It’s been a while since I’ve truly liked one of AKB48’s
main songs. Even though I’ve found last year’s "Negaigoto no Mochigusare" (願いごとの持ち腐れ)
an interesting, solid and experimental release, I was somewhat missing their
disco/funk tunes in the style of 2013’s “Koi Suru Fortune Cookie” (恋するフォーチュンクッキー), 2015's "Halloween Night" (ハロウィン・ナイト) and 2016’s “High Tension” (ハイテンション).
Now, starting off 2018, the group is releasing “Ja-ba-ja”,
a catchy, sexy and groovy tune full of character that I’ll probably give a lot of spin,
which is always good coming from Japan’s top aidoru group. Yeah, it can sound a
little bit slow at some points, but I like how full of swag its arrangement can
sound with the beat and all the horns. Also, the ‘ja-ba-ja’ hook is pretty nice
and effective, since I always catch myself singing along to it, and the chorus is
a winner as well, because it deviates from AKB48’s traditional and tired
hyper-cute formula. In the end, like always, they’re not reinventing the wheel,
but it’s not bad to release a true fun song from time to time.
Lyrics were written by Yasushi Akimoto (秋元 康),
while music was composed by Akira Sunset and Naoki Endo (遠藤ナオキ). As
for the marvelous arrangement, APAZZI was the responsible.
Source: generasia.com
Hello, Marcos.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear AKB48 coming out with something nice and funky again. The single is apparently coming out in the next several hours!
Hi, J-Canuck.
DeleteI was glad when I first heard this song, because I was afraid of some boring spring ballad coming from the group (they've done that a lot in the past). However, I was pleasantly surprised to listen to their traditional disco/funk single so early in the year.
Hello Marcos!
ReplyDeleteIt really is a nice song. At first I found it too slow to be a title song for a single, but after the MV came out and I listened to it in better quality, I started to enjoy it.
It's also a special single for me because my favorite AKB member, Nana Okada, is performing for the first time as center of the song formation. She is a very talented and diligent girl and she's riding a nice wave of popularity after Mayu Watanabe graduated.
Hi, Joana.
DeleteIt's good to know you follow AKB48 as well. Like I said, it's been a while since I truly enjoyed one of their main songs, but this one just won me over after the first listen. Vocals are typical AKB48, but melody is so engaging and the arrangement is so slick and well done that I couldn't resist.
I agree that it may sound slow at first, but the groovy is so real in this one that it don't need to be fast-paced. And the MV is surely a highlight with its bright colors and overall interactions between the girls. You know, it was great to see them doing some chill, non-aidoru movements during some of the parts.
As for Nana Okada, I remember her from Cabasuka Gakuen and her shy/strange customer, but it's the first time I pay attention to her in a music video. It's nice she's finally getting some attention now that Mayuyu is gone. However, I'll not lie to you... even though the new generation is fine, I still miss Yuko Oshima and the gorgeous Haruna Kojima, and that's probably because I started following AKB48 back in 2010, when they released "Ponytail to Shushu". Also, things will start to look a little sad to me when Sasshi graduates, but let's wait.
One thing I forgot to mention: one of the single's coupling songs, "Ai no Moake" by SKE48, is also a very good tune. The funky vibe is somewhat similar to "Ja-ba-ja".
DeleteHello, folks.
DeleteI just saw "Ja-ba-ja" performed on this week's "Uta Kon" on NHK. I can give even odds that this will probably be played at the Kohaku at the end of the year.