This City Pop Mystery May Never Be Solved

[@strudders4444]

There is someone selling the cassette of Sunset Road on Buyee at the moment. Starting bid is ¥88,000 ! More interestingly there also seems to be another track that I’ve never seen before called “Let Me Into Your Place” !

[@strudders4444]

Actually, doing a translation on the cassette sleeve, I think that other song may be an English version of Sunset Road. There’s also a karaoke version on the B side of the cassette by the looks of it

[@goosebumpsradio]

Oh wow that's really interesting, thanks for sharing!

[@marcys7289]

Do you have link for this auction? Because i can't find it anywhere

[@icantchooseanic2729]

Was the song digitized?

[@Jodrik713]

@@icantchooseanic2729 Yes : kzbin.info/www/bejne/el62h42hhJyKY68

[@daddydubs4349]

Something that's kind of worth pointing out is just because a city pop song is popular today doesn't mean that it was at the time. Some of these people didn't "disappear" in the sense that something tragic happened to them, they released a song or album, then dipped out. It's simply sheer luck that a song like Step's Remember Me, Sunset Road, or Love Trip gets dug up and posted online. Sometimes, like in the case of Kaoru Akimoto, their music actually WAS well received even at the time in Japan, they just never followed up on it for unknown reasons, such as them maybe not wanting to be in the industry.

[@SakuraStardust]

Great job with this! I love Reiko Takahashi and wish she got more recognition when she was active in the music industry. I hope she's living a happy life nowadays.

[@goosebumpsradio]

Thanks Alex :)

[@NumbFuzz]

It absolutely blows my mind that this song didn’t chart well when it came out. It’s the ultimate bop, undisputed. I mean truly legendary on every level. It never gets old. That synth is so powerful and sounds so clean and smoother than butter. And the drum arrangement?? jfc plus it’s mixed incredibly like, this song literally has EVERYTHING going for it, shoulda been an international hit. Where do you go about researching these artists? I can’t seem to find any information about Kimura Keiko. Her song “Bye Bye Visconti” is on the same level as Sunset Road for me. It has the most badass groove and sounds so peak late 80s-early 90s. I really want to learn more about her and her work.

[@goosebumpsradio]

Love that song! Her music is underrated. I pretty much go through all websites, reddit posts, and KZbin comment sections related to an artist and if there's a lack of information in one section I'll try to search their name and a specific keyword. The Japanese Wikipedia page often have more info than the English version. This came up when I searched her name in Kanji (nothing for her English name): ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%A8%E6%9D%91%E6%81%B5%E5%AD%90 J-Canuck of Kayo Kyoku Plus is my go to source if I can't find anything for older J-Pop and he has one write up mentioning her: kayokyokuplus.blogspot.com/search/label/Keiko%20Kimura Hope this helps :D

[@apeamiru7708]

Sunset Road is my new favorite song, but the Information about it's singer is so limited that I thought she is dead long time ago. I'm glad to know she is still alive and doing well.

[@WYHIWYG242]

This is a very, very good song. I was happy to find this video. I think she only made 4 songs.

[@ZorroVulpes]

She's probably living a happy life and doesn't want crazies on the Internet to figure out where she lives

[@warau242]

I was so shocked to find the song I'd been listening to for so long wasn't just any Sunset Road, but a Sunset Road with a mysterious artist

[@jaffa3717]

I remember finding Sunset Road a few years ago and wanted to hear more from her, just to be surprised that she only seemed to have 3 singles and nothing else. Shame she didn't seem to take her music career any further. I find it crazy that singers from the 80's who's careers didn't really took off, suddenly are world famous years later because of the internet. I bet they'd never have predicted that

[@PlayerHeader]

thank you bro. this is the perfect yt video. i am a city pop veteran since 7 years, even lived now in japan and learned japanese, and do social media marketing, and your video is GOLDDD dude. not too long, no wasting time. incredible editing. nice voice. straight to the point but still giving us seconds to relax and listen. duuuuuuude keep doing this man!!!! and one more question dude: can i buy somewhere stocks of your channel? because that sht is going to the mooooon duuuude!!

