CD
CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray A
CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray B
1) The beginning of the world
2) Thriller City
3) Datenshi no Uta
4) Hotel Mirage
5) Night & Bye
6) Winner
7) More & More
8) Velvet Disguise
9) Rhythm of Love
10) rose
11) Satisfy
12) Paradise of Lullaby
13) Because of you
CD only version
14) MOVE ON
15) I
Koichi's last album release was 2021's PLAYFUL .
The theme of RAISE is based on to raise one's spirit , to liven up . Koichi's new album was created with the concept of "A new step forward" .
RAISE's lead album promo track is The beginning of the world & it has a video made . Before the album was released physically , The beginning of the world was released digitally on 1st Sept .
The CD only version of RAISE includes 2 bonus tracks :
MOVE ON ; from the Endless SHOCK stageplay which Koichi directed & starred in
I ; self cover , Koichi wrote & composed the song himself
Domoto Koichi's long awaited album RAISE is finally here ! RAISE encompasses various meanings including raising spirits , raising excitement & raising up others . This album was created with the theme of "new step forward" . RAISE features stirring songs led by the opening number The beginning of the world .
Koichi's previous album PLAYFUL to me was underwhelming despite it having a great concept & covers . So before hearing RAISE , I kept my expectations low on purpose but RAISE overall blew me away after I heard the material in it .
To me RAISE showcases Koichi's musical stageplay side significantly which I thought it's great as quite a lot of the new songs in RAISE elevates this side of Koichi that not a lot know he's really good in .
The beginning of the world no doubt deserves to have a video made as it sets the tone on what to expect in RAISE . And the entire album flows very well from start until finish .
The only song in RAISE that I'm not quite a fan of is Satisfy while some such as Thriller City & especially Paradise of Lullaby deserve to have videos made and not just The beginning of the world only as I'm sure the video concepts for those songs I singled out would have been very entertaining to watch .
It's always a pleasure to listen to albums that have little if not no filler songs in them . And the fact that no singles preceded RAISE that's an even taller order for Koichi but for me to enjoy RAISE tremendously , that says a lot .
RAISE is definitely worth the wait & an album highly worth checking out before 2025 concludes .
This's Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 1st new release as a now 7 members group after the departure of former member Nakajima Yuto in late Aug .
GHOST is described as a dark and playful Halloween theme song & it has a video made .
With Halloween coming very soon GHOST is quite a fitting tune in promoting it . The song's not catchy on 1st listen but it grows on me the more I listen to it .
12th album S say will be released on 26th Nov & GHOST will be included in the new album .
CD
CD + DVD & 2 CDs + Blu-ray
1) Wonder!
2) You're where I wanna go
3) Asobu Kokoro
4) Versailles
5) Dreaming
6) Himawari no Kaerimichi
7) Zutto Kimi to
8) Feelin' goo-good
9) Me & You
10) Hanataba Janaku Kimi to Itai
11) Versailles (Piano version)
ayaka's last album release was 2023's Funtale .
2 prior digital released songs are included in Wonder! :
- Versailles ; released digitally in Jan ; promoted the Versailles no Bara animated movie
- Zutto Kimi to ; released digitally last May ; promoted Daio Paper Corporation's Elleair Pet Kimi Omoi which ayaka served as its ambassador
The opening no. Wonder! was released digitally on 13th Aug before the new album's physical release .
A video was made for Wonder! but it's not included in the album's physical release . ayaka also does not appeared in the video as well .
Wonder! blends the uplifting spirit of gospel music with the joy of layered harmonies which perfectly captured the essence of the new album .
The new material in Wonder! have Funk , Gospel , Jazz , Pop and R&B influences .
Album credits wise , ayaka wrote & composed Wonder! entirely .
Next Feb will mark 2 decades since ayaka made her debut in the music business & she kicked off early celebrations of her landmark milestone with the release of her latest album Wonder! .
I enjoyed ayaka's previous album Funtale & naturally I was curious to see if her new album Wonder! will be better if not just as good as Funtale . Thankfully most of that gets thrown out the moment I heard what Wonder! has to offer .
