Kpop in a world of Jpop

I'm sure a lot of people reading this blog don't know this about me, because there's never really a time to mention it, but I am a Kpop fan. Now, I'm not a huge, OMG Kpop is the best ever, kind of Kpop fan. But I do enjoy a decent amount of Kpop. The only reason I don't listen to Kpop more is because I can't pronounce Korean. And believe it or not, not being able to sing along to a song or pronounce a singer's name does hinder my love for it a lot. But maybe that's just me. (Also, please don't say, "Just learn to pronounce Korean, seriously it's no big deal," because I have been trying to and it is extremely difficult. I long for the days when I was learning to pronounce Japanese because it's a cake walk in comparison.)

The reason I'm brining this subject up at all, is because, as many of you know, this last year we have an influx of Kpop idols debuting in Japan. Big Bang, CN BLUE, FT Island, KARA, 4MINUTE, T-ara, Supernova, and SNSD. And I actually might be missing some. Now since they're idols in Japan now, and this is an idol blog, I was thinking of maybe covering the Kpop groups' activities in Japan. But I've been stopping myself. And do you want to know the reason for this? It's simple really.

The reason is, the fans themselves. I'm sure most of the Jpop and Kpop fans reading this will instantly know what I'm talking about. And to those that don't might find my reasoning silly. But for some reason there's this tremendous fan war going on between Kpop and Jpop fans. And honestly, I've seen most of the hate on the Kpop side. When I'm bored I like to go on youtube to watch Kpop vs Jpop videos. And 8/10 times the videos are extremely biased for the Kpop side. In one video the actual vs was Morning Musume's Love Machine vs some Kpop girl group's song from 2010. But the worst part of these videos are reading the fan comments.

Over the months of reading fan comments the general consensus among Kpop fans is: that Kpop is superior in every way because they are sexier, not cutesy or cookie cutter like Jpop, can actually sing, are better dancers, and the overall music is better. I even read someone say that Jpop idol groups are for pedophiles who do nothing but watch anime.
And the general consensus among Jpop fan is: Kpop is unoriginal, at least Jpop has it's own style, Jpop lyrics have more meaning, and Kpop copies from America too much.

I think the funniest part to all of this is the so called negatives for each side is why I like Kpop and Jpop. I love Kpop because it's so similar to the kind of American music that I like. And it stands to reason that if I like it sung in English, I'm gonna like it sung in Korean. And I love Jpop because it is a nice escape from the overly sexiness of American music. It's just cute, innocent, and upbeat.

Another thing that I dislike about Korean fans is just how biased they are. Anytime a Korean artist debuts in Japan Korean fans/blogs basically say how this will be the greatest thing to happen to Japanese music ever. Of course this group will totally dominate Japan, obviously because they are Korean. It won't be long before they are beating established artists. Korean fans also basically cried that they are absent from this year's Kohaku. They really think that they should get everything handed to them because of what they did already in Korea. Some artists have only been in Japan for 1 year-a couple months. This is AAA's first time in Kohaku. It took them 5 years to get there. And honestly if Big Bang was there instead of AAA, I would be beyond angry.

In a way, it's outrageous fans like this that make me want to support Jpop more. And sometimes I even hope Kpop artists fail. Which is pretty insane. I'm basically being dragged into a feud that's so shallow and opinionated, that it shouldn't even exist. And since I doubt Kpop fans are going to chill anytime soon, I most likely won't be covering Kpop acts. No matter how much I do like CN BLUE, FT Island, SNSD, and 4MINUTE.

Here's Kpop Vs Jpop female idol version



Here's Kpop Vs Jpop male idol version

Misa's Jmusic Survey

Misa of minna iru kai has posted a Jmusic survey, that she wants bloggers to fill out. It's an updated version of the same survey she had on vox.

Since I'm a pretty new blogger I didn't take her older version of the survey. So there's nothing really to compare it with. But this looked pretty fun and I never take surveys, so I thought why not.


1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?

Duty by Ayumi Hamasaki and Embryo by Dir en grey

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away?

Not really. I mean I like a couple of songs by Ayumi, but I'm not really that big of an Ayumi fan. I'm more of like a casual fan. As for Diru, I've been listening to them ever since.

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time?

