The new era of Japanese popular music was ushered in with those sweeping strings introducing the soaring voice of a nascent superstar in the first few lines of the song. "Blue Lagoon", Seiko Matsuda's second single quickly reached the second spot of the charts, and would be her last single to not reach No. 1 for years to come.
The song paints a bright picture of a seaside with a glittering coral reef, and the budding romance the singer shares with her love, comparing her feelings of love in the chorus to the rush of the south wind. Musically, the song is a good example of the transition from the 70s pop style to the 80s pop style, with tighter arrangements, more use of electric instruments and emphasis on a steady beat, but elements of more traditional song-making such as the the strings used still remain. The expressively reaching chorus and the more intimate verses display the melodic contrast used to help emphasize the tone of the lyrics. Matsuda's singing here is unabashed, strong, and yet at the same time exhibit a lighter touch when needed, elements that would show up in a more developed form later in her career.
By 1980, the previous era of pop stars, dominated by the likes of Momoe Yamaguchi and Pink Lady was fading fast, and while there were many fresh faces in the couple years prior, none had brought in the paradigm shift in music that Seiko Matsuda and her contemporaries did, creating a new song that would bring about what many would define the decade as the golden age of idols.
(Drif's Big Laugh [ドリフ大爆笑])
青い珊瑚礁 (Aoi Sangoshou)
Music: Yuichiro Oda / 小田裕一郎 Lyrics: Yoshiko Miura / 三浦徳子
For those of middle age who watch television in Japan, Ikue Sakakibara has been around since they started growing up. Though now a well-seasoned tarento, who can put various roles under her belt, her early career was that of a singer. Her slightly boyish looks and sweet voice that belies her firy personality endeared her to fans early on. Her fourth single was a breakthrough hit, placing in the Top 40 of Oricon and sending her around the television circuit for heavy promotion.
"Al Pacino Plus Alain Delon aren't as Great as You" was a rather provocative and lengthy title for a song. From the pen of a young Yukinojou Mori (a.k.a. Joe Lemon), the song's slightly teasing nature melds in well with its heartfelt verses. The singer compares her boyfriend to that of actors Al Pacino and Alain Delon, then quite popular names in the late 1970s, claiming that the two are still actors playing roles and couldn't possibly measure up to him who is more genuine. The music is breezy, punctuated by an accordion that gives it the atmosphere of something of a vignette. Sakakibara's singing is straightforward and unembellished, contributing to the sense of liberty of mind the song evokes. While it may not be a number one hit, the song proved to be a great testing ground for both a budding songwriter and a budding singer.
Momoe Yamaguchi's big break came with her second single "Aoi Kajitsu" [Green Fruit], her first Top Ten hit. As mentioned previously, she was slated to be the mature one of group, as a contrast to the conservative Masako Mori and the innocent Junko Sakurada. Much of the work done during her early days to cultivate that persona was due to lyricist Kazuya Senke, whose suggestive wording can turn heads in interest. He could transform what would otherwise be a typical pop number into something very different. If the title of the song didn't give you the metaphor up front, let's just say that it hints at the lyrical content concerning illicit romance at a young age. The chorus itself, repeated three times, does enough explaining: "You can do what ever you want with me; it's alright if rumors spread that I'm a bad girl". To put it in context, Momoe was only fourteen when the single was released, although, unlike France Gall, she was very aware of the nature of the lyrics she sang. During her early career she had little artistic control over her music. Eventually she grew to dislike this song saying that "it wasn't her". By the time her career matured, "Aoi Kajitsu" was rarely performed live.
The 1980s in Japanese music was prolific in the number of people who are tossed into the production mill, with most of them falling into total obscurity in short order. Despite her small musical output (six singles and one album), Miyuki Imori saved herself from that obscurity by diversifying her abilities to become the more general tarento, thus interest in her music will rise whenever she shows up in television. Her second single "99 Tsubu no Namida" [99 Teardrops] follows along the stylistic heels of her first single, an easy and soft pop ballad. Even though Imori's voice isn't the most polished or strong sounding, it still charms the listener with its natural and unassuming tone. The chorus is catchy and highly memorable albeit brief. The song may not be star material (in fact, the writers are highly prominent in their field), but it isn't something totally forgettable either.
