2013 is heading upon us quickly, being a Ninja and all that jazz, so what is it time for? Yes, it's time for my Top 20 songs of 2012! Why 20? Because when I tried to compile 10 songs together I ended up with 20, that's why! So what is my Number 1? Which song is my Number 20? Stay here, sit back, relax, grab some cocoa or alcohol and find out!
And yes, this is pretty tough! 20 songs and I need to arrange them in order of my favourites! Oh my Dx
Okay! Musume Time's Top 20 Songs of 2012!
20. Fore Fore ~Forest for Rest~ by DIY♡
When the SATOYAMA units were announced, I think that everyone was surprised by the originality and diversity in the sound that was
Fore Fore ~Forest for Rest~. It brought a new, dance-filled tune to the Hello! Project program and brought together the leggiest of them all, too. This is probably the best song to be released by Hello! Project in a long time, actually, what with the new and diverse sound. Everyone is hooked on it, and how can you fault them? This song is perfect and works so well!
19. STUDY x STUDY by StylipS
What a song to debut with!
STUDY x STUDY really showed great promise with this group, and I absolutely adore this song! It's incredibly catchy, very original and new and extremely refreshing. It really showed off these girls' vocals well whilst also showing off their great group dynamic, too. I adored this song for a long time, and I still do! It's great to listen to, and it really gets me in the mood to dance, not study!
It's amazing, to put it bluntly. I love the pace, beat and feel of it. It's fun and energetic, and for a debut, this is
damn amazing, and their other songs really can not compare to it, though
Choose Me Darling can come pretty close.
18. Sentimental Girl by Ono Erena (Erepyon)
I don't know how many time I listened to this song, but it was
a lot. This has to be my favourite B-side track from Erena since her debut. It's incredibly catchy, quite original and issues both her natural vocals and some electro pop in there, too. I love this song, no wait,
I adore it and I wish that this had been the track which was given a PV, because be honest here,
Erepyon as a whole was very generic and simple, a safe ball in the park I guess.
Sentimental Girl, however, is easily a lot more original and really expresses Erena's vocal capability and how good of a singer she really is.
17. Mouretsu Uchuu Koukyoukyoku Dainana Gakushou "Mugen no Ai" by Momoiro Clover Z
There is something about this song which got me on a MomoClo high, thought it didn't last long, but I can't deny that this is one amazing song. It's catchy, incredibly original and very different to what they had produced before this song. It showed that random side to MomoClo, but it also made them look and sound cool, too, which surprised me. This is also the first song in a while which didn't freak me out, and the first MomoClo song I fell in love with upon first listen. I am amazed that such a sound could come out of MomoClo, especially with how terrible I find most of their vocals. It's heavy, edgy and sounds like a Queen chorus in a way. Different, but damn I love it!
16. Koko Kara Hajimarunda! by Kikkawa Yuu
I'm not a big fan of Kikka, mostly because Hapi Rapi Sunrise was a terrible song and I couldn't stand her voice after that, but Koko Kara Hajimarunda! is such a fantastic song! It's catchy, easy to sing along to and showcases Kikka's voice quite well, even if it is electronic and auto-tuned to make her sound a bit like a Vocaloid. I think it's a nice song, and I've listened to it a lot more than I thought I would this year. It really made me appreciate Kikkawa as a vocalist, and whilst I sometimes can not stand her voice (I don't think she's amazing like others do) I do think she sounds amazing here, and this is such a good song! I hope she continues this streak of good songs that showcase her voice well.
15. Tobitate! Furanger by Fudanjuku (Otoko)
I remember when I saw the live of this performed by Momo on youtube. I fell in love with the sound and the passion behind Momo's vocals as well as the meaning behind the lyrics. The song is all about the group, and that is what is so amazing about this song. It represents everything about Momotaro and how he feels towards the group. That, and it's a wonderful, fun song to listen to! It's so energetic and playful and reminds me of the days when I would sit and watch Power Rangers, wishing to be a Power Ranger myself. It's a great song, and it represents the group dynamic and the power Fudanjuku has together. I don't think that there is a song which represents how well they work together from their newer songs. It's amazing!
14. Hikaru Monotachi by Watanabe Mayu
Isn't this song pretty damn amazing? I know, I think so too. Really, I didn't expect much from Mayu as a soloist when she started, especially when both of her first two singles were very generic and had little to offer in the originality department. But then Hikaru Monotachi came out and proved me wrong when I started to believe that Mayu was a terrible, anime-singer type girl. Really, this song is amazing and I doubt any other single she produces will top it. Why? Well it's amazing, it's the best she has ever produced, and it fits with the electronic sound that's hit Jpop recently, but it's the best electronic sound out there for Idols that aren't Perfume, too. The PV is also damn epic, but again, this song is really good. It's her best, and I just doubt that anything else she produces will win out against this song.
