J-pop

JUICE=JUICE: 五月雨美女がさ乱れる

By Paris365 on May 21, 2013

JUICE=JUICE: 五月雨美女がさ乱れる

Juice=Juice is a new girl group featuring five Hello! Project members and a sixth member from GREEN FIELDS. If this single is any indication, they're going to be superstars.

Juice=Juice -- pronounced "Juice Juice" -- is a Japanese girl group created in 2013. Five of the group's six members were Hello! Project Kenshuusei trainees, the 6th member coming from GREEN FIELDS. The members are Akari Uemura, Sayuki Takagi, Karin Miyamoto, Aina Ōtsuka, Tomoko Nakazawa and Yuka Miyazaki. "さみだれ美女がさみだれる" -- pronounced "Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru" -- is their second single and follows "私が言う前に抱きしめなきゃね," which reached number 25 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.

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CHEEKY PARADE: C.P.U!?

By Paris365 on May 15, 2013

CHEEKY PARADE: C.P.U!?

Cheeky Parade's "C.P.U!?" is a geek's dream come true -- J-Pop that includes all sorts of computerized sounds. It even begins with all sorts of computerized bleeps and chirping along with a robotic voice giving commands like "enter."

Cheeky Parade is a nine member Japanese girl group. They were the second group to debut under Avex's sub-label iDOL Street, following SUPER☆GiRLS. "C.P.U!?" is the group's third single and follows the hugely successful single "BUNBUN NINE9," which reached number 4 on the Oricon singles chart.

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PREDIA: CRAZY CAT

By Paris365 on May 14, 2013

PREDIA: CRAZY CAT

If you like your pop with A LOT of bass then Predia's "Crazy Cat" should impress the heck out of you.

Predia is a Japanese girl group created in 2010 by the agency Platinum Passport. Their name means "diamond in the rough." They are the sister group of Passpo☆. They originally had 12 members but now have 11. This is not the first time they've had a line up change, however, as the group already has six former members, five of which have been replaced. "Crazy Cat" is their fourth single and their first release since last December's mini-album Escort Me?

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KYARY PAMYU PAMYU: INVADER INVADER

By Paris365 on May 09, 2013

KYARY PAMYU PAMYU: INVADER INVADER

"Invader Invader" is Kyary's heaviest song to date and her darkest as well, though her main agenda remains fun, fun, fun.

Kyary has been collaborating with Capsule's mastermind Yasutaka Nakata since she started her music career. He's produced and written or co-written every song that she's released thus far. And that might have had some of her fans wishing she'd work with somebody new, to see what she might sound like with a different producer or other songwriters. Well, those fans will have to wait because she's collaborated with Yasutaka once again on her new single, "Invader Invader." That said, "Invader Invader" does not sound like any of the other songs they've done together.

YouTube Video:

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SUMIRE UESAKA: 七つの海よりキミの海 (JACKET A)

By Paris365 on May 08, 2013

SUMIRE UESAKA: 七つの海よりキミの海 (JACKET A)

To be honest, I really didn't care for Sumire Uesaka's new single, but I absolutely loved the B-side.

Sumire Uesaka began her career as a voice actress in 2011. She has voiced characters in the anime Girls und Panzer, Kokoro Connect, Sengoku Collection and GJ-bu, among others. She has also voiced characters in video games such as Corpse Party Anthology: Sachiko's Game of Love Hysteric Birthday 2U and Kokoro Connect Yochi Random.

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SHIINA RINGO: いろはにほへと

By Paris365 on May 07, 2013

SHIINA RINGO: いろはにほへと

Shiina Ringo's new single is easily the year's best thus far and one of her most insanely catchy songs ever. It really is that amazing.

It's only been a couple of months since Shiina Ringo's band Tokyo Jihen parted ways, but she's apparently feeling just as creative as ever and is now back with one of her most insanely catchy songs ever, "いろはにほへと" (Google translate: "And to the holding in ABC"). I tried very hard to find a translation of the lyrics to this one but apparently it's too soon, the song having just been released digitally on April 30th. But all you really need to know about it is that it's highly contagious and once you've heard it for the first time you're sure to be hooked.

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NAOTO INTI RAYMI: 恋する季節

By Paris365 on May 03, 2013

NAOTO INTI RAYMI: 恋する季節

After a few soft starts, Naoto Inti Raymi's music career is going well at Universal Records. But he was already a successful radio personality and published travel author...

