Music Recommendations (Jan. 27, 2017)

I figure while I'm already on here, what the heck lol. I also mainly want to feature one song in particular which is why I end up posting these in the first place.

Urbangarde - Kuchibiru Democracy (2015) (J-Pop/J-Rock)

I looooooove this. Love it so much I actually listened to the entire album. I never do that. Usually albums just go onto my "I'll get to this eventually" list and it takes me a year or so to get to it. The album is equally as good as the song.

CLC - Meow Meow & Liar (2017) (K-Pop)

Their comeback was a cheap rip off of 4Minute. There. I said it. Hobgoblin is a fun song yes, but Hyuna ruined CLC by trying to make them EXACTLY into 4Minute. And does she love the sound of her voice so much to make the one rapper girl sound exactly like her? Gosh that was the most offputting thing I've ever experienced in K-pop. Hyuna needs to stay away from CLC unless she has some fresh ideas for them. These two album tracks on the other hand are great. They're tropical house/K-pop sounding would have worked much better for a retooled CLC. Make them more of a cool "bad girl" group, but with something fresher and less sounding of desperation.

Seohyun - Don't Say No (2017) (K-Pop)

I love this new K-pop trend. Bright colors and house fusions. It's so hilarious to me how obvious the trends show up in K-pop. No. K-pop is nothing like Western music at all *rolls eyes*.

Predianna - Cry Like This (2017) (J-Pop)

Tsubaki Factory - Hatsukoi Sunrise (2017) (J-Pop)

My babies! Mark my words. They are H!P's next big thing.

Dreamcatcher - Chase Me (2017) (K-Pop)

Enjoy!

GALETTe - G (Lyrics) [Romanization]

I noticed that there aren't really any Galette lyrics online (at least, that I can find. I don't know if Japanese sites have them or not), so I decided to try my hand at a little romanization. Just as a disclaimer: I DO NOT speak Japanese. I don't read Japanese very well. Coming up with the romanization for this was very hard and I have mad respect for those who do it on a regular basis and can actually understand the language. As I don't understand Japanese, I apologize if there are any errors in this romanization. If there are, please let me know so I can correct them!

This is just the romanization. I don't have the kanji lyrics (did this all with the CD insert + Google translate + my ears) & no translation (as I don't speak Japanese to be able to do that). Do I need a copyright disclaimer? No clue but here: I don't own this song or any of the lyrics. Copyright is owned by the company who managed the group/the record label/the actual songwriters. This is not done for any monetary gain & is just for non-Japanese speaking/reading fans to sing along. Enjoy!

GALETTe - G [Lyrics Romanization]

G! Te wo nobashite todoku sekai yori tooku e

G! Kakugo waii? Guzuguzu shite cha game is over.

Ima kara yo speed up. Okamai nashi ni iku wa
Noumakunaraba no thank you tsuite kite yo ne

(Check it out!)
G! G! Oh oh girly! Hajimete no sensation
Kono mune no takanari wa…otome da wa
(Yes! We are)
G! G! Oh oh give me! Gyutto kuru brand new days
Girls’ talk yori jikan wo wasureru youna mainichi wo kanjitai

G! Mitsumete ne? Harahara suru seventh sign
G! Hanarenai yo? Me ni yakitsuketara saigo atoda wa

Ari na no? Konna situation doki doki no renzokutte
Kiss yori mo takaburu passion matte iru yo ne

(Check it out!)
G! G! Oh oh girly! Kagayaki no timing Gloss mo kasanete miru….otome da wa
(Yes! We are)
G! G! Oh Oh Give me!
Matenai yo Brand new style
Hoshii mo no bakari wagamama ni mo narukedo
Tsukamitai Shiny Dreams

Taikutsuna kinou ni Good bye
Hoshii no yo Special na trick
Saikou no mirai kara kitto
Mou soko ni aru

(Check it out!)
G! G! Oh Oh Girly!
Hajimete no sensation
Kono mune no takanari wa…otome da wa
(Yes! We are)
G! G! Oh oh give me!
Gyutto kuru brand new days
Girls' talk yori jikan wo wasureru youna
Mainichi wo kanjitai

Music Recommendations (Jan. 6, 2017) + Welcome 2017!

