Today’s song of the day is going to be coming from the land of the rising sun. Ryohyei Yamamoto is a Japanese R&B singer that debuted back in 2003. In 2004, he released his first full-length album called “Take Over.” Track number ten of that album, called “Fantasy,” will be featured in today’s segment. More »

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Usually on Birthday Spotlight, we celebrate one celebrity’s birthday. But today, there are not one but TWO female celebrities whose birthday is today! They are Grace Park and Miu Nakamura. More »

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When I stumbled across the first Japanese album of ICONIQ, I did not know that she was previously a member of the Korean girl group called Sugar. What caught my attention the most was the cover of the album, which, as you can see, is pretty eye-catching. It’s simple, stripped down, and beautiful. The album pretty much follows this theme; it’s a stripped down version of Japanese pop, with simple elements of R&B. Keep reading to see what I thought of the album. More »

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Former Korean girl grouper from Sugar, Ayumi Lee, now going by the name of ICONIQ, has just released her first ever Japanese album. The album is called “Change Myself.” More »

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As you all know, Big Bang’s Tae Yang is set to open Brian McKnight’s concert in Korea. A recent music video Tae Yang shot was for a song called “Fall In Love” which he had recorded with Thelma Aoyama, a Japanese singer. In my opinion I really didn’t like the music video too much. More »

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From Girlybubble: So, I found yet another Japanese commercial that’s infinitely cuter than the American Minute Maid counterpart. I know, Zzzzzzzzzz. One commercial features Japanese kids dressed up in animal costumes, the others feature girls surrounded by randomly appearing flowers. American Minute Maid advertisers, are you paying attention? I will not purchase another Minute Maid product until the commercials start becoming cuter. More »

AKB48 is a forty-eight member theater girl group from Japan. Split into three “teams,” the group releases songs both as an entire group and in their individual teams. Today’s song of the day is the title track of their latest single. It’s called “Sakura Bookmark” (桜の栞). More »

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ORANGE RANGE is a five-member alternative rock band from Okinawa, Japan. Officially debuting back in 2003, the band has since been pumping out a steady stream of singles and albums. More »

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Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers recently dyed his hair purple and gold. By looking at the picture of Ron, you can see word “defense” etched out in Japanese, Hebrew, and Hindi. More »

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From Girlybubble: Kamaboko is a type of Japanese fish cake made from pureed white fish that can be steamed, poached, deep-fried, or even barbecued. It’s often eaten alongside with soups, noodles, salads, and a variety of other dishes. More »

Do As Infinity is a Japanese band that debuted in 1999. In 2001, they released their third studio album entitled “Deep Forest.” Today’s song of the day will be the title track off of that album. More »

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From Girlybubble: Japanese illustrator Mokaffe really loves combining two of the things I love the most into her illustrations: dessert and girly art! A lot of my favorite works by her involve dessert. Not that you’re surprised or anything. For the record, I’ll have you know that I do not drool over my laptop all day or lick my screen all day. You might want to restrain yourself when you see these babies: More »

Today’s song of the day is one of my favorite songs from Japanese artist YUI. Although the song only peaked at #3 on Japanese charts, I think that her 2008 single entitled “The Color of Tears” (涙色) was one of her best. More »

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From Girlybubble: I have been collecting Kewpie dolls for a few years now, but it never occurred to me to search for them on YouTube until now. This is what I did, and the results that came up in my search were astounding and a bit bizarre. More »

I think that Ken Hirai is one of those artists that everyone will agree is great. Although his songs are often edgy and push the limits of conventional music, there is always a universal appeal to his songs. Today’s song of the day is Ken’s 2007 single entitled “Elegy.” More »

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Born in Los Angeles and raised in both LA and Japan, Ai Carina Uemura, better known as just AI, is a Japanese singer that debuted back in 2001. Today’s song of the day is a track off of her 2006 album “What’s Goin’ On A.I.?” The song is called “Believe.” More »

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From Girlybubble: With close bonds to her mixed Japanese-European heritage, Nanami Cowdroy grew up amid contrasting cultures and surroundings that greatly influenced her distinctive style of art and creative expression. Her work is fluid and elaborate, given strength and depth through her intricate pen and ink techniques. More »

I have a very wide variety of musical tastes, and one genre that I have not highlighted yet is rock. Although I’m not a hardcore J-rock fan, I will admit that I indulge in my occasional dose of it. Today’s song of the day is Aqua Timez’s “Velonica.” More »

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BoA’s recently released Japanese album was, for lack of a better word, a failure. Time to pick ourselves up out of the dirt and remember a time when BoA was a little more successful. More »

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Today’s song of the day is really an offbeat song. “Before Dawn” (朝のまえ) is a reggae-type song by a Japanese artist named lecca. Debuting back in 2005, this song is off of her 2006 album called “Urban Pirates.” More »

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