Toshiki Kondo -- She is a Queen

 

Well, Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）is no longer the only person within the vast Labels to have the first name of Toshiki. He now has company. His name is Toshiki Kondo（近藤利樹）and he's just eighteen but he's already attained a reputation as a singer and top-notch ukulele player. He's been releasing singles and albums since 2017 but above, you can also hear his own take on Miki Matsubara's（松原みき）City Pop classic "Mayonaka no Door"（真夜中のドアー）.

According to J-Wiki, Kondo first encountered the ukulele when he was six years old. The Osaka native and his parents were shopping in a Costco when he first saw the instrument on a shelf and claimed that it spoke to him: "Play me!" (not sure if Jake Shimabukuro had experienced his own similar moment). I could imagine the sound that his parents' eyeballs made as they turned skyward and they went home after their son had made that Obi-Wan claim. However, they apparently relented the following year and bought young Toshiki his first ukulele for Christmas. Good investment, too, since a couple of years later, he would win a major ukulele contest. And from then on, he's appeared on many programs across the TV spectrum and had his own radio show for a few years.

His latest single came out in July this year. Titled "She is a Queen", this was created by Kondo, Gota Nishidera（西寺郷太）of the band Nona Reeves and Tomoya Yamagata（山形知也）; Nishidera was also responsible for the production. It's the first time I've ever heard of a Neo-City Pop song with a ukulele in it, but hey, both instrument and singer handle themselves and each other with aplomb. It's a nice summery love tune to help sun worshippers hold onto what remains of the hot season. Perhaps it can be called a kissing cousin to Tomita Lab's（富田ラボ）amazing "Like a Queen".😁