Filed under: About Me, Ayumi Hamasaki, Koda Kumi, Pop Culture, Tila Tequila, Utada Hikaru
Hikki Promoting HEART STATION
Japanese Music
My favorite music genre is R&B, even when it comes to Japanese music! I love the versatility of Japanese artists, though. They’re not afraid to experiment with their voices and sing to different genres, but when an R&B-inspired song shows up, I melt. Of course, I love ballads, some rock, electronic music, and the distinct style that each of the Japanese artists adds to their work.
Of course I don’t stick to only one genre, the versatility of Japanese music always bring freshness, even when it’s not in my area of interest, and while I love songs like Fight The Blues, by Utada Hikaru, I also go crazy over 本能 (Honnou/Instinct) by Shiina Ringo. They’re really different artists, but each of them have their style.
Utada Hikaru: Hikki is my all-time favorite singer, Japanese and American. There isn’t one song by her that I don’t love and I’m sure I’ve listened to all of them enough times to memorize parts of the song, even though it’s in Japanese. Her voice is really strong and different, and so is her music. This is what made her one of the most accomplished artists not only in Japan, but also in the world. Her style ranges from electronic pop to ballads, from rock to R&B, and I love it, it’s always refreshing. Her latest album, HEART STATION, is incredible and, according to Rolling Stone magazine, her most heartwarming record. For being all that she is (Beyond words), she’s in my heart!
Koda Kumi: Kuu-chan is very different from other JPop singers. She is known for her really urban music, and her voice is also really distinct and amazing. She has always been quite controversial in Japan with her lyrics and performances, but she’s trying more styles now and has many ballads out along with her original style. She always has lots of upbeat songs and her dances are very elaborate and fun. I’d label her as the Japanese Britney Spears. Her songs are also really refreshing!
Ayumi Hamasaki: Basically, the Madonna of Japan. I think that these days, Ayu has been sticking a lot to rock songs, and that’s not quite my style, but songs like talkin’ 2 myself and Mirrorcle World are just amazing. I’m still adapting to her style, and while there are a few songs that I don’t enjoy that much, there are some that I can’t stop listening to! Lately, she lost her hearing for her left ear, but she says that she’s going to continue singing!
Shiina Ringo: She’s really incredible. Her voice is really high-pitched and her music ranges from jazz to rock. She also sings some enka (Enka is traditional Japanese music). Her 本能 single has to be one of the best I ever heard in my life. While 本能 itself is a great song, with rock and jazz mixed together, the other two songs in the single (あおぞら [Blue Sky] and 輪廻ハイライト [Rebirth Highlight]) are all about the jazz and have beautiful arrangements with the saxophone, piano, and are really relaxing and addicting. I love her style.
Ami Suzuki: Ami Suzuki is a singer that is really different from any other I’ve listened to. She has her own distinct style, and doesn’t sing much R&B, actually, she sticks to ballads and more electronic pop music. Normally, it’s not what I’d listen to, but her voice and everything about her is amazing. I love her albums CONNETTA and DOLCE, they’re the best for the distinct music they contain, with many different genres per track. I also love where she’s heading with the single can’t stop the DISCO.
American/European Music
Xtina Promoting Keeps Gettin' Better
R&B was brought in the United States, so I couldn’t not love the originators of this type of music. Yesterday I was listening to Wonderful by Aretha Franklin, and it’s so good, I love it. It’s a pretty recent song (From 2003), and I wish that this type of music would be created more often.
Christina Aguilera: I love versatility, and Christina Aguilera always brings it. She always seems to change her image for every album she has released, and along with this change, she brings a new genre, a new style. This is what happened to Stripped, Back To Basics, and it’s what’s happening to Keeps Gettin’ Better. She focuses mainly on R&B, but lately she’s been experimenting more with electro-pop, her music is similar to Ami Suzuki’s, even. It’s only natural when her inspiration this time is Tokyo. I’ve been loving Christina’s music ever since 1999, but have considered myself a fan since 2005.
Amy Winehouse: It’s impossible not to love Amy’s music. She brings a different kind of R&B, sometimes mixed up with reggae, others with a darker vibe, but always incredible. Her voice is never mistaken and now she’s one of the world’s most accomplished artists! She has only two albums out and they’re both super good. Songs like Valerie, You Sent Me Flying and others are the best ones in my opinion, but there are so many great songs that it’s hard to pick.
