S/mileage - Atarashii Watashi ni Nare!/Yattaruchan

I'm fairly certain that this was one of the releases that I talked about the last time I had a blog. Still wish I wouldn't have deleted it...then I wouldn't have to type this all over again. Oh well. This is their 18th single and was released in 2013.

The first A-side is Atarashii Watashi ni Nare!. To me this single always represents a clear break in their discography. It comes right after their second album and is along the new mature, electro-ish track that H!P was headed in in 2013. S/mileage was probably my least favorite H!P group until the release of their second album. I wasn't into the more "idol-y" songs that they put out except for a few so I just didn't pay much attention to them. After they started releasing music like this, I started paying more attention. Out of all their "mature" songs, I'd say this one has the most old S/mileage feel to it. I'm not too fond of the music video for this song though. The shadowy shots aren't done very well, the outfits are meh at best, and the set is just white. It's a little hard to look at because of how bright it is. A little splash of color (or at the very least a curtain...) would have made it better. I do enjoy the shots of them holding the lyrics and the dance though. 4/5.

Atarashii Watashi ni Nare MV:

The second A-side is Yattaruchan. This is one of those crazy genki S/mileage tracks, much like Yume Miru & Uchouten Love. If you're going to do a crazy idol song, this is how you do it and make it good. Also, Meimi's voice.....WOW. I say it everytime she sings in a song, but HER VOICE. She's easily one of the best vocalists in H!P, maybe even the best....not sure if Airi beat her or not. Would need to hear them sing together in a concert. The video is also a perfect example of a good video done on a low budget/H!P normal sets. It's not so much the set as it is what you do with the set. Atarashii is the prime example of what not to do, this is a good example of what exactly you should do. The girls shine in this video. 5/5.

Yattaruchan MV:

S/mileage really has improved since this single. It's a great single and yet the ones they released after this are even better. It'll be interested to see how Angerme plays out. Taiki & Otome were fantastic starts so I hope they can keep that momentum. I don't want to see them end up sadly generic or sounding too much like non-H!P idols. That takes all the fun out of H!P. 4.5/5.