Minami Hazuki & Shiro Aoi -- Koi wa Suteki na Showtime（恋は素敵なショータイム）

 

Ahhh....the Mood Kayo Avengers. Always nice to have at any drinking establishment on a Sunday night before we all have to put our noses to the grindstone once more the next day.

Glad to see some of the kayo kyoku veterans still around to make some really nostalgic yesteryear tunes. For example, it was only in the last week or so that I heard about "Koi wa Suteki na Showtime" (Love is a Splendid Showtime), a Mood Kayo released earlier this year with venerable Masao Urino（売野雅勇）on the lyrics about an alcohol-boosted ode to the bittersweet experience of love. Just-as-venerable Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）was behind music and arrangement for this fun and jaunty karaoke-friendly tune with a good dollop of Latin stirred in. 

But that's not all, as they say on those old commercials. "Koi wa Suteki na Showtime" reminds me of another Mood Kayo duet titled "Otoko to Onna no Love Game" (男と女のラブ・ゲーム）from 1986; the karaoke classic happens to have been composed by Makaino as well. Not only that, the male half of that duet is back to help out on this one: Shiro Aoi（葵司朗）. This time though, his partner is enka singer Minami Hazuki（葉月みなみ）from Niigata Prefecture. Hazuki, who has been in showbiz since 2009, not only lends her vocal cords to the proceedings but also her ability as a flutist (she can also play the accordion according to her J-Wiki profile). The song is officially her 5th digital single released in February 2024.