Was going to use this comment to link Meiko's Spotify page, only to find out that she is NOT on Spotify. PLEASE support her music in other forms in the mean time, I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also PLEASE support the tribute band LOTOS!! They're super passionate, dedicated, and deserve more recognition! lotos.jpn.com/ twitter.com/lotos_0508 ALSO, minor correction: Some sources say Iyo Matsumoto debuted in 1981, though I believe 1982 was her *public* debut.
She's a sweet, older Japanese lady now living peacefully. Sometimes she smiles at the memory of being an idol in the 80s, then she shrugs and goes about her day.
Entirely possible. Japan has this thing called the right to privacy, and at any given moment there is usually someone calling night movers to help them pack up and disappear. No one not even next of kin has the right to know where you are or what you are doing.
Excellent video. Seems like her career was pretty hectic and probably stressful, so it wouldn't be shocking if she retired. Wherever she is, whatever she's doing, I hope it's all good.
Wikipedia says: Even after ceasing to continue as a singer, Nakahara has still worked as a composer for groups and singers like Checkicco and Vivian Hsu.[1]
Geez, I'm having a hard time process that 1992 is already 30 years ago. I also don't blame Nakahara retiring earlier since the music industry seems super stressful and being in the spotlight often especially nowadays from social media.
For me, it just highlighted how close to us the other decades of the 1900’s were. I’m a 92’ kid and thinking that the world wars happened in the same CENTURY and segregation was a thing in the mid 60’s. It was NOT that long ago.
@@BigTroubleD right, thats how i feel about big american movements. women were only allowed to vote starting in 1920 ! makes me realize how young we are here
With the recent suicide death of Sayaka Kanda, I don't blame her. It seems the idol industry has a big secret we will never know. It must be pretty stressful. All the best to her.
citypop music is the most heavenly, dreamy, magical music. my fave tracks are tasogare by mai yamane, if you am i by fumi hirano, older girl by 1986 omega tribe, i love you so by junko ohashi... also love tatsuro yamashita and miki matsubara!!
It really is! "Telephone Number" by Junko Ohashi (R.I.P. as she passed away in 2023), "Bay City" by Junko Yagami, "Plastic Love" by Maria Takeuchi are my favorites (as well as Miki Matsubara but just hearing that name makes me emotional).
This kinda reminds me of this one other artist from the mid 90s/early 2000s named Miho Komatsu, who did music for anime such as Detective Conan. She hasn't been seen or heard from since the 2000s and even stranger is that not many people know what she looks like since she didn't make public appearances
@@SakuraStardust I feel like it must be some kinda thing that happens in Japan, trying to disappear or live anonymously. Honestly sounds kinda like a peaceful life, like not having to worry about somebody recognizing you when you're trying to mind your business and live life haha
@@otaddiction The most recent example of this is the singer Ado. She's really popular in Japan and internationally, but she's yet to show her face in public yet. She's suppose to do live shows later this year so this might change.
Your profile picture reminded me of another city pop artist named Cindy(Angel Touch, Destiny, and others), who did a ending theme for Urusei Yatsura before vanishing a while, and I believe the urusei yatsura piece was her last work. Sadly I believe she passed away early in 2000 from something health related.
As a Japanese and someone whose had a crush on meiko and been following her career she's not missing she did go on a hiatus but since then she's still composing music for others as of today so really not missing
she's probably in Japan or America. She's not missing and never did, she's just not in the public eye and doesn't intend to be. the videos title is misleading.
@@jeffxdd4351 that what i am saying there no record of talking she still doing good shes 64 she doest do alot with the music indestury she still help comp for group but she doest sing anymore and i dont blwme hr for that the indestury look stressful enough it really good reason tomretire early but she not dead ehe mightnbe in ny or japan who know she doesnt talk if public she out of spotlight like some famues drifter mitsuru he not dead but retired and own his own bunnis same meiko she composer and retired from singingg
If you want to collect city pop records, I’m sure you can find the majority of them used for like 200yen in Shinjuku. There’s like a 5 square block area with buildings full of vinyl from the bottom to the top floors. It’s one of the world’s best place to dig for records.
Not any more! All the popular Tokyo music shopping spots have been picked clean due to City Pop's resurgence. There's been a bunch of recent re-pressed of popular records as a result.
He is the only artist from that genre that I recommend unreservedly (and I love Junko Ohashi), or as a common YT comment puts it, "Has this man ever written a bad song?"
This video was wonderfully done. I discovered Meiko Nakahara after I was one of the people caught up in the "Plastic Love" algorithm. I had no idea Miss Nakahara has dipped out of public life. I wonder if she would smile or cringe to know that a new generation, across the Pacific has discovered her music 40 years later. I hope she sees this video and knows that she is still loved and people still appreciate her contributions to music.
The term "city pop" originated in Japan, in the late 70s. It can be seen in music magazine articles, record obis and even a photo from a record store in 1982 which had a "City Pop" shelf. There's also a CD compilation called "City Pop Christmas" from 1986, the Sony Music compilation from 2003, the Yutaka Kimura book from 2011 and other sources that can prove that the name isn't new. The thing is: that wasn't a widespread term. For casual listeners, it was just pop music. New Music is a different thing, although somehow related. It's a term from the mid-70s. In the 80s, New Music just wasn't new anymore.
Not precisely. New Music bleeds into 80s, but the term City Pop was quite niche, and is, according to Japanese modern sources looking back a niche segment of New Music. If you visit record shops or even places like Hard Off here in Japan today, you will see that New Music and 80s sections have overlap, and you'll even see highlighted "City Pop" now that the term has resurfaced in Japan due to overseas usage.
@@nippolitica I agree 100% that there is an overlap. In reality, it's hard to differentiate. The points I'm trying to make are: - the term City Pop did exist in Japan and wasn't created by new fans overseas that found out about it on the internet; - the term New Music wasn't created in the 80s.
Know what? If she wanted to show up again, she probably would. Two to one, she just got tired of the mental abuse of the industry, ran away, and quietly changed her name in order to live happily ever since and probably splits her time between her family's business and behind the scenes music industry work, more than likely as a songwriter under an alias.
Fantasy by Meiko Nakahara played such a huge part in my life, as it helped push me to go deeper into city pop, helping me uncover some of the most insane, lovely beats of all time. City pop/J funk/J Jazz was and still is ahead of its time.
I was told about 20 years ago that her family owned gas stations and convenience stores and she retired from music to take over the management of those stores. Taking over a family business is very Japanese, so makes sense to me. I have no proof, but this is what I've always believed. I know several Japanese musicians that retired and ran restaurants or small "dive" bars.
Kaoru Akimoto’s ✨Cologne✨ has me in a choke hold! And with a lot of these artists, there’s not much to work off of when they disappear from the spotlight. Also, it’s damn annoying to find a streaming service that has an artist’s entire discography to listen without some holes in their work. Just RUclips for the oddest reason. 😮💨
RUclipsrs are real fans of these musicians. Streaming services are a corporate machine trying to squeeze every penny and to them 30 year old japanese pop junk wont make a penny to them compared to the licencing costs.
City pop just has a dreamlike and mystical feel to me, and it's definitely my favorite genre of music now. My favorite city pop artists would definitely be Anri, Tatsuro Yamashita, and Taeko Ohnuki.
