🎊WELCOME TO THE KLASSIC NOTE SONG AWARDS 2023!!🎊
I'm Aozaki Shouhei, Klassic Note's only listener and judge. It's that time of
the year again, where I sit down in front of my PC at the end of the year to
commend and rank the songs I listen over the year. This year is a year of
change, but unlike what was with 15th year anniversary last year, I have
marked this year as a year of more drastic change. Following artists I've
liked over the year but have not performed well will be shelved over time, as
many have announced their hiatus or even brought their music careers into an
abrupt end. On the other hand, I am more focused on giving new, prominent
artists which I would have not followed just because of a hit or two.
Nonetheless, we will find more artists to listen to, as I continue to branch
out even further towards styles of my interest, being more strict in reviewing
releases and avoiding subpar songs here and then. This will hopefully help to
bring forward a paradigm shift towards melodies I would prefer more regardless
of presentation, its lyrics, or even its style, following our new motto of
"Searching For The New Classic".
As usual, I will state this every year and I will state it again, the results
below do not fully represent the many songs I listen to for the year. Past
year songs are typically suppressed since recommending them is not as trending
as the ones who are presented for this year, so I will withhold in promoting
them, though when they are, it's always because they have made more than
impact in my life. New artists are still sprouting as they seem, sadly being
critical of them unlike how the earlier artists I listen to, would not help in
their cause, but as to stay with my motto and criticism, I will continue to
find ones that I like, if they still stand to impress. Overall, this is just a
fraction of what is to come, and what I think of them songs and artists for
the year.
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. Other segments include
commending artists and songs that have stood out among the crowd, and awards
for recipients who deserve more attention. Finally, I'll conclude on with
The Top 20 and an audio edit of them by yours truly, so to give you a better
idea of what songs truly represent the year around when it comes to music I
listen for the year.
(Results finalised on 31/12/2023)
Note: For a detailed explanation of the results, click/tap over the minimized
detail bars you see throughout the post, like the one above
[Click
here to skip to "The Top 20"]
統計 Klassic Note Statistics
This year, I have given a total of 246 songs over the past 12 months.
I've spent more time on each release longer compared to past years in
recognition of their efforts even listening to them the second time in a year,
and find comfort in giving familiar artists and new artists I picked up alike.
The Internet might have helped with exposure even more, and with music
streaming services it has become easier than ever to give any recommendation I
see them on YouTube and/or Apple Music, hopefully providing than enough
bandwidth to listen to classics of newly found artists and their new songs
too. It definitely did not stop the momentum of giving new songs though; I am
just giving more songs per release, more often than ever.
Firstly, I break down the songs to who sings them and sort them by artist
composition and gender, giving a good look into a usual heavy bias of
female solo artists singing good songs, also known as the Vocals
Popularity Survey. For this year, Female Solo vocals have risen to the
yearly average of 1.3 to 1 against Male Solo vocals, which shows a nice
balance of mainstream artists against female solo artists for the year.
Then, we have the Song Rating Integrity Survey. Initially taken as an
experimental analysis in Klassic Note to fix my biased opinions of what is
a good song, now it is used as a guide to follow past years judgement
criteria so my judgement don't go too far off the perpendicular. As I give
further detailed analysis to the many songs defaulted to the generic
4-star category, this survey then is an attempt 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 me to give more 5-star songs which were then
based on early impression which is not possible now with maturity of my
song judgement bias. As you can see, there is higher tendency to give more
4-star songs as songs are rated slightly above average instead of
promoting them to 5-stars.
Thirdly, we have the generic statistics of the songs of the year. These
include language (for those with a vocalist), year of release (old songs
can appear in the list as far as 2005 for the year), Anime songs (because
when I say "sometimes" on Twitter I meant this) and B-side analysis for
singles which is a direct representation of proving that songs which are
good need not be their release's topic songs, and we should give more
criticism and praise to songs not under intentional spotlight.
Last but not least, we have the Song Appetite Report. The chart represents
how many songs I've given every month, and show peak and trough periods
typically based on release month dependent on the music industry or
periods of time where I just want to give more or less songs. I would say
despite the difficulties and therefore delays in releasing new songs this
particular year, many still were released in due time, and therefore did
not miss much in terms of leaving an impression in Klassic Note, and I am
thankful for that. Exceptions do apply though, where certain releases are
still out of reach with the return of love event-only releases.
Here is how the new songs fared this year:
>> Female Solo is the most popular vocal style in the songs of 2023.
