Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Monday, February 14, 2022

Jun & Nene -- O-Atsui Hou ga Suteki!(お熱いほうがステキ!)

 

Actually, I had this song on the backlog for months so I didn't particularly select it for Valentine's Day, but considering the subject matter, I thought it would fit February 14th.

"O-Atsui Hou ga Suteki!" was pop duo Jun & Nene's(じゅん&ネネ)4th single from September 1969, and it's a surprisingly saucy tune wrapped in innocence as the lasses sing about a young lady who's quite the affectionate type, and although it isn't explicitly expressed, perhaps her beau is becoming beet-red. In fact, the final verse has her inviting her boyfriend to enjoy and savor her like a very delectable piece of candy. Thank you for those lyrics, Akari Yamaguchi(山口あかり)!

And yet, the music by Masaaki Hirao(平尾昌晃)does have that traditionally innocent sound, and early on, I thought that things were approaching an enka level. To add onto that, something about the arrangement of "O-Atsui Hou ga Suteki!" is also reminiscent of The Ventures' approach to composing some of their songs for Japanese singers.

Never thought that I would find a performance by Jun & Nene back in the day, but here they are singing "O-Atsui Hou ga Suteki!", and it's actually within a second-season episode of "Heishiro Kiki Ippatsu"(平四郎危機一発...Heishiro in the Nick of Time) in 1969. The show revolved around Heishiro Kujo(九条平四郎), a businessman who has a love for being an amateur sleuth. In any case, the song peaked at No. 48 on Oricon.

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