Crystal Kay is back on her Broadway shit y’all—having been cast in Rent in Japan.Unlike Pippin and (what woulda been) Hairspray, Rent’s run in Japan will not be solely Japanese production, but a joint one with the US—featuring a cast of Japanese and American talent. Rent’s run in Japan seems to be part of a continued effort to make Broadway in Japan a far bigger thing—something Crystal ..read more

I consider myself a Perfume fan. But I’m not gonna sit here and act like I got them and liked them from the very start. And fans may view what I’m about to say as blasphemous—I wasn’t a fan of Game the first time around.So, let’s rewind and revisit Perfume’s 2008 album, Game.When I first reviewed Game, I was pretty unenthusiastic about it. Although the songs from the album I did like back then ..read more

As many fans clocked when they first heard “Emptiness”, the song sounds A LOT like BoA’s 2019 Starry Night cut “Black” — which was one of my favourites on that EP. “Emptiness” and “Black” sound so much alike, that they are interchangeable. Like so...When songs are interchangeable like this, sometimes I’m like ‘Pffft. This is lazy.’ Yes Ava Max. I am looking at you. But sometimes I’m like ‘Oh ..read more

So, Hikaru Utada’s Science Fiction is now available, which means you can hear the re-recordings of “Addicted to You”, “Traveling” and “Hikari”. But in true Teruzane fashion — because he don’t play with the income of his child — the re-recording of “Traveling” features a tie-in with Ayataka green tea. And if like me, you were initially like, ‘Who the hell is this brand and what happened to the ..read more

So, BoA casually posted an Instagram story alluding to her possible retirement. Which she then followed up to clarify was a typo. Which was then followed up with another story where she reassured fans that her contract with SM Entertainment runs until December 2025 and that until then, she’ll keep doing as she’s been doing. Then she scrubbed her Instagram account.Misunderstandings? A stunt for a ..read more

“Dizzy” is a weird old single. Because it feels like a bold new step for Olly Alexander, whilst also not feeling like one at all. And the latter isn’t a jab. It’s just a reflection of where music is right now and the type of artist Olly Alexander has been for [Turns and looks into the camera] years and years.I’ve never been a fan of Years & Years’ music. Only when Years & Years went from ..read more

BoA has released a new song. It’s really good. And quite honestly, we don’t deserve it. Because ever since BoA started to get her shit together and releasing — what I wholeheartedly believe — to be some of her best music, it underperforms. It comes and goes. Netizens say a bitch is too old. The whole time BoA is releasing better music than a lot of the more younger and popular acts. And as far as ..read more

Because Teruzane don’t play no games when it comes to his child’s income, the third and final all new song on Science Fiction “Electricity” is a tie-in with Itochu, who are a general trading company. And we get to hear part of the song in a TV commercial, which stars Hikaru Utada and a Madame Web telescope. A commercial which does a pretty good job of showing what Itochi is.Kind of.The kid in ..read more

I did not like Ayumi Hamasaki’s Next Level when I first reviewed it back in 2008. And to this day, I still don’t think it’s a particularly good album. But it’s an interesting album to look back on, because you can trace how it became what it did. And how it created the slope that Ayu would slide down for the next decade.Do you remember that moment in Avengers: Endgame; that big fight at the end ..read more

When I first listened to Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine, a song which jumped out at me was “Bye”. But as I was listening to it, I kept hearing another song - Miki Matsubara’s “Mayonaka no Door ~ Stay With Me”. So, I said ‘Fuck it’ and mashed the two songs together. And I will be honest with you. I play this mashup more than I do “Bye”. Because not only is this mashup longer than “Bye”, but ..read more