Comprised of 8 members including five guys and three gals, AAA (generally known to stand for ATTACK ALL AROUND) was the brainchild of AVEX TRAX guru Max Matsuura, when he handpicked various artists from his label to complete the powerful “Super” group idea of his. Featuring Naoya Urata, Takahiro Nishijima, Mitsuhiro Hidaka, Shinjiro Atae, Shuta Sueyoshi Misako Uno, Yukari Goto and Chiaki Ito , the band fused girl pop with hip hop and even a bit of Johnny’s thrown in for good measure! The band first came to prominence when they did the theme song BLOOD ON FIRE for the live action INITIAL D movie, and of course, the single went on to win the Taisho! We were hooked!
A few months later we were in the car listening to AAA’s latest single when our kid (who was probably about 8 years old at the time) perked up and said, “This song sounds like it would be in High School Musical.” We sat back and listened again, and sure enough, it DID sound like it would fit right into the Disney Channel’s current playlist, at that!
In fact, it should be mentioned that AAA was marketed just like those New Mickey Mouse Club alumni, very easily accessible for all age markets. And did I mention how genki they were?
Fast forward to 2008, and I’m browsing by one of my j-pop sites that feature new PVs of the latest singles, and I see they’ve got the new AAA song “Music!!!” posted up (along with the flip side / double A song “Zero”), and I quickly downloaded the Vid right away!
When I finally sat down to watch / listen to the new single, I was overwhelmed at how “happy” the song was! All bubbly and optimistic, with the chorus of “clap your hands!” It really sounded like they were celebrating the joy of Music!
And MAN, if I thought they sounded like J-pop versions of “High School Musical” THEN, was I surprised at how much they’d RETAINED that sound… they sounded even more like j-pop equivalents of S Club 7, complete with signature cheery refrains and dance moves! Take a listen to the tune- you’ll be glad you did!
PS: Watching the video, I noticed that they seemed to be shy a girl, and sure enough, when I checked up on it, I found that member Goto Yukari had left, apparently due to health reasons. Ganbatte, Yukari-chan, hope you make it back!