>> Female Solo to Male Solo Ratio: 1.741
>> 4 Stars is the most common rating in Klassic Note 2023.
>> Song Integrity Survey reveals that 4B (Above Average) is the most
common rating.
| Language |
English |
Japanese |
All |
| Songs (%) |
4.47% |
95.53% |
246 Songs |
>> Japanese is the most popular language in songs of 2023.
| Year of Release |
2005-2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
All |
| Songs (%) |
8.54% |
0.81% |
1.22% |
5.28% |
84.15% |
246 Tracks |
>> 2023 is the most common year of release in songs of 2023.
| Song Type |
Anime Theme Songs |
Character/Insert Songs |
| Songs (%) |
1.72% |
0.43% |
>> Anime songs are 2.15% of 2023 songs, mostly on theme songs.
| Total Singles Released 2023 |
76 |
| Total Tracks |
1 |
2 |
3 or more |
| Singles |
24 |
23 |
29 |
| Total Considered in List |
8 |
17 |
>> 25 out of 52 singles in 2023 are considered besides A-side.
>> In comparison 10 of all singles released are in Klassic Note Review
2023.
>> Average Monthly Growth: 20.5
>> Top Active Months: July
(+33), May (+32)
歌の一日 Song of The Day
Every day is unique as it is special; Songs that surface in our minds will set
us in a mood and drive our everyday lives. From waking up to going to work,
arriving home and going to sleep, there's always a different melody that will
pop up in my mind from listening to the huge amount of songs within and in
past years. I would confidently say that my mood for the year could be
summarised with the songs I'm listening to every single day.
And that's why we have a tie this year so congrats Kitou Akari and
Kroi for being the most memorable Songs of the Year in 2023!!
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. Criteria are subject to conditions in sleeping habits, mood, and
mostly due to songs I've listened recently during certain times of the
day.
Starting from 2019, Song of The Day has been transformed into a rank-based
system, where every mention pushes you up one rank so that rank sharing
will make sense. The results shouldn't show much of a difference though,
but it will more accurately reflect on the position of songs within.
Starting from 2023, multiple Songs of The Day have been reintroduced ever
since the start of the Song Awards 15 years ago, defining vital points of
the day where if criteria are met (eg. without listening to songs, songs
will appear in one's mind), they are worthy of record.
TOP SONGS OF THE YEAR 2023
| Rank |
Artist - Song Title |
| 9 |
Kitou Akari - Dear Doze Days |
| Kroi - Fuurai |
| 8 |
Uesaka Sumire - Rebellion |
| 7 |
Kroi - Juden (2022) |
| anewhite - Kinsenka |
| Genie High - Rendezvous ni Touhikou |
| Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Slow dance |
| 6 |
Fuchigami Mai - Fantastic Partner |
| VELTPUNCH - Merry Go Round Girl |
| miwa - Nigatsu Juuyokka (feat. Kawasaki Takaya) |
| Takahashi Rie - Saitsuyo Watashiizumu |
| Chilli Beans. - Shekilala |
| Ikimonogakari - Tokimeki |
TOP SONGS OF EACH MONTH
| 2023 |
Artist - Song Title |
Rank |
| Jan |
Hitsujibungaku - Ame |
2 |
| LUCK LIFE - Shirushi |
| Feb |
Uesaka Sumire - Rebellion |
3 |
| yucat - Seiren -Ningyohime no Namida- |
| Mar |
Kitou Akari - Dear Doze Days |
4 |
| Apr |
Homecomings - US |
3 |
| May |
Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Slow dance |
4 |
| Jun |
OAU - Kokoro no Hana |
4 |
| Jul |
mol-74 - 0.1s |
4 |
| Aug |
Yogee New Waves - Climax Night |
3 |
| Sangatsu no Phantasia - My Wonder |
| Sep |
Hitsujibungaku - more than words |
4 |
| Oct |
Kitou Akari - Magie x Magie |
5 |
| Nov |
Chilli Beans. - Shekilala |
2 |
| Dec |
ClariS - Snow Light |
4 |
TOP SONGS TO START THE DAY
| Rank |
Artist - Song Title |
| 6 |
Kroi - Fuurai |
| Kroi - Juden (2022) |
| 5 |
anewhite - Kinsenka |
| Uesaka Sumire - Rebellion |
| Takahashi Rie - Saitsuyo Watashiizumu |
| Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Slow dance |
| Hanazawa Kana - GSSP (2022) |
TOP SONGS TO END THE DAY
| Rank |
Artist - Song Title |
| 5 |
Kitou Akari - Dear Doze Days |
| Hitsujibungaku - more than words |
| 4 |
OAU - Kokoro no Hana |
| Uesaka Sumire - Rebellion |
| miwa - Nigatsu Juuyokka (feat. Kawasaki Takaya) |
| Chilli Beans. - Shekilala |
リリース上位 Single & Album Rankings
Klassic Note may be all about the songs, but what is with songs if they aren't
released in some form? I say that though, but with the rise of digital singles
and how music is distributed more often through digital platforms in smaller
doses instead of coming up with physical releases, it's always in my comfort
to listen to albums every once in a while then be committed to their constant
promotions. Many releases performed better than ever as I spend more time with
them this year, and I continue to give more songs beyond the one or two topic
songs with a music video. Many artists are going for more than one good album
in the year with the world opening up, and we do see this year some are adding
a couple of singles and/or new songs from time to time within the year.