99粒の涙(99 Tsubu no Namida)
Music: Tetsuji Hayashi / 林哲司 Lyrics: Chinfa Kan / 康珍化
If Seiko Matsuda ushered in the new era of female idols in the 1980s, her counterpart for male popstars would be Toshihiko Tahara. A product of the perennial Johnny & Associates talent group who are responsible for churning out boy bands and teen idols for the girls to fawn over, Toshihiko made a strong entrance with his debut single "Aishu Date", an adaptation of "New York City Nights", itself the B-Side to Leif Garret's 1979 single "Feel the Need". The Japanese cover is a cleaner production compared to its American original, removing some of the heavier disco elements for a brighter instrumentation that makes it sound a bit more up to date. Despite its major success, peaking at No. 2 in the Oricon charts and granting him a spot on that year's Kohaku Uta Gassen, it is pretty clear Tahara is still working on his voice. It won't be until his second single does he start to sing more clearly and convincingly.
哀愁でいと (Aishu Date)
Music/Lyrics: Andrew Joesph di Taranto & Guy Hemric Japanese Adaptation: Kazuko Kobayashi / 小林和子
We've already been introduced to Momoe Yamaguchi and Masako Mori, two of the three middle-schoolers who graduated from the Star Tanjou! talent program together as the "Hana no Chusan Trio". Junko Sakurada was the second of the three to make her official debut, but unlike her fellow graduates took a bit longer to reach popular and critical acclaim. Her third single "Watashi no Aoi Tori" [My Bluebird] is a well-contained song, with Junko's clear voice singing the melody with an ease and strength not heard in her earlier two singles. It was at this point she became more confident with her abilities and asserted her sound directly. The song takes on one of the more common conceits of romantic Japanese writing, comparing one's love to a bluebird, although lyricist Yuu Aku took certain liberties by using the "coo-coo" sound, which is not realistic but plays the point across portraying Junko as the girl singing for her bluebird to come. As such, it was a critical success, netting Junko the Best Newcomer at the 15th Japan Record Awards.
わたしの青い鳥 (Watashi no Aoi Tori)
Music: Yasushi Nakamura / 中村泰士 Lyrics: Yuu Aku / 阿久悠
There has always been an issue with how much English can be used in Japanese songs, whether the singer can pronounce them as is or render them into katakana for ease of pronunciation. At times it leads to some rather awkward sounding music, but this is generally not the case for Yu Hayami, who was one of the handful of exceptions during the Golden Age of Idols.
Having lived in Guam and Hawaii in her childhood and preteen years, her handling of English was on an advanced level and with only a slight accent. This skill gave her some advantages with songwriters as they could include more English (whether that is a good or bad thing) to her songs. Her second single "Love Light" was one of the more extreme examples, where the chorus was entirely in English. Its provenance was likely a European dance-pop song that has since disappeared from public memory, so the Japanese adaptation remains. Here her ability to sing fluently between Japanese and English is audible. Musically, it has a strong beat, and decent melody, although Yu has slight trouble with the vocal acrobatics in the lead to the chorus and the chorus itself. Otherwise, it is fine for a song, and would work well in a dance hall context.
