Due to school and such I won’t be able to post as much on this site.  And with that being said I will be removing the links within the week.  So sorry.

Far away was Ayumi Hamasaki’s 15th single. It was released on May 17, 2000 and reached number 2 on the charts with 253,530 copies in the first week. The single would go on to sell over 510,460+ copies. It was the second single in her trilogy of PV’s including vogue and SEASONS. This was also the second single in her Duty Era.

Tracks:
1. Far away “Original Mix”
2. Far away “CRAFTY Remix”
3. Far away “Main Radio Mix”
4. appears “Junior’s Club Mix”
5. Far away “HΛL’s MIX 2000″
6. Far away “Ocean View Remix”
7. End roll “da urban maestro mix”
8. Far away “Huge mutual-tried mix”
9. Far away “POP ‘e.a.’ Mix II”
10. Far away “Dub’s Mute & Feedback Remix”
11. Far away “Original Mix -Instrumental-”

Review:
Far away “Original Mix” the synth inspired song. This song does feature the piano a little, but it mostly features a synth beat. Ayumi’s vocals are pretty good here and seem to fit in this song so well. The chorus here is a little slow, but still sounds good. The bridge is an electric guitar that too fits in well. But this song has that synth beat throughout the entire song. Not bad for a song, but there are better ones.

Overall Review: Far away was an interesting single. The whole synth element took me by surprise and really made it unexpected. I did like it though for that reason, but the song could’ve been better. I think out of the trilogy, that this was the weakest of the singles. But still not a bad single.

Final Grade: 90B

LIFE was YUI’s 4th single. It was released on November 9, 2006 and reached number 9 on the charts and has sold a total of 44,708+ copies to date. This was also the 3rd album in her FROM ME TO YOU Era.

Tracks:
1. LIFE
2. crossroad
3. Tomorrow’s way ~YUI Acoustic Version~
4. LIFE ~Instrumental~

Review:
LIFE the acoustic upbeat song. Although this song did only reach 9 on the charts it has since become more popular. This song was used as the ending theme song for the anime Bleach, which has just began airing in the United States, well the song anyway. The song features an acoustic guitar and some drums to create a beautiful song. The chorus here sounds so great and it’s really the best part of this song. It also uses a few English lines, and I mean a few, but it’s still good. What a great song.

crossroad the second acoustic song. This song, like LIFE, features an acoustic guitar to give it that acoustic vibe. It’s pretty upbeat and somewhat fast paced. The chorus here sounds pretty good also. A lovely B-Side.

Tomorrow’s way ~YUI Acoustic Version~ an acoustic spin. This is an acoustic version of Tomorrow’s way, the previous single by YUI. This trend, an acoustic A-Side on the next single has continued to this day. YUI’s vocals here weren’t that great so I really didn’t care for the song, and the whole acoustic feel to it wasn’t that great either.

Overall Review: LIFE was a fantastic single that possessed a beautiful acoustic vibe with it. This is just what YUI needed in a single. It’s just a shame that it didn’t do any better on the charts. But this is still a fantastic single, especially with LIFE.

Final Grade: 94A-

Potential Breakup Song was Ami Suzuki’s 28th single. It was released on November 11, 2007 and reached number 34 on the charts with 4,151 copies sold, but it peaked at 16. In all it would go on to sell over 5,956+ copies. Like her previous singles, this single too was a collaboration single with the artists Aly & AJ. This was also a cover song of the same name from Aly & AJ. This single was the 2nd and last single on Ami’s DOLCE Era.

Tracks:
1. Potential Breakup Song
2. feel the beat
3. Potential Breakup Song (sugiurumn remix)
4. Potential Breakup Song (Instrumental)

Review:
Potential Breakup Song the Japanese alternate. This song is a cover song of the same name and features the artists in the song. As the English version had a pop feel to it, this version has a more club or dance feel to it. I thought that the music was so catchy and that it was perfect for this song. You can also here Aly & AJ singing some background vocals in both English and Japanese, that right there makes it sound so good, they also seem to create such a harmonious sound with Ami’s vocals. The chorus here is my favorite part and it sounds so good. You really need to listen to this song if you’re a huge fan of Ami.

feel the beat the second song. This song features the artist Sugiurumn. This song is another dance track. It features heavy dance beats and is the longest song on this single at over 8 minutes long. I can honesty say that I don’t like this song as much as it is more focused on the music rather than Ami’s vocals. And Ami’s vocals seem so repetitive.

