...my true love gave to me the sweetest song,
a deliciously creepy new artist,
and a WINTER PARTY!

Mihimaru GT is one of my favourite artists - I really dig their unique style - and this year was a great year for them, releasing their successful 4th studio album, mihimarise. Their latest single, Shiawase ni Narou, released in October, would have to be one of the sweetest tracks of the year.

Mihimaru GT is probably best known for their awesome, crazy songs but they really do have some beautiful ballads. diverge, also released this year, is another I would recommend; Simply stunning. Hiroko has such a pure, honest voice, I could listen to her forever (and look, but that's another story for another blog post ^^; ) - This track just gives me little butterflies inside, it's so sweet and cute and the rapped verses are great!

I knew I wanted to use a Mihimaru GT song for one of the 12 Days and was kind of torn, I've really LOVED their 3 singles (I'm not including the collab) they've done this year. Meh, I'll just post them all!

Girigiri Hero is such a cool fun song + I love that cute outfit Hiroko wore during the live performances ^_^ (!!!!!) and diverge, as I mentioned before, is just beautiful!

So yeah, kudos to Mihimaru GT for a great year!

By 'tomorrow' I meant today (it was like 3am) ;) ... so here are my reviews for this week's new releases: Hey!Say!JUMP's Mayonaka no SHADOW BOY; AKB48's newest single Oogoe DIAMOND; Mihimaru GT's Shiawase ni Naro; and Nakagawa Shouko's Kirei À La Mode!

My blog's been up since July now and I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to review new singles from artists for the 2nd or 3rd time even, and it's quite interesting to compare. This is the 2nd single I'm reviewing of Hey!Say!JUMP's while Shokotan is popping those singles out, her 3rd in the latter half of this year.

Mayonaka no SHADOW BOY Hey!Say!JUMP

I wasn’t too impressed with Hey!Say!JUMP’s last single Your Seed / Bouken Rider, but Mayonaka no SHADOW BOY is actually quite good.
The song has a funky beat with a hint of an Arabian flair, which I always enjoy. It doesn't overpower the song, it isn't an Arabian style song, but it has certain moments which keep give it a really unique sound. The verses are quite catchy, thanks to some girl named ‘Cherry’ (I think) … actually I have no idea who Cherry is but they refer to her/it often and it’s catchy. The chorus lifts really nicely and is set apart from the rest of the song. The boys also take their shot at English giving a ‘Shadow’ or two, not too bad.
It’s not amazing enough to hook me onto the group but it’s definitely a top notch track and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much of anything; A nice surprise.

Rating: 8.5/10

Oogoe DIAMOND AKB48

AKB48 have been a bit quiet on the Single front this year. This is their 3rd real single of the year (they had some digital one a little while back), but their first since February. I haven’t overly enjoyed AKB48 ‘s singles since maybe BINGO! but for me, Oogoe DIAMOND is quite a *gem* ^_^ ~
The chorus is what wins this single over: it’s extremely catchy, enjoyable and easy to pick up. The instrumental is also really fun and has some nice moments. Vocally I have to say that AKB48 has a lot of decent singers, I’m not certain how many actually lead in this single but they all sound pretty good.
It's a good track and I really enjoy this style from AKB48.

Rating: 8.5/10

Shiawase ni Naro mihimaru GT

While we’re on the subject of quiet years, I’ve been waiting 6 months for a new mihimaru GT single and finally we’re here (I didn’t count that SOFFert collab, didn’t like it much). Praise hiroko! :D Shiawase ni Naro is a ballad but with mihimaru GT’s distinctive style; It’s a ballad with a twist of GT ;)
The not-quite-but-almost rap verses are really great from hiroko, who is just incredible. She rocks my socks, majorly. miyake’s obligatory rap is also very nice and his beats really make this the great song that it is. Then we come to the chorus which is just beautiful. I really love how hiroko sings it, especially the 'Shiawase ni narou' line , so cute ^_^ ~ This song could melt even the blackest of hearts! :p
Did I mention I love hiroko? ... :)

Rating: Song ~ 9/10; Hiroko ~ 11/10

Kirei À La Mode Shouko Nakagawa

Shouko is kind of a hit and miss artist for me. She has a good single, then a couple of bad ones, then a great one, then a bad one … the cycle just keeps continuing. Her last single Tsuzuku Sekai was a good song so, you guessed it, Kirei À La Mode isn’t.
This song isn’t necessarily bad and it does have its charms. The chorus is quite cute, I’ll give it that but the song as a whole just kind of drags on. It honestly almost put me to sleep, though I am pretty tired atm. No, I’m pretty sure it’s the song.
Better luck next time Shokotan.

Rating: 6/10

NEWS: Goto Maki performed her 2nd and final performance at A-nation '08 yesterday evening, the final day for A-nation this year. Maki performed alongside artists such as AAA, alan, Mihimaru GT, Koda Kumi, Amuro Namie and Hamasaki Ayumi as well as many others.

Unfortunately for Maki (fortunately for us *snigger*) it began pouring rain almost immediately as she stepped on stage . (Click to enlarge pics)

Maki steps confidently onstage ... and the heavens opened!

While a lot of the crowd ran for cover, Maki ushered them back to hear her performance. Maki performed soaking wet in the rain, singing the same setlist as her previous performance. Check out Goto Maki's Avex Debut for a fan recording of Maki's performances of Shy Guy and her original song, Hear Me.

Here is a news report on the event which features clips of a lot of the performances - Maki is at 0:08 and 1:56.

Some more pics from A-nation '08's final day: (Click to enlarge pics)


Amuro Namie


mihimaru GT ~Hiroko <3


AAA


Alan


Koda Kumi


Hamasaki Ayumi