Welcome to the Klassic Note Song Awards 2019!
I'm Kaineng, Klassic Note's only listener and judge. It's that time of the year again, where I sit down at the end of the year to give out awards and try to, hopefully without much bias, rank the songs I listen for the year. It has always been a challenge, and this year is no exception in my busy work life. And as I continue to listen to new artists, weep over the passing of many artists and see some return triumphantly within the year, it continues to move me along in the search for songs to remember and make my life much better than it can be now. Also, hooray for 10 years of this! I look forward to many more years of doing this, we shall see.
To emphasise once again, the results below do not fully represent the many songs I listen to for the year. New artists may have surfaced thanks to the easy access of YouTube videos, but mainstream is catching up on these too, and the number of songs available on streaming media like Apple Music have only be increasing. I would argue I still cannot stop myself from giving Anime and idol-based songs as they continue to climb up the ranks this year, however mainstream is catching up with a new generation of artists I will remember for years to come. A big thanks again to all artists who participated and the wonderful songs they all gave me, because there wouldn't be Klassic Note without any of them. I tried my best to give recognition to as many artists as I can every year, as you will see, so I hope I gave given as much recognition to them as possible.
The results below will be split into six segments, with the first two covering statistics and analysis of the songs given this year and how they fare. Diagrams will be shown in some segments to give a better overall picture rather than just displaying tables of data. Finally, I'll conclude on with The Top 20 and an audio edit of them by yours truly, so to give a better idea of what songs truly represent the year around in terms of general mood in listening to music.
(Results finalised on 31/12/2019)
[Note: For a detailed explanation of the results, hover/tap over the small text you see throughout the post, like the one above]
[Click here to skip to "The Top 20"]
STATISTICS
This year, I have given a total of 240 songs over the past 12 months. It could be more due to the end of year burst but I have pushed some of them to the following year so I have time to compile this up, to be honest. (I did this up within less than 2 days by the way) So sorry miwa, maybe next year.
Firstly, I break down the songs to who sings them and sort them by size and gender, giving a good looks to a certain bias of hearing just female artists sing good songs, also known as the Vocal Styles Popularity Survey. For 2018, Female Solo vocals are close to a two-to-one ratio against Male Solo vocals, which shows a consistent improvement of reducing vocalist bias over the years.
Then, we have the Song Integrity Survey. Taken as an experimental analysis in Klassic Note, here I give further detailed analysis to the many songs rated in the generic 4-star category to give a better insight into how most of the songs are rated. It is also became the new benchmark in recent years in pushing to give more 5-star songs based on impression as done in early years of Klassic Note. As you can see, there is bias to giving more 5-star songs as songs above average rank are more than below average. Also, starting from next year, the categories for 4-stars will be increased from three to four, with 4C being average in order to show lesser bias to the standard average rating.
Thirdly, we have the generic statistics of the songs for the year. These include language (for those with a vocalist), year of release (old songs can appear in the list as far as 2001 for this year), Anime songs (because "sometimes") and B-side analysis for singles which is a direct representation of showing that songs which are good need not be their release's topic songs.
Lastly, we have the Song Appetite Report. The chart represents how many songs I've given every month, and whether there are peak period of giving songs or not, typically based on release month dependent on the music industry or periods of time where I just want to give more or less songs.
Then, we have the Song Integrity Survey. Taken as an experimental analysis in Klassic Note, here I give further detailed analysis to the many songs rated in the generic 4-star category to give a better insight into how most of the songs are rated. It is also became the new benchmark in recent years in pushing to give more 5-star songs based on impression as done in early years of Klassic Note. As you can see, there is bias to giving more 5-star songs as songs above average rank are more than below average. Also, starting from next year, the categories for 4-stars will be increased from three to four, with 4C being average in order to show lesser bias to the standard average rating.
Thirdly, we have the generic statistics of the songs for the year. These include language (for those with a vocalist), year of release (old songs can appear in the list as far as 2001 for this year), Anime songs (because "sometimes") and B-side analysis for singles which is a direct representation of showing that songs which are good need not be their release's topic songs.
Lastly, we have the Song Appetite Report. The chart represents how many songs I've given every month, and whether there are peak period of giving songs or not, typically based on release month dependent on the music industry or periods of time where I just want to give more or less songs.
This is how the new songs fared this year:
Female Solo to Male Solo Ratio: 1.486
AVERAGE: 4.038/5
| Language | English | Chinese | Japanese | All |
| Songs (%) | 2.1% | 1.3% | 96.7% | 240 Songs |
| Year of Release | 2011-2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | All |
| Songs (%) | 2.92% | 3.33% | 0.83% | 6.67% | 86.25% | 240 Tracks |
| Song Type | Anime Theme Song | Character/Insert Song | ||
| Songs (%) | 0.95% | 1.42% | ||
*Alternative Girls is the most dominating Game of 2019. (not included in Anime)
| Total Singles Released 2019 | 52 | ||
| Total Tracks | 1 | 2 | 3 or more |
| Singles | 7 | 26 | 29 |
| Total Considered in List | 4 | 16 | |
In comparison 5 of all singles released are in Klassic Note Review 2019.
