Ongaku Cafe (The ’90s): SPEED – STEADY (November 1996)

1. HAPPY TOGETHER
2. Steady (Instrumental)
3. HAPPY TOGETHER (instrumental)

When “Body & Soul” was released, I never would have imagined of how high the young female pop group SPEED would be at.  For the last three months, these four young teens are now the hottest thing in Japan as they grace magazine covers, TV appearances and more.

As I said in my review for their first single, it all comes down to their second single and we will see if SPEED was a fluke or if they are the real deal and here we are now with their second single “Steady” which is being used for the Japanese drama “Itazura na Kiss”.  And I will come out and say it… SPEED is definitely the real deal!

The group consists of lead vocalists Eriko Imai and Hiroko Shimabukuro and background dancers Takako Uehara and Hitoe Arakaki and I have seen the girls perform this song on stage and once again, I am impressed with the amount of choreography that goes on with this group.  These girls have great stage presence and this song is not only cool to listen to, it’s an addicting single that really showcases the vocals of Eriko Imai and Hiro Shimabukuro.  On TV, we see how Takako Uehara and Hitoe Arakaki shine as dancers. This is a solid track!

As for the coupling track, “HAPPY TOGETHER”, it’s standard J-Pop fare that I’m sure other fans will enjoy, I found it as an average, fun track with all girls singing in unison.  A happy upbeat track.  The remaining two tracks are the instrumentals of both vocal tracks.

Also, included with this single is a black shiny sticker with SPEED in silver letters.

Overall, another wonderful followup to “Body & Soul”… “Steady” is an awesome J-pop single worth checking out!