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Junko Ohashi — I Love You So

Magical · 1984

Label: Philips · Genre: City Pop / Funk · From: Tokyo, East Asia

Junko Ohashi had one of the most powerful voices in Japanese pop — an overwhelming instrument known for its range and intensity. Magical, released in 1984, was a compilation that gathered highlights from her funk and soul period, and I Love You So became its signature: a driving groove produced by Tetsuji Hayashi with Ohashi's voice doing everything the title promises. Ohashi battled cancer twice during her career before passing away in November 2023 at 73.

Did you know: Magical is a compilation rather than a studio album — but the tracks it gathered represented Ohashi's City Pop peak so definitively that it became her most cited record. She battled esophageal and breast cancer through the 2010s and 2020s before returning to performing in 2019, only to die in November 2023.

Listen / buy: YouTube · Discogs

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