This is the last section of Honorable mentions, I swear! These are songs that I wanted in my top 25 and might have put in there if I was writing this at another time, but unfortunately I can’t make work in there. But they’re still some of my favorites of the year.
Te wo Tsunagou – Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku
Ebichu had a good year; Ume, Te wo Tsunagou/Kindan no Karma, Mikakunin Chuugakusei X. Even though they don’t hold my interest as much as the other Stardust groups, they have a lot of excellent songs. Te wo Tsunagou is one of the most hard songs to put on this list because of how emotional it made me; I cried the first few times I listened to the song and watched the PV. This song is just really pretty and focuses more on emotion than Stardust’s default of weird, which I liked. It’s not quite something I’ve listened to as much as I thought I might, and it doesn’t really break new ground, but it’s a beautiful song that was made quite well.
Get Down! – Momoiro Clover Z
One thing readers may not know about me is that while idol music has definitely become the music I listen to most, I like other stuff. Specifically I listen to a lot of indie/alternative rock/power pop, and I love going to see live shows. I haven’t listened to too much OK Go, but Damian Kulash really channeled what I love about this type of music, the sound of it, and put it into MomoClo. Get Down doesn’t sound a lot like a lot of idol music because it sounds like some of the alternative/indie music I listen to. This makes it really unique and fun to hear MomoClo’s take on the genre. I hope other idol groups get in on this type of sound.
Ijime, Dame, Zettai is fantastic. Honestly, I think the fact that I first heard this song in 2012 hurt it a little (though it came out in 2013); it’s just been a bit overplayed for me. However, it’s still probably the most metal Babymetal song out there. It shows off Suzuka’s fantastic vocals, and it has the right level of seriousness to it without being too dark; it’s not difficult to listen to, but it still feels like a big step for Babymetal in terms of doing stuff that could legitimately be enjoyed by metal fans. Ijime, Dame, Zettai was the first idol song of the year (or so) that I heard, and it definitely started the year off with a bang.
Kamonegix – NMB48
While another NMB48 song is getting higher on the list, NMB in general did wonderfully this year. Their sales were great, they finally made it to Kohaku. Kamonegix is an amazing song; it’s fun, fast-paced, and a very cool dance track. However, it’s just not as good as the other NMB songs I placed higher, and just didn’t make it. This is one of the songs that I’m bummed didn’t get higher on this list, because it’s really a top song of the year.
Tabidachi no Haru ga Kita – S/Mileage
Yattaruchan – S/Mileage
S/Mileage had a wonderful year (my top 25 might have some in there). These songs are both VERY different, but are both very S/Mileage at the same time. Tabidachi no Haru ga Kita is a very sweet song; the strings in the instrumental are just beautiful. The song is clearly aiming to be pretty and succeeds. Yattaruchan is slightly (or not just slightly) hyperactive and energetic in a way that I feel has defined the current era of S/Mileage, and it’s a whole lot of fun while simultaneously being a nice song to listen to. Both are songs I listen to regularly, and they’re both songs I’m sad can’t be higher on this list.
Sekaichuu ni I Love You – Rhymeberry
I was SURE I was going to put this on my top 25 list; it’s so weird and fun. It mixes rap with 1920s-1930s era swing/jazz. I think this song is wonderful and it totally deserves to be one of the most lauded songs of the year. However I think that another Rhymeberry song ended up being a better song and I didn’t feel like I could justify both of them on my top 25 list.
Never Ending Voyage – Aso Natsuko
Both Never Ending Voyage and Moonrise Romance, Nacchan’s two singles this year, were excellent. They aren’t quite Nacchan’s best but they’re worthy entries into her collection of singles. Unfortunately I didn’t like either quite enough to put her into the top 25. Which is a shame; I really wanted to fit an Aso Natsuko song into my top 25 songs of the year. However, I didn’t think it’d be right to put her in my top 25 just because I love Nacchan. At the end of the day, Never Ending Voyage and Moonrise Romance just didn’t make the cut.
Sansei Kawaii – SKE48
Usually SKE48 releases impress me, even though all my favorites from SKE48 have graduated. The past few weren’t my favorites; Choco no Dorei was fine but not quite the caliber of release that SKE really deserves. However I was surprised and impressed by Sansei Kawaii pretty recently. I think by itself the melody/song isn’t that extraordinary, but it’s the arrangement that makes it sound so stellar. There’s a really epic feel to the arrangement which lends itself surprisingly well to the song.
=Melon Juice – HKT48
Yes, I know, I’m not putting Melon Juice on there, I’m a terrible person. Honestly, Melon Juice was super hyped up. A lot of that was me hyping it up to myself; I was so excited about the song even after a 20 second clip of it. I love the rock feel it has and the high energy; it took me a while to really open up to Suki Suki Skip, but Melon Juice felt like the single HKT48 needed. However, as the hype down, my enthusiasm for it did as well. I still think it’s a great song, but it’s hard for me to be super excited about it anymore.
Den Den Passion – Dempagumi.inc
This honestly SHOULD be in my top 25, but I didn’t want to put too much Dempagumi.inc in there because they’re already very prominent in my top 25 songs. Whoops.