Sexy Zone New Single Release Information

[faded_lace]

In an update from yesterday, here's a quick translation of the fanclub mail that I got today. As always, this is from a mail, so I have no way to prove that I actually got this,

◆ Sexy Zone Family Club member-limited　info mail ◇『mail bulletin』July 16th edition

o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.
　　
　Sexy Zone 7th Single「otoko never give up」9/17 (Wed) On Sale!!　　 　　　

o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.。+o★*.。+o☆*.

It's been decided that Sexy Zone's first single in four months,
「otoko never give up」will go on sale starting September 17th (Wed)!
This work sings a cheering message of "Cheer up!" "Don't give up!"
towards a member of the opposite sex who's a little depressed.
While being the sparkling support song you'd expect of Sexy Zone,
it's also a song directed at Sexy Zone themselves, cheering them up with a message of "let's face forward and progress onward!"

With a characteristically easy to remember chorus, the upbeat and lively melody
will brighten the listener's mood！ Please wait for previews with raised expectations!

The limited editions will be S・K・F versions, and will each have Sato Shori, Nakajima Kento, and Kikuchi Fuma's solo songs on them, respectively.
「Keep The Challenge」will serve as the image song
for Fuji TV's 『Women's Volleyball World Grand Prix』
for which Sexy Zone are the official supporters.

There are limited special videos, as well, so make sure to check out Sexy Zone's new single!


■Limited Edition S (CD+DVD)・・・1,296 yen plus tax
―――――――――――――――――――
☆ Special Present： Sato Shori interchangeable jacket (Includes 1 out of 3 varieties)

［CD］
01. otoko never give up
02. Keep The Challenge
03. Title TBA (Sato Shori Solo)

［DVD］
「otoko never give up」Music Clip


■Limited Edition K (CD+DVD)・・・1,296 yen plus tax
―――――――――――――――――――
☆ Special Present： Nakajima Kento interchangeable jacket (Includes 1 out of 3 varieties)

［CD］
01. otoko never give up
02. Keep The Challenge
03. Title TBA (Nakajima Kento Solo)

［DVD］
「Keep The Challenge」Image Clip in USA


■ Limited Edition F (CD+DVD)・・・1,296 yen plus tax
―――――――――――――――――――
☆ Special Present： Kikuchi Fuma interchangeable jacket (Includes 1 out of 3 varieties)
☆ Special Deluxe 12 page photo booklet

［CD］
01. otoko never give up
02. Keep The Challenge
03. Title TBA (Kikuchi Fuma Solo)

［DVD］
Making of 「otoko never give up」Music Clip ＆ Jacket Shooting　


■Regular Edition (CD)・・・1,065 yen plus tax
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☆ First press only:
＊ Picture Label
＊ Original trading card (Includes 1 out of 3 varieties)　

［CD］
01. otoko never give up
02. Keep The Challenge
03. Ashita ni Mukatte Ute！
04. Boku wa Kimi no Subete ni Naritai
05. otoko never give up Inst.
06. Keep The Challenge Inst.
07. Ashita ni Mukatte Ute！ Inst.
08. Boku wa Kimi no Subete ni Naritai Inst.


□Venue Limited Version (CD)・・・926 yen plus tax
――――――――――――――――
☆ Original Sticker Sheet included

［CD］
01. otoko never give up
02. Keep The Challenge
03. Ashita ni Mukatte Ute！
04. Boku wa Kimi no Subete ni Naritai
※ The Venue Limited Version will only be sold at the locations for「Sexy Zone Summer Concert 2014」
　Please note in advance that it won't be sold in stores.

※The jacket photos will have a unique design for each version.

☆ For more details on the CD, please check the Pony Canyon Official Sexy Zone homepage.

∽∞∽∞∽∞∽∽∞∽∞∽∞∽∞∽∽∞∽∞∽∞∽∽∽∞∽∞∽∞∽∞∽

Some things to consider:
1) They never once mention the exclusion of two members. I don't really understand the point of this, since everyone must have heard it on the news by now…?
2) Of course they included solo songs >__< Since being a hardcore fan of one member is quite common in Japanese fandom, I'm afraid that this will make the single too hard to pass up to a lot of fans, even if they're unhappy with the situation.
3) I guess Fuma's versions don't sell anymore, since they're including another extra in his. I have a lot of feelings about this, but… I don't know if this is the place for them.
4) I haven't officially seen anywhere in Japanese that it's supposed to be read "otoko" so take this with a grain of salt. Other possibilities for the character before "never give up" include "dan," "oto," and "o." I'll report back if I see anything.

So, Sexy Girls, are you buying this CD or not? I'm curious to know what foreign fandom's reaction to this will be. Remember that CDs bought through CD Japan and Yesasia being shipped out of Japan don't get counted into the Oricon rankings, but they do, in the end, affect the company's revenue, etc etc etc.

