glowly days was Kana Nishino’s 2nd single. It was released on April 23, 2008 and reached number 126 on the charts. The title track was used as the end theme song for the music show CDTV for the month of April 2008, SONY needs to step up the promotions a bit for Kana in my opinion.

Tracks:
1. glowly days
2. celtic
3. Yami Yami Day

Review:
glowly days, happiness and innocence. The song begins with little piano like sounds playing, followed by a sparkling sound and then Kana’s vocals. Kana’s vocals seem improved here compared to I, a its a great thing. The way she hits those high notes are fantastic, and the overall feel it great. The chorus here sounds so up-beat, quick, and so so adorable, but mostly catchy. I just can’t get over the fact how good it sounds. There was a little bit of English in the song, and it sounds better than before, but still her English could be better. Again I just love the overall feel of the song, it’s so happy, so beautiful, and so relaxing. Another beautiful song.

celtic, a phenomenal ballad. Some Celtic, or Irish, music begins the song, well it sounds Irish with the violin at first. But then the piano takes over and Kana begins singing. This time her vocals are softer yet still as good. The verses here were a little bland, but the chorus was great and made up for the weak verses. The chorus sounds so lovely, it’s even catchy, but it sounds so epic, and Kana’s vocals are so strong and filled with emotion. I was really shocked by this song, much better than I expected.

Yami Yami Day, lit. Dark Dark Day, there was no symbols and yami doesn’t mean anything in English so I’m hoping that’s the right translation. This song, much like In Stereo, is very R&B/hip-hop/urban oriented, especially with the music and beats. Urban beats with some distorted voices open up the song, followed by Kana’s vocals. Again it seems that she needs some better English skills, but those are minor things. Her vocals are great for the most part. The verses seem OK, but we all know that the chorus is the best. The chorus features great vocals, urban beats, a synthesizer, and great music. It’s not that catchy, and it’s not that memorable really, I’ve heard better. But despite all of that it’s a good song.

Overall Review: glowly days was sweet honey on a beautiful breezy day. I found the title track to be so sweet, so cute, and so lovely. The B-Sides were good too, and that made the single better. I only wish that it would’ve done well on the charts. But still despite all of that this single is so fantastic and it’s so ideal for this spring time weather. Dream glolwy days!

Final Grade: 94A-

I was Kana Nishino’s debut single. It was released on February 20, 2008 and reached number 155 on the charts with 480 copies sold. The title track was the end theme song for HEY! HEY! HEY! from February to March.

Tracks:
1. I
2. In Stereo
3. Just a friend

Review:
I, a fresh debut. I was originally entitled I Don’t Want To Know, well the English version anyway. The original version was given to Kana for her music project, but she rewrote the lyrics and released it as I; the original version, in English, is still avaliable at itunes US. Some synth music opens up the song followed by smooth and calm guitar beats. During all of that Kana begins to sing, and her vocals sound so fresh and so new, well new in the sense that I’ve been listening to Hikki, Ayu, and Kumi to long. Now her vocals could be a bit better but she’s new so you almost expect it, but they’re still good. During the first few verses the drums play, getting stronger until the chorus. The chorus features that English phrase “I don’t want to know” and some Japanese, and naturally they sound so beautiful together. Now I admit that her English could sound better, but she’s not from America so cut her some slack. One of the best parts of this song was the fact that both the chorus and the verses sounded great and equally catchy, a rarity now.

In Stereo, urban/rock j-pop? This song, after one listen, seemed to have a distinct urban hip-hop/rock sounding music, almost like Nami Amuro after 2000, but more like a fusion. Drum beats followed by hip-hop music opens up the song, along with a guitar strumming. Shortly Kana begins singing in some great vocals. Again her English could be better, but her Japanese is great. The chorus here isn’t as catchy as I, but I still love it. With the hip-hop beats, guitar playing, and drums you can’t help but want to sing. It’s still a very catchy chorus, and the verses are great, and the rock atmosphere makes it even better. Not a bad B-Side.

Just a friend, the soothing ballad. The soft sound of the guitar opens up the song, followed by some R&B beats. Kana then begins to sing, her vocals here sound softer than all of the previous songs. Again some of the verses feature English, and when they do they sound good. The chorus sounds really lovely and wonderful. The high notes are great and not to overwhelming either. And I just really love it, mostly because it’s catchy and the English. But, all the emotion in her vocals are probably the best part of the song. Her best ballad as of now.

Overall Review: I was a fresh and outstanding debut. I know that there is a lot of talent that goes unrecognized, but finally one of those talents got noticed. It’s not everyday that you find a great artist like this. I just found the single so miraculous and inspiring. Since she’s with SONY she should be able to promote her next few singles more successfully than this one. But this is one of the best debut singles I’ve heard in a long time.

Final Grade: 94A-