame, since they're already running Hello! Con just like EBiDAN runs Ebi Live.
If Juice=Juice sang it, it'd be a classic.
You just answered your own question, lol — Hello! Project has no intention of making them sell, lol.
If they had no intention of making Juice=Juice sell, they wouldn't keep letting them sell more and more instead of shelving them.
BULLET TRAIN had already sold out the Tokyo Dome.
It's a different dimension from Hello! Project.
If Juice=Juice weren't being held back, they'd probably get close to that too.
The point is that, unlike Hello! Project where everyone below the top is painfully weak, EBiDAN's number two is strong as well.
M!LK hasn't even done a Dome show in the first place, so who even counts as number one here?
Who do you even mean by the 'number two' in Re: #49's setup?
and it doesn't blow up into a fight because they respect each other.
If Hello! Project tried that, it'd be an absolute bloodbath between the Musume and Juice wota (diehard fans).
There aren't really Morning Musume fans passionate enough to riot over that.
They'll come crawling out to nitpick, just watch.
Though once Oda (a Morning Musume member) is gone, Juice=Juice will probably run the show unopposed.
Musume should sell like BULLET TRAIN before they get to talk.
They came crawling out during the 24-Hour TV drama riding on Tsunku's name, but they were still weaker than the BEYOOOOONDS fans (Biyo-wota) hyped up over 'Hai to Diamond' right now.
it'd end up some gloomy, offbeat Tsunku (Hello! Project's veteran producer) tune, right?
The agency never breaks from that formula.
Yeah, they hyped Tsunku up hard during the 24-Hour TV special.
At Hello! Con they just keep recycling 'Hello History' forever — a Tsunku song wouldn't even register.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HMYF0PPbQAAz9fA.jpg
M!LK
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNg3CTTbAAA5WoR.jpg
SUPER★DRAGON
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNguDSJawAAiwu7.jpg
Sakurashimeji
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNfwG25a8AAeNj_.jpg
ONE N' ONLY
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNgwU6VaQAAMG0m.jpg
Genin wa Jibun ni Aru. ("The Fault Is My Own")
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNfj72bb0AA5vSG.jpg
BUDDiiS
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNg1pFIbgAAahNw.jpg
ICEx
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNflD8wbsAAUJ94.jpg
Lienel
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNfnGHYa0AA2j-t.jpg
Background and Key Points of This Debate
EBiDAN is a collective project bringing together male idol groups from multiple talent agencies, with acts like BULLET TRAIN, SUPER★DRAGON, and M!LK taking part — each releasing its own material as well as joint songs performed by a select lineup drawn from across the groups. Hello! Project, on the other hand, is home to numerous groups including Morning Musume, Juice=Juice, and BEYOOOOONDS, yet in recent years has rarely released songs featuring its full roster together. Some posters in the thread claimed that past songs featuring every member reportedly went over poorly, suggesting this may be one reason the agency has since avoided all-group releases — though this is only a claim made in the thread and cannot be verified. Opinions in the discussion were split between those who favor letting individual groups grow on their own and those who want the agency to actively push the whole roster together, with no clear consensus reached.
※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Now That M!LK Has Broken Out They’ve Started Pushing EBiDAN — Shouldn’t Hello! Project Be Doing the Same?”.
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