:+: No Music No Life :+:

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Fave Singles Of 2008

This list comprises of singles that were released in 2008 & it's being split into 3 categories & there's no order of sequence going on .

avex trax

1) ayumi hamasaki

- Mirrorcle World
- Days / GREEN

ayumi released these 2 singles this year & I really like both of them . Mirrocle World was a solid & an amazing single & of course I really like the B-side LIFE & the 10th anniversary re-recorded versions of Depend on you & YOU .

Her upcoming new single Days / GREEN is another solid single delivered & this time round it will contain 2 10th anniversary re-recorded versions of TO BE & LOVE ~Destiny~ .

2) Anna Tsuchiya

- cocoon
- Crazy World Feat AI
- Virgin Cat

Anna had a rather productive & good year releasing these 3 great singles & out of the 3 singles , I say Crazy World is my fave single that she released this year & I still think it's 1 of the best collborations that I came across this year .

People might dismiss Virgin Cat to be a joke but I like it as it's something you shouldn't be taking seriously while listening & of course Imitation night's 1 heck of a great B-side .

It's said that she will be releasing her 1st digital download single called GUILTY which's used in the CG animated movie Resident Evil : Degeneration (Biohazard Degeneration) & I hope the song will be released in due time as the preview sounds really great .

Too bad the song didn't made the cut in her NUDY SHOW ! album though .

3) Namie Amuro

- 60s70s80s

The only single that Namie has released this year , this's a fantastic triple A-side release (a 1st for Namie) .

This single continues her successful comeback , as it had the highest first week sales since 2000's NEVER END even at a time when CD single sales are dramatically decreasing . It became her first #1 since 1998's I Have Never Seen & her highest selling single since 2000's NEVER END .

& of course the smart marketing plot that avex trax & Vidal Sassoon employed in 60s70s80s is something to be commended about as all 3 songs were used to promote Vidal Sassoon's shampoo & conditioner hair products .

Namie had a great comeback in 2008 & hopefully her streak of good luck will be extended to 2009 as well .

4) Koda Kumi

- anytime
- TABOO
- stay with me

Koda released 4 singles this year namely anytime , MOON , TABOO & stay with me in which anytime's the only single that made the cut in her 6th album Kingdom while the rest will be included in her brand new album TRICK .

However I only enjoyed 1/2 of MOON as the songs that received music videos of their own doesn't sound as good as the ones that didn't got music videos (in the case which're Once Again & Lady Go !) & don't get me started on the overhyped for nothing 'duet' with Fergie too .

Thankfully she came back with 1 of the best singles/songs that she has put out in recent times (not to mention 1 of the best singles for 2008 imo) in the form of TABOO which's like hands down 1 of the best dance singles that she has released since her last best R&B influenced track BUT & TABOO so deserved to become her 5th no.1 single after last year's FREAKY .

So far I have heard her latest single excluding the Orgel version of the A-side & I'm liking what I have heard & the B-side Winter Bell's a cute no.

5) alan

- Hitotsu
- Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~
- Sora Uta
- Kaze no Tegami
- RED CLIFF ~Shin·Sen~
- Megumi no Ame

This's 1 girl that has been pumping singles non stop for the year & I'm talking about alan who's the 1st Chinese solo artiste to sign a record deal with avex trax .

Since Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ , she has been releasing singles on a monthly basis as part of her five-single traditional elements set & the elements that were released in sequence with the singles are Earth , Sky , Wind , Fire & Water .

There were rumours that her 1st Japanese debut album will be out next year but instead now , in place it will be the release of her 8th single Gunjou no Tani . I do hope that she will be able to release her debut Japanese album in due time as this's a really long overdue production like seriously .

6) GIRL NEXT DOOR

- Guuzen no Kakuritsu
- Drive away / Shiawase no Jouken
- Jounetsu no Daishou / ESCAPE

Debuted this year in September , it's the trio GIRL NEXT DOOR . GND was formed as part of the Avex Group's 20th anniversary celebration .