SONG OF THE DAY
Every day is unique as it is special; it will set us in a mood to drive our everyday lives. From waking up and going to sleep, there's always a different melody that will pop up in my mind from listening to the large number of songs within the year. I would confidently say that my mood could be summarised with the song I'm listening to every day.
Congratulations to FIVE NEW OLD for taking the top for Song of the Year 2019!
The first two tables below show what are the most popular songs I've listened for the year and for each month. The last two tables show the most popular songs to wake up and sleep to to give a different perspective as to how they potentially can feel if you start and end the day with maybe.
Starting from this year, I'll transform this to a rank based system, where every mention pushes you up one rank so that rank sharing will make sense now; the results shouldn't be much of difference though.
Starting from this year, I'll transform this to a rank based system, where every mention pushes you up one rank so that rank sharing will make sense now; the results shouldn't be much of difference though.
| SONG OF THE YEAR 2019 | |
| Rank | Artist - Song Title |
| 10 | FIVE NEW OLD - What's Gonna Be? |
| 8 | miwa - Reboot |
| 7 | a flood of circle - Drive All Night |
| cinema staff - her method | |
| Minase Inori - Catch the Rainbow! | |
| Scenarioart - Adahada Alien | |
| 6 | a flood of circle - Vampire Kila |
| Asakura Momo - Smash Drop | |
| Base Ball Bear - short hair | |
| Horie Yui - Shunkashuutou | |
| SHE'S - Dance With Me | |
| SHE'S - The World Lost You | |
| sphere - CITRUS x FLAG | |
| SONG(S) OF THE MONTH 2019 | ||
| 2019 | Artist - Song Title | Rank |
| Jan | SHE'S - The World Lost You vivid undress - Moumoku no Sekai Kara Dasshutsuseyo |
2 |
| Feb | SHE'S - Clock | 4 |
| Mar | a flood of circle - Drive All Night | 5 |
| Apr | FIVE NEW OLD - What's Gonna Be? | 7 |
| May | Scenarioart - Adahada Alien Kawano Marina - Maningen Nyuumon |
3 |
| Jun | Asakura Momo - Smash Drop | 4 |
| Jul | Base Ball Bear - short hair | 5 |
| Aug | miwa - Reboot | 5 |
| Sep | Asakura Momo - Yume Cinderella | 5 |
| Oct | Kitou Akari - Always Going My Way | 3 |
| Nov | sumika - Fanfare Polkadot Stingray - Bake no Kawa |
2 |
| Dec | SHE'S - Masquerade | 3 |
TOP SONGS TO START THE DAY
| Rank | Song Title |
| 7 | FIVE NEW OLD - What's Gonna Be? |
| 5 | sphere - CITRUS x FLAG |
| 4 | a flood of circle - Drive All Night |
| a flood of circle - Vampire Kila | |
| Aimer - Torches | |
| cinema staff - her method | |
| miwa - Reboot | |
| Scenarioart - Adahada Alien | |
| SHE'S - The World Lost You | |
| Spira Spica - Hapipapi | |
| vivid undress - Scramble |
TOP SONGS TO END THE DAY
| Rank | Song Title |
| 5 | Minase Inori - Catch the Rainbow! |
| 4 | Polkadot Stingray - Bake no Kawa |
| 3 | Asakura Momo - Smash Drop |
| Asakura Momo - Yume Cinderella | |
| miwa - Reboot |
RELEASE RANKINGS
Now we shall talk about the singles and albums reviewed over the year. Just like last year, many releases did not perform well enough this year, so the number of reviewed releases this year is still rather small compared to previous years, however I did give more songs despite the reduced reviews, which is always a plus. Mini-albums dominate the ranks this year as many are changing music labels and/or having major debut so they need something to start, and considering the many have left aren't collection artists, their best albums will be set aside, outside of these ranks.
In Klassic Note, best singles are determined by (1) whether they are on the shelf ie. all songs of the single have been given and (2) how good they fare in impression. Details for giving these singles shall not be discussed here since there is The Klassic Note Review for your reference. Best albums are determined mostly by how many songs have been given in it, so best album have a natural advantage if I've been listening to the artist for years, and mini-albums tend to get an edge on these too but they have been put lower in priority to allow full length albums to shine.
Congratulations to Kitou Akari and Natsukawa Shiina for best single and album of 2019!
