JEALOUS July 25, 2010
Posted by Die in JASMINE.Tags: JASMINE
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JEALOUS was JASMINE’s 4th single. It was released on April 7, 2010 and reached no. 20 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold over 3,836+ copies. This was the second single from the trilogy of consecutive monthly singles.
Tracks:
1. Jealous
2. I Need You to Survive
Review:
So let’s cut the chitchat shall we. Jasmine is looking purple, another new color for her. She kinda looks cool though, and very asian, even more than usual somehow. So basically we have the fierce yet laid-back Jealous. This song is what I would call a true hybrid of R&B and Japanese music. You’ve got the traditional strings in the background, some other oriental elements that add to the feel; but then you also have the edgy beats/music that are slower than usual. The song and vocals itself move rather fast when compared to the tempo of music, but it’s a great contrast. Any who, her vocals are great, especially when distorted/altered. Jealous is so dangerous….
And then you have I Need You to Survive. It’s completely different from the title track but as far as gospel it sounds nice. It’s also a cover song of Hezekiah Walker…not sure how it sounds but this rendition is great. I love that she does something that’s different from the other artists, it makes her stand out. The music is calming and pleasant, but the one thing I cannot stand is the vocoder in the background, seriously???? It’s annoying. Her vocals were lovely, controlled, and not overwhelming. It took a while for the song to get started, and by that I mean truly interesting but other than that it was great, minus the vocoder.
~~~~~
Another awesome single from Jasmine. I’m still in LOVE with the title track, it’s edgy, laid-back, and just plain HOT. The B-Side was great, tame, beautiful and inspiring. The juxtaposition of R&B and gospel was unique yet she proved that she can do both well, and put them on the same single. There’s nothing bad I can say about the single, ok the vocoder was bad, the end.
Rating
time flies July 24, 2010
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so basically the past few months have just been hectic and i’ve been busy. and it really sucks since i’ve been dying to review some stuff. i just got back from one vacation and now i have another one in a few days, and there’s a good chance i won’t be bringing my lap top =( but i should be able to do about 5 reviews before i go. I’m thinking about finishing up JASMINE as one major review. do some ayu, boa, namie, and some others before i go off to the Dominican Republic for my sister’s wedding. some reviews should be coming tomorrow, perhaps even later tonight if i’m not tired haha
Gossip Candy July 9, 2010
Posted by Die in Koda Kumi.Tags: Koda, Koda Kumi, Kumi, Kumi Koda, Kuu
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Gossip Candy was Koda Kumi’2 47th single. It was released on July 7, 2010 and debuted at no. 4 on the Oricon Daily Charts. The single is also a continuation or followup of her summer singles.
Tracks:
1. Lollipop
2. Inside Fishbowl
3. Outside Fishbowl
4. For you
5. Got To Be Real
Review:
It appears as though it’s time for another summer single, and I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite some time. So this single is somewhat of a fusion. It’s your typical summer single that’s also like Yume no Uta / Futari de… with the two fishbowl songs. Either way it’s pretty awesome.
First off is Lollipop, which sounds naughty already because Kuu can do stuff like that haha. This song is incredibly catchy, yet it’s not a dance song like TABOO or ECSTASY. It’s a bit edgier, more urban. The beats are awesome, the music FIERCE, and the vocals are oh so sultry. There’s seriously no song like this in her discography, but it’s that amazing. I dodged the bullet bullet…
And as awesome as Lollipop was, the Fishbowl songs are just incredible, if not for the sound just the fact that the melody is the same, and all the contrasts between them. So Inside Fishbowl is the more childish song of the two. While both songs are rock sounding, this song is more innocent, the rock music is a lot softer. And to top it off her vocals are by far more tame, and cuter? It sounds more like a child is singing, that is she’s restraining herself. As for Outside Fishbowl, you’ll notice that the instrumentals are by far more aggressive and stronger, louder too. The melody is the same so naturally they sound similar. But this song a tad bit darker as far as the sound goes. And her vocals are far more superior, it’s almost like Can We Go Back. I personally love the rock elements, there’s finally a decent rock song, way better than her last single. The guitar riffs were insane, the percussion sweet and the synth, orgasmic as always. I find it so mind-blowing that they have the same tempo but the overall sound and key are different.
