J-Pop Top 100 Songs Of 2011

27 12 2011

It’s that time of year again when I compile a list of the best 100 J-Pop songs I’ve listened to during the year. IMO 2011 was slightly better than 2010 in terms of great music coming out in Japan. It was tough as it always is in doing this countdown but overall I’m satisfied with what I picked.

Anyway, give me a shout about what you think of the chart.

100 EXILE – Each Other’s Way
99 AAA – Daiji na Koto
98 9Nine – Shining Star
97 Negoto – Charon
96 Aqua Timez – Mayonaka no Orchestra
95 Mai Kuraki – Your Best Friend
94 Idoling!!! – Yarakai Heart
93 Ayahi Takagaki – Takaramono
92 SDN48 – Ai, Juseyo
91 Nana Mizuki – Scarlet Knight
90 Maximum The Hormone – Greatest The Hits 2011~2011
89 Mika Nakashima – Dear
88 Yui Horie – Presenter
87 You Kikkawa – Kikkake wa You!
86 Kana Nishino – Distance
85 Buono! – Zassou no Uta
84 SDN48 – MIN MIN MIN
83 Kie Kitano – Kizuna
82 Happiness – Wish
81 Nana Mizuki – Junketsu Paradox
80 FLOWER – Still
79 YUI – Green a.live
78 SCANDAL – Haruka
77 Angela Aki – Hajimari no Ballad
76 JASMINE – ONLY YOU
75 YGA – Jounetsu Heroine
74 KAT-TUN – Ultimate Wheels
73 JUJU – Kono yoru wo Tomete yo
72 Sphere – Hazy
71 Morning Musume – Only You
70 KARA – Jet Coaster Love
69 miwa – 441
68 Tokyo Girls Style – Limited Addiction
67 Eri Kitamura – Be Starters!
66 ClariS – nexus
65 KARA – Winter Magic
64 PASSPO – Vivi Natsu
63 SCANDAL – Pride
62 Afterschool – Diva
61 Koda Kumi – Pop Diva
60 YUI – Hello~Paradise Kiss
59 Super Girls – MAX! Otomegokoro
58 May’n – Scarlet Ballet
57 Perfume – Spice
56 Superfly – Ai wo Kurae
55 Tohoshinki – Why? (Keep Your Head Down)
54 4Minute – Heart To Heart
53 Aoi Teshima – Sayonara no Natsu
52 SCANDAL – Love Survive
51 L’arc En Ciel – Good Luck My Way
50 Infinite – BTD
49 NMB48 – Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo
48 Perfume – Laser Beam
47 Supercell – My Dearest
46 EXILE – Rising Sun
45 Kis-My-Ft2 – Everybody Go
44 4Minute – WHY
43 Girl Next Door – Silent Scream
42 no3b – Answer
41 French Kiss – If
40 DiVA – Cry
39 Idoling!!! – Don’t think. Feel!!!
38 Kaoru to Tomoki, Toma ni Mook – Maru Maru Mori Mori
37 Not yet – Shuumatsu Not yet
36 Bump Of Chicken – Tomodachi no Uta
35 Namie Amuro – Love Story
34 Meisa Kuroki – Wired Life
33 French Kiss – Kakkowarui I Love You!
32 Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 – Hettapi Wink
31 FictionJunction – Stone Cold
30 Atsuko Maeda – Flower
29 2NE1 – Go Away
28 French Kiss – Saisho no Mail
27 Arashi – Lotus
26 no3b – Kuchibiru Furezu
25 Namie Amuro – Fight Together
24 JASMINE – ONE
23 Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 – Valentine Kiss
22 SKE48 – Pareo wa Emerald
21 DiVA – Tsugi no Uragawa
20 B’z – Don’t Wanna Lie
19 Tomomi Itano – Fui ni
18 AKB48 – Ue kara Mariko
17 AKB48 – Sakura no Ki ni Narou
16 Not yet – Pera Pera Perao
15 Atsuko Maeda – La Brae Ave
14 NMB48 – OH MY GOD!
13 SKE48 – Banzai Venus
12 Not yet – Naminori Kakigoori
11 AKB48 – Everyday Kachuusha
10 AKB48 – Kaze wa Fuiteiru
09 AKB48 – Flying Get
08 SKE48 – Okey Dokey
07 Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 – Kibou Sanmyaku
06 Koda Kumi – Ko-so ko-so
05 Shoudo Jidai – Mr Taxi
04 Namie Amuro ft Afterschool – Make It Happen
03 Tomomi Itano – Dear J
02 AKB48 – Seishun to Kizukunai Mama
01 AKB48 – Gondola Lift





Perfume – Natural ni Koishite PV

14 03 2010

Perfume will release a new single on the 14th April called Natural ni Koishite and the song will be a tie-in with a CM for Natural Beauty Basic. It seems they’re changing their music style a little bit for the new song too.

EDIT: The full PV came out yesterday so I’ve changed the preview to the PV.





