Believe was Tamaki Nami’s debut single. It was released on April 23, 2003 and reached number 6 on the charts. In all this single has sold over 194,167+ copies. Nami was chosen out of 5,000 contestants for a SONY star search. At the time of the release Nami was only 15; the title track is best known for being the 3rd opening track for Gundam SEED, and that’s what skyrocketed her to stardom. The first press edition came with a Kira Yamato labeled CD. This is the first single in the Greeting Era.

Tracks:
1. Believe
2. Complete
3. Can you feel my love
4. Believe -Instrumental-

Review:
Believe, the infectious techno track. The song begins with some fast moving music, followed by a guitar playing that seems to blend in followed by some more infectious dance music. After a nice interlude of music, Nami begins to sing. Her vocals are pretty good, but they’re nothing out of the ordinary. But the music makes up for that, and she even manages to make the verses sound nice. And I love how the climax builds till the chorus comes up. When it begins you hear such a force of addictive techno music, followed by Nami’s great vocals, the echoes were genius. The guitars play periodically as the music steadily flows. A really love how the chorus was so fast, so furious, and so so addicting, a lethal combination. The bridge was techno music and the guitar playing so fearlessly. I must admit that I loved the chorus after the bridge, there was no music until it built up momentum, and then BOOM, big finish.

Complete, the guitar addict. This song begins with some guitar riffs, and some very weird background English vocals, and then Nami begins to sing. When she ad-libs it’s tolerable but it still sounds so weird. The verses weren’t that thrilling and the same goes with the chorus. The English backfired here. This song is pure B-Side material, and not that great. Skip to the next song.

Can you feel my love, the laid-back sweet song. The sounds of an acoustic guitar open up this song, followed by Nami singing in some very nice vocals. The song is laid-back but Nami’s vocals are steady. The verses here are slow and a little dull. Things don’t get interesting until the chorus. The chorus moves a little faster than the verses and they’re a little more exciting. Things however don’t get interesting until the ending when she sings in English. Why must this be another B-Side sounding song???

Overall Review: Believe was supreme techno prominence, with a few minor distractions. I was really blown away by this single, there aren’t that many good dance singles out there that are as good as this one. And the fact that it was used in a cool anime was even better. The single would’ve been a lot better if there were better tracks besides the title track. Still you can’t deny that this single is good, after all it helped skyrocket her popularity. An impressive way to begin the Greeting Era.

Final Grade: 94A-

Brightdown was Tamaki Nami’s 14th single. It was released on August 29, 2007 and reached number 8 on the charts with 14,734 copies sold. In all this single has sold over 21,164+ copies. It was released in a limited edition CD+DVD edition and a regular CD edition. The title track was the opening theme song for the anime D.Gray-man. This is the second single in the Don’t Stay Era.

Tracks:
1. Brightdown
2. Anatairo no Namida
3. Endless dream
4. Brightdown -Instrumental-

Review:
Brightdown, the blazing guitar tune. The sounds of eerie guitar riffs open up this particular song. Then Nami begins to sing in a great voice. At first the verse seems a little aggressive, but it lightens up just a bit before the chorus, and it sounds catchy at a few points. The chorus sounds pretty catchy, and with the guitars playing it sounds so amazing. The distortion beforehand also adds to the excitement and makes for a fantastic climax. The vocals were pretty great, aggressive and powerful, a superb combination. The bridge is an electrifying guitar solo filled with rock elements. The song ends with Nami singing the final line of the chorus, fading into the sounds of the guitars playing. At first I really didn’t care much for this song, but after a few listens I feel in love with it, it sounds so amazing and so fantastic. A great rock n’ roll song from Nami.

Anatairo no Namida the uplifting ballad. The sound of a piano/xylophone begins at the beginning followed by a lovely and harmonic orchestra.  Shortly afterwards, Nami begins to sing in those calm and beautiful vocals. The verses are ok, but they continue to build momentum until the chorus. The chorus sounded epic at points and the constant beats made it sound so new for Nami. The point is is that it sounded so great, despite sounding so different. I really wasn’t expecting this from Nami on an album, let alone a single. But it was a great song nonetheless, this should have been on her latest album.

