5 newly recorded songs are included in BEST ~2000-2020~ :
- Cutie Honey
- hands
- D.D.D.
- LIT
- WALK OF MY LIFE
Before the physical release of BEST ~2000-2020~ , the newly recorded version of Cutie Honey was 1st released digitally on 25th Oct .
Out of the 5 newly recorded songs included in BEST ~2000-2020~ , the new takes of hands & WALK OF MY LIFE are my favourite . Both songs are still 2 of the best ballads in Koda's discography so they do deserve to get re-recorded and the new renditions are nothing short of wonderful .
On the other hand , I thought it was interesting for Koda to re-record D.D.D. . The new version does not include SOULHEAD so Koda rapped in their absence & she actually sounds good doing so even though up to now I'm still not 100% sold on the inclusion of flute in the melody .
While I like LIT , I felt it does not deserve to get re-recorded as there were so many other songs Koda could have re-recorded instead , such as TAKE BACK , real Emotion , Butterfly , you & etc .
BEST ~2000-2020~ could have been a lot more better as I felt the tracklist for the regular version does not fully summarise her 2 decades long career properly unlike the mu-mo fanclub version which's more definitive .
I'm sure most longtime Koda fans like myself would agree that having 5 newly recorded songs included in BEST ~2000-2020~ is not enough & it would have been nice if Koda did something similiar like what Namie Amuro did for her Finally best album but that's that .
ayaka performed/debuted Kinmokusei for the 1st time during ayaka 15th Anniversary Tour 2021 ~Motto Ii Hi ni~ .
A video was made for Kinmokusei but ayaka does not appear in it . Instead , the video stars M!LK's Miyase Ryubi & ex E-girls / Flower's Bando Nozomi .
Kinmokusei is very different from the previous songs that ayaka released digitally as for starters I wasn't sure what to think about it when I 1st heard it .
But after watching the video , it makes more sense & it's 1 of those songs that after watching the video , you will understand where Kinmokusei comes from , lyrically .
ayaka's 6th album LOVE CYCLE will be released on 1st Feb 2022 & Kinmokusei will be included . In addition , the song is marketed as the upcoming new album's lead track .
CD
CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray A
CD + DVD B & CD + Blu-ray B
The group's latest single offering comes in 3 months+ since the release of their previous single Gunjou Runaway & this's marketed as their 1st 15th anniversary release .
Promo wise , Sing-along was chosen to be used as the theme song for TV Asahi's broadcast of the Japanet presents Artistic Gymnastics World Championships from 21st to 24th Oct & the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships on Halloween .
The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships & the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships are gymnastics tournaments that were held in Kitakyushu . Retired tennis player Matsuoka Shuzo served as its main reporter & member Chinen Yuri served as its presenter .
Sing-along is described as a medium-tempo tune that includes positive lyrics , a support song for all people who do their best to live even though they are troubled or hurt & Chinen was in charge of its dance choreography .
4 B-sides in total are included in the single :
- Break The Wall (CD Only Track)
- Monologue (CD Only Track)
- Hello Melody (CD Only Track)
- ASAP! (CD + DVD B & CD + Blu-ray B Track)
Break The Wall has a video made & was used to promote the 2nd season of the Tokai TV & WOWOW's co-produced drama Junkyouju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu starring member Inoo Kei and King & Prince's Jinguji Yuta .
Described as a nonstop rock song engulfed with fiery themes of battle , Break The Wall suceeded Gunjou Runaway with it being used to promote was used to promote the 1st season of Junkyouju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu .
As for ASAP! , Chinen & fellow member Arioka Daiki both had a hand in co-writing & co-composing the song .
2022 is Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 15th anniversary & they've kicked off early celebrations with the release of their latest single offering Sing-along .
On 1st listen , Sing-along reminds me of Asu e no YELL to some extent which could be a good or bad thing but to say the song is different from Gunjou Runaway is an understatement .
All the B-sides included in the single are musically different from each other and it's quite evident on why Break The Wall has a video made even though I feel Hello Melody also should get 1 too .
With next year being the group's 15th anniversary , it will be interesting to see how they celebrate it & for once I'm actually glad they did not releaes a studio album this year even though their last studio albums' releases were all pretty good .
1) Ame no Orugoru
2) Watage no Shelter
3) BLACK UNICORN
4) Tonight,Tonight
BLACK UNICORN EP includes 4 songs & 2 of the tracks Watage no Shelter and Tonight,Tonight features singing done by AKIHIDE .
AKIHIDE rarely disappoints & the same thing goes for BLACK UNICORN EP . Despite it being a mini album release , it's a bit scary to know that the songs' quality easily rivals that of a standard full length album .
Ame no Orugoru & Watate no Shelter felt like the calm before the storm & BLACK UNICORN + Tonight,Tonight are the complete opposites which are more angsty & aggressive driven .
From the usage of the loop pendal to synthesiser , BLACK UNICORN EP takes listeners to a rather short but sweet whimsical musical journey .