[@goosebumpsradio]

Lol thanks :)

[@sps4992]

It's nice to see a video focused on this great singer. As an admin over on the discord for the Akiba Tape investigation, I can confirm that Reiko Takahashi has indeed been a popular candidate for the unidentified singer. Whilst I personally don't feel convinced that she is our mysterious voice, I do love the fact that coming across her as introduced us to a number of great songs, if nothing else. I'm also pleased to see that you sampled my own Fly Away remaster for your video. Thank you and all the best with this channel. I look forward to more lesser known mysteries like this one featured on your channel.

[@DeGoosey]

I followed the Takako Mamiya story and was finally happy it closed on a positive note. And now this. Thank you for making such a concise video.

[@mariuspoppFM]

How did it close?

[@DeGoosey]

@@mariuspoppFM she is doing well in her new life and has asked for privacy to be maintained.

[@TheWorld-of7dd]

I have been searching for this singer for a long time, she had a great voice imo, so unfortunate her singing career was short lived love to see more of her

[@arcturus_uro]

Could you make another video about Meiko Nakahra and/or Takako Mamiya? they did both dissapear out of nowhere after making huge popular albums. Amazing video!!

[@goosebumpsradio]

Thank you! For sure, will definitely get to it after I finish my next few videos

[@arcturus_uro]

@@goosebumpsradio no rush, keep up the good work!!!. This video is amazing.

[@tsumugikotobuki0131]

Yuko Tomita is another singer that I'm interested in. She made several albums, throughout the 1980s, but hasn't been active since. Apparently, she was involved in a car accident at some point and that's what caused her to stop making music.

[@goosebumpsradio]

@@tsumugikotobuki0131 How unfortunate.. I've never heard of her, I'll definitely take a look at her music/story

[@Made_In_Heavenn]

i'll admit, "I Can't Sing a Love Song" was a banger when i first hear it lol. Thx for this vid 😅

[@Bofner]

I'm really happy to see someone else that cares about Reiko Takahashi. I've been living in Japan for the last 2 years, and only just recently was able to find a copy of ラブソングは唄えない. I'm still looking for サンセットロード.

[@goosebumpsradio]

That's awesome man, hopefully you can find it. I haven't seen either one available online yet :/

[@Dtitilator]

Most Japanese would prefer to have a quiet humble life so I'm not surprised they'd choose not to resurface after so many years. Why gamble a peaceful stress-free life over 15 mins of fame. They clearly moved on from that chapter in their life.

[@chibikallen2727]

awh 😭 i liked her voice

[@sacraventi]

1:37 i saw midnight cruisin', i subbed.

[@MasterGo89]

New sub here: I really enjoy watching these types of videos, and by that I mean well put together, history,and I learned about new Citypop! I see this channel going places! Keep it up brother! Im a new fan!

[@goosebumpsradio]

Thanks man :)

[@robertethanbowman]

I put her voice as closer to the Akiba Tape than 99% of other singers. Still not popping out as a clincher to me. The right vocal range and quality if she decided to sing without her "sweet" vocal quality with is possible.

[@cinnanyan]

Not too unusual, this reminds me of rock singer Yukiko Kajiwara (梶原ユキコ) who similarly vanished after 3 songs. Also, it's quite normal for Japanese musical artists to only release singles, even to this day. The recording industry in Japan never seemed to place as much importance on selling LPs.

[@laineylois]

Your channel is gonna blow up I can feel it

[@goosebumpsradio]

Haha thanks for the kind words, hopefully!

[@laineylois]

@@goosebumpsradio I’ll keep commenting until the algorithm notices hahaha

[@kdrene53]

Very good video!

[@cinnamonbunz4ever327]

I discovered her through the search for the Fly Away singer. I Can't Sing a Love Song easily became one of my favorites. Although she herself may never respond I'm happy to hear that she's still alive!

[@lucky_luck5411]

Is there a city pop song list on youtube audio library..?😢

[@goosebumpsradio]

I don't think there's any city pop songs on KZbin audio library unfortunately

[@lucky_luck5411]

@@goosebumpsradio nice channel name bro I am also into City Pop thank you for covering lost media and this video.

[@renren47618]

Research on KZbin or KZbin Music the playlist "City Pop/Kayōkyoku Holy Grail" and have fun.

[@LUVORATORRRRY]

kitto only you has had me on a chokehold 😭 + we need that sunset road english version

[@heavent883]

her voice is good

[@bakicci]

kitto only you is my favorite city pop song of all time but its taken down almost everywhere 😢

[@Ozymondias99]

I wonder if she is related to the famous Manga Author Rumiko Takahashi?