Guess who totally fell off the face of the planet & didn't post a day #25 for the countdown? I'm always super busy on Christmas Eve and with Christmas itself being on Sunday this year I was busier than usual that day. I kept thinking about it, but the further away it got from day 25 the less I wanted to post anything lol. Whatever, the post was just supposed to be a Merry Christmas message anyway. Woo hoo? But anyway, it's now 2017! Thanks to anyone who read any of my posts last year! I think starting the year off with a music recommendation post is a great idea (especially cause I found a super duper awesome song today & I just had to share it with the world lol)

Broods - Free

This song is SO GOOD. Oh my gosh. Where has this song been in my life in the 10 months it's been on YouTube and my not knowing about it? I love this type of music and I really need to check out their album....after I get through the other pile of albums from 2016 I still haven't listened to yet.

Speaking of 2016 albums....this is just an aside it has nothing to do with anything tbh....was anyone else super disappointed with Britney Spears' Glory album? All I see is praise for the thing but I thought it was her worst album since In The Zone (which also seems to be super praised but again I don't really care for it). Really there wasn't a single song on the album I really cared for, usually there's at least one or two songs I like off of pop albums but Glory was just bad.

Neptunica - Alive (ft. Matt Defreitas)

Woooo EDM awesomeness! It's not often I like a song from Trap Nation (I'm more into MrRevillz type music), but this is amazing.

Rev. from DVL - Vampire

You'd think with Kanna Hashimoto centering them that they'd be more of a cutesy type group but I love that they've got that more H!P-ish style to them. The English bits are a little weird in the song but it's still super catchy. Another totally random side thought, the day before their company posted this I became a vampire in Skyrim. I thought it was amusing.

Gang Parade - Plastic 2 Mercy

This song shocked me. I do not like BiS or it's 20,000 clones/sister groups. I don't like the "alternative idol music" because it's usually just bland rock/alt with the terrible nasally idol singer voice over top and it's so off putting. At least with pop/dance numbers the music can mask the terrible singing but it does not suit rock music in the slightest. It's why I was so surprised that this is a dance track and not a rock song. I wouldn't call this song a favorite or something I'd play a lot, but it's cool to hear a song like this from one of those BiS clone group things. However they're related.

Honey Spice - Don't Let Me Go

This is a pretty typical idol pop dance track, but these girls have a lot of potential in my opinion so I'd love to see more people listen to them/know about them. Their voices also aren't completely terrible for a super indie group.

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Days #23 & #24: J-Pop/K-pop Groups To Watch In 2017

Warning! Lots of embedded videos in this post so sorry for slow loading computers out there!

Combining these two from last year so I can catch up to the correct day lol. Essentially these are new groups that either released their first single this year, or were formed this year. They could also be more unknown groups that just came on my radar this year. Since I combined the two posts, I chose four groups from each of the two genres for a total of eight new groups to watch. They're in no particular order, just alternating between K & J.

Group #1: Dear Kiss (J-Pop)

Full disclosure: I'm not super impressed with the music they've put out so far. I only care about them cause Nonoko. Really hoping their first release with her will be super awesome to entice me to buy it! Dear Kiss is a new group that formed early this year around former Galette member Saki Shishima. They currently have 6 members and have released one single and one mini-album. Nonoko recently joined not long after the end of Galette. I wonder if the other three former Galette girls will migrate to this group. I'd really love to see Yui Komori join as I liked her as much as Nonoko. I feel like this is nothing about Dear Kiss and everything about Galette. Cause it is. I miss them D:

Group #2: Blackpink (K-Pop)

The new YG girl group that everyone had been begging for for year finally arrived and they were much better than expected. I was nervous that YG would attempt to make them the new 2NE1. I'd say that their styling is very much that way, but their music is very different. Boombayah was a bit of an attempt to stay 2NE1, but Whistle & Playing With Fire really stick out as good framework to build the group's sound around in a way that they won't get labeled "2NE1-lite". I realized a little after PWF was released that I had been screwing up Jisoo & Rose lol. I thought it was Rose I liked, but it was actually Jisoo. Jennie is my overall favorite though. She is such a standout of the group.

Group #3: FuwaFuwa (J-Pop)

Ok so I still hardly know anything about this group except that they're a subunit of Harajuku Ekimae Parties. Do you know how hard it is to Google the term "Fuwafuwa"? Yeah. Not easy. All you get is a bunch of other result that have nothing to do with the group. Then searching HEP gets you nowhere either. Guessing there's not a lot of info in English out there? So I had to resort to the Japanese J-idol wiki database thing I found a year or so back and my poor Japanese skills to find out some basics about them....and then I STILL couldn't find them in the lists. I'm guessing I'm blind cause they must be there lol. So here's my poor description of them: They have lots of members and sing cutesy idol songs that actually are pretty catchy and sung rather well for cutesy idol songs. Check 'em out lol.