Naoto Inti Raymi is the stage name of Japanese singer/songwriter Naoto Nakamura. He began his career using his real name in 2000 after signing with Sony, though none of his Sony releases would end up charting on Oricon's charts. After parting ways with Sony, he released two independent singles in 2005 and 2006, which is when he first used the stage name Naoto Inti Raymi. Those songs performed better than his Sony recordings and ultimately lead to his signing with Universal Records.

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ANNABEL: スモルワールドロップ

By Paris365 on May 01, 2013

ANNABEL: スモルワールドロップ

Annabel's new single is the theme song for the anime RDG: Red Data Girl and it goes beyond catchy, actually building theatrical-level suspense. One of the best anime theme songs to come along in quite some time.

Annabel is an Argentine-Japanese singer who started her career in Japan in 2005. In 2006 she formed the duo Binaria; (sic) with Nagi Yanagi and they have released an impressive 13 albums to date. She's also released anime theme song singles as a duo with Bermei.inazawa (sic) called anNina. In 2009 she began her solo career, though her first solo single, "Anamnesis," which was used as the ending theme to the 2012 anime TV series Another, wasn't released until February of 2012.

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YURI*KARI: 君と二人 (KIMI TO FUTARI)

By Paris365 on April 30, 2013

YURI*KARI: 君と二人 (KIMI TO FUTARI)

Yuri*Kari's new single perplexes me but the B-side is one triumphant J-rock tune that I can't get enough of.

Yuri*Kari is a Japanese duo consisting of Karin Takahashi and Yukari Endo. I believe "君と二人" is their first single because I couldn't find listings for any other releases by them on Yes Asia or CD Japan and could barely find anything at all when I searched for them with Google. In any case, "君と二人" is being used as the ending theme for the TV anime Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge.

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ASAMI IMAI: DEAR DARLING

By Paris365 on April 29, 2013

ASAMI IMAI: DEAR DARLING

Asami Imai's new single "Dear Darling" is disappointing, but the B-sides make up for it.

Asami's last solo release was her album Precious Sounds, which was released on November 28, 2012. "Dear Darling" is her first solo release since. And I do believe the last Artery Vein release -- Artery Vein being the duo of Asami and Eri Kitamura -- was "Kagerou" last August. During the time she's been away, it would seem that Asami has been sharpening her songwriting and producing skills, having co-wrote and produced the single "Hanabi" for Yumi Hara. But for some odd reason Asami didn't contribute to the writing of any of the three songs on this single.

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MICHI: STARTING OVER

By Paris365 on April 25, 2013

MICHI: STARTING OVER

MiChi's "Starting Over" arrives just in time to be your graduation theme song this year and it sure is catchy.

MiChi is a Japanese-British pop singer who was born Michiko Sellars in 1985. She began her career with a much-loved independent album called MiChi MadNesS, which lead to her signing with Sony Music Entertainment. She is widely-known for her covers, which usually involve her completely rearranging the tracks. For example, she re-envisioned Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as a J-pop song. Other songs she's covered include Queen's "We Will Rock You," Avril Lavigne's "SK8ER Boi" and The Spice Girls' "Wannabe."

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NAGI YANAGI: ユキトキ (YUKITOKI)

By Paris365 on April 24, 2013

NAGI YANAGI: ユキトキ (YUKITOKI)

Nagi Yanagi's new single "Yukitoki" is currently an anime theme song and has that light, uplifting vibe. But the B-sides run deeper and are what really impressed me.

Japanese singer/songwriter Nagi Yanagi hails from Kansai, Japan. She started off writing and recording her music independently in 2005. From 2009 to 2011, she was the guest vocalist for the group Supercell. During that time she also released her album Oort no Yume. In 2012, she released an album called Owari no Hoshi no Love Song, which she made in collaboration with composer Jun Maeda of Key. And while she was doing all of this she also wrote and recorded songs for various anime movies and series.

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EVERY LITTLE THING: ハリネズミの恋 (HARINEZUMI NO KOI)

By Paris365 on April 23, 2013

EVERY LITTLE THING: ハリネズミの恋 (HARINEZUMI NO KOI)

Every Little Thing stray from their usual formula, mixing things up with banjo and accordion on their new single "ハリネズミの恋."

Pop/rock duo Every Little Thing has released over 45 singles since their first, "Feel My Heart," was released on August 7, 1996. But the quantity of their singles isn't nearly as awe-inspiring as the quality of them. The fact of the matter is that Every Little Thing has never released a bad single. Not in my opinion. And the Oricon charts would seem to agree with me with most of their singles breaking the top 10 on their Top 200 Weekly chart.

