Kohaku Uta Gassen 2014

Continuing on with Arashi in toto paired up with a lovely lass as Team Leaders, we have the cute ’n’ goofy Yuriko Yoshitaka as this year’s Red Captain against Arashi’s White team!

Must say....Yuriko's lookin' pretty darn fine!

The show opened with a bang as HKT48 covered the stage with their girlish charms…

followed by Sexy Zone (who are now a trio, it seems) to balance things out…

Then for a little more sass E-Girls came out to up the ante

and is quickly countered with a sombre AAA

 We are introduced to the judges, and…HEY! Is that Jiro and Naoko from TRICK sitting there??? They must be working on a case! (PS: Betcha Tamori turns out to be the killer!)

SKE48, NMB48, AKB48…Holy HECK, NHK Hall is being simply overRUN with “48” Girls!!! If they ever decided to pool their resources, these gals could take over the world!!!! 

 

 

Not to be outdone by the girls, Hiromi Go came out with the loudest suit in the place…

And then it was time for some refinement with elegant Ayako Fujii...

...before heading out to electronic land with Perfume (where Yuriko and A-chan compare notes to see who’s the most air-headed, LOL)…

 

A killer duet between T.M. Revolution and Nana Mizuki (and BTW I have to say I think Nana is one of the most passionate performers out there, she’s always so damn GENKI!!!)

Some R&B with Sandaime J Soul Brothers and a sweet performance by Kana Nishino

Enka with Kaori Kozai and Natsuko Godai

 

and Takashi Hosokawa encouraging the judges to get blitzed before casting their votes….

Powerhouse Yoshimi Tendo belts out "Yappa Sukiyanen”

And things get rustic with Fuyumi Sakamoto doing "Otoko no Himatsuri” backed by Momoiro Clover Z as hard-working farmers (LOL)

 Man, does this capture look like a 1960’s Japanese Movie Lobby Poster, and BOY, MomoClo have got to be the zaniest girl group ever! Can’t help but smile when you see them!

They then carried the zaniness to their own performance of "My Dear Fellow"

 HAHA, ya gotta laugh watching these gals...

As if sensing that not even THEY could out-silly Momoiro Clover Z, Kanjani8 went the serious route this time with pop ballad "Omoidama”…

Akiko Wada is back to KICK YOUR BUTTS.

And then after YEARS of waiting, V6 FINALLY make their Kohaku debut with their song "Wa ni Natte Odoro"

Kiyoshi Mikawa does his best Choschirro with "Choito Kimaguren Wataridori”...

...while Kaori Mizumori looks like she fell in a tub of whipped cream for her performance of "Shimane Koi Tabi”, LOL

Time is taken to introduce the star of next year’s NHK Asadora “Mare” with insanely adorable Tao Tsuchiya as the titular character!

Fun and energetic Ikimonogakari are back with “Golden Girl” (man, the lead singer is full of so much vitality!!!)

 

Did I ever mention the first timeI ever saw Kyary Pamyu Pamyu? I was in a store in the country with a small electronic section and Pon Pon Pon was playing on a loop on the TV. I didn’t even register the song as Japanese, it sounded and looked so ALIEN! “Th-this looks like...insanity!” I gasped, but couldn’t take my EYES off her!  That was my introduction to the Harajuku Chanteuse, and from her performance of “Kirakira Kira” here, it looks like she’s as stunningly STRANGE as ever!

Next came TOKIO, doing the song that introduced me to them at one of the very first Kohakus I ever saw, their first single LOVE YOU ONLY!

Ah, we spent many a night crooning this tune out at the karaoke bars, I tell ya….

Not an especially huge fan of FROZEN, but as a lifelong fan of both RENT and WICKED, I have to say how thrilled I was to see Idina Menzel onstage!!! (Okay, she wasn’t really there, but still….)

Taking a cue from TOKIO, SMAP brought out their happy song “SHAKE”  as this year’s tune before going into “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake No Hana” and “Top of The World”… Shake was one of my early favorites from the guys and really loved hearing it here!!!

Girls 'n' Guitars with Miwa and Sheena Ringo...

...and Miyuki Nakajima reminds us that when it comes to “eclectic” she is the ORIGINAL, with “Mugi No Uta”!

Sayuri Ishikawa's back with yet another performance of “Amagi Goe”

Akina Nakamori made a special appearance beamed in from somewhere…would have been so great to see her actually there!

And speaking of which, Masaharu Fukuyama phones in his performance, as does Southern All-Stars…I'm sensing a trend here...

