Hey! Say! JUMP -- Negative Fighter（ネガティブファイター）

 

(incomplete version)

I actually saw the video before hearing the song and when I witnessed these fellows dancing and prancing about on a pastel-coloured football gridiron, I had initially assumed that this was a K-Pop group doing their latest. Such was not the case, of course.

Actually, it's Johnny's group Hey! Say! JUMP with their latest, "Negative Fighter", which was released only a few weeks ago on May 12th. Written and composed by a Japanese Tik Tok user and influencer named Mai Ujita（うじたまい）, "Negative Fighter" is all about kicking the blues away and, gosh darn, getting up and at 'em. It's actually quite nice and catchy and disco-esque, and I wouldn't be surprised if Hey! Say! JUMP ended up doing another round with this song at this year's Kohaku Utagassen on NHK.

The group's 29th single once again hit No. 1 on Oricon, and it's quite incredible to see that every single by Hey! Say! JUMP has reached the top spot ever since their debut back in 2007. So far, it's already sold over 200,000 copies. And hey, the song has even reached the ears, eyes and limbs of song-and-dance group Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）!

Hey! Say! JUMP -- Come On A My House

Well, Happy New 2018 everyone! Mostly did the usual thing when it comes to our family...did the o-zoni breakfast with mochi and miso soup and then had my brother's family over for dinner tonight. Plus, most of us watched the video tape of the 68th edition of the Kohaku Utagassen.

In all likelihood, the above video will disappear within the next day or so but for those who catch it quickly enough, you can get a good idea when I say that the Kohaku was actually a bit more entertaining for me when compared to other years. It wasn't the usual introduction with the Red & White teams on stage behind the hosts and a grand anthemic fanfare. NHK actually put in some pizzazz with a "relay" of sorts involving everybody on the list heading up to the Shibuya studio in Tokyo.

Furthermore, the first few songs on the lineup were pretty catchy, too. The top batter was Hey! Say! JUMP, a Johnny's group that hadn't ever gotten onto the blog but here it is tonight. When I first saw the title for this song, I was imagining (as crazy as it may sound) that these guys were actually gonna sing a cover of Rosemary Clooney's standard.

My naivete cleared up quickly as soon as Hey! Say! JUMP started up on the stage. This particular "Come On A My House" is a peppy and inviting boys' band tune that was pretty good to get everyone in the right frame of mind for a Kohaku. Not sure what got me all cheerful about the song but I gather with all of the frigid weather outside and looking back on a year that wasn't exactly the greatest, "Come On A My House" made for a nice tonic.

Written by Komei Kobayashi and composed by veteran Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）, Hey! Say! JUMP's 10th single actually came out back in June 2013, and hit No. 1 on the charts. It's also on their 3rd original album, "smart" from June 2014 which also went to the top spot.