Embryo-Dir en grey

Jibun Kakumei- Miyavi

Shining Star- Nami Tamaki

True Blue- Zone

Rainy Days Never Stay- The Brilliant Green

Gothic Pink- Tommy Heavenly6

Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~- Morning Musume

Sakura Drop- Utada Hikaru
Zetsu- Gazette

I couldn't pick just one. XD

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest?

Dir en grey, Nami Tamaki, Miyavi

5. What is the song with the most plays on your itunes/media player?

Baby Be My Baby- NEWS

Shanimuni Paradise- Morning Musume

JPN Pride- Miyavi

Real Face- KAT-TUN

Janakya Mottainai- Buono

Computer City- Perfume

Kanfuu Fighting- Kanjani8

New Look- Namie Amuro
Nice Buddy- Puffy

Again I couldn't pick just one. XD

6. Is that song your favorite?

Some of my favorites.

7. If not, what is?

Too many to list.

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who?

NEWS, An Cafe, Morning Musume, Miyavi

9. What is your favorite agency?

Hello!Project, Johnny's Entertainment, PS Company

10. What is your favorite group/singer?

Morning Musume, Miyavi, NEWS, Puffy


My music tastes has changed a lot since I started to listen to Jmusic. In the first few years I was really more about Jrock, and hardly listened to Jpop at all. Now I still listen to a lot of Jrock, but it's balanced evenly with Jpop now.
Currently I listen to mostly idol music. When back in the day I used to make fun of idol music. I hate to admit it now, but a few years back I did. I used to make fun of Arashi a lot. Arashi compared to Gazette and Dir en grey was just to happy for me. Which makes no sense because I still listened to other happy Jpop. Just not that often.

One Room Disco PV preview

Perfume released a short preview for their new song One Room Disco. The preview is roughly only 40 seconds. But you can still get a feel for the PV. I really like how they keep changing rooms. And they seem to be wearing the same outfits from the CD covers. Which I'm not too happy about. I would have love to have seen different outfits, because they ones they're wearing are gross.

Nami gives up her old image

We have new Nami goodness in the form of her new PV. Nami's new single, Give Me Up, will be released on March 25th. Give Me Up is also a cover of an 80's euro beat song by Michael Fortunati.

My first reaction to the song was: What is Nami doing? Where did the old Nami go? Hardcore Nami fans will be able to tell at first listen what's different. The music is obviously a HUGE change. Nami mostly does anime type songs with more intense music. But this music is much more simple and dancey. But aside for the music her whole voice sounds different. The way she's singing in this song makes her almost sound like a completely different person. In a way that's good, and in a way that's bad.

At first I hated this song until about half way through, where I realized it's really not that bad. It seems like Nami is trying to move away from the whole anime thing and become a more serious singer. And I'm really happy about that. It seems like Nami is moving on to bigger and better things.

My first reaction to the video was, Nami was trying to be more hip hop. Based on her outfit and her initial dance moves. Her video looks pretty much like every other video out there. There aren't too many original or distinguishing elements to it. For the most part she dances in a cluttered garage and sits on a couch. But Nami looks super cute in the video. Especially her close up scenes on the couch. Her cuteness blew me away.

Her outfits are a win for me. I think they're adorable. Her dance outfit is kinda sexy and kinda cute, with a hip hop vibe. The boots are fabulous and the racer gloves add a nice touch. She's also in a pink cheetah printed hoodie and sunglasses for about 5 seconds. The outfits nothing special but she looks really cute in it. Mostly because her hair is in a cute bun. But my favorite outfit from the PV by far is the giant bow outfits. She wearing a normal sweater and shorts but the ridiculous, oversized bow makes it to adorable for words.

 

Nami's got sex appeal

Nami only eats wonder bread

Gahh Nami's adorable

Wink!

Nami sends her love!

My final thoughts on the song? Well first of all, I'm she happy she finally made a comeback. And I think the song is pretty good. It's defiantly a 5/10. But I honestly don't think it will break the top 5.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Another year and another Valentines' Day. What's a better way to spend it than listening to Jpop? So I'm going to countdown my top 5 love themed Jpop songs.


#5: Miyavi-We Love You ~sekai wa kimi wo aishiteru~





The 8th track of Miyavi's MYV★POPS album. The song is so incredibly sweet, sending the message that the world loves you. And Someone, somewhere, loves someone. Accompanied by soft music and Miyavi's amazing and sweet voice.


