Sunday 1 June 2014

10 years with a double A Single!? {Music Japan producer blog post}

Thank you very much for always watching MUSICJAPAN。 This is the producer ShigeP。
Appearing on this week's MJ are Berryz Kobo, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their début、 and singing their new song 「Futsuu、 Idol 10-nen yatterannai deshou!?」
The girls had a double A single this time around as well、 and I think I'd like to write about the recent abundance of 「Double A-sides」 today。 The word itself is a recording industry term、 the ”supported songs” so to speak、 but it has all sorts of benefits for the fans as there are 2 music videos created、 an increased variety of CD covers、 and separate promotional activities to go to。
However、for us who are picking them out on the media side, the question of  「Which do we pick up?」 rears its face。 Usually we'd select the song based on the inclination of that artist's site、 but here the song was selected as Berryz Kobo-san had a proper reason for it 。 Thank you very much。 This time around、 we went for 「Idol 10-nen」、 as this song is a musical composition with great impact can't be sung by anyone besides Berryz Kobo-san with their unique individuality among idols。 I thought it was "something that would draw in” the hearts of the viewers with its impactful title。 It has a techno sound reminiscent of game music and karate choreography、 and you can hear the whinny of a horse from time to time lol No one besides Berryz Kobo can sing these kind of songs, songs brimming with originality。
Actually, the previous time they were on MJ, I had requested 「ROCK Erotic」 for their double A-side performance。 Initiallty it was to be 「Motto Zutto Issho ni Itakatta」、 and we even received messages from fans recommending it as 「The music video is extremely cool, so we would like to request for this」、 but immediately after I watched the music video for 「ROCK Erotic」 I was struck speechless by the ”Gothic lolita & Takarazuka-like” concept、 and this was just before the recording、 but I changed the song selection since I wanted this song no matter what。 It caused various difficulties since at that time, it had been a while since they had worn those outfits for the MV filming。 What was going through my mind during Berryz Kobo's performance at the time was that、 in this present age where we are at the peak of video as a media form、 a TV music programme has to show its individuality。
And、 Berryz Kobo sang another song, 「Loving you Too much」。 For this programme, the theme was 「marriage」、 so Chris Hart-san、Kiyokiba Shunsuke-san、and Kobukuro-san、 they all song songs related to marriage。 The first thing that came to my mind when I thought about ”Berryz Kobo and marriage” wasn't 「Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama」 {Trans: My future husband}、but 「Loving you Too much」。 I believe those who are already married will understand、 but if you look back on your wedding, the days surrounding the wedding ceremony would be the ”peak period of bliss”、 wasn't it overflowing with happiness? I think that anyone who listens to 「Loving you Too much」  will feel that sense of happiness as it's an exquisite song brimming with ”euphoria”、 so it was sung this time around。
10 years since Berryz Kobo's debut、 they've released 35 singles so far。 Through what they've cultivated so far、through their  "individuality ”breakthrough and an overflowing ”euphoria”、 I hope it'll fascinate the fans、 and that they'll continue to give their support。 After all、normally、 do idols last for 10 years!?

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