13. Egao ni Namida ~Thank you DEAR MY FRIENDS~ by Niigaki Risa (Ren'ai Hunter)
Don't be surprised that Gaki is here, because she is the Lord of Okay! Musume Time. That, and yes, I adore this song so much. When her graduation was announced I was so sad, but this song that she covered represents everything about her, from how much she loved Morning Musume to how dear the members were to her as well as her fans. This song is basically Gaki personified, and I felt that it was the perfect Graduation song for her to depart with. It has a lot of meaning behind it, and all of that meaning is embedded here in this song through the lyrics and how she sings. The song is very meaningful not just to Gaki, but to her fans, too, and she sang it so beautifully.
GAKI!!!!!!!!!! -cries-
12. Cha Cha SING! by Berryz Kobou
This is an amazing cover song! Really, it truly is, and it's incredibly fun too! I just loved the energy, happiness and effort put into this song. It's so good to listen to, and it really shows how great Berryz Kobou are together when they're having fun. Okay, so Momoko's piftails are infuriating throughout, but I really enjoy the song itself and everyone sounds amazing. I think that this was definitely the best song produced for Berryz, probably tieing with WANT!, but in terms of how much I loved the sound, Cha Cha SING wins.
11. Futsuu no Shoujo A by Tanaka Reina, Sato Masaki & Kudo Haruka (Wakuteka Take a Chance)
I really can not fangirl about this song enough, but believe you me, I love it!!! It's an amazing song and the best that Morning Musume has had to offer this year in terms of sound. It's fresh, new, exotic and extremely diverse in sound, and the best part? It represents each singers' vocals beautifully. They all suit it, surprising since Masaki sounds like a cute child still, but it sounds great despite the deeper, more mature sound quality that it has compared to most of Morning Musume's songs. It is so rich in tone, and it really brings out the best of these girls' voices. I just hope to God that this continues, because this song is damn amazing!
10. Tasogare Kousaten by Mano Erina (Doki Doki Baby/Tasogare Kousaten)
I had a tought time choosing where this song should go; It was either going to be in my Special Mentions or in this list, but considering the amount of times I have listened to this fantastic song, I really think that it deserves to be right here in the Top 10 of this list. Tasogare Kousaten is such a beautiful song, and when Mano sings it you can hear so much passion and devotion in her voice, and it's simply amazing. She has really matured through this, and she just sounds wonderful, as if she's already broken out of her Idol mould and proven herself to be a singer and not someone who is just there for show. It's an amazing song and I love it, it's so meaningdul and shows how far Mano has come as a singer.
9. Magical Lip KISS by Naaboudoufu@Nana
I really can not fault this song at all - I love it! It sounds so cool and catchy compared to the fun and quirky debut of Nana. Much like many other Idols, this song took on the electronic concept but did it so much better than other groups or singers did. This even beats out Hikaru Monotachi in how diverse and original it sounds. It's a great song, incredibly catchy and fun to listen to, and I think that it works with Nana's voice beautifully. She isn't the best singer, but her voice is enhanced here, and she sounds pretty damn good to me. That, and she givies this song some freakin' ATTITUDE!
8. Lady Diamond by Sexy Zone
MY GOD THIS SONG!!!! I swear, I fall in love with every listen over and over again! Lady Diamond is just so fun, cute and catchy, and it really shows off Sexy Zone and how good they are as both performers and singers! It's an incredible song, a song that I love so much and my favourite from this group of boys. I think it's just amazing, and I enjoy it with every listen. It's just so fun and childish! It's a perfect song to make you feel so much happier, it's great for a pick-me up and just so easy to sing along and dance to!
Are you ready, I love you!~
7. Friendship Birthday ~Arashi no Yoru no~ by Sea☆A
This was easily my favourite summer song (and video) for 2012. The song itself made me love Sea☆A so much more and appreciate the friendly sound that they all have. Friendship Birthday is a really easy song to listen to and get into, and whilst it isn't as epic as DELI DELI DELICIOUS, I still love the tone and sweetness that it has. It's a beautiful song, a cute ballad type song which sounds raw, but it also sounds precious and friendly. If anything, this song showed off the groups love for one another and their love for singing as well, and that's why I love it.
6. Koi no Tenki Yohou! by Weather Girls
Are you ready for a Doki Doki Typhoon, ow!
