SMAP's Singing and SMAP's Music
Seem like Nakai's singing was a heated topic in SMAP fandom in the past few days ^^" Upon reading many thoughts on the issue, I've come across a common comment that really makes me think. I've seen so many people in J&A fandom, including some SMAP fans, say this quite often. They said SMAP is not about the music or their music isn't great. But for me, I became a SMAP fan because of their music. Well, I heard about SMAP since years ago when I was young. But I always thought of them as another typical boyband with cutesy image and bubblegum music.....until I heard this song around 1997-98 (I guess, don't remember exactly when)
Shiyou yo
I really like this song a lot, the drum, the beat, the brass, and especially the bass. I love it so much that I went and listened to other songs in the album and saw SMAP in a new light. Gold Singer is a great pop album and I've been listened to SMAP's music ever since then.
Well, I still wouldn't call me a fan of SMAP because I didn't know nor care to learn more about them as a group or an individual at that time. In fact, I was a bit of a Kimura-anti because the fact that he was too popular had turned me off somehow. Though I watched many dramas with SMAP members and heard a lot about SMAP after that time (Kimura's marriage, Goro's suspension, and etc.), I wasn't a SMAP fan until almost 10 years later when I came across youtube clips of SMAPxSMAP. But when I think of J-Pop music, SMAP is always the very first name in my mind all because of Gold Singer.
SMAP has tons of songs that I think are very great. Besides Gold Singer, Tacomax, Viva Amigos, and Birdman are my favorite albums. Probably because I really like a bit of jazzy, funky feel in those three. I generally like their album songs more than their singles. They have experimented a lot in their albums and have covered great ranges of music genres. I love that they often go out of their ways to collaborate with great musicians, both veterans and newcomers, in their albums. Here are some of my favorites.
Fly ~ coolest SMAP song, both in term of music and PV XD
Ieba Yokatta ~ Love the drum in this one so much, it is incredible. My professional drummer friend was so shocked when I told him this is a song by a boyband.
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/UTPS8_Ysl20/
Hitotsu Dake no Ai ~ Ave Maria ~ Love the song, love the performance, HATE the clothes.
Five True Love ~ I love this much more than Five Respect and I like this version more than the version in Birdman. Tsuyoshi and Nakai's solo parts toward the end are fantastic.
It saddens me a bit when I see people write SMAP's music off because of their perceived image of SMAP's bad singing. Honestly, I don't think SMAP's singing is that bad when compared to other idol groups. Of course, SMAP members cannot compete with the like of V6's Tonisen (The best in J&A, IMO) in term of singing, but there is something very special about the way they sing. SMAP's songs are the best when they are sung by SMAP. The way they interpret and express the song is what makes the song great. I guess because all members are serious actors and they have learned since their young ages to be all around entertainers. So they are able to connect to the song and emote to the audiences. I've heard several version of Sekai ni Hitotsu dake no Hana, including the one by Makihara Noriyuki. But there is no other version that can match the power of this performance. (Kouhaku 2003 comes very close but I think this performance truly illustrates the real meaning of the song).
Lion Heart is another song that has been covered beautifully by several artists. But there is no other performance that is full of heart and meaning like this one (2000 tour when Kimura announced his marriage)
SMAP members are not technically perfect in their singing. Nakai often sings off-key, Tsuyoshi frequently sings flat, Goro occasionally sings sharp, Kimura has a habit of over-singing slow songs, and Shingo sometimes sings out of breath. But they are always excellent in their interpretation and how they connect with the songs. That's why I love their music and their sining very much. For me, it's not about the technicality, it's mainly about their ability to sell the songs to the audiences. There are many people who can technically sing a song better than SMAP, but there are very very few artists who can sell a song better than SMAP.
On a somewhat related note, if I read that comment about Nakai's singing first, I would never ever in a million years have gone through with this week topic for FTLOS ^^" (If you are an SCS member, you know what I'm talking about). I was asked about the rumor and I've seen the "rumor" has always been presented as fact by some non-fans. So I decided to wrote about it to point out that it was just a rumor with inconclusive evidences from a very suspicious source.
Shiyou yo
Click to viewI really like this song a lot, the drum, the beat, the brass, and especially the bass. I love it so much that I went and listened to other songs in the album and saw SMAP in a new light. Gold Singer is a great pop album and I've been listened to SMAP's music ever since then.
Well, I still wouldn't call me a fan of SMAP because I didn't know nor care to learn more about them as a group or an individual at that time. In fact, I was a bit of a Kimura-anti because the fact that he was too popular had turned me off somehow. Though I watched many dramas with SMAP members and heard a lot about SMAP after that time (Kimura's marriage, Goro's suspension, and etc.), I wasn't a SMAP fan until almost 10 years later when I came across youtube clips of SMAPxSMAP. But when I think of J-Pop music, SMAP is always the very first name in my mind all because of Gold Singer.
SMAP has tons of songs that I think are very great. Besides Gold Singer, Tacomax, Viva Amigos, and Birdman are my favorite albums. Probably because I really like a bit of jazzy, funky feel in those three. I generally like their album songs more than their singles. They have experimented a lot in their albums and have covered great ranges of music genres. I love that they often go out of their ways to collaborate with great musicians, both veterans and newcomers, in their albums. Here are some of my favorites.
Fly ~ coolest SMAP song, both in term of music and PV XD
Ieba Yokatta ~ Love the drum in this one so much, it is incredible. My professional drummer friend was so shocked when I told him this is a song by a boyband.
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/UTPS8_Ysl20/
Hitotsu Dake no Ai ~ Ave Maria ~ Love the song, love the performance, HATE the clothes.
Five True Love ~ I love this much more than Five Respect and I like this version more than the version in Birdman. Tsuyoshi and Nakai's solo parts toward the end are fantastic.
It saddens me a bit when I see people write SMAP's music off because of their perceived image of SMAP's bad singing. Honestly, I don't think SMAP's singing is that bad when compared to other idol groups. Of course, SMAP members cannot compete with the like of V6's Tonisen (The best in J&A, IMO) in term of singing, but there is something very special about the way they sing. SMAP's songs are the best when they are sung by SMAP. The way they interpret and express the song is what makes the song great. I guess because all members are serious actors and they have learned since their young ages to be all around entertainers. So they are able to connect to the song and emote to the audiences. I've heard several version of Sekai ni Hitotsu dake no Hana, including the one by Makihara Noriyuki. But there is no other version that can match the power of this performance. (Kouhaku 2003 comes very close but I think this performance truly illustrates the real meaning of the song).
Lion Heart is another song that has been covered beautifully by several artists. But there is no other performance that is full of heart and meaning like this one (2000 tour when Kimura announced his marriage)
SMAP members are not technically perfect in their singing. Nakai often sings off-key, Tsuyoshi frequently sings flat, Goro occasionally sings sharp, Kimura has a habit of over-singing slow songs, and Shingo sometimes sings out of breath. But they are always excellent in their interpretation and how they connect with the songs. That's why I love their music and their sining very much. For me, it's not about the technicality, it's mainly about their ability to sell the songs to the audiences. There are many people who can technically sing a song better than SMAP, but there are very very few artists who can sell a song better than SMAP.
On a somewhat related note, if I read that comment about Nakai's singing first, I would never ever in a million years have gone through with this week topic for FTLOS ^^" (If you are an SCS member, you know what I'm talking about). I was asked about the rumor and I've seen the "rumor" has always been presented as fact by some non-fans. So I decided to wrote about it to point out that it was just a rumor with inconclusive evidences from a very suspicious source.