Artsyfutsy's Blog

This blog has certainly been rotting away for quite a while. On behalf of our staff, I’d like to apologise for this long period of inactivity – much of it thanks to the insufferable demons known as homework and exams. I would also like to thank the readers who have continued to visit our blog despite the lack of updates. Thank you very much for all your support!

In this update, I will not be reviewing about anything. Instead, I will be introducing to you two J-pop artistes that I have discovered recently. They are not very well-known here in our sunny Singapore yet, but they are very talented, with strong vocals and meaningful lyrics consistent features in their songs. They are like a breath of fresh air in the current J-pop scene dominated by similar-sounding, dance-oriented groups (Hey! Say! Jump and AKB48 anyone?). Their songs are worth a listen if you are looking for true musical entertainment. 

All information is credited to the official sites of the respective artistes and many thanks to Google Images for the pictures 🙂

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(Note: The Oricon charts are music charts ranking albums based on their overall sales in Japan and can be considered as the Japanese equivalent of the Billboard charts. There are three of it, namely the daily, weekly and monthly Oricon charts.)

MAY’S:

Kawai Jun'ichi(left) and Katagiri Maiko(right)

Members:
Katagiri Maiko (Vocalist) 
Kawai Jun’ichi a.k.a. Naughty BO-Z (pronounced ‘boh-zu’, meaning ‘boy’)  (Songwriter)

Genre:
R&B

About the band…

Officially debuted in 2006, MAY’S has released two full albums and several singles and mini-albums to date. Their first full-length album, ‘Dreaming’, garnered them widespread attention among the Japanese listeners when it debuted at the 6^th place on the weekly Oricon charts. They held their first concert tour soon after that, with its last stop in Shibuya yielding a sold-out attendance, ending the overall-successful tour on a high note. Their second full album, ‘Amazing’, released in 2010, was also well-received by critics and listeners alike, reaching 3^rd and 4^th place on the daily and weekly Oricon charts respectively.

Trivia:
1. The band’s name was derived from the fact that both members were born in the month of May.
 
2. The band was originally formed for the members’ university project work. It was originally a union of convenience as both members were classmates and were seated front and back of each other, with one who could sing and the other a capable songwriter.

MAY’S /I Love You が言えなくて (I Couldn’t Say ‘I Love You’)

MAY’S / ONE LOVE ～100万回のKISSでアイシテル～ (‘I Love You’ of a Million Kisses)

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May’n

May'n

Real name:
Nakabayashi Mei

Genre:
Pop

About the singer…

Considered a relative newcomer on the Japanese music scene, the 20-year-old first made listeners –anime-loving ones, in particular– sit up two years ago as the singing voice of Sheryl Nome, a main character in the hit anime series ‘Macross Frontier’. The musical success of the series –almost all of its theme songs made it into the Top 10 on the Oricon charts– propelled her career forward as she was selected to perform at the Anime Festival Asia in both 2008 and 2009, garnering her international attention. In 2009, she released her much-anticipated first mini-album, titled ‘May’n☆Street’, which debuted at 2^nd place on the weekly Oricon charts. She released another two singles soon after, both which made their way into the Top 10 on the weekly Oricon charts, followed by her first full-length album, ‘Styles’, that same year, which debuted at 3^rd place on the weekly Oricon charts.

Trivia:
1. Other than its similarity to her real name, the stage name “May’n” is also a representation of Nakabayashi’s wish to be able to sing songs that will be able to touch the hearts of the Japanese (hence becoming their ‘main’ theme song).

2. May’n loves to visit different taiyaki (a kind of Japanese baked snack with red bean filling, usually in the shape of a fish) stalls during her free time.

May’n / Diamond Crevasse (Macross Frontier Ending)

May’n / Northern Cross (Macross Frontier)

Hope you’ve enjoyed this special J-pop update 🙂 TTNU (Till The Next Update)

~e3m1n