#4: Leah Dizon- Koi Shiyou




Leah's 2nd and highest grossing single so far. Koi Shiyou is a sweet and bubbly song about falling in love. The song as a whole is really fun and Leah is surprisingly a good singer. The video is pretty cute, aside from her slutty dancing.


#3: Arashi- Love So Sweet




Arashi always has the cutest love songs. This song is really sweet. It's a love story song about loving someone so much. Jun being in it is just an added bonus.


#2: Tegomass-Kiss~Kaerimichi no Love Song~




This is defiantly the cutest love song from JE. Masuda and Tegoshi are super adorable. And this song is about loving someone forever no matter. It's really sweet and equally catchy.


#1: Ai Otsuka-Sakuranbo




Ai Otsuka does it again, she really is the queen of all Jpop love songs. Her ultra cutesy voice mixed with the heartwarming lyrics made this song undeniably sweet. This song is about being a pair together like cherries. And also a girl's feelings of love.

Nami news

On January 15, Nami Tamaki's official website announced the release of her next single, Give Me Up. This will be Nami's 16th single and her first single with her new label Universal-J. It's scheduled to be released on March 25th. It will also be a positive up-beat pop song. This will also be Nami's first release in over a year.

Now I've been a Nami fan since I heard her song Shining Star. Greeting was also the first Japanese CD I ever got. And since so much time had passed in between her singles, I actually thought that was it for Nami Tamaki. Much like Hinoi Team's year of inactivity, there has yet to be an official announcement that they broke up. You have no idea how much that annoyed me. I thought Nami was doing the same thing. Since her last album was her lowest selling album yet, only reaching a peak at number 14. And two out of three singles from that album didn't even reach the top 15.

I also remember being really disappointed when Cross Season came out. The song failed to impress me and the PV and outfits she wore were terrible. I did really like Brightdown though. But honestly, if it wasn't an opening theme to an anime it wouldn't have been as high on the charts.

I'm expecting a lot from this new single. The bar to me is set really high, she's had a lot of time to prepare for this. And I can really care less what number it is on the charts. Since most of my favorite Nami songs didn't sell so well. Heart & Soul peaked at number 13. And My Way only made it to number 18. Nami and her fans have waited a year for this. So I'm expecting something incredible

Shiawase Nichiyobi

Koharu Kusumi's 6th single, Hapi☆Hapi Sunday, is set to be released on February 4th. So of course the PV is out. And all I can say is, Amy=uber excited!

The song did start out a little awkward to me. With the slow, semi rapping robot speak. But after that it jumps right into the cuteness! I am pretty happy that in this song she is singing normally and not over doing it like she did in Papancake, trying to phone in the cuteness. This song seems more natural and effortless. The chorus is very catchy and I love how she says Happy Sunday. And like most of Koharu's songs this one is very addicting. I just love everything Koharu does.

The video itself reminds me a lot of the Chance video. As soon as I got a look at the room it reminded me of Chance. She's also dancing and moving in a lot of animated backgrounds and has and outfit change just like in the Chance video. Her outfits are a little strange though. Her first out reminds me of a hotel bellboy's outfit with magic wings. And her second outfits looks like something an old woman would wear, and yet she pulls them both off. She looks so adorable in this PV. And she really does look her cutest when her hair is in curly pigtails.

And Koharu videos make the best screen caps. But mine are actually more of print screens. XD

Koharu is not amused

Koha is inside my heart. XD

Koharu and the Amazing Pinkucolored Dreamcape

Haato

It's like I'm wearing glasses but I'm not 

Ba ba ba ba BAN

2009 predictions

So now that it's officially 2009, I thought I'd start off the new year with predictions of what I think might happen in the upcoming months.

Hello Project:

Morning Musume-
1. They will release their 9th (technically 10th but I'm not counting Cover You) studio album, which isn't much of a prediction. XD
2. They will add new members either from auditions in Japan or from those Korean auditions that happened a few months back.
3. They will get a number 1 single.

C-ute-
1. Kanna will continue to get noticed and will have another solo magazine shoot.
2. They will branch out more into Asia like Berryz did.

Berryz Koubou-
1. Yurina will continue to get lead solo lines. (ok that's more of what I want to see)

Elder Club:
The official announcement in March will be nothing special.