(15th Shinjuku Music Festival [第15回新宿音楽祭])
Love Light
Music: Jimmy Jackson Lyrics: Pia Jackson Japanese Adaptation: Yoshiko Miura / 三浦徳子
欲しいのは love light あなたの愛の陽ざし どうぞ気づいて pick me up 抱きしめて欲しいのよ
Let me, let me be the one you love Let me be the one you need I'm like a little flower Let me, let me be the one you love Let me share your joy and pain I'm like a little flower, flower
傷つけたくない 誰のことも だけど好きな気持ち 変えられない どうぞ お願いよ she's not the girl for you あなたから 私を愛してると言ってね
欲しいのは love light あなたの愛の陽ざし どうぞ気づいて pick me up 抱きしめて欲しいのよ
Let me, let me be the one you love Let me be the one you need I'm like a little flower Let me, let me be the one you love Let me share your joy and pain I'm like a little flower Let me, let me be the one you love Let me be the one you need I'm like a little flower Let me, let me be the one you love Let me share your joy and pain I'm like a little flower . . .
While we're looking at debut singles, let's go to Hiromi Iwasaki's beginnings as a singer. She entered the Star Tanjou! talent competition in 1974 with her rendition of the hit ballad "Anata" (originally by Akiko Kosaka). Her performance there garnered interest from scouts from eight different record labels, but she eventually went with Victor Records and underwent preparations for her official entrance as a professional. "Duet" was your generic pop tune, a safe and catchy song to test the waters for the sixteen year-old. It wasn't entirely ordinary, however. The song displayed Hiromi's vocal range that would eventually be one of her leading qualities, and despite her youth, her voice already has the mature edge to its tone that would improve as she develops her style. The arrangement by Mitsuo Hagita was also well integrated and one of the best-sounding in its time. It's showing on Oricon hit the Top 20, which isn't bad for a first song. However, compared to her entire output, it is probably the song that is the least like her style (another distinction shared with "Slow Motion" by Akina Nakamori).
二重唱 (デュエット) (Niijuushou [Duet])
Music: Kyohei Tsutsumi / 筒美京平 Lyrics: Yuu Aku / 阿久悠
While this was the debut single for Hiroshi Itsuki, it certainly wasn't the first time the man entered the music world. He sang under his birthname Kazuo Matsuyama during the mid-1960s with middling results, which led him to change production companies twice (from Columbia to Polydor to Minoruphone), and don two stage names in the process (Yoshikazu Ichijo [一条英一] and Ken Mitani [三谷謙] respectively) in an effort to remake his image. He performed his final overhaul in 1970, settling on his current stage name, and things thereafter went far better than he would imagine.
The lyrics for "Yokohama Tasogare" (Yokohama Twilight) describe disjointed scenes of fleeting romance, giving the port town an aura of dark mystery. Hiroshi's strongly masculine vocal clarity lends to that imagery, where it may find itself comfortable in smoky bars and clubs. While it saw a spring release, the song took its time to gain traction in the charts, and finally experienced its brief reign at the top during summer of 1971. It also earned a nomination for "Best Song" in the 13th Japan Record Awards and granted him a spot in the Red-White Song Competition. Even though he would later, like Mori Masako in the previous entry, become a fixture in Enka, his early career was more hybrid in nature, singing Enka-quality songs with more pop styled arrangements. This gradual shift towards orthodox Enka is not unusual and rather common, and we'll see this effect as we both delve later in their careers and discuss other artists who've gone through that same path.
Momoe Yamaguchi was not alone when she made her debut into the music world. As mentioned earlier, she was one of three who graduated at the same time from the Star Tanjou! talent competition. Masako Mori was one of the other two and was the first to officially debut with her single "Sensei". During the competition, many in the industry found her voice the most appealing of the three and predicted great success in her future. Peaking at #3 on the Oricon charts and garnering recognition in the Japan Record Awards later that year, the song's strong start showed good signs for Masako. Her singing style is steady and clear, and high in register yet without shrillness. These qualities were well suited for her entrance as an Enka singer, which was rare to bestow on someone as young as she. "Sensei" has the qualities of melancholy and more traditional melodic structure found in Enka, yet its arrangement is rather light and friendly to popular music tastes. The broad appeal of the song combined with her personal appeal would see her become a big favorite in the Enka world, and, for the time being, find a place in the dynamic and competitive world of the teen idol.
Artist: Seiko Matsuda / 松田聖子
