Random Curiosity

Macross Frontier – 09 »« Macross Frontier – 08

Sheryl Nome starring May’n Live R-Zero Appearance

For all you Macross Frontier and Japanese music fans out there, Nakabayashi May (Sheryl’s voice in all the songs) made an appearance last night on TBS’s Live R-Zero program and sang Diamond Crevasse in its entirety. Even after listening to her CD ad nauseum, I still really like the song, so it was cool to hear the live version. She did a fairly good job with it too – much better than I’ve heard some more popular artists do (SMAP and Ayumi come to mind) anyway. My main complaint is that the audience and host Izumiya Shigeru didn’t really seem all that into it, and that kind of took away from the atmosphere. Then again, this is an anime song appearing on a normal music program, so it might be somewhat understandable. Regardless, the video is definitely still worth a watch, if for just the song alone. Hopefully it’ll be able to hold me over until the first Macross Frontier soundtrack is released next Wednesday (June 4th).

May 28, 2008 at 1:32 am
59 comments »
  • May 28, 2008 at 1:38 amLeo

    who did ranka song???

    tell me iwant nyan nyan or rainbow carrot song full version

  • May 28, 2008 at 1:39 amHei

    Well I’ll give her kudos for the chorus

  • May 28, 2008 at 1:40 amHei

    Ahahah I prefer Sheryl over Ranka both music and character wise

  • May 28, 2008 at 1:44 amOmni

    Leo: Ranka’s voice actress Nakajima Megumi did not appear on the program.

  • May 28, 2008 at 1:52 amjane07

    omg… I love this song

  • May 28, 2008 at 2:02 amzqube

    I’m glad I watched this. I am also a Sheryl fan so it was nice to hear a live version.

    I did not like this song at first, but once I put it on my iPod I started to like it more.

  • May 28, 2008 at 2:15 amYakamaru

    Cool! ^^

    Just wish the song What ‘Bout My Star from Nakajima Megumi comes out soon.. I sooo want that song…

  • May 28, 2008 at 2:50 ammutio

    Wow she really is a good singer. Often the live versions I heard weren’t that good.
    And of course – awesome song. A pity the audience don’t support her really..
    “Then again, this is an anime song appearing on a normal music program, so it might be somewhat understandable.”
    What? That sounds pretty much like a good j-pop song too me. The audience is rather retarded – my impression.. :P

  • May 28, 2008 at 2:54 amsorairodays

    Wow, she did pretty well for live. This song tends to send chills down my spine when I listen to it for whatever reason.

  • May 28, 2008 at 2:56 amdodgethis

    I have been left speechless. I cannot wait for her performance during Animelo.

  • May 28, 2008 at 3:11 amwhitey-chan

    really, really, really love this song.. :)

  • May 28, 2008 at 3:15 amhobli

    The live is kind of shaky but its pretty good. Love this song XD I hope she does more lives from now on. Wish there was a iteza gogo kuji don’t be late live though.

  • May 28, 2008 at 3:20 amWestlo

    “Just wish the song What ‘Bout My Star from Nakajima Megumi comes out soon.. I sooo want that song…”

    It will be on the OST along with the original Sheryl/May’n version, funny enough the Ranka/Nakajima Megumi version has Sheryl/May’n on it as well…. well it is her song… but still she was just watching in the crowd with her slave/princess.

  • May 28, 2008 at 3:23 amFumika

    The live was pretty good, I haven’t heard ayumi live but I know she lip syncs a lot and has come under fire from that several times previously.

    I really really want to hear the Sheryl version of what bout my star live though.

  • May 28, 2008 at 3:42 amMiyaDV

    that crowd seriously looked like abunch of zombies, they didn’t move an inch.

  • May 28, 2008 at 4:13 am8ghosts

    thanks

    thats awesome for sheryl fans like myself

  • May 28, 2008 at 4:22 amMighty Mouse

    I absolutely love this song. Looking forward to the soundtrack and some of Nakajima Megumi’s stuff too.

  • May 28, 2008 at 4:23 amlinkinstreet

    OMG!!! I LOVE IT!! And somehow the mature Sheryl does seem to be a better match for Alto-hime :D

  • May 28, 2008 at 4:51 amKurogane

    Hmm~ wasn’t too bad, but her live rendition felt a bit “off”. I think she was probably nervous at the beginning, since her singing lacked the intensity of the recorded versions. It got better towards the end, so I guess she got comfortable back.

    Anyways, Sheryl’s songs are really awesome!

  • May 28, 2008 at 5:22 amtienguan

    damm i love her singing, that song “Diamond Crevasse” and Itzea gogo kuji don’t be late” really touch my heart.

  • May 28, 2008 at 5:40 amKokWeng

    nice ! i wan sherly’s song T_T “”

  • May 28, 2008 at 6:31 amEz

    Despite all that negative attention they were giving her I’d say she did awfully well, especially since it’s live. Sure she went off chord a few times but other than that this might just be one of the better live performances I’ve seen.