It's nice to see her retirement get some attention. I've been listening to primarily Japanese music for more than two decades, and the only retirement that really had people enthralled & curious & shocked in my mind was Momoe Yamaguchi's. Also "City Pop" as a term wasn't 100% invented by the west, though the current application of it is a western thing. Researching for this comment, I'm seeing some conflicting sources, but back when I was first getting into j-music, "City Pop" applied to a specific later-emerging subgenre of New Music with more funk and R&B influence and less folk-rock influence (and less "japanese-ness" which is probably sociologically important), but as time has passed the term seems to have gotten more vague and it seems to apply to all economic-boom 70s-and-beyond western-influenced pop before the term "j-pop" was coined in the 90s. In 2016, as City Pop influence was starting to re-enter Japanese indie & pop music in a big way, I saw a Japan Times article refer to the band Happy End as a City Pop band and that just baffled me, since they were FIRMLY "new music" in my mind, but the entire point of the article seems to be "lol no one knows what city pop is" so. haha I CAN tell you that until that 2016 mention (in an article in the Japan Times, I believe), It wasn't one of those terms anyone in Japan really used though, except if they were massive music nerds, while "New Music" (like "Group Sounds" before it) was reasonably common in mass media & on radio well into the 80s.
The now defunct AJW/All Japan Woman Pro Wrestling had there female wrestlers work and sing as there own City Pop idols in concerts! The Crush Gals were basically K-pop before K-pop was even a thing! The footage of high school girls high pitched screaming and singing to the Crush Gals is outstanding & never to duplicate again!
AJWPW is the only wrestling promotion that has had 5+ Star matches rathed by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that feature women. Manami Toyota, arguably the greatest Joshi Wrestler ever, pioneered the Joshi style in that promotion. Its influence can be felt all over the industry even within WWE with wrestlers such as Asuka (FKA Kana), Io Shirai and Meiko Satomura.
@@SakuraStardust There’s a French documentary that was on YT some years ago from AJW 92/93 and it shows how scummy the promoters/Yakuza treated there female wrestlers (like legitimate force hard labor) Chigusa Nagayo one half of the crush gals started her own promotion to rival AJW because of this!
Great video! When I read the title I honestly thought you were going to talk about Takako Mamiya, who made an album and then disappeared right afterwards. But I can understand not covering her, since Stevem already made a video about Mamiya 2 years ago.
I honestly thought so too, Takako music has been starting to show up on platforms such as spotify, despite her record label discontinuing around the 90s. From what I've heard from other people, she was said to not wish to be in the music industry and chose to lead a normal life away from the public eye??? I could be totally wrong but it doesn't sound too far from a convincing reason as to her vanishment.
She basically ruled Japan’s 80s decade, i love her songs from early 80s to early 90s (please check my city pop playlist, I add a lot of her songs)… most succesful celebrities who retire usually either work something else or settle down and get married so they were busy with social life more
Bet she still does under a different name and she's still a genius when it comes to music. She deserves the vacations and retirement. I hope she is happy and doing what she loves
literally my favourite video on your channel, i was really invested into city pop before watching the video. this video introduced me to meiko nakahara and i literally cannot thank you enough, she’s my favourite city pop artist now !!
Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi is my first real introduction to City Pop and it holds a very special place in my heart. Other than that, I really love listening to Stay With Me by Miki Matsubara, Last Summer Whisper by Anri, and pretty much anything by Tatsuro Yamashita. PS: If Hohoemi no Bakudan by Matsuko Mawatari (The Yu Yu Hakusho opening song) counts as City Pop, then that would technically be my introduction to City Pop. 😅
I started with ANRI, but I quickly moved to more complete albums and artists, now I am all on: Yurie Kokubu - with her fine collabs and playful voice always happy and with a nice funk bass in the back, both 80's albums Minako Yoshida - Tatsuro right hand and the most talented in the genre, still going strong and with a 10/10 album "Monochrome". Plus I love that Japanese afro. Junko Ohashi - people really enjoy Magical because of her high pitch voice, I am more of a fan of the second album "Paper Moon", simple conserved and personal, plus I have a crush on the album cover...sorry. Noriki - I had to add a Fusion album, Souchi Noriki with is time warping composition just nails in "Dream Cruise" and "Noriki", really love the collabs with miss Kokubu, really loved seeing them both doing Smooth Jazz. Takako Mamiya - Is someone that transcended this plain in terms of music, to make me think that no human could have made such a beautiful album, she is like Jesus at this point, you believe if you want. Mentioning her best album would be foolish, her album belongs in the museum of human history.
Love Trip is my favorite album. I found it my freshman year of college and I play it every winter-spring like clockwork. It’s like her music breathes life into winter and turns it into spring 🥰 and there were cherry blossoms blooming where I was so major vibes whenever I listened outside.
@@jadegemsss I do love love trip, I am just really angry that she left us with such a masterpiece without knowing her, she is not like Kaoru or Meiko, she just wanted to make something good and nothing else. I play it everytime I am in town walking around 2 am, specially Chinese Restaurant, I didn't really know music before that track.
Love city pop so much. Started to discover the genre when researching samples used in vaporware & future funk tracks around 2016. I first started listening to 80s Japanese music in 2013 with artists like Yukiko Okada and CCB but my discovery of city pop really boosted my interest. The first song I discovered was Merry go Round by Tatsuro Yamashita, who went on to become one of my all time favourite musicians. I continue to listen to many Japanese artists from the 80s & 90s, with some of my favourites including the aforementioned Yamashita, Okada & CCB, but others like Mariya Takeuchi, Jadoes, Cindy, Megu, Kozo Murashita and Ami Ozaki
My first City Pop experience was Maria Takeuchi's Plastic Love (Night Tempo 100% pure remastered) video on RUclips! It was randomly on my suggestions one day and I never looked back. I now have a full on playlist on Spotify that I would LOVE more recommendations for. 😀
This made me think of the Friday Night Plans cover of Plastic Love. Her voice is amazing and there’s an INCREDIBLY good doggo in that video. Really enjoyed this. Thanks so much for introducing me to a new artist. Cheers.
Meiko is definitely one of my favourite City Pop artists alongside Anri, Yumi Arai, Miki Matsubara, Tomoko Aran and Tatsuro Yamashita. The track "Alesha" from her 1990 album was the first I've listened to, suffice to say, I was immediately hooked by her soothing voice. Considering the work culture in Japan, I'm glad she found peace and happiness out of the spotlight after such a busy career. She more than deserves it after providing us with such an amazing discography. Much love and health to her! Thank you for the video Sakura ❤
Enjoyed the video. This reminds me what happened with country singer Bobbie Gentry. Got popular in the 1960's, had a nice run in the 70's and as soon as the 80's started, she retired from the music industry and hasn't been seen in public again.
Taeko Onuki's voice is magical, I love nearly anything she does. SUNSHOWER is my easy fave, but she has this bossa album called TCHOU! that I think a lot of people would love if they heard it!
Started listening to city pop in 2014 thanks to Meiko. I watched a ton of old anime and the music captivated. Miho Morikawa is another early one I discovered because of the Dirty Pair OVA and one of the Ranma openings. And Miki Matsubara (rest in peace) who did the opening for Dirty Pair Project Eden. My favorite artist to date though is Kohhy. Opening to City Hunter and had so many amazing peices. She even had Prince write some of her music
Anri is by far my favorite City Pop artist, her music is such a good way to delve into relaxation and this feeling of nostalgia for a time I didn't even live in. Timely!! as a whole just hits different, one of my favorite albums ever.
