Favorite Hikaru Singles: Nice-Catch!

Up for grabs on Japan Auction site, this beautiful Hikaru Nishida 45 single of her song "Nice Catch! Would love to have this in my colelctions at some point!

I'm not sure how many of hers were made as 7 inch records, but one I see up for sale sometimes is this pretty on for hikaru's single "Nice Catch", one of her earliest and peppiest songs!

Enjoy this very energetic perf from her!

Favorite Hikaru Nishida Songs: "Tokimeite"

 The wonderful album opener for Hikaru's excellent album "Esprit", this was Hikaru in her prime, all poppy, sunshiney sweetness and a perfect set-up for the rest of the tracks which together would collectively become my favorite record from her!

Already oozing with giddy goodness, Tokimeite was already a HUGE fave of mine, but it only got BETTER with the arrival of youtube where I was able to see her happily performing it for television!!!!!

Such a fun, genki performance!!!!!

“Tokimeite” had this elaborate fold out cover with pretty pictures of Hikaru throughout, packaging that made one wonder if Pony Canyon was making any money on the sale of these singles after spending so much on the presentation!

Oh, and Tokimeite is backed by another Esprit track "KISS", giving you double the fun for your dollar!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Hikaru Nishida: "Kitto Ai Ga Aru"

As you all know, 90’s J-Pop idol/singer Hikaru Nishida is one of my All-Time Favorite Artists and even to this day not a month goes by without me taking out one of her CDs to accompany me on a drive or walk!
One of my favorite albums from hers is the 1994 release “Love Always”, and while I adore just about every track on it, I’ve never quite cared for the remix version of “Kitto Ai Ga Aru” included  in the tracklisting, MUCH preferring the single version. In fact, I liked the single version so much that at the time I made a cassette mix of Love Always with THAT version in place of the album remix!

Later I burned a CD proper of that mix, and after that ripped a similar version  for my ipod and MP3 players! I just HAD to have the single version on my album playlist!
“Aru A Ru-Ru-Ru!” Love Always just wouldn’t be the same without Kitto Ai ga Aru, and JUST  this past year, mere MONTHS ago, Hikaru appeared on a Music Show and wouldn’t ya know it, the song she did was NONE OTHER than that aforementioned single!!!

EDIT: Embed blocked, please watch here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3kkGk7wriI

Oh MY Hikaru looks as gorgeous as EVER, her voice still as impeccable as ever, and bless her soul, she still even does the dance moves!!!  Her vocal take is a bit more velvety as befitting the elegant lady that she is, but it’s still that awesome, catchy song I love so dearly!

It’s been a whopping 25 YEARS since Kitto Ai Ga Aru came out, but she has not lost any of her vitality, check out one of Hikaru’s performances of the song from 1994 and you'll agree that that woman singing now is every inch the same radiant performer!

Man, Hikaru seriously has the prettiest hazel eyes which simply twinkle whenever she’s onstage singing her heart out! HOLY COW DO I LOVE THIS GIRL!!!!

PS: Not only is "Kitto Ai Ga Aru" a great single, it's coupled with "Jun'ai Monogatari", a terrific non-album track and well worth seeking out! But if you can't find it, Kitto Ai Ga Aru single version is also included on her compilation album "Very Best of Hikaru" Theme Song and CF Song Collection!

Favorite Hikaru Singles: "Meguriai"

One of my most beloved Hikaru songs off of her excellent 19 Dreams album comes the sweet "Meguriai"... I love the wind-up treasure box opening, the 60's easy listening flutes and Hikaru's sweet refrain "Kamisama, Arigato!"

Jinsei Kaechau Natsu Kamone

WO Wo Wo My SUMMERTIME!!! 

