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solo artists: honorable mention

Posted by mountainoluv, 04 February 2014 · 1744 views

soloists Asuka Hinoi Ai Kago Maki Goto Kyari Pamyu Pamyu Mari Yaguchi videos PVs
solo artists: honorable mention Hi! Peace! We finally got a little rain here, but not enough to make a difference.
Today, I’d like to address solo artists. I will start with the honorable mentions in this post. I will progress to my top four in my next post. My rankings are mainly based on the promotional videos (PVs).

The artists who get an honorable mention are addressed in alphabetical order, by last name. Asuka Hinoi :wub: was a very talented and promising soloist. Her PV for “Wanna Be Your Girlfriend” (11/03) is a revelation. At 12 years old, she showed talent, charisma, and stage presence beyond her years. She’s so cute, too! Her second single was “Tatta Hitori no Kimi (You as only one person),” from 4/04. The PV wasn’t quite as good as the one for “Wanna Be Your Girlfriend,” but it was still good. After Hinoi Team broke up, Asuka released another single with a PV, “Asu e no Hikari (Light toward tomorrow),” in 5/07. This song was just OK. I like fast, up-tempo songs, and this is a slow, mellow song. She looks great in the PV, and her singing is good, but it’s just not my cup of tea.


Another singer who gets an honorable mention as a soloist is Ai Kago :wub: . There is a live video of Aibon singing “Boogie Train.” It’s entertaining, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the Miki Fujimoto version. (More about that below.) Aibon has another solo PV singing “Da Di Du De Do Da Di!” I gather it was made as a special fan club release. It is good, but I think the main thing that that attracted me to the video is its sentimental effect. She is singing about how youth comes only once, and so forth. I watch her, and think about all that she went through, and I feel for her. In 6/09, Aibon released her comeback single, after leaving Hello!Project. It was “No hesitAtIon.” I like this video, mainly because I like Aibon. I was really following her closely when this song came out, and she was my favorite idol at the time. Musically, once again, it is just OK. In my opinion, many of the songs she did as a member of Mini Moni and as a member of W are much better.

A third soloist I’d like to address here is Maki Goto. I think she had (and has) a lot of promise. I really liked her PV for “Some Boys Touch.” I’m not really familiar with other songs she released as a soloist. Maki is super pretty, and super sexy in her videos and live performances, which earns her an honorable mention. In writing this, I recognize that I need to spend more time viewing solo PVs of Maki Goto. If anyone can suggest a good video, please leave a comment pointing that out.

An artist who deserves an honorable mention that is still active is Kyari Pamyu Pamyu. (See entry image.) I love her PVs. She invented her own style, “New Kawaii.” It is cute, but with a dark undercurrent. If she keeps creating and releasing good videos, it is possible that she will rise in my rankings.


The final artist I’d like to cover in this post is Mari Yaguchi. Her solo song, “Seishun Boko,” from 3/09, is a classic. The instrumental accompaniment is a jam. The lyrics are powerful and deep. Mari gives a very good performance on the song, and in the PV. Her second song, “Kaze o Sagashite,” from 1/10, was a disappointment to me. It is too mellow for my taste . . . too much orchestration. It reminds me of a theme song from a lighthearted 1970s TV series (like “Love American Style” or “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.”) It is mainly the lack of volume of solo PVs from Mari Yaguchi that qualifies her for an honorable mention, rather than for a spot in my top four.

What all of these stars have in common is their beauty. I like the way all of them look. The other thing that unifies the stars mentioned above is their limited volume of PVs. While there are some real gems in the repertoires, the quality can be uneven, that is, not consistently high. To their credit, these artists are responsible for some of my favorite PVs. For that, I am grateful. I wish each of them a great deal of success in their future musical endeavors, whether as solo artists or in groups :good: .




Would somebody please click on the previous blog entry "Music, idol stars"? It is at 99 views, and I would be very happy for it to have 100 or more views . . . Excuse my request, but I'm just kind of funny that way!

Thank you to the person who clicked on the blog entry titled 'music, idol stars.' Now, seven of my 10 entries have > 100 views! Woo hoo! I mean, yee haw!

Now, all of my first ten entries have >100 views. Further, six of these have >200 views. I'm so happy!

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