medorē #30 – All About Idols III
featuring CUTIE STREET, @onefive, airattic (and more!)
First roundup of 2025!
Hello and welcome to yet another installment of the medorē! For those who aren’t familiar with what this is (which is reasonable, since I don’t do it all that often): this is a segment where I gather a bunch of various Japanese songs—usually eight in total—that I like and/or have been listening to lately, and just give my thoughts about them. It’s a simple thing I like to do every-so-often, since I truly think all of these tracks are worth knowing & listening to.
And usually when it comes to these song roundups, I tend to base my choices on a specific theme, which is what we’ll be doing again today. If you’ve been following the blog for a bit now, you might remember that these past two Februarys have seen me organize medorēs that revolve solely around idols. I even pointed out last year that it was a bit of coincidence that I randomly decided to do an idol-related roundup at that time, especially considering that I happened to make a similar list 12 months prior. That said, I thought it’d be funny to make this an actual annual tradition, so that’s what we’ll be talking about: songs from a wide variety of Japanese idol groups. Emphasis on ‘wide variety’ since, like last year, I tried my best to diversify the stuff I wanted to feature on here (this’ll also include a lot of tracks/groups I discovered in 2024). And hopefully everyone reading can find something they like out of this bunch!
So yeah! Let’s jump right in!
♫ 「Hitamuki Cinderella!」 CUTIE STREET
Released: 2024.11.12
To say that CUTIE STREET blew the doors clean off when they released their debut song, “Kawaii Dake ja Dame Desu ka?”, towards the tail end of 2024… it’d feel like a massive understatement. Currently having over 17 million streams on Spotify, 28 million+ views on YouTube, almost 300,000 TikToks being made using the sound source, peaking at #2 on Billboard Japan’s Hot 100 list, and the group even making their first appearance on THE FIRST TAKE only four months following their own debut… my goodness.
I guess it’s not *too* surprising, considering this is an idol group that works under the ASOBISYSTEM/KAWAII LAB brand and is notably affiliated with beloved/trend-worthy units like FRUITS ZIPPER and CANDY TUNE. And even though I immediately jumped on the CUTIE STREET hypetrain when they were first announced back in July (humble brag, I know), still, to witness first-hand how much and how fast this group skyrocketed in popularity based on the very first song they’ve ever released was insane.
But today, we’ll instead be taking a look at, arguably, their second most listened-to song to date: “Hitamuki Cinderella!”. And while I can just repeat many of the comments that are under this song’s music video and say that all of these ladies look adorable and embody the idea of being a princess, I’ll actually take some time to talk about the track (lol). Obviously it’s very sparkly and cute, but I think this is another good case of ASOBISYSTEM and KAWAII LAB knowing how to pick out a variety of vocal talent. As I’ve said many times in the past, whenever I take interest in a new idol group, I love being able to listen to, differentiate and appreciate each member through their voices. And while it may not be as obvious as what you can hear from FRUITS ZIPPER or some of the other groups featured on this list… I still felt like I got to have that sense of variety with the CUTIE STREET ensemble, such as comparing the deeper registers of Nagisa, Kana and Parutan to a more higher-pitched and cutesy tone from Emiru.
This observation might be a bit of a reach, but even so, I enjoyed listening to these ladies a lot. And with this just being the start of the careers and how they’ll inevitably dabble into other genres of music, their vocal talents can only get better and sharper through the years, so I’m for sure looking forward to their future releases.
And if you were wondering, easily I’m a Miyu and Emiru oshi. They’re both adorable.
♫ 「Cupid」 femme fatale
Released: 2021.10.21
Last year, I took interest in femme fatale’s first full-length, explicitly titled album, fuckin’ sisters, and I enjoyed it a lot. And I feel like this duo has become even more intriguing to me as I’m writing this section, especially based on some of the brief research I did on them. Learning that these two are completely self-produced, the fact that they’re both biological sisters who decided to become idols together, as well as (at least, from what I’ve read) the unfortunate family-related circumstances they’ve gone through; it’s interesting to get a better picture of who these two are, and to see them strive in this industry and still gain a ton of traction as indie idols is pretty cool.
And while most people might recognize femme fatale through their hyper, electro-filled song that went viral on TikTok, “Daishikyu Daishuki”, they do a good job expressing a slightly different side to them with something like “Cupid”. Another neat factoid about this group is that many of their songs, including this one, is produced by famed musician Kenmochi Hidefumi, who is also most notably a member of Wednesday Campanella.
Having listened to a couple songs from said group, I do get a similar vibe within “Cupid”. The way it immediately grabs your attention with that opening/recurring melody (and how insanely catchy it is) and the combination of pop and EDM are both familiar elements that I’m sure can be heard within many of Kenmochi Hidefumi’s more recent works. But one thing I really enjoyed from this track is how much it leans into a soft, comfy atmosphere despite being an electronic-focused song. It feels so light, and whether that’s because of those traditional-sounding/flute-esque solos or that gorgeous inclusion of an acoustic guitar or even the vocal performances from the duo themselves… it’s hard to describe but I just loved the almost dream-like vibe of this song, and I think that’s why I kept coming back to it.
