The forgotten solo artist? Once the most popular member of Morning Musume, Abe Natsumi is not anywhere close to her early success. I never hear about die-hard Natsumi fans anymore! I am ambitiously reviewing all of her discography to bring some hype to Nacchi, ending with her newest mini-album release. I won’t let Tsunku stop her solo career and shuffle her into groups until she slowly burns out! *pant *pant.

Haha to Musume no Duet Song is an “unofficial” single from Natsumi she performed with Yosumi Keiko. The single isn’t too bad, and it wasn’t meant to truly be a hit single, but it is comforting to listen to.

My Subjective Score: 8/10


1. Haha no Musume no Duet
This is just a full-out cutesy song. There are some guitar parts, some piano parts, and some of everything. As it is a mother and daughter song, it doesn’t fit with any particular trend of music, but has family-friendly approach. Natsumi and Keiko compliment each other well in the sounds of their voices. This is a cover of an older song, and I am not sure who the original singer is.

2. Koi
Oh, those la-la-la choruses. There are some strange musical sounds sometimes, but I’ll listen to them under any conditions. Koi has the same peppy interaction between the two. I don’t think the song flows perfectly from the beginning to end in composition because the end seems a little disjoint to me personally.

 
Track 1: Haha to Musume no Duet Song

GAM is the newest super group of Hello Project, composed of Fujimoto Miki and Matsuura Aya, my two favorite gals in the whole world. As you may already know, Aya is a successful solo artist while Miki will soon be the leader of Morning Musume. Thanks ! is their first single released on September 13, 2006. Tsunku has really created something big here…and I can’t help but wonder if he’s creating a definite place for Miki to go when she graduates from Morning Musume. Aya and Miki had been grouped together before in Gommatou, along with Maki Goto. Will this be the group that finally sticks? I hope so.

My Subjective Score: 9.5/10


1. Thanks !
This is a very infectious track! I love the fast-paced chorus and background music, which makes it great to dance to. Aya and Miki compliment each other very well. Thanks ! was a smart first single for the two.

2. Shinkirou Romance
A sweet longing love song that doesn’t fall into the ballad trap of similarity. I can already understand that GAM is going to try to be more of a mature and serious group.

 

Track 1: Thanks !

Angela Aki is fairly new on the Japanese music scene although she did release an indie album in the states a while ago. Kiss Me Good-bye was released on March 15, 2006 and reached #4 on the Oricon chart. It is the theme song for the video game Final Fantasy XII and a wonderful single. She no doubt has one of the most amazing voices out there and she is well worth to give any type of support! Angela’s music is different that normal pop acts, and I wouldn’t even call her that; her music reflects her personality because it’s a different sound.

My Subjective Score: 10/10


1. Kiss Me Good-Bye
There is basically nothing I can critque of this song. It is a beautiful ballad! You’ll have to listen to it to understand why I’m lost for words. Her sound is so different from what is currently popular I can’t help but say having this track on the FFXII video game gave her a larger fanbase than she would have had, not to say that she doesn’t derserve it because she’s terrific, but I think it really gave her a boost-up.

2. Santa Fe
The piano accompanient is quite catchy and her voice is just as great as the previous track. I think I like this track the best because I tend to lean to more of up-tempo songs when it comes to choosing my favorites. It has a nice jazzy piano sound to it.

3. Aoi Kage
A soft song that once again is only accompanied by a piano. Again, just as well-composed as the previous songs. Not much for me to say… She reminds me of Sarah McLachlan in a way…very mature and sure of what she wants to create music-wise. I hope she can be diverse with her sound, as even though the songs on this single are pretty, she could easily get stuck.

 
Track 1: Kiss Me Good-Bye

Aya is my all-time favorite artist! She is not the greatest dancer or singer, though she has improved over the past few years, but her cuteness is alarming. You will be seeing many posts of Ayaya in this blog! Suna wo You ni … NAMIDA is Aya’s 19th single released on February 8th, 2006, and it reached the #5 spot on Oricon. Both of the songs are touching ballads that will put you in a relaxed mood.

My Subjective Score: 8.5/10


1. Suna no You ni … NAMIDA
A nice tempo for Aya to sing pleasantly with and to display her maturity. This would be a song I would sing when I’m in a “happy towards the whole world” mood and catching clouds, although the song is about a lost love. Go here to read translated lyrics. It’s a very beautiful ballad and well worth a listen to.

2. Happiness
This song fits perfectly with the one before in mood. It’s almost like Happiness is the continuation of the last. Both of these songs seem like they could be background music to a movie (not in a bad way!). I like the guitar and the piano throughout because it’s giving off maturity not only in singing ability but the accompanient choice. Aya’s at the point where she can move away from the silly pop if she wants to. I can see her doing a lot of enka when she is older.

3. Suna wo You ni . . . NAMIDA (Instrumental)
In case you want to sing along…

 

Track 1: Suna wo You ni . . . NAMIDA

Regular Version: Aya walking around and sitting on steps feeling blue. She looks great but there is barely anything going on at all so you’re not missing anything if you don’t watch it. Aya gives the right facial expressions to coordinate with the song… so that’s really the only thing to watch.


Close-Up Version: If you didn’t get enough action from the one before…

This is the single that got me interested into Hayami! She isn’t as popular as top artists in Japan such as Koda Kumi, but sometimes she puts out a single I really enjoy. Dessert Days is Hayami’s 6th single, released on October 6, 2004. It only reached #36 on the Oricon chart unfortunately.

My Subjective Score: 8/10


1. Dessert Days
I adore this song! The chorus is unnecessarily catchy, and the simple background beats make you hit the repeat button again and again. I feel that she has the ability to become very popular, as she is still fairly young, but I think it might be more dependent on luck because there are so many idols in the JPop scene. Anyway, the speed of the song fit well with the vocals and I could easily dance along.

2. So Many Nights
A suprising B-side because I feel this song was good enough for a single by itself. So Many Nights continues the mood Dessert Days sets. I find myself sometimes liking this better than Dessert Days. I like the break about two-thirds through the song that slows the song down a bit, yet helps it build back up right to the chorus. When Hayami is given a song like this, she nails it. I think she fits perfectly in the category of danceable/trying to be serious/pop music.

3. Konya wa Kaeranai
Konya wa Kaeranai is missing the strength and vibrancy of the two songs that precede it. I felt she could have sang stronger to help the song sound ten times better. However, it is not a terrible song! Though I am not really into the chorus, the verses are nice to listen to.

 
Track 1: Dessert Days

Hayami is in the mall and dancing outside, messing around with friends, which makes her seem very approachable. Yet there were random shots where she is dancing in the ocean (for the sex appeal?). I liked how the beats in the song coordinated to a new shot cut-in keeping the pv exiciting. Her dancing wasn’t half-bad. Hayami is still cute either way. :p