30. Miho Nakayama - Strange Parade

 

 

7.733

 

Strange Parade is an album track from Miho Nakayama's 7th album, Mind Game. It was written by Rui Serizawa, who worked closely with Wink and its members when they went solo, and produced by Ichiro Bada, who had collaborated with ANRI before she transitioned into a singer-songwriter, which could explain the song's city pop sound. The album was Miho's most personal at the time, directly addressing her life and her friend's suicide at the age of 17. The album's cover was criticized for being provocative. Surprisingly, mermaid, which shares its cover with the album, wasn't included on it.

 

Admirers: Kyle-x, Britneyfan09 (10)
Antis: Graves (4)

 

Kyle-x: Now this is what I'm talking about
AMIT: Another gay bop, we stan. 
Suilen: I saw this song constantly pop in the most played tracks on j-pop gays' last.fms, so the choice wasn't that hard.
 

😬

 

Sorry gals.

I guess I should have rated more strategically because this did not deserve to outlast the Momoko songs but oh well. 

Edited August 2, 20251 yr by AMIT

29. Shizuka Kudo - FU-JI-TSU (Insincerity)

 

 

7.76

 

FU-JI-TSU is Shizuka Kudo's 4th single. It's her first collaboration with Miyuki Nakajima, one of Japan's most renowned and celebrated singer-songwriters, who went on to write over 20 songs for Shizuka, creating a successful pair. Before they officially met through Shizuka's producer, she had been asked who she preferred out of Yumi Matsutoya, Mariya Takeuchi and Miyuki Nakajima, and her answer had always been firmly Miyuki. As naming the song 'Insincerity' (one of the potential translations could even be 'Infidelity') would be considered too 'heavy' for an idol like Shizuka, Miyuki decided to make it look like a pun on Fujitsu, an IT company. The song was a no. 1 and the 23rd best-selling single of 1988.

 

Admirers: pearlmercury, AMIT (10); OrbitNumber1 (9.8)
Antis: Graves, D.D.D. (4)

 

Kyle-x: A lovely chune.
AMIT: So nostalgic sounding and just beautiful. A bop as well. Give her her 10s.
Suilen: Shizuka and Miyuki were really a match made in heaven. Also, that whole mini-album is pretty good. 

these ballads just not doing it for me 

Edited August 2, 20251 yr by D.D.D.

28. Seiko Matsuda - Strawberry Time

 

 

7.77

 

Strawberry Time is Seiko Matsuda's 23rd single. It was her first release following her marriage to Masaki Kanda and her daughter's birth, marking the biggest gap between her singles at the time. The song was written by Takashi Matsumoto and produced by Akio Dobashi, who mostly worked with rock-oriented artists. The song was a huge hit, hitting no. 1 on the charts and becoming the 5th best-selling single of 1987. It also helped redefine Seiko as a Mama Idol, as before her, idols would completely retire upon marriage. Fun fact: Seiko's management didn't want to release the song as a single, but Seiko insisted on it. The namesake album also contains Seiko's one and only collaboration with Tetsuya Komuro, Kimono Beat.

 

Admirers: Kyle-x, Britneyfan09 (10)
Antis: Maresia (6)

 

Kyle-x: This is so cute! I love the random industrial vibes. It's only a matter of time before Kuu reboots this as Banana Time, for obvious reasons. Or perhaps eggplant time? Clam time? She goes both ways. Regardless, lovely song!
Meloetta Carey: the japanese running up that hill! oh seikate bushsuda
AMIT: Okay, we're getting somewhere. A bop! very nice production work here.
Suilen: Credit where it's due, the song is genuinely good. The Kate Bush comparison is insulting, but it is slightly above her usual level.

I mean, Strawberry Time was nice! But nothing amazing, yk?

I thought I gave less 10s than usual for my standards to switch it up but I keep seeing my name under 10s dddd, but the songs were banging!

34 minutes ago, Suilen said:

29. Shizuka Kudo - FU-JI-TSU (Insincerity)

 

 

7.76

 

FU-JI-TSU is Shizuka Kudo's 4th single. It's her first collaboration with Miyuki Nakajima, one of Japan's most renowned and celebrated singer-songwriters, who went on to write over 20 songs for Shizuka, creating a successful pair. Before they officially met through Shizuka's producer, she had been asked who she preferred out of Yumi Matsutoya, Mariya Takeuchi and Miyuki Nakajima, and her answer had always been firmly Miyuki. As naming the song 'Insincerity' (one of the potential translations could even be 'Infidelity') would be considered too 'heavy' for an idol like Shizuka, Miyuki decided to make it look like a pun on Fujitsu, an IT company. The song was a no. 1 and the 23rd best-selling single of 1988.