Group #4: Cosmic Girls (WJSN) (K-Pop)

They are currently an 11 member new group from Sistar's company. I didn't care for them one bit when they debuted. Both of their debut singles were awful honestly. Mo Mo Mo is the better of the two. I don't know what the heck they were trying to do with Catch Me because that song is absolutely tragic. Then Secret came out. The music video is the most stunning ones I think I've ever seen. The song was such a 180 from their first release. Really excited to see their comeback in January to see what they can do.

Group #5: Questy (J-Pop)

I debated adding them as I am not a huge fan of their first release as everyone else seems to be. However, they remind me of a new Fairies-type group more than a new Flower or E-Girls so I'm interested in what they will release in the future. They are a seven member group trained by LDH and debuted under Avex. Like with Fairies & other LDH groups, three of the girls are vocalists and the rest are performers (pretty much just back dancers to put it bluntly.)

Group #6: Sol-T (K-Pop)

These girls are from a super unknown company and they're also super unknown but their Bad Girls song is awesome. They have four members and have released two singles. They sound pretty great considering how unknown they are. I'm really hoping that they keep going down the Bad Girls path because that style suits them so well.

Group #7: Cherrsee (J-Pop)

I want to like these girls because their premise is interesting. A J-Pop group produced by a major K-Pop producer isn't probably a good idea for business, but it is super interesting for music in my opinion. I didn't care too much for their two A-sides this year, but their one B-side Surisuri Masuri sounds very promising. I hope they release something amazing in the new year.

Group #8: Matilda (K-Pop)

Surprisingly, this super unknown group has released THREE singles this year. For an "indie" K-pop group, they've actually done quite a lot. They've also gotten better with each single release. Their current one is their best in my opinion, although I don't think it quite fits their vocals (and the chorus is produced kinda badly. It's way too loud for the rest of the song.)

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #19: Top J-Pop Idol 2016

So I thought of another song for yesterday's post. Perfume's Flash. I was thinking it was 2015, but nope! Released this year. Oh well. This year I feel like I really expanded my horizons with J-idol music. However, I wouldn't say I necessarily expanded my interest in other groups. I've listened to a lot of stuff and for me, most of it is very meh. There's a lot of 48G music clones and then there's also a lot of the "anti-idol" scene out there recently which doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I don't like rock or alternative music like I used to. Some stuff I can tolerate, but other than that I just don't care for it. I kind of want some H!P music clones. I like H!P's J-popxEDM style where it's not EDM like K-Pop's or like Western music but it's a very specific style to them that kind of blends idol pop & EDM. It's cool, I like it.

#10

Dianna Sweet - Super Hero

#9

Bakusute Sotokanda Icchome - Otome Gokoro

#8

Predia - Setsuna no Yoru no Naka de

#7

Galette - Sonic Fighter

#6

P.IDL - Hello! Halloween

#5

FuwaFuwa - Koi no Lesson

#4

Tokyo Performance Doll - GyakkoxRaisan

No good YT videos, but you can listen to it on my newest 8tracks playlist! Click me!

#3

Orange Port - Trigger

#2

Rev. from DVL - Ungaisouten Samurai Tamashii!

Like TPD, this isn't on YT, but it is on the 8tracks playlist. Clicky Clicky.

#1

Wa-Suta - Ultra Miracle Final Ultimate Choco Beam

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown: Top J-Pop 2016

I feel like I did a slightly better job at listening to actual J-Pop stuff outside of idol pop.....except it was mainly older stuff. I admit when I typed in the title for this one I totally blanked on any non-idol J-Pop songs from this year that I liked. So I'm not even going to attempt a ranking but will instead just list stuff. Maybe next year I'll finally be able to do a real ranking.

FEMM - Neon Twilight

Egoist - Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress

One Ok Rock - Taking Off

Babymetal - Karate

This is a little sad because this is all I can think of lol. I'm certain that there was more, but even searching for an hour I couldn't find anything. Next year. Maybe next year. I get that Babymetal could *technically* be called an idol group, but I personally disagree so I included them here. I make my own rules lol.

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #14: Top 48G Members (Year End Edition 2016)

Graduation announcements have gotten crazy the past couple of days! Shu, Naanya, AND Nishino?! What the heck 48G?! They're not even the semi-popular members that you'd be expecting to announce either. But I admit I do really like graduations. I love the unexpectedness of some of them like Nishino's today & I love seeing the changes in the groups after certain members leave. It's just a super fun system to me because I don't get attached to the girls.