For you is somewhat of the odd track, especially when you consider the fact that it’s a ballad. The mid-tempo arrangement and soft music sadly make it a tad bit too dull for my taste. But at least the chorus is a bit more exciting, at least with the sound. This ballad is sweet and innocent, but it seems kinda like WTF after three urban songs. And had it been a bit more energetic or dramatic it would’ve been better.
Now I remember hearing the newer cover from the movie Sharktale, and I fell in love with the song. And honestly this cover of Got To Be Real isn’t as good. And that’s probably because the MJB cover version was more like a re-written cover, sampling at the least. That being said this version is still great. It’s more modern and a lot more energetic. I wish her english was better, but what can you do. At least it was catchy.
~~~~~
So for another cheesy summer single this one is actually decent. You have your basic urban song Lollipop, which now that I think about it, almost reminds me of JUICY, as far as the urban vibe goes. You also have your two rock songs, which are astounding for the reason that they have the same melody and contrast in so many ways, a step up from Yume no Uta / Futari di… in my opinion, as far as composition goes. Then things tone down a bit with the ballad, but it does balance out the single a bit. And then the bonus track closes the single on an energetic note, although a more pop or dance hybrid would have been better, especially if it was like With your smile or girls. It could have been a tad bit better but overall as far as the final product goes it’s another fierce single from Kuu.
Rating
to LOVE July 4, 2010
Posted by Die in Kana Nishino.Tags: Nishino Kana, Kana Nishino, Kana, Nishino
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to LOVE was Kana Nishino’s 2nd album. It was released on June 23, 2010 and reached no. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts with 290,048 copies sold This makes it her release to ever attain the top spot on the daily as well as the weekly charts.
Tracks:
1. *Prologue* ~What a nice~
2. Best Friend
3. Summer Girl feat. MINMI
4. Hey Boy
5. Motto…
6. love & smile
7. Kono Mama de
8. MAYBE
9. WRONG
10. Come On Yes Yes Oh Yeah!!
11. Dear…
12. Aitakute Aitakute
13. You are the one
14. *Epilogue* ~to LOVE~
Review:
After you get over the fact that Kana looks increasingly white and almost Jolie-like, you got to admit that it’s impressive that this album reached no. 1. Kana has been seeming a huge increase in popularity since her debut album, even her singles are selling more. I never would have thought that she’d be this popular, then again after her “transformation” *cough* ayu *cough* who knows.
I wonder if they ever realize some of the grammar errors they make haha. It doesn’t matter though, because the Prologue is quite lovely. It’s soft, light “nice surprise.” Almost heavenly with all the wonderful euphoric instrumentals.
Then we get down to some fun songs. Best Friend is really more sweet than anything but it’s quite fun IMO. The mid-tempo arrangement and up-beat strings make for one incredible song. Summer Girl is clearly a fun song. It’s quite energetic, up-beat, and quite perfect for summer. All the brass? synth and percussion sound great, even MINMI’s vocals sound great. Hey Boy is pretty fun as well. It’s more rock driven than any song she’s released up to this point, far from her usual R&B hits. Either way those guitar riffs are awesome, and I love the energetic up-beat nature of the song.
Now we go to our R&B semi-ballads, or ballads in some cases. First up is Motto, released as the first single for the new ear, aka pre-transformation. It’s very R&B driven, and even has an appreciable amount of synth. The overall sound is refreshing and simple, not to mention semi-mid-tempo. love & smile is another R&B semi-ballad. This song however is more up-beat and more cheery. There also seems to be a great emphasis on synth, but Kana’s vocals are stronger than usual, which is a surprising thing. This song just seems very happy-go-lucky. As for Kono Mama de, it’s a sweet ballad. While it’s dramatically slower than its predecessors it’s a full-blown ballad. It’s mid-tempo, filled with powerful vocals, and that classic ballad feel.