Tila Tequila: Tila Tequila isn’t the ordinary singer. She might be many things, but she does put her musical career in first place. I love her music. She might not be an Utada Hikaru, or a Christina Aguilera, but she has her style, her outspoken lyrics and her manner of being, and I love that. It’s always fun to listen to. Some people might not understand, but I still love it. I’m certainly buying her debut album that comes out this December. So far she has 3 singles out and they are really good!
Britney Spears: Anyone who can fall so low and get back to her old status in her career with only one single (Womanizer) deserves all the credit. Again, her voice isn’t like Christina’s or Hikki’s, but it’s really good for her type of music and she has the attitude. I admire her for all she’s gone through and how hard she’s trying to get back on track. Her older songs are the best and I’m going to continue being a huge fan (I have been one since her first single)!
Mary J. Blige: I haven’t been exposed to her music as long I have been to Christina’s or Britney’s, but I know that it’s really good. I still can’t stop listening to Just Fine, and she has many great fans (Including my idol, Hikki). She has a really original style and I love it. It’s very different, kind of urban but also kind of soulful… It’s really distinct and I like it a lot. I’ll be listening to more of her latest album, Growing Pains.
Of course, these are only some of the artists that I enjoy, but these are the ones I have mentioned here on HEART STATION before. If you have any thoughts, be sure to comment!
Filed under: Ayumi Hamasaki
These days I have been really into Ayu’s work. It’s not my style, to be honest, sometimes it might be a little too much rock for me, but if I listen to the same song twice, I completely become addicted. This is what happened to Mirrorcle World, a song that served as an interlude (Or introduction) to Ayu’s latest album, GUILTY. What usually happens to these interludes that are as good as average-sized songs is that they’re turned into average-sized songs. We see this happen with Utada Hikaru (言葉にならない気持ち), Koda Kumi (Get It On, Black Cherry) and Ayumi Hamasaki.
I decided to listen to Mirrorcle World a few days ago, but I wasn’t a great fan of the song at first, but the PV was beautiful. Today, I woke up with the beginning of the song stuck in my head, and I was surprised that I liked the song that was ringing in my head for so long. I decided to download the album and get a better listen. The song suddenly became one of the best I’ve ever heard. The whole single, actually, with remixed tracks celebrating her 10th anniversary. I love how the tracks (Except for Life [Original Mix]) may not be the kind of music I usually listen to, but I still loved the single and can’t stop listening to it. It’s a great release by Ayuu!
As a glimpse of her masterpiece, here is the beautiful PV for the single! It was shot in Paris and everything about it is just amazing!
I like how Ayumi Hamasaki celebrates important dates of her career and not only her anniversary. She celebrates her debut album’s release date (January 1st) with many releases and even concerts, these concerts, that last from December 30th to January 1st are her countdown concerts! She also releases her Best albums on January the 1st as a celebration of her debut album. I think this is really interesting, for it proves that she’s making a career that she wants to make perfect and that she really enjoys working for what she works for! Her latest countdown tour DVD was aired on national television (In Japan) and it’s already available for pre-order on YesAsia. I downloaded the torrent of the concert and it’s pretty amazing! I thought the countdown would happen at the end of the concert, but it was in the middle of my favorite song by her (RAINBOW) just when it was about to change the rhythm. When the countdown was over, the song continued with an explosion of confetti and the concert continued for one more hour. I think the concept is really original and it mixes the emotions of listening to one of your favorite singer with the feeling of a new year, of new challenges and seeing the excitement of others in the audience, living this with you must make things even better!
I really liked the song choice. Even though Ayu sticks a lot to her older songs and adds in a couple of her latest ones, it’s still a great show. I liked performances of songs such as talkin’ 2 myself, STEP you, RAINBOW, Boys & Girls, and glitter. There is even the beautiful performance of one of these dancers that dance with long strands of cloth hanging from the roof as an interlude.