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PRIZMMY☆: PANPINA!

By Paris365 on April 22, 2013

PRIZMMY☆: PANPINA!

PRIZMMY☆'s new single "PANPINA!" is a highly infectious, nice and modern pop song, but the B-side is disappointing.

Prizmmy☆ is a four member J-pop girl group. Their primary activity is singing songs for two anime series, Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream and Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future, the latter being a series that actually evolves around fictionalized versions of the girls. The group is also known for a series of DVDs called Dancer's Party! Prizmmy Dance Academy where they teach people -- young teenagers, primarily -- how to dance.

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CLARIS: REUNION

By Paris365 on April 18, 2013

CLARIS: REUNION

Everyone's favorite anonymous electropop sweethearts are back with another shiny synth sensation.

Everyone's favorite Hokkaido high school girls, Clara and Alice, are back. And, yet, still in hiding. As you may recall, Clara and Alice are pseudonyms and the girls' true identities remain unknown so that they can have a normal high school experience without the added stress that being famous would bring upon them. Nobody even knows what they look like; their album covers always feature artwork or photos of other things. While illustrators have drawn anime-style pictures of them for some of their covers it's unknown if they truly look like the anime versions of themselves.

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JULIET: 卒恋歌 (SOTSURENKA)

By Paris365 on April 16, 2013

JULIET: 卒恋歌 (SOTSURENKA)

A trio of models, Juliet could have been rather cheesy. Fortunately, they're as catchy as they are gimmicky.

Juliet is a J-Pop/R&B trio consisting of three gyaru models (according to Wiki, gyaru is "a girly-glam style"). They are widely-known in part because they started out by releasing several singles about the seasons and they've done other gimmicky things like releasing a song called "Ex-Boyfriend" and a song called "Ex-Girlfriend." To date, they have now released four original studio albums, a best of, over a dozen CD singles and several digital singles.

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AYUMI HAMASAKI: TELL ALL

By Paris365 on April 12, 2013

AYUMI HAMASAKI: TELL ALL

A free song for people who bought her previous 15th anniversary releases, "Tell All" is one of Ayumi's best songs to date, period.

Ayumi Hamasaki's "Tell All" is said to be a single that she's giving away as a gift to fans who've previously bought her other 15th anniversary releases, which include the recent mini-albums Love and Again in addition to the full-length album Love Again. (If I understand correctly, there were two other 15th anniversary releases you also had to buy to get this track, but I thought the three I just named were the only three released so far?) She's also given those fans a PC wallpaper featuring a never-before-released photo.

YouTube Video:

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LiSA: BEST DAY, BEST WAY

By Paris365 on April 10, 2013

LiSA: BEST DAY, BEST WAY

Singer/songwriter LiSA's third single features three turbo-charged pop rock tunes that have more energy than most American rock bands today.

Singer/songwriter LiSA's actual name is Risa Oribe. LiSA, an acronym of Love is Same All, is simply her stage name. Prior to becoming a solo artist, LiSA was in a band that she started which used the LiSA acronym. (Not sure if that was meant as a gay rights/marriage equality thing.) Before that, she was in an indie rock band called Chucky.

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AMOYAMO: LIVE/MAGIC

By Paris365 on April 08, 2013

AMOYAMO: LIVE/MAGIC

Duo Amoyamo's second major label single is a double A-side that also features a solo track by each of the girls.

Models AMO and AYAMO have done it again with this double A-side release, their second major label single. Their first major single, "Let's Go Out," was produced by the amazing Tomoko Kawase (The Brilliant Green, Tommyfebruary6, Tommy Heavenly6) and I believe she also produced the title tracks here, "Live" and "Magic," but I can't be one hundred percent positive of that because the only information I could find about this release was in Japanese and one can only trust Google translations so much.

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S/MILEAGE: 旅立ちの春が来た

By Paris365 on April 03, 2013

S/MILEAGE: 旅立ちの春が来た

S/MILEAGE might change members often, but their dance pop songs never fail to be pristine.

If you want to read a confusing Wikipedia page, go check out the one for S/mileage. It talks about so many line-up changes that I couldn't even get through half of it because I'd read one sentence and then two sentences later there would be another audition or graduation or something else for me to try to remember and it was just information overload. Suffice to say they're a J-pop girl group associated with Hello! Project and they've had many line-up changes over the years.

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