After a decade in show business, "La La La Love Song" was Kubota's first No. 1 on Oricon. What must have made it even sweeter for him was that it was all his doing. He composed, wrote and sang the No. 3-ranked song of 1996...and had one of the world's most famous (and volatile) supermodels to help out. And to top it all off, it became the theme song for one of the most popular Japanese dramas in recent memory, "Long Vacation", starring one of the most popular heartthrobs at the time, Takuya Kimura（木村拓哉） of SMAP. Talk about one star-blessed tie-up. The guys at Fuji-TV must have been over the moon.
I never really fell for the KimuTaku oeuvre, but there was no way I could avoid Kubota's magnum opus. It was everywhere that year, including the karaoke boxes. It just had that funky hook and Kubota's smooth voice. I eventually bought the single and the album it had come on, "La La La Love Thang". As for his 16th single, "La La La Love Song" was released in May 1996, hit the top spot, and smashed through that million-unit barrier with 2 million copies sold.
As for the album, "La La La Love Thang" made it to No. 2 and became the 26th-ranked album of 1997. His 8th album was released in December 1996. Of course, I have to show the man in action performing his most popular hit.
There had to have been at least an indirect effect from her musical collaboration for Campbell when it came to a series of commercials starring the supermodel. In 1996 and 1997, Naomi became a household name of sorts in Japan for the esthetic salon TBC. In the first ad, it all started with the usual parent-daughter battle as Japanese Naomi stormed off to TBC against the parentals' wishes and came back as supermodel Naomi. Much hilarity ensued. For several months, "Naomi yo"(ナオミよ.... It's Naomi) became a popular catchphrase.
Coincidentally, I finished watching "Long Vacation" last saturday, and I liked it very much.
ReplyDeleteAbout the song, I must confess that it's not the type of song that catch my eyes, but, probably because of the drama, I enjoy it.
I find it very nostalgic, and that's a very good feeling to have. Other song that I enjoy very much is the theme for "Love Generation", another KimuTaku and Matsu Takako drama, called "Shiawase na Ketsumatsu" and sung by Eiichi Ohtaki.
I'm liking these old dramas very much. It's a great experience and an alternative option as I don't care about Brazilian soap operas.
Hey, bode.
ReplyDeleteYup, when it comes to this blog, nostalgia is the name of the game here. :)
Again,I enjoyed listening to the theme song of "Love Generation" more than the actual drama itself. However, I did have my period of trendy drama viewing in the early-mid 90s. So, "Tokyo Love Story" and "Hyaku-Ikkai-Me no Propose" are in there. Plus, I also liked "Coach" with Atsuko Asano and Koji Tamaki, especially its theme song of "Den'en".