Comments

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

They said that Marius and Sou won't be participating in the single in the Single Announcement event in Yoyogi Gymnasium two days ago. While they didn't explicitly say (to my knowledge) "Marius and Sou won't be in any of the B-sides or promotional material," it seemed like the implication was that the whole single, not just the A-side, would be three members. It only follows that the trading cards would be only 3 members, too, since the whole single is only 3 members.

I think what some people aren't realizing is that this isn't like Bad Boys, where only one song on the whole single was just three. This is a whole CD single, everything about it, that's only three. And that, to me, is a huge part of the problem. It's not just featuring, it's complete exclusion, and I can't imagine what the management is thinking. I don't think that it has to do with things Marius and Sou did themselves, but more likely it related to the management jumping on trends like AKB, where the members aren't all the same except the most popular core members. Most Japanese fans are of this theory too, and no one is happy about it.

Do you have a source for those sale numbers? I never saw it, but I believe you, I just want to see it for myself. Over the past two and a half years, it's been interesting to watch the push shift around from Kento to Shori, but I think it's safe to say that Fuma has been the big loser in everything. He's always been the one least likely to compromise his own desires just because the management wants it (notice how he was the most obviously upset about this whole thing at Yoyogi), and I think in some ways he's paying for it.

As for now, I'm still going to buy the single no matter how worst the condition is, because I simply rooting for the group
I'm hearing this from a lot of people, but for me, this single isn't "the group." The Sexy Zone that I want to support isn't only three members, it's five, and buying this single for me would be the opposite of supporting the group-- it would be supporting something that's destroying the group. I don't want to encourage the management to further break apart Sexy Zone. This is all just my own opinion, but to me, supporting this single isn't supporting the Sexy Zone that all the members want-- the whole Sexy Zone-- but rather hurting it, and therefore hurting all the members, too.

At any rate, "Are you kidding?" is definitely accurate. And thanks XD I'm fairly fond of my tags myself.

[l-no-sekai.livejournal.com]

I see. I agree that the main problem is that MariSo are totally excluded from this single (the trading card bonus emphasize the fact that they're totally excluded) in spite of being part of the group. On the other side, I don't think that this is the same with akb's marketing plan. This is even worst. In akb, even tho that you're not pushed to be a frontliner, you still have that rare chance to stand as the front line of the group with general election event, and you might become a permanent frontliner later in future (sasshi's case). But, in order to create such a strategy, every member should be eligible to be voted, not just giving only three editions when there are 5 members. But, who want such a thing? Such a marketing strategy is just mean enough to hurt every member's feeling who doesn't have any bond to begin with, in the worst case, it will grow hate inside the group. In summary, it isn't applicable to JE talents. Because no matter what, as a 5 member group, when they're being called together for a job as a group, they'll definitely meet all the others members. Beside, popular JE talents are making their way to success also thanks to their varieties. And what they've shown in their featuring variety is really nothing but that friendly atmosphere between members. That's the thing to brag about in JE, but sadly seems like the management don't really get it :(

As for purchasing the single, I'm 100% against this crazy marketing plan from the management. But then, I remember than if the sales is not decent at all, the management might be considering to reduce the group's activity (which will includes MariSo's activity) even further because it will become even harder for them to be promoted to a variety show. And I'm sure no one want it to be happen. On the other side, everyone know that almost all of popular JE's artists gain their popularity because they're walking the path of variety. Meanwhile, they're becoming pretty steady to host a show by themselves (Sexy Zone channel is just like a heaven for me). If their sales are getting steady enough, even better, I hope that they will give MariSo even bigger space in the group, even though that I must wait pretty long till Marius grow old enough. What I've been concerning enough is that I hope that the management don't think of MariSo's as a nuisance to push Shori :( (because I know that both of them are smart enough to understand how variety works better than Shori, well, maybe not for Marius. But he's too adorable! Who can resist him? xD)

There are really too many things we don't know about the management, the boys, and their relation. That's why, we are guessing what's the most plausible reason for everything. In my opinion, refraining to buy the single would lead to an even worse condition for them. It'll make it harder for the older three to stand, including the chance to stand against the management. By purchasing the single, I'll give them a power to against the management (basically, because I'm guessing that the older three are really care and nice towards MariSo and because I know how the management puts a high expectation in Shori).


Anyway, this is the soundscans number for kqj's first week http://www.phileweb.com/ranking/cd-top20/1834.html You can also find bbd's number, but it's already waaaay back the page. But do keep in mind that soundscans only counts the physical sales of the singles, it doesn't count singles sold from online stores.