Endless dream, back to the good old days. This song follows most of Nami’s older works like Believe, and Reason. Those infamous synth beats along with the dance music begins this song. Shortly Nami begins to sing, her vocals are steady at this point. The verses are so-so as usual. But the chorus is much better. I’m not sure if you’d say that it’s catchy but it’s certainly good. It’s not Believe and Reason catchy, but it’ll suffice. It’s not a bad song.

Overall Review: Brightdown was an electrifying and phenomenal single. The whole guitar themed title track was really ingenious of Nami, and her vocals were fantastic. I was shocked that I like this single so much considering I could’ve cared less about it at the beginning. But, I’m happy that I gave it a listen, it’s actually pretty miraculous. Gotta give it to Nami for recording such great songs, an excellent addition to the Don’t Stay Era.

Final Grade: 97A

Don’t Stay was Tamaki Nami’s 4th studio album. It was released on April 23, 2008 and reached number 14 on the charts with 11,773 copies sold. So far this is her lowest charting, and selling album, a clear sign her popularity is fading. This is her first studio album since Specialty, which was released in 2006. This album features singles from CROSS SEASON to Winter Ballades. No B-Sides were added on the album, and there are a total of eleven new tracks present.

Tracks:
1. Don’t Stay ~inst~
2. Visualize
3. Together
4. Brightdown
5. hitchHIKER
6. Speedway
7. Station
8. Promise
9. re-birth
10. Gokigendazee! ~Nothing But Something~ feat.KEN (DA PUMP)
11. EDEN
12. CROSS SEASON -After Graduation Mix-
13. 423
14. MY WAY Reproduction -Original Mix- (Bonus Track)

Review:
Don’t Stay ~inst~ a familiar beginning. Now just because I said a familiar beginning it doesn’t mean that we’ve heard this before, it just means that she’s begun an album with an instrumental. And like her instrumentals they have the name of the album, but sadly it’s not a song. This intro begins with heavy dance music, mostly synth and techno. However, during the middle, violins begin to play along with a piano, and it sounds so heavenly, and then the dance music begins to return. And at the 30 sec left mark, the guitar begins to play along with that familiar dance music. Not a bad way to begin, I’ll give it that.

Visualize, dance music with a hint of rock. A guitar opens up the song, along with some great dance music. Next Nami begins to sing in some pretty good vocals. The verses aren’t that great, but they still sound nice, too bad they’re not catchy. The chorus here features fast vocals, fast music, and even some distortions. This song seems so repetitive at times it’s almost like her old work, but not as good. Somewhat mediocre in my opinion.

Together, a heavy dance tune. Wonderful heavy dance/trance music opens up this song, and those beats are so so addictive. After a thirty second intro Nami’s sweet, crisp vocals can be heard, along with some background vocals too, well only a little bit. Anyway her vocals are great, they make the verses sound catchy. But the chorus is so phenomenal, the music is screaming dance song, and with those infectious beats the chorus sounds better than imaginable, and very catchy. After the chorus the music dies down a bit, until the next chorus come. The bridge is an electric guitar with that thumping dance/trance music. This is like her earlier works in my opinion, a very good track.

Brightdown, pure rock aggression. This was released as the second single in the Don’t Stay Era, and whether I review it or not depends on how much time I have. Anyway, some beeping sounds later followed by the guitar open up the song. Then Nami begins to sing and here her voice sounds almost angry, especially with the guitar. But then the chorus begins, without any sign. It’s a lot better than I though it’d be, it’s very fast and so so addictive, especially with the vocals. The little distortions in her vocals at certain points also make the song really good. I was shocked that this song was better than what I expected.

hitchHIKER, rock and roll all in one. Some interesting sounding drums begin the song, followed shortly by a guitar playing so magnificently. After half a minute the first verse begins. As usual it’s not very catchy, and the guitar playing doesn’t help it that much. The chorus here is much better, even though it’s not that fast it’s pretty good. Although, with that being said, it could’ve been better. I felt that this song is very dull as far as rock songs go. Not her best song, enough said.

