Gray's Ongaku Go For February 2021

Picking it up after Ken, and Luna, we’re another month down in 2021 and we at Ongaku to You would like our readers to know what has been 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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“Lost In Paradise (feat. AKLO)” by ALI

I’ve been watching Jujutsu Kaisen and this is one hell of a way to end the show. This is a fun song that is easy to listen to on repeat. It has a great saxophone solo in the middle and a great rap bridge to back it up. The fact that Ken picked them for Music Corner is a bigger boon, I had such a blast listening to them.

Check out “Lost In Paradise” here, along with the official music video below.

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“Boku Wa Boku Wo Suku Ni Naru” by Nogizaka46

This track is honestly not a stand-out for the group, but I really missed them last year for the most part, and so while this is not the most exciting song they have released, I’ve been really enjoying listening to it. I’m excited to see what 2021 has in store for these girls. The melody is pretty catchy, and the girls’ harmony is still excellent.

Check out “Boku Wa Boku Wo Suku Ni Naru” here, along with the official music video below.

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“Zeal of Proud” by Roselia

This tune was a nice surprise that really hit me. There was a point in my life where I only listened to rock music and I guess I just got burnt out so now I don’t listen to that much rock for fun, but “Zeal of Proud” is really good. This is easily my favorite song that I’ve heard by Roselia. I really have enjoyed just going back and listening to this song on repeat.

Check out “Zeal Of Proud” here, along with a preview for the track below.

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“Everlasting Sky” by Beverly

I recently just finished watching Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One, which this song served as the ending theme to, and I’ve had it on repeat ever since. I love this song so much; I love Beverly’s vocals that are in this song. Also, this song is used to maximum effect in the closing moments of the movie and, honestly, it was hard to sit there and not cry.

Check out “Everlasting Sky” here, along with a preview of the official music video below.

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“endless journey” by lol

What a wonderful surprise this song has been. This number dropped a few days ago and I’ve had it on repeat ever since. This tune to me is classic lol with a catchy melody and fun lyrics. Also, as usual, Honaka has a great rap break in the song. This is a great way to start off the new year and I’m excited to see what they do next.

Check out “endless journey” here along with the official music video below.

Nogizaka46 Likes Themselves In Latest Single

Mega idol group Nogizaka46 have announced that they will be dropping their next single titled “Boku wa Boku wo Sukininaru” which is set to be released on January 27th. This will be the group’s first release since their last single which dropped on March 25th which also served as the graduation song for long time member Mai Shiraishi. It has also been announced that Yamashita Mizuki will be serving as the center for the new title which will also be the first time she will be the center on an A-side track. 

“Boku wa Boku wo Sukininaru” is being released in five editions total: a standard CD-only edition, and four editions that will come with a bonus Blu-ray. The four Blu-ray editions will feature different members on each of the covers. Pre-orders are up and posted below along with the music video for “Shiawase no hogoshoku” which is their previous single.

Standard Edition

CD plus Blu-ray Type A

CD plus Blu-ray Type B

CD plus Blu-ray Type C

CD plus Blu-ray Type D

Nogizaka46 Announces Big Music Video Collection

Mega-idol group Nogizaka46 revealed that they will be releasing a collection of music videos on September 9th. The new collection is titled ALL MV COLLECTION 2 - Ano Toki no Kanojotachi - and will contain the music videos for their singles from fourteen to twenty-five. The fourteenth single was their song “Harujion ga Saku Koro” while their twenty-fifth single, “Shiawase no Hogoshoku”, served as long time member Mai Shiraishi’s graduation song. 

ALL MV COLLECTION 2 - Ano Toki no Kanojotachi - is being released in six editions total, a type A edition, type B edition, and a limited edition, all of which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. The type A edition and type B edition will feature a special making-of along with one of a twenty-four card set. The limited edition will feature everything coming with the other editions but will also come with a deluxe booklet. Pre-orders are up and posted below for each edition along with the music video for “Shiawase no Hogoshoku” for everyone to check out.

Type A Edition DVD

Type A Edition Blu-ray

Type B Edition DVD

Type B Edition Blu-ray

Limited Edition DVD

Limited Edition Blu-ray

Tuneback Tuesday For The Fifth Week of March!

Let’s turn back the hands of time as we look back at the songs that made the Japanese music industry what it was on the Oricon Weekly Chart. This week we look back at the fifth week of March* for both 2010 and 2015, where two female idol groups Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 and Nogizaka46 reigned supreme with “AkKanbe Bashi” and “Inochi wa Utsukushii” respectively. But just what exactly made these songs so great?

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“AkKanbe Bashi” was Watarirouka Hashiritai 7’s fourth single and first and only single to hit number one on the Oricon charts despite having the lowest sales. It originally sold 27,441 copies during its initial release week and sold a total of 34,296 that year. The single was original available in six different editions; a CD+DVD Limited Edition in Type A, B, CD+Photobook (Type C), a regular edition, a DVD single edition, and a special low priced edition re-named “Otameshi Ban”. Takanori Fujimoto composed “AkKanbe Bashi” and had also composed their previous single “Kanpeki Gu~no ne”, which made it to number seven on the Oricon. “AkKanbe Bashi” is a school tune with an interesting composition that makes it feel like an Anthem song. The track is easy to follow with its simple lyrics and composition which anyone could dance and sing to. “AkKanbe Bashi” is a music that begins very simplistically such as a School Anthem, then ramps up for the chorus, and goes back down to being a simple easy to follow along tune. Watarirouka Hashiritai 7’s showed how they can make their own way despite being a subgroup of AKB48 and made their mark on the industry even if it was for a short period of time.

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“Inochi wa Utsukushii” was Nogizaka46’s eleventh single and their tenth consecutive number one single on the Oricon chart. It originally sold 500,297 copies the first week and had a total sales of 622,248. The single was originally availabe in four editions; three CD+DVD limited edtion versions Type A, B, C and a regular edition. Each version of the single had different track listings and it also came with a ticket to vote in the Senbatsu. “Inochi wa Utsukushii” was written by Akimoto and composed by Hiroki Sagawa. Akimoto has written most of the 48 and 46 groups songs and is also the creator of Nogizaka46. This was the first song for Nogizaka46 that Hiroki Sagawa composed and would go on to produce the B-side track “Sorezore no Ise” later on. “Inochi wa Utsukushii” is a heavy vocal track with beautiful piano composition throughout. Nishino Nanase is the center of this track both vocally and in the video. The song shows off the vocal capabilities of the group and the center Nishino Nanase with moving lyrics and a beautifully memorable composition. Nogizaka46 continues to make an impact in the music industry today as they have continued to release more number one tracks, with their latest being “Shiawase no Hogoshoku”.

*Note that we are following the sales listing for the Japanese Oricon chart for 2010 and 2015 which has five sales week.

Mai Shiraishi announces graduation from Nogizaka46

It was announced that the upcoming twenty-fifth single for Nogizaka46 will be long-time member Mai Shiraishi’s final single with the group. Shiraishi is part of the first generation of members for Nogizaka46, founded in 2011. With Shiraishi’s departure there will only be ten founding members left in the group. The next single is set to drop in March but no official date has been set. We’ll keep you posted as we receive more details about their next single and we wish Shiraishi the best in her future endeavors.