On the "failure" of Mikan and what needs to be done to turn Morning Musume around.

When the weekly Oricon numbers were published last week, and Mikan was only able to achieve 5th on its premier day and 6th overall in its opening week, I admit that I couldn't help but feel a little bit of schadenfreude; that wonderful German expression applying to feeling joy over another person's failure. Mikan is, and quite rightly so, the worst selling single in the history of Morning Musume.

I listened to Mikan for the first time about 2.5 weeks ago and quite frankly, I hated it. To me it sounded like a B-side or a forgettable filler-track on an album; it was a song that you tolerated but didn't really listen to, or worse, skipped over to get to the "good" tracks. As for the accompanying PV, I appreciated the return to some production value but it was still lacklustre and "by the numbers". But PVs are just promotional tools, they are not what sells the single, for what sells the single is the music behind it, and Mikan just did not have any redeeming musical quality.

Mikan has all the noticeable trademarks of a single made by committee, and anything made by committee will always pale in comparison to something that is truly a work born of inspiration. It's as if Tsunku and his production team sat around a desk and brainstormed their ideas. I can picture it in my mind and it probably went something like this.

Inspirational yet entendre-filled opening words? Check.
Inspirational lyrics? Check.
Something about love or hope or happiness? Check.
Something about Japan? Well let's leave that out of this particular song.
Catchy middle eight? Nah, let's leave that out of this one as well.
A catchy chorus with a real hook? Nope, let's not give away the farm.
Cool, okay let's record it and choreograph a little dance for it. And this time let's spend a little money on the PV and make the wota happy by showing some baby pics.
With this kind of effort, we're guaranteed another 50K seller.

Well now we all see the (non) payoff for this effort and I hope Tsunku and UFA are realizing that perhaps Morning Musume is not always going to be a guaranteed sell.

One thing that the creation and production and ultimate failure of Mikan reminds us is that when the importance of THE MUSIC is forgotten, then everything following will also fall by the wayside. And Morning Musume, even though it is JPop in its most treacle sweet bubblegum manifestation, must still produce music that is catchy, and unfortunately Mikan did not deliver even that.

Pre "Love Machine" Morning Musume was certainly musical, but it rode the coattails of its notoriety as a creation of a television program, and not for some need to fill a void in the JPop universe. Once that notoriety wore off, so did the sales figures, as evidenced by the stunningly rapid decline of those figures until Love Machine. Love Machine was a spectacular turning point for Morning Musume in that it ended the era of "serious" music and ushered in the era of bubblegum. But the bubblegum was so sugary and enjoyable and addictive that it was difficult to not buy in to it all. As long as the music remained the most important thing, the personnel changes could last forever.

But somewhere along the line the music was lost, in turn replaced with creation by committee and the ascendency of marketing. Somewhere alone the line it was decided that the music had to fit the girls of Morning Musume and not the other more proper way around: create the music first and then let the girls fill the roles required of the song.

Yes, there was a bit of an upturn for a while prior to Mikan, especially with the release of Aruiteru. And one can't discard the fact that Aruiteru was, for all intents and purposes, exactly what Morning Musume needs again, a replenishment of its musical credibility. Aruiteru was a crappy single for myself and other Morning Musume fans, but it was so musically uplifting that it sold beyond the tradtional fanbase. It was so musically accomplished in terms of its creative quality that Tsunku himself recognized it for what it was, a hit beyond the bounds of Morning Musume, and decided to record a version with Sharan Q.

Mikan, on the other hand, catered to only one demographic, the Morning Musume fan. The PV was made to promote the single to the fans. Who else other than a Morning Musume fan would care to see baby pictures of the girls? And when you target a certain demographic only, then you're bound for failure. The really sad thing about the failure of Mikan is that it was the group's 35th single, following directly from the release of their 10th Anniversary celebrations and the retrospective double CD with all previous 34 singles. It's as if Japan has said "10 years, they've had their run. Time to move on." Frankly, I think it would be a mistake to turn our backs on Morning Musume.

So what do Tsunku and UFA have to do to right the good ship Momusu out of these somewhat dire straits? That's a difficult question to answer. So many other things are also contributing to the decline of music sales in Japan and really, the entire planet. But if I had a wish list of what needs to be done with Morning Musume this is what I would recommend:

1) Announce a rebuilding effort. Acknowledge the failure and disappointment of Mikan and state a genuinely renewed sense of purpose.
2) Keep the line-up as it is for a time. What Morning Musume does not need now is another graduation from a long-tenured and beloved member. Ai Takahashi is the eldest and slated to go but it would be a mistake to let her go any time soon. Some may detract her skills as a leader, but there is no denying that as the one with the longest tenure she is the face most familiar with the public whether they be fans or not. At the same time, don't announce any new auditions for a 9th generation. The addition of Jun Jun and Lin Lin is an evolving experiment to expand Morning Musume to Asia. Give it time to happen. A 9th Gen audition will only negate that.
3) Let the girls be themselves. Morning Musume was created by 5 girls who were asked to fill roles based on their personalities. Up through the 4th Gen auditions, this was the successful plan. Let the remaining 5th and 6th Gen members and afterwards let their true personalities come out rather than be stifled by the expectation of "proper behaviour" for an idol. I am not saying that the girls should be allowed to smoke or have boyfriends, they should still project an air of innocence. What I am saying however is that the girls should be allowed to speak and not just sit their looking pretty. Flashes of the girls real personalities on Hello! Morning and Haromoni@ are genuinely the best thing about those programs. When they go on shows to do promotions, allow them to express themselves. The host of Utaban was right, the current members are bland. But that's only because UFA have either directed them to be bland. Let them loose, please, just as the girls from the 1st to 4th generation were allowed.
As a side note, I somehow feel that Rika Ishikawa was to blame for the fear the the 5th through current gen members have for allowing their real personalities to show. You all know how I feel about Rika and her tendency to put on airs and be "proper."
4) Most importantly, rediscover and re-emphasize THE MUSIC. As I said before, let the creativity flow and let music come out, and then get the girls to fill the song with their personalities. The beauty of such songs as "Do it Now!" and "As For One Day", and all of the successful Morning Musume singles is that they were first and foremost musical. But those two singles are my all time favourite because it asked the girls to sing better than they have ever done before or since.

Mikan shows what happens when the music becomes a secondary concern to image.