Another great year for jpop and as usual it is hard to choose only 20 of them but here goes:
The five videos just outside the top 20 was:
25. Meiri Alaha -
Crave. New and interesting debutante.
24. Dotama -
Music Valyrie 2. A very personal style of rap.
23. Ringo Shiina -
God, nor Buddha. The visuals oh the visuals.
22. Momoiro Clover Z vs. KISS -
Yume no Ukiyo ni Saite Mina. KISS *and* nerdy jpop!!
21. 5572320 -
Ponpara Pekoruna Papiyotta. If you ever loved Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, you have to see this!
For the final 20 I have chosen:
20. 0.8Syooogeki -
Words of rainbow color. Punk and jpop, attitude and passion.
19. Towa Tei -
Luv Pandemic. Again the man produces a electronic pop song that exists in its own unique universe.
18. Sloth -
Bi Bi Bi. Not high culture this, but the rap and the hands-on party feeling makes an excellent contrast to much else in jpop.
17. Perfume -
Pick Me Up. Ironically, after seeing them live last year, my appreciation for their more static videos has lessened.
16. Charisma.com -
Kongara girl. The duo with the impressive attitude delivers maybe their most rhythmic offer so far with this.
15. Mizuki Nana -
Super☆man. No more dark and gothic here, and I love this 180 degrees turn-around!
14. Suiyoubi no Campanella -
Ra, Medusa, Ono Imako, Diablo, Napoleon, ... this group is hard to place in a list as on the one hand they *are* a bit special and an aquired taste, on the other hand I couldn't make a list of jpop this year without including them as a prime example of what the japanese sound is about.
13. Root Five -
Love Ninja. I just love the charm of these guys, somehow they turn the whole kawaii concept around and create a male version of it that really works!
12. Tokyo Karan Koron -
Spice. Their best song, with a musical sweetness perfected by adding real feelings and empathy to the mix.
11. Especia -
Aviator & Boogie Aroma. Explicit 80s retro done right.
10. Tofubeats -
Stakeholder. Tofubeats has strong sound going for him, but often it is just a bit too intelligent and a little to hard to access for me. But not here, Stakeholder was his best song this year.
9. Asako Toki -
C’est La Vie ~Onna wa Ai ni Isogashii~. Soft and soulful, her song embraces and relaxes you.
8. Daichi Miura -
Unlock. He has a full sound that is very much international and his performance as an artist adds to that impression.
7. Frederic -
Owarase Night. Their sound flows like a summers day through my mind; light and flowing without uninteresting partsbut without being stressed.
6. Rebecca ft Charisma.com -
Friends. A perfect example on how to make a good cover - update it to the present (make a dance song out of a rock song) and add some personal new elements (like the rap). Viola!
5. Asakura Saya -
River Boat Song, and more. Her songs are the most personal and charming I know from jpop, and she is a hopeful beacon for the future of enka styled music too.
4. Osaka Syunkasyuto -
Furo the King. I dare you to be able to not have to join the chorus for this fantastic Rainbow cover!
3. BoA -
Kiss My Lips (and Lookbook). I don't know any other asian pop artist that has the same presense and pondus in her artistry as BoA has. In the end her songs may lack depth, but the return to greatness in Kiss My Lips was still pure perfection.
2. Gesu no Kiwami Otome -
Romance is too much for me. I just can't get enough of the lyrics for this one, with the music perfectly set to heighten the mood.
1. Sakanaction -
New Treasure Island. They was my number two favorite last year and again they deliver their trade mark sound that is a combination of singer Ichiro's voice and airy and light sound that somehow conveys both happiness and melancholy at the same time.
