Also the world is going to hell

Eien no Uta debuted at #4 and sold around 4,000 copies on it's opening day. As if that wasn't traumatizing enough, Erika will probably be suspended for a year by her company. Also Ai's best studio album sells a measly 208,000 copies at #1.

Also poor moody Erika

Some japanese thingy put up a poll asking about what you think of Erika's recent behavior. It seems like you weren't very happy as this is what you voted:

'My opinion has improved' got 4,435 votes. Apparently not many were pleased.

'My opinion hasn't changed' obtained 35,197 votes. I voted for this by the way.

'My opinion has worsened' garnered 227,795 votes. That's SIX bloody digits there.

The poor thing. But how much can one sympathize anyway after recent pictures have shown her uglier side.



A hilarious picture from the Closed Note movie premiere which Erika stars in. She's the one in the hideous green thing and the tacky blonde wig by the way. Despite this monstrosity, Erika is a very gorgeous woman. Notice the way she is not really giving a damn. Even fucking Yui is holding the sign and all she did was contribute a fairly terrible song for the movie.

And I leave you with excerpts from Erika-Fantasy, the best Erika Sawajiri blog out there.

"J-CAST reports today that a lot of people think retirement is the best thing for Erika at the moment! This event has caused a lot of chaos recently, but retiring just because of the negativity surrounding her at the moment would be crazy. Erika's official site has been flooded with traffic recently, making it hard, and sometimes impossible to even access the site. On Toho's website about Closed Note, the comments had to be disabled because of all of the negative notes left. Some people say they now have no interest in watching the movie now, just because of Erika."

Also Shayne Ward

I kind of pity him. He makes his comeback with a brand new manwhore image and some half-decent pop tracks and a lot of hope but ends up losing miserably. He charted at #2.

What's so bad about getting a #2 single?

By now you would have found out that the Sugababes defeated him. "How?! The physical copies of their single aren't even out in shops yet!" you say. Well, by downloads only. This means, if Amelle had called for About You Now to be a sad download-only release, it would still have beaten Shayne and grabbed the #1 spot like it is doing now.

About You Now has just been released today, by the way.

Has any other famous girl group tried a download-only release before? Yes, All Saints did that with Chick Fit. It charted at #187 or something similar if not worse.

Of course Amelle's win makes me very happy. First girl group to score a #1 solely on downloads, second ever british act to achieve this feat, overall the 4th time this phenomenon had ever happened.

Besides, About You Now is the best pop song of the year so far. If you haven't listened to it yet, I suggest you do. Also watch the video.

But what happens to Shayne now? Oh well, who really cares anyway.

Also Ayumi

Decision turned out to be amazing.

Pity about the sales then.

Also Secretly Canadian

I stumbled upon this record company called Secretly Canadian yesterday. Their artistes are amazing, from what I've listened to.

The picture provided is the cover art of Jens Lekman's album "Night Falls Over Kortedala" which is due for release in around a week. It is brilliant. He has an amazing voice that sounds like it came from the 1960s and his music is so cheery and pretty and hopeful and bright. My favourite so far, discovered by Marcus.

Also on the same label, Frida Hyvönen is an opposite of Jens in every way. Frida is quite obviously a woman. She has a very sharp and potentially annoying voice. Despite some uptempo songs, she does not do cheery or upbeat. Neither does she employ much instruments. Her piano is her weapon. But her work is very intriguing and enjoyable nonetheless. Her videos also own.

One more interesting person is Richard Swift. His music is also very different and strange but normal at the same time. It's like music made in the desert in the 1940s or something, I don't know. But it's very good. His voice is also very good.

If you are interested in any of this, go to http://www.secretlycanadian.com/mp3.php and download free mp3's legally.

Also SUGABAB BABES

Looking at the music videos for About You Now and rival Girls Aloud’s Sexy! No No No… it would be absolutely acceptable to think that their budgets got switched.

About You Now looks like the Babes’ cheapest video to date if you ignore the stuff they did with Siobhan Donaghy which is easy to do since no one knows about those anyway.