Jinsei Kaechau Natsu Kamone, from Hikaru's "A File Of Life"

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Nishida Hikaru / Oh My God!! Da Ne~

It's been a Nishida Hikaru kind of weekend here! In my last post I talked about how J-pop artist Nishida Hikaru had taken one of her slower, jazzy songs and turned it into a quick-tempo’ed rocker with Bibidebu, and now here’s one of her songs where she went the OPPOSITE way, turning her fast paced pop tune “Oh My God!! Da Ne” into a smoky, bluesy number!

Oh My God!! Da Ne is a song off of one of Hikaru's early albums , the 1990 "Tokimeki No Prologue", but I've always thought of it as one of her later songs because I first heard it on her 1994 compilation album,  "The Very Best Of Hikaru Nishida" (which came after her Sundance album). In any case, it was a song I dug very very much!

This song has always been a staple of Hikaru's Live Concerts, this particular performance of the song is from her 1991 tour MANATSU-JOUZU promoting her new album “Esprit” . This is the beginning of the “classic” Hikaru Era for me, with Hikaru as bright and peppy as a Pony Canyon Idol should be:

Fast forward to over half a decade later, late 1997 from her last tour and concert video “Hippy Happy Groove”, Hikaru has grown up and become a fetching young woman and her stage set refelcts this- this show is a LOT more like a regular club performance (though she does get genki and peppy as the show progresses) featuring a female vocalist and her band!

Such a strong, tuff take on Oh My God (love the parts where she’s struttin’ across the stage, so cool!) And though I wasn't able to get a CD release of Bibidebu Dance Version, I WAS able to get a copy of this slow blues version of Oh My God when they released a Live CD of the Hippy Happy Groove Tour!

So great listening to it again- And if you wondered just how much more mature this Hikaru Concert was compared to the earlier ones, THIS is what Hikaru was wearing under that overcoat :

HOLY COW that ain’t standard Idolwear!! Ya know, we always knew that Hikaru had the goods but this is the first time I think we get to see her rockin' it onstage! Thass a real LADY up there! 

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

My Hikaru Nishida Collection (So Far!)

After watching my Hikaru Nishida PV Collection video (twice!), I just HAD to dig up all my Hikaru Goods, and decided to take pics of 'em all! In celebration of the this awesome Nishida Hikaru DVD release, I present my entire Nishida Hikaru Collection along with its new addition!

Updated: 07/13

First up, my Nishida Hikaru 3cm Singles Collection…

Then Albums, EPs and Maxi-Singles…

Hikaru Photobooks and Magazines:

And my Hikaru Videos including the *new* DVD Collection!!!

Just about the only thing I wish they could have included were the commercial inserts that were in the original two video clip collections because those were just as fun to watch as the videos themselves! But I’l still pleased as punch here- So NICE to see my favorite Pony Canyon Idol girls in DVD format! Now if only RIBBON can FINALLY get a DVD treatment of their own, I will be SET!

* This Single was a song Hikaru sang with a group called Sweet Beat Soul, MAN, whatever happened to these guys? They accompanied Hikaru on a couple of her later concerts and they were SOOOO GOOD! The guy and girl had such beautiful voices, they really gave the concerts an added PUNCH!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Nishida Hikaru / Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru~Here In My Heart

 With Hikaru coming back with her brand new single after all this time, I’ve been getting back into Nishida Hikaru in a BIG way, digging out all of my concerts and CDs, and have even been going online to hunt for any live television performances that may have been uploaded since I checked last! 

Well, this time I REALLY lucked out because there was this extremely awesome person who had uploaded a whole TON of awesome classic (re: early 80’s) performances from some of my most favorite artists including CoCo, Moritaka Chisato and Ribbon and among them all were four live clips of Hikaru, and in clear audio and crisp definition to boot! 

  Not only were these of such high quality, they happened to be some of my favorite songs, and at the top of the list was a song I’d NEVER seen performed live, her wonderful song Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru~Here In My Heart…MAN,watching this performance just hit me right in the feels and reminded me of why this girl is one of my favorite artists of all time! 

