ZARD - Makenaide

today is the 30th anniversary of ZARD's "Makenaide" (don't give up) the song was voted by Japanese fans as their favorite ZARD song ever

Izumi Sakai died tragically in 2007 during an accident while being treated for cancer, after being diagnosed she was optimistic she was going to recover

Quote

the Japanese weekly magazine Friday ran an interview in which said Sakai thought that modern treatments would enable her to live long. Her mother said that she greeted her visitors cheerfully and did not seem to show the effects of her illness

but her condition quickly deteriorated

a well known story related to "Makenaide" told by another patient that was also being treated along her in the same hospital, she told the story of how they would go on walks around the hospital and Izumi would sing her "Makenaide" when she mention how she was having trouble walking

not much later Izumi died after falling from a slope near an emergency exit, according to her mother she liked to go meditate there, the day she died it was raining and this area was slippery and at this point she was already very weakened due to her illness, unfortunately this resulted in her falling, she was discovered unconscious and a few hours later was reported dead

to this day she is still considered to be one of the most successful and influential Japanese artists ever

the music video released today was compiled from footage of this performance

i never got to experience ZARD while she alive, they were active before i was born and by the time i heard about them she already passed away

that said Izumi Sakai was super talented, i really like her music

my favorite song is Yureru Omoi

incredibly beautiful song, she definitely was one of the most talented vocalist ever

also check this tribute from SARD UNDERGROUND, they are the official tribute band of ZARD, these girls are also really talented

Thread

SARD UNDERGROUND - Makenaide

youtube.com/watch?v=m6eL1o67Ipc

SARD UNDERGROUND are the official tribute group of Izumi Sakai's ZARD

they are pretty good!

twitter.com/sardunderground/status/1618931157659426818

stanBiSH

Jan 27th 2023

check SARD UNDERGROUND!

also this cover of Yureru Omoi is pretty good

Quote from Yinye

I was lucky that I was listening to JPOP since the early 90’s so had witness the rise of ZARD and remember when the news of her passing broke. Too young and ugh cancer! She’s one of the JPOP classics I still listen to.

I wish current and new JPOP fans also explore all the great Jpn musicians from before too - so much talent.

if i was alive when they started i definitely would had been a fan!

i feel sad about how things ended and this is several years after it happened so i can't even imagine how hard it must had been for fans

sometimes i wonder about the 90s and early 2000s Jpop scene, i'm aware of some groups like l'arc en ciel and a few others (mostly bands) but in general i know basically nothing about that era or prior, i myself only started checking ZARD after hearing so many J-artists mention them as one of their inspirations, i'm glad her legacy is still alive