Lil' Yukichi Remix Feat Cherry Brown
JASMINE's last physical release was 2014's concept album Welcome to Jas Vegas .
It has been way too long for JASMINE to release something new & I'm glad she's finally back with something .
JASMINE is still 1 of my favourite female solo acts & it's unfortunate that along the way , her record label subsequently do not know how to market her properly which's a real shame as she still has some great tracks in her discography .
The title of JASMINE's new song is based on an actual real person but aside from that , it's a relief to know JASMINE is still making music despite her lack of music release inactivity .
I do hope that JASMINE can go indie & release music under her own terms + conditions in the near future as it will be a waste for her musical talents to go under the radar once more .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
This's the duo's 1st single release of 2017 & their 3rd release in celebrating the duo's 20th anniversary in the business .
In addition , The Red Light was released on the same day as We are KinKi Kids Dome Concert 2016-2017 TSUYOSHI & YOU & KOICHI DVD + Blu-ray .
The A-side was used in the ads of Bijoude jewellery that starred KinKi Kids themselves . Kubota Toshinobu was responsible for creating The Red Light .
Kubota Toshinobu celebrated his 30th anniversary last year . He said , "Now that KinKi Kids is passing their 20th anniversary , I wanted them to sing this kind of song . I could just picture the 2 of them singing it while I was writing it ." The result is a hard soul tune firmly rooted in Kubota Toshinobu's world .
3 B-sides are available in the single . Both Shiny & Million Secrets Of Love are found in the CD only version while Boku Dake no Isu is only included in the CD + DVD B of The Red Light .
KinKi Kids flashes The Red Light for the 3rd release of their 20th anniversary year . The title track of the duo's 38th single is composed by singer/songwriter Kubota Toshinobu , who himself celebrated his 30th anniversary last year . The Red Light is a groovy song in Kubota's hard soul style that sets KinKi Kids on a fresh new start .
After releasing the ballad Michi wa Tezukara Yume no Hana last Nov , KinKi Kids's latest single release The Red Light is an upbeat funky no. that's quite different from their past single songs .
Just like Bara to Taiyou , it's nice to see another established artiste had personal input onto KinKi Kids's material & on 1st listen , The Red Light is not typical a KinKi Kids song but somehow they managed to make it work in their favour as this showcases how music versatile they're be it when comes to upbeat songs and/or ballads .
The B-sides in The Red Light are pretty good as they're very diverse in music style . The only thing I wished it would happen is at most 1 of the B-side songs have been a ballad but since I enjoy listening to them , I'm ok with it .
That said , belated 20th anniversary wishes to KinKi Kids & I can't wait to see what else they have up in store next .
CD Regular
1) Yume Monogatari
2) devil or angel ?
3) THE TRAIN'S GONE … ~Acoustic Version~
CD Detective Conan version
1) Yume Monogatari
2) Ikusen no Meikyuu de Ikusen no Nazo wo Toite ~ BREAKERZ 10 Shunen 10ban Shoubu -VS-2017.04.14 at Zepp Tokyo~
3) Yume Monogatari ~TV Size Edit~
CD Limited
1) Yume Monogatari
2) devil or angel ?
CD + DVD
Tracklist is the same as CD Only Limited
The trio's latest single comes in 6 months + after their previous single Ikusen no Meikyuu de Ikusen no Nazo wo Toite .
Yume Monogatari was chosen to be used as the 54th ending theme for the Detective Conan anime . The A-side was written by vocalist DAIGO & composed by guitarist AKIHIDE . The song is described as a medium tempo tune filled with their feelings after being active for 10 years & their intentions for the future .
4 B-sides are available in the single . The 1st 1 devil or angel ? is an unreleased song that was created at the time when the guys' self titled debut album was released exactly 10 years ago .
devil or angel ? written & composed by DAIGO & it was used to promote TV Asahi's BREAK OUT as its opening track this month .
THE TRAIN'S GONE … ~Acoustic Version~ is only available in the CD Only Regular version & this was used to promote TV Asahi's BREAK OUT as its ending track this month .
The original take of THE TRAIN'S GONE … was included as track #3 in the guys' self titled debut album & both versions were also written + composed by DAIGO .