Next up are some of my favorite tracks. First up is MAYBE. It’s more of a dance song IMO and it’s spectacular. The infectious synth riffs and vocals make it one hot song. WRONG is just as hot and just as FIERCE. Seriously, as far as Kana goes this is edgy. While it’s infectious it also has a bit of a rock vibe, especially during the chorus. Her English has also improved it seems. The point is this song is HOT, seriously, one of the best songs on the album. Now first I thought Come On Yes Yes Oh Yeah!! was the dumbest song ever. That’s because the first 30 seconds or so were just so weird, almost like terrible hip-hop. After that intro it gets more dance friendly, heavier synth riffs, and the music gets a lot better. The chorus is infectious as can be, these three songs here are the best for fulfilling your pop/dance/synth needs. It’s edgy at times, and the verses could use some work, but overall I loved this song. The piano chords, guitar riffs (???), and synth made it amazing.
So now we come towards the end, and it ends with the ballads. Dear… was a very sweet ballad, more classical when compared to her R&B ballads, yet it still retains that R&B feeling; the same goes for Aitakute Aitakute. And the final new song is You are the one. It’s a bit slower moving, but it still retains the R&B sound and remains lovely. The strangest thing was the huge boost in instrumentals, there was a huge, noticeable difference. Sweet and beautiful overall, dramatic at times, and truly epic.
And as for the epilogue ~to LOVE~, it’s basically a continuation of the prologue, not all that creative but it does give the album closure.
~~~~~
DAMN Kana, you be making real good albums =O No but seriously, this album easily tops the list of best albums. It’s nearly outsold Ayu’s new album, in only one week, maybe she’s replacing ayu (O_o) oh well, ayu had it coming haha. As far as the structure goes I’m extremely pleased. You have your intro followed by some fun songs, then you have the semi-ballads, up next is the hard hitting HOT and FIERCE tracks, the ballads follow next, and the epilogue closes the album. The album has flow, sadly most albums don’t, which is why this album is even better. As far as music goes, there were some fantastic singles released prior to the album, you had some flawless new songs, and even the bad songs were good and decent. There weren’t any songs that I legitimately hated believe it or not. This album has got my vote for no. 1 album of the year, sorry Beni =(.
Rating
best day, ever? July 3, 2010
Posted by Die in Uncategorized.4 comments
Yesterday was possibly the best day ever haha. No but seriously, it was awesome. I found out my AP scores, got 2 4s and 2 5s, a 4 for AP Chem and AP Computer Science. And a 5 in AP Art History and AP Government, and I seriously didn’t expect to do so well in government or chemistry haha. And in all, with transfer credits uncluded, I have a grand total of 42 credits, which is a whole year of college, naturally I cannot use all of that for my major, some will be for part of the liberal education curriculum haha but every bit helps. And on top of that I got my tablet PC!!!! It’s so awesome, and now that I have a working laptop I can go back to reviewing a lot more haha. So expect some reviews soon, I need to catch up on Jasmine, Kana Nishino, and some others.
Lovebox June 27, 2010
Posted by Die in BENI.Tags: Arashiro, Arashiro Beni, BENI, Beni Arashiro
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Lovebox was BENI’s 2nd studio album under Universal. It was released on June 2, 2010 and reached no. 2 on the Oricon WEEKLY Charts with 22,528 copies sold. In all this album has sold over 40,341+ copies. This is Beni’s 1st release to ever reach the top spot on the Oricon Charts.
Tracks:
1. Lovebox Intro
2. Yura Yura
3. Sign
4. Hitomi Tojite
5. Gimme Gimme♥
6. Girl’s Night feat. JAMOSA
7. a million jewels
8. Kimi Ja Nakya
9. bye bye
10. MOVE
11. break the rules
12. he is mine
13. My・Friend
14. Message
15. Zutto Futari de unplugged version
Review:
So you might have noticed that I had put “weekly” in caps. That’s because while it’s an amazing feat to have a no. 1 album, it’s depressing that it only sold 22.5K. I mean it’s seriously sad that the sales of music in Japan have sunken that low. I think in the US Alicia Keys’ album “As I Am” reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with only 25K in sales for a week. So sad….moving on.
