Favorite J-Pop Songs: Senou Azusa / Kimi To Aruiteku

When My friend Dano introduced me to the music of J-pop idols CoCo waaaaay back in the day,  the group he introduced me to was a four-piece unit. He had Two Laserdisc Concerts with the four girls, but of the two CDs he owned of them, one was their latest album featuring four members called "Sweet and Bitter, but the OTHER CD was an older Greatest Hits package that featured not four but FIVE girls. When I inquired about the extra member, Dano flatly stated,“That extra girl left to try a solo career, but didn’t do too well”, and that was where the mysterious “Azusa Senou” stood for me.

As we got more and more into the group however, I became more and more curious about CoCo's earlier work, and I was ready to explore the releases with Azusa in the group. I even mused how funny it would be, if after we’d gotten a chance to hear the earlier stuff with her, we ended up really liking her! And when I finally DID get around to seeing the Five-Member Coco in action (during their classic Budokan Concert, no less), that’s EXACTLY what happened! I was so blown away by Azusa’s awesome singing ability and pretty looks, that soon enough I was trying to get all of her CDs, Singles and Concert Laserdiscs!

Though I’ve already blogged about some of my favorite singles from Azusa, one of my very, very VERY favorite tunes from her wasn’t a single at all, rather a track off of her (very good) album CRYSTAL EYES, a J-pop-perfect crafted masterpiece called Kimi to Aruiteku. This was one helluva catchy song, and you could tell by watching her sing the song in concert that this was a tune very dear to her. By the time I saw her singing the song on her last Concert disc, her heart swelling with emotion as tears trickled down her face, I knew that this was quite possibly my favorite song of all time from her!

  For years I’ve resisted posting about this song because it was never a “Single” proper and there are so many other singles I still have to talk about, but just the other night I had busted out Crystal Eyes and was blown away ALL OVER again of how goddamn good this song is, and just HAVE to share!

Though her “After I Miss You” Concert Performance is probably the more emotional one, I’ve decided to share the performance from her First Concert tour, where Azusa had just started her solo career and was really in her “prime"! The Live Band is groovin' and Azusa is just rockin' along! Check It Out!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com