Will the S/mileage auditions go down as one of H!P's biggest mistakes?

It's been half a day since news broke. UFA will be holding auditions for the now 1-year-old group, S/mileage.

In his VTR message, Tsunku firmly stated that "S/mileage is missing something." If that didn't cause fans to be upset, his follow-up statement that a "S/mileage demotion is possible" certainly did. (Tokyograph). Even the girls themselves were visibly upset by the news.

Many fans, wota, and the current S/mileage members all disapprove of this shocking news. So then why would upper management think that this is a good idea?



As stated above, Tsunku thinks that the group is missing something. Its not the statement itself that worries me; it's the vagueness. What exactly are they missing? The girls aren't perfect - no one is - but I firmly believe that a bunch of imperfect individuals can come together and make something that is perfect. S/mileage (maybe even more so than any other current H!P group) is dynamically equal. I believe that they all are at about the same level when it comes to dancing, singing, and personality. Yes, they could slightly improve on all three aspects, but anyone that is added will upset that balance that the girls have created.

Some fans have compared this situation to what happened with Morning Musume and their second generation of members, but I think that's a little off base. Yes, it was the first time that Morning Musume had auditions since their groups formation (just like S/mileage are having now), but that is where the similarities end.

A major difference is the time spent together. The original Morning Musume members were together for about three-fourths of a year before auditions happened. On the other hand, S/mileage's time together goes back way before their group was even formed. DAWA, Yuukarin, Sakichy, and Kanyon were all a part of the original Hello! Project Egg auditions of 2004. In 2009 S/mileage was formed and in 2010 they officially graduated from the Eggs. Even if they weren't necessarily together all of the time (despite the current state of the Eggs, they were quite large at one point), but they did many concerts and events together and were at least around each other for almost seven years - that's longer than C-ute has been together.

The girls of S/mileage have no doubt been through a lot together: from sharing a common bond in winning the Hello! Project Eggs audition to being chosen to be in S/mileage to having to gather 10,000 pictures of people's smiling faces. Not a single part of their journey was easy. As a matter of fact, their road to debut was quite possibly the hardest of anyone's since what the original Morning Musume members faced (having to sell 50,000 copies of their indies single, Ai no Tane in a week).

However, all of that adversity was not for naught; it built lasting friendships. That's not something that can be quickly made or bought; it's only possible by going through trials and tribulations together like S/mileage has. To suddenly add a new member after what the girls have accomplished together is an insult.

But even with all of that said, I'm not too sure how I feel exactly. Because S/mileage is so far removed from being my favorite Hello! Project group, I almost feel not qualified to give my opinion on this subject. I'm no where near attached to them as I am with Berryz Koubou or C-ute. But still, I can't help but feel for the girls. Yes, Tsunku did give (another) vague statement years ago about S/mileage's line-up possibly changing a couple of years ago, but that hardly makes it fair.

A surprise audition like this definitely will create publicity (S/mileage was trending in Twitter in Japan when the announcement hit and there are already multiple Japanese news articles up about this subject), which is no doubt what management wants to create, but I can only wonder at what cost?

Even if a new member or two increases sales by five or ten thousand, was it really worth it? The chemistry that these girls have is not something that you want to mess with. And adding a random girl off of the street will do just that. Great music isn't created by machines (auto-tune) or facades; it's created by passionate people and the things they've been through to get to where they are today. Some of the best music I've ever heard are by married couples doing duets or by bands that have been around the world together. No matter how good this new girl is, she can't replicate what S/mileage has - camaraderie. And that is why I oppose these auditions.