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No No Girls watch, pt 1
“They were labeling us as the ‘real girls,’ like we were gonna be very, very authentic,” she said. “So they thought the name [Faky] showed self-awareness—like, we’ll call this fake, because we’re so real.” Never mind, she added, that the name was made up by the company.
No No Girls is last year’s idol competition show from BMSG headed by pop/rap star Chanmina. “No No” stands for girls who ‘had been told no all their lives’, or more simply: “No FAKE, No LAZE, No HATE”.
The group stage is where contestants begin to truly shine. With only 30 contestants left and without gamified voting, each contestant gets at least a few minutes of screen time to stand out. Some stood out for their stage presence, like Yuju and Ami. Some for their unique vocal tone, like Fumino, Kokoa, and Momoka. Others made their mark by being impressively stable, like Rei and Momo, backbones for their respective teams.
At evaluations, one participant was questioned on she was crying uncontrollably after performance. When she explained, between sobs, that her ill and hoarse voice made her unable to showcase her best self, she got chewed out by famed vocal coach RyonRyon for being selfish.
By the end of the group stage, Yuju and Rei were eliminated, for not showing enough growth or depth. Or, perhaps, in a way, not taking enough direction.
The girl-group prep involved endless rehearsals, during which the five young female members practiced hip-hop moves in front of wall mirrors as instructors clapped, shouted, and admonished them to bob and stomp harder. “For those 10 years, I was taught to listen more than say anything. That made me lose confidence in myself.”
At the creative stage, the 21 remaining contestants asked to write their own songs with mentorship by Chanmina and established producers Jigg and Dr R. Some groups came to their pre-recording session with melodies and lyrics fully ready. Kaede especially impressed: she was clearly ready to record. Even beyond having previously wrote her own songs she understood exactly what she wanted to lay down and how.
I also really liked Koharu because her dance experience really showed with her group’s unique choreo. Others who shone at this stage’s evaluations were Jisoo, her devil-may-care smirk giving her a sudden je ne sais quoi, and Aiko, who has been an all-rounder throughout.
7 contestants were eliminated at this point. I don’t think Aiko or Kaede deserved to get cut; they both could have debuted now! But Chanmina thought Kaede would be happiest performing with just a guitar. I understood why Stella got cut, though she’s got such an indie idol vibe to her, I really think she would shine there. Asha was told she needed to be more unique, to stand out more, to be a rapper. Mahina, who Chanmina transferred from singer to rapper at the group evaluations, sailed through.
Chanmina told the eliminated contestants to reach out in the months and years ahead, when — if — they were ready for a next step.
“People have asked me if I’ll ever release music. And I’m like: ‘Oh, no one wants to hear it.’ I’m probably a bit scared because I did try singing and it wasn’t a success. We were struggling as a group. So there’s a part of me that’s like: ‘You don’t belong, you’re not meant to sing.’” That’s another industry long criticised for its objectification of often very young girls. “Maybe I want to tell that story,” she says, “of being part of a group like that.”