Asian music "what's on your mind" thread III

[Kacku]

So I listened to iri's cover of Higashi e Nishi e from the just released Yosui Inoue tribute album and fell in love with the song instantly (I highly recommend iri's version!), so naturally I had to go find out more about the song, and I came across this performance from the 1992 Kouhaku Utagassen:



Have I been missing out not watching Kouhaku? How often (probably not very) do they feature something this wild?

[Kacku]

I'm doing my annual ritual of putting together top lists of my favourite (Japanese) songs and albums of the year and... is it just me or was this year a little lacking in good albums? I'm having trouble coming up with even a top 5, which is not a good sign. I wonder if it's just because I'm not trying and discovering new albums like I used to in past years or if my favourite acts have been mostly inactive or disappointing on the album front. In any case, recommendations would be most welcome!

[KarenPang]

Not just you , I find that this year's release of Japanese albums weren't as good as last year's :x

That said for you , you might consider checking out Wakeshima Kanon's 1st mini album odd sting & intrigue

I've been a Kanon fan since pretty much her single debut in 2008 and the material in odd sting & intrigue to me is some of her best since her debut album Shinshoku Dolce

Prior to odd sting & intrigue , I still feel that Kanon's best material was when she released her Shinshoku Dolce more than a decade ago as Malice Mizer's Mana did a great job overseeing Kanon's material

But after that over the years , the material that Kanon personally created herself weren't able to match up to what Mana did for her

Other than Kanon albums wise , I also like Matsushita Yuya's BLACK NEVERLAND & this's Yuya's 1st solo album in 6 years but it's also his most successful album to date

Rock albums wise , I like GRANRODEO's FAB LOVE , SID's Shonin Yokkyu & B'z's NEW LOVE

For FAB LOVE , it was the 1st time GRANRODEO went overseas to record some of the material and that's a big thing cos vocalist KISHOW is known to have a terrible fear of flying

So for KISHOW to fly to US from Japan , that's a HUGE milestone

For B'z , NEW LOVE is 1 of their more harder albums to get into unlike their last few albums which were relatively easy

My favourite track in NEW LOVE is Rain & Dream . It's the longest in the album but Aerosmith's guitarist Joe Perry participated in the recording of the song which's just woah

Doesn't help that no singles precede NEW LOVE just like SID's Shonin Yokkyu but after giving more listens , both albums are quite good except for a few tracks

The other Japanese albums I listened to that were released this year , I wouldn't recommend to you cos they're Johnny groups but 1 of them was just so bad & downright a major bore I wished it wasn't released in the 1st place D:

[Corvina]

The 10 best selling artists of 2019 in Japan:



Made out of all sales by Oricon, physicial, digital and streaming.

[Gustavopc]

^ Who is #7? Know everyone else but this.

And gosh, the soloists in Japan really aren't the trend anymore. I know year after year the scenario has been like this but I think a part of me still hasn't accepted it lol

[KarenPang]

Hoshino Gen is at number 7

YesAsia wrote about it via https://www.yesasia.com/yumcha/en/en...ment-news.html

I had no idea this's the 8th time ARASHI is Japan's top selling artist o_O

Maybe they can shoot for a 9th time next year before their hiatus ? I wouldn't be surprised if that will happen

[Bigtop]

Cross-posting from AAA thread:

Originally Posted by Bigtop

So, yeah.

Hate to say this, but...

Urata Naoya is leaving AAA.

https://avex.jp/en/aaa/news/detail.php?id=1080027

Also, Foorin's "Paprika" won the 61st Japan Record Awards, denying Nogizaka46 a three-peat (this 'rival group' of AKB48 won the past two years, in 2017 and 2018).

[KarenPang]

Last day of 2019 & I'm already looking forward to new music in 2020 , from

- AKIHIDE
- BENI
- BREAKERZ
- FLOWER FLOWER
- flumpool
- Hey! Say! JUMP
- Marie starring MIKA NAKASHIMA
- NEWS
- SID

[Kacku]

What is up with Clazziquai Project's Spotify page? Their discography was (mostly) up yesterday, but today I can only see three of their albums on their artist page and access the others through old likes or a specific search, and some songs and albums are not available at all... Why does this just randomly happen? Well, I'll take this as a reminder that buying albums is still necessary for guaranteeing access to music I like.

[KarenPang]

^ It's the same with BREAKERZ & DAIGO's music in that not everything from their respective discography are made available on the various online streaming platforms from last month onwards

I guess Being still wants fans to buy their physical releases , if they want to hear the missing material that's not uploaded online

[Kacku]

^ Yeah, and that's a valid strategy in and of itself. I just find it strange that material that used to be up for years suddenly seems to get pulled in a surprise move, I can't figure out why artists/labels would want to do that. And I find it extra strange that this happens to a Korean act since (I think) they tend to be more streaming-friendly as a rule.

[Xianghua]

When I was in high school I listened to the jrock band Alice Nine a lot.
I haven’t followed them in a long time, but they had a new year concert today. It was with an orchestra so I went because it sounded interesting.

