way of life is V6's 32nd single . It was released on 12th Dec '07 & was the last single the band released for 2007 . way of life debuted at no.1 in the Oricon daily/weekly singles chart & it has sold an estimated 139,513 copies .
Now V6's another act you will definitely know of if you're a Jap fanatic . They have been in the business for 13 years & that's no joke .
I'm not that familiar with V6's material although I do know that they contributed CHANGE THE WORLD to the anime Inuyasha which I liked . I stumbled upon V6's performance of way of life when I saw them right after Ken Hirai performed at a music show on the net & I gotta say , it's 1 very nice ballad .
I like the way that all 6 members in the band (hence the name V6) harmonise really well together . It's 1 of those songs that you don't mind to listen to again & it's a nice one .
CM Of The Latest Panasonic LUMIX FX 35 (BGM Mirrorcle World)
1st of all before your eyes play any tricks on you , the background song's not a typo error or anything like that . It's reflected in the ad itself .
ayumi hamasaki went to Venice last month to shoot the commerical aka CM for the latest Panasonic LUMIX camera , the FX35 & the background music in question's a new song which's essentially the full version of Mirror aka track 1 on her GUILTY album & now it has been confirmed that the title of the full extended version of Mirror is Mirrorcle World .
The backdrop of the CM's gorgeous . I know Venice's a very beautiful place but judging from the pics from the ad , it looks even better than I thought it will be .
Up to now , I still don't know how to pronouce the title but I'm so excited for this ! I love Mirror so naturally I was thrilled when I found out that there's gonna be an extended version of the song + just a few weeks ago or so , ayumi flew to Paris to shoot the music video for Mirrorcle World which's awesome .
It's rumored that Mirrorcle World is gonna be released on 2nd April , Wed . Whether if this's true or not , I don't know but at the moment , just enjoy the preview of Mirrorcle World & oh the ad too .
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mika Nakashima - SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ (Cherry Blossoms ~Flower Haze~)
SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ (Cherry Blossoms ~Flower Haze~) is Mika Nakashima's 25th single & this single is her 1st single to be released for 2008 .
SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ (Cherry Blossoms ~Flower Haze~) is gonna be released in Japan on 12th March , Wed . The song is used in the Panasonic Card Aijou Size Omakase Kirei-hen ad while the B side , conFusiOn is used in the latest Kanebo KATE ad .
SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ (Cherry Blossoms ~Flower Haze~) is a ballad & I miss Mika's ballads as she didn't release any of them for a while as last year's saw the releases of 2 new singles titled LIFE & Eien no Uta (Endless Song) .
SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ (Cherry Blossoms ~Flower Haze~) is a nice ballad , pleasant no. but honestly it's nothing special nor memorable . It didn't made me go wow , not to mention sit up & take notice of it straightaway but I have to admit after I saw the PV of it last night , it begins to grow on me . But god oh god Mika , the granny hairdo's not doing any justice to you & not to mention the ballerina tutu that she wore in the PV is exposing her already thin figure a bit way too much .
This's a rarity but for some reason/s , the DAISHI DANCE remix of SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ (Cherry Blossoms ~Flower Haze~) seems to have more bite as compared to the original . I'm not sure why but it's maybe because I 1st heard the DAISHI DANCE remix . I only managed to hear the original at a much later date .
The B side is conFusiOn & unfortunately this time round , I'm not feeling conFusiOn in any bit . To make things worst , I cannot even remember how it sounds like which's a pity because Mika has some excellent B sides from LIFE (IT'S TOO LATE) & Eien no Uta (YOU'D BE SO NICE TO COME HOME TO With Katteni-Shiyagare) but at least for once , the A side & remix has overshadowed the B side .
I hope in Mika's next single , she will bounce back with a kick ass B side . In general on whole , I have mixed feelings over SAKURA ~Hanagasumi~ (Cherry Blossoms ~Flower Haze~) . The original's not bad but the remix's kinda like the saving grace of the single .
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Semi Review Of Ken Hirai's Canvas + Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) Single
Tracklist :
1) Canvas 2) Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) 3) Cry & Smile!! 4) Canvas (piano version) 5) Canvas (Instrumental) 6) Kimi wa Su.te.ki (Instrumental)
Finally I managed to hear the other double A side song of Ken Hirai's 1st double A side single release . I have heard the beautiful ballad Canvas already so it's a no brainer that the single in question that I haven't heard til today is Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) .
Man .. I don't know what to say about Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) . It's ... how should I put it ... unique because Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) is something that I usually don't hear much from Ken , style wise .
It took me to get used to the opening of Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) which on 1st few listens , it sounded really cheesy but it's a grower on me .
The 3rd track found on the single is the B side which's Cry & Smile !! . I have heard the live rendition from Ken's Bar 2007 Winter performance & it sounded wonderful & it doesn't disappoint when I finally manage to hear it from the single itself . It's kinda a pity Cry & Smile !! did not make the cut in Ken's upcoming album fakin' pop .