This was a really nice video and I'm glad you went through it so respectfully. Dance in the Memories is such an incredible track so I had to check this one out. As for my favorites...gosh, that's hard to decide. Tatsuro Yamashita's Eien no Full Moon is what got me hooked on it about 7 years ago and I've never stopped since, Mioko Yamaguchi's Tokyo Lover is an incredible track (and that whole album is very special), and pretty much anything from Piper's Summer Breeze captures my heart. Special mentions to proto-city pop Sugar Babe (SHOW is my favorite; Tatsuro's vocals are incredible) and Eiichi Otaki's A Long Vacation which fits the time period but is definitely a 60s homage through and through, yet nevertheless a perfect album.
Meiko's cousin in Kamakura runs a hostel called ZEN-JI, he said Meiko lives peacefully in Chiba. In that hostel there's a gold record of Meiko Nakahara, a little hint for every Meiko fan.
Casiopea really struck a chord (or like 99 jazzy +7 -9 chords) in my heart. They really shaped my musical taste since that time my uncle gave me a bunch of their cassettes back then when I was still in junior high
Thank you for this video! Meiko was my entry point into city pop but I had no idea about any of this. For some reason I had thought she got married and retired? Anyway this video was wonderful and your message to her at the end was so sweet omg. In terms of favorite city pop.... That's really difficult for me to choose. I think my favorite album is still Dream Lover (夢恋人) by Miki Fujimura. It was a gamble from one of my batches of records from Japan, I basically bought it because the album artwork was cool. Granted, I haven't studied the lyrics, but musically it has an ethereal melancholy quality that is the hallmark of most of my favorite city pop.
Good on Nakahara-san. I hope she's out there living her best life, wherever she is. I have a soft spot for Akimoto Kaoru, myself. My introduction to city pop was a vaporwave remix of Dress Down, which led me to the original, which led me to more jams. I listened to Van Paugam's City Pop Radio stream (RIP) a lot, and it helped me keep cool while I was taking a remedial math class for college. (Nobody beats Takeuchi Mariya, though. It's no accident that Plastic Love was so many people's gateway; it's a real groove.)
I just noticed on the list she wrote some songs for a local artist I know that went popular in Japan in the 90s. Wow, that's amazing! I really like what you did here on your channel. Very informative. PS: Mine was Tatsuro Yamashita's music. Whenever I need to chill, it's always his songs first.
Saw you from Reddit and your post about Meiko's whereabouts yesterday. I woke up this morning and wanted to reply with links that might help but saw that you posted the video today :< But after watching video, I think that maybe my help wasn't needed at all. You've dug deep through the internet and used reliable sources regarding her whereabouts, and even made clear that even these cannot be trusted fully and it's mostly second hand statements and not by Meiko herself. And I respect you for that. I hope that the algorithm would bless you and I'd love to you become big one day.
great video, cool to see that there's other people interested in this obscure mystery on Meikos whereabouts. nice knowing that there might be more people stumbling across her music for the first time even decades after her disappearance. also, as someone who has provided a few of the article scans and video rip for MeikoTV that you showed parts of in your video, i'm happy to see them used here for more people to see and learn about her!
Excellent video as always! My all time favourite is Summer Beach by Yukiko Okada. Lately I have been jamming to Kokoro no Mamani by Maria Asahina & Dream in the Street by Noriyo Ikeda. Like Nakahara, very little is known about both Asahina & Ikeda, something which I notice is pretty common about most City Pop artists.
This is such a great video and it helped me get more insight on Meiko’s career as my knowledge when it comes to the japanese language is limited 😭 I’ve been listening to her music since I was 12 (I’m 17 now) and 12 year old me is totally going crazy over this lol!! I’ve listened to hundreds of artists since my discovery of city pop and kayokyoku and Meiko Nakahara will always be on of my favorites!
Hi Sakura! I'm so happy to see your video on Nakahara Meiko-san! To provide context for the viewers, I'm the author of Kayo Kyoku Plus article which you mentioned in your video. Yes, in 2018, I went through LOTOS blog with a fine-tooth comb (and google translate) and found a post saying that the band was searching for her. It's interesting you did not find it. Perhaps Megu's blogging platform has limited storage and forces her to delete old posts? Anyways, I wrote LOTOS an email in English and Japanese, but got no response. It's good to know that a member of the band actually replied to someone in a private message. Well, it's great that you've managed to come up with some new leads. Personally, I wish to believe that Meiko is alive and well running a family business in Chiba. PS I don't want to be nitpicky, but isn't it a picture of Kaoru Akimoto at 11:05? PS2 You've got Yoko Oginome on your wall?! You are already City Pop MVP, even without After 5 Clash album :)
i actually had a day where I’d listen to all of her music, without knowing anything about who she the artist really was. this video really felt weird, it’s nice to know about her now. glad she got to go quietly. “go away” was my favourite song by her, out of all the ‘city pop’ artists i considered Meiko to be my favourite; even named a throwaway gmail account after her lmao. yes, despite knowing almost nothing. i love her voice. forever dancing in my memories
I hope whatever Nakahara is doing that she's happy and content. I'm happy that people appreciate her music enough to do covers. I've only recently heard of her... And honestly, she deserves privacy if that's what she wants, but I'm glad her music is still appreciated. I doubt we'll get another public appearance by her, since she's gone private since the early 90s, but you never really know. Still... I hope whatever she's doing that she's happy and enjoying life.
My dad and I were never on bad terms but we weren't necessarily ever too close. Recently I discovered the genre of city pop and I always play it when either of us are driving, especially Meiko Nakahara and Miki Matsubara. And it's helped us bond more by reminiscing on the memories we have from Japan since we left 13 years ago
Actually crazy enough Nakahara Meiko has gotten me into city pop. Well that, City Hunter and Cats Eye, but I really like what I’ve heard of Nakahara Meiko’s music, although I’m a total sucker for pop music like this, as I’m a longtime Roxette fan.
I've been obsessed with city pop for many years, it's so nice to finally find a RUclipsr who speaks about it, i have many go-to albums, I'd say some of my favourite are: Crimson by Akina nakamori or angel touch by Cindy
The documentary every city pop connoisseur deserves! Hope Nakahara is living peacefully, and is aware of the new generation of fans that love her music 🎵
Thank you very much for talking about Meiko Nakahara! For me it is the most complete of citypop: from his 1st album he already started with many latin / salsa rhythms and even bossa nova until he reached house on his last album "on the planet" Also on their Remix album "High Energy" on the house version of "caribbean night" I wouldn't be surprised if Madonna starts singing! (I'm sure Meiko was a big fan of his music) What I like the most about her are her ballads. I think that if meiko put out an album of pure ballads (apart of Happy birthday, Love for you album), I would definitely listen to it and admire it all my life :) If you want to hear more of her, you can do it in this playlist where I have chosen the best songs of meiko: ruclips.net/p/PLxiEsr-G9ouBpBYLprsCLyIoydo2aTgdQ
It has to be my mans Tatsuro Yamashita. His music carried me into a dark time in my life and he is still one of my favorite artists of all time. Eiko Kawashima (Anri) is also one of my top 3 artist with Meiko herself being my second favorite. It always warms my heart to hear their music and it is warmer now knowing that she is alive and well.
80s really was the future city pop, first ever compact disc, personal computer, walkman, gameboy, first ever mobile phone (motorola dynatac) and even mcnuggets
Thank you so much for this video! I grew up with city pop back in the Philippines via old anime!!! I got into her in 2018/9 and her music is very impactful! again greatly appreciate it so much!!!
i recently discovered masayoshi takanaka bangers from youtube recommendation and im so grateful that he is still well and playing to this day at 68. I hope she does make an appearance in the near future even after 30 years she probably still got it.