So I’ve been debating how I’d like to do this album review. Because I can easily write a something for the songs that were released as singles, and then the others would be rather tough, depending on how good or bad they are.
Okay, let’s get down to business. This album has probably some of the strongest singles I’ve listened to in a long time. Sign was an flawless ballad, that was as catchy as it was beautiful. Then you had Bye Bye which is a great vivacious pop tune. It’s not the most infectious track, but it’s certainly catchy and energetic. You have the synth driven Yura Yura, which remains my favorite, it’s filled with energetic, infectious beats, as well as effervescent synth/pop music. Finally for the singles released you have the oh so sweet and cute pop song entitled Gimme Gimme♥. Oddly enough it’s so catchy, I have no idea why but I just can’t get enough of the chorus. I guess I’ll even talk about the unplugged version of Zutto Futari de. It’s more raw and more emotional when compared to the original version and it sounds more like a ballad.
Kicking off the album is Lovebox Intro. It’s rather sweet and whimsical, filled with the sounds of a baby laughing and sounding so cute, and some other light and refreshing pop sounds.
Let’s get to the pop track first. So the first new track is entitled Hitomi Tojite. And while it’s a wonderful pop song, that’s features some R&B beats, it reminds me a little or With U, perhaps because it sounds a little……oriental I guess? Either way it’s quite catchy and not nearly as sappy as I thought it’d be. Another track that’s just as fun is Girl’s Night, which feature’s JAMOSA. It’s faster and a bit more energetic, yet just as fun. The vocal layering was awesome and Jamosa’s vocals were somewhat nasally yet still enjoyable. My・Friend could really go either way, but I feel that it’s slightly more pop sounding. There’s a lot of synth in addition to Beni’s stronger than usual vocals. The music, again mostly synth, is excellent. Overall it’s quite catchy.
Now as far as the more R&B sounding tracks, we have a few. The first is a million jewels. The arrangement is somewhat mid-tempo, but choppy sadly. The beats are great, but again it’s a bit too choppy at times, luckily Beni’s vocals more than make up for it, that and the synth. I was debating where to put MOVE into pop or R&B, but it sounds more R&B. Although it’s somewhat of a hybrid of the two, the strong beats make it more R&B. Yet it’s just as infectious and as catchy as some of the pop songs. The slower beats and the background vocals really push it more towards that R&B flavor, especially with Beni’s vocals, almost Mariah like xD So as if MOVe wasn’t aggressive enough, we have the edgy break the rules. This song is pure R&B, maybe with a hint of dance. Either way, the beats are out of this world, thumping and suck. The vocals are incredible, the layering is great too, and all that synth is orgasmic.
For the ballads there are a few as well. Kimi Ja Nakya is your typical ballad, filled with an orchestra of strings that sounds harmonious, yet still incorporating some more modern elements, either way it sounds lovely, especially the little bits of synth. So then we have he is mine. It’s another wonderful ballad from Beni, the vocals are great, and I love the background vocals too, they help set the mood for this soft ballad. There aren’t too many additional sounds besides the piano, beats, and the sounds of children(???) in the background. Finishing off the album for new tracks is Message. This is what I’d expect from Beni as far as ballads go, because it’s a true R&B ballad. It’s soft, beautiful, and not too overpowering. The music is soothing, the piano chords lovely, and overall just amazing. Her vocals could have been a tad bit better but it’s still a lovely ballad.
~~~~~
Needless to say when I first sampled some of the tracks I was rather turned off by some of them. I honestly didn’t think that I would like this album one bit, except for the singles of course. But after giving it a thorough listening I can say that it is an impressive album. It’s truly a perfect sophomore album, the best thing that could follow her debut album. The singles were just plain hot. The ballads were majestic and wonderful. The pop songs, effervescent and energetic. And the R&B songs were sinfully sweet and infectious. It had a great flow from track to track, it was quite fluid. I’d make a minor tweek here and there but overall very nice. And while the sales will probably be nowhere near as good as they were for her previous album, at least this album did manage to claim that no. 1 spot, a feat that I thought she would never do honestly. This is without a doubt one of the better albums of the year. Well done Beni, well done.