Of course, cheap does not equal crappy. It looked like they spent 80% of the budget on the classy yellow dresses which are nice to look at (bar Keisha’s). Also by the looks of it the video is made for repeated views as it does not become dull after being played for about 10 times consecutively.

However the single cover is terrible.

Also Amelle’s extra surprise verse is amazing. Plus the way she said “then” is hypnotic. But she sticks her butt out too much. Keisha’s flirtatious and sexual attitude is disgusting. It’s a break-up/make-up song not Buttons you moron. Also Heidi is gorgeous and easily the best looking one even though Amelle is gorgeous too. Why chuck Heidi in the bridge when you can put Keisha there is anybody’s guess.

Also by now you should be able to figure out I don’t like Keisha much.

Also Glorious

Natalie’s new album leaked a few days ago. It is quite interesting. On 2005’s Counting Down The Days, there was a little something done to the songs that made them kind of old-sounding and endearing. In Glorious: The Singles 97-07, that “little something” has drenched all the new songs. I found a few days ago while toying around with Nero Wave Editor that this “little something” was in fact just reverb.

Too much of a good thing is not good. Despite that, new track Amelia benefits greatly from too much reverb. However Against The Wall doesn’t, and it is a terrible excuse for a song on a Greatest Hits album.

Stuck On The Moon is quite nice. Be With You, after more than 20 listens, seems to be the most radio-friendly track of them all. Unfortunately, it is scheduled for a release. I think we already know how it will chart.

In fact, if she is going to film a music video for a doomed single, why not make it Amelia? The track is one of the most unique songs ever recorded by Natalie and it sounds dark and weird and strange and amazing. Also it is not happy but it isn’t depressing either. Plus Amelia has an extremely unique structure, like it was written for Girls Aloud but got rejected due to the sound. There are no sections repeated, so there’s no real verse, chorus or bridge.

In any case, go and buy Glorious: The Singles 97-07 now.

Also divine intervention in musical form

Eien no Uta leaked and there are a lot of important things about this event. A summary:

1) Many have agreed that it is pure divine goodness packed in 5 minutes and 47 seconds. Unlike regular good songs which are like rides on a roller-coaster, this is more like waking up from bed and finding yourself in a new city with a beautiful sunset and reservations for a romantic dinner for two in Paris and upon looking at the mirror finding yourself already looking amazing and breathtaking.

2) A few people didn’t like it. They can die.

3) Also about how it leaked and the owner being furious as it is exclusive for his own site which I find amusing plus it displays the uglier side of humanity.

4) The cover image is obviously the best since Hi no Tori from 2005 too.

Also Natalie

Some of you might already have heard of the supposed second single from her hits compilation album. It's called Be With You and it sounds very, very Natalie, unlike first single Glorious which also sounded like Natalie, but frustrated Natalie forced to create a commercial hit song to satisfy the record company.


First listen, it sounds like a album track. On second listen, it sounds quite lovely. On third listen, most possibly single-worthy. However, most people won't really bother to listen to the same song thrice so this wouldn't be a very good single I think. Also the arrangements are absolutely gorgeous.

And this could make an appropriate Christmas single. Maybe that's what they are planning. The piano/bell/chime thingies are terribly warming and endearing and delightful. Also Marc said it "sounds like Xmas and Santa Claus falls from the top of the mall" so ok.

Also yes, Natalie is one of the most amazing pop artists in the world.

Also Leaked Lately

Sugababes and their amazing new promo for About You Now is really very good (predictably). The Sticky Remix is superb although Keisha sounds quite distorted with her vocals sped up. It's almost on par with the single version. Also I would like to listen to the other remixes again but the first 10 seconds put me off. So, maybe later.

Also some more Britney tracks leaked (since Gimme More received favourable reception so it's probably intentional) but I haven't bothered to download them yet. Also Marty says they are comparable to Rihanna B-sides so maybe never.

Also a Kylie track leaked (!!!) which prompted an instant "Save As..." but unfortunately it is Not exciting at all. Hopefully it won't be on the album unless somebody alters the arrangements and tweaks parts of the chorus.

