We haven't reached the stage of copyright negotiation with Minami Saori's record company yet. Although we asked Kazuo Hirai from CBS and Sony, there was no need to go to them for help in a big way.
Fortunately, although she has retired, she is still a well-known idol, Momoura Ai Doro. Looking for some information from the past does not require the help of her former record company.
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Speaking of which, in the ten years after she decided to retire to study and get married, Minami Saori did not make a comeback. However, she did not completely disappear from the entertainment industry like Yamaguchi Momoe who retired after getting married a little later.
After entering the 1980s, Nan Saori, who was already a mother, also played the role of lyricist "Cynthia" and wrote lyrics for the album of Japanese singer Shin Meiling.
However, it was only behind the scenes and never appeared on stage again.
However, for idols who got married and retired, not coming back is a good thing, which means that the family is still happy.
Although there are idols who return home to raise their children after getting married, there are also idols who accidentally fail to grow old together, get divorced midway and then come back.
However, for now, the best destination for the idol profession is to get married and retire. Once you get divorced and come back, your idol dream will be shattered with the divorce, and you will have no choice but to transform.
From this point of view, I have to admire Matsuda Seiko once again, who did not retire after getting married and having a daughter but continued to fight on the front line of idols and created the "Mother Idol" (mom idol) genre.
She can even be considered a mother's idol, and she can be called an "eternal idol".
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The production rights for Moritaka Chisato's single were given to Genzo, but even so, while planning and producing a cover of Minami Saori's song, we still had to maintain communication with Warner Pioneer. The executive producer in charge of Moritaka Chisato also ordered
Only then can we proceed to a more formal stage.
Now that we have a plan, we will have a meeting with Sentaka Qianli's team at Warner Pioneer. Although her career has improved a bit, it has not yet become a big hit, and the team responsible for her are still the same few people.
This also has the advantage of being familiar with each other and making communication easier.
The reason given by Shinichi Iwahashi for his plan to cover the song as the title song of his next single is very clear: to use Minami Saori to increase Chisato Moritaka's popularity.
People at Warner Pioneer do not deny the feasibility of this approach. In fact, in recent years, the cover style in the Japanese music scene is quite spectacular.
Akina Nakamori's cover of "Hard to Break" may be a special case and cannot be mentioned here, but Yoko Oginome, an unknown idol, has successfully become popular by singing the cover, and Akimi Ippaya Ishii beat the world with her cover of "cha-cha-cha"
I listened to Nakamori Wushuangcai's famous song "desire - 情热 -".
When he was at his peak, he was cut off by Yifawu. He was also cut off for two years in a row. It can be said that Zhongmori was a little unlucky guy.
Because of the popularity of covers, people at Warner Pioneer do not deny the feasibility of this approach. However, covering songs by popular idols is not the same thing as covering foreign songs.
"Anyway, the first thing to decide is which song to cover?"
"When it comes to Minami Saori, it's definitely "17"." Shinichi Iwahashi gave an expected answer.
When it comes to Nan Saori, it means "17 Years Old". When it comes to "17 Years Old", it means Nan Saori.
No matter how many records she has released and what kind of hit songs she has, this one of her masterpieces has such fame and considerable influence.
At the age of 17, it is between an adult and a teenager. The hazy feeling of being mature and not mature can be said to be wonderful. Not only in Japan, but probably people all over the world have such a "seventeen-year-old complex".
Looking back on those days, Iwahashi Shinichi also came here listening to "The rainy season when he was seventeen years old, recalling every bit of childhood."
When a seventeen-year-old girl from the South, with slightly dark skin and a little precocious puberty, appeared on the stage singing the song "17 Years Old", the Japanese's "17-year-old complex" also got a huge boost at this moment.
of satisfaction.
Starting with Minami Saori's "17 Years Old", since then, "17 Years Old" has appeared in the songs of countless female idols, becoming song titles and creative content, and has been continuously used.
""17"." Warner Pioneer's executive producer mused, "That is indeed Minami Saori's most famous masterpiece. However," he changed the topic and mentioned another key point, "famous songs can transcend time.
, this is both the charm and the obstacle of famous music, especially today when times have changed."
When it comes to covering famous songs, if you sing well, everything will be fine; if you sing poorly, you're asking for trouble.
Compared to the time when Chisato Moritaka was first sent to Genzo, although Warner Pioneer's producers had a taste of Shinichi Iwahashi's production capabilities, they became more cautious.
The reason for this is that Moritaka Chisato's career has improved. At this juncture, even if he makes a wrong step, he will not be completely ruined, but his current upward path will be blocked.
Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. This is the truth.
When new shoes are put on your feet, be careful to wipe them clean if there is any dust on them.
"That's right. So, we can't sing the song as it is." Iwahashi Shinichi was prepared early in the morning.
However, he did not continue talking, but changed the subject and mentioned another thing, "Speaking of which, have you noticed it? There is a very interesting coincidence."
"coincide?"
Shinichi Iwahashi's sudden change of topic caused Warner Pioneer's producers to be led by him unconsciously.
"This year is the 17th anniversary of Minami Saori's debut, and it is also the 17th anniversary of the release of the song "17 Years Old"."
Seventeen years ago in 1971, Saori Minami conquered the Tokyo audience with her song "17 Years Old" and won several Newcomer Awards.
It was also in this year of 1971 that Rumiko Koyanagi, one of the "New Three Girls", won the Best Newcomer Award at the Record Awards. From the time she won the award, she started the road to dominate the Record Awards' Best Newcomer Award for idols in the future.
From this point of view, 1971 can also be said to be the "first year of idols".
If you explain it this way, this year 1988 is also the "Seventeen Years of Idol". In this way, the meaning of this song "17 Years Old" becomes extraordinary.
Warner Pioneer's producer made a calculation in his mind, "It really is like this."
My heart suddenly became much brighter. In this context, choosing to cover this song "17 Years Old" has been given a different meaning. It is no longer as simple as a young idol trying to gain popularity through the famous songs of his predecessors.
.
This practice can also be endowed with various lofty meanings such as inheritance and commemoration.
Seventeen years since the idol era, seventeen years since Minami Saori debuted, and seventeen years since "17" was born. There is a lot to do.
"Not only that," Shinichi Iwahashi added another chip, "This year is also the tenth anniversary of Minami Saori's retirement."
Then, the meaning of covering this song is even more extraordinary.