The 4th track's the piano version of Canvas . It's basically kinda like a stripped version of the original & it's beautiful just like the original song . Just that the piano version of Canvas is more emotional which I absolutely adore .
Oh a bit case of f.y.i , both songs including the B side Cry & Smile !! were written & composed by Ken .
Tracklisting Of Ken Hirai's FAKIN' POP Album
Tracklisting :
1) POP STAR 2) Kimi wa Su.te.ki♡ (You're Won.der.ful) 3) Kimi no Suki na Toko (The Place You Like) 4) Canvas 5) Pain 6) fake star 7) UPSET 8) Utsukushii Hito (Beautiful One) 9) Elegy (Aika) 10) Twenty ! Twenty ! Twenty ! 11) By(e) My Melody 12) Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo (If Some Day a Day Comes Where I'm Separated from You) 13) Shashin (Photo)
J Jazz , R&B soulful singer Ken Hirai will release his 28th single & his 1st double A side single today in Japan . It's titled Canvas + Kimi wa Su.te.ki♡ (You're Won.der.ful) & last night I came across the tracklisting of his upcoming 7th studio album FAKIN' POP on the HMV Japan website in which FAKIN' POP is scheduled to be released in Japan next month on the 12th .
FAKIN' POP will be the 1st album Ken will released since his last album which's 2004's SENTIMENTALovers .
While the album cover of FAKIN' POP's pretty much left to be desired since I realised Ken doesn't have nice album covers to begin with , including his Utabaka best collection , I'm very pleased with the tracklisting of FAKIN' POP & I think it's a great way to kick things off with 1 of my fave songs from Ken which's POP STAR !
FAKIN' POP will include all the singles that he has released from POP STAR to his most recent work Canvas + Kimi wa Su.te.ki♡ (You're Won.der.ful) so in the album , you get 7 songs that he has released so far & 6 new songs . 5 you would say if you don't count Utsukushii Hito (Beautiful One) in the pic since it's the B side song found on Ken's 26th single Kimi no Suki na Toko (The Place You Like) .
In fact I'm surprised that Utsukushii Hito (Beautiful One) made the cut in FAKIN' POP as there were other fantastic B sides from Ken such as the B side of Elegy (Aika) which's Kiss , By(e) My Melody's B side in the form of hug which's gorgeous & also Tameiki Kippu (Sigh Ticket) , the B side of POP STAR . Tameiki Kippu (Sigh Ticket) is very beautiful .
That's not to say that I don't like Utsukushii Hito (Beautiful One) . This track's a nice piano driven ballad .
1 thing I realise about Ken's that when comes to B sides songs that he include in his singles , he doesn't include them for the sake of including them which's great .
I listened to some of his B side songs that're found in his previous singles & I have to say they're great . His rendition of The Eagles's Desperado (which's the B side of his top selling single to date Hitomi wo Tojite) is wow despite the fact I don't know how the original sounds like .
I'm stoked that Twenty ! Twenty ! Twenty ! is included in FAKIN' POP as I really like the song . I downloaded it from the net a while back ago & I was so hoping it will be included in his future records . Guess I was right !
You can say that more or less I already have heard almost 1/2 the album with the exception of Kimi wa Su-te-ki♡ , Pain , UPSET , Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo & Shashin but from the look of things so far , I have a feeling that FAKIN' POP is gonna be 1 hell of a great album .
A snippet of Shashin can be heard on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=786xq-Riapc & it's only a 1 min snippet of the song but from the look of things , it's gonna be another great ballad coming from Ken .
With that said , I so can't wait to get my copy of FAKIN' POP in due time !
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
abingdon boys school - Sweetest Coma Again
Sweetest Coma Again is a cover song done by abingdon boys school . The original was written & composed by the non defunt J rock band Luna Sea .
Together with other acts such as High & Mighty Color , a Luna Sea tribute album titled Luna Sea Memorial Cover Album -Re:birth- was released in Japan on 19th Dec '07 which features cover versions of various Luna Sea songs done by various artistes .
I'm a big fan of abs so naturally when I found out that they covered Sweetest Coma Again , I decided to check it out despite the fact that I don't know Luna Sea's material & not to mention I don't know how the original of Sweetest Coma Again sounds like & my verdict ? explosive !
Sweetest Coma Again presented a much harder rock sound from the guys which they usually don't show in their material & abs also dabs a bit of metal in here which they didn't show in their debut album & the singles that they have released so far .
If you like to hear how their rendition of Sweetest Coma Again sounds like , give it a listen ! Who knows maybe in their future singles , the songs might have metal influences ? The sky's the limit .
Sweetest Coma Again :
Saturday, February 16, 2008
KinKi Kids - Eien ni
Normal Edition Cover :
1st Press Limited Edition Cover :
Eien ni is the 26th single released by the dynamic duo of KinKi Kids . The song was released last year on 12th Sept .