Rating
Favorites: Yura Yura || MOVE || Girl’s Night feat.JAMOSA || Sign || Gimme Gimme♥
to Mother June 22, 2010
Posted by Die in YUI.Tags: YUI
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to Mother was YUI’s 16th single. It was released on June 2, 2010 and reached no. 1 on the Oricon Charts with 71,804 copies sold.
Tracks:
1. to Mother
2. Tonight
3. GLORIA ~YUI Acoustic Version~
4. to Mother ~Instrumental~
Review:
I’m finally catching up see =D
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that YUI loves her mother. And to Mother really shows how much she loves her. From the lyrics it would seem as though she writes about the various memories she’s had. One unique thing about this song is that there’s NO ACOUSTICS, seriously, I never thought that YUI would ever have a song like this. Instead it’s a pure ballad that’s driven by the piano. So because of that it’s even more special. YUI’s vocals are also pretty good too, filled with such emotion.
As for Tonight, it’s a typical YUI song. A hard rock number that’s far more up-beat and more aggressive. The heavy guitar riffs and all really make the song, alongside YUI’s high pitched vocals. Not only that but it’s a pretty catchy song too.
And the acoustic version of GLORIA was nice too. Although GLORIA was already a typical YUI song before this acoustic version. So it sounds the same, just a little calmer and not nearly as loud. But either way I still love that “yai yai yai yai” part.
~~~~~
So it seems as though we have yet another amazing single from YUI, one of the few artists who can land a no. 1 for all of the singles she releases for an album. Anyway to Mother was sentimental and nice, Tonight was cool and edgy, and the acoustic version of GLORIA was great. All and all another great single.
Rating
Last Love June 21, 2010
Posted by Die in Miliyah Kato.Tags: Kato, Kato Miliyah, Miliyah, Miliyah Kato
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Last Love was Miliyah Kato’s 19th single. It was release on June 9, 2010 and reached no. 13 on the Oricon Weekly Charts with 10,541 copies sold.
Tracks:
1. Last Love
2. Tomorrow
3. Fallin’
4. Last Love -Instrumental-
Review:
So after a few up-beat singles I guess it’s time for something sad and sappy. That’s exactly what Last Love is. It’s certainly not up-beat. This ballad still has some R&B flare to it, such as the beats, but the mid-tempo arrangement and the vocals set the tone. There’s a sense of melancholy with this song, especially with the strings, which sound depressing and sad. It doesn’t sound all that catchy but at least it sounds nice, maybe I’m not in the mood for a sad ballad?
Finishing the single are the tracks Tomorrow and Fallin’. Tomorrow is a bit more up-beat than the last song, the arrangement certainly is. The acoustics and soft R&B elements fit well into this semi-ballad. My favorite though is Fallin’, it’s far more edgy and aggressive. There’s also a greater R&B feel associated with this song. In fact this song is more of what I’d expect from Miliyah. This is also the catchiest song for me.
~~~~~
Okay I have nothing against ballads, but I wasn’t feeling Last Love all that much. In fact the only song I really cared for was Fallin’. It could be because I haven’t heard an epic ballad in a while, but I’m not feeling this single all that much. And it could also be that I was expecting something that was more of an R&B song, like her other singles. At least Heaven will be coming out soon, that’ll be one interesting album, and I am looking forward to it.
Rating
FLASH June 16, 2010
Posted by Die in Crystal Kay.Tags: Crystal Kay, Crystal, Kay, CK
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FLASH was Crystal Kay’s 2nd mini-album. It was released on June 16, 2010 in a CD edition and a limited CD+DVD edition. The title track FLASH used for a CM for Canon IXY Digital and the song Victoria was used in a Tully’s Coffee CM.
