25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #8: Top AKB48

It's kind of fitting that AKB's day lands on the same day that they debuted their 16th gen! Congrats to all the new girls! I'm excited to see new faces in AKB & I can't wait to see who gets pushed. AKB itself has been somewhat interesting this year. Takamina FINALLY left after her way too long drug out graduation, Kojiharu is also finally leaving soon, and Paruru announced her graduation. I never really minded that Shimazaki didn't seem to be overly enthusiastic about AKB. Unlike Kojiharu who I feel should've left a long time ago, I like Paruru. I think it's for the best that she announced though. Not just for her health, but I think it's always better to leave at your peak than overstaying your welcome. Nana Owada's recent graduation announcement shocked me. I can't believe she's leaving already. I figured Nishino would be gone before any of the other newer pushed girls. As for next year, I'm hoping that more old gen girls start to leave. It's time for AKB to completely transition to Gen 9 and newer. As much as I love Miichan, I hope she also announces next year. It's time for first gen to go. I also have a feeling that Mayuyu will announce next year.

As for the music this year, it's been very up and down. Kimi wa Melody was pretty good to me, even though I saw a lot of people not really feeling the song. That single also featured two super awesome B-sides: Make Noise & Mazariau Mono. Tsubasa wa Iranai, both the song itself and the B-sides, were so bland. NGT's song on the theater edition is cool, but everything else was SO disappointing, especially for the summer single. Love Trip as a song is awesome, but I didn't think the other A-side or the B-sides were anything special at all. I never really care for the B-sides of the Sousenkyo single though. High Tension I think is on par with Kimi wa Melody as far as the total package. The A-side is great & there's two super great B-sides: Seijun Tired (best B-side this year from them) & Shunsuki (? I think I spelled that wrong...) Adrenaline. Overall though, I didn't feel like there was that great of music from AKB this year. Hoping for something different next year. Maybe another UZA-type A-side? That'd be nice instead of more slow songs or funky songs. Change it up please!

My ranking has drastically changed from last year. I finally got (almost, missing Pajama Drive, the Himawarigumi stages, Renai Kinshi & Saishuu Bell) all of the stage albums and I LOVE so many of the songs from them. Much better than their singles and normal albums tbh.

#10

Kibouteki Refrain (2014) (NEW)

#9

Nageki no Figure (2006; Team A 2nd Stage) (NEW)

#8

Dokugumo (2010; Team K 6th Stage) (NEW)

#7

How Come? (2013; Sayonara Crawl Type K) (-2)

#6

Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (2007) (-2)

#5

Ikiru Koto (2013; Sayonara Crawl Type A) (NEW)

#4

Beginner (2010) (-2)

#3

Hana to Chire! (2006; Team K 3rd Stage) (NEW)

#2

UZA (2012) (+1)

#1

Mokugekisha (2009; Team A 6th Stage) (-)

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #7: Top SKE48

I wish SKE hadn't only gotten two singles this year. As they're the second most senior group after AKB, they should get more releases tbh. And what happened to that album? Did management forget about it or something? SKE's really feeling pretty forgotten recently. Their first single this year, Chicken Line, was REALLY good. Now that's the type of song SKE pulls off the best. The music video was amazing too. The B-sides were largely forgettable, although Is That Your Secret was good. Kin no Ai the A-side was nice. The concept fit SKE even though the song was just ok. The B-sides though...is it just me or were they all the same song? Seriously, they all sounded so sameish and bland. The group also lost a lot of strong members in the past year. Aya Shibata leaving was certainly a downer. They really need to focus on the new girls and stop relying so much on Jurina cause the older established members are starting to drop like flies.

