SHOW-YA is a female hard rock/heavy metal band that briefly enjoyed big pop… Read Full Bio ↴SHOW-YA is a female hard rock/heavy metal band that briefly enjoyed big popularity in Japan, and made a valiant attempt at making it worldwide. Formed in 1984, the group’s very first gig was in at Dingwall’s in London. The group consisted of vocalist Keiko Terada, guitarist Miki Igarashi, keyboardist Miki Nakamura, bassist Satomi Senba and drummer Miki Tsunoda. Seemingly from the start, the group targeted the international market, early on playing in the USSR and Mexico, and later making a sustained attack on the U.S.. The band made their debut album Masquerade Show in 1985 for Toshiba-EMI. It was helped considerably by the fact their debut single “Suteki Ni Dancing” was used in a Coca-Cola commercial. Much of the focus was on the band’s sexy singer Keiko Terada, whose trademark was the fake rose tattoo she wore above her right breast. She adopted the rose mark after being deeply impressed by Bette Midler’s performance in the film The Rose, in which Midler played a Janis Joplin-like character. The tattoo was in fact the focus of the cover of their 1988 live album Turn Over. Having amassed enough hits to release a “best of” in 1988, they increasingly went after the international market.

In 1989 they recorded Outer Limits in LA with Beau Hill (Ratt, Winger, Warrant, Europe) serving as executive producer. The album included three songs sung in English, a first for the group. The following year SHOW-YA released the album in the States, and did a heavy promotional campaign in support. This was during the LA hair metal boom, and the band was frequently compared to then popular Vixen, and Lita Ford. In January 1990 SHOW-YA played to an industry heavy audience at the Palace in Hollywood, but the reaction they received was in general lukewarm. While the members were all technically very strong, they never managed to connect strongly with the US audience. The usual explanation was that their lyrics were weak, and the English singing not strong enough. The group’s management later flew writers over to Japan to witness their performance at Budokan, but the band were not able to really handle interviews in English, and junket did not really enhance their image in the States. Beyond language problems, while the band was rooted in album-oriented rock style metal, with a prominent keyboard sound and Japanese sensibilities, the music often sounded overtly pop, and thus they were not completely embraced by American metal fans, who generally favored a heavier sound. Despite their hard work and hefty financial support from their management company, the band never really took off in the States, and being away from Japan so much started leading to an erosion of their Japanese fan base. After releasing the Hard Way, touring, and then releasing the 1991 live album Hard Way Tour, Terada left the group and attempted a solo career. In 1995 the band tried to make a comeback with a new singer who spoke English more proficiently, but by then their fan base had evaporated. They tried again in 1998 with a six song EP, and then packed it in for good. In 2002, SHOW-YA’s Golden Best was released. In the US it was claimed that they had sold over 2 million units.

Current members:

* Keiko Terada - Vocals
* Miki "sun-go" Igarashi - Guitar
* Miki Nakamura - Keyboard
* Satomi Senba - Bass
* Miki "mittan" Tsunoda - Drums

Discography

Albums

* Masquerade Show (1985)
* Queendom (1986)
* Ways (1986)
* Trade Last (1987)
* Immigration (1987)
* Turn Over (Live) (1988)
* Glamour (1988)
* White (Best of/Compilation) (1988)
* Outerlimits (1989)
* Hard Way (1990)
* Hard Way Tour 1991 (1991)
* SHOW-YA Greatest 1985-1990 (Best of/Compilation)(1991)
* Touch the Sun (1995)
* SHOW-YA Twin Best (Best of/Compilation) (1996)
* SHOW-YA Golden Best (Best of/Compilation) (2002)
* SHOW-YA 20th Anniversary The Best (Bestof/Compilation) (2005)

Video releases

* Date Line (1987)
* Rollin World (1989)
* 1990 Budokan - Reach for the World (1990)
* Distance On Their Way (1991)
* Hard Way Tour 1991 (1991)

Masquerade
SHOW-YA Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tonight 空にちりばめた
Tonight 星をつかみとり
長い黒髪に飾って Fly again
Tonight 風がやさしいわ
Tonight 部屋をとび出して
時を忘れて踊るの Dance again
やわらかいくちづけは
かわいたのどをうるおすだけ

愛という甘い言葉が
Too late 消えゆく
......つづくのマスカレード......

ふれた肌熟い想い
ひとときだけの mu......ささやき
落ちる汗に流しては
Too love 悲しく
Tonight 時のいたずらに
Tonight 身体踊らせて

そっと夜風に抱かれて Fly again
......すべてはマスカレード......

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to SHOW-YA's song "Masquerade" tell the story of a woman who is caught up in a glamorous and exciting lifestyle, but realizes that her love is fading away. The first verse describes a night filled with twinkling stars and a gentle breeze as she prepares herself to go out. She puts on her long black hair as she gets ready to fly again. She leaves her room and forgets about time as she dances the night away, but the soft kisses only temporarily quench her thirst and the sweet words of love are now too late as they disappear. The chorus repeats "Masquerade" which symbolizes the double life she leads and perhaps the idea of not being true to herself.

Line by Line Meaning

Tonight 空にちりばめた
Tonight, the sky is filled with sparkling stars.

Tonight 星をつかみとり
Tonight, we'll try to grasp those stars.

長い黒髪に飾って Fly again
We'll decorate our long black hair and fly again.

Tonight 風がやさしいわ
Tonight, the wind is gentle.

Tonight 部屋をとび出して
Tonight, we'll leave our rooms.

時を忘れて踊るの Dance again
We'll forget about the current time and dance again.

やわらかいくちづけはかわいたのどをうるおすだけ
Soft kisses can only soothe dry throats.

愛という甘い言葉が Too late 消えゆく
These sweet words of love disappear too late.

......つづくのマスカレード......
...the masquerade continues.

ふれた肌熟い想いひとときだけの mu......ささやき
Our touched skin and ripe emotions will be whispered in this moment only.

落ちる汗に流しては Too love 悲しく
As our sweat drips down, so does love, leaving us with sadness.