CD + DVD Regular
CD + DVD Limited
This song was included in the Kamiwaza・Wanda SONG COLLECTION ~Wanda Nanda!?~ compilation album which was released on 21st Sept .
I think there's a pretty clear reason on why Wanda Nanda!? isn't released as part of DAIGO's solo release because I frankly don't think it's single material unlike ULTRA BRAVE which was also released in a compilation album which subsequently wasn't released as part of DAIGO's solo discography .
Prior to K S K , I thought DAIGO might release Wanda Nanda!? as his next solo single but end of the day in a way I'm glad he didn't & for once I don't mind this was released as part of Kamiwaza・Wanda SONG COLLECTION ~Wanda Nanda!?~ .
Wanda Nanda!? is meant not to be taken seriously & this's to fit the theme/story plot of Kamiwaza Wanda but given a choice , I would rather listen to other solo songs of DAIGO's instead as he has many better material & not this .
CD
CD + DVD
This single was released 4 months + since their previous single I seek / Daylight .
Power of the Paradise was used as NTV's theme song in covering the 2016 Summer Olympics that was held this year at Rio de Janeiro , Brazil . Member Sakurai Sho served as the main caster .
Past NTV Olympics coverage songs by ARASHI include :
2004 Summer Olympics (held in Athens , Greece) - Hero (2nd A-side of 13th single Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy / Hero)
2008 Summer Olympics (held in Beijing , China) - Kaze no Mukou e (2nd A-side of 23rd single truth / Kaze no Mukou e)
2010 Winter Olympics (held in Vancouver , Canada) - Yurase Ima wo (1st B-side in 29th single Troublemaker)
2012 Summer Olympics (held in London , England) - Akashi (track #15 in 11th album Popcorn)
2014 Winter Olympics (held in Sochi , Russia) - Road to Glory (1st B-side in 42nd single Bittersweet)
The A-side is described as a support song for the athletes as well as for all the people who keep on challenging . It has a positive vibe that wraps around you with refreshing vigour & kindness .
This time round , there's only 1 B-side made available in Power of the Paradise . Titled Hana , this ballad is only available in the CD only edition of the single .
Arashi channels the Power of the Paradise in their 50th single . Backed by a refreshing & resonant sound of strings + percussion , the uplifting track centres on courage & power .
Way before Power of the Paradise had the CD treatment , I already liked the song the 1st time ARASHI debuted it during NTV's THE MUSIC DAY Natsu no Hajimari. in July as normally , they don't tend to debut a new song live on TV shows before an official CD release .
To me it would have been better if Power of the Paradise was released during the Olympics coverage as releasing it now is a bit too late but aside from that , this's their 50th single which's a milestone & they couldn't have picked a better song to commemorate it .
Just that I wished a bit more effort would have gone into creating the single covers & the video as both aspects look really cheap but the song itself is something I really enjoy so I let this pass .
ARASHI's 15th album Are You Happy? will be released next month on 26th Oct & Power of the Paradise will not be included in the new album .
CD Regular
2 CDs Limited
1) Takaramono
2) Hono
FLOWER FLOWER's last physical release was last Feb's mini album Shiki EP . The band took a break after vocalist yui got married & gave birth to twin boys last Aug .
Takaramono marks the 1st time FLOWER FLOWER releases a physical single . Their debut solo album Mi & Shiki EP were physically released before , but all singles were released digitally until now .
Work on Takaramono began earlier this year with yui expresseing her excitement over the single . She commented , 'I wasn't expecting to be able to release this single. I'm honestly very happy about it," she said .
Takaramono has been part of the band's set list during their past concerts & it's generally considered 1 of their more popular unreleased songs .
Hono serves as the B-side in Takaramono while the 2nd disc of the 2 CDs edition includes 3 live recordings Toumei na Uta (track #4 in debut album Mi) , Takaramono & Start Line (track #11 in debut album Mi) from FLOWER FLOWER's 2013 secret live gig which was held in Tokyo's Shibuya WWW .
FLOWER FLOWER resume activities with the single Takaramono , a fan favourite that the band has been performing live since the start & they re-recorded the song for this single release .
It's great to have FLOWER FLOWER back with them returning back to the music scene & I understand why Takaramono is a personal favourite song of their fans as it's a very chilled out song which's quite different & less complicated sounding than their other songs .
Hono felt like an extension from Takaramono but all in all , I think both songs are pretty good . End of the day , it's heartening to see them back as I feel some of their material are good even though I still wish yui would go back to do solo material but hopefully that might happen in the near future ?
That said , here's hoping it wouldn't take long for FLOWER FLOWER to release something new again .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
The group's 5th album I SCREAM was released in June .
The A-side was used in the ads of Unakowa & as the title suggests , Sha la la☆Summer Time is a full on bright Summer song .
There're a total of 4 B-sides in the single . 2 are found in the CD only edition while 1 different B-side are each included in both CD + DVD editions .
Out of the 4 B-sides , 3 of them are done by 3 different sub duo/trios within Kis-My-Ft2 .
DREAM STAGE is the only B-side sung by the whole group & this was used as the theme song for Fuji TV's Moshimo Tours .
This's 1 of 2 songs that're only available in the CD only edition of Sha la la☆Summer Time . The sub duo song found in it is Touch which's sung together by Fujigaya Taisuke & Tamamori Yuta .
Snack SHOW wa is included only in the CD + DVD A edition of the single & this's handled by Kitayama Hiromitsu , Yokoo Wataru & Miyata Toshiya while in the CD + DVD B edition , you can find 70 Oku-bun No 2 which's sung by Nikaido Takashi & Senga Kento .
Kis-My-Ft2 shake things up with their latest single offering Sha la la☆Summer Time . While I feel the A-side is not their personal best , it's the structure of their new single that catches my attention as it's something they haven't done before , singles wise .
Out of the 3 different sub duo/trios songs , the only 1 I dislike is Kitayama , Yokoo & Miyata as Snack SHOW wa is just a really strange song & I find it really odd that in between takes , there's talking dialogue involve which makes me confused .
On the other hand , Fujigaya & Tamamori's duo track Touch is really edgy & catchy which I enjoyed a lot while I'm surprised the most by Nikaido & Senga's duo song as 70 Oku-bun No 2 is a ballad .
70 Oku-bun No 2 is a complete departure from what Nikaido & Senga did together in Double Up (found as track #10 in Kis-My-Ft2's 4th album KIS-MY-WORLD) but it's nice nonetheless . The only thing I don't like is that it should have been a bit longer .
All in all , it seems that surprises just keep coming from Kis-My-Ft2 & that's not necessary a bad thing as it feels like whatever they do next , it keeps my interest on check constantly & I'm already waiting to see what else they have plan next .