One Love

Arashi's performance on the latest Music Station was so.. sweet. A lot said it looks very mature, which I completely agree. Again and again it reminds me so much of why I am still their fangirl and they're still my favorite JE group of them all. They stick to their style. Sweet, and very idolesque (I mean it in a harmless way), and prince-charming-ish. And they do it straight to the point, no-nonsense style. They don't try to roughen themselves or anything, they're a boysband and they're proud and they damn right show it. They sell dreams alright. xD  Arashi is professional, and agreeing with Edo Harumi's remark on the latest Shukudaikun, Arashi is "yappari, Nippon ichi no STAR!"

And don't they just look like the perfect grooms you'd want to wait there in the altar for you?? Hahaha. Those suits are gorgeous, and for once I don't mind the whole flower decoration thingies on their chest. This time, I gotta give it to their stylist for having a moment of clarity. Thank the gods.

Even when Arashi is singing a song that's not too bubblegumish, they still stick to their idol style, the one style that makes Johnny's big : the popstar way - they sing and dance and they do it right. Example, Pikanchi. Another good example, A Day in Our Life. And when they do sing a bubblegum song, you know it's good quality. I don't usually expect anything less from Arashi, I expect good and they always deliver. I myself am not a bubblegum pop fan, and definitely not fond of boysband , but Arashi is exception, I guess you can say that. I mean, I do like some other JE group for their innovative and alternative style in music, but as far as the "real popstar idols" go, Arashi is IT. You hear something like "Kitto Daijoubu" and even with the rap on it, it's still very.. sweet. It's their signature, I think, that sweetness, that popstar aura that radiates from every single song they sing, I swear. They don't seem to bother much on striving for images other than that popstar image- like manly images, or funny images, or sexy images, or whatever else that is that other JE groups constantly strive to be. They started as popstars, and they continue being popstars, being idols, slowly but surely, and they do it with confidence. I love that the most in Arashi. The pride they take from being in their jobs, the pride they have in their sophisticated-yet-dorky image.

Like Aiba-chan said in his Kyocera Dome letter, Arashi didn't try building their way in a flashy way, they just simply be Arashi, be themselves, slow but sure.

Honestly I didn't like "One Love" very much when I first watched the PV. It was just not my cup of tea. But their performance in MS made me change my mind slightly, although not much, about the song. It does in so many ways reflect their emotional growth, that they now are men, not boys anymore, and they're at a level where they're very secure with where they are as far as career goes. Arashi is sophisticated, Arashi is funny, Arashi is kind, Arashi is dorky, and Arashi is Arashi.

...which is why, despite of my easily-bored nature, I still, to this very day, am a proud Arashi fan. Rock on guys!