Unlike my first half of the year edition, I'm going to *attempt* to do SNH, BEJ, & GNZ too but I'm pretty much just going to be ranking faces as I don't know the girls too well. Keyaki I have a slightly better idea of my ranking since they've released more material & NGT I'm still unsure about because they won't release their first single. Just like my past lists, no members who graduated in 2016 or who have announced their graduations are included in my lists. I also have taken up using the nicknames I know for certain girls when I'm just talking about them. It's just easier than writing their full names so I'm sorry if people have no clue who I'm talking about lol. I keep full names in the list itself though.

AKB48

-From my list just in May two of the girls [Naanya & Aigasa] have announced their grads. That's been very recent too so I had a bit of trouble coming up with two new girls because I haven't had a lot of time to think about it. It's also too bad that Paruru is graduating at the end of the year because she's really grown on me this year. As for the girls on my list, I think Miichan will definitely be announcing after Kojiharu's grad. I also think Mayuyu will announce next year as well. Yukirin is a maybe, but I don't think it'll be next year. I'm hoping Kira gets promoted early this year & I'm genuinely surprised that Kiara has stuck around as long as she has. I don't really have a clue if she'll stick around next year or graduate.

#1: Minami Minegishi (-)

#2: Nana Okada (+1)

#3: Mayu Watanabe (-1)

#4: Mion Mukaichi (+1)

#5: Hijiri Tanikawa (-1)

#6: Yuki Kashiwagi (+2)

#7: Kira Takahashi (-)

#8: Kiara Sato (+2)

#9: Juri Takahashi (NEW)

#10: Saya Kawamoto (NEW)

SKE48

-My SKE list fared better than AKB lol. I only lost Aya from May. Her graduation shocked me. I wasn't expecting it this soon & I also expected Suda to go before Shibata. There's a part of me that wants Jurina to announce next year just because of the shock factor, but I don't believe that will happen at all. She's way too eager to hit #1 on the Sousenkyo and if Sasshi, Mayuyu, & Yukirin choose to not enter, she's got an incredible chance at making it. I don't think my list will fare as well come next May. I fully expect Nao, Kaori, Akari, & Natsuki to annouce their graduations. With Natsuki.....does anyone else think she looks like Musubu Funaki? Looking at her profile pic with her haircut makes her look like they could be sisters it's so weird.

#1: Rara Goto (-)

#2: Jurina Matsui (+2)

#3: Kaori Matsumura (+2)

#4: Nao Furuhata (-1)

#5: Oka Suenaga (+4)

#6: Akari Suda (+1)

#7: Natsuki Takatsuka (+1)

#8: Ruka Kitano (-2)

#9: Marika Tani (+1)

#10: Airi Mizuno (NEW)

NMB48

-I'm still a little shocked about Shu's announcement. That was very unexpected. Out of my list, I don't really know who may announce next year. I do think that Sayaka will, but I don't think she'll leave until 2018. We might lose Ayaka, Rurina, & Narumi next year, but I can't even guess.

#1: Sayaka Yamamoto (-)

#2: Ririka Suto (+1)

#3: Fuuko Yagura (+2)

#4: Rina Yamao (-2)

#5: Konomi Kusaka (+2)

#6: Miru Shiroma (-)

#7: Ayaka Morita (+3)

#8: Rurina Nishizawa (+1)

#9: Kanae Iso (-1)

#10: Narumi Koga (NEW)

HKT48

-Chihiro's graduation was another surprising one. I hadn't expected any of the HKT captains to leave for a few more years. I don't really see anyone on my list who's at risk of leaving next year. Unless Meru gets tired of being shafted and quits but I really hope that doesn't happen.

#1: Meru Tashima (-)

#2: Nako Yabuki (-)

#3: Sakura Miyawaki (+1)

#4: Haruka Ueno (+2)

#5: Haruka Kodama (+4)

#6: Emiri Yamashita (-1)

#7: Nao Ueki (+1)

#8: Yui Kojina (-1)

#9: Aoi Motomura (+1)

#10: Haruka Wakatabe (NEW)

NGT48

-I still feel like I know nothing about the girls. They really need to release a first single so I can see how they fit into the group because I just have no clue outside of what they look like. It's not like I'm going to waste the time to watch stages with songs I've heard a bazillion times and my Japanese isn't anywhere near good enough to understand MCs. As for graduations next year, I doubt there will be any. The only way I see someone leaving NGT is if they get a second gen too soon or if a scandal happens. But hey, I've been surprised so far this month with crazy out there announcements so who knows.

