Japan's monster girl groups |wreak havoc in Tokyo

The Japanese girl group Pottya is certainly turning things “round” for the Asian music industry, and not because of their singing. All five of the members are what used to be flatly called “overweight”. We’re a little kinder these days, so the operative terms are “plus-size” and – the fans’ preference for this band – BBW, meaning Big Beautiful Women.
In fact the Japanese word pottya (more often transliterated as poccha) is a polite expression itself, a euphemism for “plump”. The concept behind Pottya the group makes a nice change, breaking away from the stereotype of rail-thin singers. Even hourglass figures must make way for the truly voluptuous.
Interest in the unusual outfit spiked when their producer, Takeo Kobiyashi, revealed that, while entertainers on contract usually have to keep their weight low or be sacked, these girls have to stay chubby if they want to stay in the band. The Thai social media sent the “members to be fired if they lose weight” angle around in a whirlwind of tweets and likes. Self-proclaimed plus-size women in show business pointed out that they’re often discriminated against.
No complaints from the ladies of Pottya, who are grateful for the opportunity to make some serious cash despite (or because of) extra kilos. Japanese website SBS Pop Asia quoted group leader Nagisa Kinashi as saying she used to have a “complex” about being hefty but, once she joined the band, her self-confidence was fully restored. “I want to show my spirit and courage for those who have had the same complex about their weight,” she said.
So unusual is their approach, in fact, that Pottya are already world-famous before they’ve even released their first single. It’s been recorded, though – “Po Po Po Pocha Rinko” will be released in Japan next Thursday. Let’s see if this “revolution” in girl bands becomes more of a fad than it already is in Japan, where there’s a trend in chubbiness. There’s another girl group that’s actually called Chubbiness – and still another one called Piggy Dolls.

Three times two equals eight
Thai TV channels form such a maelstrom that they’re forced to be very protective about their brands, so when a reporter for RS Channel 8 was spotted brandishing a Channel 3 HD logo on his microphone, sparks flew.
RS boss Surachai “Hia Hor” Chetchotisak must have been spitting mad after hearing that film of a mob interview of Broadcast Thai Television chief Anocha “Nong” Bhanupan – as aired on the Channel 3 entertainment show “Si San Bantoeng” – featured not one Channel 3 mic but two. There should have been one Channel 3 mic and one Channel 8 mic, but somehow the latter had been “disguised” as a Channel 3 mic.
Hia Hor did what any media executive would do. He went on Twitter. He posted a pair of screen captures for comparison purposes, the actual scene at the interview and the “photoshopped scene, and hinted that competition appears to be so fierce that dirty tricks are being used.
Fearing dire consequences, Channel 3 issued not one but two apologies for what we’re going to call a “mix-up”, one on its “3Miti” evening news on Tuesday and another on Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda’s morning news the next day.
It blamed the “replacement” of the microphone logos on its production team, which is probably accurate, though not exactly explicable. “We will be careful and will never let it happen again,” the text announcement read.