One of my favourite j-pop groups of all time; Tanpopo were the first Morning Musume subgroup - made up of the beautiful 1st gen members Iida Kaori and Ishiguro Aya as well as the feisty and tiny 2nd generation member Yaguchi Mari.
Released towards the end of 1999, shortly after MM's first No.1 single (Daite! old on me), "Last Kiss" was Tanpopo's debut single and reached No. 2 in the Oricon charts.
"Last Kiss" - you can tell just by the name; is a very sad yet edgy song, and the video has a very cool and sombre atmosphere. Despite being named Tanpopo (Dandelion), this subgroup did a lot of christmas-like/wintery music videos, and the furry coats and icy make-up are especcially evident in "Last Kiss".
The thing I love most about Tanpopo were the harmonies and the elegant and delicate voices of this unique selection of MM members. Tanpopo was the only project that originally showcased the talents of these members. Iida Kaori is one of my all-time Morning Musume favourites, and her gentle voice was suited to the songs that Tanpopo were given. This also was one of the only opportunities for Ishiguro Aya to stand out, her time in MM was short-lived but vocally she was very talented and had a much deeper voice that only gets proper attention in Tanpopo. Yaguchi Mari had only joined MM the year before Tanpopo debuted, and so this was her first chance to shine with her delicate Please check out "Last Kiss" and I would recommend that you look at many of their other early songs too.
(note: Tanpopo disbanded for sometime after Ishiguro left MM, and has since reformed a few times with many changes in the lineup).
Released towards the end of 1999, shortly after MM's first No.1 single (Daite! old on me), "Last Kiss" was Tanpopo's debut single and reached No. 2 in the Oricon charts.
"Last Kiss" - you can tell just by the name; is a very sad yet edgy song, and the video has a very cool and sombre atmosphere. Despite being named Tanpopo (Dandelion), this subgroup did a lot of christmas-like/wintery music videos, and the furry coats and icy make-up are especcially evident in "Last Kiss".
The thing I love most about Tanpopo were the harmonies and the elegant and delicate voices of this unique selection of MM members. Tanpopo was the only project that originally showcased the talents of these members. Iida Kaori is one of my all-time Morning Musume favourites, and her gentle voice was suited to the songs that Tanpopo were given. This also was one of the only opportunities for Ishiguro Aya to stand out, her time in MM was short-lived but vocally she was very talented and had a much deeper voice that only gets proper attention in Tanpopo. Yaguchi Mari had only joined MM the year before Tanpopo debuted, and so this was her first chance to shine with her delicate Please check out "Last Kiss" and I would recommend that you look at many of their other early songs too.
(note: Tanpopo disbanded for sometime after Ishiguro left MM, and has since reformed a few times with many changes in the lineup).