Also yesterday an LQ but clear preview of Ayumi's last chorus of Decision was floating around. Surprisingly it was very Very good indeed and just might be what some EX-fans need to start liking her Again. Yes, Ayumi has hacked off parts of her fanbase again and again with destructive songs of death such as BLUE BIRD and STARTIN' which are absolutely terrible but appealing nevertheless. Fated is plain crap though.

AYOUME - SISTER SOUL

Tracklist

01 Sister Soul
02 NUBIAN PRINCESS
03 Ancestor's Prayer
04 Sister Soul (Yasutaka Nakata-capsule Mix)
05 NUBIAN PRINCESS (WALL-2-HALL Remix)
06 Ancestor's Prayer (Ndebele Vers.)

Label: TOSHIBA-EMI
Date: 21.11.2007

New songstress AYOUME of African and Korean descent is set to take on the charts with her debut single SISTER SOUL. The soul/R&B track has heavy dance beats scattered all over it with tribal chants opening and ending the song. Due for radio in October, it will also have an accompanying promotional video.

The single comes with two B-sides. NUBIAN PRINCESS is a light-hearted dance track with strong African influences stamped over it. Ancestor's Prayer features a group of native African tribesmen chanting out special mantras. Track 6 is a special version of Ancestor's Prayer sung in Ndebele.

AYOUME's flawless vocals and pronunciation warrants a great time. A truly unique listening experience, ensure you get your copy.

Also Britney

By now most of you will have already heard Britney's Gimme More and smiled rabidly and adoringly thinking the poor damsel has finally won the battle.

But I don't like it ok. Think of the stuff she's done.

1. Getting bald
2. Partying with Paris
3. Showing off labia
4. Entering rehab
5. Getting babies
6. Marrying
7. Divorcing
8. Watching husband put out shit album

Surely all that would have resulted in something much more grand and extravagant? Something that should sound like Oops! ...I Did It Again or Toxic? Something that makes us smile and scream "B IS BACK BITCHES" and actually mean it?

Gimme More isn't a disaster though. It is better than an In The Zone album track but still worse than a Nelly Furtado B-side. But I am very very Dissapointed with it. I was expecting amazingness, signs of greatness. It did appear but only in the opening 2 seconds.

Also Cold As Fire is totally disgusting and the vocals are shockingly bad.

Also RURUTIA

Ok this is RURUTIA. She makes Very Atmospheric music. If you've never heard of her, don't worry. Nobody knows about her anyway, unless they come across her materials by accident. Why? Because RURUTIA also has (predictably) dismal chart positions in Japan.

So why her? Because she makes Atmospheric music. Plus she isn't hideous or funny-looking like Bjork. RURUTIA is Very Good at what she does. Her songs overflow with time, space, colours and various other characteristics. Am I talking nonsense? Maybe. But listen to the title track from her latest release Opus and you will understand.

Unfortunately, when she left Toshiba-EMI for some obscure label, she stopped charting. Lack of promotion? Maybe. But also consider the fact that RURUTIA never does interviews or fashion shoots or anything. What she does instead is maybe come out with a sparse amount of music videos. So who's to blame for her failure?

Also one of her more successful albums sold roughly 1,500 copies.

Also Sophie

As you can see, that crappy LQ still is very obviously from Youtube. Anyway, Sophie Ellis-Bextor performed Me & My Imagination in the Sopot International Song Festival a few days ago. They did something to the keyboards and it sounds really cool in an odd way. Sophie is a Brilliant performer, by the way.

Quite a shame then it's not a very well-known festival, at least not in this part of the globe. It seems to be like Eurovision, where tons of performers from different countries come and flaunt their skills. Unlike Eurovision, the performances here aren't really bothered with and you won't be seeing any strange songs from unknown lands suddenly climbing your local charts.

Also you don't get the "we voted for UK as a protest towards the Eastern countries, not because they were good" drama.

