More Music Findings

[sekiharatae]

I am completely and totally addicted to JPOP.  Well, really, I'm kind of just addicted to music in general, regardless of language or country of origin (as indicated by my love of Eurovision).  American music, however, went through a phase (which I'm not sure has ended) where it was just too angry or depressed for me... so I listened to a lot of Japanese stuff instead.  If they're angry, I don't know about it... and they certainly sound upbeat!

My extensive collection of Japanese CDs aside, however, JPOP does suffer from an over-abundance of high-pitched, thin, nasal voices. Rich, full voices -- and altos -- are rare.  Hikaru Utada has been a favorite for years at least in part because her voice is powerful, not reedy.

So when I get a new favorite -- someone who breaks the traditional mold -- I like to share.

Currently, I have two new loves -- one a group, one a solo act -- who are all over my play list.

First is Ri-Sa.J.  It's a group of three female singers, who I found by trying to discover if Tifa can sing.  (Her Japanese voice actress shares the romanization of her name with one of them.)  Here is a clip (the bulk of the song, actually) of their single, 'Why U...'

The second is singer Beni.  I linked a video on my facebook page months ago, but I've recently found two more songs by her that I just adore.  Here's one of them, 'Yura Yura':  (Others faves are 'Koi Kogarete' and 'Gimme Gimme'.)

Comments

[osirissconsort.livejournal.com]

*throws a party* I love Utada Hikaru too! Yay!
And JPop IS strangely addictive. Dunno why. Half of the time I don't even mind the crazy-high voices and the fact that I don't understand the lyrics, I'll still be walking around humming it as high as I can manage. It's. So. Catchy.

[colindubya.livejournal.com]

I'm not too into Jpop, really, but I do love me some Utada Hikaru. I also like Angela Aki for some more songwriter-y music, ayaka for a powerful voice, and some Crystal Kay for the R&B feel.

But your point about Ayumi Ito singing led me to Wikipedia and led me to that band she was in and one of their songs was...well. I couldn't even listen to more than a couple seconds of it at a time. :/

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

LOL. Yeah, I had the same reaction to Ayumi Ito's band (and a resounding: Tifa can't sing). The Ayumi Ito in Ri-Sa.J can sing, though, and it's a nice alto (very unusual!)

[kokoronagomu.livejournal.com]

NICE! hikaru utada and yuna ito are great jpop singers. i have a few CDs of moriyama naotarou and natsukawa rimi --they're not exactly jpop but i love their voices =D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmjQaF4xwmY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-cV_FapS68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKNVzKrGjBI
natsukawa rimi is known for her okinawan folk and other things
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjELpQTdIvU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NESY3iDXMc4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElEc4TewkXE
of course you probably know judy and mary =p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySZNCIQRbvI
i could only find the karaoke version of the following song because they pulled most of the gospeller's videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7klXtyqQGCI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QqvWtcTaQo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VXs8l0T6tc
so, do you like swedish jazz?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZErDuwUDe8M
i have been wanting to get some yuki kajiura and kalafina for a long time. (in the following videos yuki kajiura composed and plays piano while the group kalifina sings --with a few others)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9JgkA_Xq1E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVZJODGyYMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FsbIW-8UcA
sorry --sometimes i get carried away.

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

The first Moriyama song reminds me of something... I just. Can't. Remember. WHAT. (arg!)

Judy and Mary never grabbed me =/ I just don't like the vocals at all. Gospeller and Yuki Kajiura were awesome, though! And the Swedish Jazz was fantastic!

Here are some others to try from my end. ;)

Tomorrow by Okamoto Mayo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBH0ebSdADQ

Ue o Muite Aruko by Kyu Sakamoto (old song... hate that they called it Sukiyaki on American radio)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As_RXzCyA74

Ima Sugu Ni by AZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YHAQ4pCxx8

Hana by Ishimine Satoko (a cover of an older song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma1If0TTwsA

A few songs by ALI Project (they're... different)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1ozCzLse40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvsDGzVfy3U

Powder Veil by Fayray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5T3llJStDQ

kirameku toki ni by Manish (I liked it before I knew it was a theme song...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN-ARgk1K2c

kimi ga itakara by Field of View (male vocalists!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-I2JNYJfXg

Arai Akino ... her songs have a sad, ethereal sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgLI0kJKb6c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F58tDy0rKHc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx3WiCIEa1k

Toshinori Yonekura! I love his voice. *_*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTgabzoaSNM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=togHh8luktQ

Love Like This by SS501 (Korean)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDfasT7x8o0

Tori no Uta by Lia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAFbjX4xc4Y

I've mentioned BoA before... so I'll just link Valenti, as it's my favorite of hers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbWQgjyYSPQ (Korean)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rZEAdgD9hA (Japanese)

Muteki na ai by JYONGRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6JkA3S-hQ8

Feel My Heart by ELT -- she has a high, thin voice, but I can't resist the catchiness...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU19M7R15eY

...as you can see, you aren't the only one to get carried away...

[e-i-88.livejournal.com]

I had ever heard of those two before actually, but had never heard of their songs (I usually just listen what I already like, so that it would minimize the possibility of wasted time :|).
Ri-Sa.J's is good, though I like the BENI's better.
Thanks for sharing, Tae-san! :)

[sorrowsflower.livejournal.com]

I just saw this post now (on the account of me not being able to go online for months) and I know this comment is very late, but I just HAD to add my own input.

I'm not much on J-pop in general ('cause I don't like the high, squeaky voices of SOME Japanese singers much), but I do adore Koda Kumi. I became a convert when I heard the Japanese version of 'Real Emotion' from the FFX2 soundtrack :D I love her voice and versatility -- not to mention she does great live performances (the girl knows how to put on a show ^_^)

If you haven't heard some of her stuff, you should check these out:

Aisho:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfAQuxDtIYE


And from her Trick tour (2009):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjuCdPEW7mI