Speedway, another great dance song. The beautiful sound of a piano playing, or a keyboard, opens up the song with some of the best music ever. Shortly the music changes into guitar powered dance/trance music. Nami then begins to sing the first verse, which is very fast. It leads into the chorus, which is very very fast, and it sounds so amazing. The music gives it that old style feel, but the guitar gives it a more modern feel. The vocals were very fast and that’s not bad for once. I do like the fact that she uses a little English, although it’s not the best. The bridge was a guitar solo with that great dance music. A fusion of new and old Nami!

Station, slow dance and tehcno? An ominous sound followed by the keyboard begins the song followed by some synth and techno beats. The chorus then begins, and at the beginning. It moves a little slow, but it still sounds so great, especially with the background vocals and the guitar playing, it even sounds a little catchy. I particularly love her vocals here, they sound pretty mature. Not a bad song from Nami.

Promise, the winter ballad. This song was released as a winter single. A beautiful piano accompanied by the violins open up the song. Nami then begins to sing in some wonderful vocals, that sound so filled with emotion, despite the fact that the chorus moves a little slow. The chorus here is the best part of the song. It’s very catchy, beautiful, and so so moving. I especially love Nami’s vocals, they sound great here. And the guitar in the song makes it sound better. Maybe I’ll review this single, just maybe.

re-birth, nostalgia in one song. Nami’s vocals begin at the first second, leading into some great guitar powered music that still has a dance feel. The music is very reminiscent of her Gundam theme days. But that’s a great thing, especially since those songs were very popular and fantastic. The chorus here begins great, but falls a little flat at the end. It’s not that catchy, but you can follow along easily, let’s just say that she’s done better. I did like the bridge, which was a keyboard playing, followed by an electric guitar solo, along with that great and addictive dance music. But this song is very good despite all of that stuff.

Gokigendazee! ~Nothing But Something~ feat.KEN (DA PUMP) can you say promo song? This song was the main song I guess used to promote the album, especially since it had a PV to with it. Very heavy dance and trance beats open up the song, followed by some heavy urban beats. Some guy’s vocals are present here, until Nami sings. Nami’s vocals to be honest with you aren’t the best here, they sounds almost angry. I really couldn’t stand that guy’s vocals, i guess it’s KEN’s vocals. This song really turned me off. Give it a listen if you want.

EDEN, the fast urban tune. Some urban/dance music opens up the song, followed by some whispered “secret” and some English vocals. Nami then begins to sing, in some interesting vocals. This music does sounds a little dance, but it’s very urban, and different from her original roots. Nami signs in some improved English, but that’s about it. The chorus didn’t catchy my attention, and the whole English ruined it for me. There’s a point when even English get’s annoying. I liked the overall feel, but there was just too much English here.

CROSS SEASON -After Graduation Mix- a new mix. Let’s begin with the basics shall we. The original version was released as the first single in the Era. It was mostly about graduation and it was a good song. But here, they have BUTCHERED it. Instead of begin sweet and amazing it was changed into a heavy dance remix, with quick vocals. After a minute of dance music you can hear Nami’s vocals which are speed up and they sound a little distorted. I do like the dance beats here, but I hate how they changed Nami’s song into a dance/trance song. Some people might like it, but it takes away the affect of the original song. Not her best remix, that’s for sure.

423, a slow percussion song. The lovely little flute sounding thing, with the guitar opens up the song, along with the drums. Then the firs verse can be heard, with the percussion instruments which are a nice touch. The chorus here isn’t that catchy, but it sounds good. After the chorus is done, that same little flute sounding instrument begins to play. Considering this song was slow, and percussion filled it was OK. Just OK, not great or fantastic, just OK. This is going to be one of her forgettable tracks, I just know it.

