I was watching "Uta Con"（うたコン）last night as would usually be the case on a Tuesday, and the theme was requests so I saw performances of the kayo classic "Izakaya"（居酒屋）and the Shonentai（少年隊） ballad "Kimi Dake ni"（君だけに）.
But there were also some of the newer tunes by the guests, and I heard this one, "Stage Light", by enka singer Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）. Released last month on CD, the song was written by Kozai herself and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本真人）, but this time around, instead of it being a traditional enka number, "Stage Light" is more of a classy pop song. In fact, I was getting some Fashion Music vibes as I was listening to it which meant that I was being reminded of 80s singers including Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）.
Kozai's vocals have that balance of enka softness and steel against a background of shimmering strings and stately rhythms, and perhaps it's indeed that reminder of a certain segment of late Showa Era balladry.
(shortened version)
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