#10

Darkness (2013; Choco no Dorei all versions except Type C) (-)

#9

Banzai Venus (2011) (-1)

#8

Coquettish Juutaichuu (2015) (+1)

#7

Kesanai Honoo (2014; 12gatsu no Kangaroo (Type A))(-)

#6

Tsyokimono yo (2009) (-2)

#5

Chicken Line (2016) (NEW)

#4

Bukiyou Taiyou (2014) (+1)

#3

Utsukushii Inazuma (2013) (-)

#2

Kataomoi Finally (2012) (-1)

#1

Escape (2013) (+1)

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #6: Top NMB48

Ah NMB....they could be so awesome and they do have great moments, but fall flat so often. Was it only me that found NMB's releases this year bad? Amagami was ok at best & Boku wa Inai was sad. Their newest single sounds like it's going to be awesome, but it's too late in the year to really think about for this post. I also wish that there wasn't any "rapping". No one in 48G can rap so please, please stop it. They sound worse than the token K-pop rappers. I was right last year when I thought that the big members were going to begin to graduate with Miyuki leaving this year. I'm still guessing that Sayaka will at least announce hers next year. I think NMB will be fine without either girl, they just need to stop relying on Sayaka so much. Ririka makes a good center & this "Ayaka Yamamoto" girl (gosh when they saw her name they must've seen dollar signs) seems to be coming up so they have other options. Sayaka will still sell a bazillion handshakes whether she centers or not.

I think very few of my rankings changed from last year. Ouch NMB.

#10

Junjou U-19 (2011) (NEW)

#9

Ibiza Girl (2013; Sekai no Chuushin all versions) (+1)

#8

Renai Petenshi (2015; Don't Look Back (Type N) (-)

#7

Kitagawa Kenji (2012) (-1)

#6

Todokanasoude Todokumono (2013; Bokura no Eureka (Types A-C)(+1)

#5

Don't Look Back (2015) (-)

#4

Must Be Now (2015) (-)

#3

Teppen Tottande! (2013) (-)

#2

Kamonegix (2013) (-)

#1

Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo (2011) (-)

25 Days Of Christmas Coundown Day #5: Top HKT48 & NGT48

Didn't NGT have a single announced for this year? What happened to that or was that just an internet rumor? AKS seriously needs to get on the ball and have them release something. Keyaki has been around for almost the same amount of time and they've already had three singles. It's almost like AKS wants everyone to forget about NGT and watch them fail. They have I think only 2 songs (or was it three? I don't remember) so far that were just AKB B-sides. Their B-side on Tsubasa wa Iranai was awesome though. I hope they take that direction instead of HKT cutesy. It was also the only good song on the entire Tsubasa single too. I really don't have many thoughts about the group itself. They need to debut because I'm just uninterested in them otherwise.

HKT is so boring. There I said it. Out of all the 48s, 46s, eleventyfours & whatever else, they're the most boring musically. They absolutely have good songs, but why do all of their A-sides tend to sound EXACTLY THE SAME. Saikou ka yo was an ok change from Okubuns & 12 Byous, but it still felt so blah. For a supposedly high energy song where was the energy? The girls sound like they sing on auto pilot & the recording people don't care. I also really miss Meru has center. Haruppi is bland in my opinion. I liked that they switched it up & made Hana center for Saikou but I don't really see anything much more interesting in her to be honest. Their B-sides this year were all rather bland too. Taboo no Iro attempted to be edgy & cool, but it came off really forced. Team H's song on Saikou was alright, but beyond that I can't think of any other B-side this year that caught my attention. The weird thing is, their best song this year was on an AKB single! Make Noise is awesome. Why not do that on your own singles?!

#10

HKT48 - Kidoku Through (2014; Sakura Minna de Tabeta (Type A) (-2)

#9

HKT48 - Suki! Suki! Skip! (2013) (-2)

#8

HKT48 - Shekarashika! (2015) (NEW)

#7

HKT48 - Tasogare no Tandem (2015; Shekarashika all versions) (NEW)

#6

NGT48 - Kimi wa Doko ni Iru? (2016; Tsubasa wa Iranai - AKB48 (Theater)) (NEW)

#5

HKT48 - Melon Juice (2013) (-)

#4

HKT48 - Hikaeme no I Love You (2014) (-1)

#3

HKT48 - Make Noise (2016; Kimi wa Melody - AKB48 (Type C) (NEW)

#2

HKT48 - Mukashi no Kareshi no Oniichan to Tsukiau to Iu Koto (2014; Sakura Minna de Tabeta (Type B) (-)

#1

HKT48 - Tenmonbu no Jijou (2013; Melon Juice (Theater) (-)

Music Recomendations (December 4, 2016)

Am I allowed to do two posts in a day? I don't think I've ever done that lol. Well, I'm actually avoiding working on some things and was thinking how I haven't done anything like this recently, so why not! Since I haven't done it in so long, I'll just explain the purpose of this kind of post. Essentially, I love music and I can't stand how there's hardly any type of blogs out there that have just a list of songs to listen to. I'm lazy, just give me lists! So I figured why not do that sometimes on my blog? Unfortunately I haven't really been keeping up with that, but I still want to do it every once in a while. What I do is just list some songs, link their videos, and maybe give a little blurb about what the song is like. So...onward to music!