#1: Yuka Ogino (-)

#2: Rika Nakai (+1)

#3: Reina Seiji (+1)

#4: Ayaka Mizusawa (NEW)

#5: Anju Sato (NEW)

#6: Minami Kato (-4)

#7: Marina Nishigata (+1)

#8: Yuria Otaki (-2)

#9: Miharu Nara (NEW)

#10: Hinata Honma (-)

Nogizaka46

-I feel like there's going to be a mass grad from Nogi this upcoming year. They haven't really lost too many in their existence and they're coming up on 6(!) years in the group. No one from my May list left this year and the lack of graduations for so many years has made my list pretty stable compared to the rest of the groups. I think from my list, Maaya is definite to graduate. Poor girl is so unpopular. We might be in for a surprise and Minami or Mai might leave. I think both Rina & Erika will be sticking around for a while.

#1: Rina Ikoma (-)

#2: Minami Hoshino (-)

#3: Maaya Wada (-)

#4: Mai Shiraishi (-)

#5: Karin Ito (+1)

#6: Manatsu Akimoto (-1)

#7: Asuka Saito (NEW)

#8: Erika Ikuta (+1)

#9: Reika Sakurai (NEW)

#10: Rena Yamakazi (NEW)

Keyakizaka46

-I think I've been able to establish that Imaizumi is definitely my favorite. Techi is super cool too though and does make a great center. I predict that there will be exactly one grad next year. I don't know from whom, but still. I imagine they'll be much like Nogi and have very sparse graduations for a few years.

#1: Yui Imaizumi (-)

#2: Yurina Hirate (+3)

#3: Nanako Nagasawa (NEW)

#4: Risa Watanabe (NEW)

#5: Neru Nagahama (+4)

#6: Nijika Ishimori (+1)

#7: Manaka Shida (-4)

#8: Yui Kobayashi (-2)

#9: Rina Uemura (NEW)

#10: Yuuka Sugai (NEW)

SNH48

-And here's where the members don't matter and pictures tell a 1000 words lol. As I've just begun to have any interest in SNH & their sister groups, I have no clue really who each girl is. So my rankings are going to be changing drastically at least for the next year while I learn more about them.

#1: Jingyi Ju

#2: Guanhui Chen

#3: Yuge Zhang

#4: Rui Sun

#5: Qingyang Li

#6: Jiaying Chen

#7: Xiaoyin Kong

#8: Beiting Qian

#9: Yanwen Wu

#10: Han Mo

BEJ48

#1: Shiyan Li

#2: Yan Wen

#3: Bowen Hu

#4: Shan Sun

#5: Yifan Yang

#6: Xinyi Ren

#7: Zi Li

#8: Shanshan Su

#9: Mingjun Yan

#10: Lei Fang

GNZ48

#1: Jingyuan Zuo

#2: Hanyue Luo

#3: Qianqian Liu

#4: Lifei Liu

#5: Yuqi Chen

#6: Yanping Nong

#7: Leilei Xie

#8: Huijing Chen

#9: Qiongyu Zhang

#10: Nanxi Chen

All I want for Christmas is for 48G & China48 to stop making new groups lol. I can't keep up & I'm only really interested in the music. I can't imagine how difficult it is for people who actually try and follow the girls. It's insanity.

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #13: Top Morning Musume

Now that I've had 24 hours to process the news of 13th gen, I'm just somewhat ambivalent towards them. They need to release something for me to have any interest in the new girls. I do think people are being a little unnecessarily harsh towards Kaede though. I don't particularly care for her because I don't think that her voice is good like people say it is. It's a deeper voice which draws people to it, but I don't find her a good singer. As for her supposed attitude problem, I don't follow the Kenshuusei close enough to even know what people are complaining about. With Reina, I'm really thinking she would make a good double center with Maria. MM needs faces to lead the group. Keep the Sakura/Mizuki/Masaki lead singer trio, but put Maria/Reina front and center to push them into the minds of the general public.

With MM this year, I feel like they just coasted through it. Two singles a year for the most popular group of H!P is not a good business plan Up-Front. They even have a bunch of new songwriters so they can't use the excuse that Tsunku has too many songs to write. They need to have an album next year and at least three singles. If they want the new members to gain traction, they need to start shoving them onto as many music, variety, internet, cooking, or alien theory shows as possible. Anything that they can get them on is the point really. Now is a great time to start with the buzz from new members.

Musically, MM was once again the group with the best releases (with maybe the exception of Juice=Juice this year). Their first single was a bit blah, but Utakata ended up being fun & Tokyo to Iu is still awesome. I like to pretend The Vision doesn't exist. The entire Sexy Cat single was pretty solid in my opinion. I like Sou Janai the least but it's still cool. Mukidashite (? I can't spell to save my life this month I swear) is freaking amazing. Sexy Cat is quirky and fun. Something different for the group in it's current incarnation. Hoping next year's single exceed this year.

