Ayumi Hamasaki - Together When”

Bokutachi wa kokoro ni onaji
Kizuato wo nokoshi nagara
Sei wo muketa mama furikaerazuni
Sotto tsuyoku arukidashimashita

Kawaranai hitotsu no mono wo
Mitsuketa to shinjite ita
Futari wa sore ga kawatte iku no wo
Kanjite ippo hanareta
Yagate sara ni ippo hanareta
Kizutsuka nai you ni

Arigatoutte iitakatta
Arigatoutte ienakatta
Datte sore ja maru de eien no
Sayonara mitai de kanashi sugiru kara
Itsuka mata boku wa boku ni umarekawatte
Kimi wo sagasu tabini deru n darou

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Popularity: 32% [?]

Photo courtesy of Sankei Sports. Singer Suzuki Ami (25) has forayed into voice acting earlier this year but in 2008, fans will be able to catch her in her first acting role in the TV Asahi drama “Oishii Depachika” which is based on the manga “Oishii Ginza”. The drama will also be tied in selling dishes from the drama on TV Asahi’s ropping shopping site. The drama will debut on January 4th at 11:30 p.m.

Popularity: 4% [?]

NHK announced on Thursday that the late ZARD vocalist Izumi Sakai will be making her Kohaku Uta Gassen “debut” this year. Like the memorial concerts earlier this year, the performance will combine live musicians with videos of her singing.

In September, memorial concerts for the singer were held in Tokyo and Osaka, and it was recently announced that the show would go on tour. A special performance will take place at the NHK Osaka Hall on New Year’s Eve, and it will be shown live as part of Kohaku Uta Gassen.

It was also announced that a two-disc album titled “ZARD Request Best ~beautiful memory~” will be released on January 23. The 30 songs on the album received the most votes out of approximately 500,000 requests made via mail and ZARD’s official website. More details will be announced later this month.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Actress Misaki Ito will take on a starring role in a TBS drama series titled “Edison no Haha.”

Described as partly comedy, the series focuses on Noriko Ayukawa (Ito), the teacher of a class of first-graders. One day, a boy named Kento transfers into her class from another school, where he was treated as a problem child. In reality, the inquisitive Kento actually displays potential as a prodigy, and it’s up to Noriko to figure out how to handle him.

The story draws inspiration from the childhood of famous inventor Thomas Edison, who was also considered a problem child by most adults around him.

Ito commented that she loves children, and is actually qualified as a kindergarten and nursery teacher.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

Actress Yu Yamada has been revealed as part of the cast of the upcoming “Nodame Cantabile” drama special, scheduled to air on January 4-5 on Fuji TV.

Yamada plays Son Rui, a Chinese prodigy who becomes rivals with Nodame. Although Yamada had no prior experience in playing piano, she recently took lessons and practiced on her own at home before the performance scenes were filmed.

Popularity: 5% [?]