MNL48 gets nominated for best new artist and then hits number one in a fan-chart, introduced a new show with a different format, and behind-the-scenes photos added in their profiles in the app. Some of them, anyway.
MNL48 gets nominated for Best New Artist in the Pinoy Pop Awards for Young Artists. Also, their debut song, ‘Aitakatta-Gustong Makita’ also entered the Top 30 OPM Songs of the Week in Pop Charts PH, a fan-voted chart site. This, despite the fact that their single release was delayed and we haven’t heard of any updates regarding it.
A week later, MNL48 took number one, jumping the Pinoy Pop 30 charts from Top 30 to Top. While the chart itself is not affiliated with any official chart body and is fan-voted more than anything else, it is still quite a significant PR win as ‘Aitakatta-Gustong Makita’ may have caught the attention of enough people. This will definitely help in getting the group in the long run.
But all the positive press will be for nothing if the song itself does not get released and we still haven’t got any concrete information even though it’s the middle of September. I mean, our wallets are ready, HHE. Push the button already.
I also suggest that the goods like photo-cards, should be sold in physical stores. Not everyone wants to buy online, and having it physically available for purchase in selected stores means that more people will have access to them.
=====
MNL48 also has a new show named “MNL48 I-School” which run from Monday to Friday at 8:00 PM. The show features a school setting where the members are the “students” and there’s a “teacher”. The teacher will ask questions of the girls like a graded recitation, and there is a quiz towards the end of each episode.
The show looks and feels better than MNLife and the MNL48 Online Update which preceded it. Even though this was being billed as a “new season”, it shares little with the previous shows except maybe the delayed streaming times. It was a good idea to get out of the “live talk-show” format because it was no longer really working properly for the girls anymore. MNLife and Online Update were good in their day, but the lack of interesting topics, coupled with the sheer chaos of MNLaugh where the staff seemed to have run out of ideas mid-season, called for a new structure, one that can be used to “educate” non-wota fans regarding idols.
The girls are wearing new outfits to match this “new” beginning, and the first week has been a discovery of Ella and Tin’s idol entertainment value. Especially Ella, who you may sometimes wonder if her mind is even in the same universe as us. So far, so good. There’s definitely a lot of room for improvement, like keeping with their schedule. On one occassion, the 8PM slot almost became 12AM, and that’s unacceptable.
Also, while the show is trying to define what an idol is in terms palatable to the general audience, it has not yet delved into what makes J-idols and the idol culture unique. I hope this will be tackled in future episodes so that the general public may be aware about wota culture. Not really to “convert” them, but to understand what kind of culture AKB48 came out from.
I know fans are hoping for an “AKBingo” for MNL48, but that’s going to take some more time. Producing a “proper idol show” where many of the viewers are clueless about what’s going on defeats the purpose of making it. True, there is no guarrantee that I-School will properly educate the casual fans, but it would be great to have a show we can point to as a basic reference. There’s always the AKB shows, of course, but at least we will have material for those who’d prefer to start with MNL48.
https://youtu.be/oP_VMOd8JQA
https://youtu.be/Lwkhtev5fps
https://youtu.be/C1rGTkM67N4
https://youtu.be/_cdYeXJ0-BA
https://youtu.be/6TXo1UsLoSk
=====
The MNL48 apphas been updated with new pictures, mostly behind the scenes footage of I-School. It might possibly be a taste of what the premium membership can offer. Premium membership is paid, although I think you won’t really need it to access the app’s features. You will just have access to more content and possibly priority in reserving tickets for Theater performances.
The kicker here is that the Theater is probably a full year away from full operation. So the premium membership might be used in other areas, like merchandise, the ability to send to and receive messages from your idol, and maybe stream their music.
As always, the girls are pretty active in Instagram, so if you find their Facebook posts somewhat wanting, try following them on Instagram. I created an account for the express purpose of following them there and so far, it has been really worth it.