Regardless of their approach, I will still give them due attention as long as
I know of them. Limited Edition Only singles are great but sadly does not meet
my requirement of Review, but I will still talk put them in just because they
are worthy of mention.
In Klassic Note, top singles are determined by (1) whether they are in
Klassic Note Review ie. all songs of the single have been given and is not
digital only release and (2) how good they fare in impression, so ratings
come to place. Details for giving these singles shall not be discussed
further since there is The Klassic Note Review for your reference. Top
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 due to low song count
too but they have been put lower in priority to allow full length albums to
shine.
From Klassic Note 2023, I will also annotate special features of these
releases (Limited Edition Only, Digital Only) in order to better represent
their prominence in the ranks, and that smaller releases in albums, for
example, will get smaller priority over full album which require more effort
(subject to the amount of new songs added) so the latter will be considered
first.
Congratulations to Uesaka Sumire's single for Anime "Nagatoro-san" and
Natsukawa Shiina's 3rd album for best releases for Klassic Note 2023!!
Top 10 Singles
| Rank |
Recipient |
| 1 |
Uesaka Sumire - LOVE CRAZY |
| 2 |
[Limited Edition Only] LUCK LIFE - Shirushi / Mon-C |
| 3 |
Tsuzuri - NAME |
| 4 |
w.o.d. - STARS |
| 5 |
Kitou Akari - Magie x Magie |
| 6 |
TrySail - Karei One Turn / Follow You ! |
| 7 |
[Limited Edition Only] Fuchigami Mai - Fantasic Partner / Shuen no
Destiny
|
| 8 |
Ikimonogakari - Ureshikute / Tokimeki |
| 9 |
[Digital Only] fuzzy knot - Toki no Tabibito |
| 10 |
Hanazawa Kana - Dramatic Janakute mo |
Top 10 Albums
| Rank |
Recipient |
| 1 |
Natsukawa Shiina - Cable Salad |
| 2 |
SHE'S - Shepherd |
| 3 |
[Artist Best] LUCK LIFE - LUCK LIFE |
| 4 |
TrySail - SuperBloom |
| 5 |
Ryokuoushoku Shakai - pink blue |
| 6 |
SIX LOUNGE - FANFARE |
| 7 |
[Mini Album] yuiko - Follow out Y |
| 8 |
Sambomaster - Love & Peace! Masterpeace! |
| 9 |
Sai - YELLOW |
| 10 |
yorushika - Gentou |
表彰 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 as many of them as possible and it doesn't exactly qualify as a regular
award. Many listed may be repeats, but this is the place where I give proper
recognition to certain things that stood out among the others.
Congrats to Amber's for giving me music videos to remember I wish I
could put them in more, also Omoinotake, I can't believe these love
stories made me more than interested in their songs more than ever. This and
many others easily show the power of music videos which are all the more
important at a time like such a medium and the Internet are the best
conditions to promote new songs today.
