Utaite Spotlight: Shuuta

[fascinates]

Shuuta / 秀太

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If you regularly watch the the Anime Theme Collaboration in NND, like this one for summer 2011, you sure have met Shuuta, also known as the guy with the weird masks who sings awesomely ;). In the link above, he sang Blood-C's theme around 20:08 and Hyadain no Jojou(ry @ 24:40.

Shuuta is a a prolific NND singer, having uploaded more than ten covers despite being in utattemita category for a little more than a year. He is not that well-known (yet), but people who listen to him wonder why someone who's blessed with an awesome voice like him is not yet popular.

Shuuta is known for his loud, solid and slightly rough voice with a quality similar to UVERWorld's vocalist. Because of his voice, he can sing rock songs well without sounding garbled or slurry. He also has a wide range and he can sing in falsetto for one whole song without showing any bit of difficulty. Aside from that, he can also do screamo and the ever popular death voice. This superb vocal quality is one reason why Shuuta's covers are always entertaining.

One reason why Shuuta's covers aren't that popular is because he caters only to certain people. He has a habit of singing a song loosely. It means he sometimes sings with random changes in pitches (drastic even) and sometimes he creates his own rhythm of the song ^^;. Those, however, are only a part of his "performance" and can be entertaining when used to a certain degree.

Aside from singing in the anime medley, he also does collabs, usually with Kanamu.

sample songs
A. Vocaloid covers
• Ama no Jaku (164 original)
• Carnival (otetsu original)
• Bye-bi Baby Sayonara (saiB original)
• Mukuro Attack!! (UtsuP original)
• Sakurazensen Ijou Nashi (WataruP original)
bonus: Sweet Devil (HachioujiP original)

B. Collabs
• Nakimushi Kareshi (with Kanamu; FernandoP original)
• Cantarella (with Kanamu; KurousaP original)
• Usotsuki no Sekai (with Kanamu; scop original)

C. Anime covers (from the medley)
• Spring Anime 2011 - Gintama's "Samurai Heart" (3:00) and Tiger and Bunny's "Orion wo Nazoru" (21:58).


nikki says
I first encountered Shuuta in the anime theme medleys and I really loved his rendition of the songs, especially "Samurai Heart". I couldn't read his name the first time (you notice the names in the videos are really small :( ). I wondered why he isn't that popular compared to some of the other singers in the group like Keisen, non and kalon.. And eventually, I went through his mylist and liked most of what I heard.

We're all new to his songs but right now I think I'm starting to make a favorite out of him :). Almost all of his songs are popular ones which are covered by a lot of wonderfully popular people so I thought it'd be nice if he gets more views!

Utaite Spotlight: Kakichoco

[fascinates]

Kakichoco / 柿チョコ

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Most of you might have already listened to or encountered Kakichoco, especially if you like listening to covers by Wotamin, Valshe, etc. Kakichoco is a relatively popular utaite, with a ton of uploads ever since her debut in 2008. Her name Kakichoco was decided by herself, when she was uploading her first song in NND and she ended up seeing a persimmon seed chocolate in her house (persimmon seed = kaki), and she used it ever since. Her nickname is "Kakki". Some of her tags like "Kakichoco wa kawaii" and "Kakichoco Oneesan" were coined by Clear during their large group radio shows.

Kakichoco is said to be one of the most versatile female utaite in NND. Her list of covers had spanned almost every genre from pop, ballad, rock, hard rock, jazz, etc. It's said that she can sing basically anything. Her voice is solid and alto-ish, although she can reach very high notes if she needed to. Her diction as well as her sense of phrasing is also nice, which is why listening to her covers makes it easier to understand the lyrics or mood of the song. Her voice can be likened to Choucho, Wataame and other singers who prefer singing in mid-range but can do very high or very low octaves.

Being one of the "older" singers in NND, she is close to the other singers of the same generation, namely Seriyu, Wotamin, Vivienne, Kazukin, Valshe, Ten, Clear, Dasoku, PUPI, etc. While she has not released a solo album, she's part of utattemita collab CDs like VUCA's "New Wave". She also debuted live for the first time during a Dokinama concert this year.

sample songs
A. Solos
• If (MuryokuP original)
• KiLLER LADY (HachioujiP original)
• Yokkyuufuman March (21seikiP original)
• The Servant of the Moon (don original)
• Monochroact (doriko original)

B. Collabs
• Yume Sakura (with Valshe; Hitoshizuku original)
• Knife (with Vivienne and Ten; Rerulili original)
• Never (with Wotamin; DATEKEN original)

nikki says
Kakichoco is not one of my favorite singers, but I find it such a pleasure to listen to her EVERY TIME. She has a wonderful diction and every song she sings, whether it's hard rock like that don-san song above or a ballad, she always sings with a clarity that lets me enjoy the song AND the lyrics. How she can sing fast/loud songs so clearly I don't know.

One thing about Kakichoco's covers is that they are varied. Not all of them are popular songs and she shines whenever she sings something that is not the bandwagon song. Take for example "Yokkyuufuman March", which is a really good song and one of my favorite among her covers. I also like her Killer Lady and Yume Sakura with Valshe.