Gray's Onkagu Go For May 2021

Picking up after Ken and Luna with another month down from 2021, we at Ongaku to You would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms with Apple Music being featured on this site.

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“Vivid Vice” by Who-ya Extended

At first I wasn’t too crazy about this song but since it served as the second opening to Jujutsu Kaisen. I got to be much more familiar with it over the course of the back half of the season and it really started to grow on me. The first take version is on YouTube and it’s really good as well.

Check out “Vivid Vice” here, and the music video below.

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“Kirari” by Fujii Kaze

This was just a delight when it popped up on the Oricon. I’ve had it on repeat ever since. It is songs like this that got me into J-pop. I’m not too sure you would see a song like this do well in America which is really sad because this release is so well done with such a catchy tune. I’ve taken a liking to Fuji Kaze and I’ll definitely be talking about him again in the future.

Check out “Kirari” here, and the music video below.

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“Ganbarenaiyo” by JUICE=JUICE

JUICE=JUICE is one of the more consistent idol groups that produce great songs and their latest release is no exception. Sadly “Downtown” has been added to Apple Music but “Ganbarenaiyo” was just as good and I’ve been listening to this on repeat since it dropped. It’s such a beautiful number that really shows off the vocals of the girls.

Check out “Ganbarenaiyo” here, and the music video below.

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“Something New” by Johnny’s West

This song is so good it actually made me go out and purchase the single off CDJapan. I’ve never bought anything produced by Johnny’s before and that has been mostly due to the lack of money but this song was so good I just had to have it. It’s such a fun number that is does really well by the boys and Aimyon wrote the song in which it shows real well.

Sadly this song isn’t available on Apple Music but the music video is right below so check it out.

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“Fushigi” by Gen Hoshino

Gen Hoshino can be a real hit and miss with me but this is a release I greatly enjoyed. It’s honestly out of my typical wheelhouse in how laid back the tune is. There is a funkiness to it that I find refreshing.

Check out “Fushigi” here, and the music video below.

Juice=Juice Announces New Single With Latest Members

Riai Matsunaga

Yume Kudo

Idol group Juice=Juice announced their next single which will be titled “Pop Music / Sukitte Itteyo”, set to drop April 1. This news comes shortly after Karin Miyamoto announced she was going to be graduating from the group, but what makes this new single special is that two new members will debut with the group. Yume Kudo and Riai Matsunaga are the two newest members and this will be the very first single for both girls. “Pop Music / Sukitte Itteyo” is going to be released in five editions total: two standard editions which will be CD-only, two CD + DVD editions, and a CD + DVD edition including an application card which will only be valid in Japan. Pre-orders are below along with Juice=Juice’s latest single “Hitori de Ikiraresou”.

Standard Edition Type A

Standard Edition Type B

CD + DVD Type A

CD + DVD Type B

CD + DVD App Card

Karin Miyamoto Announces Graduation from Juice=Juice

Karin Miyamoto has announced that she will be leaving pop group Juice=Juice to focus on her solo career. Juice=Juice is part of the collective idol girl group Hello! Project which includes groups such as Morning Musume. Karin has been with the band since its debut in 2013. The announcement was made on Juice=Juice’s official YouTube page in a three-minute video where she talks about how she wants to “create her own worldview” and “use those for her performances”. Karin’s graduation won’t be until after all the tour dates for the year are completed. We here at Ongaku To You wish Karin Miyamoto the best in her future endeavors.

Karin Miyamoto stands on her own

Member of popular idol group Juice=Juice Karin Miyamoto announced she will be holding her very first solo live tour. The upcoming tour is tentatively titled Karin Miyamoto Solo Live Tour 2019 and will feature three stops: Zepp Tokyo on October 17, Zepp Namba on October 23 , and Zepp Nagoya on October 24. Miyamoto commented on her blog, “I am able to hold a solo live thanks to everyone's support. I want to thank my family, group members, and staff who have helped me along the way. Thank you very much."

Miyamoto has released a few singles over the last few years but that’s been about all she has done so far outside of Juice=Juice. We wish her the best of luck.

Juice=Juice Announce Their Second Album!

Seven-member group Juice=Juice announced today that they will be releasing a new album. The album title hasn’t been decided but it will drop on August 1st. This will be their second album overall and it will have been 3 years since their first album, First Squeeze!.

You can check out the music video for their latest single “SEXY SEXY” below!