Ken's Ongaku Go For November 2021!

With the chills of winter upon us, that means a brand new Ongaku Go is here! We at OTY would like our readers to know what was filling our ears for the past month. Each track is available across all digital music streaming platforms, with Apple Music featured on this site.

“Close to You” by ELAIZA

Hot off the press of her debut album Paradise Lost, ELAIZA is an upcoming vocalist that we should keep our eyes on. While “Ayayay” is the stand out track for the public, the smooth style and composition makes “Close to You” a must listen. With a very impressive debut, ELAIZA is an artist that I will be keeping my eye on in 2022. 

Be sure to check out the music video for “Close to You”, below along with the track here!

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“Natsune” by Yuuri

In preparation to his single “BETELGEUSE” I went back to Yuuri and was absolutely saddened that I had initially missed this release back in September, I made sure to fix that problem this month. Heading towards a more pop rock style of composition and vocal range, “Natsune” really shows Yuuri in a different light showing off a guitar styled persona. While I don’t know what the future has in store for this young artist, I for one can’t wait to see his upcoming work. 

Check out the music video for “Natsune” below, along with the song here!

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“KOE” by Harumi

Honestly I’m surprised by that I didn’t find out about Harumi sooner, as she is one of the strongest female vocalists I heard this year. Her vocal range in this track alone has made me a fan and no other vocalist has done this to me in a while. Harumi will be an artist I’ll be looking forward to seeing to in the future, especially with her upcoming album. 

Be sure to check out the music video for “KOE” below, and the track here!

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“Refill” by Soulflex

Hot off their More Vibrant EP that released earlier on the month, I’m quite happy to see a release done by this amazing super band. While “Refill” might be short and sweet, it gives me everything that I really want in this band showing off amazing sound and alluring compositions.  With their constant string of releases in 2021, I hope that Soulflex is able to give fans more work to look forward to in 2022.

Check out “Refill” here!

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“Gunjo (Cover)” by WITHDOM

Just by my first listen, I knew that WITHDOM had great talent. I absolutely loved “Gunjo” by Yoasobi and thought that it would be very difficult to do a cover of that particular song. However, they knocked it out of the park by changing the genre of the song as a whole to a more slower composition and works perfectly. Their vocal range is absolutely fantastic and would love to hear them cover more Yoasobi songs, and other work that they put out in the future. 

Be sure to check out their cover of “Gunjo” below, along with the song here!

Music Corner Week 98: Novelbright

Novelbright is a five member rock band from Osaka which formed in 2013. The current members include Takenaka Yudai (Vocals), Yamada Kaito (Guitar), Oki Sojiro (Guitar), Keigo (Bass), and Negi (Drums). Takenaka Yudai is the only original member of the band and originally started out of inspiration for ONE OK ROCK. In January 2017 , Yamada, Oki, and Negi joined the band and made their debut with Chandelier on January 27, 2017 then followed up with their mini album SKYWALK in October 2018. Keigo joined the band in January 2019, soon after, Novelbright posted a video of them performing an acoustic version of “Walking with you” live in front of Sendai station garnishing views all over SNS making it go viral. They made their major label debut with Universal in August of 2020 with the single “Sunny drop”. Takenaka Yudai’s vocals that stem from the heart to the unforgettable melodies and unique arrangements helped garnish fans from all over.

“Walking with you” is a power house rock track that automatically pulls you in with Takenaka Yudai’s powerful vocals and lyrics plus the guitar work by both Yamada and Oki is fantastic. Both the original and acoustic versions are unforgettable in their own ways. Tracks such as “candle” and “Hummingbird” have this beautiful melody that you cannot forget, they have this more mid tempo rock feel that gives you hope and makes you feel good inside; both these tracks have this memorable theatrical feeling you cannot help but love and Takenaka’s vocals going in harmony with the band just bring it together. “Love Knot”, “Futatsu no Kage” and one their newest tracks “1ROOM” show off their talent when it comes to ballads. Both tracks are powerhouse rock tracks and stick with you. The vocal range Takenaka displays in their ballad is filled with emotion overflowing from the heart. “seeker” is an uptempo rock track that showcases all the members talents through their harmonies on blending together their instruments, guitar work, bass, and drums. Takenaka’s vocals flow and give off a grand scale feeling track that draws you into the music.