Park Ki Ryang - Hustle (ft. Mechilling) (2016)

This is such a bad song to start out with because no one's going to want to look at the rest because of my terrible music taste lol. Okay, this song is kinda bad, but it's a guilty pleasure type of song. Catchy, mindless, dancey. Great as a distraction in my opinion.

Lindsey Stirling - Hold My Heart (ft. ZZ Ward) (2016; from the album Brave Enough)

Violins & dance music? Yes please! Best song on her new album from the singles I've heard so far. I love when she teams up with vocalists.

Playback - Playback (Areia Remix) (2016)

Is a remix cheating? I actually disliked the original, but I heard this two days ago and I'm just obsessed with that instrumental. Props to the remixer because wow it's one of the best pieces of pop music ever.

JoJo - FAB. (ft. Remy Ma) (2016; from the album Mad Love)

If you're not big into songs with a lot of swearing, don't listen to this one. This type of song isn't usually my thing, but it's just so catchy and attitude filled. Love it! The rap is slowing growing on me too (not a rap fan at all).

Predia - Kindan no Masquerade (2017)

Predia's newest single! I'd say that if you're mainly a K-pop/Western pop person, this is probably a good group to get started on if you want to look into J-pop. They have amazing vocals and their music is modern dance pop.

Peter Possession - Have You Here (ft. Matt Pardus) (2016)

It's probably pretty clear what type of music I prefer huh? The instrumental is so awesome.

Sabina Ddumba - Not Too Young (2016)

Discovered this from YouTube a couple of days ago. Pure pop perfection. Love it.

Dear Kiss - Shiny Shy Girl (2016)

Okay final one. I semi-like this. It's an okay J-Pop song. BUT I just found out that Nonoko from Galette recently joined this group!!! AHHH *Excited dancing* I love her & I'm looking forward to following Dear Kiss. Saki Shishima who left Galette early this year is also in this group. Hoping Yui Komori will come along too because she & Nonoko were my favorite Galette girls and I'd love to see them stick together.

Hope you enjoy!

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #4: Top Nogizaka46 & Keyakizaka46

So. I've noticed that all 3 of the entries I've done so far besides this one I've screwed up the title. Wow. I clearly am not having a good week lol. I've been sick all week so that's my excuse.

Nogi & Keyaki are together in this because Keyaki doesn't have enough releases yet to have their own spot.

To me, Nogi hasn't had a super stand out year. Quite frankly all of their releases from this year blend together and I actually had to sit for a couple minutes to even remind myself what they'd released. I haven't enjoyed any of their title tracks this year and their album wasn't interesting outside of Erika Ikuta's solo either. I guess Nogi's music style is not for me at all. However, they do manage to release some really awesome songs once in a while. Like I said on my Top J-Pop post, when Nogizaka releases a good song, it's not just good, it's stellar. They did that this year. Their B-side Harukanaru Bhutan. Whoever did the music for that song, I just want to congratulate them on creating one of the most gorgeous pieces of pop music I've ever heard. I'm so upset that it was a B-side and didn't get a whole lot of attention. It's the best thing that any 48G group has ever put out. It's just too bad that the rest of their music is so bland. As for Nogi themselves this year, I'm actually a little shocked at how strong they are going right now. It looks very possible that they will beat AKB within the next year or two, as long as the idol market doesn't completely crash.

