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Top four solo artists
Posted by mountainoluv,
13 February 2014
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1655 views
Koharu Kusumi Miki Fujimoto Aya Matsuura aMI TOKITO Hello!Project Makoto Ogawa PVs Ai Kago
Greetings! Here’s my drought update, ha ha! I got a water bill, and it was WAY higher for this January than it was for January ’13. I was able to turn off my sprinkler system last year, but not this year. Too dry.OK. In this entry, I will address my top four solo singers of J-pop, in reverse order. To start, there is a tie for third place. One of the artists in third place is Koharu Kusumi. I know a lot of people think that she can’t sing, but I disagree.
In her solo singles she is playing a character. She has to sing in a nasal, childlike way. And, I think she does it with aplomb! 
What really sets her apart as a high quality performer, in my book, is her dancing. And her genkiness. (Or, is it ‘genkihood’?) I addressed the solo singles of Koharu Kusumi in a previous entry. I am fascinated by the PVs for the solo singles of KK. I could watch them again and again. Her costumes are great, and she looks so fine. 
That’s what puts her in my top four solo artists. The other artist that is tied for third is Miki Fujimoto. I love the PV for her debut single, “Aenai Nagai Nichiyōbi” that was released in 3/02. It is an interesting concept, with the trains. She dances well, looks beautiful, and her singing is excellent. “Sotto Kuchizukete Gyutto Dakishimete,” which is another single from Miki from 6/03, is another excellent song and PV. Her best solo song, however, I believe is “Boogie Train.”
That’s another one I could watch again and again. It’s like “She’s charming, she’s beautiful, and she sweeps the floor!” Ha ha! The only thing that keeps Miki out of a higher position on my list of soloists is that some of her songs are of a style that doesn’t appeal to me. I am more into the perky songs, rather than the plodding songs.The second place solo artist on my list is Aya Matsuura. She has some great singles and associated PVs, which I love. “Ne~E” is perhaps my favorite. It brings up the perennial question, sexy or cute? As an aside, I think that ‘cute’ is sexy, but ‘sexy’ in not necessarily cute. (If you know what I mean.) She does a great job, dancing and acting in that PV. In the dance shot for “Ne~E,” Aya is great. Beyond great . . . phenomenal. Her expressions and hand motions are exemplary, so good. Her debut single, “Doki Doki Love Mail,” from 4/01 is really cool, nice song, interesting PV. There are other songs from Aya that I like, too. These would include “Yeah! Meccha Holiday” and "Momoiro Kataomoi." What I feel is her best PV, however, is “Goodbye Natsuo (wild Ayaya version).” I keep writing this, but this is one where I can’t keep my eyes off of her. She dances in such an attractive way, and her body
looks so good . . . if you like ladies then you owe it to yourself to watch this video. Now. Aya has a longer list of singles and her singles have sold more copies than Miki Fujimoto. So, the record-buying public confirms that Aya is ahead of Miki. (Note that it isn’t that I like Aya more because she is more popular and has better sales.) She has a number of slow songs, which, as I mentioned, don’t appeal to me. I have seen comments on YT to the effect of “This must be from Aya Matsuura’s boring phase.”Can you guess who is my top solo artist? Right, it’s aMI TOKITO.
She always looks so cute in her PVs. She has the most infectious smile of any celebrity I know of. I don’t know how to put it, she is just super-attractive to me. She just seems like a tremendously positive person, and someone who doesn’t take herself too seriously. Her debut single, “Sentimental Generation,” is so cool. It’s a jam. Her performance in it is revelatory. I also like “Aiyai! Ayaii!” and “Tawawa Natsu Bikini.” Actually, I think her singles and PVs are consistently good. “Melon no Tameiki” is another good song and PV. “21” is another one, while I’m on the topic. She just seems like someone who would be great to be around. Like, how could you be unhappy if you were around aMI TOKITO? By the way, one time she sent me a tweet that said that she liked me. I guess you could call that ‘excellent customer service,’ ha ha! Maybe her vocals aren’t quite as good as those of Miki Fujimoto, and her hand motions are quite as good as those of Aya Matsuura, but they don’t have to be. I guess if you like someone, you just like someone. She seems to appreciate her fans. A couple of times, I have seen her announce that she will be answering tweets from fans, and for 30 – 40 minutes, she responds back to tweets from fans. As I mentioned in a previous post, Ai Kago and Aya Matsuura couldn’t be bothered by that. (To her credit, Makoto Ogawa has sent me a couple of tweets, too. 
On a side note, I think aMI TOKITO and Makoto Ogawa are friends.) OK, well, if you couldn’t have guessed it . . . aMI TOKITO is my favorite idol. She is (or was) a soloist. So, of course, she is going to be my favorite soloist. I would love to meet her someday. If anyone has an idea of where I could track her down 
, please let me know. (Just kidding.)
Here's one thing I forgot to mention. It relates to my previous entry, "striking the jackpot." Mai Satoda and her husband (Tanaka) have moved to New York! In an amusing development, the day that the Yankees had a press conference for their new ace pitcher (Tanaka), Mai released a video on her blog. In the video, she urged young ladies to audition for the new, updated version of Country Musume.