Top ten now! These are all songs I find extraordinary, and are songs that I’m positive I’ll continue to listen to and enjoy for years to come.

10. Megitsune – Babymetal

2012 was the year that I was surprised and impressed at Babymetal’s success. 2013 was the year where this was a given. Megitsune is not only the next in line of Babymetal’s increasingly popular tracks, it’s a very innovative track. Babymetal has pushed boundaries by combining both metal and idol music (though even that’s becoming more and more commonplace). Megitsune took it a step further by introducing traditional instruments and motifs. There are pieces of idol music, metal music and traditional Japanese music, but Babymetal somehow makes it all work together. That’s what Babymetal really does best; it combines various elements together, but Babymetal makes it make sense, as opposed to being a hodge podge jumble that it could be.

Every element is in place here. It’s well made music in all the genres it touches. Suzuka’s vocals have always been solid, but this year they were extraordinary, and Megitsune further proves her vocal talent.

While many thought Babymetal was going to end up a one-hit wonder, a brief flash in the pan meme, 2013 proved that Babymetal is here to stay, and that we’re better off for it.

9. Gomen Nasai no Kissing You – E-Girls

Of all the groups to have one of my favorite songs of the year, I really did not expect E-Girls to have one. But lo and behold, I absolutely adore Gomen Nasai no Kissing You.

If it wasn’t evident by my blog title, I enjoy happy things. I appreciate things like Megitsune and some of the heavier songs on this list, but more often than not I crave listening to fun, happy songs. Gomen Nasai no Kissing You completely scratches that itch.

This song is a complete Eurobeat sugar rush and I can’t help but love it. It’s such a feel-good song, with a heavy beat that makes me want to dance every time I listen to it. And since E-Girls are an Avex group, it’s a polished, well-produced song.

Gomen Nasai no Kissing You has no pretensions of seriousness. It never pretends to be more than a fun, happy song, and it does this very well.

8. Not Bocchi… Natsu – Dempagumi.inc

2013 was the year I became a Dempagumi.inc fan. Which is understandable because wow Dempagumi.inc was fantastic this past year! Not…Bocchi Natsu is just one of the great tracks that Dempa released this year.

Arranged by my very favorite idol producer (Hyadain), Not Bocchi… Natsu fits very well into Dempagumi’s established oeuvre of upbeat catchy music that’s a bit unhinged. As is expected by a song touched by Maeyamada Kenichi, the arrangement is excellent. Strings heavy in the chorus, the song is given a bit more gravity and pathos than it would in the hands of a lesser producer.

Still, this is just another song where everything comes together. All the girls sound nice and fit their selections nicely (Eimi does very well in her rap solo). One of the things I love about Dempagumi.inc is just how distinctive all the girls’ voices are, and that’s highlighted well in this song. This isn’t as tailor-made to Dempa as some other songs (that are on this list) do, but this feels like a song that fits Dempagumi.inc.

This song is not as weird as others, but is an upbeat, happy song that has me listening to it all year round.

7. Please Me Darling – Vanilla Beans

One of the things I’ve said at just about every mention of Vanilla Beans is that I love their style but their music never appeals to me, and that I wish they would have music that would be still retro but more of my style. And they did that, because I ADORE Please Me Darling.

Please Me Darling has the retro, 60s sensibility but does it in a pleasant, upbeat way. Their older stuff didn’t do anything for me, but Please Me Darling is the type of music that I want more from my idols (much like how I loved Nogizaka46’s similar foray into 60s era pop with Hashire Bicycle in 2012). One of my favorite Western acts that takes a look at similar music is She & Him, and that’s the closest approximation I can come to what Please Me Darling does. It is a modern look at this kind of music, and does it well.

I’m completely surprised at how much I loved a Vanilla Beans song this year, and I hope that they put out more music like this. If they keep this up, they can count me as a fan.

6. SUPERMCZTOKYO – Rhymeberry

I was a Rhymeberry fan in 2012, but I was so pleasantly surprised by their move to T-PALETTE Records in 2013. This allowed for this idol hip hop group to get higher production values and actual PVs, two things I was very glad about.

While R.O.D/Sekaichuu ni I Love You was a great single, SUPERMCZTOKYO is a superb showing of what Rhymeberry can do. First off, all the girls sound fantastic and polished. In the past Rhymeberry has really shined in their live performances and didn’t really show this in their recordings. In SUPERMCZTOKYO, you can hear how strong at rapping these girls are.

I also love just how funky and fun this song is. While Sekaichuu ni I Love You is perhaps more interesting, with its use of swing music as the background, SUPERMCZTOKYO is just plain fun, and shows off Miri, Hime and Yuka a lot better.

Rhymeberry has been a great group for a while, but their move to T-PALETTE records gave them the polish they needed to become even better.