Back in the days when I was first getting into Hikaru and everything was new, I had chosen some of her albums (recorded onto cassette for my walkman) as my traveling companions for my long bus ride home from work, and her album “Esprit” was on as I made my way through my neighborhood towards home.

  By the time I’d reached my house, I’d listened to most of the album and was about to remove my earphones, when the keyboard chimes for the song Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru began, and it sounded so gentle and sweet, instead of turning the walkman off and going in the house, I sat in our garage listening to the whole song. What a sweet, comforting song, with sweet vocals and a guitar refrain that reminded me ever so slightly of CoCo’s “Wedding”, I was entranced!

  By then, the sun had begun to set, and the entire garage had taken on that hazy, orangey effect and I just had this warm, comfortable feeling as I sat there with that beautiful song playing. When it ended, I finally turned off the tape player and went in, but I couldn’t shake that magical feeling, and from then on, I always tried to listen to that song and album during the evenings to retain that warm, fuzzy feeling!

  Eventually, Esprit became my favorite CD from Hikaru, and one day listening to it I realized that not only was Kokoro Dake Sobani Iru my favorite song on the ALBUM, it was in fact my favorite song from her EVER! That feeling I had listening to it watching the sun set that one evening is the same feeling I now get listening to almost ALL of her albums, and I consider that period of my life a very special one, indeed!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

An Afternoon ripping my Hikaru Nishida CD singles.

Spent a pleasant afternoon ripping my Hikaru Nishida 8cm singles into MP3s. When I first got my Ipod, the Nishida Hikaru CDs were among the first CDs to get the MP3 treatment, but I didn’t get around to digging out the singles until now. I’d put it off for as long as I ccould, but there were a few singles (like fave song Melody, et al) that didn’t appear on any of her albums proper, and I really needed to get those onto my player! Not only that, but one of the great things about those old Pony Canyon singles was the fact that most of them were BACKED by songs that weren’t featured on any of her albums either, and some of them were pretty darn awesome!
One thing that struck me as I was taking them out of their cases and ripping/scanning them was just how BEAUTIFUL some of the covers were! Hikaru was an idol of the highest degree, of course, and the photographers always made the very most of each shoot, producing some of the prettiest covers ever! Here are scans of just a few of my faves.
Besides the covers, some of the CD singles had cute little bonuses like cards and (in one strange instance) an unusual “Hikaru All- Access Pass”(!) What in the world was this supposed to give me aceess TO?! Ahahahahaa! Some cd singles even seemed to be given the “deluxe” treatment, and in particular, the CD single for Hikaru’s single “Tokimeite” had this elaborate fold out cover with pretty pictures of Hikaru throughout, packaging that made one wonder if Pony Canyon was making any money on the sale of these singles after spending so much on the presentation!

When I got into Hikaru Nishada (around 1996), I was lucky enough to get all her albums (at that point she had just released the awesome “2-4”) 90% of her concert videos, and about 80% of her singles, as well! If memory serves, I think that by the time I discovered the Used J-Pop CD store Otokichi Preium, I only needed to get two or three singles (and one concert) to complete my Hikaru Nishida collection!

In 1994, Pony Canyon released a CD collection called “The Very Best Of Hikaru”, which featured many of the elusive B-sides like Koi Wa Shiroi T-Shirt and Truth, but a single CD just wasn’t enough space to cover them all, not to mention all the singles and b-sides that came out after 1994! So tracking down the actual singles seems to be the only way to get em all! Besides, when the CD packaging and artwork is so nice, it really makes it worth the effort!

Hikaru ‘s last album release was the sweet “Love For All Seasons”, and her last single was “Sorairo”, way back in 2000, almost ten years now! She left the biz for a bit to get married and raise her family and though we’re extremely happy for her, we’re still waiting for her to stop by again with some new tunes!