Keyaki is a bit of a mystery to me. I can't figure out if I want to like them more than Nogi or not. Their very first single, Silent Majority, absolutely blew me away. Such a style difference from Nogi's more reserved songs. I loved it and the B-sides weren't that bad either. However, I've been disappointed in their next two singles. I like that they're keeping the faux military concept, but I HATED Sekai ni wa. It's a song. There's not supposed to be that much talking in a song. Make a freaking drama if you want to talk over music don't ruin the song. The B-sides were okay, all though I did really like Yurina's Parco solo. That was cool. Although I don't hate Futari Saison, I find it bland like Nogi's material and the B-sides were very lacking too in my opinion. The group seems to be easily matching AKB's sister groups in sales and will likely surpass them by next year. One thing I do wonder though is how long people will like Yurina being the center. I think she's a rather good center, but as we saw with Nogi, will people start being resentful that she's the only one centering like Rina was? There's already some talk on forums that I've seen where people are wishing for a new center. I'm curious to see if management will stick with Yurina or if they'll try someone new next year.

On to the song countdown! Like last year, it's unlikely that all of the songs will be linked because it's harder to find 48G material online that aren't download links sadly.

#10

Nogizaka46 - Sono Saki no Deguchi (2014: Natsu no Free & Easy, Type A) (-4)

#9

Nogizaka46 - Yubi Bouenkyou (2012: Seifuku no Mannequin, all versions) (-2)

#8

Nogizaka46 - Popipappapa (2015: Ima, Hanashitai Dareka ga Iru, Type A) (-)

#7

Nogizaka46 - Natsu no Free & Easy (2014) (-4)

#6

Nogizaka46 - Barette (2013) (-2)

#5

Keyakizaka46 - Silent Majority (2016) (NEW)

#4

Nogizaka46 - Girl's Rule (2013) (+1)

#3

Nogizaka46 - Seifuku no Mannequin (2012) (-1)

#2

Nogizaka46 - Koko ni Iru Riyuu (2014: Natsu no Free & Easy, Type C) (-1)

#1

Nogizaka46 - Harukanaru Bhutan (2016: Harujion ga Sakukoro, all versions) (NEW)

Only one Keyaki on the countdown...maybe next year they'll feature more.

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown #3: Top SNH48, BEJ48, & GNZ48

Last year they were never included because they had no original releases, this year they do! I know that they are no longer part of the main 48G, but to me they still belong to that umbrella "48 Group" thing. When they announced that they were breaking off from AKB & forming new groups, it didn't really surprise me. SNH always seemed much more separate from the Japanese groups that JKT ever did. While I think that morally it wasn't very nice to just be like "Oh well we're taking your concept for ourselves & cutting you off bye bye!", I like the fact that they are getting their own original music now. Cover songs are soooo boring. I wish that AKS would allow JKT to have an original release for once because I love collecting 48G CDs, but I'm not going to waste money on CDs from a glorified cover band.

With SNH's original music, they've only gotten better as the year's progressed. Engine of Youth's EP was ok at best. One song was incredible while the others were just ok. Dream Land's EP was the same and to be honest I can't really remember anything from it besides that it wasn't awful. Princess's Cloak though. Both versions of the EP are pretty dang good. Romantic Melody is so awesome. BEJ & GNZ's songs are much like SNH's first two EPs, ok, but nothing amazing. Since SNH had such a huge jump in quality from the start of the year to now, I'm really looking forward to what their sister groups have in store for the future.

I don't know why, but I've never liked using pinyin for Chinese songs, so I'll be using the English translation for the song titles that I've seen. So the English might not even be completely right lol. The translations I've seen seem a bit "clunky" although I'm not sure how difficult it is to convey the meaning of a song title between Chinese and English so it might be as good as it can get.

#10

SNH48 - Dream Land (2016)

#9

GNZ48 - You Don't Know Me (2016)

#8

SNH48 - A Yo Ai Yo (2016)

#7

GNZ48 - Flashing Dream (2016)

#6

SNH48 - 48 Secrets (2016)

#5

BEJ48 - Hello! Mr. Future (2016)

#4

SNH48 - Engine Of Youth (2016)

#3

SNH48 - Princess's Cloak (2016)

#2

SNH48 - Romantic Melody (2016)

#1

SNH48 - Hand Of Justice (2016)

I just love how these are all actually on YouTube. Not like Japanese songs. I also never saw any of their MVs until looking them up for this. Holy crap the budget! These rankings will probably change so much by next year lol.