Meiko Nakahara's music is GOATED. I personally like Mariya Takeuchi a lot more though. My favorite song by her is called "Waitress", taken from her album Portrait.
I really liked your video, it´s a very comprehensive video about one of the most known city pop artists and one of my favorite ones. Personally, i´ve listening City Pop for about 8 years, and the artist that holds a special place on me because emotional reasons is Miki Matsubara. I´ve passing rough times and her voice is just so warming that has helped me to feel better.
Thank you for this great video, I've been listening to a lot of citypop but I dont't know much about that era or the singers. It was very interesting to learn about Nakahara, where ever she is I hope she is doing well. At her age and considering her accomplishments I'd love to see a memoir from her to learn about her life from her perspective.
My favorite city pop song is Angel Touch by Cindy. I suffer from depression, and sometimes getting out of bed is too much to bear, but when I play this song, it gives me enough strength to take on the day, and be a wife and mom.
She had a lovely voice, one of my favorites. I hope that she is happy with whatever it is that she does. I hope she is content knowing that worldwide she has many fans of her catalogue. I really wish her well
If y'all wanna support her. All of her CD's are available on CD Japan as of December of 2022! My favorite artist is Miho Nakayama who is still active. Second is Tatsuro Yamashita whos music I discovered through a video on Tumblr of an Isopod featuring his song Sparkle. My favorite city pop track also happens to be by Miho from her second album After School called "STARLIGHT VACATION."
Many tracks by Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi remains my favourite. I also like listening to some of Nakahara’s tracks like Dance in the Memories and some of Makoto Matsushita’s songs too. I only recently discovered City Pop, like less than two years ago, but has since been hooked lol. Also, I really respect Nakahara-san’s decision of retiring to a peaceful and stress-free life. Being an idol and songwriter seems like a lot of pressure.
Holy shit my apartment is the cover of her compilation album!! It’s in an area called saint marks place in nyc and the store that used to be there Trash and Vaudeville was a great punk spot.
I found Nakahara’s music about a year or two ago and never knew what happened to her when I did some research. This video helped a lot , thank you for covering her story!!
I listened to Meiko’s songs at least some of them from the RUclips uploads of the Friday Magic album and Dance In The Memories. I also listen to a bit of Junko Yagami and a ton of Cindy (Mayumi Yamamoto), specifically the entire Angel Touch album while I’m drawing or doing schoolwork. Another great song simply just for the sake of listening is Tasogare by Mai Yamane. I always as a person from the west can sometimes notice the influences of these songs for our western culture, most likely to modernize the marketing but most of these were for their time and later ahead of it for a new generation of fans to soothe the ears of and I like it.
Note: I wasn’t thinking straight while editing so there were most likely a few typos like ‘for our western culture’ was supposed to be ‘from’ instead of ‘for’. I also like listening to Miki Matsubara, while I like her song Stay With Me I also like her other songs like Jazzy Night and Over The Top (which was also apparently in the Dirty Pair OST) are some of my personals to listen to. May she rest in peace 🫶
I loved the message you sent to her, those are pretty the same feelings we have towards her and exactly what we want her to know. To me, my favorite Japanese singer has to be Tatsuro Yamashita, every song he sings or even work on tend to be a masterpiece. The man is a genius and not one day goes by without me listening to at least one of his songs, I'd love if you make a video about him.
Hey Sakura I just wanted to say: keep up the good work! I seriously seriously love your videos, thank you for providing us such great content for free 🙏🙏
I listen to her On The Planet album and cried when I heard the first song. Personally, Meiko Nakahara is my #1 favorite. I discovered her three years ago and fell in love with her music from that point. I love how versatile she can get in her songs and I also admire her diverse flow. I don't blame her for going silent since 1992 since the stress she experienced was most likely through the roof. Anyways, here are some of my favorite citypop songs! Plastic Night by Mami Ayukawa Someday by Tatsuro Yamashita Easy Love by Yurie Kokubu Dance in the Sweet Memories by Meiko Nakahara Hot Boy by Ritsuko Kurosawa Love Was Really Gone by Makoto Matsushita If You Wanna Dance by Toshiki Kadomatsu Television by Hideki Saijo It's Got to be Love by Miyuki Kosaka
Wow thank you for this video! I’ve been to Tokyo a few times but it was for work and i loved learning more about the areas I went to - Im listening to her all day today :)
Was going to use this comment to link Meiko's Spotify page, only to find out that she is NOT on Spotify.
PLEASE support her music in other forms in the mean time, I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also PLEASE support the tribute band LOTOS!! They're super passionate, dedicated, and deserve more recognition!
lotos.jpn.com/
twitter.com/lotos_0508
ALSO, minor correction: Some sources say Iyo Matsumoto debuted in 1981, though I believe 1982 was her *public* debut.
Even Momoe Yamaguchi not on Spotify. But yes. It really disappointing.
Wtf we need to go complain to Spotify
there might be a reason right for it not being on Spotify
No Tatsuro either.. but finally over the last 2 years they've been slowly putting more citypop on spotify
She's on Spotify jp. Tatsuro is against streaming so he won't be on there any time soon
She's a sweet, older Japanese lady now living peacefully. Sometimes she smiles at the memory of being an idol in the 80s, then she shrugs and goes about her day.
Entirely possible. Japan has this thing called the right to privacy, and at any given moment there is usually someone calling night movers to help them pack up and disappear. No one not even next of kin has the right to know where you are or what you are doing.
u met her?
@@defechan7486 i love that, i wish they had it in the states :')
Source?
@@x.a.t.u made the f up, probably
Excellent video. Seems like her career was pretty hectic and probably stressful, so it wouldn't be shocking if she retired. Wherever she is, whatever she's doing, I hope it's all good.
Agreed! I just hope she's happy and in good health.
Maybe she retired to the suicide forest.
@@Zero8880 🙄
@@Zero8880 wow.
Wikipedia says:
Even after ceasing to continue as a singer, Nakahara has still worked as a composer for groups and singers like Checkicco and Vivian Hsu.[1]
Geez, I'm having a hard time process that 1992 is already 30 years ago. I also don't blame Nakahara retiring earlier since the music industry seems super stressful and being in the spotlight often especially nowadays from social media.
Same feelings.
yep was born a year before... I already feel old.
For me, it just highlighted how close to us the other decades of the 1900’s were.
I’m a 92’ kid and thinking that the world wars happened in the same CENTURY and segregation was a thing in the mid 60’s.
It was NOT that long ago.
@@BigTroubleD right, thats how i feel about big american movements. women were only allowed to vote starting in 1920 ! makes me realize how young we are here
With the recent suicide death of Sayaka Kanda, I don't blame her. It seems the idol industry has a big secret we will never know. It must be pretty stressful. All the best to her.
She was also the daughter of famous 80's idol Seiko Matsuda. So the stress on her would have been doubled or tripled
Oh wow I had no idea she passed away :( That's horrible
What? Seiko Matsuda her daughter commited suicide?!?!
Didnt she did it after a fight with her boyfriend
@@lyne3783 really? source pls
citypop music is the most heavenly, dreamy, magical music. my fave tracks are tasogare by mai yamane, if you am i by fumi hirano, older girl by 1986 omega tribe, i love you so by junko ohashi... also love tatsuro yamashita and miki matsubara!!
ooooh I love Omega Tribe in general. So many bangers by them, 1986 or otherwise
Fumi Hirano is a singer, too!? I only knew of her voice work as Lum from _Urusei Yatsura_ and as Paiya from the anime OVA _MD Geist_ .