Johnny's Entertainment:

NEWS-
1. They will have a cool or rock sounding single, like KAT-TUNs'
2. They will expand more into the global market/have more overseas tours


Kanjani8-
1. Uchi will rejoin the group



Jpop:

1. Nami Tamaki will finally release a new single with Sony.
2. Puffy AmiYumi will tour America again.
3. BoA will just stick to dominating over Asia
4. Ai Otsuka will release a love song. Shocking! But I think it will happen. :P
5. Koda Kumi will release another fully English single.



Jrock:

1. Miyavi will completely change his music style, yet again.
2. SuG's single will continue to dramatically change and continue not to really impress me much.
3. Gazette will release a single like their old material (Unlikely, but they really should)
4. Dir en grey will have another headlining tour in America. I like that's planned already, possibly.
5. An Cafe will finally have a major debut. (Very unlikely, but would still be cool)
6. Aicle will release a full length album.
7. The Candy Spooky Theater will get another new guitarist. Seriously, they are already on their 3rd.




Let's see how many of these actually come true. :]

Momusu 38th single!

Morning Musume's 38th single, Nai Chau Kamo, is being released on February 18th. And thanks to Reina's radio show we have the full preview to the song.

The first thing I notice about this song is omg Sayu gets solo lines! And it's not saying some random phrase like Pepper Keibu Yo or Shabondama. Which I'm pretty excited about. It's about time, and she actually sounds really good in them. But I must say I'm absolutely in love with Risa's solo lines! I also having a little trouble telling who's singing what. I think Eri got a two line solo but it sounds like the first line could be Ai-chan. And maybe I'm hearing things but it sounds like JunJun got a solo line. Either she did or she just really over powered whoever was singing the same line as her.

But I think this music is just a little on the bland side. It just feels like it needs to be a little louder and a little faster. I do like the song, it has a more mature feel. Which is nice to hear. I like how Momusu has been increasingly more mature lately, with their songs. This song is also a nice change from their last single. For the fact that it was a bit too Reina centered for my taste. It's nice to hear everyone else sing or at least be noticed. I also can't wait to read a translation of this song, I have a feeling the lyrics are probably going to be good.

Here's a blurry picture of what might be their outfits for either their PV or CD covers. And the blurriness of the pic makes Aika look like Aibon! And what's with Eri's weird hood. I really wish there was a high quality version of this pic.

Ice Cream Revoluton 21

As most of you, if not all of you, have heard Icecreamusume's debut song was played on a Taiwan radio station on December 22. It's a Chinese cover of Morning Musume's hit single Renai Revolution 21. It's going to be part of their mini album, Ice Creamusume - 1st Best. Which will be released January 16. The track list will be:

1. Lian Ai Deng Chang

2. Zao An Ka Fei (Morning Coffee)

3. Zai Mei You Yu Shui Zi Run De Zing Qui Shang Shi Wu Fa Fu Chu Ai De Ba? (Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou?)

4. Lian Ai Ge Ming 21 (Renai Revolution 21)

5. Go Girl ~Lian Ai Sheng Li~ (Go Girl~ Koi no Victory~)

6. Debut! ~Lian Ai De Zhuan Jiao Hui You Hao Yun Jiang Lin~ (Japanese version)

7. Zao An Ka Fei (Morning Coffee) (Japanese version)

I needed to get the main info in this post. XD

I actually found out about this song today, while browsing H!O. I don't really pay much attention to Icecreamusume because I'm honestly more interested in Jpop than Cpop. Though in the past months I started to listen to a little bit of Chinese music.


At first listen to this song I didn't really like it. And not so much because of the language it's it. Mostly because to me this song sounds kind of awkward in Chinese. And Chinese singers tend to have higher pitched voices, which I'm not really used to. But once I got passed the initial pitch differences, the song is actually pretty good. It's better than I expected it to be. It's obviously not as good as the original, nothing can be. But I think all in all, for what it is, it's good. And one thing I noticed right off the bat was that Icecreamusume is 100 times better at pronouncing the English words. It's almost funny really. Now that they seemed to give this song justice I'm excited to hear how the other Momusu covers will sound.

Koharu Kusumi 3rd album

Sorry this is late. ._.

