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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Kyoko Koizumi -- Nantettatte Aidoru (なんてったってアイドル)


Seiko Matsuda(松田聖子)may have been the cute and innocent aidoru, while Akina Nakamori(中森明菜)played it tough and defiant. Then I would say that Kyon-Kyon was the footloose and fancy-free best buddy when it came to her uptempo stuff. "Nantettatte Aidoru" is one of her representative works in that category; I'm not quite sure how it would translate into English....I tried looking at various sites to no avail, but I can only guess that it would probably come out as "What an Idol!" If there are any fans of hers out there reading this, please set me straight.


According to the J-Wiki, this was Kyoko Koizumi's(小泉今日子)declaration tune as to her status in the music industry, and it was suitably brash and sassy, just like her image. Apparently in the beginning, her 17th single needed a title, and so a public contest was held in which people could give in their ideas for a name. 174,000 samples of correspondence flooded in. Ultimately, an economist by the name of Kazuhiro Ohnishi just put together the expressions "nantettatte" and "aidoru" together and sent the suggestion in. A song was born. Also, the song was written by Yasushi Akimoto(秋元康)of Onyanko Club and AKB 48 fame, and composed by veteran Kyohei Tsutsumi(筒美京平).

"Nantettatte Aidoru" hit the top spot on Oricon right from its release in November 1985 and became the 21st-ranked song of 1986. The strong impression of the song earned Koizumi a quick ticket to her 2nd appearance on the 1985 Kohaku Utagassen, just 5 weeks after the song's release. 420,000 copies were sold.


The single is also available as a track on her 8th album, "Kyoko no Kiyoku, Tanoshiku, Utsukushiku"(今日子の清く楽しく美しく...Kyoko's Pure, Enjoyable, Beautiful).

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