Since the day I began listen to Ayu, I kept asking myself “How does she sound live? Does she sound the same way? But her voice is so different and hard to imagine” and her voice is even better live! At the beginning of the concert, her voice is really smooth, and I don’t understand why, since she was dancing and spinning and it was still unbelievable. Throughout the concert, her emotions get the best of her, and even though she might have gotten off tune sometimes, it was because she was unleashing her energy to the audience, and I love singers who do that! (Koda Kumi and Utada Hikaru do that as well) At the end, she begins to cry and it’s so sad! I felt like hugging her. She was singing while she cried, so it made it clearer, especially when she wiped off her tears. It’s really an amazing concert, and I hope that you get to watch it! It’s beautiful, it’s exciting and just awesome!
ayumi hamasaki COUNTDOWN LIVE 2007-2008 Anniversary (Torrent)
When everything is coming to an end, I always take time to reflect on it even if it’s painful. In this case, spring brake wasn’t that bad, I feel like I wasted some of it, but it was nice wasting part of it in the comfort of my couch while I watch television and go on the internet at the same time. This went on in the beginning of spring break, until I focused on Baby C’s birthday present for this tuesday. It’s a fantastic present (At least for me), and its the first time I make an absolutely complete birthday pack for anyone! I’m so proud of myself, but she said she wanted something that reminded her of us, and the present I’m giving her reminds her of the class in a whole, not me, only, and being egocentric as I am, I have to give her a present reminding her of me! So I went to the website of a store close to my house, Japan Society [Website in Portuguese] and buy her something from there. I have an idea of what I want to buy and it’s going to be awsome! (By the way, did anyone else notice how excellently perfect Ayumi Hamasaki’s “alterna” song is? The one that plays when you enter Japan Society’s website?)
But enough of that, I’m very upset that school begins on tuesday already, but I have everything ready for tuesday and I can spend tomorrow doing whatever I want! And that’s always great. I’m buying Baby C’s gift tomorrow and I’m very eager to do that. It’s weird how I don’t want school to begin and still want to go to school and give her the gifts for the wonderful day that tuesday will be for being her birthday date!
I don’t understand how Brazilians have this prejudice against JPop. I don’t know if it’s because they have this image of the language that causes an unpleasent sound when they hear the music, or if it’s anything else, and that’s just annoying, maybe they could really enjoy JPop if they TRIED to listen to it, and I would recommend that you try and listen to something different every once in a while! Don’t be stubborn and all, and try something new. There are some of my friends that I really admire for trying new things, such as Sofy, Lorraine, and many other people, although, I, in the other hand am a stubborn little person (A 1 meter 74 centemeters little stubborn person) and that’s why I admire them so much! Continue like that, you two are great!
So, anyways, these past two days, I spent downloading Ayumi Hamasaki’s albums (At least 9 of them, I got done) and I gotta tell you, she’s a real JPop princess, doesn’t matter if she’s 2nd or 1st-er than Utada to some, to me, they are the best! She’s just amazing, her vocal ability is like something from another world, I’ve never heard anything like it, and my favorite song is one named “My Name’s WOMEN” and it’s a very feministic song, which goes against everything that men think about women even today. While Ayumi is like total JPop, Utada has a more American influence, due to the fact she is American, born in New York in a Japanese family, her mother too, was a famous singer… They both are the best singers I’ve ever heard, they are unique, they have fantastic vocal ability, they’re beautiful, and I don’t know about Ayumi, but Utada is just so cute and sweet! They both are fantastic, the true JPop princesses, like they all call them!
Filed under: About Me, Ayumi Hamasaki, Pop Culture, School, Utada Hikaru
Nothing really happened since my last post, but the lack of rest, time for myself and EXCESSIVE HOMEWORK. I hadn’t even time to write a single, average-sized post! That’s how complicated my life has become so far, today is the first day in the week so far that I had the chance to finish my homework at 7 PM (Since before, 9 PM would be the time I finished my homework). At least my week wasn’t TOTALLY wasted:
1st good thing: My work has been worthwhile, my commercial for a project in English class was the only commercial that the teacher asked for us to repeat! I felt like all the work actually payed off, and we finally got it done with, AND got a good grade!
2nd good thing: Thais gave me a poster and a magazine all about JPop, and as I looked at the poster, I saw this singer named “Ayumi Hamasaki,” so I wanted to know her better… I’m downloading all her albums, so far, I have 7 out of 11, which is great, by tomorrow, I should have all of them, and I’ll be happy… since I’ll have every album from “The Princess of JPop!” (Don’t y’all worry, even though I was introduced to Ayumi’s music, Hikaru/Utada is still my favorite singer, and nobody stands a chance against her!) and by the way, Ayumi is amazing!
Well, there isn’t much more to say, it’s been a very monotuous week…
