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The Klassic Note Song Awards 2023

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The Klassic Note Song Awards 2023

Sunday, 31 December 2023
🎊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.

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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.

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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.

LanguageEnglishJapaneseAll
Songs (%)4.47%95.53%246 Songs
>> Japanese is the most popular language in songs of 2023.

Year of Release2005-20192020202120222023All
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 TypeAnime Theme SongsCharacter/Insert Songs
Songs (%)1.72%0.43%
>> Anime songs are 2.15% of 2023 songs, mostly on theme songs.

Total Singles Released 202376
Total Tracks123 or more
Singles242329
Total Considered in List817
>> 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!!

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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
RankArtist - Song Title
9Kitou Akari - Dear Doze Days
Kroi - Fuurai
8Uesaka Sumire - Rebellion
7Kroi - Juden (2022)
anewhite - Kinsenka
Genie High - Rendezvous ni Touhikou
Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Slow dance
6Fuchigami 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
2023Artist - Song TitleRank
JanHitsujibungaku - Ame2
LUCK LIFE - Shirushi
FebUesaka Sumire - Rebellion3
yucat - Seiren -Ningyohime no Namida-
MarKitou Akari - Dear Doze Days4
AprHomecomings - US3
MayRyokuoushoku Shakai - Slow dance4
JunOAU - Kokoro no Hana4
Julmol-74 - 0.1s4
AugYogee New Waves - Climax Night3
Sangatsu no Phantasia - My Wonder
SepHitsujibungaku - more than words4
OctKitou Akari - Magie x Magie5
NovChilli Beans. - Shekilala2
DecClariS - Snow Light4

TOP SONGS TO START THE DAY
RankArtist - Song Title
6Kroi - Fuurai
Kroi - Juden (2022)
5anewhite - Kinsenka
Uesaka Sumire - Rebellion
Takahashi Rie - Saitsuyo Watashiizumu
Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Slow dance
Hanazawa Kana - GSSP (2022)

TOP SONGS TO END THE DAY
RankArtist - Song Title
5Kitou Akari - Dear Doze Days
Hitsujibungaku - more than words
4OAU - 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.

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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
RankRecipient
1Uesaka Sumire - LOVE CRAZY
2[Limited Edition Only] LUCK LIFE - Shirushi / Mon-C
3Tsuzuri - NAME
4w.o.d. - STARS
5Kitou Akari - Magie x Magie
6TrySail - Karei One Turn / Follow You !
7[Limited Edition Only] Fuchigami Mai - Fantasic Partner / Shuen no Destiny
8Ikimonogakari - Ureshikute / Tokimeki
9[Digital Only] fuzzy knot - Toki no Tabibito
10Hanazawa Kana - Dramatic Janakute mo

Top 10 Albums
RankRecipient
1Natsukawa Shiina - Cable Salad
2SHE'S - Shepherd
3[Artist Best] LUCK LIFE - LUCK LIFE
4TrySail - SuperBloom
5Ryokuoushoku Shakai - pink blue
6SIX LOUNGE - FANFARE
7[Mini Album] yuiko - Follow out Y
8Sambomaster - Love & Peace! Masterpeace!
9Sai - YELLOW
10yorushika - 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.

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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.

TitleRecipient
"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]


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. 

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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.

TitleRecipient
THE ARTIST 2023
(JAPANESE CATEGORY)
Homecomings
THE NEWCOMER 2023w.o.d.
THE CONTRIBUTOR 2023Homecomings
THE CHARASON 2023Yashiro Nene & Mokke - Koi! Koi Koi
THE IDOLISM 2023Kitou Akari - Magie x Magie
Uesaka Sumire - LOVE CRAZY
THE EMOTIONAL 2023FINLANDS - Special Week (SHUTTLE ver.)
THE ROMANTIC 2023Kodama Hikari - Dramatic ni Koi Shitai
THE LIVELY 2023Enfamilia - UNDERWORLD feat.KIMI(BRIDEAR)
THE INSPIRATION 2023Ryokuoushoku Shakai - Jibun Seifuku
THE LONGEST 2023OGRE YOU ASSHOLE - Nagai Aida
THE SHORTEST 2023Murasaki Shion - Chandelier
THE MUSIC 2023Sai - MONOLITH
THE NUMBER ONE SONG OF 2023Kitou Akari - Dear Doze Days
Kroi - Fuurai
THE ALBUM 2023Natsukawa Shiina - Cable Salad
THE SINGLE 2023Uesaka 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.

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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!)


Here are my thoughts about this year's Top 20 as elaborated from above, in a nutshell:
  • 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




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.