Cover for both CD & CD + DVD's
1) Niji (Rainbow)
2) Are You Champion ? Yeah !! I'm Champion !!
3) Niji (Inst.)
4) Are You Champion ? Yeah !! I'm Champion !! (Karaoke ver.)
Released 2 months + since the group's previous single Sakura Mitsutsuki , the A-side was picked to be used as the theme song for Shota Matsuda's TBS drama Undercover Agent Tokage in which Niji was 1st premiered on March 31 at Osaka's Zepp Namba .
Undercover Agent Tokage started airing last month on 18th April with Shota Matsuda playing the lead role of Tokage who's a former detective turned private investigator .
Shota Matsuda stars as a detective in the drama . The drama offers a different flavour of mystery & suspense as it follows a former elite police detective who possesses an overwhelming memory .
Together with his assistant , both of them teamed up to solve difficult & unresolved cases . The drama also reflects on human nature as the characters in the drama mature in the process of them struggling to balance oneself with one's past .
To accompany Undercover Agent Tokage , the producers wanted a powerful sound , which made SPYAIR a perfect choice . Niji is described as an uplifting , inspiration rock ballad that reflects the courage of one who continues through adversity .
Niji encourages one to persevere & walk forth even when one is troubled . As such , the song was written specifically for Undercover Agent Tokage .
SPYAIR posted their own comments with regards to Niji , "Our world is filled with trash and treasure . The value of things becomes vague & you become unaware of these limits . The protagonist of the drama , Tokage probably knows of this feeling . This is what we thought when we finished writing the lyrics . The vocals are certain to overcome a frozen heart with a sound that reflects a vast view of the world & universal beat . We have put all of our energy into making this song . Whether it's one person , or many , we want people to hear this !"
Are You Champion ? Yeah !! I'm Champion !! serves as the B-side track in the single & to me , this's probably 1 of the guys's coolest if not unique sounding B-side no.s to date .
With such a song title for a B-side , Are You Champion ? Yeah !! I'm Champion !! is a really fun no. & prior to this , I thought I was hearing a radio aired version of the song as the opening sounded otherwise but basically the whole song presents a very happy go lucky vibe , which's a stark difference to what Niji has to offer .
There's no stopping rock band SPYAIR in dishing out new material 1 after another . Just 2 months after releasing their previous single Sakura Mitsutsuki , they came back with their latest single offering Niji .
And if that's not enough , their 12th single Genjyo Destruction is scheduled to get released on 3rd July & Genjyo Destruction was been picked to be used as the theme song for the anime movie Gekijouban Gintama Kanketsu-hen Yorozuya yo Eien nare that will open in cinemas on 6th July .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
The duo's latest single comes in about 2 months + since the release of their previous single Sayonara ni Sayonara .
Needless to say , I was really shocked & surprised when I 1st heard Neko Chudoku . Obviously the covers aren't helping matters as I really thought the whole thing was a joke in the beginning .
But after I got over the initial shock , Neko Chudoku is basically a pop song at the end of the day which showcased a completely different side of Tegomass which played up the fun & not very serious traits that the duo has . I suppose if NEWS were to release something like this , that's when they will not be taken seriously anymore .
2 B-sides are found in the single in which both of them are only included in the CD pressing of Neko Chudoku .
Out of the 2 B-sides , I really like the 1st B-side a great deal which's something that's titled Sprechchor .
Sprechchor brings back to what Tegomass does best which's releasing heartwarming uplifting songs without being cheesy & that's my 1st impression upon hearing Sprechchor which's wonderful .
On the other hand , Hana ni Omoi wo is another surprising no. which the song started off with a rather old fashioned melody , something like I might hear in a square dance that took place in a farm .
Not that it's a bad thing but I just thought it was daring for the duo to do something completely different from the other songs in the single , let alone Neko Chudoku so I would say Hana ni Omoi wo is interesting & the harmonica going on in the song makes things very old school .
Tegomass falls under the spell of the cats in their latest single Neko Chudoku & this somewhat over the top cute pop song is all about the 2 members' love for cats & it is part of a genre that the duo has dubbed it as "ska cat pop" .
