Misako Uno & Mayu -- Groovin'

 

I was watching the morning information show on NHK known as "Asaichi"（あさイチ）and being a Thursday, the theme was pinpointing a certain area in Japan for a tour. Well, the area of note for today was Tokyo's own bohemian Shimo-Kitazawa, a place that I've visited a few times and has most recently been the setting for the popular anime "Bocchi The Rock!"（ぼっち・ざ・ろっく!）.

I've had this song on the backlog for a while but after watching the very cordial walkabout in Shimo-Kitazawa, I thought that "Groovin'" by Misako Uno（宇野実彩子）& Mayu would make for a nice fit with the area. The song is just as laidback as the neighbourhood but it also has some of that cool beat in there, too. 

The thing though is that "Groovin'" had never been used as a theme for any particular area in Tokyo but as an insert song for a July-September 2005 television drama titled "Slow Dance"（スローダンス）. It was one of the dramas that was slotted into the prized Monday-at-9 pm time and space on Fuji-TV, so I gather that it was a romance drama along the lines of other shows for that schedule including "Tokyo Love Story" and "Hyakuikkaime no Propose"（１０１回目のプロポーズ....The 101st Proposal). A fellow by the name of S.D. Preppy was responsible for the soundtrack and I assume that he was also behind "Groovin'".

As for Uno, she wears a lot of hats in show business including those of model, YouTuber and singer. But she is also a member of the performance group AAA. Mayu is someone that I couldn't find anything about so I'm left wondering whether she was a backup singer brought in for a one-time gig or maybe even one of the production staff recruited to help out in the recording. If anyone can let me know about who Mayu is, please do so.