Idol Watch #13: May/June 2022
Rounding up the best idol songs from the past two months, featuring WASUTA, Up Up Girls (2), Planet After the Rain and more
Hi! Welcome to Idol Watch, a bi-monthly companion newsletter to This Side of Japan that’s all about Japanese idols! You can check out past months from 2022 here: January & February / March & April
Before it potentially gets buried from this intro feature, here is a list of my 50 favorite idol songs of 2022 so far.
“Maybe some of you already had a feeling about this,” Minan wrote on her personal note announcing the dissolution of lyrical school’s current five-member line-up. If the signs were written on the wall, I was definitely blind to them. The hip-hop idol group displayed such strong chemistry among each other on record as they traded bars back and forth, and it seemed as though that tight-knit connection translated into their passions outside the music as well as their commitment to the group. Things turned out to be more complicated with four out of the five ready to graduate from lyrical school in pursuit of other life goals.
While lyrical school will keep going in name, the music will probably not be the same even after they recruit new members. The group playing with rap music makes the whole affair different than usual idol graduations as the genre by nature draws out individual personalities out of the collective voice. Even if the producers managed to find idols already skilled as rappers, they’ll inevitably establish a new, unique group dynamic among each other than the one formed by the current line-up. They may be able to rap the same verses, perhaps even sharper, but the character they will bring to the track won’t be the same as the original.
Witnessing each of the current five grow into their own on record was the most rewarding experience while following this iteration of lyrical school beginning from 2017. While they got the hang of who’s who in 2019’s “LAST DANCE,” their colors were on best display in 2020’s “OK!” The newest additions Hinako, Yuu and Risano carved out their own niche within the five-piece dynamic, sounding off as the bubbly idol, the quirky sidekick, the happy-go-lucky rapper, respectively. The second-most-tenured Hime showed tremendous growth as a rapper, mastering modern flow while exuding the most swagger out of anyone in the group.
And then there’s Minan, the smooth, zen idol who’s dexterous as both rapper and singer. Often singing the hook and choruses, she released her own solo EP not that long ago. After July 24, Minan will be the only remaining member while lyrical school searches for new members. It will certainly be interesting to see who she will end up surrounding herself with and whether or not she will stick out of the pack being so skilled and well-rounded.
In tribute to one of my favorite idol groups, I’m here to chart the creative growth of lyrical school through 6 of the group’s essential tracks. This should also work as a crash course if you’re unfamiliar with one of the most unique if not the best idol groups to adopt hip hop and rap as their main genre of play.
“Tsuretteteyo” [BootRock, 2017]
Lyrical school went back to basics for their first few singles under their new five-member formation. While their summer re-debut, “Natsuyasumi No Baby,” prized the giddiness and infatuation typical of an idol song over actual rapping, the follow-up “Tsuretteteyo” stuck firmly to their main genre of play. The lengthiness of their raps and their debts to the old-school return from the days of Guidebook—the last full-length LP with their past line-up—but the five can’t help but reveal their lovesick side as they try to fashion themselves with hip-hop cool.
This being their starting point, the idols mostly sound uniform in style. That said, “Tsurettetyo” foreshadows the personalities that they would further define for themselves down the road. Hinako can already be identified as the most idol-like, her bubbly charm balancing her trip-ups; Yuu previews her chameleon-like qualities as she shifts from double-time raps to a melodic R&B hook at the drop of a hat.
…featured in WORLD’S END.
“LAST DANCE” [CONNECTONE, 2019]
Lyrical School solidify their musical identity through a series of singles released during the year between WORLD’S END and BE KIND REWIND, and “LAST DANCE” stands as their strongest effort out of the batch. The five has now settled on who’s the group’s cool, stoic rappers (Hime and Risano), their humorous pop foils (Yuu and Hinako) and the R&B singer who holds it all together (Minan). For “LAST DANCE” in particular, each different voice provides a unique point of view in which to approach the song’s central conflict: how do we hold on to this fleeting moment as time quickly passes by? While each respond according to their respective personalities, they ultimately settle on a united answer: it’s a waste of time just worrying, so let’s live it up as much as we can.
…featured in BE KIND REWIND
Here are my 10 favorite idol singles from the last two months! And I also put together a list of my 50 favorite idol songs of 2022! Playlists are inside if you want to listen or watch.
