In no order at all:
Soloists
Utada Hikaru
She's fantastic and amazing. Listening to her growth as a singer, song-writter, producer and overall musician is just amazing. She never fails to suprise, amaze, and please me.
Songs: COLORS, BLUE, Passion, SAKURA DROPS, Animato, Sunglasses, Never Let Go.
Hajime Chitose
The most beautiful, powerful, and moving voice I have ever heard.
Her most recent album wasn't as fantastic as I would have hoped, but it was still very good. I'm glad that she's not afraid to play around with her musical style too. She inspires me to no end.
Songs: Rinto Suru, Hainumikaze, Kataritsugu Koto, Tsuki o Nusumu, Ryuuguu no Tsukai, Yuri Collection.
Bonnie Pink
Aw, Bonnie is such a sweety! :lol:
There's always something very personal about Bonnie's music that hits me hard. I love her versatility, both musically and linguistically. She always uses all of herself to create some incredibly beautiful music. She has some of the best albums I've heard in her discography, but she is always overlooked for some reason....
Songs: Nocturne, Ocean, Wildflower, Building a Castle, Rumble Fish, Thinking of You, That's what it's all about.
Atari Kousuke
I'm a sucker for shima uta. Basically, he's a male version of Hajime Chitose.
It literally took me about 3 seconds of hearing his voice to decide that I was going to buy his first single. His debut major single
Sore Zore ni is easily one of the best singles in my entire collection. I'm just completely in love with him.
Songs: Sorezore ni, Shiro to Kuro no Aida ni, Mahiru no Hanabi, Hounen Bushi (Notus Version), moontail, Machi, Michi.
Koda Kumi
I was unsure of Kuu when I first heard about her. Everything I heard was about how slutty her image was, and generally not what her music was like. I really only caught on to her when she started her 12 singles stunt. I thought that they were mostly fantastic songs, so I've spent the last while getting to know her musically, and I've been really enjoying it!
Her music is generally fun and energetic, and her ballads tend to be quite enjoyable. I really think she should do more rock music though.
Songs: Ningyo Hime, you, Shake It Up, D.D.D. feat. SOULHEAD, Love goes like..., Someday, Hot Stuff feat. KM-MARKIT
Groups/Duos
CORE OF SOUL
An incredibly under appreciated band. These guys made some phenomenal music. I get really nostalgic while listening to these guys....Fukko is apparently kickign off a solo career early next year as 'LOVE'. Crappy name, but I most definitely look forward to what she'll come out with!
Songs: FULL MOON PRAYER, Natural Beauty, The spirit of this place, Purple Sky, In Your Arms, and once more..., Future Express.
HALCALI
Completely ludicrous. Two girls who can't rap, rapping. Two girls who can't dance, dancing. Their music is just silly and fun and completely over the top. I can't get enough of them! Thus far, their major label singles have been 'less than perfect', but I still look forward to their new material.
Songs: Strawberry Chips, Highway to the Beach, Wakakusa DANCE feat. Uta Maru, GiriGiri SurfRider, Hello Hello Alone, PISUDORI, Tip Taps Tip
I actually don't listen to groups very often at all....
I tend to lean towards solo artists...usually females...
Maaya didn't even make it into my top 5 list this time...
I actually haven't listened to her lately. I've not been terribly pleased with her most recent releases either.