CD Review :: Aoyama Thelma - Emotions
CD Only Cover :
CD + DVD Cover :
Tracklist :
1) Intro
2) Wasurenaiyo (I Wouldn't Forget)
3) Happiness
4) Futari no Yakusoku no Hi (Two Days Of Promise)
5) I'm Sorry
6) KEEP ON
7) Sunao ni Narenakute (I Can't Be Honest)
8) Todoketai ... (I Want To Send ...) Feat KEN THE 390
9) Baby , I love you
10) LOOK
11) WANNA COME AGAIN Feat m-flo's VERBAL
12) Cinderella Story
Emotions is Aoyama Thelma's 2nd album . It was released last Wed , on the same day as her 1st DVD Motions -Thelma Clips Vol.1- which features all of her music videos .
Only 2 singles are included in Aoyama's latest offering .
After a short 43 seconds Intro , track #2 immediately starts Emotions off with Wasurenaiyo (I Wouldn't Forget) which was her 7th single . It was the last single that Aoyama released before Emotions dropped .
Wasurenaiyo served as the theme song to the film HACHI Yakusoku no Inu which's the Japanese version of the Hollywood film Hachiko : A Dog's Tale .
I still like Wasurenaiyo & this's honestly a song that I never get sick of listening to as it's such a bittersweet R&B ballad . I just wish that the B-side Don't Stop made the cut in Emotions as it's a hot upbeat tune but too bad that didn't materialised but at least there're other great R&B no.s you can find in Emotions which I will review & talk about them later on .
Happiness is the 1st album track's & it was used in the Kao Essential ad .
I have seen the Kao Essential ad which featured a preview snippet of Happiness a while back ago & to finally hear the full version of the song on Emotions , it's nice I say .
This's a really carefree & chilled out song that I really like & it helps that it's catchy too . Also there's some groovy finger snapping beats going on in Happiness which adds a nice touch to the song .
Futari no Yakusoku no Hi (Two Days Of Promise) is track #4 & it's the 1st album ballad you can find in Emotions .
Honestly when I 1st heard Futari no Yakusoku no Hi , it definitely sounded pretty much every ballad that Aoyama does . Except in this case , I like the sincerity that she delivered across the border which's definitely not a bad thing at the end of the day .
I'm Sorry is the next track & to me , this's 1 of my fave album tracks in Emotions .
The beginning of the song somehow really reminded me of the 1st A-side of her 6th single Todoketai ... (I Want To Send ...) Feat KEN THE 390 / Konomam Zutto (This Much Remains) , with the clock like ticking noises .
But after that's outta the way , I'm Sorry begins to morph into a somewhat angsty driven tune & you definitely can't escape her singing "Aitakute Aitakute Aitakute" respectively in the background chorus that's for sure .
KEEP ON follows after I'm Sorry & this's 1 hot song ! It follows in the same vein as her other upbeat tunes such as Don't Stop , ONE WAY , PARADISE & you definitely can sense the party feeling vibes that KEEP ON gives .
Great to see that 2 strong album tracks being laid side by side together which I like .
Sunao ni Narenakute (I Can't Be Honest) is a slow R&B mid tempo track . It has a really strong melody that it gives off . I guess it's almost on the same wavelength as Wasurenaiyo but it still has that subtle happiness factor going on in here .
Todoketai ... feat KEN THE 390 is the 1st A-side of Aoyama's 6th single Todoketai ... / Konomam Zutto . In Emotions , only Todoketai ... is included . You can find Konoman Zutto as track #6 in her 1st compilation album LOVE ! though .
This's the 1st song you can find in Emotions which features guest musicians on vocals & I was frankly charmed by Todoketai ... on 1st listen .
At least for once , it's not a ballad unlike her 2nd single Soba ni Iru ne (I'm By Your Side) Feat SoulJa & even though in a way or 2 KEN THE 390 is somehow playing 2nd fiddle to Aoyama's vocals in here , it's still a neat collaboration between the 2 of them .
Baby , I love you is track #9 & even before I describe how the style's like for the tune , I think you can already guess from the title that it's a ballad .
It's quite cheesy for my liking & a bit slower than usual as compared to other ballads you can find in Emotions but I suppose I can let things slide in a way or 2 with regards to Baby , I love you .
LOOK is the next album track & just like KEEP ON , both of them lean towards the hot R&B uptempo side which I really like & it's nice to see Emotions flip flop from a ballad to an upbeat tune within minutes from each other .
WANNA COME AGAIN feat m-flo's VERBAL is the 2nd collaboration you can find in Emotions & this time , it features VERBAL from m-flo .
This song has got to be 1 of the more interesting tunes in the album as it has a more urban & electro feel to it but it still managed to maintain the R&B influence that Aoyama's famous for in her music .
I can't really understand VERBAL's rapping but other than that , this's a really good duet that I enjoyed .
Cinderella Story is a fitting way to wrap Emotions up seeing that it's the final track on the album & yes it's a ballad .
It's piano driven which's a refreshing change as the other ballads you can find in Emotions tend to be either guitar or percussion driven & I personally find Cinderella Story to be a really beautiful song .
I honestly can say that Emotions is a lot more better than what I expected from Aoyama Thelma . I was a bit worried on whether will she suffered the dreaded 2nd album music syndrome but thank goodness she didn't .
She came back with a much more stronger , mature & polished sounding record & despite the fact that I said before that doing a full blown R&B album is tough , she otherwise have proven me wrong in here .
Her debut album DIARY was an inital music stepping stone & in here you can feel the various emotions (pun intended) being poured & laid down all over the tracks that're scattered in her 2nd album .
There's a good mix of R&B upbeat & ballads in which I'm so relieved because before that I was worried that Emotions might be a snoozefest album filled with ballads since the majority of singles that she has released so far , the majority leans towards ballads .
So for her to pump up the volume & crank up the beat or 2 with great upbeat tunes in Emotions , it's a nice balance I say .
Definitely a solid release that I enjoyed a lot more than DIARY .