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean that this was exactly like AKB, I meant that Johnny's was attempting to use some of AKB's marketing tactics, like having a "fluid" group where some members will be in and some won't for each single. They also were aiming for it with that 40-member 2020 group that they were talking about. I just think that Johnny's trying to use AKB's tactics without being AKB itself will not work. Like you said, it will be much worse.

I see what you're saying, but I respectfully disagree. We have no way of knowing if any of the negative outcomes you propose will actually happen-- conversely, if the single sells poorly, maybe the company will realize it was because Marius and Sou weren't there. We really have know way to know what will happen. Single sales and variety shows are completely different (hence SMAP selling really poorly at first but becoming famous through variety shows) so even if one single sells poorly, I don't think it will effect their variety appearances.

"In my opinion, refraining to buy the single would lead to an even worse condition for them. It'll make it harder for the older three to stand, including the chance to stand against the management. By purchasing the single, I'll give them a power to against the management"
I don't agree with you on this, either. Judging from how unhappy Kento, Fuma, and Shori seemed about the whole thing, my guess is that they were against it from the beginning. If the CD sells well, it will prove the management was right and Kento, Fuma, and Shori were wrong. It will give the management a chance to say "We know what's best for you" and not give them a say in future releases, either.

I really don't think that any negative consequences that MIGHT MAYBE happen if the single doesn't sell well outweigh the single fact that not buying the single says that the fans don't like what's happening. Of course, I respect you and your right to your own opinion, but I will continue to support fans not buying the single, and I don't plan on buying it myself.

Thank you for the link!

[l-no-sekai.livejournal.com]

welcome :3
Yup, that's why I said that we don't really know what's happening inside the agency. We're just guessing, the most plausible reasons for us. That's why it gives birth different opinions. I respect every opinion floating for this case, whether you're going to buy the cd or not, but tbf, I really dislike those who's provoking other to join their path (either buying or not). I meant, you should not sticking your nose on others' wallet. Something like if you don't want to buy the single, then just leave it, because you don't know anything at all what's happening inside the management to begin with.

I think that you missed what I was trying to say.
I do think they're, of course, unhappy for this policy the management took, since the beginning. It's just when artist's sales are rocketing, they have a better power to influence the management, i.e. Arashi who started both VSA and HnA after their sales were rocketing (truth's sales). Sales number reflecting the group's popularity which will mark the management to promote the group to be featured in variety. In SZ case, they're not on a equal footing, the management and the artists. Moreover, the sales is not also something that they can brag to stand against the management, they're not Arashi's or SMAP's members who have a power to against the management for their popularity.

Anyway, judging from your second to last paragraph, sorry if I sounded to write in a very persuasive way to you. Of course, we should always support the group in our own way :3

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

I absolutely agree that everyone's entitled to their own opinion and to make their own choices, and we can never know exactly what's going on inside the agency, so we just have to do what we feel is right. I hope that you didn't feel I was trying to force you to change your mine. ^^; I was just explaining my own personal thoughts and opinions. Of course, I respect that you have your own opinion and that you have every right to disagree with me. I just wanted to share my feelings, too.

I understand what you mean, but I don't agree in this case. The management is fully aware that fans are upset about this single (they even opened a special hotline for fans to call and ask questions about Marius and Sou's situation), and I think that if this single doesn't sell, they'll know exactly what the reason was. I don't think that worse sales (because let's be real, they're not going to be that bad; Fuma, Kento, and Shori fans in Japan will buy the CD for the solos no matter what) for this one single will be the tipping point for the management deciding to never give Sexy Zone any attention again. They're aware of the way the fans are reacting and if this single doesn't sell as well as the others, they're going to know why. Moreover, your example with Arashi was many, many years down the line in terms of Sexy Zone. The single for "truth" came out very close to Arashi's 10th anniversary. Sexy Zone is approaching their third anniversary. At this point in time, Arashi's sales were crap, they were doing late night variety, and the general public wasn't that aware of them. So I think it's unfair to compare something like Arashi's success with "truth" to Sexy Zone's current situation. The fact of the matter is that Sexy Zone is a baby group in terms of JE, and there's very little chance of them getting that much exposure even if their single sells just as well as the others. Additionally, Sexy Zone has outsold Yamapi for basically every single one of his singles in the past few years, and Yamapi continues to be considered a ~big star. So I don't think that there's a 100% correlation between sales and exposure, even if obviously higher sales = more exposure generally speaking.

Basically, my point is that in my personal opinion, there's no way to guarantee that "good sales = good things happen for the group; bad sales = bad things happen for the group." In my opinion, the one thing that can be certain is that good sales will send the message that Marius and Sou are not necessary to the group and they will sell just as well without them. For that reason, I definitely will not buy the single.

But yes, I agree. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, and I respect that you should do what you think is best and I'll do what I think is best. ^^ Thank you for understand that it's okay to disagree without trying to force the other person to agree with you.