Ikusen no Meikyuu de Ikusen no Nazo wo Toite ~ BREAKERZ 10 Shunen 10ban Shoubu -VS-2017.04.14 at Zepp Tokyo~ & Yume Monogatari ~TV Size Edit~ both are only found in the CD Detective Conan version of Yume Monogatari .
BREAKERZ marks their 10th anniversary with the release of their 18th single Yume Monogatari , which delivers a straight message to the fans , the members & the people they hold dear to .
Today is exactly 10 years since BREAKERZ released their self titled debut album & they've definitely come a long way as Yume Monogatari combines various old elements of their past releases .
For Yume Monogatari , visual wise it remind me of the white version of YAIBA while the video has elements of Overwrite & Hikari in which both single songs incidentally were also used as past ending theme songs for the Detective Conan anime .
Also I didn't know that devil or angel ? was created 10 years ago & as unfortunate as it didn't made the cut in their 1st album , at least it's better late than never . DAIGO sounds different in here so I wouldn't be surprised if this was recorded way back in 2007 .
As for THE TRAIN'S GONE … ~Acoustic Version~ , it's not the guys' typical acoustic song as unlike past acoustic songs , this time round DAIGO sang the entire track in Japanese where the original take of the no. had English/Engrish words/phrases .
The release of Yume Monogatari brings back full circle seeing that it obtained the same 1st week position as their 2008 debut single SUMMER PARTY / LAST EMOTION .
That said , I'm glad I've stuck with them through the good & old times and here's to 10 - 20 more years !
CD
CD + DVD
1) DECIDED
2) RANGE
3) DIS is TEKI
The group's latest single was released 5 months + since their previous single Itteki no Eikyou .
DECIDED was chosen to be used to promote the new live action Gintama movie which opened in Japan theatres last Sat on 14th July .
The film is based on Sorachi Hideaki's popular manga Gintama that's currently being serialised in Gekkan Shounen Jump . Directed by Fukuda Yuichi , the film stars Oguri Shun as Sakata Gintoki , Suda Masaki as Shimura Shinpachi & Hashimoto Kanna as Kagura .
On providing the theme song , vocalist TAKUYA∞ commented , "We wanted to provide a trigger to liven up the world of Gintama , which is full of humour , action & emotion ."
RANGE is 1 of 2 B-sides found in DECIDED & for this , it was selected to be used in the ads of RED BULL BOX CART RACE TOKYO 2017 that featured UVERworld themselves .
UVERworld was appointed the ambassador for the upcoming RED BULL BOX CART RACE TOKYO 2017 in Tokyo that will take place on 22nd Oct .
Red Bull's soapbox race is a global event where amateur racers build their own soapbox car to race down a course , competing to get the fastest time . The event is know for the outrageous designs of its soapbox cars .
UVERworld recorded RANGE specially for RED BULL BOX CART RACE TOKYO 2017 . "We made this song to provide competitors with a boost . We wanted the song to make them say to themselves 'I won't give up and I want to keep going forward' ," TAKUYA∞ said .
DECIDED is 1 full on fast paced song which's different from Itteki no Eikyou as it was unusually mellow . This time round , UVERworld speed things up a lot more with their latest single offering , with some saxophone sounds thrown in for good measure too .
UVERworld's 9th album TYCOON will be released on 2nd Aug & DECIDED will be included in the album as track #7 with it tagged as DECIDED (Album ver.) .
TYCOON will be UVERworld's 1st studio album release since 2014's Ø CHOIR .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
The group's latest single was released 5 months + since their previous single OVER THE TOP while their last double A-side single release was 2015's / 14th single Chau# / Wo I Need You .
Unlike Chau# / Wo I Need You , both Precious Girl & Are You There ? respectively have videos made .
The 1st A-side Precious Girl was used in the ads of Kose Cosmeport's Fortune & it's described as a colourful song with a hint of strength + it's a fight song for women in love .
The 2nd A-side Are You There ? was used in the NTV drama Koshoku Robot starring members Daiki Arioka , Hikaru Yaotome & Takaki Yuya .
Are You There ? is only sung by Daiki , Hikaru & Takaki under the unit A.Y.T. . The song has heartwarming lyrics & a techno pop sound . This track will give listeners a boost & its simple melody will make the listeners hum it instinctively .