Tracks:
1. intro
2. FLASH
3. Victoria
4. Never say goodbye
5. Happy
6. I pray
7. outro
Review:
With this new mini-album my reviewing self has been inspired yet again!
The intro was pretty epic, no lie. Although it almost seemed foreboding at times. It was a mess, but in a good way, a choir in the background towards the end, a symphony of strings, a bunch of other random things as well. And it led into an amazing song.
When I first heard FLASH I thought it bad, but that was only from the music video. But once the entire thing came out I got it and I gave it another shot. And this is probably the FIERCEST and HOTTEST track of the summer. It’s edgy, aggressive, and just plain sexy. The mainly synth driven song features some great and edgy vocals from CK. An impressive chorus that’s about as addictive as crack, don’t worry I haven’t used any drugs haha, it’s just that good. And I also loved the bridge, it was awesome too. And the song was kinda like a modern R&B song, possibly from American, it has that feeling to it.
The other hot track is Victoria! It features a lot more beats and it’s more choppy at times, yet just as good. The chorus is certainly more aggressive as well. Again there are a lot more beats, synth driven still. This song is almost like a fusion of R&B and rock. And it’s just as catchy as FLASH, not as amazing IMO, but pretty damn catchy.
Never say goodbye signals a change in tone as far as the mini-album goes. Things aren’t so edgy, rather up-beat and friendly. Never say goodbye is more of a dance song, lighter beats that are more energetic and again up-beat. It’s also a lot faster, the tempo that is, it moves faster. The pleasant sound, fast beats, cheery music, and lovely vocals make for a very sweet song.
I honestly didn’t really care for the next two songs though. Both Happy and I pray are ballads. Happy is more of a piano ballad that’s sung entirely in English, possibly a tribute to Michael Jackson, she said “I love you Michael” in the beginning. Don’t get me wrong it’s sweet, but it’s just not all that awing or anything. But she did have some great vocals. I pray is more of what I would expect from CK, there’s something else besides a piano. The mellow R&B beats and mid-tempo arrangement of the ballad, this is a bit more refined. But again it didn’t really do much for me.
The outro for the most part was just a piano playing, and then some strings, followed by a few more instrumentals and the sound of the world, various voices etc. It served its purpose.
~~~~~
I haven’t heard her first mini-album but I think it’s safe to assume that this is better. The music was awesome. There was a nice mixture of fierce and ambiance. You had your two fierce tracks that were infectious as hell. The dance track that was a moderate and then the two iffy ballads, good by most standards but I didn’t care for them. And the intro and outro were nice too. And I’m quite glad this was a mini-album, especially since it’s been a while since she released her BEST of album, which had 4 new songs. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next.
Rating
THIS IS NOT A GAME June 13, 2010
Posted by Die in JASMINE.Tags: JASMINE
6 comments
THIS IS NOT A GAME was Jasmine’s 3rd single. It was released on March 3, 2010 and reached no. 23 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold over 3,978+ copies. The title track was used as the opening theme song for the NTV music program Ongaku Senshi MUSIC FIGHTER.
Tracks:
1. THIS IS NOT A GAME
2. MY LIFE, MY LOVE, MY ALL
Review:
Basically no one has released anything new in a while, so I might as well catch up on JASMINE.
Say what you want about her appearance but THIS IS NOT A GAME is one FIERCE song. It’s filled with seductive synth beats as well as some incredible vocals. The mid-tempo arrangement is also pretty nice too. Her vocals sound a bit strained at times, but maybe that’s just strength? Either way this song is awesome, and catchy.
So apparently MY LIFE, MY LOVE, MY ALL is a cover song. I’m not too crazy about cover songs, especially when they’re gospel. I honestly don’t care for gospel but that’s me. The arrangement is pretty simple, just acoustics for the most part. Her vocals don’t get interesting till the middle of it all. It was eh…
~~~~~
Basically the title track was HOT, the B-Side, NOT. But what can you do. I love her material like the title track, all fierce and powerful, not her gospel stuff. There’s not really much to say cause there’s only two songs 0.o oh well.
Rating