[@aceofcheems7685]

What if Reiko Takahashi is a pseudonym?

[@ignacioreyes7444]

Where are you Reiko?😢

[@i_cant_sing_any_love_songs]

English Cover has been found and recovered. kzbin.info/www/bejne/el62h42hhJyKY68si=vERIbjGczREE0Jps

[@deadstarlondon]

Found this tune randomly while in Japan used it for insta story then tried to find more and found this lol. Straight banger from first time hearing.didn’t even like or know what city pop was last week😂😂

[@after909b]

I do believe that she's the singer of akiba tape

[@Non-y3s]

Kengo Kurozumi is also super underrated

[@goosebumpsradio]

Just listened to Again, really enjoyed it!

[@belstar1128]

didn't everyone in her generation try to become a famous musician ? i guess she just gave up because the market was overcrowded with so much great music .

[@onyankoclubcentral]

Sadly this is somewhat true. The year she debuted was particularly awful for newcomers because of oversaturation, particularly because most people were focusing on Onyanko Club idols that year.

[@renren47618]

Is it know what actually happened to Cindy(the one behind "Angel Touch" and with the song "Watashitachi wo Shinjiteite" which most City Pop fans probably know), i heard stories about her and the supposed meaning behind her most famous song but i didn't found anything that proved that it's true.

[@onyankoclubcentral]

She passed away from cancer in late 2001. Miho Nakayama, an idol she wrote a few songs for, announced it to her fanclub members around the time of her death. As of the meaning of her songs, I’m not sure if that’s true or just an urban legend.

[@shiningloyal9148]

So nice song 🎉❤🇹🇭🪷😍

[@pablodonoso779]

wait wait wait, what about tatako mamiya??? i recently went to tokyio and bought a record at the disk union near akihabara. Are you telling me i own a piece of history????

[@alexanderalexander4257]

Sunset Roadを作曲したのは街のドルフィンで有名な浜田金吾さん

[@FGBFGB-vt7tc]

Both Ms. Takahashi and Ms. Nakahara Meiko disappeared without a trace. Particularly Ms. Nakahara made great music, being "Fantasy", "Friday Magic", "New York" and "Dance in the Memories" the ones that comes from the top of my head. Would love to know they are OK.

[@goosebumpsradio]

I love Nakahara's music!

[@RideOnTimePH]

Fantasy is one of my favorite city pop songs

[@Made_In_Heavenn]

Meiko is fine tho, she doesn't want spotlight anymore

[@FGBFGB-vt7tc]

@@Made_In_Heavenn Hope you're right!!!

[@pendaflux]

@@Made_In_Heavenn Yes, she just wants to be on the planet with the rest of us.

[@j_poetry]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@robertethanbowman]

The cassette tape with the English version does exist. I have listened to it and I don't think it is very good unfortunately. The production is weaker and her English is not just impossible to follow but it sounds not good even besides that. Her Japanese songs are very, very good imho. Not good having this poor tape for a new singing career. But maybe it had no bearing.

[@goosebumpsradio]

Someone recently posted it and yea you're spot on. It made me chuckle pretty hard xd

[@Jodrik713]

@@goosebumpsradio Maybe i'm so used to the sounding of english versions of songs from Lady Pank or Republika (polish rock bands) and their english sounds that bad that polish people on the internet said that they sang in Hungarian or in Finnish, instead of English x) Because imo her English is a bit more clear in comparison

[@heuhen]

Well I am not surprised that she want to stay away from everything. If you read about how the music branch in Japan was in that era. There are so many stories where girls have been picked up with promise to become famous, and end up as a plaything. either she saw or experienced something that isn't "normal" or she just had a goal. Or she is just that simple classic Japanese stay at home mom, she meet someone and suddenly kids... can be as simple as that. But Jpop industry is one of the weirdest industry out there

[@alantorres5097]

mai waifu

[@dash-2112]

boring American music.

[@genremags8317]

Yes, your Kpop is boing as hell. A third rate copycat of American Hiphop

[@mariuspoppFM]

🤡💩

[@poochymcgee7308]

Produced by Kingo Hamada? I should've known... 🌃🌉✨