Boy this song is catchy as hell, and one of my favourite debuts of 2012! It's so refreshing, mature and different to what I have heard in 2012, and despite that distinct Korean sound, it does sound quite Japanese too. If anything, I love this song for it's absolute catchyness and how cute it sounds! It's a great debut for the Weather Groups and I absolutely love this song! I constantly find myself looking for the song just to listen to the wonderful beat and the cute vocals. It's a great song, not incredible, but it's so satisfying to the ears! Hence why it's in my Top 10!
5. Ueika!! by YuiKaori
This is the best thing to come from YuiKaori ever since their debut, I swear... It's so cute and fun, energetic and childish. It has a mixture of Puppy Love (what an annoying song) and Hyadain's Hyadain no Kakakata☆Kataomoi-C, and that makes it sound really fun, cute and addicting! It's as if someone took some cola and mixed it with a load of sherbet to create this Hyper-active mess of colour, fun and cuteness! It's extremely sugary and cute, so diabetic but so so loveable and fun to listen to! It's the best I have ever heard and seen from YuiKaori, and I can only hope that they do something this energetic and hyperactive again!
4. Chou HAPPY SONG by BerriKyuu
I love this song, but my love as worn off a little, I will admit, but it doesn't stop how amazing it is! This has to be one of the best songs I have heard from Hello! Project in a while, and it's totally original in how it was created. Everyone loved it, they loved the concept and the final product, and who can fault that? Tsunku pulled a genius move with this song, and the end product is just... argh, Tsunku, you mad mad genius, you!
4. Song for the DATE by Mano Erina
Choices are getting harder to make, but who can really deny the perfection that was Song for the DATE? By far Mano Erina's best release ever, this song showed just how hardcore she truly was as a singer and how much of a Diva she could truly be. It is also the song that broke her out of that Idol mould and showed off her abilities as a singer and not a Hello! Project act. This is the song which has defined just how amazing she truly is. It's sad that she's leaving, because this is her best song to date and we all know it!
3. Shekimeki! by Dream5
Here is another song that I can not fault for how perfect it truly is... My Lord Gaki, isn't Shekimeki perfect to listen to? My god how can anyone not LOVE THIS SONG!? It's amazing! It's so catchy, unique and just totally wonderful! Both lead singers sound freakin' amazing in it. I can't really say anything other then that I love it! It's just wonderful, beautiful, the best thing I have ever heard from Dream5, and totally deserving of the Number 3 spot. It got so high on the list, beating out Mano! The HECK? Whatever, I love it! Time to JAM!!!
2. The Transient Apple Girl by GUMI (Vocaloid)
This is surprising, right? I mean me and Vocaloid, it just does not happen. But given how much I loved this song to the point where I just had to write about it, I'm also not surprised that it's my Number 2 pick for this year. I mean really, it's just... It's incredible. It's addicting, it's well constructed, the vocals are good, it has such a magical, fairy-tale like quality to the sound and the lyrics are meaningful and have a beautiful story with an equally beautiful video. It's heartfelt and extremely saddening at one point, but it also shows us that life has meaning and that we shouldn't waste it or take it for granted like the people of the town do in the video.
It's a beautiful, and it's a song which I hope to continue loving because of how meaningful it is and the beauty of the sound and structure of the song. It is so deserving of the Number 2 spot, and I truly hope that you can all love and appreciate this sound, too.
So... 19 songs down, and one more to go. My Top Pick, the Number 1 song for this blog, the song that has meant more to me than any of these other songs combined... It was so hard to figure out what I was going to have, but after listening to this song again... My God it feels so right to give it the Number 1 spot. It just... argh, it fills my soul and I love it.
1. BLISTER by ManaMinoRisa
BLISTER is such a hope-filled, energetic and meaningful song which really raises my spirits and makes me feel at ease. It sounds so perfect, so beautiful, and it really encourages me to continue doing things that I want to stop doing. It's a song which is just so enlightening and wonderful. It really fills me up with happiness and hope, and really, I could not think of a more fitting title for a debut song from a group who spent so long as Indies Idols, going through difficult endeavours in order to major debut. This is a great song, and it really speaks for all the hard work and effort that MaMiRi put in to getting to where they are today. This song is totally deserving of the Number 1 spot because it's pretty much been the one song which I have always turned to for a feel-good song, one which makes me feel better and happier in myself. It's just perfect.
And so that concludes my Top 20 singles of the year 2012! It's a surprising mix of songs I think, especially considering it isn't all Hello! Project based! Of course I would love to give some special mentions, too...