♫ 「Liar Liar」 @onefive
Released: 2025.01.14
Ever since I was introduced to @onefive through that live action adaptation of Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, I had the pleasure of checking out/enjoying some of their earlier songs (such as “MIRAI-ZU” and “Underground”), and I did my best to keep up with their musical activities through the latter half of 2023 and all of 2024. And I thought they put out some great stuff, especially since their second full-length album from last April (titled Classy Crush) had some legitimate bangers on it like “Mr.Gorgeous”, “F.A.F.O”, and I remember having “Like A” and “OZGi” on HEAVY repeat for a couple months.
And to be honest, lately I’ve been taking a bit of break from them (apparently a few months ago, GUMI got suspended from the group for a brief amount of time which I had no clue of until a couple weeks ago 😅) but now being in the new year, the former Sakura Gakuin-enrolled quartet released another solid track in “Liar Liar”.
Feels like it’s more apparent with their most recent releases, but it’s pretty clear that @onefive’s taking on a K-Pop-inspired approach with their music. Which isn’t a bad thing; I understand there’s been an on-going trend within the Japanese music industry to emulate the ever-so-popular sound that comes from Korea. But I do think these four pull it off quite well here, especially when it comes to the vocal performances from each member.
Their voices are much deeper this time around, and while KANO and GUMI give off a smooth and attractive tone throughout their individual singing parts, SOYO and MOMO take on the role of being the sassy ones with their nimble raps and overall bold demeanor. I loved the balance between personalities that was shown here, and when you throw some bumping beats and even a neat inclusion of a shamisen (?) into the mix, it results in a pretty cool & catchy song.
♫ 「Distortion」 airattic
Released: 2024.08.26
As much as I’m a huge fan of the more popular units in the business, such as =LOVE, Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu and the aforementioned FRUITS ZIPPER, I do feel like I have a small-but-meaningful appreciation for chika/underground idols. Not only have I found some fantastic music from these kinds of units, but to see them continue to perform and have fun in such a competitive field of work is encouraging; inspiring, even. I mean, while I continue to regret not looking into and mustering up the courage to find an underground idol live when I was in Japan last year, miraculously being able to stumble upon a group called ‘kimikara’ while browsing a Tower Records store is still one of my favorite moments from that trip.
And amongst my idol music discoveries from this past year, I had the pleasure of listening to some stuff from Tokyo-based, SOVA-led unit airattic. Can’t remember specifically how I found out about this group, but it might’ve been through a fellow blogger (Mustafa from the An Extension of Mustafa Substack) and seeing him actually attend a live of theirs back in August. Whether or not that’s the case, I had a good time revisiting their self-titled full-length debut recently, and man… this group is awesome.
I do enjoy many of the songs on said album (obviously “Lightning” is hype as heck, but “plastic dada” and “mixjuice” are fun tracks as well IMO), but having also checked out their more recent releases, I came out really, really, really liking “Distortion” from this past August.
In the words of airattic themselves, they view themselves as an ‘idol group with a focus on guitar rock and electronica sounds’. That said, I feel like the former is shown off EXTREMELY well on this song, as we get a really rad, fast-paced and pretty conventional rock performance from composer Hayashi Naohiro. So much is going on in this song if you listen carefully, ranging from some well-executed guitar layering, a dash of keyboards, to the slight-yet-fitting inclusion of electronic sounds. And one thing in particular that I’ve come to love from airattic’s music is how hard they go on the bass, and “Distortion” gives us a great example of that towards the beginning.
On top of it all, the airattic ladies do a fantastic job performing alongside a composition like this. Their ability to crank up the energy of their vocals when needed and how they perfectly kept up with the pace of this song (as well as that one cool section where their vocals were muffled)… this is a phenomenal track to me, and while I already had an interest in airattic from the first time I heard their stuff, I feel like “Distortion” solidified my appreciation for them. I’m definitely a fan now, and if possible, I’d love to see another album from these five idols sometime this year 👍 (also fun fact: one of the airattic members, Momose Madoka, is a huge fan of the DIALOGUE+ seiyuu/idol group, of whom Hayashi Naohiro also has frequently worked with… just some cool connections all around and good taste from Madoka)
And you know what, screw it: 2025 is the year of the chika idol for me. I wanna discover/listen to more of these kinds of overlooked groups so hopefully I can keep that goal in mind for the rest of the year. (and feel free to throw some suggestions at me!)
