Another year has gone by, and here’s what I thought of it, at least as far a Japanese idol pop goes.
I’ve already reported on some of the idols that have graduated and some idol groups that have disbanded in 2022 in a previous article I wrote on May 23, but those weren’t the only idols that left the entertainment world in 2022. NODOCA, the leader of Michinoku Sendai ORI☆HIMETAI, graduated on March 27, 2022. The new leader of ORI☆HIMETAI is MIHO. I already mentioned that MOMOHA of Marble Angel graduated on May 5, 2022, but on December 11 the leader of Marble Angel, Umeda Aoi, also graduated. The new leader of Marble Angel is Ishimatsu Haruna. Ayaka of Menkoi Girls graduated on November 27. The duo Chibi Mini. only lasted a few months before disbanding.
So, now I want to focus on something more positive! My favorite idol songs from 2022, in no particular order.
“Rabi Love Spell (Acer Version)” by Rabi Rabu IDOL School is a song I play often. This is pretty much my pick for Best Song of the Year! Rabi Rabu IDOL School have a new single that will be released on January 1, 2023, and I’m sure that song will make my best of list next year!
“messiah” by Lock★Rock BAB is another great song I like to play the video for. This one’s for all of you hard rock and metal fans!
“Tokimeki no SPACE” by ww is a pretty good song that has been announced on Twitter as the group’s first single, on sale April 4, 2023! If only I could find the SPIRAL MUSIC singles I want on sale online...
“DIG” by Aoshima Momo is a funky “vocaloid” song that Momo wrote the lyrics for. The video is a limited animation video, with no live action.
“♥Kyu→Pid♥” (“Cupid”) by Chibi Mini. is a song by two balls of energy better known as Takahashi Kazaha and Shiraki Hina (who has now changed her stage name to PINA for some reason). Do you recognize the silver trailer that is used for some scenes in this video? It’s the same one that was used by St. BONAPRO SCHOOL in 2013 for their video “Yumemiru Carnival”.
“Planet Rendezvous” by Harajuku Gakuen is the debut single by another SPIRAL MUSIC group (the third one listed in this article, after ww and Chibi Mini.) that is one of my current favorite groups. When Harajuku Gakuen perform on their home stage you might see the members, mostly leader Aoyama Nanako and Amakawa Mio (who now has short hair), goof off. That’s what makes watching all of their videos fun for me.
“Rockyun Date Sunday” by Rockyun Roll was the first - and last - single by this duo (Hoshino Runa and Yuduki Ramu). There isn’t an official video, but you can hear the audio while looking at the CD cover.
“YOSOLO” by CRUiSE! is a typically energetic song from this group, with one slightly odd musical shift. I love everything that CRUiSE! does, so I’m not complaining.
“flick! flick! flick!” by Hiwillow is a song I wasn’t sure I’d like, since it’s their first single without former leader SHIKI. But I was surprised that it sounded good to my ears. There is an official video (two, actually), but it can’t be found on YouTube. You need to buy the single which comes with a DVD to see the music videos. Here’s a live fan video.
“Symphony of Singing to You for 7.7 Billion Minutes” by Fluffy Star + SUNNY Fruits is a collaboration song, although both groups feature some of the same members. Each group released a single with this song on it, and I assume it’s the same version on each CD. The Fluffy Star single, titled “Go x 5”, is now out of print. Again, I’m assuming that only a limited amount of copies were pressed and it sold out faster than was expected. I never got a copy, so I hope it will be reissued. At least the SUNNY Fruits single, “SWEETS”, is still available (at the moment).
“Tippy Toes” by XG was the first single for this group, who are probably the most recognized out of all the groups I am sharing music for in this article. They sing in mostly in English, but also in Japanese and Korean, and are trying for an international appeal. To me, this is still J-Pop. My biggest reason for liking XG is Ueda Juria, former member of the kids idol group amorecarina. I think she’s an amazing singer, as well as being very beautiful. Truth be told, all the girls are pretty amazing.
“POP SHARK” by Shinozaki Karin, formerly Kimura Karin of NA-NA, is her second solo single. Every one of Karin’s fans should know that she loves sharks, so I’m not surprised she is singing a song with “shark” in the title. I like this a bit more than her first video / single “My Life”, so this one goes on my list of favorites.
“Welcome to Nyanko Town” by Momonyan (Momo is her name, “nyan” is the sound a cat makes) is her first solo single after leaving the group Fluffy Star. Momonyan writes her own lyrics and sometimes uses sign language for certain songs too! Of course, all the members of Fluffy Star also write their own lyrics, so this must come natural to her by this point. I had to choose a fan video, and I hope I found one that looks and sounds good to everyone.
Well, that’s all I have to share for this year. Obviously, this is not all of the Japanese idol songs I listened to in 2022, but these are the ones that stood out to me. As always, I thank you if you read my blog and took a look at the videos and links included here. I hope all my readers have a great rest of the year and all the years to come!
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