Aqua Timez Rock Vocalist Futoshi Shreds Japanese National Anthem – Kimi Ga Yo

The internet is alive with comments about how bad the Aqua Timez rock band’s lead vocalist Futoshi’s rendering of Kimi Ga Yo.

Now, in defense of Futoshi, that is a hard song to do well and is definitely out of his genre. Aqua Timez is a fine band, especially as Japanese rock bands go, so I hope that he takes any criticisms in stride.

His performance was done at the beginning of the Korea vs Japan Men’s Soccer Match at the Kirin Challenge Cup 2011.

For the record, here is a performance at a high school game by a Japanese female opera-type singer that has gotten high marks from people.

The girl singing above is currently a budding opera singer in Japan named Ayano Nonomura whose homepage can be found here: Ayano Nonomura Official Website, and blog, here: Ayano Nonomura blog. Some people on 2Ch have even been inspired by her rendition to support her as best they can.

Though some people out there seem to think his poor performance is the result of a lack of practice, others think it is a lack of talent. Just to reiterate though, Aqua Timez is not necessarily a bad band and has a strong fan base. Here is the Aqua Timez Official Homepage for those interested in exploring further.