The release of 100 no Kodoku Tachi e happened on the same day as the release of Koda's BEST ~2000-2020~ compilation .
Koda released 2 songs digitally back to back last month & this month , starting with 4 MORE followed by 100 no Kodoku Tachi e .
Both 4 MORE & 100 no Kodoku Tachi e are not included in BEST ~2000-2020~ & both songs have videos made .
100 no Kodoku Tachi e is lyrically 1 of the saddest Koda ballads she has released in recent years & with right now being Winter , it definitely will stuck a chord with listeners who're able to relate to what the song's all about .
Some of the past ballads Koda put out could be hit or miss but 100 no Kodoku Tachi e is 1 of those songs that resonates with me & I'm sure that apply to others as well .
With 2021 ending soon , I'm quite sure Koda will kick off 2022 with a new studio album & with most of the released digital released songs she put out this year are pretty good , hopefully the same thing will apply to her next music release .
CD Regular
2 CDs Limited
1) AVALANCHE
2) ET
3) AVALANCHE (instrumental)
4) ET (instrumental)
UVERworld's latest single was released 2 months+ after their previous single Rai Cho e / SOUL .
Promo wise , AVALANCHE was chosen to promote the Avalanche drama , starring actor Go Ayano & the A-side was 1st released digitally on 15th Nov .
This's UVERworld's 2nd time providing a song for something that Go Ayano stars in , after 2017's Shinjuku Swan II which UVERworld's Emu was used as the movie's insert no. .
ET serves as the B-side in AVALANCHE & the 2nd disc of 2 CDs limited version of the single contains 8 live audio tracks that were all recorded from UVERworld LIVE 2021 at Yokohama Arena ~We gonna go~ 09.04 & 09.05 .
Reaching the 40th single milestone in the form of AVALANCHE , this year has been 1 of UVERworld's most active in terms of single releases with them releasing 4 singles which the last time it happened for them was back in 2006 .
On 1st listen , AVALANCHE oddly reminded me of HOURGLASS which can be a good or bad thing depending on the situation . UVERworld's music is notoriously hard to get into so for this it's quite subjective .
UVERworld's 11th album 30 will be released next Wed on 22nd Dec & AVALANCHE will be included in the new album as track 5 .
CD
CD + DVD A
CD + DVD B
NEWS' latest single was released 5 months+ since their previous single BURN & both A-sides have videos made
. The 1st A-side Mirai e was chosen to be used as the theme song for NTV's drama Nigatsu no Shosha: Zettai Gokaku no Kyoshitsu starring member Kato Shigeaki .
Nigatsu no Shosha: Zettai Gokaku no Kyoshitsu is based on a manga by Takase Shiho that's currently being serialised in Gekkan Big Comic Spirits . Yagira Yuya plays Kuroki Kurodo , a former teacher at a prestigious cram school for the middle school entrance exam who comes to support a mid-level cram school . NEWS' Kato Shigeaki plays Haitani Jun , one of the top teachers at the prestigious cram school .
Mirai e is described as a support song that uses Nigatsu no Shosha: Zettai Gokaku no Kyoshitsu's worldview as its motif .
The 2nd A-side ReBorn was used as the 2nd opening theme no. for the Hanyou no Yashahime anime which the song succeeded BURN .
4 B-sides in total are included in Mirai e / ReBorn :
- Running (CD Only Track)
- Chiisana Christmas (CD Only Track)
- Future is Here (CD + DVD A Track)
- JUNK (CD + DVD B Track)
NEWS wraps up 2021 with their latest single offering Mirai e / ReBorn and both A-sides contrast each other well but it's quite evident which A-side is the more prominent stronger one ie. Mirai e .
Over the years , NEWS has released numerous fight theme related songs with Mirai e joining in the ranks & hearing the song for the 1st time gave me goosebumps on how empowering it's & it's not surprising between both A-sides , they kept performing it on TV numerous times unlike ReBorn .
Unlike Mirai e , I don't feel ReBorn is A-side worthy material as it felt like a poor cousin of BURN .
The 4 B-sides included in Mirai e / ReBorn are all musically diverse from each other & I like Chiisana Christmas the most and it's fitting given the festive period . Future is Here felt like a WORLDISTA leftover track as this song would have fit well in the album .
This year is NEWS' 1st time since 2014 that they did not release a studio album successively back to back & I for once do not mind because I feel the quality of their music suffered after they released so many albums so fast within a short period of time , where they should have take their time to release a proper good album and hopefully this will happen next year .
Promo wise , Neboketa Machi ni was chosen as the theme song to promote the ads of UT Group Corporation .
Saito released 3 songs digitally in Oct with Neboketa Machi ni released 2 weeks after Over the Season .
Neboketa Machi ni is musically different from both Over the Season & Asayake as it's a straight up no nonsense upbeat no. and the song's really catchy on 1st listen .
The fact that Saito released 3 songs digitally in a month with all of them sounding different from each other , it's not an easy thing to do but for this seasonal musician , to him it's like a walk in the park .