Koharu Kusumi's 3rd album, Kirari to Fuyu, was released on December 17th. And I finally got a chance to listen to it recently. So here's my full review of the album. On my last review I didn't really provide any one the songs to listen to. So, I'll post the songs from now on in my reviews.

Track 1: Koi Sign

The music for the most part is soft, with a lot of piano. But it does also pick up very quickly. And it's got the standard Kirarin music, chimes and bells are in the song periodically. Koharu sounds really sweet in this song. And I love when she says "sono I love you." This song kind of reminds me of Mizuiro Melody a little. In the sense that it's not an overly cutesy song, and it's not a ballad either.
Final rating: 8/10

Track 2: Anataboshi

This is MilkyWay's first single. I always really loved the music to this song. You'd never expect Irish music to sound good in a Jpop song, but somehow it just works. I really like they way the group parts are sung. Though the song focuses around Koharu, every does sound really good in it. Though out of the eggs I was most impressed with Kitahara Sayaka's voice. I think this song is really fun, and I've listened to this song over and over.
Final rating: 7/10

Track 3: Papancake

I absolutely love this song! It's is so infectious and cute. Koharu sounds so adorable singing this, especially when she says "hai." They lyrics are very cute. A song about Pancakes is something you would expect form Kirarin Revolution. I must admit though, in some parts of the song is does sound like she's pushing her voice. But I love how overly cute it sounds. I just really love it all around. The music is great and I feel happy every time I listen to it.
Final rating: 10/10


Track 4: Love Chick

This song starts out very cute, with Koharu saying hai about 10 times. This song is very adorable I love how she sings it. The "cute cute cute no boy hora ai ai ai" part especially. I also love the "junjou and honou" parts. Her voice sounds great in the bridge of the song. Overall this song is very happy. And I really like it, it's one of my favorite songs on the album. Chiku chiku love you, chiku chiku happy, chiku chiku for you my boy!
Final rating: 9/10


Track 5: Oh! Tomodachi

This song is the b-side on the Papancake single. I love music for this song, it's cute and powerful. Koharu seems to be singing louder in this song then usual. Or am I just hearing things. The song is really happy, like all of her songs. But I don't care for this song much. Her voice is a little too much for me in this one. It's overly happy and sweet, that I find it almost annoying. I think a slower song would have balanced Papancake better.
Final rating: 5/10


Track 6: Mass Colorful

The Spainish music makes me think of Iroppoi Jirettai. The music of the two songs aren't similar at all, it's just the first thing that comes to mind. I'm not a big fan of this song either. Nothing really stands out about it. It's kind of boring and slower paced then the other songs. This song just seems kind of forgettable. I prefer Koharu's loud in your face, cutesy songs. Like Love Dayo Darling.
Final ratimg: 7/10


Track 7: Puppy Love

All I can say that Koharu's puppy noises make me laugh. And I can't tell if she's saying you're my puppy love or don mai puppy love. It's probably the first one. But this song is cute and the lyrics are sweet. But I'd never be able to sing this song with a straight face. ._.
Final rating: 6/10

Track 8: Soramimi Doremi

I love this song! It's so adorable. I love the way she sings it. But it's so fast at some points that it's hard to keep up with the lyrics. And I looked up soramimi and got results that it's when a Japanese phrase sounds like an English phrase. But that makes me even more confused to what this song is actually abou.
Final rating: 7/10


Track 9: Gamusharara

This song is the b-side to the Tan Tan Taan single. The music for this song sounds like a bad 80's song. And Kikkawa Yuu's voice sounds different in this song. All of a sudden it's sounds very cute but sounded nothing like this in Anataboshi. This song as a whole sounds kind of weird. And I'm not sure what to make of it. The only part of this song I like are the harmonies.


Final rating: 6/10




Track 10: Tan Tan Taan!

This is MilkyWay's 2nd single. The music for this song is very light. Just tambourines and other sound effects. The music is also very child like. This is the first time we get to really hear the other member's voices. And everyone sounds amazing in this song. Their are a few times Kitahara Sayaka sounds a little weird, but for the most part she's really good. I think this song is kind of cute. I like the "Ichi Ni Tan Tan Taan" parts.


