Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

Music writer Tatsunori Tokushige watched OCHA NORMA perform at the “@JAM” festival and posted on social media wondering, “They’re cute and their performance is great, so why aren’t they selling?” — sparking a debate on 5channel’s Hello! Project board. The thread ranged widely, from the observation that “now that Juice=Juice has become a hit, we can’t use ‘well, it’s Hello! Project’ as an excuse for not selling anymore,” to an analysis citing regional tour attendance figures suggesting “fans outside the big cities are noticing the group’s appeal faster,” to comments pointing at individual members’ performance and the agency’s lack of promotion.

93AnonymousAug 30, 2026 21:48

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Hello! Project board) thread “Famous writer: ‘I watched OCHA NORMA’s stage at @JAM — they’re cute and their performance is great, so why aren’t they selling? Makes me question Hello! Project’.”

A thread on 5ch (Hello! Project board) introduced data showing that BABYMETAL’s overseas listening patterns differ from other J-POP artists. Six acts — King Gnu, YOASOBI, Vaundy, Official HIGE DANDism, Mrs. GREEN APPLE, and Kenshi Yonezu — fall into a “Korea/Taiwan-concentrated” category, where an average of 52.7% of their overseas streams come from East Asia. Seven acts — Ado, Creepy Nuts, LiSA, ONE OK ROCK, XG, and Fujii Kaze — fall into a “globally distributed” category, streamed widely across Southeast Asia (26%), Latin America (20%), and East Asia (19%). BABYMETAL, by contrast, was singled out as clearly different from the other 13 acts, falling into a “Western-oriented” category with Latin America at 31%, North America at 25%, and Western Europe at 20% — showing a strikingly high share of listeners from Europe and the Americas.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “The Difference Between BABYMETAL’s Overseas Popularity and Other J-POP/K-POP Acts’ Overseas Popularity, Part 31“.

After Nippon TV’s special “Tsunku♂ and the Legendary Morning Musume. ’14” aired, it became a hot topic on 5ch’s Hello!Project board that nearly all the members of the ’14 lineup — known as the “One-For Members,” including Sayumi Michishige and Riho Sayashi — posted on social media. Since next year marks Morning Musume.’s 30th anniversary, there’s precedent for this: “Dream Morning Musume.” reunited for the 10th anniversary, “Pucchi Moni” and “Mini Moni.” for the 20th, and “W” for the 25th. While some in the thread are hoping for a “Dream One-For” reunion, opinions split over who should headline a revival project like past “Dreams” units, and over how well the ’14 generation’s songs actually hold up.

34AnonymousAug 30, 2026 21:18

39AnonymousAug 30, 2026 21:22

52AnonymousAug 30, 2026 21:39

Chayu

58AnonymousAug 30, 2026 21:48

228AnonymousAug 31, 2026 01:13

233AnonymousAug 31, 2026 01:57

Re: #228
Seeing this, it really looks like Nonaka is planning to still be around for the 30th anniversary.
She's Kawabe's favorite member, after all.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello!Project board) thread “After yesterday’s Nippon TV special ‘Tsunku♂ and the Legendary Morning Musume. ’14’ — nearly all the One-For Members posted on SNS, but could a Dream One-For really happen next year?“