It really is! "Telephone Number" by Junko Ohashi (R.I.P. as she passed away in 2023), "Bay City" by Junko Yagami, "Plastic Love" by Maria Takeuchi are my favorites (as well as Miki Matsubara but just hearing that name makes me emotional).
This kinda reminds me of this one other artist from the mid 90s/early 2000s named Miho Komatsu, who did music for anime such as Detective Conan. She hasn't been seen or heard from since the 2000s and even stranger is that not many people know what she looks like since she didn't make public appearances
Interesting!! Reminds me of the anonymity of Mangaka
@@SakuraStardust I feel like it must be some kinda thing that happens in Japan, trying to disappear or live anonymously.
Honestly sounds kinda like a peaceful life, like not having to worry about somebody recognizing you when you're trying to mind your business and live life haha
@@otaddiction The most recent example of this is the singer Ado. She's really popular in Japan and internationally, but she's yet to show her face in public yet. She's suppose to do live shows later this year so this might change.
Your profile picture reminded me of another city pop artist named Cindy(Angel Touch, Destiny, and others), who did a ending theme for Urusei Yatsura before vanishing a while, and I believe the urusei yatsura piece was her last work. Sadly I believe she passed away early in 2000 from something health related.
Her debut song, Nazo, meaning 'Mystery', is featured in the show
As a Japanese and someone whose had a crush on meiko and been following her career she's not missing she did go on a hiatus but since then she's still composing music for others as of today so really not missing
Where is she now?
where is she now
she's probably in Japan or America. She's not missing and never did, she's just not in the public eye and doesn't intend to be. the videos title is misleading.
@@jeffxdd4351 that what i am saying there no record of talking she still doing good shes 64 she doest do alot with the music indestury she still help comp for group but she doest sing anymore and i dont blwme hr for that the indestury look stressful enough it really good reason tomretire early but she not dead ehe mightnbe in ny or japan who know she doesnt talk if public she out of spotlight like some famues drifter mitsuru he not dead but retired and own his own bunnis same meiko she composer and retired from singingg
If you want to collect city pop records, I’m sure you can find the majority of them used for like 200yen in Shinjuku. There’s like a 5 square block area with buildings full of vinyl from the bottom to the top floors. It’s one of the world’s best place to dig for records.
Not any more! All the popular Tokyo music shopping spots have been picked clean due to City Pop's resurgence. There's been a bunch of recent re-pressed of popular records as a result.
@@mikevsamy Yikes! That's like a shortage on Herb Alpert's Going Places at thrift stores because Gen Z discovered Spanish Flea.
@@mikevsamy NOOOO
Hands down, Tatsuro Yamashita. I have listened to his music for over 10 years. My kids are very well aware of his iconic music
certanly my fav
He is the only artist from that genre that I recommend unreservedly (and I love Junko Ohashi), or as a common YT comment puts it, "Has this man ever written a bad song?"
Agreeddd, love his music
Ride on Time~~ That's my favorite
amen man
This video was wonderfully done. I discovered Meiko Nakahara after I was one of the people caught up in the "Plastic Love" algorithm. I had no idea Miss Nakahara has dipped out of public life. I wonder if she would smile or cringe to know that a new generation, across the Pacific has discovered her music 40 years later. I hope she sees this video and knows that she is still loved and people still appreciate her contributions to music.
The term "city pop" originated in Japan, in the late 70s. It can be seen in music magazine articles, record obis and even a photo from a record store in 1982 which had a "City Pop" shelf. There's also a CD compilation called "City Pop Christmas" from 1986, the Sony Music compilation from 2003, the Yutaka Kimura book from 2011 and other sources that can prove that the name isn't new.
The thing is: that wasn't a widespread term. For casual listeners, it was just pop music.
New Music is a different thing, although somehow related. It's a term from the mid-70s. In the 80s, New Music just wasn't new anymore.
Not precisely. New Music bleeds into 80s, but the term City Pop was quite niche, and is, according to Japanese modern sources looking back a niche segment of New Music. If you visit record shops or even places like Hard Off here in Japan today, you will see that New Music and 80s sections have overlap, and you'll even see highlighted "City Pop" now that the term has resurfaced in Japan due to overseas usage.
@@nippolitica I agree 100% that there is an overlap. In reality, it's hard to differentiate. The points I'm trying to make are:
- the term City Pop did exist in Japan and wasn't created by new fans overseas that found out about it on the internet;
- the term New Music wasn't created in the 80s.
@@Artur_Iozzi Accurate on both counts indeed!
Know what? If she wanted to show up again, she probably would. Two to one, she just got tired of the mental abuse of the industry, ran away, and quietly changed her name in order to live happily ever since and probably splits her time between her family's business and behind the scenes music industry work, more than likely as a songwriter under an alias.
Fantasy by Meiko Nakahara played such a huge part in my life, as it helped push me to go deeper into city pop, helping me uncover some of the most insane, lovely beats of all time. City pop/J funk/J Jazz was and still is ahead of its time.
I was told about 20 years ago that her family owned gas stations and convenience stores and she retired from music to take over the management of those stores. Taking over a family business is very Japanese, so makes sense to me. I have no proof, but this is what I've always believed. I know several Japanese musicians that retired and ran restaurants or small "dive" bars.
Kaoru Akimoto’s ✨Cologne✨ has me in a choke hold! And with a lot of these artists, there’s not much to work off of when they disappear from the spotlight. Also, it’s damn annoying to find a streaming service that has an artist’s entire discography to listen without some holes in their work. Just RUclips for the oddest reason. 😮💨
Did you try a Website with all the albums?
RUclipsrs are real fans of these musicians. Streaming services are a corporate machine trying to squeeze every penny and to them 30 year old japanese pop junk wont make a penny to them compared to the licencing costs.
Minako Yoshida is an incredibly underrated artist in my opnion. She has some of my favorite albums of all time.
I definitely agree with ya brotha! 😎👍
Minako is the 🌟🌠GOAT🌠🌟
She just dances in the sweet memories. I wish her music was uploaded to spotify
I read that Meiko's cousin updated us a few weeks ago, she says Meiko is alright and she's living a peaceful life. I'm happy for that.
Well, wherever she is I hope she's healthy and happy. Her music was full of pop bangers. 🥰
City pop just has a dreamlike and mystical feel to me, and it's definitely my favorite genre of music now. My favorite city pop artists would definitely be Anri, Tatsuro Yamashita, and Taeko Ohnuki.
Meiko is one of my favorite artists ;; i have collected all her vinyls and cherish them so much. thank you for making this piece about her.
Glad you enjoy it!
It's nice to see her retirement get some attention. I've been listening to primarily Japanese music for more than two decades, and the only retirement that really had people enthralled & curious & shocked in my mind was Momoe Yamaguchi's.
Also "City Pop" as a term wasn't 100% invented by the west, though the current application of it is a western thing. Researching for this comment, I'm seeing some conflicting sources, but back when I was first getting into j-music, "City Pop" applied to a specific later-emerging subgenre of New Music with more funk and R&B influence and less folk-rock influence (and less "japanese-ness" which is probably sociologically important), but as time has passed the term seems to have gotten more vague and it seems to apply to all economic-boom 70s-and-beyond western-influenced pop before the term "j-pop" was coined in the 90s.
