aiko -- Straw（ストロー）

42 years old, you say? aiko certainly doesn't look all that much older now than when she started out on her pop career 20 years ago. Still the long hair, still the red nails, still the bouncing around in her videos.

The Osakan singer-songwriter showed up on "Uta Con"（うたコン）last week to perform her 38th and latest single which was released this month, "Straw". It's got that familiar aiko bounce and although the melody doesn't push the familiar aiko envelope, "Straw" is like that comfortable pair of slippers that you put on the morning or at night. The song is something nice to listen to on the radio or stereo while lounging about on the sofa during the weekend.

And from her lyrics, I think that's the point behind "Straw". I don't really know what giving a red straw for luck really means but I gather that's the in-joke between a young wife and husband as they have their breakfast. The music video pretty much puts the comfy relationship out there. At this point, "Straw" has had its highest ranking at No. 6 on Oricon.