Been a long time... I was waiting for some development on Honey PopcORN, to continue the conversation but actually months passed....
So Playno1 finally have a report involving HP... turns out playno1 (more accurately the author's company) was offered a chance to organize/produce a concert in Taiwan for HP. Yua Mikami is hugely popular in Taiwan (and most Chinese communities) (meanwhile her stardom in homeland Japan is already sliding). So on the surface it's a no-brainer. But playno1 actually turn down the offer. He stated the reason that their company lacks the resource and experience to produce a decent concert. But that reason seems far too diplomatic to me. It may be true that a real pop concert isn't the company's core business. But you can also ask why Yua (and HP's agent) doesn't get a real Taiwan music outfit to do the job. The unspoken answer is that no real music outfit would take HP seriously. So a real music outfit won't take HP as a real music act. And a AV-media company wouldn't treat HP as a viable AV-related event. It's just my speculation, but it's a hint at HP's root problem, it's neither here (music) nor there (adult entertainment).
So playno1 further report on yet another AV-to-Pop transition. Turns out Moe Amatsuka is headlining another group called un panopticon girl (so far no youtube vid yet). The group also features a busty SOD girl Kiri Matsuri. While we wait for un_pan_girl do something beyond posting tweets. Playno1 mentions some gossips/factors around the AV-to-Pop phenom.
1. at least some AV performers are attracted by the glamour and fame of pop groups. To the extent that one member of Ebisu Muscat openly says that chance to be part of Muscat is the main reason she hasn't yet retired from AV.
2. both studio and performers are using pop group to generate buzz/promote/prolong the a girl's AV career and stardom
3. OTOH, even very active high ranking AV idols such as Moe Amatsuka can't guarantee a sold-out debut concert (this is the Asian subtle way to explain the real reason they "humbly" turned down HP's offer)
So back to Yua Mikami, having read playno1's story I went and check for independent news/vids by HP, very thin. Their youtube channel is pretty pathetic. I was a little skeptical of their debut and hoping that at worst it's a harmless distraction on her AV career. But the reality might have turned out far worse than I imagine possible. Has the group been judged a flop? and suddenly her celeb status-idol cred been shattered? So where is her AV career going then? IMHO, she's a very good porn star with added magic dust of idol cred. I think if studio keeps up investing into her productions (make-up, costumes, settings etc) she can make great AV for many years.