MY WAY Reproduction -Original Mix- a remix of an old song. Now the song isn’t old itself, but considering it was released on Specialty, and the fact that the single is over 2 years old, it’s somewhat old. But I must say that this was the first song I listened to. It’s like some of her old works, but with some guitar flare, making it a little more new. Anyway I’ll just give a short review of the song, the full review will be when I review the single. The vocals here are great as always. The verses seem pretty catchy, all things considering. The chorus is the best part, very infectious, thumping music, and the occasional English. A phenomenal way to end Don’t Stay.

Overall Review: Don’t Stay was a fusion of new & old from our idol Nami. It still shocks me that she’s only nineteen and that she’s released a total of five albums. Although hopefully they’ll chart a lot better than this album. I did like how she had a few of her basic songs, mostly the dance tracks, and the fact that she had some wonderful new tracks, those guitars help every bit. Despite all that I wish that the album was just a little better, but it’s still great nonetheless. An impressive album from Nami to say the least.

Final Grade: 88B

CROSS SEASON was Tamaki Nami’s 13th single. It was released on March 14, 2007 and reached number 23 on the charts. In all this single has sold over 6,404+ copies. This single is currently Nami’s lowest charting single. Despite having a rather frightening cover, it is said that it was meant to represent the joys and hardships of high school. The first press edition features a special glitter case, and a labeled CD. This was the first single in the Don’t Stay Era.

Tracks:
1. CROSS SEASON
2. i CAN FLY
3. Lost and Found
4. CROSS SEASON (Instrumental)

Review:
CROSS SEASON, the graduation inspired tune. This song is seems a little different from her earlier works. It’s not quite dance but, it’s not quite new. It seems to be a little mature in the format and the music, a rarity for most artists, it’s somewhat an improvement. Anyway, the song begins with a sparkle sound, followed by some lovely piano playing, along with that infamous synth beat. Nami then begins the first verse, which sounds so soft, and slow for Nami, and yet so good. Normally her music is so aggressive and so fast, but here it’s so mid-tempo and laid back, it’s a wonderful change. Her vocals also seem softer and more relaxed than usual. Anyway the first three verses sound so great, especially with the infectious synth beats playing throughout the song. The incredible synth music opens the beautiful chorus, which sounds so majestic. It might be slow but it sounds so addicitive, especially with the guitar playing in the background, the synth beats, and the piano. The piano plays after the chorus for a while along with the synth beats, shortly the next verse begins. The bridge features that same piano playing accompanied with the synth. The final chorus then begins, which is basically a repeat of the original. Afterwards the song then begins to end with that same music. The lyrics mention graduation and other things such as “See you in the cross again” and “I want to keep smiling in your season.” This is an improvement as far as maturity and vocals go.

i CAN FLY, the rock song with bubbly girl vocals? This song is one of the first of Nami’s rock inspired songs. Nami begins by screaming in a cute little voice, which sounds a little annoying. The guitar playing throughout the song sounds nice but it’s so very forgettable. The chorus isn’t that great at all, it just doesn’t go will Nami’s vocals, and the background vocals were annoying. Just don’t listen to it, trust me.

Lost and Found, the better of the rock twins. Here again we have a rock song, one of the few by Nami. A few drums open up the song followed by some electric guitar riffs. The song is fast paced compared to the title track. The vocals sound fantastic by all means. And the chorus was absolutely riveting. It was catchy, fast, so infectious with the guitar riffs, and the vocals were excellent here. Nami proves that she can handle the rock genre with this little number.

Overall Review: CROSS SEASON was graduation in a new way. The title track screamed maturity and a new beginning. I just loved how it felt in all together. The vocals were amazing, the music was perfect, and the lyrics were so nostalgic. The two B-Sides were a little treat too. Who knew that Nami could handle rock tracks as well. I wish it did better on the charts but what can you do. It was the best way possible to begin the Don’t Stay Era.

Final Grade: 97A