  • May 28, 2008 at 6:36 amWingZero zxt

    Wow that was impressive i was imprssed by a live performance of a female singer (That almost never happens)

  • May 28, 2008 at 6:49 amyohkoyamamoto

    I really love this song. It’s one of my favorite japanese songs. Love Sheryl Nome!!! :D

  • May 28, 2008 at 6:58 amKiltMaster

    wow those stares are piercing…..

    very nice to see the live action + i’m a Sheryl fan too

  • May 28, 2008 at 7:31 amYukiruchan

    IMO the host was terrible, he didn’t do his homework before hosting -getting May’n to say her name many times, being clueless about Macross F and not being able to say even “kurebasu”. After that I didn’t understand the talk but I was sort of pissed off for May’n. It’s not like her single never got a single number rank in Oricon, it actually got 2nd once.

    Who likes a music program to be hosted by an old … anyway?

    Ah, anyway. May’n was cute and her live was ggod especially towards the end. It was interesting to see the real her, a bit chubbier than the photos.

  • May 28, 2008 at 9:09 amJay

    Must have Diamond Crevasse!!!

    *foams at the mouth*

  • May 28, 2008 at 9:23 amNette

    awesome!! :D

  • May 28, 2008 at 10:08 amdward

    Bravo~! Excellent performance! Hope to hear more of her in the future.

  • May 28, 2008 at 11:04 amChansteR

    That was excellent, the song is very nice as well. The first showing of the audience, the female on the left looked like she was giving out a revenging death sentence to her lol. The audience seemed just a tab bit “dead” like they were paid to just stand there like manikins.

  • May 28, 2008 at 11:04 amminmin

    sheryl ……sexy idol.

    I love this song too.

  • May 28, 2008 at 11:20 ammuk

    love it!

    absolutely love this song

    for a live song she wasn’t bad

    she prolly didn’t even prepare for it so it was all good

    but the crowd was just horrible, they all looked zombie and stunned, at least wave a little or they were just so much in awe of her singing that they didn’t know what to do XD

  • May 28, 2008 at 1:52 pmblinx01

    First of all, I’m not sure of the popularity of that program but it looked like crap.
    To start with, why is an old man hosting a J-Pop program?
    To make matters worse, he obviously didn’t do his homework, didn’t know how to pronounce stuff and had no idea about Macross F.
    Then we have the audience, who looked like they didn’t want to be there and showed no emotion what so ever.
    With all that in account, credits must go to Nakabayashi May for putting herself through all that while also giving a respectable live performance.

  • May 28, 2008 at 1:55 pmgundamjehutykai

    The static audience is a bit of a disappointment, but at the same time, Diamond Crevasse isn’t really a song you want the audience to get worked up on, being a comparatively slow song. If she did Don’t be late, I wonder if the audience would have been more active.

  • May 28, 2008 at 2:46 pmSpraypaint

    The worst part about this video is the lack of clapping and cheering for her…

  • May 28, 2008 at 2:50 pmMoeu

    I agree with gundamjehutykai. Diamond Crevasse isn’t the type of song that would really get the audience going. It’s a great song, but it’s was probably to slow for the audience.

    Though, that was a pathetic audience.

    Still, Nakabayashi’s performance was great. Especially for a live gig with a zombified audience and a unenthusiastic host. Ganbatte, May-chan.

  • May 28, 2008 at 4:51 pmRexter

    Woah, sounded much better than i thought

  • May 28, 2008 at 5:29 pmArtanis

    gracias por el gran aporte hermoso video y un gran tema

  • May 28, 2008 at 5:50 pmKaito

    Wow, the host is terrible… And the crowd looks drugged.

  • May 28, 2008 at 6:33 pmal3x

    mutio – most likely the reason why omni said, “Then again, this is an anime song appearing on a normal music program, so it might be somewhat understandable”, is because most Japanese don’t watch anime, and even the ones that do only watch certain genres. Therefor, they might not be to familiar with Macross Frontier and special with the voice actors and singers of the show. ^^

  • May 28, 2008 at 9:11 pmmugen

    noticed she wears an earring similar to sheryl’s XD

  • May 29, 2008 at 12:31 amAsuka

    Woah, dead crowd o.o
    Even though it’s a relatively slow song, it’s very powerful, and I would expect the audience to at least sway a bit.

  • May 29, 2008 at 3:30 amKanki

    The beginning verse lacked punch, but at the beginning of the first chorus, the rest of the live was amazing. I have to agree with Omni that some of the popular Jpop’ers don’t preform very well live. I’m surprised May’n did so well, though not that I’m complaining.

    Well, you can’t blame the audience for not knowing the song/not really being interested in it because it’s from anime…but they’re still a pretty bad audience. They could’ve at least swayed a little. Or something.

  • May 29, 2008 at 10:36 amMacross Robotech

    Beautiful song. I want more. Thanks a lot.

  • May 29, 2008 at 10:54 amTaran

    I want a full Sheryl concert! How awesome would that be!?

    Was a fantastic live performance though! Can’t wait for the soundtrack to come out!

  • May 29, 2008 at 12:08 pmka

    It surprise me that both Ranka and Sheryl’s singer are 18 years old.
    Young!