There're 4 B-sides in Precious Girl / Are You There ? & interestingly , all of them start with the same alphabet ie. S .
In the CD only version , 2 B-side songs are each sung by the 2 sub units of the group . Sweet Liar is sung by Hey ! Say ! 7 while Start Days is handled by Hey ! Say ! BEST .
Shakunetsu no Yume is only available in the CD + DVD A of the single while Smile in Summer is exclusively found in the CD + DVD B edition of Precious Girl / Are You There ? .
For Smile in Summer , it was used in the ads of Kose Cosmeport's SUNCUT starring Hey ! Say ! JUMP themselves .
2017 is Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 10th anniversary & Precious Girl / Are You There ? is their 2nd single release of the year followed by Feb's OVER THE TOP .
The way they chose to release/market Precious Girl / Are You There ? is interesting especially since Are You There ? wasn't sung by the whole group .
Still , the single overall is quite strong . Precious Girl on 1st listen is fantastic & really catchy , it's very easy to get into the song the moment it starts playing . I'm surprised I like it as I didn't thought much about the preview but the full version changed my mind on it .
Likewise , Are You There ? that's handled by A.Y.T. is quite good although it's overshadowed by Precious Girl to a certain extent .
B-sides wise , this time round I don't like all of them as I find some quite childish sounding but I'm real surprised Sweet Liar has a grown up feel unlike Start Days .
And for once , I don't mind Smile in Summer slotted in as a B-side track as I feel it's not A-side worthy but it's a fun Summer song .
Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 1st best album Hey ! Say ! JUMP 2007-2017 I/O will be released on 26th July & both Precious Girl + Are You There ? are not included in the compilation .
CD
CD + DVD
This single was released 2 months + since ARASHI's previous single I'll be there .
Tsunagu was used as the theme song to promote leader Ohno Satoshi's new movie Shinobi no Kuni that opened in Japan theatres last Sat / July 1st .
The last single song that ARASHI used to promote a movie was 2013's Breathless , which was used to promote Platina Data that starred member Ninomiya Kazunari
Tsunagu lyrically leans to a world's view & melody . The high energy song follows a path to an era of hope & love even to war torn countries .
The thrilling melody of prominent electric guitars & shamisen which perfectly melds 2 different music styles of past and present resonates an emptiness that matches ARASHI's vocals , making Tsunagu their 'ultimate love song' .
4 B-sides are made available in Tsunagu . Reach for the sky ~Ten Made Todoke~ , Dakishimetai & Under the radar are found in the CD only version of the single .
Reach for the sky ~Ten Made Todoke~ was used in the ads for JAL's Sakitoku 「Paper Airplane」 Summer Vacation starring ARASHI themselves . The song is described as a shout out no. that inspires all to come out into the summer sky .
Oki ni Mesu Mama is only available in the CD + DVD of Tsunagu & this was also used in the ads of JAL's Sakitoku that ARASHI also starred in .
There's definitely no stopping ARASHI in delivering 2 singles back to back within such a short period of time & Tsunagu most certainly didn't disappoint .
I wonder why it took so long for ARASHI to release an Oriental sounding song as a single song but it's better late than never and to say Tsunagu is fantastic is an understatement .
Just like I'll be there , Tsunagu is extremely catchy on 1st listen and it's great that ARASHI manages to make it modern sounding by combining traditional Japanese music elements that pays homage to their country & including electric guitar riffs for good measure .
Tsunagu definitely sounds like something it could have been included in Japonism as it would fit in very well with the album's theme/concept and visual/video aspects wise , Tsunagu suppress I'll be there in both areas .
The B-sides this time round are pretty good . Reach for the sky ~Ten Made Todoke~ gives me Everything vibes and I'm surprised Dakishimetai is not a ballad .
Under the radar & Oki ni Mesu Mama are both upbeat no.s and when I 1st heard Oki ni Mesu Mama , it doesn't sound like something ARASHI might do as it doesn't have a Summer vibe unlike Reach for the sky ~Ten Made Todoke~ .
All in all , I'm glad that ARASHI hasn't lost their touch when comes to their singles yet . I'm sure they will release another single next prior to another album although I rather they slow down the pace of releasing albums on a yearly basis but we'll see .