Honestly so far for this year , Tegomass is the only artiste that I'm not that impressed with what they've released . After being quite disappointed with Sayonara ni Sayonara , they unexpectedly came back pretty fast with another follow up single with Neko Chudoku in which it's definitely their least serious sounding single they've put out to date .
Should they choose to release another single next , I would love it if they can go back to their old music roots as that's the + point of the duo as both Tegoshi & Masuda still have 1 of the best singing vocals (if not harmonisation of vocals) in the talent agency .
I definitely do not mind another Kiss ~Kaeri Michi no Love Song~ and/or Aoi Bench that's for sure . But for now , I'm waiting in anticipation for something new from NEWS to get released as so far they have not release anything new for this year . If not , this year will be the year for Tegomass to do their own thing before NEWS come back to put out something new once again .
CD
CD + DVD
1) Ai Kotoba (Love Poetry)
2) MISSING YOU
3) Hatsukoi (First Love) -acoustic ver.-
4) Aikotoba (Ai Kotoba) -Instrumental-
This's Mika's 1st single release of 2013 after she put out her 7th album REAL early this year in 30th Jan .
The main A-side was picked to be used as the outro theme no. for the anime Space Battleship Yamato 2199 & it was 1st released digitally via iTunes a week prior to the physical CD single release on 22nd May .
Both Mika & music legend Nakajima Miyuki teamed up for the 1st time in Ai Kotoba . Mika approached Nakajima about a collaboration with a "nothing to lose" spirit & the result is this stirring ballad that talks about a secret language that only two lovers share in which Nakajima wrote & composed Ai Kotoba .
There're 2 total of 2 B-sides in the single . The 1st 1 is something titled MISSING YOU .
With Ai Kotoba being a ballad , MISSING YOU takes on a more heartfelt uplifting personnel & personally I really like this as it plays a rather sharp contrast against what the A-side has to offer . Also I love the strings going on in the melody for MISSING YOU too .
Hatsukoi (First Love) -acoustic ver.- is the 2nd B-side & the original take of Hatsukoi was released as Mika's previous single prior to her putting out Aikotoba .
I thought that Hatsukoi -acoustic ver.- is lovely & anything that's acoustic has my stamp of approval . I already like what the original take of the song had to offer but a minor downside for Hatsukoi was the duration as I found it a bit lengthy for my liking .
But in this case , Hatsukoi -acoustic ver.- is just nice with Mika bringing in the right amount of emotions attached to the song .
After releasing her latest album REAL , Mika Nakashima is back to what she does best in her latest single offering Ai Kotoba .
Frankly this time round , I enjoyed the B-sides much more than the main A-side . I felt Ai Kotoba was a bit too mellow for my liking & I don't think it's Mika's best ballad she has put out but the B-sides more than make up for everything .
CD
CD + DVD A [DVD footages - FACE to Face music video + making offshot]
CD + DVD B [DVD footages - Taguchi Junnosuke's solo FLASH music video + special video]
Released about 3 months + after their previous single EXPOSE , the A-side was used as the main theme song in the movie Ore Ore starring Kamenashi Kazuya & this's the 1st time for the group to provide the theme song for a movie .
Kamenashi took on a huge acting challenge by starring in director Satoshi Miki's surreal comedy movie Ore Ore . FACE to Face is described as a powerful dance song which dictates what happens when one comes face to face with other versions of himself , much like the experiences of the film's hero .
There're a total of 4 B-sides available in FACE to Face in which the 1st 2 tracks are found in the CD only edition of the single .
DRAMATIC was picked to be used as the image song for Nippon TV's live coverage of professional baseball game & Nippon TV's Going ! Sports & News + also for the live coverage of professional baseball game Dramatic Game 1844 .
This is the 5th song to be used to promote Going ! Sports & News after :
= Going ! ; 12th single
= CHANGE YOUR WORLD ; 13th single
= DIAMOND ; B-side in 16th single RUN FOR YOU
= SPIRIT ; B-side in 18th single TO THE LIMIT
In actual fact , DRAMATIC was the 1st song I heard in the single but at that time , the song I've heard was quite a low quality which didn't sat well with me but upon hearing the high quality version of the song , DRAMATIC has since grown on me quite considerably .