 

Admirers: pearlmercury, AMIT (10); OrbitNumber1 (9.8)
Antis: Graves, D.D.D. (4)

 

Kyle-x: A lovely chune.
AMIT: So nostalgic sounding and just beautiful. A bop as well. Give her her 10s.
Suilen: Shizuka and Miyuki were really a match made in heaven. Also, that whole mini-album is pretty good. 

Oh wow for some reason I thought this was a lock for top 20!

49 minutes ago, Suilen said:

Suilen: I saw this song constantly pop in the most played tracks on j-pop gays' last.fms, so the choice wasn't that hard.

The amount of times I've seen this album cover among the homosexual community is unreal

I love the vocal arrangement to Strawberry Time  

not sure why i rated strawberry time so low but that's a cute position for it

 

2 hours ago, Suilen said:

Suilen: I saw this song constantly pop in the most played tracks on j-pop gays' last.fms, so the choice wasn't that hard.

we appreciate the on-the-ground reporting that went into this rate

Aw, Strange Parade was my fav Miho song here 

27. Akina Nakamori - Dear Friend

 

 

7.783

 

Dear Friend is Akina Nakamori's 24th single. It was her first single following the 'incident' in the summer of 1989. Despite the media scrutiny, it was a big hit, ending up as the 6th best-selling single of 1990. It was her penultimate no. 1 single. It was written by Mayumi Ito, a rookie singer-songwriter, and produced by Kazuya Izumi, who also had a hand in LIAR and CARRIBEAN. Perhaps due to the incident, Akina's management requested for the song to be uplifting and deliberately removed from Akina's usual brand. As it was the most successful song of the year not tied-up with any media, they were probably right. It was also a rare time when Akina filmed a music video.

 

Admirers: Curaga, Meloetta Carey, Britneyfan09 (10)
Antis: OrbitNumber1 (4.5)

 

Kyle-x: She's a cute girl!
Meloetta Carey: the Japanese Last Christmas! oh Akinorge Mikamori
Suilen: Well, we needed some 90s Akina representation, but most of her albums from that time aren't available on Spotify, so we had what we had. I like the song, and it shows a different side of Akina. Maybe the TK-produced one would've done better, but then you'd have people complaining that Akina is doing too well.

 

 

26. Momoko Kikuchi - Again

 

 

7.8

 

Again is the first track from Momoko Kikuchi's 8th album, Shadow, and her late-career entry. It was written by Masao Urino and produced by Tetsuji Hayashi, both her frequent collabotars. The album had only two new songs, the rest of them were self-covers.

 

Admirers: Kyle-x, AMIT (10)
Antis: D.D.D. (5), OrbitNumber1 (5.3)

 

Kyle-x: GIRL. This is TEWWW GOOOOD. The production and vocal delivery are delish.
AMIT: So catchy and amazing. The electric guitar coming in by the end is eargasmic. What a song. 
Suilen: Very nice for a late-career song, might be the best one here, actually.

 

 

 

 

25. Seiko Matsuda - Baby, Make Love Tonight

 

 

7.82

 

Baby, Make Love Tonight is a track from Seiko Matsuda's 22nd album, DIAMOND EXPRESSION. It was written by Seiko and co-produced by her and Ryo Ogura (basically, the same credits as Back for More). The song reflects her desire to follow the contemporary Western music trends. Due to its popularity among the fans, it was featured on Bible III.

 

Admirers: Meloetta Carey, Britneyfan09 (10)
Antis: romiskes (4.5)

 

Curaga: nnn the way they lifted that synth phrase from Vogue without bothering to alter it much
Kyle-x: She's cute but she drags on a bit…
Meloetta Carey: an 11 contender for the fake orgasms in the breakdown but that felt too cliche

AMIT: Oh this low key 80s Madonna x Janet mashup? That horny bridge + the bouncy production = fire. I will say though that it is just a tad repetitive for me, at least for now.
Suilen: A shameless gay pander after flop reheating the inferior vogue nachos (we're going to ignore the fact that it was one of the two songs I chose myself rather than relying on Neyfan).

24. Kyoko Koizumi - Innocent Love

 

 

7.84

 

Innocent Love is the first track from Kyoko Koizumi's 24th album, Nice Middle. It's a cover of the song by TOKYO No.1 SOUL SET, a hip-hop group, which was relased months earlier. I suppose it's a cover in the same way the songs on (miss)understood are covers. Kyoko's album was also more successful than the group's, and at that point (2008) she was a legacy act, so her version is technically the only relevant one.

 

Favorite of: Melotta Carey

 

Admirers: Kyle-x, Meloetta Carey, Graves, Suilen (10)
Antis: OrbitNumber1 (2.3)

 

Curaga: Interesting combo of the Spanish guitar and disco bassline
Kyle-x: Oooou I LOVE the strings!