I really like all the 3 singles that the guys & girl have put out since debut single Guuzen no Kakuritsu & I really cannot wait for their self titled debut album to be released on Christmas eve !

Johnny & Associates

1) ARASHI

- Step and Go
- One Love
- truth / Kaze no Mukou e
- Beautiful days

The guys released 4 singles in which truth / Kaze no Mukou e being the most successful of the lot , becoming Japan's top selling single of the year with One Love's being the 2nd most sold single of 2008 (in which truth / Kaze no Mukou e's currently the group's 2nd best selling single , 3rd being One Love & the group's best selling single's their debut single A・RA・SHI) .

I frankly feel that 2008 has been a great year for ARASHI & truth / Kaze no Mukou e definitely & so deserved the sales that it has attained seeing that it was the guys's 1st double a-side single release since 2004's Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy /Hero .

Taking both the top & 2nd spots honours in the Oricon singles yearly chart , this premonition hasn't happened since 19 years ago when Princess Princess followed suit in this same acheivement which's in 1 word - impressive .

Not to mention truth's such a breath of fresh air as in recent times the group have been putting out happy upbeat no.s & for truth to be released , it's a really nice change for the guys & the group leader Ohno Satoshi in return did such a great job portraying a 2 faced lawyer in his 1st drama role Maou in which truth was used as the theme song for the show .

I really hope that their future 9th album will be something good as the singles that were released after Step and Go were amazing .

Next year's the group's 10th anniversary & hopefully they will be celebrating it with a big bang !

2) KAT-TUN

- LIPS
- DON'T U EVER STOP
- White X'mas

KAT-TUN released 3 singles in which DON'T U EVER STOP being the most successful out of the lot , sales wise .

I must add that DON'T U EVER STOP was the 1st proper single I heard of the guys in full & I was very impressed with the 6 solo songs that were included in the 3 limited editions of the single & that all 6 of them can actually carry a tune on their own & from there , I listened to the other B-sides included in their previous singles & I wasn't disappointed with what I heard .

LIPS's just awesome & I really like the hard rock edge going on in the song & of course it was so nice to see the guys releasing another ballad after Bokura no Machi de as I really felt that they shine a lot in their ballads .

2008 has been a pretty good year for them & I can't wait for them to release even more great material in 2009 .

3) NEWS

- Taiyou no Namida
- SUMMER TIME
- Happy Birthday

I frankly like all the singles that NEWS has put out this year with Taiyou no Namida being the most serious sounding no. that they have put out in their career to date . I like that it sounds different from their usual stuff & so's the case for Happy Birthday too which you have to give props for rapper SEAMO for writing & composing Happy Birthday .

I was impressed with their new album color & hopefully in the new year , they will continue to release even more good singles & many more albums/dvds to come .

4) Kanjani∞

- Musekinin Hero

Kanjani∞ released 2 singles this year namely Wahaha & Musekinin Hero in which the latter is the 1st single I have heard the whole thing of & needless to say I was impressed with what the guys has to offer as before that , I had a really bad impression of Kanjani∞ & they're like the last group that I considered to listen to but Musekinin Hero & their previous singles that I listened to , changed my perception on them & I realised that hey they sound pretty good after all .

5) Hey ! Say ! JUMP

- Dreams come true
- Your Seed / Bouken Rider
- Mayanoka no Shadow Boy

This 10 piece group released 3 singles this year & Your Seed / Bouken Rider was the very 1st single I heard of the guys & I love what they have to offer & they sound mature despite the fact that the guys are very young .

Mayanoka no Shadow Boy is their 1st single which differs from their usual sound & this's 1 serious sounding no. although the lyrics are questionable especially since the guys in HSJ are really young .

Nevertheless , a debut album is already long overdue & maybe it will be released sometime next year ?

