i watched Kouhaku last night and there were only a couple of performances which stood out. the one which touched me most was “Tegami Haikei Jugo no Kimi e” by Angela Aki. in my opinion, this one even trumps the hit which made her career – “Sakura Iro”. the song assumes an interesting premise – a letter written to oneself from the future, an adult to a 15 year old. it’s a beautiful song of encouragement. how many hearts have this song touched? in moments of despair, this is the type of song which will lend strength through heartache and gallons of tears shed.

“拝啓　この手紙を読んでいるあなたが
幸せなことを願います”

the song has quickly become an anthem of students throughout Japan. i’ve found a beautiful and heatfelt delivery of the song by a group of University students. the harmonising is great, especially during the crescendo of the song.

ものすごく上手です。

finally, i’ll leave you with a live performance from Angela Aki herself. the high school girls were all reduced to tears. can music move mountains? i think so.

愿意合上眼才能美梦无边
别让悔熏乌了从前

也许碎片才能让回忆展颜
何妨瓷花拼凑明天

谁带我寻获幸福的模
却自己谜中困锁

谁为我留下缱绻的天涯
信物是抹晚霞

思念如燕它飞舞舌尖
若是真爱配尝几分苦甜

意念婆娑时间里推磨
追随到何处才结果

燕如针线在青空缝编
几幅女红将以泪缀点

誓言斑驳情雾只是经过
风雨中且让我盈步婀娜

陈佳明 is pure genius. best TV theme song in decades.

Olivia Ong’s great and i’ve been a fan since the rest of the world discovered her (I got her Mirai CD ok! actually my brother does. haha… her Mirai stuff was crappy, and even her two J-poppy albums were trashy… it wasn’t until her venture into Bossanova that got me) seeing her in person at Judy Ongg’s concert and lately on TV – hmm… i think she is seriously lacking in X factor. but what i wanted to say was this song has Mavis Hee written all over it. i would love to hear her take of this same song. i miss her big time.

i can’t find a full and quality version of the song. MediaCorp should milk Singaporeans dry by releasing an OST. sure best-seller cos everyone’s clamouring for the song. wonder if Olivia’s bringing out a full Mandarin album.