A-to-J Connections' Favorite Songs of 2017!

1/1/2018

It's become a tradition here at A-to-J Connections to publish an article spotlighting the favorite songs of 2017 as chosen by various A-to-J staff. 2017 was an interesting year for both Japanese music and for A-to-J and we hope that you check out all our picks and maybe let us know about some of your own! While we didn't achieve the percentage of participation as previous years, about half of current A-to-J staff contributed to this article and per usual this article represents the views of several members who often share quite different tastes in music so you'll find several different genres here! Without further ado let's jump into this look into 2017 as we launch forward into the new year!

Manuel: A-to-J Connections Project Leader

I found this year's SOTY pick very hard. While there are a lot of songs that I liked throughout the year I couldn't think of one that really stuck with me. I originally went with "Shala La" by THE ORAL CIGARETTES as that song really stuck in my head earlier in the year and THE ORAL CIGARETTES had another strong year, but then WHY@DOLL released "Show Me Your Smile."

2016 saw WHY@DOLL release the AMAZING album "Gemini" and 2017 saw them release their self-titled album as well as us finally able to arrange an interview with them. (Which can be found HERE.) While I still liked their current music I didn't like it as much as the material from Gemini; that changed with this song released just a few weeks ago. The video isn't too impressive, but the song sounds like the perfect follow-up to Gemini and has that carefree jazz feel that actually also brings up memories of the vocaloid hit "Miracle Paint". I always feel it's weird to pick songs released at the tail end of the year for these kind of things since it has the feel of picking the last good thing you heard, but in this case I do feel it crushed all the other new songs I've heard this year and I can't wait to get my hands on the single when it's released and see what WHY@DOLL has in store for us in 2018!

WHY@DOLL - Show Me Your Smile

Molly: PR Consultant / Chief Advisor

Tsubomi ~Azayakana mirai e~ from Aikatsu!Stars. I love the euro-pop vibes it gives off, and the dance is beautiful as well. The short version came out in 2016, but the full version was released in 2017 and it made me love it even more <3. I actually have performed this song multiple times this year (so I've heard it hundreds of times in practice), and I'm still not sick of it.

I love the music in Aikatsu! and Aikatsu!Stars, so it's only fitting that my favorite of the year be from one of these franchises.

MOLLY'S PERFORMANCE

Tsubomi ~Azayakana mirai e~

Tiffany: Chief Translator / Artist Liaison

Couldn't really pick something that totally stood out from the others. I did like Senanan's "Omae no Band wa Sukidakedo Omae no Koto wa Suki Janai" I feel like the lyrics were really relevant to current trends and they flowed nicely. As a Japanese person I really appreciated the slight puns and word play in there and the chorus is catchy.

I also liked Banmon's "Seishun Kara Dadadash!" since it's what got me more into Banmon this year and the album itself was a pretty good album.

My last choice is CY8ER's "Te To Te" [Seen Below] which was actually a really simple MV but it was enjoyable and I really liked the balance of CY8ER when they had 3 people. The effects were appropriate without disturbing the atmosphere and the song itself is slow and soothing but not boring.

CY8ER - Te To Te

Teepu: Gaming Project Leader / Staff Writer

2017 was both an awesome and a terrible year for music. As the resident H!P fan in A-to-J, I'm naturally going to pick one of their songs, but my pick might come as a surprise. Despite getting a new album from Morning Musume '17 and all the great singles that came out, it's relative newcomer Tsubaki Factory that really caught me off guard. Their release was early in the year, and the song that's my favorite is probably the least impressive of them from a technical perspective. That being said, my pick for 2017 would have to be 'Just Try!'. I really loved how they shifted drastically in tempo and tone during the song, throwing together completely different themes together. It made the song exciting to me and really catchy. It's also the song that's stuck with me all year and that I never skip. Tsubaki has been on fire since they debuted and I really hope they keep this momentum up going into 2018. Enjoy my pick!

Tsubaki Factory - Just Try!

Janette: A-to-J Eats Project Leader / Staff Writer

What can I say, I really like Utada. Following her return to music in 2016, she continued to release new tracks this year, possibly hinting at a new album in 2018. Forevermore is a groovy jazzy song, heavy on strings and drums, highlighting her voice. It's quite a bit more upbeat than many of her tracks on Fantome, but still encaptures a rather melancholy tone of the difficulties of love. It's also being used as the theme for the recent J-Drama "ごめん、愛してる" (Gomen, Aishiteru), a fitting song for the show's subject matter. I hope Utada continues to release strong hit in her return to music, and I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for her!

Utada Hikaru - Forevermore

Alana: Correspondent (Texas)

Usually, AKB would be on my top list, but not this year surprisingly. =LOVE, a seiyuu idol group produced by HKT48's Sasshihara Rino, brought a new image of seiyuu idols I have been searching for. Their self-titled debut single, =LOVE, fused both anisong and idol music styles to form a new kind of sound that I fell in love with. If you are a fan of the Love Live franchise and looking to expand your taste, =LOVE is my highly recommended stepping stone.

