What Was The Best J-Pop Album Of 2009?

It’s time to look back at what was the best J-pop album released in 2009. For me, these are the pick of the bunch:

SWEET BLACK feat Maki Goto. It was a fantastic return for Gocchin and this album really rocks.

Stereopony – A Hydrangea Blooms. Debutants Stereopony burst onto the J-pop scene with a couple of great singles and the album delivered too.

Nana Mizuki – Ultimate Diamond

Miliyah Kato – Ring

Ayumi Hamasaki – Next Level. Ayu’s new album continued her fine tradition of producing  a solid album full of top tunes.

Koda Kumi – Trick. Kumi came out with a brilliant new album. Actually this nearly came to be the best album of the year but as you’ll see somebody else pipped her to the title.

Aira Mitsuki – Plastic

Ayaka Ikio – Gossip. I was browsing through HMV in Center Gai, Shibuya during my holiday there in the Summer when I discovered this young woman.

Scandal – Best Scandal. Scandal just keeps getting better in my opinion. 2009 saw them releasing some great songs.

Hitomi – Love Life 2

Michi – Up To You. British born Michi debuted in 2008 with Promise and in 2009 came out with the superb Change The World single. Her 2nd album came out in September which contained the singles Kiss Kiss xxx and You.

Namie Amuro – Past < Future. As 2009 came to an end, Namie came out with her new album mid December which had some excellent tracks on it such as her single Wild.

So if none of them came out on top, which album was my favorite of the year?

Perfume – Triangle. The 3rd and much anticipated album from Perfume has to be the best one for me as it contains my favorite song Dream Fighter plus Love The World, Edge and One Room Disco.

This is a live version of the song Night Flight which is also on the Triangle album.

This Week’s Selection of J-Pop PV’s – 12/05/09

MiCHi – Kiss Kiss xxx (the new single from MiCHi is so catchy)

Yu Yamada – Free (great new song from Yu Yamada)

Hitomi Shimatani – Camellia (LIVE)

Takashi Sorimachi – Poison (from the 1999 J-dorama Great Teacher Onizuka)

The Brilliant Green – Hello Another Way (LIVE)

A Selection Of Recent PV’s I Like

1. Sowelu – Material World

Blimey, just how much has Sowelu changed since we saw her last!! There’s been a gap of 11 months since her last single Wish and during that time she’s gone and reinvented herself with a new music style plus a change of image. She looks totally different and I really like Material World a lot. Is she going to stick with this new image and music – I certainly hope so.

2. Ami Suzuki – Reincarnation

Having finished her collaboration with producer Nakata for the time being at least, Ami teams up with m-flo’s Taku for her latest single Reincarnation. Another catchy dance track by her and I simply love the imaginative PV.

3. Stereo Pony – Namida no Mukou

I’ve never heard of this group before until I checked this song out because it’s been in the Oricon Top 10. I’m really glad I did as I love this song which is the 2nd opening to the anime Gundam 00. They’ve also provided the ED song to Bleach as well. Big things are expected from this group if the comments I read about them are true. Stereo Pony are three 18 year old girls from Okinawa. Can’t wait for their next release.

4. MiCHi – Change The World

MiCHi follows up her superb debut single Promise with a similar sounding track Change The World. Comparing both tracks I have to admit liking Promise even more but this is still a fantastic song and the PV is quite good too involving paint!

and finally a track from 2002:

5. Momoi Halko – Mail Me

This song was used in the movie Suicide Circle by a fictional idol group Dessert that was influencing some people to do nasty things. I love this dance track even though Momoi’s voice does sound like that of a 12 year old. The PV has her prancing around her favorite haunt – Akihabara as she’s an otaku! Can’t say I’m a fan of her two Famicom 8-bit albums but maybe some of you out there will enjoy it.