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The story
On a 5ch thread where Hello! Project (Harapro) fans gather, the lineup order for the year-end music festival “CDJ” (Countdown Japan) became a hot topic. The thread’s starter asked: “Last year at CDJ, Angerme’s turnout crushed Juice=Juice’s — so why is Juice=Juice the first group booked this year?” Replies clashed between those crediting the “Moremi” buzz (a viral moment that swept through late last year into this year) for Juice=Juice’s sudden surge in popularity, and those arguing that Angerme’s turnout last year was just a temporary spike driven by fans of a few specific members.
What people said
Angerme really was the more popular group compared to Juice=Juice.
The newcomers who joined because of "Moremi" might not believe it, but it's true.
But Juice=Juice always won on playback/streaming numbers,
and their fanbase had more rock-solid, hardcore supporters.
The moment Angerme started looking less popular, their fans scattered fast.
Impressive, lol
Guess that means they're definitely getting booked again this year!!! lol
The only Hina Fes show that sold out in the first round this year was the Juice=Juice premium performance.
It never got past "vanilla" tier (i.e. it never sold out).
and it just declined.
If it's not genuine, it won't pull in the money.
they're simply not on the same stage as Juice=Juice anymore.
Morning Musume '25, Angerme, Juice=Juice, BEYOOOOONDS… there wasn't a huge gap between them.
Then from late last year into this year, "Moremi" went viral and Juice=Juice suddenly shot way ahead of the rest.
Before Juice=Juice took off, if anything Juice=Juice was the one being sidelined while the other groups kept getting chance after chance — and none of them managed to pop off the way Juice=Juice has now. That's just a lack of ability on their part.
Sounds like something you'll still be saying this time next year, lol. If you can't compete now, what's the point?
At year-end they need to be on NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen.
This isn't the time to be doing a countdown show 💩
Juice=Juice should be on NHK's Kohaku.
That's the most ideal lineup.
CDJ isn't organized by Up-Front Group, so that's beside the point.
Management just isn't doing it that way, so what can you do, lol
The crowd there is mostly non-Harapro-otaku, so if anything, every Hello! Project act except Juice=Juice doesn't even deserve a slot.
I think it was a year where they steadily leveled up.
It's also huge that their cover of Kohmi Hirose's "Kurakura" didn't kill the "Moremi" momentum but kept riding it.
As for BEYOOOOONDS, between the promo push toward their first Yokohama Arena show,
the new members, and the surprise "Hai to Diamond" (Ashes to Diamond),
it felt like every single move in their strategy landed.
By the way, Morning Musume also appeared on that same year-end CDTV episode Juice=Juice was on last year — they had just as much of a chance to go viral.
Once they actually performed, even viewers outside the otaku bubble were surprised at how good their singing was.
Also, there wasn't a streaming release back then.
Juice=Juice only got a streaming release because they suddenly blew up — they rushed one out from the three "Moremi" versions.
on Juice's side there was that "Choi-chan" bit, plus some baffling directing call from Taisei on the "Moremi" stage where they stretched out a few bars near the end —
honestly, that part was kind of iffy.
Really? I saw a lot of people raving about it though.
Lol, imagine not knowing there's a front area — classic couch-fan who's never actually been to a show.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
“Moremi,” as used here, is 5ch shorthand for the viral moment that reportedly sent Juice=Juice’s name recognition soaring starting late last year, which commenters say also led to appearances on music shows like CDTV. Angerme, meanwhile, is cited as having declined in popularity partly because core members like Murota and Funaki left the group one after another. The thread split over whether to read last year’s CDJ attendance gap as a “real” difference in popularity or as a “temporary” number driven by a handful of specific members’ fans — both sides brought up different metrics, from streaming playback counts to Hina Fes ticket sell-out results, to make their case. It’s also worth noting the point raised that “CDJ isn’t organized by Up-Front Group” — a reminder that the organizers’ own considerations factor into lineup decisions, something that’s easy to overlook.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Last year’s CDJ turnout had Angerme way, way ahead of Juice — so why is Juice=Juice the first one booked this year?.”
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