Top 10 Singles
| Rank | Name of Single | Contributing Artist(s) |
| 1 | Swinging Heart | Kitou Akari |
| 2 | silent days | amatsuuni |
| 3 | Smash Drop | Asakura Momo |
| 4 | Wagamama | Takigawa Alisa |
| 5 | Yume Cinderella | Asakura Momo |
| 6 | Reboot | miwa |
| 7 | Love Summer! | Fuchigami Mai |
| 8 | Name of Love | cinema staff |
| 9 | Adahada Alien | Scenarioart |
| 10 | Koi wa Miracle | Spira Spica |
Top 10 Albums
| Rank | Name of Album | Contributing Artist(s) |
| 1 | Log Line | Natsukawa Shiina |
| 2 | Maru to Sankaku | Niitsu Yui |
| 3 | Sekirara | vivid undress |
| 4 | Melodrive | Tokyo Karan Koron |
| 5 | Best Album -LIBRARY- | yanaginagi |
| 6 | VARIOUSELF | fumika |
| 7 | Coco Base | Hanazawa Kana |
| 8 | TryAgain | TrySail |
| 9 | Before It’s Too Late | THE ORAL CIGARETTES |
| 10 | Hyper Klaxon | Polkadot Stingray |
COMMENDATIONS
In Klassic Note there are Awards; And then, there are Commendations. Commendations are thing that are worth mentioning but not necessarily in competition since it can be unique in circumstance. That, or I want to credit them all so it won't be an award. Many listed may be repeats, but this is the place where I give proper recognition to those who stood out amongst the others. Congrats to FIVE NEW OLD for the surprise of a music video which instantly got me hooked into the song, which easily shows the power of music videos that are worth giving them credit.
Commendations are given to songs which stand out on their own (eg. terrible English, same song title) known as Song Commendations, releases that I reviewed and/or are outstanding known as Release Commendations, artists which may or may not be singing this year also known as Artist Commendations, and honours for (promotional) music videos which excelled in impressions also known as Video Commendations.
Instead of giving them Awards, Klassic Note here compliments videos which stand out better than their music, sometimes better than not, in order to give better representation and thus impression to their audio listeners. And so, I commend and also criticise (a bit) on those, as you can see below too. Many of the music videos can be found online too, so be sure to check those out for yourself. I'll post the links to get you started.
Instead of giving them Awards, Klassic Note here compliments videos which stand out better than their music, sometimes better than not, in order to give better representation and thus impression to their audio listeners. And so, I commend and also criticise (a bit) on those, as you can see below too. Many of the music videos can be found online too, so be sure to check those out for yourself. I'll post the links to get you started.
| Title | Recipient |
| "The Artist (Non-Japanese)" | Middle Kids |
| "Sad To See Go" | Kuso Iinkai |
| NEGOTO | |
| NICO Touches The Walls | |
| "Single Order" | Kitou Akari - Swinging Heart |
| Takigawa Alisa - Wagamama | |
| Asakura Momo - Smash Drop | |
| amatsuuni - silent days | |
| Asakura Momo - Yume Cinderella | |
| "Music Worth Mentioning" | synchre - Stuck In The Crowd |
| "English Song of the Year" | Takebuchi Kei - In This Blanket |
| "Chinese Song of the Year" | Xie Jie Lin - Shi Cha |
| "Lasting Tune" | Meya - Meyameya Damudamu Amor (2018) |
| Asakura Momo - Colorful (2017) | |
| ClariS - 1/f (2018) | |
| FINLANDS - Katte ni Omotte (2018) | |
| Natsukawa Shiina - Parade (2018) | |
| SHE'S - Come Back (2018) | |
| TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND feat. Takano Hiroshi - Book-end, Happy-end (2018) | |
| Tokyo Karan Koron - MUUDY (2018) | |
| Tomatsu Haruka - Monokuro (2016) | |
| "Same Name" | sunday morning bell - Sign sphere - Sign |
| "Exotic Style Subjugation" | Fuchigami Mai - BLACK CAT |
| "Next Year's Song To-Be" | Waki Azumi - Fuwatto (2020) |
| "PV of the Year" | FIVE NEW OLD - What's Gonna Be? |
| "Awesome PV" | Polkadot Stingray - DENKOUSEKKA |
| "Impressive PV" | Uesaka Sumire - Bon Kyu Bon wa Kare no Mono |
| "Fanservice PV" | Fuchigami Mai - BLACK CAT |
| "Great PV" | Aoyama Sachiko - Vanilla |
| "Quirky PV" | OGRE YOU ASSHOLE - Sawarenai no ni |
| "Neglected PV" | LuckLife - Lily |
| "Plain Boring PV" | sumika - Fanfare |
| "Best Anime Theme Production" | Ohara Yuiko - Zero Centimeter [Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2 OP] |
AWARDS
One of the most important things that built the foundation of the song awards are of course, the Awards themselves. They have also been the toughest to decide every year other than The Top 20, which shows how much thought is put into figuring out the distinct feels of all the songs I give for the year, and how great they are compared to others in specific categories. Just like last year, it feels really hard to even get enough songs for entry to even award one of them as I hardly feel for some of the songs which are worthy of the titles. However, I have made my case, and below are the results.