=LOVE - =LOVE

Jasmine: Staff Writer

The Song of the year was a tough pick for me. Being torn between epic songs like BiSH's My Landscape and Keyakizaka46's Fukyouwaon, my grand pick was from one of my long term favorite artist Oomori Seiko. This year the song that got me was Oomori Seiko's IDOL SONG.

Idol song is as unique as Seiko, being composed of the famous lines from various idols ranging from AKB48, and kamiyado to the original BiS members. Original in its construction it is a masterpiece and a song crafted for the idol otaku.

Oomori Seiko - IDOL SONG

Kaz: Staff Writer / Correspondent

My favorite song of the year came down to MEJIBRAY’s “Nanaki” off of their second single collection that was released earlier this year. They have been my favorite visual kei band for quite some time now and it’s saddening to hear about their hiatus as well as the new information that was just released stating that Tsuzuku’s (vocal) and Koichi’s (bass) contracts will officially be terminated. They have been a great inspiration to me and I hope they continue to be able to do what they love. This song and videos shows both the softer and harsher side of their music combined into one amazing piece. Their fashion also leaves me in awe as always. It’s one of my favorites to sing along to in the car.

MEJIBRAY - Nanaki

Rin Rigoni: Staff Writer / Correspondent (Japan)

With all the promotion I've done for Label the Garden this year, you probably think it's a given that one of their songs would win out. Strangely enough though, it's not one of their songs that drives me crazy and won't leave my head.

The song I've been addicted to for months is the debut single by Miracle² (pronounced as "Miracle Miracle") titled "Catch Me". It's your generic upbeat idol song with catchy lyrics and an addictive dance. So why does it stand out? Well, the reason for that is simple. Miracle² is not a real group, they are an idol group within the magical girl drama "Miracle Senshi Idol Tunes" that is on air every Sunday. And after watching one episode of this children's drama, though with a large magical girl loving adult fanbase, after it was uploaded on Netflix, I was hooked.

Miracle² site for more information: http://www.miracle2.jp/

Miracle² - Catch Me

Rubi: Translator (Spanish) / Correspondent (Mexico)

The song is Invisible Sensation, from the group UNISON SQUARE GARDEN

It was hard to choose a “SOTY” this year because a lot of good songs were released. I had already decided for one song, and a couple of weeks ago I found this song which won me over. This song was used as the opening song of the anime “Ballroom e Youkoso!” (Welcome to the ballroom!). The first time I heard this song I was like “Wow, this sounds so awesome!” It’s the kind of song that even though you don’t know at all what it says, you feel a connection, or a click, that's made when you first hear it without knowing how or why.

If you’re into the anime (Ballroom e youkoso!) you’ll know that that song and the anime were like a match made in heaven. And if you’re not a fan, but just casually listening to it, and you looked up the lyrics you’ll feel surprised because they’re so motivating. If you feel down or you need a push to keep going, this is the song for you.

Besides this song, I’ve only heard another song from this group, one that’s called “10% roll, 10% romance”, and with those songs you can appreciate how unique the voice of the vocalist is and how different from other bands their style is.

TLDR; You must listen to this song because is awesome and you’d better watch Welcome to the ballroom! Because is such a masterpiece too.

UNISON SQUARE GARDEN - Invisible Sensation

Tom: Correspondent

My personal favorite song of 2017 is PSYCHOPATH BILLY by The THIRTEEN (sometimes also written as The TH13TEEN). I had really been looking forward to more songs from this band, since Sadie/サディ was one of my favorite bands and The THIRTEEN was formed by Sadie’s vocalist Mao and guitarist Mizuki.

In my opinion, PSYCHOPATH BILLY is very similar in style to one of my all time favorite songs Sexual Affection (remastered version/Bleach mini album version 2014) by Sadie. PSYCHOPATH BILLY has some heavy and dark guitar distortions with some growling vocals here and there but mixed with clean vocals and a drum beat that is more of a sexy style. By sexy style, I mean like a strip tease or sensual dance type of rhythm and with lyrics like, “I'm waiting for your love. 官能的揺れるvision. Don't stop it Don't stop it” (The Japanese part of that phrase, "kannouteki yureru", roughly translating to something like “sexy swaying”). As someone who loves metal, I really enjoy finding songs like these that are still dark but also make me wish to learn how to dance and want to move; really hopeful for future songs by The THIRTEEN!

The THIRTEEN - PSYCHOPATH BILLY

There you have it! Our individual favorite songs of 2017! We at A-to-J Connections hope everyone had an awesome 2017 and hope you'll have an even better 2018! We look forward to more great music and the opportunity to bring you even more great content in the coming year!

-Manuel and the rest of the crew at A-To-J Connections!

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