#10

Yuugure wa Ameagari (2015) (NEW)

#9

Onna ni Sachi Are (2007) (-2)

#8

Only You (2011) (+2)

#7

Ai Araba It's All Right (2004) (+1)

#6

Do It! Now (2001) (-1)

#5

Renai Hunter (2012) (+1)

#4

Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game (2010) (-)

#3

Fantasy ga Hajimaru (2010) (-1)

#2

Osaka Koi no Uta (2005) (+1)

#1

Watashi wa Watashi Nanda (2014) (-)

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #12: Top C-ute

This is supposed to be about C-ute, but just a quick aside: Congrats to the new Musume members! I had a feeling that Yokoyama would get in because of the random buzz around her that seemed to crop up overnight. She's very pretty and I hope that she has a good voice to accompany that. As for Kaede....well. I'm very happy that she's getting to realize her dream and got to join the group with the most opportunities. I truly hope that she melds in well and is a good asset for Musume. The members both are older which is a shock (and it feels like there will be new younger members added next year too because of it) and they both fit the current mature image of MM. Congrats again to them & I can't wait to see their debut!

As for C-ute. I sooooo knew it. I KNEW they would announce their disbandment this year. Honestly, it's time and I couldn't be happier that they're leaving. That sounds awful as I do like them, but H!P needs to complete it's transition to the new H!P and pass the torch to the new members and groups. Now there's just Ayaka Wada who is pre-2010 (if you don't count Aika who doesn't do anything anyway.). I fully predict that Ayaka will announce next year as well. Maybe not graduate, but definitely announce.

As for C-ute's music this year, outside of Mugen Climax (which was such a return to form for them), nothing was outstanding at all. Jinsei wa Step was fun & even though I've mainly ignored Summer Wind, I'm coming around to it. Naze Hito was just bad & I don't even remember what the other Mugen Climax single songs sound like so that's not a good sign. I guess I can say they outdid Angerme this year and maybe Kobushi, but I'm not sure on my feelings on that. Hopefully their final single will be an awesome goodbye for them. I'm also expecting a single/B-side collection like Berryz. I will be so incredibly upset if they don't do that. I want their singles/B-sides but I don't want to have to buy all of the singles I don't have to do so. I'm running out of room on my display shelf.

#10

Mugen Climax (2016) (NEW)

#9

Kiss Me Aishiteru (2011) (-2)

#8

Kanashiki Heaven (2012; Aitai Aitai na) (-3)

#7

Crazy Kanzen na Otona (2013) (+2)

#6

Midnight Temptation (2011; Chou Wonderful 6) (-)

#5

Please, Love Me More! (2013; Tokai no Hitorigurashi) (+3)

#4

Aitai Aitai Aitai na (2012) (-2)

#3

Adam to Eve no Dilemma (2013) (+1)

#2

Tokaikko Junjou (2007) (+1)

#1

I Miss You (2014) (-)

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #11: Top Angerme

Ah Angerme. It seems like they're the current "golden child" of H!P fans. They are always praised to the heavens by just about everyone. I don't get it personally. I like Angerme. I do. I like the members, they're talented. But their music is no better or worse than the rest of the H!P groups. It's exactly the same. For me personally, I actually like Angerme's newest material less than everyone but Kobushi. Their EDM-ish tracks are so lame and one note. The girls sound bored singing them. Their rockier tracks are even worse. I've been indifferent to everything they've released this year. Itoshima Distance was probably the highlight and even then it's kind of meh. So disappointing for Meimi's final single. I really hope they get better music next year, or at least have some energy while singing the songs.

Member wise, Angerme has been somewhat surprising this year. Moe was pretty surprisingly added (although I don't remember if that was late last year or early this year. Whatever. She had her first single this year so it counts). Moe seems to be very talented, but I don't find myself drawn to her like everyone else seems to be. She also really looks like Zoe Barnes from House of Cards to me. I don't know why. I didn't like Zoe. She was annoying and I'm glad she was killed off super early into season two (I'm on episode 3 I think of season two so far, such a good show). Off-topic but ANYWAY, I'm indifferent to Moe. Momona though. Gosh I really dislike saying I don't like certain girls because I don't know them personally and they're all younger than I am and it's their dreams to do this job, but I really don't like Momona. They couldn't have picked a more horribly awkward girl for Angerme. She needed another year or two in the Kenshuusei in my opinion. I know that Maho was super awkward at first and she's amazing now, but Maho has a quality that drew me to her from the get go. Seeing Momona in official pictures makes me cringe because she is so out of place. I'm just somewhat disappointed in Angerme all around this year.

