For over three years this forum served as the home for Stereopony fans all over the world. While we are saddened that the journey of Stereopony has ended, we at Very Good Days! must look forward as Aimi, Nohana, and Shiho start their new journeys. Like them, we will start a new journey too. This isn't the end; this is only the beginning.
Below is the track listing for the three demo CD's that we know of so far. The names of the CD's aren't official; they're just there to distinguish which one is which since there are some key differences between them. It is believed that they were released in the following order:
New Comer Presentation ★ 08 a.k.a. Black Demo CD
"Sweet Blue"
"Sayonara no Kisetsu"
"Nyami"
"Supergirl"
"Hitohira no Hanabira"
Stereopony a.k.a. White Demo CD or 2008.9.24 DEBUT
"Sayonara no Kisetsu"
"Sweet Blue"
"Hitohira no Hanabira"
Stereopony ⎣Hitohira no Hanabira⎤ Debut Single 2008.11.5 Release a.k.a. White Demo CD or 2008.11.5 DEBUT
"Hitohira no Hanabira"
"Sayonara no Kisetsu (DEMO)"
"Sweet Blue (DEMO)"
Comments:
"Hitohira no Hanabira" in both New Comer Presentation ★ 08 and 2008.9.24 DEBUT are demo versions, even though it is not labeled so on their tracklists.
"Hitohira no Hanabira" in 2008.11.5 DEBUT is identical to the ones found in the Hitohira no Hanabira single and the Hydrangea ga Saiteiru album.
"Nyami" in New Comer Presentation ★ 08 is identical to the one in Hitohira no Hanabira single.
Both "Sayonara no Kisetsu" and "Sayonara no Kisetsu (DEMO)" are identical songs.
Both "Sweet Blue" and "Sweet Blue (DEMO)" are identical songs. They are demo versions of the "Sweet Blue" found in the Hydrangea ga Saiteiru album.
"Supergirl" in New Comer Presentation ★ 08 is only 1:09. It is not the complete song shown live in the DVD 1st Tour A Hydrangea Blooms.
2008.11.5 DEBUT is the only demo CD that has Stereopony's website printed on it.
EDIT: Thanks to TAAU we now have the track lists for all three demo CD's, which I will post below. Please read my original post (now inside a Spoiler tag) and reply if there is something you can contribute.
EDIT 2: Added some additional information provided by TAAU.
EDIT 3: Changed titles of the demo CD's according to the covers.
Original Post cont. (Prepare yourself - it's really long)
The goal of this topic is for me to explain my hypotheses on the significance and purposes of Stereopony's demo CD's, as well as predict what the contents are on a third demo CD I just recently discovered. But fefore I begin any of that, I must provide some background information, so I apologize in advance for the wall of text you are about to read.
A few months ago arcluna had purchased a Stereopony demo CD off Yahoo! Auctions Japan and shared its contents with us: "Sayonara no Kisetsu" and a demo version of "Sweet Blue," which he uploaded for us to enjoy. It also contained an identical version of "Hitohira no Hanabira" as seen in the Hitohira no Hanabira single and the Hydrangea ga Saiteiru album, so he didn't need to upload it.
Prior to this, I had only seen the name "Sayonara no Kisetsu" pop up as a Stereopony single that seemed to be sold out everywhere. I later learned that the single was never released, which means that the song would only be available from this demo CD unless Stereopony released the song in a future CD.
A few days ago, amat_amit1 was browsing Yahoo! Auctions Japan and came across two different Stereopony demo CDs that someone was auctioning off. One of them was cased inside a black booklet and the other was cased inside a white booklet. The black one had a portrait orientation and the white one had a landscape orientation. Both demos had the same picture on front, except the black one was slightly edited and had additional text at top. Because the seller had taken photos of both CDs, I was able to identify what tracks were on each CD.
Black Demo Images
Black Demo Track List
"Sweet Blue"
"Sayonara no Kisetsu"
"Nyaami"
"Supergirl"
"Hitohira no Hanabira"
White Demo Images
White Demo Track List
"Hitohira no Hanabira"
"Sayonara no Kisetsu (DEMO)"
"Sweet Blue (DEMO)"
If you put the information from arcluna's and amat_amit1's two topics together, then you can conclude that arcluna owns the white demo CD because of the matching track list. It seems that the black demo CD contains the same tracks as the white demo CD in addition to "Nyaami" and "Supergirl." However, the black demo CD does not say that "Sweet Blue" and "Sayonara no Kisetsu" are demo versions like the white demo CD does, but I believe it is safe to assume that the corresponding tracks on both CDs are identical.
Upon closer inspection - which brings us to the reason why I created this topic - it appears that there are two versions of the white demo CD.
Below is the picture of the white demo CD's cover again. You can clearly see that it says "2008.11.5 DEBUT" on the sticker as well as the text at the top. That was when Hitohira no Hanabira was released.
Below is a picture I found on Google Images when I searched "ステレオポニー Sayonara no Kisetsu." At first, it looks like it's a picture of the exact same demo CD cover, but if you look again, you'll notice that at the top it says "2008.9.24 DEBUT." That was when Sayonara no Kisetsu was supposed to be released.