“Kyo You Mu” by BPM15Q [Victor]
Rinahamu should already be busy producing her new idol group HO6LA and yet she decides to reboot her first unit BPM15Q with producer nicamoq. While the duo’s comeback single sticks firmly to its roots—the zippy, neon-lit electro-pop foundational to Rinahamu’s later endeavors like CY8ER and, yes, HO6LA—it also stays consistent with where the group’s niche aesthetic aligns itself today. The bedroom-stuck jirai-kei personality of its former version adapts into an extroverted, nihilistic paripi attitude. “All eyes on me / in your dreams,” they taunt over a brash, slithering electro bass line served by none other than Teddyloid. BPM15Q might still dwell in the imagination, but they’re ready to live out a night outside of the hermetic lifestyle.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Emergency in a Club” by Axelight; “Stunning Girl” by pageONE
“evening” by The Candace [Southernmost Tracks]
If anyone else resides in the center of the Oasis-idols Venn diagram like I do, then The Candace’s opening track for their amazing self-titled EP should be a treat. The stoned yet arena-made guitars that crack “evening” open remind me of the mellower classic-rock-nostalgic riffs inside Definitely Maybe that tower over you like giants. The idols, too, sing as though they’re sedated, elongating syllables in a span as infinite as the sky-scraping guitars. “Day by day / homey / hitori, lonely,” they sigh in the chorus while they let their mind wander, searching for a direction as well as the next rhyme. Listless as they may be, The Candace bask in the feeling as if they’re living in a sweet dream.
The Candace 1 EP is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Framboise Parfait No Tameni” by RAY
“Watashi No Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro” by FRUITS ZIPPER [Kawaii Lab]
The FRUITS ZIPPER camp maintains the group’s second single going viral on TikTok was an unexpected turn of events. The result doesn’t seem completely shocking, though, when hearing a chorus practically designed to soundtrack azatoi-kei clips showing off cutesy, burikko gestures. “You always look closely at the cutest things about me / that makes you the most luckiest person in the world,” they praise. “And so you can keep thinking that about me for years on end / I realized that about me too.” The idols get so caught up in their fawning self-adoration, their verses often disregard melody or lyrical breaks. The bubbly sounds and the kitchen-sink feel of the synth-pop beat encourages the stars in the center of it to further indulge in their ditzy personalities. It would be a cloying affair if they didn’t wink at the performance aspect of it all: “Sorry, we can’t date / but it’ll be a lot better than that,” they tease at one point partly in reference to their identity as idols. FRUITS ZIPPER are in on the joke, and they have a blast playing the part.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Yona Yonayo” by Kira Shiomi; “Shiwase Hasshin! From Kitchen” by Qumali Depart
“Tell Me” by Up Up Girls (2) [T-Palette]
The enchanting chorus of “Tell Me” makes the most lasting impression out of the selections in Up Up Girls (2)’s quadruple A-side single. “Tell me, lord, does everyone try to find the answer,” the idols plead in the cosmic pop-funk track, the twinkling synths framing their inquiry as a piece of earnest wonder. The central question to the heavens deals with the meta as the idols ponder about why singing has become their calling, soon extending to discuss what makes a pop song so electric. Existential as this all sounds, “Tell Me” reaches a conclusion that’s charmingly sincere as it is so idol: it’s all in service of you, the listener, at the other side of their song.
Daredatte Idol / Custom Nikichan / Tell Me / starry wink* is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Goody Goody Gumdrops” by Kindan No Tasuketsu; “STMN” by NELN
“Blue” by AMEFURASSHI [Stardust Promotions]
Melancholy coolly blankets “Blue” as the R&B track reveals a hidden down-and-out side to AMEFURASSHI, whose latest full-length, Drop, invests much of its space to showcase the group’s otherwise sunny personality. While the idols keep it stoic as if to not fully let down their guard, their restless emotions run counter to the smoothness they try hard to maintain: “What should I talk about first,” Hana Kojima question with deep indecision in the bridge when she’d rather cut to the chase and straightly lay down her feelings. AMEFURASSHI put on their best face even if they’re not feeling too perfect, but that impulse hurts more than helps them as they struggle to express their true emotions in “Blue.”