Namida No Pearl Moon

Single "Namida No Pearl Moon", off of Hikaru's Tokimeki No Prologue"

Favorite Hikaru Singles: C'mon, C'mon, C'mon

The theme song for the wacky drama Natsu! Depart Monogatari starring Tatsuya Yamaguchi of TOKIO fame as the bumbling but hard working department store clerk whose dream is to become a first rate employee and date the daughter of the company, played by Hikaru Nishida!

Though this show was fun and entertaining, I must warn anyone wanting to check this drama out for the sole purpose of seeing Nishida Hikaru: She's hardly in it at ALL! Far from what you might think by the promotional picture. (above) Hikaru only appears at random points in the show to smile at or encourage Yamaguchi as he bumbles earnestly through the latest problem! Sigh...but she does look nice when she's onscreen!

C'mon, C'mon, C'mon (or rather, C'mon3, as it's REALLY titled) played during the ending credits as the cast members all gathered together at the beach to play volleyball, followed by the TOKIO song “Soko Na Shi Love” as the previews for the next week’s episode ran...

Maybe it was the visual of the kids playing volleyball and having fun or the sheer poppiness of the song, but this tune always seemed like a really “genki” song, sure to put a smile on your face!

A nice bonus to picking up the C’mon3 single was the c/w song called “Go Beep”, which is a great, catchy little song she performed live on the “Live 2-4” tour that isn’t available on any album!

Below: Behind The Scenes via BOMB Magazine:

BOMB really was CHOCK full of good stuff for the budding J-pop/Idol enthusiast!

Favorite Hikaru Singles: "Melody"

My first exposure to Nishida Hikaru was through a zany comedy on NGN called “Natsu! Depart Monogatari” starring TOKIO’s Tatsuya Yamashita and Hikaru. Though it barely showed Hikaru at all in it (more of a cameo character), she did sing the ending song "C'mon, C'mon, C'mon," which piqued my interest!

Then during a chance viewing on MUSIC FAIR, I caught Hikaru singing a variation of Oldies with fellow guests Uchida Yuki and a woman whose name I can't recall for the life of me , including an extremely cute rendition of "Kissing On The Phone", before she broke out her new single “Melody”…and boy, did that voice blow me away! Sultry and silky, I had to have that single, so I immediately went out and got it!

It could have ended there, but I loved that song  so much (as well as the Natsu Depart Monogatari song),that I was DYING to hear her other stuff!

At the same time, Golden, the Tower Records J-pop buyer in town, told me he'd ordered Hikaru's entire catalog of stuff, which got sent to the wrong store and did I want to go along with him and pick it up? Hell YEAH! Seeing All of Hikaru's wonderful back-catalog, I couldn't WAIT to purchase them and start DIGGING IN!

Clear, Esprit, Nineteen Dreams, Silhouette, Sundance, File Of Life, Love Always…. Over time, I managed to acquire her entire back catalog of CDs and Singles, (through such outlets as Tower Records, Shirokiya's BOOK OFF and the good old OTOKICHI PREMIUM), and I have to tell you that each and every CD and single has incredible sentimental value to me. I’d just moved to another town, and I spent many days taking walks around the neighborhood, listening to my walkman, Hikaru as my only and dearest companion!

Probably my greatest Hikaru moment was watching a video collection of hers. In the PV for her song “Kitto Aiga Aru”, she is riding her bicycle through what I immediately recognized as my own town! She rode past my neighborhood park, down my street, and THEN RIGHT PAST MY APARTMENT! I was in utter shock! Hikaru-chan had ridden right by my house ! Where the heck was I at that time?! :)

Hikaru-chan rides past my apartment!

I know that you all are wondering how it is that I even can tell that it's my apartment Hikaru's ridin' past in this screen capture. While it's true that there really isn't too much to go on, the CM for Kitto Aiga Aru shows a few different camera angles of this scene, including a pulled-back shot where you can clearly see Hikaru and my humble abode! AHAHAHAHAHA!