artist of the week; ＢＵＯＮＯ！

these three girls and their music is just the epitome of cute~! they sing happy and inspirational songs, and their music is perfect to listen to if you want to get in a good mood. the more fast paced songs are also perfect for working out, or just to dance around your room. ( trust me, they'll make you want to! )

needles to say, I've been listening to them constantly for the past week~!

ＢＵＯＮＯ！  is part of the infamous idol management group ＨＥＬＬＯ！ＰＲＯＪＥＣＴ, and consists of members from two other Ｈ！Ｐ groups,  °Ｃ−ＵＴＥ and Ｂｅｒｒｙｚ 工房. 

the members are Suzuki Airi (°Ｃ−ＵＴＥ, top right), Tsugunaga Momoko (Ｂｅｒｒｙｚ 工房, bottom right) and Natsuyaki Miyabi (Ｂｅｒｒｙｚ 工房, bottom left.). they're all so adorable!

their first album, ＣＡＦＥ　ＢＵＯＮＯ！, was released on february 20th this year and sold almost 24 000 copies - making it far more of a commercial success than most Ｈ！Ｐ  releases.  their next single, ＫＩＳＳ！ ＫＩＳＳ！ ＫＩＳＳ！, will be released on may 14th~! 

Singles so far:

ホントのじぶん [Honto no Jibun / Your True Self] [youtube]

恋愛♥ライダー [Renai ♥ Rider / Love ♥ Rider] [youtube]

english ＢＵＯＮＯ！ fansite here.

artist of the week; ｕｔａｄａ ｈｉｋａｒｕ

I've been listening to Utada Hikaru's newest album ＨＥＡＲＴ　ＳＴＡＴＩＯＮ obsessively since it's release, and I'm completely in love with it.
while Hikki's music clearly has a pop sensibility, it is excellently mixed with string intruments, soft electronic beats and beautiful lyrics, making it anything but your run of the mill JPop album.

and it seems I'm not the only one loving Hikki at the moment! right now her album is nr.1 on UNITED WORLD CHART, as well as the ORICON charts and Billboard Japan's Hot 100, Top albums and Hot 100 Airplay charts!
hopefully, seeing her amazing success with the new album, her record company will properly promote her upcoming English album as well, as opposed to the poor marketing they did for her first English record ＥＸＯＤＵＳ.

my favorite songs from the album;

Ｈｅａｒｔ　Ｓｔａｔｉｏｎ [youtube]

Ｓｔａｙ　Ｇｏｌｄ [youtube]

虹色バス（Niji-iro Basu / Rainbow Colored Bus) [youtube]

Ｐｒｉｓｏｎｅｒ　ｏｆ　Ｌｏｖｅ [youtube]

[original scans from Hikki Station]

style arena ｃｕｔｉｅ

[from style arena]

I saw her pictures a few weeks back, and she was just too adorable for words. & I need that bow ring, it's so cute!

please, let spring come to Oslo soon~