Novelbright currently has two studio albums: WONDERLAND (2020) and Kaimaku Sengen (2021); four mini albums: Chandelier (2017), SKYWALK (2018), EN. (2019), and AcoBright1 (2019); and ten singles with their latest being “seeker/1ROOM”. You can follow Novelbrights activities on their official website, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Check out their latest music video “seeker” below!

Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu Looks to Make 'Suki' a Universal Language with Latest Music Video!

“Suki! ~Cho ver~”, the  hit from popular girl idol group Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu, is sweeping the world! 

While the song was first a smash hit in Japan, it recently took the No.1 spot on the TikTok chart in Korea – and now the buzz has spread to Indonesia, where the song hit No.1 on Spotify’s daily Indonesia Viral 50 chart (as of November 20, 2021). 

“Suki!”  has even busted out of Asia, becoming a hurricane of global proportions: The song has charted on Apple Music’s country by country charts, reaching No.2 in Azerbaijan, No.10 in Portugal, No.15 in Norway, No.19 in the Netherlands, No.30 in the United Arab Emirates, No.35 in South Africa, No.39 in Ecuador, No.40 in Poland, No.43 in Honduras and No. 50 in Sweden over the past month (to November 17). 

“Suki! ~Cho ver~” is a new version of “Suki!”, which was first released on the April 2018 album Tokiotome. The new version is performed by the group’s current lineup and was included on the mini-album Suki Suki Suki Suki Suki Suki!, released in September this year. The word “Suki!”, which means “I like you” or “I love you” in Japanese, is sung some 114 times on the song, and this lyric along with a cute dance that involves making a heart shape with your hands became one of this year’s biggest TikTok memes. The “Suki!” dance then leapt across the ocean, and in September, the official double-speed version of the song reached No.1 on the Korean TikTok weekly song chart. Views of the music video and live videos on YouTube continue to grow ever larger.

On hearing that the song was No.1 on Spotify’s Indonesia Viral 50 chart, the six members of Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu commented on their feelings of joy and surprise, which you can read below. Yoshikawa Hiyori represented the group’s feelings by saying, “Let’s make the word ‘Suki!’ a universal language! I hope that more and more people around Japan and the rest of the world can get to know Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu, and that we can perform live for our fans everywhere!! It was amazing to see TikTok users dancing to “Suki! ~Cho ver~” in Korea, and now I hope we can go on a tour of Asia!! I want to visit Korea and Indonesia!!”

The original version of “Suki!” is ranked at No.9 on the same chart, meaning that both versions are in the Top 10 simultaneously – an impressive achievement. Be sure to check out the music video of “Suki!~Cho ver” below!

Comments from the members of  Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu

Tsujino Kanami comment

“I’m so happy and excited to think that so many people in Indonesia are listening to ‘Suki!’ My heart is filled with happiness to know that this song has crossed the oceans to connect with people in other countries! We’ll continue to do our best to reach as many people as possible! And someday! I hope we can meet our fans in Indonesia on a tour of Asia!”

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An Juria comment

“Crossing language barriers and borders, the idea that so many people ‘suki’ (love) our song ‘Suki!’ is a wonderful feeling! And I’m also truly grateful that so many people are following us on social media and checking us out!”

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Sakai Hitoka comment

“I’m thrilled and surprised, because I never imagined we’d hit No.1 on a chart in a country outside of Japan! I guess that means people have been listening to ‘Suki!’ a lot, so we’ll do our best to reach even more people and make them ‘suki’ us too!”

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Koizumi Haruka comment

“Fans in Indonesia, thanks so much for listening to our song ‘Suki!’! We made it out of Japan! And now we’ll work hard to become even more worldly!”

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Suda Aki comment

“Thank you so much for your support of Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu! We’ll do our best to deliver even more ‘tokimeki♡’ (joy) to Indonesia, and to make the world overflow with tokimeki! Please keep supporting us!”

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Yoshikawa Hiyori comment

“Let’s make the word ‘Suki!’ a universal language! I hope that more and more people around Japan and the rest of the world can get to know Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu, and that we can perform live for our fans everywhere!! It was amazing to see TikTok users dancing to ‘Suki! ~Cho ver~’ in Korea, and now I hope we can go on a tour of Asia!! I want to visit Korea and Indonesia!!”

