I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
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.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Kyoko Koizumi -- Anata ni Aete Yokatta （あなたに会えてよかった）
Man, time does fly! Right now, the NHK morning serial drama, "Ama-chan"（あまちゃん）, stars veteran singer-actress Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子） as a middle-aged, suffer-no-fools mother whose high-school-age daughter realizes she wants to become a diver for sea urchin and other shellfish. A little over 20 years ago, she would've been playing the daughter. And that she did on a Fuji-TV drama titled "Papa to Natchan"（パパとなっちゃん....Papa and Natchan） back in 1991 in which she played a university sophomore against Masakazu Tamura (the future Columbo of Japan, Ninzaburo Furuhata) as her father. I only caught a few scenes of the show with the most notable one near the end where Kyon-Kyon's Natsumi is giving her thanks to her father before getting married as Papa dissolves into a wreck of lachrymal fluid.
The theme song for the drama was "Anata ni Aete Yokatta"(Glad To Have Met You), whose lyrics were written by Koizumi herself while the melody was made by Takeshi Kobayashi（小林武史） who has had strong connections with bands like My Little Lover and Mr. Children. Instead of the aidoru tunes I first knew her for back during the 80s, this song was firmly in breezy pop territory; not teen stuff but something that I could identify as a song for women in their 20s. I wouldn't be surprised if it had become an unofficial theme song for the OLs starting their lives in Japan Inc. I remember hearing "Anata ni Aete Yokatta" a whole lot in the last few months of my Gunma stay. Considering that scene from the show I talked about in the previous paragraph, I think the song probably would still be a popular one to be played at wedding receptions.
The song hit the top spot on Oricon after its release in May 1991 and became the 6th-ranked song of the year. And it also won two Japan Record Awards, one for Koizumi in the category of songwriting. It would eventually sell 1.5 million copies, and to date, it is the final No. 1 for the singer. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it on the Net, but the coupling song for "Anata ni Aete Yokatta" is "Saigo no Kiss"(最後のキッス....A Final Kiss), a bluesy jazz ballad also written by Koizumi and composed by Japanese guitarist/songwriter, EBBY. I actually like that song just as much as the A-side.
Thanks J-Canuck for this great post on 小泉今日子's 「あなたに会えてよかった」. While my favorite キョンキョン songs will always be 「なんてったってアイドル」 and 「水のルージュ」, this definitely is third on my list. Saw キョンキョン just recently as well on the フジテレビ drama 『最後から二番目の恋』 which they just finished up broadcasting on NGN over here. The series also starred 中井貴一 and an almost unrecognizable 内田有紀 who I absolutely adored back in the 90s. Just like some of the other 80s idols like 工藤静香, 南野陽子, 森高千里, 斉藤由貴 and 荻野目洋子, キョンキョン still looks pretty great in her 40s.
Thanks J-Canuck for this great post on 小泉今日子's 「あなたに会えてよかった」. While my favorite キョンキョン songs will always be 「なんてったってアイドル」 and 「水のルージュ」, this definitely is third on my list. Saw キョンキョン just recently as well on the フジテレビ drama 『最後から二番目の恋』 which they just finished up broadcasting on NGN over here. The series also starred 中井貴一 and an almost unrecognizable 内田有紀 who I absolutely adored back in the 90s. Just like some of the other 80s idols like 工藤静香, 南野陽子, 森高千里, 斉藤由貴 and 荻野目洋子, キョンキョン still looks pretty great in her 40s.
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