Also Eien no Uta

Ok I can say I have heard something truly amazing. It's called Eien no Uta (永遠の詩; Eternity's Song) and it is by (predictably) Mika Nakashima. I wasn't too happy about LIFE ok, and this just destroyed and shattered my expectations. From the 1 minute clip with a lot of annoying people speaking in Japanese thus obscuring Mika's amazing vocals, it sounds very breathtaking.

Think winter, My Sugar Cat, amazing, beautiful, elegant, dazzling, gentle, not too slow, warm, cool, snow and you have it. It may not reach #1, but the strong melody that isn't too strong and obvious like LIFE's guarantees it a Top 5 spot. Mika Nakashima amazes again.

As of now, no cover art, but it's getting released next month anyway, so expect a radio rip from the forums you frequent in 2 weeks.

Also Mika

Ok this is the Best person ever in the galaxy. You will never see anyone like her. She is the one in your dreams. She is Mika Nakashima. She is also my Favourite Ever artist ok.

For the young, foolish and uneducated, she makes Amazing music. Music so good it brings tears to the eyes. Mika makes all kinds of music, it depends on the album. Pop Mika? Yes. Jazz Mika? Yup. Rock Mika? Ya, that too. Experimental Mika? Sure. Gospel Mika? Of course. You see, she's Multitalented and a Genius.

Ok I haven't mentioned her Voice. It's capable of reaching very high notes without effort. Her voice is Beautiful. It's not like Mariah Carey or Amy Winehouse "beautiful". It's what a woman should sound like. It's Brilliant and Lovely and Soothing and Amazing.

As you can see, she is also a Beauty. A Beautiful woman who can sing amazingly well is Rare. Mariah Carey is fat. Amy Winehouse is Hideous. See? Mika Nakashima is a Model. She advertises Kanebo's KATE line. She does it Very Well. You can watch her numerous commercials in Youtube.

Also she sang once in Music Station and there was Ayumi and Mika's vocals made Ayumi sound like Shit. This greatly increases her likeability. Also people clap louder for Mika than for Ayumi.

Plus Mika is Cool. She doesn't speak much, she doesn't smile much, but you know she is everything you want to be. You can't hate her. You know she's too good for that. She loves black too. And she keeps a cat. And also she makes mindblowingly stunning photobooks once in a while and they have enormous prices that will make you weep.

Also not to be confused with gay Mika from the UK.

Now that THAT's out of the way...

Terrible, isn't it? Someone told me the covers looked like Coca Cola cans, that was spot on. Ayumi releases another uninspired effort that is bound to reach #1 and sell more than 100,000 copies. The predictability of it all makes the future look bleak. Of course Ayumi isn't half as bad as the morons a.k.a. Ayufans who make life hell. Fans please die ok.

Of course, despite this disgusting fact, we also have the very pretty Erika Sawajiri releasing something in November. And Kumi has another dull and tepid ballad for us which benefits from having an amazing PV where she moves around a little too much. If that doesn't excite you, then Mika Nakashima, goddess of holy light mercy shining hope and pure brilliance, will release her new single in October, and it is a gorgeous wintery reggae kind of track that is 100% amazing. Also Yuna Ito but I forgot.

First Off... Welcome and Thank You

So I have decided to make a blog posting stories stuff relating to Jpop music. Actually to be honest I do not know much about jpop pop music; I just like to listen to a handful lot of singers and am also myself trying to discover additional quality artists in the big scene of jpop. Thanks for visiting my site.

I am also not a great webpage designer. I believe in simplicity and in most things and I simply want to convey what I have to say. Maybe as I become more proficient in webpage design I will add some colours to the site but for now I will see......

Here are some of the artists I like love, in no particular order except for the first 4:

MISIA Mika Nakashima
Hirai Ken Siobhan Donaghy
Hirahara Ayaka Girls Aloud
Kawaguchi Kyougo Bic Runga
Amuro Namie Delta Goodrem
CHEMISTRY Sophie Ellis-Bextor
KOKIA Emilie Simon
MINMI Kings of Convenience
Kimura Kaela Natalie Imbruglia
Shiina Ringo Rachel Stevens
Crystal Kay Arai Akino


and tons more....