BALLISTIK BOYZ Aims for World Domination with Latest Music Video!

PASS THE MIC Jacket Cover

Ever since they formed in April 2018, Japanese boyband BALLISTIK BOYZ from EXILE TRIBE have had their sights set on global stardom. Each of the group’s seven talented members perform flawlessly with mic in hand, with the physical ability of an acrobat. So far, they have been mostly focused on activity within Japan, but as a world-class group with several bilingual members, they have also conducted successful promotional tours across Southeast Asia.

Released on November 22 across all digital music streaming platforms, BALLISTIK BOYZ’s new single “All Around The World” carries a message infused with their ambition to reach a truly global audience. The release is accompanied by a music video.

“All Around The World” is the lead track from BALLISTIK BOYZ’s second album, PASS THE MIC, which will be released on November 24. The song tells of their commitment to their fans, known as BBZ Family, with whom they search for a new stage that transgresses national borders. It’s a song that pledges BALLISTIK BOYZ’s determination to give it their all, while keeping their eyes on international success.

The song was written by Xansei – who has worked with top-grade rappers from Japan and overseas such as NLE Choppa and JP THE WAVY – along with Marcus Munroe. As the lead track from the album, it expresses the attitude of the seven members, brimming with their enthusiasm for music and entertainment, and their hunger for the next phase of BALLISTIK BOYZ. Check it out on your favorite download or streaming service, or on YouTube.

Lead track “All Around The World” is one of three brand-new songs on the album, along with “Day Dreaming”, which offers a glimpse into how the boys spend their free time; and “In My Eyes”, an emotional mid-tempo love song with an unmissable vocal performance from four of the BALLISTIK BOYZ members. The Blu-ray and DVD sets include six music videos as well as footage from their recent tour, titled BALLISTIK BOYZ PROLOGUE LIVE TOUR 2021 “PASS THE MIC” ~WAY TO THE GLORY~, available in full for the first time.

Be sure to check out the music video for “All Around The World” below along with the streaming link for the track here!

NHK Announces Artist Line Up for This Years Kohaku Uta Gakusen

NHK has announced the initial artist list for Red Vs White Kohaku Uta Gakusen. This years line up will have 22 Red Artists and 21 White Artists with one special artist for a total of 44 acts. Awesome City Club, Mone Kamishirai, BiSH, and millennium parade X Bell (Kaho Nakamura) are the new artists on the Red side, with KAT-TUN, Snow Man, DISH//, Dai Hirai, Tomoyasu Hotei, Maru Maru on the White side. Special guest and actor Ken Matsudaira will be performing “Matsuken Sabo II” as an extra act. 

Below is the entire artist list and we at OTY can’t wait to see the amazing acts that will perform at this years Kohaku Uta Kakusen!

72nd NHK Kohaku Uta Gakusen Artist List (Amount of Performance)

Red Artist

AI（4）
Aimyon（3）
Sayuri Ishikawa（44）
Awesome City Club（First）
Mone Kamishiraishi (First）
Fuyumi Sakamoto（33）
Sakurazaka46（2）
Yoshimi Tendo（26）
Tokyo Jihen（2）
NiziU（2）
Nogizaka46（7）
Perfume（14）
BiSH（First）
Hinatazaka46（3）
Seiko Matsuda（25）
MISIA（6）
Kaori Mizumori（19）
milet（2）
millennium parade×Bell（Kaho Nakamura）（First）
Hiroko Yakushimaru（2）
YOASOBI（2）
LiSA（3）

White Artist

KAT-TUN（First）
Kanjani8（10）
King & Prince（4）
Hiromi Go（34）
GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE（3）
Jyunretsu（4）
Masayuki Suzuki（4)
SixTONES（2）
Snow Man（First）
DISH//（First）
BUMP OF CHICKEN（2）
Kiyoshi Hikawa（22）
Dai Hirai（First）
Masaharu Fukuyama（14）
Gen Hoshino（7）
Hotei Tomoyasu（First）
Mafu Mafu（First）
Hiroshi Miyama（7）
Hiroji Miyamoto（2）
Kesuki Yamauchi（7）
Yuzu（12）

Colorful Special Performance 

Ken Matsudaira「Matsuken Sabo II」