Congratulations to Hashimoto Chinami for being THE CHARASON of the year with a character songs from Game "Alternative Girls", and to SHE'S for being THE CONTRIBUTOR and THE ARTIST of 2019! Special mention to not love couple MaRuRi to Ryuga for THE NEWCOMER and THE ROMANTIC because we all secretly want them to be together someday.
The Award titles mean exactly unless stated otherwise, which are stated as follows:
- THE CHARASON now represents all songs from the Anime and Game genres so to give more songs recognition on how good they are (CV refers to "Character Voice" ie. the actual voice actor behind the role)
- THE IDOLISM awards idol songs (sung by voice actress who became solo artists mostly) which have been on the rise and the award goes to the one with best impressions
- THE INSPIRATIONAL awards songs which spark motivation and/or creativity for me, and encourage me to move on with life
- THE NUMBER ONE SONG OF THE YEAR is based on Song of the Day (see Segment 2), and the award is presented to the best here
- THE SINGLE and THE ALBUM are based on Release Rankings (see Segment 3), and the award is presented to the best of each category here
| Award | Recipient |
| THE ARTIST 2019 (JAPANESE CATEGORY) |
SHE'S |
| THE NEWCOMER 2019 | MaRuRi to Ryuga |
| THE CHARASON 2019 | Hirose Koharu (CV: Hashimoto Chinami) - Fukurami Kaketa Choux Pastry |
| THE IDOLISM 2019 | Uesaka Sumire - Bon Kyu Bon wa Kare no Mono |
| THE EMOTIONAL 2019 | Coalamode. - Yuuyake no Finder |
| THE ROMANTIC 2019 | MaRuRi to Ryuga - Kikiakichau Kurai no Ai wo Tsutaete Hoshii no |
| THE LIVELY 2019 | cinema staff - Shiroi Sabaku no March |
| THE INSPIRATION 2019 | fumika - Starlight |
| THE LONGEST 2019 | cinema staff - Umi ni Tsuite |
| THE SHORTEST 2019 | yanaginagi - Souzou no Kimi |
| THE CONTRIBUTOR 2019 | SHE'S |
| THE NUMBER ONE SONG OF 2019 | FIVE NEW OLD - What's Gonna Be? |
| THE ALBUM 2019 | Natsukawa Shiina - Log Line |
| THE SINGLE 2019 | Kitou Akari - Swinging Heart |
THE TOP 20
Last but not least, we have the song rankings. Every year, I try my best to showcase Klassic Note in the most vibrant way possible, hopefully with a good balance of what I truly love and representation of what the year means for Klassic Note in 2019. And in these 20+ songs I'd like to recommend, many have left an impression, others I think they are genuinely worth a mention. I didn't take long to come up with the list, it was hard to think of who shall take first place... But I guess the results are out, so I'm not going to think too into it and hope it's adequate. Without further ado, let's get to it!
Congratulations to Minase Inori for snatching the #1 song in Klassic Note! Finally, idolism takes the top spot, and I feel ashamed to say that you did really well, Inorin.
In Klassic Note, The Top 20 will include certain conflicts in rank number as some of the songs have to share the same rank due to my lack of criteria to differentiate between them, but is also a ingenious method to show certain trends or similarity within topics and timeframes, to a smaller extent. So do not be surprised to see up to 25 songs every year on this supposedly "Top 20" list.
Below is an audio preview of The Top 20 of Klassic Note 2019, for your listening pleasure.
Enjoy.
(Edit: Now with actual timestamps so you can refer to the table what the audio player is at right now! Awesome, isn't it?)
And this is it for yet another year of Klassic Note. Again, if you're just here to give yourself a chance to listen to the above preview, I thank you for even giving me a chance to tell you how wonderful Klassic Note has been for 2019. If you have given any of them a listen after this, even just one of them, it will already make me happy. Klassic Note has once again been another wonderful year, and I'm proud to be in it as deep as my passion can take me.
See you all next year again for another year of Klassic Note! And as always, do not forget to be "Searching For A Different Melody".
DISCLAIMER
#All content and results are subject to personal opinion, and please do not, in any other manner, attempt to copy or adapt it in any other purpose whatsoever. All data shall stay in this webpage and shall not be published, edited or shared anywhere else in this World Wide Web. If necessary, permissions are not required but all sharing must be linked and/or credited to this page. All audio in preview are copyright (c) respective owners.
