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, April 6, 2022

Yu Hayami -- Love Light

In early 2018, I wrote up an article on 80s aidoru Yu Hayami's(早見優)April 1982 debut single "Isoide! Hatsukoi"(急いで!初恋), a typically vibrant teenybopper tune that got the Shizuoka Prefecture-born and Guam-and-Hawaii-raised singer and tarento a pretty nice start in show business with a No. 36 ranking on the Oricon weeklies.

Her sophomore single, released later in July, ranked in a little lower at No. 38, but it is also quite different from "Isoide! Hatsukoi". The song has some disco and maybe a tiny bit of City Pop mixed in there as Hayami sings about pleading for that titular love light and some improbable attention from a guy she likes. Unfortunately, the lass sees the lad walking with another young lady arm-in-arm but Yu is hoping beyond hope.

I couldn't find any evidence of it online but I'm wondering whether "Love Light" was actually a cover of a Western pop tune since the original lyricist was Pia Jackson with Jimmy Jackson as the composer. Yoshiko Miura(三浦徳子)provided the Japanese words while Mitsuo Hagita(萩田光雄)arranged everything.

Well, what do you know? There's also an English version to show off Hayami's ability with the language. This version was included in her debut album "And I Love You" from June 1982, with the release hitting No. 25 on Oricon.

3 comments:

  1. Lovely tune. I get a kick out of seeing her on NHK World broadcasts, trying out new foods and stuff.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, she's always struck me as being especially vivacious.

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  2. Very much so. She's probably in the Top 10 of Japanese lyricists in terms of her output.

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