Final rating: 6/10




Track 11: Sansan GOGO

This is the b-side to the Anataboshi single. I think the guitars in the beginning of the song sound really cool. I think this is the best MilkyWay song. I think this song should have replaced Anataboshi as the single. Everyone's voice blends together perfectly in this song. And everyone's singing sounds almost effortless. It's sung wonderfully. I really love this song!


Final rating: 10/10




Track 12: Yume no Balloon

This is the last song on the album. :/ This song is a lot lighter then some of the other songs. And it's pretty simple music wise. Koharu's voice sounds really sweet in this one.




This review was actually really fun to do. I love listening to Koharu songs. And I think the album is pretty good. But I wish there were more new songs. I mean half of the songs were already released. They should have kept the singles on the album but left the b-sides on the singles. If I had to choose a favorite Koharu album it would probably be Mitsuboshi. Even though I like this album, I think it could have been a lot better.

Happy belated holidays!

So, I'm back from my short holiday break I took from my blog. Which I pretty much forgot to mention I was taking. So a few of my posts have been pushed back, like my Koharu Kusumi 3rd album review I wrote on December 21st. Also my Christmas songs were pretty much a bust, since I only managed to get two done. But I suppose I'll save the rest of the Christmas songs for next year. Sorry. XD

Anyway, Merry Chrsitmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah! And everything in between. Better late then never. Also if anyone is interested about my personal Christmas I posted an album on my facebook. Here's the link.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=618274847&ref=profile#/album.php?aid=78246&id=618274847

And to make this post a little bit more Jpop related, a NEWS forum I am on had a duet singing contest. Which I unfortunately didn't win. The song we sang was Ai Ai Gasa by Tegomass. So here's the song if anyone wants to hear.

I sang Tegoshi's parts, or if you're not familiar with Tegomass I'm the one who sings second.






So of course LOTS of things H!P related have happened since my last post. So you know what that mean, post spam! You know you love my massive update spams. :]

First song of Christmas

Since it's getting really close to Christmas I thought I'd post one Christmas song a day until the 25th. Some of these songs are more winter songs than Christmas but that's ok.

Chrsitmas song Number one: Snow Express by NEWS


A snow themed song about winter love. Sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

Top 20 of 2008

With 2008 coming to a close, it seems like an end of many things. Elder Club, Haramoni@, and possibly Leah Dizon. And it seems like you can't turn on the TV without seeing some sort of yearly countdown show. So, I decided to make my top 20 songs of 2008. I'm sure the songs I picked are probably not the most popular or best selling songs of 2008. Mostly because a huge chunk of the music I listen is Hello!Project, NEWS, and random Jrock bands. I didn't even bother to listen to 3/4 of the songs that made in on oricon's top 100 singles of 2008. But that's not important.

I also limited it to one song per artist so it's not like NEWS, NEWS, NEWS, Ai Otsuka, NEWS, NEWS, NEWS. I'll also give a short explanation of why I picked each song.

20. LM.C- Chemical King Twoon
19. Ayumi Hamasaki- Mirrorcle World
18. Koda Kumi - Moon Crying
17. Gazette- Guren
16. C-ute- Namida no Iro


Number 20: I'm actually a really big LM.C fan. And this song is pretty much amazing. 88 was so close to beating this, but I think the fact that Aiji sings in this song made it better. Number 19: There are only a few Ayumi songs I actually like, while this song isn't my favorite by her I still think the song is good. It's sung very well and I absolutely love the music, it's very mysterious. It's so low on the list because the lyrics in my opinion are weird and repetition isn't always key. Number 18: Even though I am not really fond of ballads, I can't deny how great this song is. Kumi's voice is really suited for ballads ad she sounds amazing in this song. And the lyrics are so sad, I get choked up listening to them. Or maybe it's just seeing Kumi cry. Number 17: Being a pretty big Gazette fan I kinda expected more from them. The song is very pretty but I prefer Gazette's heavier songs. I don't really care for this monster ballad. Number 16: This is defiantly my favorite C-ute single in 2008. It's another sad song. But it's not overly sad, since it is a song about saying goodbye and feeling refreshed. While this song is good it's not good enough to be placed higher on my list.

