A male friend I’m close with has invited me to karaoke. Are there any songs you’d be happy to hear me sing, or that you think would be cute? I’m worried we’re from such different generations that he might not enjoy it.

Maezawa from the President’s Office here. Thanks for your question. I think a lot of people would recognize songs by Pink Lady or Candies. That said, even if the song is from a different generation, some men may enjoy it as a way to see what kind of music is popular now. So it might be worth choosing songs while gauging what kind of person he is. If he doesn’t seem very into it, you could switch to older songs, perhaps? But then again, I’m not sure you really need to worry about it that much.

I’m Basil, a male member. Yuming, Seiko Matsuda, and Kyōko Koizumi come to mind. It’s amazing that all three are still major figures today.

Let me also have Teramoto from the Tokyo branch, a former karaoke bar employee, answer this. I’ll assume that you’re in your 20s or 30s. Many people in today’s younger generation don’t even know songs like “Red Sweet Pea,” so I’m sure your companion is well aware that there may be a generation gap and is inviting you with that in mind. That said, if “Red Sweet Pea” comes to mind right away and you sing it, I think that alone would make him happy. I’ve seen many year-end parties and farewell parties with people of all ages, and there really are men in their 60s who aren’t receptive to anime songs, Vocaloid, or currently popular K-pop. Looking at the song histories, I noticed that younger people often stick with safe J-pop choices. So if there’s any 2000s J-pop you’re good at, it might be worth giving it a try.

Thank you for your question. Hatta from our Tokyo branch staff here as well. Since this is your first time, I think it would be best to sing a song you’re comfortable with. Rather than forcing yourself to match their tastes, they’ll probably find it more attractive to see you enjoying yourself. Use the first meeting to get a sense of their preferences, then casually choose songs that suit them from your next meeting onward. Saying something like, “After you mentioned it before, I started listening to it enough that I can sing along now” will let you naturally show that you’re matching their tastes, so I recommend it. Personally, I like “Momoiro Tohiki” and “Slow Motion.” Sorry for the extra bit of information.

I’m a male member, Paper Airplane. If you can sing Seiko, you can probably handle representative songs by Akina, Momoe, Yuming, Miyuki, and Hiromi as well. But I think it’s probably fine to simply sing songs you like. Choosing from the song history or rankings should work. Is Sheena Ringo popular these days? Songs by LiSA, YOASOBI, Aimyon, Kenshi Yonezu, Official HIGE DANDism, Masaki Suda, and others who are also popular with men should be perfectly fine. As for B’z, Mr. Children, and Fukuyama—artists with voices many women like—some people dislike them without even listening, so it may be safer to avoid them. Going by song titles, I don’t think you can go wrong with “Chiisana Koi no Uta,” “Konayuki,” “Yuki no Hana,” “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” “silent,” “M,” and “Nemurihime.” People who go to karaoke usually choose songs from the rankings or their song history, so I think you should do the same. If you’re choosing based on a particular era, you could match the other person’s preferred decade too… from time to time… P.S. The latest rankings tend to retain songs that are easy to sing and pleasant to listen to, so classic songs are still included. Ishikawa Sayuri, Iwasaki Yoshimi, Ozaki Yutaka, Sharam Q, and Ouyang Fei Fei still consistently rank near the top every year, and you can sing along together as well. If the song is ranked or is one you’re used to singing, even if the man you’re with doesn’t know it, I think he’ll still be able to get absorbed in the lyrics and your voice.

I’m Kazu, a male member. Naturally, every man has different tastes. For men under 60, the 1970s and ’80s were their formative years, so why not look into the hit songs from that era? He may be into Western music, so I recommend researching his musical tastes beforehand.