 

For the White team we had Arashi who pulled no stops as THE vaudeville act of the 00’s…

and for the Festival Closer we had the Idol Princess herself, Ms. Seiko Matsuda, who gave a very heartfelt performance but probably not “festive” enough to rouse the crowd into a BIG finale…

Though I love Seiko and respect the honor it is to have her close the Kohaku, I think they should have switched the acts and have Arashi’s wacky Circus Event close the show for maximum effect!
All in all yet another thoroughly entertaining show!!!

PS: And in case you forgot, Momoiro Clover Z reminds you one more time that they are the zaniest girls ever!!!

OK, ‘Til next year….

Yoko Oginome "Nudist" Album Arrives!

  After being introduced to the wonders of awesome 80’s singer Yoko Oginome in a big way, I’ve been diving into her vast back catalog of stuff that I picked up on various (and generous) 80's pop forums. Holy Cow, Yoko Oginome, man, she's the real deal- So many of her albums have become much-played tracks in my car, Raspberry WInd, CD Rider, Knock On My Door, these are all solid rockers…And then there’s “Nudist”.

  Dubious title aside, this album is just about as perfect as an album can get! As the first non-compilation album of Yoko’s I listened to, I expected a lot of average tracks, what I got was a CD filled with so many powerful, hard-hitting songs that I had a hard time believing it wasn’t a collection of singles itself- with songs like, Joy Luck Club. She's Just a Rivla, Nudist, and my personal favorite “Don’t Let Me Down”, this rocking album is as strong as any of Yoko’s Greatest Hits packages out there. 

Though I've got two full Yoko Oginome Greatest Hits collections under my belt, Nudist was an album I just KNEW I had to have, and when I found a dealer in Japan selling a copy (for a mere 15 buck no less!) I ordered that baby right away, and just got int in today! Blasting it over the speakers right now and HOLY CRAP THIS ALBUM IS SO FREAKIN' GREAT!

Ahh, in a way I wish Nudist wasn’t the first proper Oginome Yoko album I heard because every subsequent album, while all good, haven’t reached the level of sheer awesomeness I felt hearing this one! A BIG fave!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

The Kyoko Fukada Gotham Deserves

  Fukada Kyoko's recent Weekly Playboy pictorial (promoting her upcoming photobook DOWN TO EARTH (see pic below) stuns simply by the fact that at this stage of the game, she's still giving us these breathtaking shots of her in skimpy two-piece bikini outfits while rocking that flawless curvy frame of hers....

When you think about it, Kyoko's actually been dazzlingly generous this past year showing off her glorious cheesecake, especially when you consider the pics from her last photobook UN TOUCH from early this year. Lace and Lingerie, Oh my beating heart be still...!

With Fukakyon draped salaciously in the most alluring of attire, she was SO DAMN SEXY, you'd hardly believe this was the cute 'n' cuddly girl I first fell in love with via BOMB magazine way before she'd ever done any Television or Movie work...this gal has moved up to become one of the GREATS!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Shades Of Loss Time Life with Suteki Na Sen TAXI

Takenouchi Yutaka as Driver Eda

  What if you could go back in time to the pivotal choices of your life and change them? That’s the question asked on the new Takenouchi Yutaka drama SUTEKI NA SEN TAXI, a tale of a yellow cab that can take you back to any point in your life…if you have the right amount of money to pay! At almost 100 dollars to go back 30 minutes, however, the decisions you make have to be the right ones, fortunately Taxi driver Eda is on hand to give his thoughts and advice on the subjects before sending you off!
   Just finished watching the first episode, and though  the show’s formula of living moments over and over to correct them is more like MOP GIRL, the melancholy feeling over this show really reminds me more of Loss Time Life, that incredible show where recently deceased people are given bonus life time to correct the things troubling them.

Takenouchi with Yasuda Ken

 Our episode’s story starts with a shleppy young man named Murakami(Yasuda Ken) running late for a dinner with his girlfriend. Arriving at last, he makes light of her having to wait and doesn’t bother to apologize, which sets her off, eventually making her decide to break up. When she storms off in a cab, Murakami gets into another taxi to follow. Thus he is introduced to Eda’s(Takenouchi) Time Taxi which can take him back to the point BEFORE the angry dinner event. But will his going back make things better or worse? Only time will tell!

Konishi Manami and Yasuda Ken as Bickering Couple

Wasn’t really getting into the story at first, but when I saw that the girlfriend was played by yummy Konishi Manami, THAT piqued my interest, enough to watch the whole thing through, and I’m glad I did as it’s a pretty good show so far… Very touching and moody, balanced with Takenouchi’s zany persona (as well as the equally addled Café he lunches at) as cabbie Eda…though wise and thoughtful to his passengers, his knowledge that every choice is important leads him to be a real pain in the butt about choosing things as mundane as what kind of meal to have in his free time!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com