Special Mentions Top 10
There is no Specific Order here xD
Color by i☆Ris was, in my opinion, a fantastic song to debut with when these girls did debut. It's a great song, one which is surprisingly mature in the tone of vocals but fun and harmonious in sound. It's a wonderful song, one that I enjoy listening to a lot, hence the special mention here!
Wakuteka Take a chance by Morning Musume is the best single from this group for all of 2012, but not one of my staple favourites that made it into my Top 20 of the year. This is a fantastic song and really shows off how good this group can be, even with the lack of vocal talent they have right now. It's a fun, catchy and energetic song, one which is so fun to listen to and dance along with!
Choose me♡DARLING by StylipS is such a crazy energetic song, and I do love love love it, and whilst it is just as fantastic as STUDY x STUDY, it isn't in my Top 20 because there were songs that deserved to be there so much more in my opinion. But my lord, this is a fantastic song and video! It's just so peppy and cute and gorgeous and wonderful!!!
Kinenbi ni Aimasho by Station♪ is such a gentle song, it's very beautiful and just so... well, perfect. It's my favourite song by Station♪ and it shows off their vocals beautifully in my opinion. It's a ballad; a winter ballad if you will, about meeting each other on the Anniversary. It's a lovely song and I think that people should give it a listen to truly appreciate how good these girls are. They're only Indies Idols, but honestly they sound so gorgeous and this song is quite mature in sound, too.
Honey♡Bee by LoveLaDoll is just sooo cute, energetic and fluffy! The song is adorable, very Idol-like and just so charming in its own way! I love the catchy cute tune it has and the adorable dance is just so wonderful to watch! That, and the vocals are superb! LoveLaDoll are only Indies still and very unknown, but they're refreshing and cute and really interesting! Please check out Honey♡Bee!
No 48 Family songs made it into my Top 20 because, let's be frank, this year their music sucked ass. Nothing was distinctive or new, and the one song that was bored me, but Manatsu no Sounds GOOD is a good song I think. It's generic, but it's a lot better than the half-arsed crap released so far this year. The only thing that killed it was the bikini's in the video. Such a turn off from a pretty good song.
Okay, I need to mention at least one song by Buono!, so how about Never Gonna Stop? It's a good song, and whilst it is no Hatsukoi Cider I do think that it's a great song which shows off their vocal strength as a group, and the video for it was very nice and meaningful, too. It's a good song, don't deny it, and I really like it! It shows the strength of Buono! and how indestructible they are together, because damn, they are awesome! Baby Never Gonna Stop!
Oh look, it's the original Dokka'n Capriccio! Produce by Bakusute Sotokanda Icchome is only their début, but I really like the sound of this song and just how fun it really is. It's a good song, and if you haven't heard it, it's basically Morning Musume's Dokka'n Capriccio, but this one was made beforehand... or released beforehand, either one. It's a fun, cute song, and a pretty good début in my opinion.
Daisuki by Juliet is such a good song! My lord, I really do love it, hence why it needs a special mention! It is such a lovely ballad, very powerful and quite riveting when you listen to it. The vocals are also extremely mature and beautiful to listen to, definitely different to the types of pitchy or cutesy voices I usually listen to. These ladies have amazing control and sound beautiful. I love this song, DAISUKI!!!
My Special mentions would not be right without NEXT MY SELF by Mano Erina in here, because whilst the song is typically a generic, run of the mill song, it's Mano's final single as Hello! Project's soloist and it's a song which truly speaks for her. It's a sound which isn't anything special, but the song represents Mano in her best form; simple, but extremely thankful and very sweet. It's a song whcih also shows off her vocals nicely, though not at her best. It's a nice song, and I like it, but it didn't make an impact on me... well, okay it did, but that's because of the PV and the fact that it's her final song and she sounds so happy in it...
Oh crap it made an impact on me D;
~
And with that, I end my Top 20 post. I may not have added songs that you like or agree with, but these are the songs which really stood out to me, making them my Top 20 of this year.
I'm genuinely surprised with the amount of main H!P groups I have in here, though, but I've really taken a step out of my comfort zone and tried newer groups I think, and I think that I have listened to a good amount of sounds, too. In terms of music, this has been a good year, and I love all of these songs a lot.
And if you're wondering why C-ute and S/mileage are absent, it's because none of their songs really struck me this year like others did. Yes, C-ute have been great, but I didn't really gain any interest in either of the two singles they produced, regardless of how awesome they are. S/mileage, on the other hand, really sucked this year. The only saving grace was Suki yo in my opinion, and Samui ne to a certain degree, if you take away that stupid video.
So, what is your Top 20 or Top 10 of the year? Let me know~ ;3
Chiima~
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