Potential Breakup Song (sugiurumn remix) the remix by Sugiurumn. This remix features the music of the previous song and the vocals of Potential Breakup Song. The music later blends into one music with all the beats of feel the beat and the melody of Potential Breakup Song. Ami’s Vocals are also lengthened in the sense that it takes her longer to sing them. Stick with the original Ami.

Overall Review: Potential Breakup Song was such a great single, well the main song. I did like the fact that it was a dance single. The one problem I had with it was the B-Side and the remix. I think it would’ve been better to put some other songs, but that’s me. Overall a great way to end the DOLCE Era.

Final Review: 90B

LOVE PiECE was Ai Otsuka’s 4th studio album. It was released on September 26, 2007 and reached number 1 on the charts with 208,031 copies sold. In Japan it has sold more than 373,382+ copies, but according to Avex, it has sold over 550,000+ copies. The cover featured six different shots of Ai hence the name LOVE PiECE, in addition to that there was also a photo booklet released featuring her in six different backgrounds. This was also the first album to feature more than three singles. And none of the single’s B-Sides were featured on this album.

Tracks:
1. Mirai Taxi
2. Yumekui
3. Mackerel’s canned food
4. PEACH
5. Kumuriuta
6. Hoshi no Tango
7. Katorisenkou
8. Frienger
9. CHU-LIP
10. HEART
11. Ren’ai Shashin

Review:
Mirai Taxi lit. Future Taxi. Let me start off by saying that this song is the best song on the album, in my opinion. The song opens up with some guitar beats and then a keyboard, either that or synth sounds. Anyway the point is the music sounds great. Ai’s vocals here are prefect and her English is pretty good. The chorus here is so addictive and sounds so darn good. This was the prefect way to open up the album. Overall this is the BEST song on the album, too bad there was no PV for it. This was the first of five new tracks.

Yumekui lit. Dream Eater. This song was released as a single. As mentioned before it is a pop rock song, but mostly pop. Ai’s vocals are sweet and laid back. The chorus here was particularly catchy. This is just what the album needed, a light hearted pop song. Click here for the review of Yumekui.

Mackerel’s canned food the second of five new tracks. This song begins almost like PEACH with a rock feel. But this mostly features the drums beats and a little guitar music. I must say that Ai’s vocals are fantastic here as they sound do happy and so laid back. The chorus is pretty good and uses some English. I want some of that canned food now.

PEACH, the effervescent rock summer track. This song was released alongside HEART as a double A-Side single. With that being said it was also the last single of this era. I think that it was such a great song and it makes for a terrific addition to the album. Click here for the review of PEACH.

Kumuriuta lit. Cloudy Song, the third of five new tracks. This song was used to promote the album and had a PV made for it. This song is soft and more of a ballad than anything else. The lyrics are sweet and seem innocent. The chorus was good but the one problem I had with this song is that during it there was no change in tone until the middle of the song, but afterwards it got a lot better. With that being said the song is so good. This song had a PV to go with it and was placed on the album, along with two PV’s, although one of the PV’s was a first press bonus.

Hoshi no Tango lit. Star’s Tango, the fourth new song of the five. This song begins pretty quickly and seems somewhat fast-paced in the music. It seems a little more mystical and magical than the other songs. The song is driven by the piano and an acoustic guitar and they both play in complete harmony. It’s a pretty good song, but the one problem was that it was too short, but still good. Quite the mystical sounding track.

Katorisenkou lit. Anti-Mosquito Incense, kinda a weird title. This is the last of the five new songs on the album. It begins with a mosquito buzzing sound but then turns into a quick rock paced song. Let me tell you that this is the most aggressive song on the entire album, well out of the new songs. It almost sounds mad but it’s not. I can say that it is one of the most unique songs that I’ve heard from Ai. And with that this song ends the new songs on this album, kind of a shame really, oh well.

Frienger the rock oriented song, that also used two names to make the song, Friend & Ranger This song was the first song to be released as a single and thus began the LOVE PiECE Era. Besides it being rock it has a pop feel to it. It’s pretty upbeat and makes for a great song. My favorite part was the chorus as it was so catchy and it sounded great. Here is the review of Frienger.

CHU-LIP, the upbeat brass rock tune. This song features the guitar and sounds pretty good. This song was somewhat edgy but could’ve been better. It was also released as a single and was Ai’s first new single of 2007. To read the full review of CHU-LIP, please click here.

