Music Corner Week 31: Mirei Touyama

Mirei Touyama is a Japanese R&B and pop singer-songwriter under the Mastersix record label, a sublabel of Sony Music Japan. Mirei got her start in the music industry in 2013 at the young age of thirteen with a digital single released in America called “Tattoo” under the name MIREI. She debuted in Japan with the single “Fallin Out/ I Wanna NO feat. SHUN”. Mirei has the capability to switch between Japanese and English so seamlessly with her powerful smooth voice. Not only does she have vocal talent, but she has some of the best dance skills and won a contest called SPROUT for her dancing.

Mirei has a great range in vocal capabilities and you can hear the power in her voice in many of her songs. Her ability as a songwriter also shows in her music as well, as she sings with such passion and portrays her lyrics poignantly with her voice. Her latest song “Moshimo feat. Marari to Ryuga” showcases her smooth powerful vocals in an R&B power ballad. “Fallin’ Out” was one of the first songs I heard by Mirei and it made a huge impression on me. Her vocal skills are so powerful they blow you away and the song itself has a great melody that sticks with you (it’s a mid-tempo R&B song). “I Wanna NO feat. SHUN” is a fun dance song that has some great EDM/techno beats to it that make it great for the clubs. It also has an extremely catchy chorus to go along with the catchy beat.

Mirei currently has three studio albums: Memories, My Way, and Answer; two mini albums: Negai and Playlist; three physical singles: “Fallin’ Out/I Wanna NO feat. SHUN”, “Kimi no Tonari”, and “Dear My Boo”; and many digital singles in both Japan and America. You can check her out on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music!

Check out Mirei’s official Japanese website, international website, official Twitter, official Japanese YouTube page, and official international YouTube page. Also check out Mirei’s “Fallin’ Out/I Wanna NO” video and her two latest singles “Moshi mo” and “sayonara” below!

Music Corner 30: Sanari

Sanari is an up-and-coming rapper who is only seventeen years old and signed with avex. He discovered YouTube while still in elementary school and started posting videos on the service. From the beginning Sanari’s passion has been music, with him taking the money he earned from YouTube to buy a computer so he could make video productions. When he entered junior high school he started doing freestyle rap with his friends. Back in June he dropped his very first album, Sicksteen, and the very next month he dropped a digital album, Homemade. In October Sanari went on his first national tour and teamed up with fellow avex unit lol for their song “Like That!! Pt 2”.

Sanari might be young but he has already managed to cultivate an amazing talent able to be used over a wide variety of music. In Sicksteen, songs range from your more mainstream J-pop to two songs that have a heavy rock influence on par with, say, Linkin Park. In the song “Brand-New” you get to hear Sanari’s great sense of cadence and flow followed by his solid vocal talent. Sanari is the total package and with him cultivating such success at such a young age it’s definitely exciting to see what his future holds. You can stay up-to-date with him on his official web page or check his Twitter feed.

Music Corner 29: Lovely Summer-chan

Lovely Summer-chan is a singer-songwriter who rose to the music scene back in 2013. Fitting the role of that “cute and cool rock ‘n’ roll gal” audiences might see street preforming in Tokyo, Lovely composes tracks that are calming and mysterious while not trying to reinvent the wheel. She brings a breath of fresh air to the genre that hasn’t seen a refresh since Aimyon a couple years prior. Akin to fellow Music Corner artist She is Summer, Lovely has a simply amazing vocal range that can’t just be defined by one track—and all of her songs she wrote and composed herself. Whether it be matching that smooth like butter R&B style from her track “202”, that bubbly pop style listeners can’t get out of their heads with her track “私の好きなもの” (“Watashi no Sukinamono”), or that more emotional vocal style from “あなたは煙草私はシャボン” (“Anata wa Tabako Watashi wa Shabon”), Lovely shows she’s no one-trick pony.

Currently Lovely Summer-chan has dropped three albums, Bed room no Yume and #Lovely Music from her indie days and LSC from her major label Victor Entertainment. She’s also released one physical single “Ningen no Touchi” in 2017 and one digital single, “Millennium/ You Still Have a Heart of a Young Boy”, which is currently available on Apple Music and Spotify. Lovely’s momentum isn’t stopping anytime soon, as she also found major success with her musical involvement with beverage company Yakuit’s soy milk commercial “吸収しやすいワタナベマユ” (“Kyushu Shiyasui Watanabe Mayu”) in 2018 and web drama Wednesday Girlfriend～水曜日の図書館～ (Suiyoubi no Toshokan) from computer company Fujitsu in 2019. 

Check out her official site along with her Twitter and Instagram. Also check out her music video “202” along with the order link for her single “Ningen no Tochi” below!

“Ningen no Tochi”Standard edition

Music Corner Week 28: FAKY

FAKY is a Japanese five-member pop dance and vocal unit under the avex trax sublabel rhythm zone. They got their start in 2013 on YouTube with their debut track “Better Without You”. After this debut they began releasing songs digitally in January 2014 and released their first digital mini album later that year. In 2015 they revamped their style and sound as well as introduced a new member to the group. Currently the members consist of Mikako, Taki, Akina, Lil’ Fang, and Hina. They utilize their bilingual skills in many of their songs with the perfect mixture and flow of Japanese and English.

FAKY brings a fun fresh flavor to the Japanese pop scene. Each girl brings something unique, whether it be style or vocals. In their song “Candy” they bring an enjoyable musical style with the addition of a trumpet mixed with some great beats for a fun attractive party tune with R&B influence. Their strong vocals are showcased along with the harmonies in the chorus. FAKY’s debut song “Better Without You” is a heavy dance song which has EDM and Eurobeat influence in it with amazing vocals and a catchy chorus. In their song “SUGA SWEET” you hear a sweet R&B/pop tune that is easy on the ears and reminds you of a perfect mix of a sugary pop song with an R&B twist due to the composition and vocal capabilities. FAKY’s newest bop “ANTIDOTE” has a very different vibe, a pop tune with a reggae twist.

FAKY currently has two digital mini albums, The One and Candy; one physical mini album, Unwrapped,; one physical single, “four”; a live digital album; and twenty-four digital singles currently. You can follow FAKY on their official website, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Also check out their latest music video “ANTIDOTE” below, which was written by J-rapper Awitch!

Music Corner Week 27: Color Creation

Color Creation is a five-member vocal group that got started back in 2017. The group consists of Kaz, Junpei, Takuya, Yuuto, and Rioske. The goal of the group is to be the next generation of vocal groups with the simple premise of good songs, good vocals, and good character. The name of the group is to inspire thoughts such as beautiful, powerful, and persuasive vocals. Color Creation lives up to its mantra in spades, always delivering an experience with each song that grabs a hold of the listener. Their music captures the beauty, power, and vocals that the group aspires to possess. Take, for example, their upcoming single “The Call” which is set to come out next month. Warner Japan just dropped the music video for it and it is absolutely stunning. The vocal work on display here is incredible with its amazing harmonization and it is sung in such an exquisite manner by each member of the group. Each vocalist is able to hold their own and come together with the group to create something that is truly amazing.

Color Creation released their very first album this year back in May and it climbed all the way to number two on the Oricon weekly charts. “The Call” will be their fourth major single. “Canvas” was their major debut single, followed by second and third released singles “I’m here/Blue Star” and “Let it Snow”, respectively. You can follow the group on their main website to stay up-to-date on all their latest news or follow them on Twitter.