=LOVE -- Teokure caution (手遅れcaution)

It’s been a while since I last listened to something surprising coming from the Japanese market. Besides the usual artists, such as Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ), Chisato Moritaka (森高千里) or Shizuka Kudo (工藤静香), I’ve spent a lot of my time listening to New Kids On The Block lately (“Step by Step” is pop perfection, by the way). Yeah, my fault for falling in love with the boyband’s late 80s/early 90s cheesy numbers.

However, with some help, I can still get into some creative aidoru songs from nowadays. Even though I’m well aware that the majority of them is safe, bland and formulaic, I can still hear bits of imaginative pop music construction coming from this niche, and maybe a good example is the strong, dramatic and over the top “Teokure caution” by aidoru group =LOVE (イコールラブ).

Partially produced by AKB48 and HKT48 superstar member Rino Sashihara (指原莉乃), =LOVE is a group comprised by seiyuu aidoru singers that made its major debut last year, in 2017. Now, in May 2018, they’ve released their third single, “Teokure caution”, with a music video full of bad acting accompanying this surprisingly good song.

“Teokure caution” isn’t an easy ride that will make you chill and relax. In the end, your ears will probably be a little worned out, thanks to all the wild strings and the typical AKB48-like unison singing during the choruses. I feel like being hit by a blast of obscure energy, but one well put together. Not that the song is perfect, and it’s far from it, but I enjoy the dare shown by all the people responsible for producing and releasing songs like that in the mainstream market. Something that’s so detached from the common sense generally adopted in the pop music world, or, as I like to say, a song with so many wrong elements put together in a beautiful way.

The single reached #3 on the Oricon charts, selling around 75,932 copies, according to. Lyrics were written by Rino Sashihara, while music was composed by Hiroshi Imai (今井ひろし). As for the arrangement, Tatsuya Kurauchi (倉内達矢) was the responsible.

Source: https://www.generasia.com/w/images/6/64/%3DLOVE_-_Teokure_caution_reg_C.jpg

Aya Matsuura/Rino Sashihara -- Yeah! Meccha Holiday （Yeah! めっちゃホリディ）

I thought it was about time that Ayaya finally got one of her own up on the blog (although she has appeared on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" once before with her cover of "Watarasebashi") so here it is. And besides, for a while, she was the IT girl for Hello Project for her gosh-darned spritely perkiness.

Although Aya Matsuura（松浦亜弥）never auditioned for Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）, she did try out and got into the Hello Project. She debuted in 2001 but the song here is "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" (Yeah! Super Holiday), her 6th single from May 2002. Ayaya has basically seared herself in my memory with her singing this particular title and the lyric "suNge, suNge, suNge, suNge..." which can, depending on my mood, be cheerful or darn annoying. But with that original music video above, the song is just so bright and sunny that summer is the only season which can be imagined for it.

Plus, there is that dancing which has probably inspired many a singer at karaoke. Being a Hello Project member, "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" was written and composed by Tsunku（つんく）. It peaked at No. 2 on Oricon and got her 2nd invitation to NHK's Kohaku Utagassen that year.

Rino Sashihara（指原莉乃）of AKB48 did a cover of "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" for her debut single as a solo singer "Soredemo Suki Da yo"（それでも好きだよ...I Love You In Spite Of It）in May 2012. There seems to have been quite the gimmick surrounding this release since there were four versions from Type A to Type D. Sashihara's take on the Ayaya song is on the Type C CD.

However, the person I know the best when it comes to the various cover versions of "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" isn't technically a singer but a transsexual tarento by the name of Ai Haruna（はるな愛）. She basically made her way onto everyday terebi by giving her own high-energy take on the song, and she also shows up with Sashihara in the video above.

Rino Sashihara -- Ikuji Nashi Masquerade (意気地なしマスカレード)

I don’t know why or when, but somehow my favourite AKB48 member turned to be Rino Sashihara (指原莉乃), leaving behind beauties like Haruna Kojima (小嶋陽菜) and Yuko Oshima (大島優子). Well, being accurate, Sasshi (さっしー) is now part of a sister group called HKT48, but she was part of AKB48 before a scandal in mid-2012 involving a tabloid statement by an allegedly ex-boyfriend who accused her of being “overly sexually aggressive”. Most important, though, Sasshi still participates in AKB48’s songs and she won last year's (2013) General Elections, which resulted in her being the center girl for the big hit “Koisuru Fortune Cookie” (恋するフォーチュンクッキー). Nowadays, together with Mayu “Mayuyu” Watanabe (渡辺麻友), she’s one of the main girls of a group that’s slowly losing its well known faces (just like Morning Musume [モーニング娘。] years ago).

Besides her activities in AKB48 and HKT48, Sasshi also debuted as a solo artist in early 2012 with the happy-go-lucky aidoru tune “Soredemo Suki da yo” (それでも好きだよ), while “Ikuji Nashi Masquerade”, our featured song, was her second single, released in October 2012 as a split single with a sub-unit called AnRiRe (アンリレ).

At first, I thought “Ikuji Nashi Masquerade” was a Sailor Moon (美少女戦士セーラームーン) song because of the whole magical girl vibe both in the melody and arrangement, but it’s just a regular song without an anime tie-in. The synths are pretty nice, especially when doppelgänger-ing haunting strings. Besides that, it’s a straightforward pop song with little variation and Sasshi’s tolerable vocals (a live performance of the song is not recommended at all, but if someone have the need, click here).

Sasshi may not be a good singer, which she surely isn’t, but she has a great and funny personality. A couple of months ago, when she participated in one of Masahiro Nakai’s (中居正広) TV shows, a fan of popular group SMAP started talking bad things about her in a social media. In a smart move, Sasshi went to see other messages posted by the girl and saw how happy she was because of several consecutive dates. Based on that, Sasshi personally answered the bad message with a sarcastic “I’m jealous that you get to date every day”. In the end, thanks to the exposure provided by the answer, Sasshi’s fans started annoying the girl until she closed her account in the social media. Not a very aidoru attitude from Sasshi, for sure, and that’s what’s great about her.

“Ikuji Nashi Masquerade” reached #1 on the charts, selling 85,798 copies. Lyrics were written by Yasushi Akimoto (秋元康), while music was composed by Shunsuke Tanaka (田中俊亮). As for the arrangement, it was done by Yuishi “Masa” Nonaka (野中“まさ”雄一).

Source: generasia.com