I'm sure if you're a J pop person , you will definitely heard & know of KinKi Kids , be it music or non-music wise . Since '97 , every single/album the duo consisting of Domoto Tsuyoshi & Domoto Koichi has went to no.1 in the Oricon singles/albums charts .
Although the guys share the same last name , they're not related by blood .
All the singles that they have released since '97 have hit no.1 in the Oricon singles chart . As of now , they have 26 consecutive singles which debut at no.1 , so much so that they are listed in the Guinness Book of Records , where they are credited with having the most number of consecutive singles that debuted at no.1 in Japan .
The song that caught my attention of the guys was their 24th single Harmony of December . I remembered I saw the PV being played on MTV a while back ago but back then I didn't paid much attention to the duo . It was only until recently I decided to build up my music knowledge of KinKi Kids & Harmony of December's a brillant & touching ballad .
Anyway , as I was saying , Eien ni was the latest single they released last year . Eien ni was composed by veteran singer/songwriter/actor Tokunaga Hideaki and comes in the form of an easy listening ballad . It's a nice no. & the vocals of Domoto Tsuyoshi & Domoto Koichi blend extremely well together .
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Ken Hirai - Canvas / Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful)
Canvas / Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) is the 28th single set to be released by soulful R&B/Jazz singer Ken Hirai . This's Ken's 1st double A side & Canvas + Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) is gonna be released next Wed , 20th Feb in Japan .
Canvas is used as the ending theme to Fuji TV's Hachimitsu to Clover drama & it has been decribed as a pop-ballad and was written and composed by Ken himself and arranged by Tomita Keichi .
Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) is used in the Lipton Limone ad while the B-side in the single Cry & Smile !! is used in the Knorr Cup Soup ad .
Also Canvas + Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) will served as the lead in release to Ken's upcoming 7th studio album titled FAKIN' POP which's set to be released in Japan next month on the 12th . FAKIN' POP will be Ken's 1st album release since 2004's SENTIMENTALovers .
It's good to see Ken back with new material & Canvas + Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) will be Ken's 1st single to be released for 2008 . Canvas is a fantastic song & it's a great ballad . Could see why he truly shines in ballads as evident in his other previous works in the form of Elegy (Aika) & Hitomi wo Tojite (Close Your Eyes) which's 2004's top selling single in Japan according to Oricon & incidentally Hitomi wo Tojite (Close Your Eyes) is Ken's highest selling single , clocking in at 893,000 copies .
The ironic thing's that despite Hitomi wo Tojite (Close Your Eyes)'s Ken's highest selling single , you would have expect that song's peak position's no.1 . Surprise , surprise its peak position was only no.2 but yet it still came on tops wonderfully in 2004 .
I wasn't able to find & hear the full version of Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) but a snippet of the song or 2 was played in the background during the making of the Lipton Limone CM & it sounds pretty funky but as of now , I cannot make a full judgment/comment regarding Kimi wa Su.te.ki (You're Won.der.ful) .
I have been listening to Ken's B-sides since Bye My Melody & his B sides are fantastic and Cry & Smile !! is no exception . So far I have only heard the live version of Cry & Smile !! which Ken performed last year during his Ken's Bar 2007 Winter & I gotta say , it sounds great . Cry & Smile !! is an extremely uplifting & upbeat soulful no. .
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Utada Hikaru - HEART STATION / Stay Gold
HEART STATION / Stay Gold is the 20th Japanese single set to be released by Utada Hikaru on 20th Feb , Wed .
This new double A side single is Utada's 1st single to be released for 2008 .
Stay Gold was featured in the Asience Prism Hair Shampoo ad & HEART STATION will served as the 2008 commercial song for Recochoku .
I respect Utada's works since I got to know her music & it's only natural that I'm thrilled to find out that she's back with new material after releasing 3 singles last year . I have a feeling that this new double A side single will guarantee a no.1 spot for Utada in the Oricon weekly singles chart .
Between HEART STATION & Stay Gold , I find Stay Gold a much more stronger track/A side as compared to HEART STATION . Maybe because I 1st heard a 30 secs snippet of Stay Gold in the Asience Prism Hair Shampoo ad in which Zhang Zhiyi used to endorse the brand that's why I felt Stay Gold should have released as a single & HEART STATION should have served as the B side instead .
With that said , only time will tell on whether HEART STATION + Stay Gold will do well in Japan . So far , HEART STATION has received its own PV while there're no plans that a PV will be made for Stay Gold despite the fact that Stay Gold's more successful & stronger than HEART STATION .
Blog Personnel
Karen Pang
# 10th Jan
# #1 BREAKERZ fan in Singapore since 2008 debut single ♥
# My music blog consists of JPop/Rock singles & albums reviews that I put my heart , efforts & soul into writing them as I'm disgusted with the way that JPop/Rock music is being treated/written/reviewed in Singapore so to the local media (yes you TEENS , Teenage Magazine & The Strait Times) , screw you all . I basically can write better JPop/Rock reviews , period