Most if not all of the new songs in Wonder! are really good & the overall feeling I get from Wonder! is that it showcases a more upbeat and uplifitng musical sides of ayaka which's very different from her past studio albums especially 2012's The beginning .
It's rare for me to feel that the majority of the new material in Wonder! deserve to have music videos made , not just Wonder! (the song) only . Let alone the upbeat songs are on par & just as good as the ballads which's earnest and sincere sounding .
If there's 1 thing I would nitpick about Wonder! is that I wish ayaka would have made a video for Versailles as not only it's 1 of her best ballads she put out to date , I can imagine how grand looking if not over the top the video would have been .
Aside from that , I really enjoy Wonder! tremendously & ayaka's latest album release gives off a lot of wonderful positive vibes . Knowing that next year will be 2 decades since she 1st debuted with I believe , it's quite a surreal feeling . And I cannot wait to see how ayaka will eventually celebrate this momentum milestone .
Promo wise , NTV used Banyuinryoku to promote their DayDay. weekday morning programme .
Banyuinryoku is the 3rd new song Fukuyama released this year & just like the previous 2 digital released songs he put out prior (Kusunoki -500 Nen no Kaze ni Fukarete- & Genkai) , Banyuinryoku is another solid release .
The 1 thing that stands out about Banyuinryoku is the song melody . While not as grand sounding as Kusunoki -500 Nen no Kaze ni Fukarete- , the mid tempo Banyuinryoku nonetheless has a certain charm factor to it which I like .
With 2025 coming to an end soon it will be interesting to see if Fukuyama will release anymore new songs or perhaps a new studio album as I think it's time for 1 to be released .
&
Both songs have 2 different promo tie in's .
Kusunoki -500 Nen no Kaze ni Fukarete- promoted NHK's Minna no Uta while Genkai was used to promote the Black Showman movie (released on 12th Sept in Japan) starring Fukuyama himself .
To say that both Kusunoki -500 Nen no Kaze ni Fukarete- & Genkai are like chalk and cheese is an understatement as they're 2 different type of songs but yet each of them presents 2 different musical sides to Fukuyama .
Kusunoki -500 Nen no Kaze ni Fukarete- is a fantastic touching ballad that has a strong choir backing while Genkai is entirely instrumental which's something I think Fukuyama has not released digitally before until now .
Surprisingly despite being an instrumental number , Genkai is not boring & it plays up to the fun mysterious sides pertaining to Black Showman .
Fukuyama released his latest digital released song Banyuinryoku last Thurs & Banyuinryoku will be reviewed in due time .
SPYAIR's latest new song is used as the theme no. to this year's JUST LIKE THIS 2025 outdoor concert that happened yesterday & today at Yamanashi's Kawaguchiko Stellar Theater .
Same with previous JUST LIKE THIS theme songs , physical CD copies of Bring the Beat Back were made available for sale at both this weekend's JUST LIKE THIS 2025 duo concert dates .
While not the best JUST LIKE THIS theme song , Bring the Beat Back overall is still a fun song . Strangely when I 1st heard it it reminds me of BRING IT ON ~Battle of Rap~ & coincidentally both songs start with the same alphabet ie. B .
I'm not sure if SPYAIR will release anything new before the year concludes . If not I do hope they will release a new studio album next year as it's about time for this to happen .
Aqua Timez's new song shares the same name as the band's indie album which was released back in Aug 2005 & also Aqua Timez 20th Thanksgiving Live『Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori』 .
Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori was created as a result of Aqua Timez's reunion & features a grand sound with strings and chorus work + emotional vocals , creating a finish that combines sadness & warmth .
Song credits wise , vocalist Futoshi wrote & composed Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori .
Aqua Timez is known for their memorable uplifting songs & Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori is no exception . It's easy to love the band's latest new release on 1st listen as it's such a great no. which's filled with nothing but positive upbeat vibes .
With the year coming to an end soon in comes Aqua Timez's impending disbandment . If Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori is their last new song release as a group they're going out with an inspirational bang .