Meloetta Carey: after a couple of listens, i didn't really mind the pitchy vocals
AMIT: Guitar-led songs like this are generally hit or miss for me. It gets better when the strings come in, but overall idk.
Suilen: So it was tacked on her comprehensive collection without even being a single, and it immediately caught my attention. A rather unique soundscape, and the song only grew on me as the rate went on. I think Kyoko deserves her flowers for being versatile.

 

 

 

23. Miho Nakayama - WAKU WAKUさせて (Make Me Excited)

 

 

7.87

 

WAKU WAKU Sasete is Miho Nakayama's 8th single. It was written and produced by the established duo of Takashi Matsumoto and Kyouhei Tsutsumi. Despite only reaching no. 3 on the charts, it was the 17th best-selling single of 1987. Miho's producer claimed that the song became the cornerstone of her success, and the fact that her subsequent singles had gradually gained in popularity until CATCH ME finally hit no. 1 confirms it. The song was also featured in Miho's dorama, Na-ma-i-ki Zakari.

 

Admirers: Britneyfan09 (10), romiskes (9.3)
Antis: AMIT (4.5)

 

Kyle-x: Omg the cover is so cvnty. Love the expressive vocal performance.
AMIT: Yeah, this ain't hitting for me. 
Suilen: A bit of a classic.

 

 

 

22. Kyoko Koizumi - FADE OUT

 

 

7.93

 

FADE OUT is Koyko Koizumi's 27th single, marking her foray into house music. She wanted Haruo Chikada of Juicy Fruits to work with her after becoming infatuated with their music, and he told her that he was only interested in making house at the time while they were having a cup of coffee. She readily agreed to that. Despite the song's length and experimental nature, it hit no. 2 on the charts and ended up as the 91st best-selling single of 1989. However, the album didn't do as well, only peaking at no. 9. The song also had a rare music video.

 

Admirers: Curaga, OrbitNumber1, Meloetta Carey, Suilen (10)
Antis: romiskes (2.3)

 

Curaga: Synth queen! And the piano bits omg. A favorite contender!
romiskes: I know it's the sample used in AFTERSCHOOL's "Shh", which is in my top 5 j-pop songs of all time, but damn, Sinichi really pulled a miracle to find anything good about this, cuz this is absolute trash besides the beat.
Kyle-x: Funky and fresh.
Suilen: It was the first thing I heard from her, and while it was more of a one-off (though I liked the album, too), it was a nice testament to her adventurous nature. When it comes to j-pop, house feels like something that's mostly relegated to remixes, which is a shame.
 

21. Shizuka Kudo - Blue Rose 

 

 

7.95

 

Blue Rose is Shizuka Kudo's 21st single. It was the first in the series of her 'Blue' singles, the other two being Blue Velvet and Blue Zone. It was written by Shizuka and produced by Takashi Tsushimi. It was actually the first time when Shizuka's single wasn't touched by her main producer and when Shizuka decided to take the reins herself. It hit no. 8 on the charts and became the 89th best-selling single of 1994. The video was choreographed by two members of TRF, a TK-produced dance music project.

 

Favorite of: Graves

 

Admirers: Kyle-x, Graves (10)
Antis: OrbitNumber1 (5.1)

 

Kyle-x: This is infectious! And I'm ready to be incubated
AMIT: Maybe not her most iconic song with Blue in its name, but a banger in its own right.
Suilen: My original choice was Blue Velvet, but I'm glad I asked the audience because who knows how that would've done.

 

 

 

20. Chisato Moritaka - ザ・ストレス (The Stress)

 

 

7.99

 

The Stress is Chisato Moritaka's 6th single. It was written by Chisato and produced by Hideo Saito. The album version of the song is simply named 'Stress', and it's slightly different from the single one. Each edition of the single (CD, vinyl, casette) had a different cover, and some of them became extremely rare. The use of the waitress outfit both in the covers and the music video is due to the rhyming of 'stress' with 'waitress'. The song only hit no. 19 on the charts, although it has always enjoyed a cult status. Natsumi Abe (ex-Morning Musume) covered the song, and her version did slightly better.

 

Admirers: OrbitNumber1, AMIT (10)
Antis: romiskes (4.8)

 

Kyle-x: Oooh now this is FUNKY!
Meloetta Carey: fushigi teas
AMIT: This song is absolutely insane wtf? The bridge?
Suilen: Always found both the song and the video to be fine examples of late Showa quirkiness that's very appealing even to those who don't care for j-pop in general.

 

 

 

19. Kyoko Koizumi - NUDIST

 

 

8.02

 

NUDIST is a track from Kyoko Koizumi's 8th album, Kyoko no Kiyoku Tanoshiku Utsukushiku (Kyoko's pure, fun and beautiful). The album is divided into the 'idol' side and the 'artist' side, and NUDIST is first track on the latter. It was written by Misumi Kawamura, mostly known for Misato Watanabe's My Revolution, and produced by Tashinobu Kubota. Yuming's husband contributed to the arrangement. 