15. L'Arc~en~ciel- Drink It Down
14. Arashi- One Love
13. An Cafe- Summer Dive
12. Perfume- Baby cruising Love
11. Buono!- Gachinko De Ikou


Number 15: This is actually the second song I've ever heard by L'Arc~en~ciel, Ready Set Go being the first. I never really noticed before how good of a singer Hyde really is. Since I can't find a translation for this song, this is based on how it sounds alone. And the music is awesome, creepy but almost toned down. And Hyde is looking hot in the video. It's strange because I don't really think he's attractive any other time. Number 14: I'm not really a big Arashi fan, this is one the second song I've heard by them. But since Jun Matsumoto is hot I think I listen to them more. This song is so sweet. Leave it to a Johnny's group makes me swoon over their song. Number 13: I really love the overall sound of this song. And it's apparently about summer. But I love all An Cafe's songs. Number 12: It was really hard to choose the overall best Perfume song of 2008, Love The World came so close to winning. But this song is just awesome. I'm a big Perfume fan mostly because I'm a big techno fan. I am also very captivated by Perfume's cute voices. Number 11: This is actually one of my favorite Buono songs. I think everything about this song is just amazing. But the music is really a huge factor. And of course the always cute Buono lyrics.

10. Mika Nakashima-I Don't Know
9. Berryz Koubou-Madayade
8. KAT-TUN - Lips
7. Morning Musume-Resonant Blue
6. Ai Otsuka-Rocket Sneaker


Number 10: I really love how this song is a dis to the Japanese media. The lyrics are really powerful. Her English isn't that great, but you have to commend her singing entirely in English. But I kinda hate the hair she's sporting in the video. Number 9: What can I say, I can't get enough of Madayade. It's probably my absolute favorite Berryz song. Everything is just perfect in this song. The beat and the music is amazing. And everyone's voice sounds incredible. Plus the uber catchy chorus, just awesome. Number 8: I always thought KAT-TUN was kinda terrible, but this song has certainty changed my mind. I think Kame and Jin looking hot in the video is a big reason I like the song so much. But I really love the rock music, which you never really hear in Johnny's songs. The lyrics are pretty awesome. "Those red-drenched lips, I want to get closer to you and destroy them, violently." That's pretty epic. However I doubt I'll become a KAT-TUN fan. Number 7: Even though I wasn't a big fan of this song at first, I have really grown to love it. Even though you only really hear Ai and Reina, they are the strength of Momusu and make this sound really good. And I think the lyrics are really good. Number 6: Ai Otsuka really is "The New Guru of Love." She delivers another really sweet love song. But I'm not exactly sure what an Earth number is. I really love Ai's voice though. It's so adorable and yet also beautiful.

5. Kanjani8-Musekinin Hero
4. Utada Hikaru- Prisoner of Love
3. NEWS-WEEEK
2. YUI- Summer Song
1. Namie Amuro-New Look


Number 5: I usually find Kanjani8, for the most part, really annoying. But this so is so crazy, it's great. I can't stop listening to it! And Ryo being in it helps too. Jajajaja~n. Also why was a song about the economy so popular? Number 4: I blame the drama Last Friends for making me like this song as much as I do. But Utada Hikaru has an amazing voice and she sounds just incredible in this song. I'm just a prisoner of love to this song. Oh that was a terrible joke. XD Number 3: I love this song so much. The positive message and the overall happiness of this song is just infectious. I can't help but love it. And everyone in NEWS are great singers. Number 2: This song is so amazing. I love how she sounds during the chorus it's so awesome. And I love the nostalgic-ness of the lyrics. This is just a pretty and upbeat song about summer love. This song really just makes me happy every time I listen to it. And also kind of sad because it makes me think about how quickly my youth will be gone. Number 1: Namie made a truly amazing song. I've listen to this song at least 60 times since it first heard it. I'm in love with 60's and mod fashion, so on that alone the song is awesome. But I just love the girly lyrics. How it's all about hair and fashion.


There you have it my favorite songs of 2008. I'd really like to hear what everyone else thinks the best song of 2008 is.

