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[zam_ho]

I think this shows that alot of other people were expecting Momusu to get in too.

[Zunu]

^ Yes, this could in a sense backfire. If enough people start to get the idea that Akimoto "forced" his third-tier group into Kouhaku over a more deserving entry, then Kouhaku loses a bit of credibility, and AKB start to look like sore winners. The one thing that people like even less than sore losers. And if MM handle this with grace (ignoring or deflecting the controversy) then they just look more like royalty who don't need some shitty old-timey program to validate their worth.

[aerosuffly]

That exactly what Sayu did http://ameblo.jp/sayumimichishige-blog/ ... 20426.html

[zam_ho]

Sayu I am so glad we still have Sayu around

[Jessi]

If this stirs up enough buzz and Morning Musume maintains their momentum next year would be a given. Lets hope that Morning Musume's popularity continues to rise in 2014 as well as the rest of H!P. I have a good feeling about it.

[Sohee]

Every member has posted entries saying that they will just go on and work harder. That they're of course disappointed but that they won't give up yet. Of course they wouldn't be allowed to say anything else but still.

It is good stuff that it gets attention though. So good. So damn good. <3

[DSQueenie]

It's up to MM to make Kouhaku an irrelevance by just continuing to churn out excellent singles and increasingly fantastic performance levels.

For me this would be better than being invited, at least at first. If Kouhaku only invite MM after the public almost can't believe why they wouldn't be invited then maybe it can deflate the power of this old show. Then when they are finally invited it's to late MM don't need Kouhaku.

I have nothing against end of the year shows but I don't really like the idea that any TV show can make or break a career like Kouhaku and to a certain extent Music Station when the most important thing should be concert turn outs, CD and download sales and fan enthusiasm. As long as MM are doing well in all of those areas and isn't being completely blocked out then I'm happy.

[Daisuki Daiiyo]

NMB48 on the other side, is just an extension of AKB and shouldn't be there imho. SKE was already stretching it and another 48 groups seems like too much, so it'll be way too much ***48 overexposure (remember that akb will not only be there once, they will sing along other performers as well, as they have done on previous years), so expect to see them A LOT

I kind of agree with this, only because that many AKB groups will mean that the stage will be paaaaccckkkkkeeeeeeed. And it uses up slots. They probably could've had a special Kohaku Senbatsu team, with the most popular members from each franchise getting together to go perform there. Or they could've sent Team Surprise or something.

Unfortunately we've got 48 overload though lol. I mean, all 3 groups are pretty popular and have been selling wonderfully. I would be surprised if they weren't there, to be honest. Actuallly, I would be more surprised if HKT made it since they're still very green and haven't earned their stripes yet. But NMB? Definitely worthy.

E-girls too. I know everyone loves to be sippin' on the kool-aid, but let's be real: E-girls are just a tad more relevant than MM is at the moment. We can all cry foul and be all "well they're on because of Exile" or what have you, but is that really that different than when the MM of the dark ages still kept getting invited because they were riding on that residual wave of success that Golden Era MM achieved? It may be partially true, but the E-girls have done really well for themselves this past year. An album exceeding 100k, and high ranked singles. I wanted MM to get on as much as the next person, but I can't say that I am too surprised at Kohaku's choices. It was a fair race between E-girls and Momousse, with E-girls slightly edging them out, what with their arena tour on the horizon and their impeccable album sales. NMB was a no brainer. Maybe if that rehashed old-hits album did a little better (thinking about it in hindsight, it almost seems like they released that specifically so that they could have some redone old hits to perform with the new ones to kind of bring casual fans full circle, had they been invited).

To us it feels like an upset because we're monitoring MM news all of the time, and are constantly informed on all things MM. In our MM bubble, it feels like MM is in the news and on the TV all of the time. Try and see it from a casual music fan perspective, one that isn't bombarded with the latest MM news 24/7. Which of the groups is more visible? Who are you more likely to have heard of? Then it becomes a little more understandable.

It's still disappointing, but not too surprising. We can just hope that their countdown concert is hot shit. And that MSte Super Live invites them or something lol, since they've already been on the show earlier this year.

[Parhelion69]

Even more articles:

Morning Musume - Kohaku related news articles:

http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/entame/en ... nt/207795/
http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment ... 87120.html
http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2031296/
http://www.cinematoday.jp/page/N0058406
http://www.rbbtoday.com/article/2013/11/26/114297.html
http://www.cyzo.com/2013/11/post_15243.html

[Obsidian]

It does really seem lots of the media assumed they were going, in lots of ways it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise that they missed out. MM are now starting to look like the challenger to the establishment out of this, which would actually be a good turn around for their image.