Ano Hi no Mama (Remains Of That Day) is the only B-side that's a ballad & I guess this's the guys's longest B-side to date seeing that the song clocks in at a whopping 5:57 mins .
KAT-TUN is generally not known for their slower ballad no.s but personally I have a soft spot for them which's why I approve of them doing a song such as Ano Hi no Mama , despite it being very lengthy but this showcased a different side of the group .
LIVE ON is exclusively found in the CD + DVD A edition of the single & this's a really funky no. that has a strong saxophone presence .
The last B-side FLASH is only found in the CD + DVD B edition of FACE to Face & this's sung solo by Taguchi Junnosuke in which the lyrics of the song was written by Taguchi himself .
Since their 19th single Fumetsu no Scrum , each member will release a solo song that will be accompanied by a music video . 1st in line to do so was Tanaka Koki's BLACK or WHITE in Fumetsu no Scrum , 2nd in line to do so was Nakamaru Yuichi's Snowflake in EXPOSE & now it's Taguchi's turn .
Personally , Taguchi is not a strong vocalist in KAT-TUN but when I heard FLASH , I was very surprised as it sounds like nothing like what he used to do . The + point for Taguchi is that even though his vocals are limited , he's able to pick songs that somewhat able to stretch his vocal chops to a certain extent & I suppose that applies to FLASH .
FLASH is a very dancey no. & the video that accompanied the song is highly entertaining which made things even more enjoyable . I think so far out of so many past solo songs of Taguchi's , FLASH is 1 of my official faves coming from him as of now . Good job on that note Taguchi !
KAT-TUN scored their 21st straight #1 with their latest offering FACE to Face since debuting in the scene with 2006's Real Face & once again , this's another solid single coming from them .
I really enjoyed what EXPOSE had to offer & the A-side FACE to Face was brillant throughout . This's 1 group that has been going from strength to strength & I'm really pleased just how things turned out for them .
It remains to be seen will their next release be another single or will it be time for them to put out their 7th album . Only time will tell on that .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
The group's 1st single release of 2013 , both A-sides have tie in's that each involved a fellow group member .
The 1st A-side Hesomagari (Perverse) serves as the main theme song for the TV drama series Otenki Oneesan starring Okura Tadayoshi .
Otenki Oneesan stars Takei Emi who plays the role of a weather forecaster genius named Abe Haruko . She is tasked to solve crimes by making use of her meteorological expertise . In the drama , Okura plays the role of a rookie detective , Aoki Gota .
Hesomagari is described as an upper tune which encourages a listener to tackle difficulties boldly .
The 2nd A-side Kokonishikanai Keshiki is used as the main theme song for the film Kencho Omotenashi Ka starring Nishikido Ryo & it's described as a medium number which expresses the feelings toward a listener's precious places .
There're a total of 3 B-sides available in Hesomagari / Kokonishikanai Keshiki .
This moment is found in both CD & CD + DVD's A editions of the single . I thought this song was a style that the guys never done before . Something about it being soothing & calming just hits the right note for me .
myself is found in both CD & CD + DVD's A editions of Hesomagari / Kokonishikanai Keshiki . This song is a mid tempo no. which I feel it's not bad . It definitely has the potential to be an A-side .
Ai Deshita. "8EST" Remix is the last B-side & the original take of the song served as Kanjani∞'s 20th single .
This is actually still 1 of my most fave recent tracks from the group but unfortunately , as much as I want to like Ai Deshita. "8EST" Remix , I was surprisingly quite turned off by it .
Something about Ai Deshita. "8EST" Remix doesn't sound as good as what I was hoping for . I don't know if it's because of the melody that sounded a bit out of place or the fact that it's a whopping 8:16 mins long that didn't kept my attention span on it that much . Either that , this's a remix that would skip if given the chance .
For their 1st single in 2013 , Kanjani∞ are supporting their members' latest acting ventures ! Hesomagari is serving as the opening theme for the late-night television Otenki Oneesan , starring Okura Tadayoshi , Takei Emi & Sasaki Nozomi . Meanwhile , Kokonishikanai Keshiki is the theme song for feature film Kencho Omotenashi Ka , starring Nishikido Ryo , Horikita Maki & Kora Kengo .