♫ 「HANAGATAMI」 Phantom Siita
Released: 2024.10.29
Those who are dialed in on the J-Pop scene will most likely know that the up-and-coming, retro horror-focused idol group Phantom Siita is produced by… none-other-than Ado.
My knowledge with Ado as an artist is a bit of a limited one; I’ve only really heard a tiny handful of her songs, and yet I’m still planning on watching her perform live later this year when she visits my area in the states (lol). Regardless, I’d say I have an okay understanding of the kind of music she performs, and especially her superb talent with singing. So to finally get a taste of what Phantom Siita’s all about, as well as seeing Ado’s influence on these new idols, it was quite eye-opening.
As mentioned in the profile page on their official website, Phantom Siita brings up the comparison between butterflies and moths when it comes to their own existence within Japan’s vast idol scene. While butterflies seen as a universally beloved insect that has symbolized pleasant ideas such as ‘beauty’ and ‘happiness’, moths tend to be less accepting amongst the crowds due to their peculiar appearance, some of which may call ‘creepy’ or even ‘ugly’. To rope this back to Japanese idols: many people prefer the upbeat and cutesy imagery that the majority of groups present, but Phantom Siita embraces that other side of the pop idol spectrum. And I’m not trying to imply that they’re creepy or ugly (they’re not lol), but rather the group gives off a darker and more mysterious vibe that some may be hesitant to approach; however they still want to exemplify the concept of ‘idols’ and be appealing to many people.
Now, I know that alt-idols are nothing new; I’ve talked about many of them here on the blog, and there have been a ton of unconventional idol groups that have either hit it big or have garnered a small-yet-incredibly passionate fanbase. That said, I do like what Phantom Siita’s doing here. I think their concept is intriguing and the fact that Ado had absolute faith in these five ladies and is now developing them into an idol unit with a ton of potential… it took a bit for me to get in on the hype, but better late than never.
And what makes their music so fascinating to me, especially with “HANAGATAMI” in particular (off their first album, Shoujo no Hi no Omoide), is that Mona, Miu, Rinka, Hisui and Moka all do an *impressive* job emulating a vocal register that’s identical to their producer. As I mentioned earlier, I think Ado’s a great vocalist and no doubt has she made a name for herself with her abilities as a singer. And to see her help these ladies gain a similar talent, and for them to effortlessly pick up those teachings in order to reflect the odd, darker mood of the music (especially seen in this recording/behind-the-scenes video about a different song of theirs); I can 100% tell why they’re on the come up and this collaboration feels like it’s heading towards even greater things.
♫ 「it’s Mai calling」 BATTEN GIRLS
Released: 2024.11.12
If you’ve followed the blog for a bit now, you might remember me bringing up this group, BATTEN GIRLS (or ‘Batten Shoujo-tai’), a lot back in 2022. They were one of my favorite idol-related discoveries from that year; I considered their full-length release at the time (titled CUE-SAI) to be my AOTY; and I feel like Bassho was truly one of the main catalysts for my increased interest in the more mainstream, non-2D/seiyuu idol scene.
They’ve meant a lot to me throughout these past two-plus years as a liker of both Japanese music and idols, so when we all heard that long-time member Seta Sakura would be graduating from the unit at the end of 2024, it was honestly a pretty tough announcement to digest. While I have come to love all of the Bassho members, Chanseta in particular had a likable, laid-back, calm demeanor to her while also being able to express a bit of goofiness now-and-then (especially when it came to otaku hobbies, like her making a TikTok about how much she loves Rem from Re:Zero). Not only that, but I’ve always thought she has a really nice singing voice and I do feel like she was a big reason why I fell in love with “OiSa” when I first heard it, a song of which she was in the center position for.
For me, including “it’s Mai calling” in this roundup gives me the opportunity to 1) properly show my appreciation for Chanseta, 2) reflect on Bassho’s activities from the past year, and 3) look forward to the future. Addressing point #2, I thought their most recent album, titled CUE-DEN, was quite solid. It has a lot of great tracks on it, but in terms of its ‘new releases’, I think this one’s gotta be my favorite… which may or may not be a coincidence, considering that the composer of my all-time favorite Bassho song (“Watashi, Koi Hajimettateyo!”) also arranged this one. But truly, this is a banger and while I don’t think anything can top “WatashiKoi” in my opinion, Watanabe Shinobu does a good job bringing back certain elements, such as that easygoing electro-dance vibe and especially the gorgeous multi-layering of their vocals towards the end of the song. Plus, I always love listening to the short pre-chorus parts where the ladies dragged the last note of each line really well. Just a nice track, all in all.
Lastly, to discuss point #3, Bassho is gearing up to reveal some brand new members in the near future, and as much as it feels odd to not see Chanseta in this unit anymore, I’m excited to see this group continue to tread forward and I can’t wait for whatever comes next for these Fukuoka natives.
