I’m going to go out on a limb and assume there are a lot of people who enjoy singing karaoke. I just wanted to share a project I finished recently with a Japanese singer named Azusa Mone (梓 文音) from Japan’s Victor Records (JVC). I directed, shot, and edited her karaoke music video for her song ありがとうの花束 (Arigatou no hanataba - Thank you bouquet) that’s available through places that have the Joysound karaoke database. I was able to read the Kanji for bouquet thanks to Wanikani.
Aside from it being a good song and somewhat anonymous self promotion, the lyrics are actually fairly easy to understand so I thought it would be good practice for many of us learners. The tempo isn’t too fast and the pronunciation is clear so I bet many of you can understand most of what’s being said and with the words over top of the video you can follow along with by reading the kanji. I was fairly surprised at how much I could understand. I remember learning the kanji for bundle (束 - taba) and wondering when I would ever use a kanji meant for a bundle of sticks. Then I saw this title and immediately understood it meant bouquet.
This is the version with the vocals. Check it out and let me know what you think.
I hoped that there would be more music lovers posting in this thread, but I suppose not.
What other artists do you like, and what tricks or interesting things have you learned/picked up about Japanese language? Do you feel as if your listening and pronunciation have improved? What artist(s) is/are the easiest to understand?
I’m kind of old school, so I still listen to the “modern classics,” if one will, like Judy&Mary, PUFFY, 浜崎あゆみ、安室奈美恵（あむろなみえ）、Polysics, etc. I also enjoy a lot of J-INDIES, because there are so many interesting colliquial liguistic items used.
I’m with you on some of the modern classics so to speak. I don’t listen to much Japanese music but I like Amuro Namie and Utada Hikaru. I’ve learned that, as in English, artists are a bit more flexible with their pronunciation when singing lyrics so a word that you are used to hearing one way might sound a bit different. I posted the song I did, not only because I shot the video but because the lyrics and the pronunciation of them are easy to understand. I can pretty much understand the full thing and I think it would help others to listen to it and sing it.
This site aims to help learners learn different languages through lyrics