#10

Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki (2012) (-2)

#9

Aa Susukino (2014) (NEW)

#8

Ee ka?! (2013) (NEW)

#7

Mystery Night (2014) (-)

#6

Uchouten Love (2011) (-1)

#5

Smile Bijin (2010; from Ganbaranakutemo Eenende) (+1)

#4

Shin Nippon no Susume! (2013; from 2 Smile Sensation) (-)

#3

Nana Korobi Yaoki (2015) (-1)

#2

Yumemiru 15 (2010) (+1)

#1

Chikyuu wo Kyou mo Ai wo Hagukumu (2014) (-)

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #10: Top Juice=Juice

Juice=Juice seems to have had a pretty good year. Both in public recognition and music. I think it's pretty awesome that they were able to star in their own drama. I haven't watched it because I really don't care enough to watch it, but it's still cool. Upset that they never released Otona na Jijou as a B-side/a single. I don't want to waste the money to buy the Petit Best to get it on CD. The group is very good as a complete package. Better than C-ute in my opinion. I don't think that they have amazing talent above and beyond everyone else, but as a cohesive unit they're good. As for the music this year, I think that they had the best releases. Their first single was amazing all around and Dream Road is probably one of the best songs out of H!P in the past 2 years. They're the group that still has the most "H!P Tsunku vibe" to them, probably because they're still mainly produced by him. I predict that someone will graduate next year though. I don't imagine that they will last as long as Berryz and C-ute. I'd be surprised if they lasted as a group until 2020. For next year though, I hope that they continue with the great music and continue to impress.

#10

Romance no Tochuu (2013) (-)

#9

Black Butterfly (2014) (-2)

#8

Ijiwaru Shinaide Dakishimete yo (2014) (-4)

#7

Karada Dake ga Otona ni Nattan ja nai (2016) (NEW)

#6

Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (2013) (-)

#5

Hadaka no Hadaka no Hadaka no Kiss (2014) (-)

#4

Dream Road ~Kokoro ga Odoridashiteru~ (2016) (NEW)

#3

Kaze wa Fukarete (2014) (-)

#2

Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru (2013) (-)

#1

Senobi (2014) (-)

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 Day #2: Top J-Pop of All Time

So last year when I did this one, I didn't really know many J-pop songs outside of idol groups. This year I've gone more out of my way to find J-pop songs from soloists and bands. I still have a long way to go to get into other J-pop, but it's improving lol. Because of expanding my horizons, this list is much different than last year's. As with last year, this will not feature any songs from H!P or 48G (minus one) because the entire list would be from them otherwise.

#10

One Ok Rock - Mighty Long Fall (2014) (NEW)

Yeah blah blah this isn't technically J"pop" but I don't technically care. The only reason I checked this song out was because I saw their Taking Off video uploaded on the Fueled By Ramen YouTube & I was so confused because I knew they were a Japanese group and didn't know why they were being uploaded on an American YouTube channel. I'm glad I did decide to check it out though because it's such a great song. Reminds me a lot of Fall Out Boy who I love.

#9

Minako Honda - Dramatic Escape (1988) (NEW)

One thing I've really been trying to do over the past year is focus on 80s J-Pop. I really love the sound of it. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to check out too many CDs, but one that I have is Minako's Lips album. It's SO good. I'm a sucker for great 80s music and it really is awesome.

No YT video, sorry. But you can listen to it on my 8Tracks playlist! (<---Clicky Clicky)

#8

Galette - Brand New Style (2013) (-6)

I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT GUYS. IT'S JUST NOT FAIR. I was devastated by the news of their disbanding. Well, at least as devastated as I can get with music. I don't get super attached to groups even if I love them so it's not like I was crying over it but I was still upset. They had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. Wasted. Utterly wasted. To be honest I'm more pissed off at their company than upset that they disbanded. But ANYWAY. This song has slipped a lot for me recently. Probably because I overplayed it to death. Still an absolutely amazing song though.

#7

Ayumi Hamasaki - Real Me (2002) (-4)

One of the very few non-English songs I enjoy primarily for its lyrics. Just a lovely song.

#6

Predia - Maboroshi wa Xanadu (2014) (NEW)

So. I feel as though I should be ashamed of myself for not knowing this song earlier. I actually owned it for a year before listening to it. I bought Predia's first album because I liked the singles and then never got around to actually listening to the album itself (which is absolutely fantastic by the way if you like dance pop & good vocals). I either like this or Yakou Chou best on the album but I couldn't decide which so I just went with which one I loved first lol.