In 2016, as City Pop influence was starting to re-enter Japanese indie & pop music in a big way, I saw a Japan Times article refer to the band Happy End as a City Pop band and that just baffled me, since they were FIRMLY "new music" in my mind, but the entire point of the article seems to be "lol no one knows what city pop is" so. haha
I CAN tell you that until that 2016 mention (in an article in the Japan Times, I believe), It wasn't one of those terms anyone in Japan really used though, except if they were massive music nerds, while "New Music" (like "Group Sounds" before it) was reasonably common in mass media & on radio well into the 80s.
The now defunct AJW/All Japan Woman Pro Wrestling had there female wrestlers work and sing as there own City Pop idols in concerts! The Crush Gals were basically K-pop before K-pop was even a thing! The footage of high school girls high pitched screaming and singing to the Crush Gals is outstanding & never to duplicate again!
ok, thats pretty based
AJWPW is the only wrestling promotion that has had 5+ Star matches rathed by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that feature women. Manami Toyota, arguably the greatest Joshi Wrestler ever, pioneered the Joshi style in that promotion. Its influence can be felt all over the industry even within WWE with wrestlers such as Asuka (FKA Kana), Io Shirai and Meiko Satomura.
in this house we *STAN* AJWPW. Some of the finest work has come from there.
@@SakuraStardust There’s a French documentary that was on YT some years ago from AJW 92/93 and it shows how scummy the promoters/Yakuza treated there female wrestlers (like legitimate force hard labor)
Chigusa Nagayo one half of the crush gals started her own promotion to rival AJW because of this!
If there's any French-speaking in the comments, there is the first part of this reportage about Joshi : m.ruclips.net/video/VVjU6jUTi5Q/видео.html
Great video!
When I read the title I honestly thought you were going to talk about Takako Mamiya, who made an album and then disappeared right afterwards.
But I can understand not covering her, since Stevem already made a video about Mamiya 2 years ago.
I honestly thought so too, Takako music has been starting to show up on platforms such as spotify, despite her record label discontinuing around the 90s.
From what I've heard from other people, she was said to not wish to be in the music industry and chose to lead a normal life away from the public eye??? I could be totally wrong but it doesn't sound too far from a convincing reason as to her vanishment.
She basically ruled Japan’s 80s decade, i love her songs from early 80s to early 90s (please check my city pop playlist, I add a lot of her songs)… most succesful celebrities who retire usually either work something else or settle down and get married so they were busy with social life more
Bet she still does under a different name and she's still a genius when it comes to music. She deserves the vacations and retirement. I hope she is happy and doing what she loves
literally my favourite video on your channel, i was really invested into city pop before watching the video. this video introduced me to meiko nakahara and i literally cannot thank you enough, she’s my favourite city pop artist now !!
Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi is my first real introduction to City Pop and it holds a very special place in my heart. Other than that, I really love listening to Stay With Me by Miki Matsubara, Last Summer Whisper by Anri, and pretty much anything by Tatsuro Yamashita.
PS: If Hohoemi no Bakudan by Matsuko Mawatari (The Yu Yu Hakusho opening song) counts as City Pop, then that would technically be my introduction to City Pop. 😅
Mine is Stay With Me by Miki Matsubara. From there, I've been obsessed with tons of other citypop songs😄
I started with ANRI, but I quickly moved to more complete albums and artists, now I am all on:
Yurie Kokubu - with her fine collabs and playful voice always happy and with a nice funk bass in the back, both 80's albums
Minako Yoshida - Tatsuro right hand and the most talented in the genre, still going strong and with a 10/10 album "Monochrome". Plus I love that Japanese afro.
Junko Ohashi - people really enjoy Magical because of her high pitch voice, I am more of a fan of the second album "Paper Moon", simple conserved and personal, plus I have a crush on the album cover...sorry.
Noriki - I had to add a Fusion album, Souchi Noriki with is time warping composition just nails in "Dream Cruise" and "Noriki", really love the collabs with miss Kokubu, really loved seeing them both doing Smooth Jazz.
Takako Mamiya - Is someone that transcended this plain in terms of music, to make me think that no human could have made such a beautiful album, she is like Jesus at this point, you believe if you want. Mentioning her best album would be foolish, her album belongs in the museum of human history.
Love Trip is my favorite album. I found it my freshman year of college and I play it every winter-spring like clockwork. It’s like her music breathes life into winter and turns it into spring 🥰 and there were cherry blossoms blooming where I was so major vibes whenever I listened outside.
@@jadegemsss I do love love trip, I am just really angry that she left us with such a masterpiece without knowing her, she is not like Kaoru or Meiko, she just wanted to make something good and nothing else.
I play it everytime I am in town walking around 2 am, specially Chinese Restaurant, I didn't really know music before that track.
Love city pop so much. Started to discover the genre when researching samples used in vaporware & future funk tracks around 2016. I first started listening to 80s Japanese music in 2013 with artists like Yukiko Okada and CCB but my discovery of city pop really boosted my interest.
The first song I discovered was Merry go Round by Tatsuro Yamashita, who went on to become one of my all time favourite musicians. I continue to listen to many Japanese artists from the 80s & 90s, with some of my favourites including the aforementioned Yamashita, Okada & CCB, but others like Mariya Takeuchi, Jadoes, Cindy, Megu, Kozo Murashita and Ami Ozaki
Hope she's doing well wherever she is!
My first City Pop experience was Maria Takeuchi's Plastic Love (Night Tempo 100% pure remastered) video on RUclips! It was randomly on my suggestions one day and I never looked back. I now have a full on playlist on Spotify that I would LOVE more recommendations for. 😀
This made me think of the Friday Night Plans cover of Plastic Love. Her voice is amazing and there’s an INCREDIBLY good doggo in that video.
Really enjoyed this. Thanks so much for introducing me to a new artist. Cheers.
Meiko is definitely one of my favourite City Pop artists alongside Anri, Yumi Arai, Miki Matsubara, Tomoko Aran and Tatsuro Yamashita. The track "Alesha" from her 1990 album was the first I've listened to, suffice to say, I was immediately hooked by her soothing voice. Considering the work culture in Japan, I'm glad she found peace and happiness out of the spotlight after such a busy career. She more than deserves it after providing us with such an amazing discography. Much love and health to her! Thank you for the video Sakura ❤
Enjoyed the video. This reminds me what happened with country singer Bobbie Gentry. Got popular in the 1960's, had a nice run in the 70's and as soon as the 80's started, she retired from the music industry and hasn't been seen in public again.
Taeko Onuki's voice is magical, I love nearly anything she does. SUNSHOWER is my easy fave, but she has this bossa album called TCHOU! that I think a lot of people would love if they heard it!
Started listening to city pop in 2014 thanks to Meiko. I watched a ton of old anime and the music captivated. Miho Morikawa is another early one I discovered because of the Dirty Pair OVA and one of the Ranma openings. And Miki Matsubara (rest in peace) who did the opening for Dirty Pair Project Eden. My favorite artist to date though is Kohhy. Opening to City Hunter and had so many amazing peices. She even had Prince write some of her music
I wanna live in a bubble economy era 😔💞 I have some of her vinyl, her voice is brilliant
Anri is by far my favorite City Pop artist, her music is such a good way to delve into relaxation and this feeling of nostalgia for a time I didn't even live in. Timely!! as a whole just hits different, one of my favorite albums ever.
This was a really nice video and I'm glad you went through it so respectfully. Dance in the Memories is such an incredible track so I had to check this one out.