Instead of the show opening on stage as usual, the spotlight shone on the doors of the entrance to the theater. Everyone turned around and we saw the band standing there and they walked down the aisles to the stage.

On my side of the aisle were the guitarist and bassist, who were AN ARMS LENGTH away from me. And it felt really surreal and weird! Like...I’m looking at them right next to me instead of looking at them through a computer screen.

Anyway I just had to put that strange feeling into words.

[Corvina]

The new Chanmina song is amazing!



Her last album just had a bunch of good (new) songs.
This sounds like a great start to her new EP.

[Bigtop]

^ That's one surprising news to hear! Fortunate enought that LiSA was able to appear in the Kouhaku before this happens.

Not to get confused, this is the popular anisong singer (not the m-flo member).

Congratulations! We wish them the best, and maybe someday we might see a new child or two sometime down the road!

[KarenPang]

The news did not surprised my sister cos there were already talk about this on them but nothing was outright confirmed til yesterday

Suzuki Tatsuhisa is part of OLDCODEX & many fellow voice actors and actresses already sent their congrats onlinr

[Bigtop]

I don't think anyone here at AHS cares about this - it may be better suited to the Stage48 forum - but Hirate Yurina, the ace of Keyakizaka46 (which is a sister group of Nogizaka46, which is derived from AKB48), suddenly left the group on Thursday. She was only 18 years old. Techi-san centered all eight singles that Keyakizaka46 released so far (dating back to April 2016 when she was only 14), but there has been concerns about her health, especially after what happened in the 2017 Kouhaku, when she and two other members - Suzumoto Miyu, who also announced graduation on the same day as Techi's resignation announcement, and Shida Manaka, who graduated early last year - fell after the group performed "Fukyouwaon" (4th single) twice, and put her and the entire group into a lot of scrutiny. While the management declined to reveal her reason why she left Keyakizaka46 (as a withdrawal rather than a graduation that we typically see in Japanese idol groups big and small, including AKB48, Nogizaka46, Hello! Project and even 'underground' acts), and she declined to comment further than the announcement before her Thursday night Girls Locks! segment of Tokyo FM's School of Lock!, people have been speculating that the combination of her previous health issues - sacroiliac joint instability, to be specific - and rumored disagreement between her and the management may have led to her withdrawal from the group. (EDIT: These reasons could be related, as she felt too much pressure and carried too much burden of being the absolute 'ace' position that she had, and combined with the health issues, I'm sure that may have been over the limit for her.)

Hirate was the lead actress in the movie "Hibiki" (as Hibiki herself, Akui Hibiki) last year.

(In addition to Hirate and Suzumoto leaving Keyakizaka46 on Thursday night, Oda Nana also graduated from the group, but unlike Hirate and Suzumoto, which was primarily health reasons, Oda was caught in a dating scandal during the summer of last year and has struggled with Keyakizaka46 since, and she is citing that and her focus on graduating from college as the reason why she is leaving the group. Sato Shiori, while not leaving Keyakizaka46 at the moment, also announced her intentions to go on hiatus as she focuses on overseas studies.)

It really stinks to see a group getting crippled by mismanagement. It's not the first time we saw a group as such, but for a group like Keyakizaka46, I don't know why the management has been betting a bit too much on Hirate Yurina, causing her to overwork during her tenure with the group. Hopefully we see brighter futures for both Keyakizaka46 (minus Techi) and Techi herself, maybe Techi can show off her own skills to her full potential while Keyakizaka46 regroups themselves moving forward with a mix of old (1st gen, some already graduated but some are still staying) and new (2nd gen, introduced just last year but already getting some work) faces. (EDIT: I'm hearing Techi might go solo sometime later this year! But she needs to get some rest before she goes back into action.)

(Keyakizaka46's last single that they released was back in February 2019. They were supposed to release one late last year or early this year with Hirate as center again, but with all these circumstances, it's pretty much delayed indefinitely at this point, while the management will have to review how they will have to move forward without her before pushing ahead for their long-delayed ninth single.)

[Bigtop]

So, yeah.

Leo Ieiri is going to release an EP (mini-album/single?) on the day I come to Japan ("Answer"; 22 April 2020).

That is, if the coronavirus situation isn't going to impede my travel plans late next month...

But if I do go to Japan, this could be my first CD I'll buy when I'm in Japan!

[Earth_maiden]

^I'm so excited for Leo's new EP! Lucky you if you can purchase it from Japan, she usually has extras for in store purchases, right?

[Bigtop]

Originally Posted by Earth_maiden

^I'm so excited for Leo's new EP! Lucky you if you can purchase it from Japan, she usually has extras for in store purchases, right?

I'll see if I can get a specific postcard that I want, because some of it are limited to certain stores.

[Shirayuki]

What are some recent artists you are listening to?

I think my favorites that are in the charts a lot are Aimyon and Official Hige Dandism. Both of them don't have an official artist thread on this forum yet but they deserve one! Their music made me become interested in Jpop again recently.