MIHIMARU GT "Bon Voyage" (PV).

Hiroko and Mitsuyuki, whom I think of as Japan's version of Will.i.am & Fergie, are back again with their 18th single, Bon Voyage, from their upcoming full-length CD, Mihimarise, which is out on May 28th.

N*E*R*D. "Everybody Nose" (PV).

AI OTSUKA "Rocket Sneaker" (PV).

Nishino Kana? Ai Otsuka? What is the heck going on here? I guess I'm in full-on "cute mode" right now. Well, I'll just have to attribute it to the beautiful spring weather here in Athens, GA. because I've got a little extra bounce in my step and life is just all gravy, baby. Check out this track and prototypically imaginative video from Ai Otsuka, maybe it'll do for you what it's doing for me. Spring has sprung, la-la-la!

GREEEEN "キセキ" (PV).

西のかな "Glowly Days" (PV).

This is a really sweet song that just keeps growing on me. The video, is equally sweet, so sweet there are a heap of butterflies in it. Kana Nishino even turns into butterflies in one sequence. Like I said, it's really cute stuff, and while I really don't go for a lot of cutesy stuff, I find this song and video to be very sweet and very charming. Check it out.

DOUBLE Featuring 安室奈美恵 "BLACK DIAMOND" (PV).

Well, the spring semester is finally over. Finals, lab reports, papers and research projects have been submitted and the grades are in the books. Overall, although the end results weren't pretty, I received my credits and pulled one semester closer to my degree. Anyway, with the free time I have between now and the summer semester I can get back to two things I enjoy, practicing my nihongo and posting music and fashion tidbits on ikinoii. Last night I was able to get a copy of this much anticipated video via one of my favorite torrents.

Talk about hot! My love of all things electro is not much of a secret, so no one should be surprised that I am completely ga-ga over this song and video. Throw in two of the sexiest women over thirty on the J-pop/J-urban landscape and we have a straight to ipod video selection. But don't take my word for it, see it for yourself. My one quibble: Namie might need to seek out a new choreographer, she's got some recycled dance moves in there. That aside, this is one dope dance track. I predict it will be H-U-G-E on MTV, radio and dance floors alike and ring up some big, big sales.

MISIA "Yes Forever" (PV).

Both Ikue and I adore Misia. Yes Forever is an excellent choice for a single. The new single is in stores April 30th ad also features remixes of two tracks from her last full-length CD, Eighth World and three versions of Yes Forever. The track list for the single is included below.

1. Yes Forever.
2. Yes Forever (Piano Version)
3. 太陽の地図 (Gomi's Vajra Mix)
4. 以心伝心 (Mega Raiders Remix)
5. Yes Forever (Piano Version Instrumental)

Source: Misia .jp

Kamiki Aya "君去りし誘惑" (PV).

The hottie, twenty-two year old rocker from Hokkaido is back with her seventh single and a companion PV. I wonder how do you say "hot-diggity" in Japanese?

JERO "海雪" (PV).

This young man from Pittsburgh, PA has gotten pretty high up there on the Oricon charts in the most unexpected manner. That's good for him, I'm definitely not hating on him. Although, I will admit, four weeks ago when I first saw this video on dailymotion, I was scratching my head. A young half-black/half Japanese kid, with straight up hip hop style singing traditional Japanese えんか music. Say what? He's got the hat cocked to the side and doing moves like he was in Day 26. But hey, he does it very well, both the singing and the dancing, and he's enjoy success with it, so more power to him. Also, I like that little graffiti strip in Yokohama where they shot the video. Nice touch.

PERFUME "Secret, Secret" (PV).

木村カエラ "Stars" (PV).

I'm not sure why, but it seems the majority of Japanese singers I like are halfu; half Japanese, half something else. Crystal Kay, Thelma Aoyama, Leah Dizon, the list goes on and on. Add Kaela Kimura, the quirky, avant garde, half British/half Japanese popstress, to that list. I loved her video for Jasper as much as the song itself. Her new one, Stars, is pretty much the same situation. Check it out.

TOHOSHINKI (DBSK) "Beautiful You" (PV).

NANA KITADE "Siren" (PV).

KANYE WEST "Homecoming" (PV).

YAMADA YU "Leave All Behind" (PV).

田中ロウマ Featuring Melody "BoyFriend - Girlfriend" (PV).

ARIA "Departure" Featuring AK-69 (PV).

This track is amazing. It's an interesting blend of sounds; electro, house, R&B, hip hop. I haven't seen anything this genre bending like this since the days of Deee-lite, Todd Terry, The Jungle Brothers and masters At Work. Excellent.

Proof That Not Every J-Idol Was Meant To Be A J-Pop Singer.

I guess that J-Pop star thing is a lot harder than it looks because I really don’t know about this. It’s borderline embarrassing. I have made frequent mention of J-Idols, gravure models and the like making their way into other realms of media and entertainment. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I am not a hater. I’m all for someone seizing opportunities and going for theirs. And I have said on several occasions, I’m not into bashing folk, however, this is really, really not so good. at least in my opinion.

Nonami Takizawa is a great idol. I think she is beautiful and I think it’s cool that she keeps her clothes on. NoteveryJ-idol can make that claim. That’s another story. I’m cool with the woman trying to make a few extra duckets, but God… this song and the production and the video… I never knew staring at a hot woman could be so dull.

It looks like it was shot by a still photographer not a cinematographer, because her ass doesn’t move much at all. She looks like she was posing for a gravure shoot. And what the heck is she wearing? Anyway, this isn’t a new track it’s been out for a minute. I don’t know. It does have entertainment value, just maybe not what they intended. I guess that pop idol stuff is a little harder than it looks. Oh well, Nonami-chan… at lest you still have your day job.

SANTOGOLD "Les Artistes" (PV).

Santogold are helping Peaches and Miss Kittin carry the torch lit by Nina Hagen, Ann Magnuson and Karen Finley years ago. There's not just avant garde performance art here, there's good music to back it up. Am I the only person who thinks the vocalist looks like Venus Williams?

SATOMI "Bright Will" (PV).