6) KinKi Kids

- Secret Code

The only single the duo has put out this year , Secret Code's the very 1st single I listened to & I must say that their B-sides are even better than what I expected it to be & of course Secret Code is such a great addictive Jazz influenced no. & they're the last group that I expected them to do a Jazz no. but it worked really well in their favor .

7) V6

- LIGHT IN YOUR HEART / SWING !

V6 released 2 singles in 2008 namely Chou & LIGHT IN YOUR HEART / SWING ! . I still find SWING ! cheesy but the other A-side LIGHT IN YOUR HEART is really great & infectious .

8) Tegomass

- Aiaigasa

The only single the duo has put out this year , this's 1 really sweet sounding ballad & for once , all the 3 B-sides in this single are winners & doesn't sound cheesy as some of the B-sides that were found in their 1st 2 singles .

I really want them to release Kataomoi no Chiisana Koi (Ending theme for the 2nd season in Neo Angelique ~Abyss~ & incidentally Aiaigasa was used as the ending theme for the 1st season for the anime) in due time as this's already long overdue coming from the duo . The strange thing's that there's no word of a release date for this song & also there's no full version that was released on the net til now & as a result I had to make do with the preview which sounds awesome .

I hope Kataomoi no Chiisana Koi will be announced to be released as Tegomass's next single in due time .

9) Tackey & Tsubasa

- Koi Uta / PROGRESS

the only single the duo has released this year , this's a bit different from their usual music style as Koi Uta's their 1st ballad to be released as a single & you can definitely tell that Koi Uta practically is more superior than PROGRESS .

Tackey will be releasing his debut solo single called Ai Kakumei next month on the 7th & that's something to look forward to although I wish Tackey & Tsubasa would be more active in releasing singles & albums as putting out 10 singles within a 5 year career is too little & not to mention slow .

Others

1) BREAKERZ

- SUMMER PARTY / LAST EMOTION
- Sekai wa Odoru / Shakunetsu
- Angelic Smile / WINTER PARTY

Possibly my fave new group to emerge this year , it's the JRock trio BREAKERZ & it's only this year that they started to release singles in which they didn't do so last year when they were formed in April '07 & I must say thanks to MTV Taiwan for that they were responsible for getting me started on my BREAKERZ journey as at that time they were playing SUMMER PARTY on heavy rotation .

1 thing led to another & the rest's history . Here's to more great material coming from the guys in 2009 !

2) YUI

- Namidairo
- SUMMER SONG

YUI released 2 singles in 2008 in which SUMMER SONG was the very 1st single I heard of her prim & proper . I like that she's hands on in writing & composing her material which's something that I admire in artistes .

She's currently on a well deserved break & I hope she can come back with something good in due time .

3) ayaka

- Te wo Tsunagou / Ai wo Utaou
- Okaeri
- Anata to (ayaka X Kobukuro)

Another fave musician of mine , it's pop/rock singer ayaka & this year she released 3 singles in which aside from Anata to , the rest of the singles made the cut in her 2nd album , the fantastic Sing to the Sky .

It's great to see her mature in terms of her music & style since her debut single I believe & I think even bigger & better things to come her way in 2009 .

4) GReeeeN

- Tobira

Another fave new act of mine to emerge this year , it's the quartet GReeeeN . They put out 4 singles in 2008 namely BE FREE / Namidazora , Tabidachi , their massive & best selling single to date Kiseki & of course their latest 8th single Tobira which's the 1st single I heard of them in full .

Great stuff I must say & I suppose nothing but better & bigger things will befall upon them in 2009 & I'm currently in the midst of listening to the 2 albums that they have released so far .

5) Ken Hirai

- Canvas / Kimi wa Su.te.ki♥
- Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo

Ken released 2 singles in 2008 in which both singles made the cut in his 7th album FAKIN' POP & Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo being the 1st recut single that he has released in his 13th year in the music business .

Not to mention Canvas / Kimi wa Su.te.ki♥ was Ken's 1st double a-side single release & I find it amusing way back when the single was released in Feb , I was so annoyed that ARASHI's Step and Go outsold & snatched the top honours away from him .

