25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #18: Top J-Pop 2015

This list is only for J-pop acts, so what I mean by that is no current idol groups or singers. Groups like Perfume and soloists like Tomomi Itano still count in this list to me as girls like Tomomi are former idols and I don't count Perfume as an idol group. Again, I've only barely begun to scratch the surface of non-idol J-pop so this list probably trends pretty close to groups/singers associated with idol pop. But, I am getting more into other Japanese acts so hopefully by this time next year I'll have different types of acts to feature! I also only have a top seven because I couldn't think of anything else non-idol I've really cared for this year. Another reason I need to get into more things!

#7: Namie Amuro - Golden Touch

#6: Man With A Mission - Raise Your Flag

#5: Perfume - Pick Me Up

#4: Ai Shinozaki - A-G-A-I-N

#3: Tomomi Itano - Gimme Gimme Luv

#2: Perfume - Star Train

#1: Ai Otsuka - Laugh

Enjoy! Anyone have any good recommendations for a non-idol J-pop song?

Music Discovery Mondays (August 24, 2015)

I feel like I should warn everyone that my classes started back up today, so I can't promise that these & the new music Thursdays will actually be posted on the correct day. Especially because I'm starting a new job as well. I'll try my best but please don't get upset if I forget a week or two! Thanks for reading!

Track #1: SunRisa - Over Flow

I don't know too much about this group. The video has four members, but their website only shows two now. Also, the single cover for this song only shows the two members on the website too so I don't know if they were ever even a four member group or if they re-recorded and released it after the other two left. No clue. What I do know is that the song is incredibly catchy. If you like Prizmmy, SunRisa should be right up your alley. They really remind me of Prizmmy from the sound of the song to the young members.

Official Site

Track #2: Aya Matsuura - Shine More

It bothers me that there's only live performances on YT, but Aya was such an incredible talent that the live version is pretty close to the original track. This song is an album track from her second album, Two. It's got a Latin tinge to it and it reminds me a lot of SDN's Tengoku no Door.

Track #3: Ai Shinozaki - A-G-A-I-N

I'd heard of Ai Shinozaki before coming across this video, but only in passing. I thought she was a model, not a singer. Or maybe she's both. I don't know, don't really care. The song though is fantastic. It's a pure pop track that isn't really anything special musically, but her vocals really make up the difference. Honestly, if this song was sung in English by Katy Perry or any of the other female popstars of the West, this song could smash.

Enjoy!