 

Admirers: Curaga, Maresia, Suilen (10)
Antis: Graves (4.5), AMIT (5)

 

Curaga: Ooooh, love that funky bass synth! And the strings!
Kyle-x: The soundscape, 80s excellence!
AMIT: A fine enough song, just not that appealing to me. It feels like it doesn't go anywhere.
Suilen: It was Kyoko's highest-played track of a person who doesn't even bother visiting this forum anymore, so it's not like he's ever going to find out that I pilfered his fave. Despite his questionable tastes, this was a hit.

omg Dear Friend not even in the top 20...  I LOVED that one!

18. Shizuka Kudo - Kindan no Telepathy (Forbidden Telepathy)

 

 

8.03

 

Kindan no Telepathy is Shizuka Kudo's debut single. It was released when she was still a member of Onyanko Club and its subunit. It was written by Yasushi Akimoto and produced by Tsugutoshi Goto. The song was an instant hit and became the 59th best-seling single of 1987, establishing Shizuka's viability as a solo idol. Onyanko Club broke up shortly after, allowing Shizuka to continue her solo endeavors unrestricted.

 

Admirers: romiskes, pearlmercury (10)
Antis: Curaga (5)

 

Kyle-x: Love the cinematic vibes.
AMIT: That bridge was unexpected in a good way. A catchy bop overall.
Suilen: An iconic debut, and Akimoto's songwriting didn't suck here, surprisingly.

 

 

 

17. Shizuka Kudo - Gekijou (Passion)

 

 

8.06

 

Gekijou is Shizuka Kudo's 28th single. It was written and produced by Miyuki Nakajima. The song was used in Shizuka's dorama, Yuzurenai Yoru. Actually, it was inspired by the dorama's script. As Shizuka was reading it, she thought that Miyuki would do a good job by making a song based on it. In order for the song's hook to work, Miyuki asked Shizuka to try a slightly different singing style. The song hit no. 10 on the charts and became the 99th best-selling single of 1997.

 

Admirers: AMIT, Suilen (10)
Antis: OrbitNumber1, Britneyfan09 (6)

 

Kyle-x: Let's get on the dancefloor
AMIT: What kind of ABBA tea? Oh mother.
Suilen: There's something special about this song. I feel like Miyuki tried to bring out the best out of Shizuka.

 

 

 

16. Kyoko Koizumi - 水のルージュ (Berlin Version)

 

 

8.07

 

Mizu no Rouge is Kyoko Koizumi's 21st single. It was conceived specifically to advertise the lipstick brand named AQUA ROUGE, hence the name, though Kyoko also wanted her song to sound straight out of a CM. Kyoko hadn't had a no. 1 single for 2 years at that time, so her management was determined to get it. And so they did. The song also became the 32nd best-selling single of 1987. In addition to the single version, there are 3 distinct mixes of the song: DANCING MIX, Berlin Version and Break 'ACID' Beats MIX. The Berlin Version was arranged by Satoshi Nakamura, who worked with a lot of major idols and singer-songwriters of the Showa era.

 

Admirers: Kyle-x (9.8)
Antis: Graves (6.5)

 

Kyle-x: That guitar is eating down
Suilen: The single version didn't particularly move me, but the album version was pretty solid.

Kyoko's most basic song being her highest... like ok.

This really is a rough update omg, so many great songs out  

6 minutes ago, Suilen said:

Kyoko's most basic song being her highest... like ok.

and it not having any 10s nnn

 

2 minutes ago, Curaga said:

and it not having any 10s nnn

 

Well, I was actually referring to Str*cture of Romance.

 

Edited August 3, 20251 yr by Suilen

3 minutes ago, Suilen said:

Well, I was actually referring to Str*cture of Romance.

 

oh oops... don't mind me!

 

Top 15

 

Seiko Matsuda (1/8)

Marrakech

 

Akina Nakamori (6/8)

スローモーション
十戒 (1984)
飾りじゃないのよ涙は
DESIRE -情熱-
マリオネット
I MISSED "THE SHOCK"

 

Kyoko Koizumi (1/8)

Structure of Romance

 

Miho Nakayama (2/8)

[C]
CATCH ME

 

Shizuka Kudo (1/8)

Koi Hitoyo

 

Chisato Moritaka (2/8)

オーバーヒート・ナイト
私がオバさんになっても

 

Momoko Kikuchi (1/8)

Broken Sunset

 

Misc (1/4)

ダンシング・ヒーロー (Eat You Up)

 

The finale is on Sunday, at GMT 7PM/EST 3PM as usual. If nobody's here, then I'm going to bed and will post the reveals on the following morning for me just like I did. I know that some people are done with the rate because the results are not what they wanted, but what do you want me to do about that?