After the release of Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo in April , he has been relatively quiet & aside from touring to support the release of FAKIN' POP , he didn't put out any new material since then . Maybe he will do so in 2009 as I would like him to release something in due time .

6) Aoyama Thelma

- Mamoritai Mono

Aoyama released 3 singles in 2008 namely Soba ni Iru ne Feat SoulJa , Nando Mo & Mamoritai Mono in which Soba ni Iru ne became her 1st no.1 single & also the single's the highest selling female solo single for 2008 .

However Mamoritai Mono is the 1st single that I have heard inclusive of the B-side MADONNA which's a really nice upbeat no. .

She's going to release her 5th single Daikkirai Demo Arigatou this coming Wed & hopefully the B-sides will be good .

7) GLAY

- Aka to Kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo Sagashiteru

This well respected JRock band released GLAY & Aka to Kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo Sagashiteru in 2008 in which Aka to Kuro no MATADORA / I LOVE YOU wo Sagashiteru is the very 1st single I heard of them & I just like how they use various music genres of music for both A-sides .

I'm still relatively new to GLAY's music though but at least it's never too late to jump onboard to listen to their music .

8) L'Arc~en~Ciel

- NEXUS 4 / SHINE

From 1 well respected JRock band to another , in comes L'Arc~en~Ciel & this year in 2008 , they released 3 singles , DRINK IT DOWN , NEXUS 4 / SHINE & a reissue of their 33rd single Hurry Xmas .

It's funny that I haven't tried out that music sooner until SHINE won me over with its great music video .

Their 11th album KISS is great stuff & I hope they can put out another new album in the brand new year .

9) Hidemi Uematsu

- Dear My Friends / Trauma

The debut single release of this lady , I was pleasantly surprised with Hidemi's 1st single & I like that her voice sounds very distinct & unique in today's Japanese music scene .

I frankly don't know much about her but I do hope that she can release somemore material in 2009 & probably an album too ?

10) Utada Hikaru

- HEART STATION / Stay Gold
- Prisoner Of Love

Both singles that Utada has put out in 2008 made the cut in her 5th Japanese album HEART STATION with Prisoner Of Love being the 2nd recut single that she has released in her career , the 1st being First Love .

Other than that , she has been relatively quiet in the music front aside from releasing a drama remix of a song called Eternally which was found in her 2nd Japanese album Distance .

It's said that she's currently working on her 2nd English album after the release of EXODUS & it's probably expected to be released in 2009 .

11) Mika Nakashima

- ORION

Mika released 3 singles in 2008 , namely Sakura ~Hanagasumi~ , I DON'T KNOW (as MICA 3 CHU) & ORION in which all the songs (except for the original version of Sakura ~Hanagasumi~) made the cut in her 6th album VOICE .

Frankly outta the 3 singles that she released this year , I only like ORION overall even though I must admit I didn't like the A-side at the beginning but the B-side FOCUS really wowed me & I guess ORION is the most successful single that she has put out in 2008 as Sakura ~Hanagasumi~ & I DON'T KNOW were duds , sales & chart position wise .

Naturally I was extremely surprised that ORION was able to crack the top10 because the single was released a week prior to VOICE which really surprised me . Guess it helped that ORION was used as the insert song for Ryūsei no Kizuna in which she had a small minor role in the drama .

12) Yuna Ito

- miss you
- Koi wa groovy x2

Aside from Anata ga Iru Kagiri ～A WORLD TO BELIEVE IN～ which made the cut in Yuna's 2nd album WISH , the subsequent singles that Yuna released were great & it's such a shame that the sales & sales positions of miss you & Koi wa groovy x2 were horrible as I really enjoyed all the songs in both singles .

I'm not sure why she's suffering such a setback as it seemed like her popularity in Japan has died down quite fast after the release of the 2 NANA movies . Hopefully she will be able to get her game back on in 2009 as I hate to see such a talented & beautiful lady not getting the type of respect that she deserves to have .