New story, new single

I've been a fan of Puffy AmiYumi a lot longer than any other Jpop/Jrock that I listen to now. They were my first slice of Japanese music and the reason I was drawn in so much. There was a time when I knew everything about them and listened to them for hours. As I started to listen to more Japanese music I kinda drifted away from Puffy and focused on the new bands. So I'm glad lately I've been following them a lot again. Maybe not as closely as I do with Hello!Project but close enough. Anyway, that's just a side note.
Puffy's latest single My Story, will be released on August 6th. It's their 27 single, which is almost too hard to believe. The song is sung completely in Japanese, taking a break from their last two single that were in English. Since Honeycrepper was released Puffy has had a more laid back feel to them. And this song is sticking to that. It draws you in from the very first note. It could almost be a ballad if it wasn't for the unique Puffy music thrown in. The beginning has a sweet melody and then almost without warning it throws you in the rock edge of the song. Puffy really has stepped up to the plate lately. Since Splurge was released they got this new kinda modern, laid back, upbeat, sound. And they've released some of their best songs to date. Also, in the last past years they have looked better than they ever had. So whatever they're doing they need to keep it up!
So of course a few days ago the video popped up on the internet. The video had a low budget I'm guessing. Since there really isn't anything there, just them. And most of the video is a sepia/black and white mixture, with a bit of color thrown in. It's not one of their most impressive PVs. But if you look at it from another perspective. The PV seems kinda raw. No distractions. Nothing to keep your eyes off them. Nothing to keep you from really listening to the song. If you look at it that way it almost seems fitting. But I don't really mind much. As long as the song is good I won't care if they were dancing in potato sacks. Well maybe just a little.

3 new singles

So I was kinda MIA from blogging right after I made this, mostly because I forgot all about it. XD In any case, I am back now. So the point of this post is to talk about the 3 newest singles from Hello!Project. Papancake, Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance, and Edo no Temari Uta II.





Papancake: So I want to start off by saying that I am a huge Koharu Kusumi fan, and a lot of people seem to dislike her but I have nothing bad to say about her.
The song itself is very cute, upbeat, and catchy like all of her solo songs. Her voice is almost too overly sweet like she's forcing it to sound that way. In some of her other songs the cuteness sounded almost effortless. But the "hai" in the song is really adorable. When I listen Jpop I feel the cuter the better. So I give the song a 7/10.
Now the PV really shows how young of a demographic she has though. With the random tricycles and teddy bears scattered around in the background. I almost feel too old to be listening to it. And maybe I am. The PV aslo has way too much yellow for my taste, but other than that it's cute. Koharu's dress is cute and she looks really pretty. The kaleidoscope parts were really cool and fit nicely in the PV. So I'll give the PV a 8/10



Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance: The first thing I notice about monkey dance is the line distribution is fair. In Berryz songs the line distribution was always semi-fair, with it still revolving around Momoko, Miyabi, and Risako. The song is another upbeat and easy to dance to song. I found that it is also very addicting. It was a surprisingly good transition from Dschinghis Khan.
The PV is a bit of a problem for me though. I can't really get past the monkey outfits. But it's defiantly a first for H!P. The other outfits they wear are really cute though. And there's a lot of detail in the PV. With the transitional bananas and two different outfits. There hasn't been much of double outfits lately in H!P, so it's nice to see they had a higher budget for this PV.




Edo no Temari Uta II: This song had more noticeable line distribution than Berryz song. I think it's the fairest C-ute song to date. You usually have to listen to the B Side to actually hear the other girls sing. The song has a pretty harmony and the lyrics of the song flow nicely. The song is the shortest of the 3 only being 2:40 long. It leaves you wanting more.
I absolutely love the outfits for this song. I don't really like the hats they picked for Airi and Kanna. They almost look like bowls. They just seem out of place. The set of the video is very cool. Kind of like a modern version of those old Japanese paintings.




With three great songs from Hello!Project let's hope the next three singles will be as good! :D

Yatta!

Hello hello and welcome to Janakya Mottainai. My very own Jpop/Jmusic blog. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. This is my first attempt at a blog so bear with me. I've always wanted to share my thoughts on Japanese music but had no one that would listen and actually care. XD So Janakya Mottainai was born! This blog is a look at Japanese music through the eyes of an average 16 year old girl. And it's going to be mostly about Hello!Project with other Jpop and Jrock thrown in for good measure. I'll probably have my share of fangirl moments but that won't happen often. If I can help it. XD I also hope my age doesn't turn people away because age shouldn't really matter when writing a blog. Right? No, it shouldn't. So since I'm pretty much a blogging n00b, my page will change a lot until I figured what I want exactly. So my next post will actually be my first entry. So look forward to it. :D