Monday, January 27, 2020

Chiaki Watanabe -- Natsu ni Refresh(夏にリフレッシュ)


"So, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi also composed aidoru tunes, eh?"


I translated the comment by the uploader of this video, and like him/her, I was also quite surprised to find out that the tough Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi(長渕剛), who has been behind folk-rock songs such as "Tombo"(とんぼ), also provided music for the teenybopper singers of the 1980s.

His client here was Chiaki Watanabe(渡辺千秋)whose career was not too short and not too long (1983-1992). In April 1984, she released her debut single "Natsu ni Refresh" (Refresh In Summer) and is an appropriately bouncy aidoru tune composed by Nagabuchi with future AKB48 organizer Yasushi Akimoto(秋元康)taking care of the lyrics. "Natsu ni Refresh" is breezy and skip-worthy but Nagabuchi also includes some West Coast AOR sounds in the middle as well...kinda feels like a vacation in California or a commercial for orange juice. However, in actual fact, the song was used for a Nivea skin cream ad.

Watanabe released a total of 3 singles with no albums, although those singles did end up as part of an overall aidoru compilation called the "Aidoru Miracle Bible Series"(アイドル・ミラクルバイブルシリーズ). She also appeared as an actress and tarento in a number of series before calling it a showbiz career and returning to her native Yamaguchi Prefecture.

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