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.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Mariya Takeuchi -- Single Again（シングル・アゲイン）
I just listen to this song over and over again, and while it has that melancholy melody, it also has some glimmers of hope in the refrain. "Single Again" is Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）18th single which was released in September 1989. Although it can remind people of those sad relationship breakups, it was actually used as the 8th ending theme for that Japanese TV chestnut, "Kayo Suspense Gekijo"（火曜サスペンス劇場...The Tuesday Night Suspense Drama） which kinda makes sense since getting thrown in jail pretty much guarantees solitude (well, unless one has seen "The Shawshank Redemption" among other prison movies). However, Takeuchi's original aim with the song was to reflect a woman's feelings after finding out her beau's indiscretions.
"Single Again" peaked at No. 2 on Oricon and ended the year at No. 22. It was a very long seller as it ended up in 50th place at the end of 1990. The song eventually also ended up as a track on Takeuchi's 8th album, "Quiet Life" which came out in 1992.
Hello! I would just like to know if you have any other information about this song (such as shows where it was the theme song, live videos of Mariya Takeuchi singing, etc.). It's really one of my favorite songs, and I'd appreciate it if you could shed some more light over this rare gem of a song.
Aside from the information I got from J-Wiki that I've put up above, I couldn't find any other stuff about "Single Again". Perhaps the only other thing I could get from that J-Wiki article was that it sold 700,000 copies. Took a quick look at the following video which shows the ending of a typical episode from "Kayo Suspense Gekijo" and the Mariya theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKcDn2RB3oo
However, I couldn't find any live videos of her singing "Single Again". By the way, how did you become a Mariya fan? Was it this song that attracted you or was it another one?
Hello! Thank you very much for the video: I've been looking for something like that for quite some time. Yes, I initially became a fan of Mariya Takeuchi when I first heard "Single Again" three years ago. Ever since then, I have been a devoted fan of her music, despite the fact that I have to go through extra lengths in order to have them translated (since I am an English speaker). I would really like to be able to watch her live in a concert, or at the very least, be able to acquire a live video of her singing "Single Again" live. Once again, thank you very much!
Good to hear that you've been enjoying her work so much. My first Mariya tune was 1979's "September". She's in her 60s now, I believe, so perhaps her concerts may not be too frequent anymore but hopefully you'll be able to catch one soon.
This is the prime example of a song with a Filipino cover so well-known it's practically OPM, as Rodel Naval's cover Lumayo ka Man sa Akin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axwQZRx-OlY
Hello! I would just like to know if you have any other information about this song (such as shows where it was the theme song, live videos of Mariya Takeuchi singing, etc.). It's really one of my favorite songs, and I'd appreciate it if you could shed some more light over this rare gem of a song.
ReplyDeleteHello there.
ReplyDeleteAside from the information I got from J-Wiki that I've put up above, I couldn't find any other stuff about "Single Again". Perhaps the only other thing I could get from that J-Wiki article was that it sold 700,000 copies. Took a quick look at the following video which shows the ending of a typical episode from "Kayo Suspense Gekijo" and the Mariya theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKcDn2RB3oo
However, I couldn't find any live videos of her singing "Single Again". By the way, how did you become a Mariya fan? Was it this song that attracted you or was it another one?
Hello! Thank you very much for the video: I've been looking for something like that for quite some time. Yes, I initially became a fan of Mariya Takeuchi when I first heard "Single Again" three years ago. Ever since then, I have been a devoted fan of her music, despite the fact that I have to go through extra lengths in order to have them translated (since I am an English speaker). I would really like to be able to watch her live in a concert, or at the very least, be able to acquire a live video of her singing "Single Again" live. Once again, thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteHi again!
DeleteGood to hear that you've been enjoying her work so much. My first Mariya tune was 1979's "September". She's in her 60s now, I believe, so perhaps her concerts may not be too frequent anymore but hopefully you'll be able to catch one soon.
Nice to know that the song peaked at number 2 - such an incredible tune. Your blog is a treasure trove of information!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteThis is the prime example of a song with a Filipino cover so well-known it's practically OPM, as Rodel Naval's cover Lumayo ka Man sa Akin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axwQZRx-OlY
ReplyDelete