Commendations are generally given to topics which stand out on their own
with unique features (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 as 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 |
| "English Can Be Better" |
Homecomings |
| "Single Pre-Order" |
Natsukawa Shiina - Sasakure [Single] |
| "Artist on Holiday" |
Yogee New Waves |
| KANA-BOON |
| "Sad To See Go" |
Kuso Iinkai |
| "Single Order" |
Hanazawa Kana - Dramatic Janakute mo |
| Uesaka Sumire - LOVE CRAZY |
| Suzuki Airi - heart notes |
| TrySail - Karei One Turn / Follow You ! |
| Tsuzuri - NAME |
| w.o.d. - STARS |
| Ikimonogakari - Ureshikute / Tokimeki |
| nasuo - Hoshikuzu Requiem |
| Kitou Akari - Magie x Magie |
| YUKI - Nagai Yume |
| YUKI - Sukitte Nan Darou, Namida / Tonari no Metro |
| "Abandoned A-side" |
miwa - Haru no Oto |
| Aimer - Atemonaku |
| SCANDAL - Line of sight |
| "Notable Web Single" |
fuzzy knot - Toki no Tabibito |
| SpecialThanks - Sweet pea E.P. |
| cinema staff - I SAY NO |
| OGRE YOU ASSHOLE - Ie no Soto |
| "Lasting Tune" |
Kroi - Juden (2022) |
| Hanazawa Kana - GSSP (2022) |
| Ueda Reina - Kingyohime (2022) |
| Nisshoku Natsuko - Clothoid Kyokusen (2022) |
| MIMiNARI - Ienai feat.asmi (2022) |
| Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Michi wo Yuke (2022) |
| "Cover Song" |
ClariS - Haikara-san ga Toru |
| "Exotic Style Subjugation" |
Sai - MONOLITH |
| "Most Complicated Lyrics" |
Kroi - Hyper |
| "Same Name" |
LUCK LIFE - Fanfare
SPECIAL OTHERS - Fanfare |
| "PV of the Year" |
Amber's - End Roll
|
| "Awesome PV" |
Omoinotake - Shiawase
|
| "Impressive PV" |
mol-74 - 0.1s
|
| "Fanservice PV" |
Uesaka Sumire - LOVE CRAZY
|
|
Fuchigami Mai - Fantastic Partner
|
| "Great PV" |
Fujifabric x frederic - Hitomi no Rendezvous
|
| "Quirky PV" |
Genie High - Classic High
|
|
TrySail - Karei One Turn
|
| "Neglected PV" |
Chilli Beans. - you n me
|
| "Plain Boring PV" |
SIX LOUNGE - Paper Plane
|
| "Best Anime Theme Production" |
w.o.d. - STARS
["BLEACH: Sennen Kessen-hen - Ketsubetsu-tan" Opening]
|
賞 Awards
One of the most important things that built the foundation of this Song Awards
are of course, the Awards themselves. They have also been historically the
toughest to decide every year apart from the Top 20 itself, which shows how
much thought is put into figuring out the distinct feels of all the songs I
give for the year, and how important they are compared to all of the others
above. As with previous years, it has always been a challenge to get the right
songs to fit the Awards and what they should represent, and as much as I try I
still hardly feel for some of these songs which are worthy of their titles,
especially pertaining to certain emotions and moods. Regardless, I have made
my decision, so here are the results.
Congratulations to
Homecomings for THE CONTRIBUTOR AND THE ARTIST awards because damn,
have I been immersed too much in their songs for the year, especially from
their indie days.
THE MUSIC award also met its strongest competition for the year, as
immersion into Jazz Funk group Sai have made me intoxicated on occult styles I
normally would not give despite PHONO TONES and SPECIAL OTHERS releasing
albums to please for the year.
The Award titles mean exactly unless stated otherwise, which are as
follows:
-
THE CHARASON represents all songs from the Anime and Game genres so to
give more songs recognition on how good and/or diverse 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 judgement possible to be independent of usual criteria eg.
melody, music style
-
THE INSPIRATIONAL awards songs which spark motivation and/or creativity
for me, encouraging and pushing me along in life
-
THE NUMBER ONE SONG OF THE YEAR is based on SONG OF THE DAY results, and
the Award is presented to the best here
-
THE SINGLE and THE ALBUM are based on RELEASE RANKINGS, and the award is
presented to the best of each category here
The nominees are excluded from the list due to presentation space
constraints.
