Seiko Sato -- Kono Koi ga Subete（この恋がすべて）

 

Wow! The more you know, eh? All these years and I hadn't known that comedians Tsutomu Sekine（関根勤） and Kazuki Kosakai（小堺一機）had actually been a comedic duo. Of course, I knew them individually: Sekine has been a mainstay tarento on a ton of variety shows as well as a celebrity impressionist. Kosakai is someone I knew who had that long-running talk show on Fuji-TV during weekday afternoons. But apparently since 1981, the two of them were known as the duo Kosakin（コサキン）.

The two also had their own radio show "Kosakin de WOW!"（コサキンDEワァオ!）for about 28 years between 1981 and 2009 (with specials about once a year starting from 2020). They even had their own brief late-night variety show "Kosakinruu no Okonnaide, Kiite!!"（コサキンルーの怒んないで聞いて!!...Kosakinruu, Don't Get Angry, Just Listen!!）from 1993 to 1994.

The ending theme for that show was Seiko Sato's（佐藤聖子）"Kono Koi ga Subete" (All This Love) which can be found on her January 1994 album "Marvelous Act". Written by Yui Nishiwaki（西脇唯）and composed by Sato herself, it's quite the upbeat song for a late-night show that approaches 90s City Pop. I'd also think that it could have been fine adorning some prime-time show as well.

All-Points Bulletin: Find That Album?!

 

To wrap up today's trio of articles, last night I received a contact from Edward and since you see the apple pie up there, the KKP veterans know that this is the blog symbol for an All-Points Bulletin.

However, the APB isn't for the title and/or singer of a mystery song. There is no aural sample here this time. Edward is searching for an album that is City Pop-related from the 80s or 90s but doesn't know the singer or title here. He did give me a general description, though.

-girl standing in front of a yellow wall

-album title appears above her in bold black letters

-she's wearing a black skirt but no information on the shirt

I decided to play Police Sketch Artist and tried to come up with something through the Bing AI generator. The above is the result but of course, I wasn't trying to come up with anything amazing that could resemble the album cover. It's just a general idea and maybe that could be enough to jog some City Pop-loving minds out there about what this album is and who the singer is. Maybe someone out there actually owns it. Let's see if there's a nibble.

April 25th 2025: Looks like we've had a quick and happy resolution to the mystery. Edward was able to find and identify the album that he'd been searching for. It's Seiko Sato's（佐藤聖子）"Bright Lights" from 1992. The track below is "Moonlight Wolf".

Seiko Sato -- Hoshi no Inai Shuumatsu（星のいない週末）

 

(cover version by Miku Hatsune)

Never heard of singer-songwriter Seiko Sato（佐藤聖子）before but she had her time behind the microphone between 1992 and 1998, and the Saitama Prefecture native was also appearing as a tarento on television. During those 1990s, she released thirteen singles and six albums of which her debut album was "Bright Lights" from February 1992.

"Hoshi no Inai Shuumatsu" (Starless Weekend) is the track that launches "Bright Lights". Written by Yui Nishiwaki（西脇唯）and composed by Sato, it's a song that straddles the line between bouncy girl pop and 90s City Pop. I'm not sure that they needed those hints of New Jack Swing, though. But I do like Sato's voice which reminds me of Reimy（麗美）and Cindy. The lyrics tell of a young woman heading home from the supermarket and looking up at the night sky, but instead of pining for love, she sees bright hope up there despite the lack of astral bodies. 

Once Sato retired from singing, she went full-time into practicing her flamenco dancing, a hobby that she had started back in elementary school. In fact, she established her own flamenco school, according to her J-Wiki profile.