As for my favorites...gosh, that's hard to decide. Tatsuro Yamashita's Eien no Full Moon is what got me hooked on it about 7 years ago and I've never stopped since, Mioko Yamaguchi's Tokyo Lover is an incredible track (and that whole album is very special), and pretty much anything from Piper's Summer Breeze captures my heart.
Special mentions to proto-city pop Sugar Babe (SHOW is my favorite; Tatsuro's vocals are incredible) and Eiichi Otaki's A Long Vacation which fits the time period but is definitely a 60s homage through and through, yet nevertheless a perfect album.
Meiko's cousin in Kamakura runs a hostel called ZEN-JI, he said Meiko lives peacefully in Chiba. In that hostel there's a gold record of Meiko Nakahara, a little hint for every Meiko fan.
That’s so wonderful to hear!! Thank you so much for sharing this 😊
Yesterday Meiko's cousin DM (IG) say Meiko living well on Tokyo, I was Shot He followed my IG 😊
I loved to hear about her, and you was really respectful. Subscribed
Casiopea really struck a chord (or like 99 jazzy +7 -9 chords) in my heart. They really shaped my musical taste since that time my uncle gave me a bunch of their cassettes back then when I was still in junior high
Casiopea is my driving music lol
Reminds me of the singer takako mamiya , she also went missing but a decade before and almost nothing is known about her, you should look into her!
Thank you for this video! Meiko was my entry point into city pop but I had no idea about any of this. For some reason I had thought she got married and retired? Anyway this video was wonderful and your message to her at the end was so sweet omg. In terms of favorite city pop.... That's really difficult for me to choose. I think my favorite album is still Dream Lover (夢恋人) by Miki Fujimura. It was a gamble from one of my batches of records from Japan, I basically bought it because the album artwork was cool. Granted, I haven't studied the lyrics, but musically it has an ethereal melancholy quality that is the hallmark of most of my favorite city pop.
Minako Yoshida ! Her voice is so unique. Anything from "Let's do it" album is pure gold
Good on Nakahara-san. I hope she's out there living her best life, wherever she is.
I have a soft spot for Akimoto Kaoru, myself. My introduction to city pop was a vaporwave remix of Dress Down, which led me to the original, which led me to more jams. I listened to Van Paugam's City Pop Radio stream (RIP) a lot, and it helped me keep cool while I was taking a remedial math class for college.
(Nobody beats Takeuchi Mariya, though. It's no accident that Plastic Love was so many people's gateway; it's a real groove.)
I adore pearl no manicure and go away, I wasn't even born at the time and I miss her music
The term "City Pop" is has been adopted in Japan now too. At least, by records stores who get a lot of tourists lol
I just noticed on the list she wrote some songs for a local artist I know that went popular in Japan in the 90s. Wow, that's amazing! I really like what you did here on your channel. Very informative.
PS: Mine was Tatsuro Yamashita's music. Whenever I need to chill, it's always his songs first.
Saw you from Reddit and your post about Meiko's whereabouts yesterday. I woke up this morning and wanted to reply with links that might help but saw that you posted the video today :<
But after watching video, I think that maybe my help wasn't needed at all. You've dug deep through the internet and used reliable sources regarding her whereabouts, and even made clear that even these cannot be trusted fully and it's mostly second hand statements and not by Meiko herself. And I respect you for that. I hope that the algorithm would bless you and I'd love to you become big one day.
great video, cool to see that there's other people interested in this obscure mystery on Meikos whereabouts. nice knowing that there might be more people stumbling across her music for the first time even decades after her disappearance.
also, as someone who has provided a few of the article scans and video rip for MeikoTV that you showed parts of in your video, i'm happy to see them used here for more people to see and learn about her!
Excellent video as always!
My all time favourite is Summer Beach by Yukiko Okada. Lately I have been jamming to Kokoro no Mamani by Maria Asahina & Dream in the Street by Noriyo Ikeda. Like Nakahara, very little is known about both Asahina & Ikeda, something which I notice is pretty common about most City Pop artists.
Summer Beach is great
This is such a great video and it helped me get more insight on Meiko’s career as my knowledge when it comes to the japanese language is limited 😭 I’ve been listening to her music since I was 12 (I’m 17 now) and 12 year old me is totally going crazy over this lol!! I’ve listened to hundreds of artists since my discovery of city pop and kayokyoku and Meiko Nakahara will always be on of my favorites!
Dance in the Memories slaps hard af ngl
I love Meiko so much ❤️ Thank you for this video !
Hi Sakura!
I'm so happy to see your video on Nakahara Meiko-san! To provide context for the viewers, I'm the author of Kayo Kyoku Plus article which you mentioned in your video.
Yes, in 2018, I went through LOTOS blog with a fine-tooth comb (and google translate) and found a post saying that the band was searching for her. It's interesting you did not find it. Perhaps Megu's blogging platform has limited storage and forces her to delete old posts? Anyways, I wrote LOTOS an email in English and Japanese, but got no response. It's good to know that a member of the band actually replied to someone in a private message.
Well, it's great that you've managed to come up with some new leads. Personally, I wish to believe that Meiko is alive and well running a family business in Chiba.
PS I don't want to be nitpicky, but isn't it a picture of Kaoru Akimoto at 11:05?
PS2 You've got Yoko Oginome on your wall?! You are already City Pop MVP, even without After 5 Clash album :)
I love Mariya Takeuchi and her song Plastic Love. I also love Miki Matsubara and her song Stay With Me.
i actually had a day where I’d listen to all of her music, without knowing anything about who she the artist really was. this video really felt weird, it’s nice to know about her now. glad she got to go quietly. “go away” was my favourite song by her, out of all the ‘city pop’ artists i considered Meiko to be my favourite; even named a throwaway gmail account after her lmao. yes, despite knowing almost nothing. i love her voice. forever dancing in my memories
oh, what a weird coincidence. that throwaway gmail account is the one linked to this RUclips account. gahdam 😭
I hope whatever Nakahara is doing that she's happy and content. I'm happy that people appreciate her music enough to do covers. I've only recently heard of her... And honestly, she deserves privacy if that's what she wants, but I'm glad her music is still appreciated. I doubt we'll get another public appearance by her, since she's gone private since the early 90s, but you never really know. Still... I hope whatever she's doing that she's happy and enjoying life.
My dad and I were never on bad terms but we weren't necessarily ever too close. Recently I discovered the genre of city pop and I always play it when either of us are driving, especially Meiko Nakahara and Miki Matsubara. And it's helped us bond more by reminiscing on the memories we have from Japan since we left 13 years ago
Thank you, thank you so much. I absolutely love your work on this video. Dance in the memories is my favorite song.
If she's watching this laughing I just want her to know that Fantasy and Private Beach are two of my favorite song and easily on my top 10 as well! 🥰
Interesting story, as for city pop, discovering it is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I've found my kind of genre
Actually crazy enough Nakahara Meiko has gotten me into city pop. Well that, City Hunter and Cats Eye, but I really like what I’ve heard of Nakahara Meiko’s music, although I’m a total sucker for pop music like this, as I’m a longtime Roxette fan.
Bruh I adore City Hunter. I own all the soundtracks
Magic Ways by Tatsuro Yamashita goes hard
It do be that way
I've been obsessed with city pop for many years, it's so nice to finally find a RUclipsr who speaks about it, i have many go-to albums, I'd say some of my favourite are: Crimson by Akina nakamori or angel touch by Cindy
Marya Takeuchi is the artist I'm currently hooked on to pretty unique vibe and unique vocals ofc brilliant music 🎶 love her and her music 💜💜
Been curious about her works since i heard her in Dirty Pair. Never knew she left the industry.