| Title |
Recipient |
THE ARTIST 2023
(JAPANESE CATEGORY)
|
Homecomings |
| THE NEWCOMER 2023 |
w.o.d. |
| THE CONTRIBUTOR 2023 |
Homecomings |
| THE CHARASON 2023 |
Yashiro Nene & Mokke - Koi! Koi Koi |
| THE IDOLISM 2023 |
Kitou Akari - Magie x Magie
Uesaka Sumire - LOVE CRAZY |
| THE EMOTIONAL 2023 |
FINLANDS - Special Week (SHUTTLE ver.) |
| THE ROMANTIC 2023 |
Kodama Hikari - Dramatic ni Koi Shitai |
| THE LIVELY 2023 |
Enfamilia - UNDERWORLD feat.KIMI(BRIDEAR) |
| THE INSPIRATION 2023 |
Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Jibun Seifuku |
| THE LONGEST 2023 |
OGRE YOU ASSHOLE - Nagai Aida |
| THE SHORTEST 2023 |
Murasaki Shion - Chandelier |
| THE MUSIC 2023 |
Sai - MONOLITH |
| THE NUMBER ONE SONG OF 2023 |
Kitou Akari - Dear Doze Days
Kroi - Fuurai |
| THE ALBUM 2023 |
Natsukawa Shiina - Cable Salad |
| THE SINGLE 2023 |
Uesaka Sumire - LOVE CRAZY |
20曲上位 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 diverse way possible, hopefully with a good
balance of what I truly love and representation of what the year means for
Klassic Note in 2023. And in these songs I recommend, many have left an
impression, some I cannot miss putting them in just because, and others I
think they are genuinely worth a mention. It was hard to come up with the list
as usual, as there have been many dramatic changes to when I initially thought
of this, but now that the results are out, I'm not going to think too much
into it and hope this is adequate to show what Klassic Note 2023 is after a
year in the making.
Congratulations to Homecomings once again for changing my year for the
better or worse, that I must put them up to be the #1 song in Klassic Note!
Emotional is still my drill for the year, nothing much has changed, but the
rankings did put in more lively and positive tunes to remember, and that is
still what is growing inside me, I assure you, for the better.
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 depending on my preferences.
Below is an audio preview with timestamps of The Top 20 of Klassic Note 2023,
for your listening pleasure. (Tip: Click on any row on the table above to skip
to that track!)
-
Homecomings position in the Top 20 list has already been cemented since
February with me deep into their indie releases, and the new album
definitely helped in topping up that fuel I would have never expected to
deal with. Still, they deserve every bit of it, they have the unique
emotional feels that no other band can achieve, it has been a few years
since their last and I have been wanting to give them something, and I'm
glad I can get into this over time.
-
The next few ranks are my tribute to the artists who made an impression
this year alone, including now regular mol-74, Kroi, and even Kodama
Hikari is in the ranks.
-
I would have thought of putting Ikimonogakari in a better rank
preferably above my own bias Natsukawa Shiina who killed it with the new
album this year, I still think the latter deserved to be up there purely
because they gave us a rather simple melody to satisfy, I will say that
much.
-
Ryokuoushoku Shakai dropped real bad this year considering their overall
assessment even including their rather unimpressive though unique new
album this year, I was even struggling on considering what to give them
this year because seriously, even the summer song did not manage to
impress me for that long. The same is to say for regular artists in my
Collection including SHE'S and LUCK LIFE who have been downplayed, and
cinema staff who have been left on the lurch this year just because.
-
This year's double ranks are for fanservice I did not want to leave
Fuchigami Mai alone so I slotted in Kitou Akari (or maybe it's vice
versa), and I don't know if putting miwa long with emotion giant and
veteran aiko-san would mean anything but hey, both respectable artists I
would put my finger on, so you are welcome, ladies.
-
Ironically because of the awards above, one would think otherwise I
would put Uesaka Sumire with Kitou Akari but my biggest concern about
giving her more recognition after I presented her the best single award
for the year, is that is a very average release and because of the
single containing more tracks (and I gave them all), that her subpar
singing would otherwise take shape in the ranks. This is as far as I
will praise herm honestly.
And that is all for Klassic Note this year; I hope you enjoyed looking through
these results, giving some of them as listen, and enjoyed as much as I did. If
you were here to give yourself a chance and listen to the above snippet of
what I've listened to in 2023, you're welcome for the glimpse into my music
listening experience for the year. If you have given any of them a listen
afterwards - even just one of them - it will make me happy. The legacy of
Klassic Note has moved ahead once again and with the world outside changing in
perspective, I'm still happy to be able to share my thoughts about music every
year, how much I have experienced in the world of music by the week, and
dedicating the time and dedication to make all of this happen once again.
Also, do not forget what I did for
#KN15YEARS,
Klassic Note's 15th anniversary project, so do check that out.
See you again and have a happy new year! And I will ever, as I will always be,
"Searching For The New Classic".
- Aozaki Shouhei, on the Klassic Note
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