After providing all that background information, I can now move on to the main point of this topic: Does the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD contain the same tracks as the 2008.11.5 DEBUT demo CD, or does it have a different set of tracks? I hypothesize that the 2008.9.24 DEBUT CD has a different set of tracks.
The 2008.11.5 DEBUT CD was obviously promoting Stereopony's debut single Hitohira no Hanabira since "Hitohira no Hanabira" is the lead track on the demo, followed by "Sayonara no Kisetsu (demo)" and "Sweet Blue (demo)."
By this time, printing of the 2008.9.24 DEBUT CD's should have ceased since Sayonara no Kisetsu was cancelled. If the purpose of the 2008.9.24 DEBUT CD was the same as the 2008.11.5 DEBUT CD, then that means it either contains different tracks or it has a different track listing in which "Sayonara no Kisetsu" leads instead of "Hitohira no Hanabira."
Example:
Sayonara no Kisetsu
Hitohira no Hanabira
Sweet Blue (DEMO)
Although I believe it is safe to assume that "Sayonara no Kisetsu" was the lead track for the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD, I do not believe that "Hitohira no Hanabira" was part of the track list. My reasoning is because a demo version of "Hitohira no Hanabira" was already published in an album prior to Stereopony's debut when they were still called MIXBOX. The song was uploaded and shared by natchi. According to Hyuma, the demo "Hitohira no Hanabira" is the third track on MIXBOX's album. The fifth track "Baby" is also available thanks to nikid. The whereabouts of the other three tracks are still unknown.
After eliminating "Hitohira no Hanabira" as an option for the track list, the songs remaining aside from "Sayonara no Kisetsu" are the following:
"Sweet Blue"
"Nyaami"
"Supergirl"
The above songs are all found in the black demo CD, which I hypothesize is a combination of both white demo CD's and the cancelled Sayonara no Kisetsu single. If you search "Stereopony Sayonara no Kisetsu" on Google Images the second result appears to be the track list for Sayonara no Kisetsu. However, there is no other source available that can back up this claim.
"Sayonara no Kisetsu"
"Nyaami"
"Sayonara no Kisetsu (Instrumental)"
If this is a valid track list, then it seems that Sayonara no Kisetsu was only supposed to have three tracks, rather than four like all of Stereopony's singles (except the anime editions which contain a fifth track). "Nyaami" is the track that stands out the most obviously since it is one of the B-side tracks on Hitohira no Hanabira. If this really is a valid track list, then I am positive that "Nyaami" was not be one of the tracks for the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD, otherwise Stereopony would be giving away its intended debut single for free (minus the instrumental version of "Sayonara no Kisetsu").
With that in mind, the only songs remaining aside from "Sayonara no Kisetsu" are "Sweet Blue" and "Supergirl" - three songs. Assuming that the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD has the same amount of tracks as the 2008.11.5 DEBUT demo CD, then this could be a possible track list for the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD:
"Sayonara no Kisetsu"
"Supergirl"
"Sweet Blue (DEMO)"
"Sweet Blue (DEMO)" is the third track for the 2008.11.5 DEBUT demo CD, so it can be assumed that it is the third track for the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD as well. However, after doing more research, I've come to the conclusion that "Sweet Blue (DEMO)" is the second track while "Supergirl" is the third track on the demo. Below is a video of Stereopony performing "Supergirl" live at Okinawa Sound Stage '08 in August 2008. The first eighteen seconds of the video is clearly the ending of "Sweet Blue." I don't understand Japanese very well, but I do know what "Stereopony desu" means, which is what AIMI yells out at the end of the video when the credits are rolling. Both the phrase and credits should signify that "Supergirl" was their final performance.
Spoiler: click to toggle
Also, "Sayonara no Kisetsu," "Nyaami," and Hitohira no Hanabira were performed at the same event.
Spoiler: click to toggle
Judging by the beginning of each video, I believe this is the order of the performances:
"Nyaami"
"Hitohira no Hanabira"
"Sayonara no Kisetsu"
"Sweet Blue"
"Supergirl"
The last three tracks on the list above in that same order is what I believe to be the track list for the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD. Another thing to note is that Stereopony performed all the songs from the black demo CD at Okinawa Sound Stage '08. I hypothesize that the black demo CD was given away to fans at the event. My reasons as to why: it is the most different in appearance of all three demos and it has five songs just like the MIXBOX album.
As I conclude this post, I just want to thank you for spending all this time reading what I have to say. What I wrote would have not been possible without many of the members here. I just joined these forums a couple months ago. All I did was notice bits and pieces of information here and there... and it all clicked. Like I said at the beginning of this post, everything I wrote is just pure hypothesis, so it is very possible that I am completely wrong. If anyone has anymore information that they can offer, or if you have possession of the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD, please share the information! I'll conclude this post with a basic summary of what I believe to have taken place before Stereopony's debut.
A band called MIXBOX published a five-track album that contained the tracks "Baby," a demo version of "Hitohira no Hanabira," and three others. Later they are signed onto Sony Music Japan's gr8! Records music label after renaming themselves as Stereopony.