No video

#5

Hangry & Angry - Top Secret (2009) (+1)

This really only has a placing because of nostalgia, but I remember this being my first real J-pop song addiction outside of Morning Musume.

#4

Momoiro Clover Z - Mouretsu Uchuu Koukyoukyoku Dainana Gakushou "Mugen no Ai"(2012) (-2)

Another song that's fallen because I played it completely to death. Still love the insane wackiness of the whole thing.

#3

Osaka Shunkashuto - Cameleon Shoujo (2015) (NEW)

When are they going to release a new single? Seriously they need to release something and not just perform all the time. I hate when I fall in love with a group and then they hardly ever release music (looking at you Coco Decoru. One release since 2014.) But at the same time Osaka Shunkashuto is one of the few groups that I actually have watched a couple live performances of, mainly because Maina is an absolute star and owns any stage she walks on.

#2

Galette - Air Summer (2015) (NEW)

Man I miss them. Their whole discography is flawless. They should've released one last single or an album before their end.

#1

Nogizaka46 - Harukanaru Bhutan (2016) (NEW)

This is my one exception. I only put this here because it is my actual favorite J-pop song of all time. It only came out this year, but it's one of those genre defining songs for me. The music is absolutely gorgeous and everything is just wonderful about it. It's actually surprising to me how much I love it as Nogizaka is one of my least favorite groups in 48G. However, when they have good songs, those songs are incredible.

No video :(

Dianna Sweet - Deep Snow

I can't believe how soon December is already. I've decided I'm going to do what I did last year, the "25 Days of Christmas" countdown throughout December. I thought it was fun. Don't know if anyone else enjoyed seeing it or not, but I liked it. It makes up for hardly ever posting otherwise lol.

I don't actually know a whole lot about Dianna Sweet other than they have a few cool songs. They formed in 2013 and currently have three members. They have released seven singles with their newest being "Superhero" which was released this year. "Deep Snow" is their fourth single and was released in three versions, each with a different track 2. I'm mainly going to be talking about Type A since that's the one I have.

Track #1: Deep Snow

I'm actually not a big fan of the title track itself. It starts out nice enough, and the music is catchy, but I don't like how they sing the song itself. Their vocals are very young sounding and a little annoying. It also sounds like the girls are off pitch of the song that they're trying to sing in certain places (in the verses in particular). It's unfortunate because I think with a different group the song would sound really cool. 3.5/5.

This will be the only video linked since the others aren't on YouTube/Spotify.

Track #2: The Twin Tail!

This song is the reason that I bought the single in the first place. Now I'll be the first to admit (and I've even already said it) that I can't really stand the super high pitched cutesy voices that are present in this song. The reason I do like the song though is because of the music itself. It's a "metal" idol pop song that is super catchy and fun. It's like really early Babymetal, except without Suzuka's good vocals. 4.5/5.

Track #3: Hatsukoi Revolution 2015

This is the third track across all three versions of the single. It is an updated version of their first single, Hatsukoi Revolution. I don't like remakes and remixes personally. It bugs me when I end up having 3 different versions of the same song so I always end up deleting the non-originals. However, I have never heard the original of this song so I can't really compare. This version of the song is really idol poppy, but not annoyingly so. It's catchy, but definitely my least favorite on the CD. 3/5.

Type B Track #2 & Type C Track #2: Lucifer & Always

I can't really say too much about either of these two tracks as I've only heard previews of both. From the previews that I've heard, Lucifer is my favorite of the two. Lucifer is a dance pop track with pretty good sounding vocals. Always is a ballad track and doesn't really do anything for their vocals in my opinion. I can't rate either though as I haven't heard either in full.

All in all, it's not a great single, but it's fun and catchy. I much prefer their two newer singles to this though. Although Dianna Sweet isn't that well known, you can buy some of their music on US iTunes! If you'd like to check out more of their material. 4/5.

J-Pop Girls Mix (Vol. 2)

I made another 8tracks playlist! It's only been like a year since the last one lol. This one is just like the last one, except it's all solo singers instead of groups. Enjoy!

J-Pop Girls Mix (Vol. 2) from danceordie9173 on 8tracks Radio.

The tracklist is...

#1: Tomomi Itano - Dear J

#2: Ayami Muto - Parallel World

#3: Namie Amuro - Ballerina

#4: Ayumi Hamasaki - Real Me

#5: Maki Goto - Ai no Bakayarou

#6: Minako Honda - Dramatic Escape

#7: Seiko Matsuda - Ringoshu no Hibi

#8: Miyuki Watanabe - Yasashiku Suru Yori Kiss wo Shite

#9: Ai Otsuka - Laugh

#10: Kumi Koda - At The Weekend