CDTV Top 20 Female Lovers 2010

15 02 2010

CDTV ran it’s bi-annual chart over the weekend compiling which female music artist that Japanese men would like as their girlfriend/lover. It came up with some surprising results:

01. Kaori Mochida (Every Little Thing)
02. Yuki Kashiwagi (AKB48)
03. YUI
04. Ai Takahashi (Morning Musume)
05. Reina Tanaka (Morning Musume)
06. Atsuko Maeda (AKB48)
07. Nana Mizuki
08. Nocchi (Perfume)
09. A-chan (Perfume)
10. Maimi Yajima (°C-ute)
11. Kiyoe Yoshioka
12. Kana Nishino
13. BoA
14. Eri Kamei (Morning Musume)
15. Ai Otsuka
16. Kashiyuka (Perfume)
17. Ai Kawashima
18. Sayumi Michishige (Morning Musume)
19. Ayumi Hamasaki
20. Yuko Oshima (AKB48)

This is the 1st time ever for AKB48 members to appear on the list and there’s 3 of them in this chart. I’m shocked that Yukirin is no.2 and she even beats Acchan. I wonder how close she was to nabbing the top spot? I can understand how Japanese men have been won over by her charm and beauty. She’s a great girl and so nice to see a newcomer appear so high in the chart. I’m wondering how did Japanese men rate the women on – looks, personality??? If so, some of the names on the chart are a bit dubious….personality wise that is (naming no names!!).

I thought I’d make my own top 10 up. Here’s who I would have picked. My no.1 girl is obviously biased on my love for AKB48!!!

1. Yuko Oshima (AKB48)
2. Kana Nishino
3. Yui Aragaki
4. A-Chan (Perfume)
5. YUI
6. Kashiyuka (Perfume)
7. Amina Sato (AKB48)
8. Mari Yaguchi
9. Mano Erina (H!P)
10. Minami Takahashi (AKB48)

Just missing out was Tomomi Itano (AKB48) and JunJun (Morning Musume).

Who would you choose as your dream girl?





What Was The Best J-Pop Album Of 2009?

3 01 2010

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.





Perfume – Take Me Take Me (Live – Game Tour)

6 08 2009

I’ve never been a fan of this song until I saw them perform it on the Budokan Live Concert DVD. Nocchi just pulls off the sexiness so easy (especially with the finger pointing and saying “take me take me”. Very hot!) and to a degree so does Kashi but I don’t get that from my favorite Perfume member A-Chan. She just looks too cute and innocent trying to be sexy. I adore her clutziness and the funny answers she gives in interviews.





Perfume’s 3rd Album Information

7 06 2009

There’s finally some information about the tracklisting for Perfume’s 3rd album titled ⊿ (Triangle) which is released on July 8th. A lot of fans have been clamouring for one of their best b-sides “edge” to be on this album and their wishes have come true.

perfume triangle

The tracks are:

1. Take off
2. love the world
3. Dream Fighter
4. edge(⊿-mix)
5. NIGHT FLIGHT
6. Kiss and Music
7. Zero Gravity
8. I still love U
9. The best thing
10. Speed of Sound
11. ワンルーム・ディスコ (One Room Disco)
12. 願い(Album-mix) (Negai; Wish)

That’s not all. If you buy the CD and DVD combo you’ll also get this on the DVD:

I still love U Special Video Clip
NIGHT FLIGHT LIVE@代々木第一体育館 May 10th,’09
edge LIVE@代々木第一体育館 May 10th,’09 ⊿-version
love the world TV-SPOT
Dream Fighter TV-SPOT
ワンルーム・ディスコ TV-SPOT

It’s a shame the DVD won’t come with more PV’s but I’m not complaining. It looks to be a solid album and I can’t wait to buy it.





Perfume vs Morning Musume

12 05 2009

This clip from Music Japan has Perfume taking on Morning Musume at table tennis plus a performance of MoMu’s new single Shouganai Yumeoibito. Enjoy.





New Perfume Song on Pino CM

5 05 2009

The latest Pino CM has started to air in Japan and it features the all conquering trio Perfume unveiling their brand new song Night Flight. This could be their next single although nothing has been announced yet. Take a look below at the CM, Perfume look great in their uniforms:





Perfume Hit The Top Spot/Oricon Charts Update

1 04 2009

Perfume entered the top spot in the Oricon Charts this week with their new single One Room Disco. It sold 77,000 copies. This is the trio’s 2nd no.1 hit. Gackt came in at no.2 with Journey Through The Decade followed by The Gazette. Mari Yaguchi managed to enter the top 10 at no.6 with Seishun Boku.

On the album side it was no surprise to find Ayu with her new album NEXT LEVEL reaching no.1. It sold 241,000 copies.

I’m sorry for the lack of CDTV top 50 singles video for the past 2 weeks but it seems that nobody’s posting them anymore on Youtube. It’s a real shame as I used to enjoy watching it.





Perfume To Host New Late Night Show

23 03 2009

Electropop trio Perfume will be hosting a new late night Saturday show on NTV from April 11th. The show is called Chandelier House and will air at 1.40am. Content of the show is unknown apart from the fact that they’ll be performing some short comedy skits with a special guest. Their current daytime afternoon show Perfume no Kininaru Ko-chan is finishing in 5 days time (March 28th). I didn’t even know about their afternoon show until I say a recent clip of Kashiyuka grabbing a snake from a box and chasing Nocchi, A-Chan and some guests around the studio with it.

They’ve also been chosen to co-host NHK’s music show Music Japan and they’ll start to appear on that show from April 5th.

Their new single One Room Disco comes out in 2 days time – Wednesday 25th March.

perfumephoto_02