The documentary every city pop connoisseur deserves! Hope Nakahara is living peacefully, and is aware of the new generation of fans that love her music 🎵
Yikes. A RUclips video that features NONE of the music by the artist it spotlights is what city pop connoisseurs deserve?
*laughs in copyright*
Thank you very much for talking about Meiko Nakahara!
For me it is the most complete of citypop: from his 1st album he already started with many latin / salsa rhythms and even bossa nova until he reached house on his last album "on the planet"
Also on their Remix album "High Energy" on the house version of "caribbean night" I wouldn't be surprised if Madonna starts singing! (I'm sure Meiko was a big fan of his music)
What I like the most about her are her ballads. I think that if meiko put out an album of pure ballads (apart of Happy birthday, Love for you album), I would definitely listen to it and admire it all my life :)
If you want to hear more of her, you can do it in this playlist where I have chosen the best songs of meiko:
ruclips.net/p/PLxiEsr-G9ouBpBYLprsCLyIoydo2aTgdQ
ASTROLOGERS TAMBIEN ESTAS ACA QUE BUENO QUE HAS INVESTIGADO DE MI MEIKO NAKAHARA ??
Heyyy. I like Happy Birthday, Love for You!
@@pendaflux Yes, its a great album
all meiko ballads :,)
@@Astralogers Thanks for the playlist, listening now :D
It's obvious she never left her *Private Beach*
Love that song, haha!
It has to be my mans Tatsuro Yamashita. His music carried me into a dark time in my life and he is still one of my favorite artists of all time. Eiko Kawashima (Anri) is also one of my top 3 artist with Meiko herself being my second favorite. It always warms my heart to hear their music and it is warmer now knowing that she is alive and well.
Thank you for so detailed information, I happened to hear her fantasy, and merry train recently, give me lot of inspiration and joy 💕
80s really was the future
city pop, first ever compact disc, personal computer, walkman, gameboy, first ever mobile phone (motorola dynatac) and even mcnuggets
I went into this thinking it was gonna be about Takeko Mamiya, never knew about Meiko Nakaharas retirement. Great video!
Thank you so much for this video! I grew up with city pop back in the Philippines via old anime!!! I got into her in 2018/9 and her music is very impactful! again greatly appreciate it so much!!!
i recently discovered masayoshi takanaka bangers from youtube recommendation and im so grateful that he is still well and playing to this day at 68. I hope she does make an appearance in the near future even after 30 years she probably still got it.
Meiko Nakahara's music is GOATED. I personally like Mariya Takeuchi a lot more though. My favorite song by her is called "Waitress", taken from her album Portrait.
I really liked your video, it´s a very comprehensive video about one of the most known city pop artists and one of my favorite ones. Personally, i´ve listening City Pop for about 8 years, and the artist that holds a special place on me because emotional reasons is Miki Matsubara. I´ve passing rough times and her voice is just so warming that has helped me to feel better.
Thank you for this great video, I've been listening to a lot of citypop but I dont't know much about that era or the singers. It was very interesting to learn about Nakahara, where ever she is I hope she is doing well. At her age and considering her accomplishments I'd love to see a memoir from her to learn about her life from her perspective.
I just listened to her music, fantasy, quite recently. Damn I didn't know that she's been out of the public eye for decades
My favorite city pop song is Angel Touch by Cindy. I suffer from depression, and sometimes getting out of bed is too much to bear, but when I play this song, it gives me enough strength to take on the day, and be a wife and mom.
She had a lovely voice, one of my favorites. I hope that she is happy with whatever it is that she does. I hope she is content knowing that worldwide she has many fans of her catalogue. I really wish her well
If y'all wanna support her. All of her CD's are available on CD Japan as of December of 2022!
My favorite artist is Miho Nakayama who is still active. Second is Tatsuro Yamashita whos music I discovered through a video on Tumblr of an Isopod featuring his song Sparkle. My favorite city pop track also happens to be by Miho from her second album After School called "STARLIGHT VACATION."
Many tracks by Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi remains my favourite. I also like listening to some of Nakahara’s tracks like Dance in the Memories and some of Makoto Matsushita’s songs too. I only recently discovered City Pop, like less than two years ago, but has since been hooked lol.
Also, I really respect Nakahara-san’s decision of retiring to a peaceful and stress-free life. Being an idol and songwriter seems like a lot of pressure.
Holy shit my apartment is the cover of her compilation album!! It’s in an area called saint marks place in nyc and the store that used to be there Trash and Vaudeville was a great punk spot.
I found Nakahara’s music about a year or two ago and never knew what happened to her when I did some research. This video helped a lot , thank you for covering her story!!
I listened to Meiko’s songs at least some of them from the RUclips uploads of the Friday Magic album and Dance In The Memories. I also listen to a bit of Junko Yagami and a ton of Cindy (Mayumi Yamamoto), specifically the entire Angel Touch album while I’m drawing or doing schoolwork. Another great song simply just for the sake of listening is Tasogare by Mai Yamane. I always as a person from the west can sometimes notice the influences of these songs for our western culture, most likely to modernize the marketing but most of these were for their time and later ahead of it for a new generation of fans to soothe the ears of and I like it.
Note: I wasn’t thinking straight while editing so there were most likely a few typos like ‘for our western culture’ was supposed to be ‘from’ instead of ‘for’. I also like listening to Miki Matsubara, while I like her song Stay With Me I also like her other songs like Jazzy Night and Over The Top (which was also apparently in the Dirty Pair OST) are some of my personals to listen to. May she rest in peace 🫶
Thank you Kimagure Orange Road for introducing me to Meiko Nakahara and a lot of city pop artists
I loved the message you sent to her, those are pretty the same feelings we have towards her and exactly what we want her to know. To me, my favorite Japanese singer has to be Tatsuro Yamashita, every song he sings or even work on tend to be a masterpiece. The man is a genius and not one day goes by without me listening to at least one of his songs, I'd love if you make a video about him.
She;s probably just chilling now and is retired. She made her money in the 80s and 90s and is living the rest of her days in peace
Dance in the Memories is her song that I have listened to the most. I really love it.
Hey Sakura I just wanted to say: keep up the good work! I seriously seriously love your videos, thank you for providing us such great content for free 🙏🙏
Thank you! Will do!
I been a fan of her song Dance to the sweet memories and I been a fan of orange rood it's currently available for free on Pluto TV.
I listen to her On The Planet album and cried when I heard the first song. Personally, Meiko Nakahara is my #1 favorite. I discovered her three years ago and fell in love with her music from that point. I love how versatile she can get in her songs and I also admire her diverse flow. I don't blame her for going silent since 1992 since the stress she experienced was most likely through the roof. Anyways, here are some of my favorite citypop songs!
Plastic Night by Mami Ayukawa
Someday by Tatsuro Yamashita
Easy Love by Yurie Kokubu
Dance in the Sweet Memories by Meiko Nakahara
Hot Boy by Ritsuko Kurosawa
Love Was Really Gone by Makoto Matsushita
If You Wanna Dance by Toshiki Kadomatsu
Television by Hideki Saijo
It's Got to be Love by Miyuki Kosaka
bro its been 30 years, she does not want to be in the public 💀
I kept picturing the narrator as NPR’s Terry Gross’s daughter. Their voices seem so similar to me!!!!
Wow thank you for this video! I’ve been to Tokyo a few times but it was for work and i loved learning more about the areas I went to - Im listening to her all day today :)