I haven't been posting or even following Maachan's weekly karaoke segments lately. This one however, interested me because she covers one of my all-time favorite singers: aiko.
YoshiKara #57: Aiko Special Karaoke Livestream
2:57~ Koi no Superbowl (2011; peaked at #4 on Oricon) 14:54~ Bye Bye! (2021, album cut from Doushitatte Tsutaerarenai Kara) 26:06~ Soushisouai (2024; #9) 38:18~ Aozora (2020; #6) 45:59~ Boyfriend (2000; #2)
aiko's indie career started in 1997, the same year that Morning Musume began, and her first charting single was in 1998, same as Morning as well.
In this 10 minute long video, UUG(2) Honoka is so despondent over UUG(2) Ami leaving for university that she has a psychic break and imagines herself being counseled by two sakura blossoms come to life in the form of two fairies both named Sakura (different kanji), played by UUG(2) Yuria and a non Up Up actress named Takehara Chiyo. After this mercifully brief schizophrenic episode, Hoo-chan resolves her grief and rejoins Amita.
During an outdoor live performance at Ueno Park called "Galafest DASH" yesterday, Up Up Girls Suzuki Meina became a two-handed throwing machine. Look how she yeeted those water balloons with force.