  • May 29, 2008 at 1:12 pmTanto

    I think it’s due to her presentation (Dress, Gestures, etc) rather than her song that she didn’t get the attention she deserved.

  • May 29, 2008 at 3:17 pmDude

    Unless they’re at a rock concert ordinary Japanese people don’t go freaking nuts like Americans do.

  • May 29, 2008 at 6:28 pmluke

    I love her singing, I am starting to love Macross Frontier soundtrack more than Macross Plus. Macross franchise always pays off, great music, awsome mecha, love triangles lol. Thanks for the upload!!!

  • May 29, 2008 at 8:38 pmMaqy

    Multiple parts to this really… I’m a fan of Sheryl as well, but this performance wasn’t that great IMO. Love the song, but I feel she was a good bit off in the beginning, as though her singing and the track were out of sync… That noted, I’ve seen MUCH worst come out of certain artist… For those needing a good hit of good live performances, give Angela Aki a go… She does some sweet live singing/piano. The audience was crap, but this was not a great performance by far… Hopefully, she develops her singing a bit more down the road, but she’s plenty young, and as long as she doesn’t flop too hard, she’ll have plenty to look forward to.

  • May 30, 2008 at 11:40 amnugundam93

    that live performance really is FTW! sends chills down my spine when i watch this vid, it’s better than the recorded one.

  • May 30, 2008 at 7:22 pmLlyke

    Her vocal sounds painful.

  • June 1, 2008 at 1:17 ammary

    in my opinion’s ranka’s seiyuu did a far better job in singing. ranka’s voice is more rounded, fuller and has a richer tone. i can’t really explain it all that well, but ranka’s singing voice is warmer and sounds less forced and more relaxed than sheryl’s voice. i think that the actual songs that sheryl sings give her the “star quality.” you can’t deny the fact that a set of well-composed chords can carry a singer far. in a singing class i went to, the singing coaches lectured us on the power of the voice coming from a singer’s diaphragm not from their throat. when the voice comes from the throat, the singing tends to sound pinched and then, as if the singer is struggling to get through the song. however, when the singer uses the correct technique, their notes sound effortless, even their higher belted notes will still sound full-bodied despite the fact that higher notes tend to sound thinner.

    my point, after all that blabber, is that sheryl’s voice isn’t very pleasing to (my) ears. the songs she sings are great; they are addicting and have wonderfully catchy melodies. however, ranka’s voice is far superior, in my opinion. the tonal quality, richness and ease with which ranka sings makes me admire her voice and consider her the better songstress.

  • June 2, 2008 at 6:40 pmfamfiel

    If you want to do a proper comparison, you have to see how the two singers sing the same song without the aid of instrumentals. That’s only happened once so far to my knowledge, for Diamond Crevasse when Ranka and Sheryl first meet. Based on that, I’d say May’n’s clearly experience shows.

    Certain songs are built for classical singing technique more than others. It’s fairly straightforward to produce nice clear tones in a song with lots of long vowel sounds like Aimo, but it’s wholly inappropriate in a song that was designed to sound gritty from the start. Part of being a good singer is in how adaptable you are, even if that means producing a sound that is less than efficient.

    But this at least partly boils down to how much a person appreciates a particular genre of music. No one genre is absolutely better than the other, no matter how much your vocal trainer might try to convince you otherwise. ;)

  • June 26, 2008 at 12:29 pmsakura hime

    SO COOL!!!!!!!
    may’n you did a great job!!!! Kyaaaa~~~
    i’m startin to like Sheryl Nome more and more… GO Sheryl!!!

  • July 23, 2008 at 6:38 pmtau-tau

    Hmm…I never even heard of this program, lol. I know the good ol’ ones like Utaban/Music Station/Music Fighter/Hey!Hey!Hey! etc. but I’m supposing this is nowhere near as famous as the aforementioned music (or in the case of Heyheyhey/Utaban, music variety) programs.

    Seriously, what on earth is Izumiya Shigeru doing here? He should just stick to acting, IMO. Even though Downtown and Tamori (the hosts for Hey x3 and Music Station, respectively) generally show little interest in J-Pop, they still do the research and have a general grasp of the artist they show, compared to Izumiya. And the audience….is more dead than the one in Music Station, oh wow.

    The performance itself was very good. Omni, why did you even mention SMAP? lol. Most of the groups from Johnny’s Entertainment are atrocious in the singing category, and Ayu’s vocal tone from her early career has long been lost, not to mention a lot of J-pop stars like Ai Otsuka generally can’t sing well live. Those that do are in the minority, like Stephanie and Superfly (and Utada Hikaru, but not in live shows where she always seems to get nervous) and May’n deserved better attention.

  • August 10, 2008 at 10:01 pmjiakhang

    Having listened to the song many times over, I noticed that she didn’t silence her breathing during the song. If she had mastered the technique, it would have been better.

  • August 31, 2008 at 9:22 amUrian

    I’m in love…

  • February 6, 2010 at 11:58 amDOTHEFACE

    Thanks!