They enter Okinawan Sound Stage '08 and performed five songs ("Nyaami," "Hitohira no Hanabira," "Sayonara no Kisetsu," "Sweet Blue," and "Supergirl). At the event they gave away the black demo CD, which contains all the tracks Stereopony performed at the event.
Shortly after, they release the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD (which contained the tracks "Sayonara no Kisetsu," "Sweet Blue," and "Supergirl") to promote their debut single Sayonara no Kisetsu.
However, Sayonara no Kisetsu is soon cancelled when Stereopony's song "Hitohira no Hanabira" is chosen to be the seventeenth ending theme for the anime Bleach. The printing and circulation of the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD is replaced with the 2008.11.5 DEBUT demo CD (which contains the tracks "Hitohira no Hanabira," "Sayonara no Kisetsu," and "Sweet Blue") in order to promote their rescheduled major debut in Hitohira no Hanabira.
Stereopony's major debut is a success and the rest is history!
between the single official one and the demo? as someone said the vocals are more raw and there's some little differences, but it's the DEMO I find more similar to the final version (compared to other demos).
ooh, so that's where the demo Hitohira no Hanabira came from. I guess that means the chances of finding the Mix Box album are even lower now. Darn... oh well.
between the single official one and the demo? as someone said the vocals are more raw and there's some little differences, but it's the DEMO I find more similar to the final version (compared to other demos).
no, i mean between the two demos, the one taau uploaded and the one already in the forum
ooh, so that's where the demo Hitohira no Hanabira came from. I guess that means the chances of finding the Mix Box album are even lower now. Darn... oh well.
album? did they managed to produce an album? now that is something very worth hunting for
ooh, so that's where the demo Hitohira no Hanabira came from. I guess that means the chances of finding the Mix Box album are even lower now. Darn... oh well.
album? did they managed to produce an album? now that is something very worth hunting for
Well, according to Hyuma there's a five-track album. Apparently, the demo of "Hitohira no Hanabira" was the 3rd track and "Baby" was the 5th track of that album. I haven't found anything online regarding the existence of the album, so I've just been taking Hyuma's word for it.
But now that TAAU has posted evidence of the "Hitohira no Hanabira" demo as being the third track of the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD... and if you connect that with the fact that "Baby" is the 5th track of Koza Music Festival, Vol. 9... then I have some doubt about the album's existence (well, its circulation online at least. I'm pretty sure Mix Box would have some kind of CD album). Perhaps, Hyuma just looked at the track numbers for both songs and just assumed they were both songs from the same album.
But then again, I'm probably completely wrong in this assumption... like how I was wrong about "Supergirl" being the 3rd track on the 2008.9.24 DEBUT demo CD.
Now that I'm starting to think about it again... it should have been obvious to me from the start that the demo "Hitohira no Hanabira" was the 3rd track of that CD from the start. The thing that threw me off was the fact that the 2008.11.5 DEBUT demo CD had a version of "Hitohira no Hanabira" identical to the one in the single... and believing it to have been a Mix Box song... Darn you hindsight bias!
EDIT: Regarding the mp3 that TAAU uploaded, it is identical to the file already uploaded. The only difference is the tags in it when you put it on iTunes.
As many (or by now..all) of you know, I interviewed Stereopony in Boston. I was the very last person to interview them, and I was truly honored by the experience.
The interview was conducted in a small room. When I walked in, to my left there was a large group of people involved with Sony / Stereopony. In front of me was my contact and translator of the interview, slightly to the right of me sitting at a table (from closest to me to farthest) was Shiho, Aimi, and Nohanna. At the far right of the room was the main videographer, their A&R rep, the other translator, and even more people involved with Sony Stereopony. I would say roughly there was 12 - 14 people in the room.
The interview went extremely well (details coming soon!). After the Interview I had requested to have two items signed.
The first item I brought out was my copy of the White demo. That's when the atmosphere changed from an extremely gracious and friendly interview, to sheer commotion and excitement. Stereopony and all of the people in the room were SHOCKED to see the demo. They passed it around, looking at it and commenting to each other about it. They questioned me on how I got the demo, how much I paid for it. I expected a nice reaction because it is something special to have...but this really surprised me. Stereopony then carefully signed my demo, asking where I would like it signed, and if they should write my name on it. (I wanted them to absolutely know this was for me, so of course I said yes!) Shiho was kind enough to write my name.
After they signed it, Aimi gently handed it back to me, and she said something to me as she did so. The translator Ryu then told me with a smile "Aimi wants you to know, this is the very first demo they have ever signed!"
I think you can imagine my reaction....
After they signed the demo, I then requested they sign my "Over the Border" poster. Not quite the same elated reaction, but still a surprised reaction from everyone in the room. Once again they asked me how I got the poster, and how much I paid for the poster. Also, Aimi wanted to give me a nice signature, so she didn't accept the small Sharpie marker, and instead requested a larger marker to sign the poster with.
It was a tremendous experience, and I have so much to say... I look forward to continue to share my experience at Anime Boston with you all...