Drop is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Showbiz” by Momoiro Clover Z; “Now or Never” by ONE LOVE ONE HEART
“CO2” by Planet After the Rain [Hibiki]
Planet After the Rain (or Ameagari No Planet) let their searing, razor-sharp guitars cool into languid post-rock in “CO2.” “I soar through this transparent city of nothing,” they sigh in the chorus over sky-scraping guitars, their voices wistful and a little broken. It pains that much more to hear the idols and their reminiscences of a more beautiful, fulfilling summer colored by blue post-hardcore tones, buttressed by cresting riffs straight out the playbooks of Explosions in the Sky. While “CO2” transports the group into an alternate environment than their usual white-knuckled attacks, the heaviness of it all becomes its own strength for Planet After the Rain.
CO2 is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Trajectory” by Hakushi No Reboot; “BAD+” by innes
“Nettaigyo” by kaiju by me [I LOVE YOU]
Kaiju by me treat their pop punk music like a diary in “Nettaigyo,” their words spilled on the page like fresh ink. The idols’ deflated vocals alone telegraph more than enough to share their “over it” attitude, especially Stand By Natsuki’s weathered rasp that cuts distinct than the rest of her mates. But what seems as a commonplace issue of their lack of self-esteem as idols eventually turns morbid come the bridge: “I’d rather keep on sleeping / might as well just die peacefully,” Natsuki sings, her voice cracking as the pop punk music reaches its final breakdown. Though Kaiju By Me ultimately chooses life, “Nettaigyo” depicts a rather stark gasp for air.
Massyo EP is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Gday the Superstar” by GoodDay; “Kaimaku Jibun Sengen” by Kinopo
“Dai Jinsei Never Been Better!” by Morning Musume ‘22 [Up-Front Works]
The cheery summer funk of Morning Musume’s recent A-side inspires the idols to loosen up and live a little. “Bounce like pop! / Bloom like pop! / Poppin’ up! My dear lover,” the idols sing in the acapella chorus-style intro to embrace your well-being as they usually do before they flip the script and get a bit self-indulgent: “Because isn’t everything mine for the taking?” Indeed, they preach of a happy-go-lucky life led according to their own rules, explained via classic Morning Musume-isms as if to drive home their point: “All things will eventually break / but imagination is free / never never never never been better!” They switch gears at the drop of a hat, taking in the ups and downs as just matter of fact. If the chorus work or the limitless optimism reminds of their past-generation hit (and recently covered song) “I Wish,” it only speaks to how consistent, in theme and style, Morning Musume has been for now more than 20 years.
See also: “Aisubekibeki Human Life” by Angerme; “Koi No Crouching Start” by OCHA NORMA
“Daydream” by EISEI TO KARATEA [Lonesome]
The main preoccupation in the heads of EISEI TO KARATEA as heard in their solid new LP, kokode mita yume no hanashi, consists of wanting a better life for themselves. Though, the group’s inward-looking music steers itself in a direction not so much in lineage of WACK and their brand of maudlin punk but instead a more earnest, optimistic path. “Blinking daydream / As if what I left behind can’t light up my future / I keep asking myself the same questions,” they sing in the chorus of “Daydream.” They remain so hard on themselves, but the glittery, emo tones of the sentimental indie-rock suggest that hope rather than doom of their immediate future.
Kokode mita yume no hanashi is out now. Listen to the album on Spotify.
See also: “Signal” by GANG PARADE; “wonder day” by sommeil sommeil
“Sora To Sakana” by WASUTA [Avex Trax]
The carbonated pop of “Sora To Sakana” sticks out of WASUTA’s impressive run this year with it lodged between two overtly dance-centric singles, but its awkward fit within the sequence befits a song that finds the idol caught amid a time of transition. The beatific production reminds of spring at its peak with lush instrumental flourishes brushing across the prickly pianos like the wind grazing the greenery. The idols, however, wistfully anticipate the change in season like they’re not yet ready to say goodbye. They describe the shift in front of their eyes with evocative lyricism, their surreal expressions reminiscent of RYUTist’s recent psychedelic rumination: “Let’s kick that slope with the round patterns and let summer begin,” WASUTA eventually sing in the chorus. From the sound of the riling drums, it seems the idols found something to look forward to.
Listen to the song on Spotify.
See also: “Mizu No Nakano” by CYNHN
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