♫ 「Kimi to tea for two♡」 WASUTA
Released: 2024.08.21
Originally I was planning on talking about Wasuta’s more recent release in “World Standard”. But as I began writing about it, I started to go on an unintended-and-unnecessary spiel about Yamamoto Sho and his work as a composer, and ended up feeling bad that I roped this idol group into that discussion, so I decided to change it to another track.
Which I don’t mind, because I absolutely love “Kimi to tea for two♡”.
This one felt like a bit of a late addition to the growing pool of idol songs that went viral on TikTok last year, but even then, I quickly became a fan after stumbling upon it one day (specifically from a video of ≠ME’s Sakurai Momo dancing to the sound source). There was a comment I saw under this performance video, where they described this particular track as ‘elegant cuteness’. And you know, I’d 100% agree with that assessment. It still has a strong ‘sugary’ vibe to it with the bouncy pianos and sparkly noises, but you can tell there’s an increased feeling of maturity here, thanks to the warm inclusion of an accordion or how much slower it feels compared to a lot of the pop idol music we’ve heard on those social media platforms.
But I truly think Wasuta’s vocal performances (and the song’s lyricism) take up a good part of that ‘mature’ and almost ‘classy’ expression. Hearing these four sing in a more romantic & emotional tone of voice, and them anxiously describing their anticipation for a coffee/tea date with a love interest of theirs… as I said earlier, I’ve loved this song for a couple months now, but I did enjoy going through the lyrics later on and it honestly made the track much more sweeter to experience.
On a related note, I found out that one of the members of Wasuta, Matsuda Miri, recently did a cover of SHISHAMO’s “Ashitamo”. Would suggest listening to it, she did a nice rendition of a great SSM song :)
♫ 「EIKYUU hours」 Aqours
Released: 2024.12.17
On June 30th of 2024, the beloved school idol group from the Love Live! Sunshine!! series, Aqours, announced that they would be holding their final live in the upcoming year.
While I did previously go into detail about my extensive fandom with the Love Live series, it’s impossible to not emphasize how much Aqours in particular has had a huge part in that. The second season of their anime was the very first one I got to see in real time, and I feel like my overwhelming appreciation for Japanese voice actors/seiyuu stems from the countless hours of me watching the VAs goof around during a livestream or seeing them perform so many great songs during a delayed viewing of their fifth concert. And I will admit that my interest for Aqours has waned these past few years, but they always, always, always have had a giant place in my heart (hell, I even rewatched the entire anime series recently).
“EIKYUU hours” is said to be the ‘theme song’ of their finale live, and while the ladies themselves reassured to the fans that this doesn’t mean they’re disbanding, nor is it the actual *end* of Aqours as a group… only recently has it sunk in that things will be very different soon. Taking in and actually seeing that this is the first indication or notion that these nine will be ‘moving on’ to some degree; ‘sad’ is too strong of a word to use, yet ‘bittersweet’ feels too light. And it sure as heck doesn’t help that this song and its lyrics will feel very meaningful to any and every Aqours fan. From them making sure to ‘never forget’ the memories everyone has made with each other, to hearing Anchan’s sentimental solo towards the end… I had to hold back tears while listening to this song on public transit, and even as I’m typing this section in the comfort of my own home, the waterworks definitely turned on a few times. And for me, this song gives us the opportunity to look back and realize that they’ve gone through so many trials, tribulations, uncertainty and unfortunate circumstances, yet have still experienced a boatload of happy moments within the now-ten years (!!!) of existing.
What’s even more heartwarming is that its accompanying music video was ALL about Numazu: the real life area where Love Live! Sunshine!! takes place and the town where Aqours resides. Whether that be filming at locations that were previously featured in the anime & separate IRL segments or including many of its locals/residents, from high schoolers to storeowners to older individuals; it was so wholesome to see Aqours and the Love Live staff really embrace Numazu as much as the town embraced them and what those school idols brought to their small-yet-tight-knit community. It’s a peculiar relationship, for sure, but you can absolutely tell how much of an impact they had on each other and this MV was a beautiful reflection of that.
And of course, I’ll be watching the finale live in June (via livestream, I can’t even imagine how difficult it is to get tickets for it lol). It’ll be a very emotional weekend, but it’s gonna be great to be a part of something special.
Aaaaand that’s all I got for you today!
As always, I compiled all of the featured songs on this roundup in a dedicated Spotify playlist. Feel free to save it!
That said, hope you all enjoyed this post! For the past few years, I’ve been very adamant on discovering different kinds of idol music; and while I still believe I’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to this area of the industry, I’m glad to have found some solid names within the bunch. I love all of these songs and it’d be great if anyone reading got to find a new track/artist/album that peaked their interest.
Lastly, definitely let me know your thoughts in the comments! Whether you liked a certain song or have any idol recommendations of your own, I’m all ears!!
Thanks for reading and see you next February for part 4!! :D
-al