HEART, the second double A-Side. This song was released along side PEACH for her 5th single of this era, and the only double A-Side single on this album. This song is so sweet and sounds so upbeat. It’s more of an innocent pop tune filled with love and happiness. It’s my favorite song of all her singles. The chorus here is really great and so catchy. This song had a PV that was placed on this album, and not on the single. For the full review of HEART, click here.

Ren’ai Sashin lit. Love Photograph. The ballad of the album. It’s such a beautiful ballad that features the piano and violins. The chorus here really shined through as the as the best part of the song, and it sounded so beautiful. It was released as the 3rd single in the LOVE PiECE Era. Quite the powerful song, and quite the amazing song too. It was the last song on the album. This song was such a great way to end the album. Although if the Haru version of this song was added to the album, it might have been even better. Here is the review of the moving ballad Ren’ai Sashin.

Overall Review: LOVE PiECE was such a fantastic album. I think that this is my favorite album from Ai. I loved all of the singles from this era, so that made the album good. And the fact that all the new songs on the album were pretty good also helped. I think that Ai needs to do some more albums like this. The one problem that I did have with it was that this album had no B-Sides from any of the singles that were released in this era. But all the songs were good so that made up for it. Overall this is her best work in years.

Final Grade: 100A+

Sorry to say but I will be taking a small break so I have no idea how many reviews I’ll be able to do, so please be patient.

PEACH / HEART was Ai Otsuka’s 15th single. It was released on July 25, 2007 and reached number 1 on the charts with 68,346 copies. In all this single has sold over 168,904+ copies. It was also the last single in her LOVE PiECE Era. In addition to that it was also the only double A-Sided single in this era. And a PV of HEART would be later released on her newest studio album.

Tracks:
1. PEACH
2. HEART
3. Ren’ai Shashin -Haru-
4. PEACH (Instrumental)
5. HEART (Instrumental)

Review:
PEACH the fun in the sun song. I say fun in the sun because it’s a summer song. PEACH begins with an explosive start. The guitar along with the drums begin to play and then Ai begins to sing. At first I didn’t like this song but after a few listens it grew on me. It’s really upbeat and has such great music. The chorus is so catchy and sounds fantastic with the music. It’s really quite a good song.

HEART the softer of the songs. I initially loved this song from the start. Ai’s voice is so sweet and sounds so innocent. It’s almost a ballad except the music isn’t so ballad like, more like a slow happy song. The chorus here is so catchy and sounds great, even though it’s a bit slow. And the music here sounds so great, kinda childish but none the less great. I like this A-Side better than PEACH.

Ren’ai Shashin -Haru- lit. Love Photograph -Spring- this of course is a remix of the original version. Here Ai’s voice sounds sweeter and softer than in the original version. The song also takes on more of a orchestra feel towards it, with that being said it’s a great remix.

Overall Grade: PEACH / HEART was a fantastic single. I especially loved HEART, what a great chorus that sounds to great. I also liked the Haru version of Ren’ai Shashin. This single was the prefect way to end her LOVE PiECE Era.

Final Grade: 97A

CHU-LIP was Ai Otsuka’s 14th single. It was released on February 21, 2007 and reached number 3 on the charts with 55,362 copies, in all it has sold over 120,799+ copies. This was the 4th single in her LOVE PiECE Era, and also the first time that she had more than 3 singles for an album. Like the previous singles the B-Side of this single was not included on her newest studio album.

Tracks:
1. CHU-LIP
2. Kimi ni Kaeru.
3. CHU-LIP (Instrumental)
4. Kimi ni Kaeru. (Instrumental)

Review:
CHU-LIP the upbeat brass rock tune. This song mostly features the guitar and occasionally the trumpet it seems. Ai’s voice is pretty good here. The chorus is somewhat catchy but the music sounds so great that you can’t help but like it. I also like how the CHU-LIP part is in English, but then again I like most songs that use English. What a great A-Side.

Kimi ni Kaeru lit. I’ll Return To You. This is a sweeter song and is what I’d call a ballad. It’s also longer than its predecessor. Ai’s voice sounds so beautiful and calm in this song. You can feel the difference in these two songs. I think this would’ve been a better A-Side but that’s me. The chorus is pretty good but the music is the best with that catchy tune.

Overall Review: CHU-LIP was an okay single. I personally liked the B-Side better but that’s me. I guess I’m tired of rock-ish songs. But that ballad was phenomenal so that made it better. Still a great single with the two songs.

Final Grade: 93B+