CD
CD + Blu-ray A
CD + Blu-ray B
AKIHIDE's last studio album release was last Oct's UNDER CITY POP MUSIC .
Three Stars is AKIHIDE's 1st release to get Blu-ray version(s) & he wrote and composed the entire album just like his past album releases .
Songs in Three Stars which featured AKIHIDE singing in them include :
1) Singing in the Starlight
2) Ao no Matsuri
3) Uso
5) Kagami no Kuni no Kimi
6) the Burning Star
7) Kaerazu no Mori
8) Shironeko no Rendezvous
10) Kimi wo Egaite
This year has been a decade since BREAKERZ started doing solo stuff & to say AKIHIDE has been the most active out of the lot is an understatement .
For AKIHIDE to release 10 albums in a decade not to mention a mini album among others , it's no easy feat but for him that has more or less unlimited creative juices , it feels like 2nd nature to AKIHIDE .
That said for AKIHIDE's latest album offering , once again he did not disappoint & a lot of the songs in the latest release have great callbacks to his past solo releases .
AKIHIDE commented that he wanted to make Three Stars almost in the same music style as his 8th album LOOP WORLD but as time went on , AKIHIDE realised that some songs could not be created with just the guitar . He wanted to include fantasy & space elements so AKIHIDE ended up using a lot of recording and sampling melodies , just like what he did with his previous album UNDER CITY POP MUSIC .
Track 1 Singing in the Starlight
A Blues Rock driven song & it focuses on the beginning of a love story .
AKIHIDE wanted the first song in Three Stars to be unexpected & impactful ie. not a typical music style AKIHIDE is not known for which I agree with him as I was at 1st taken aback how different Singing in the Starlight was as compared to past albums' opening numbers .
Track 2 Ao no Matsuri
An up-tempo number which this type of music style is usually not really seen in many of AKIHIDE's solo songs .
AKIHIDE considered the 1st 3 songs in Three Stars ie. Singing in the Starlight , Ao no Matsuri & Uso the culmination of his solo career , allowing fans to feel the present and future pertaining to his solo music discography .
Track 5 Kagami no Kuni no Kimi
AKIHIDE came up with Kagami no Kuni no Kimi while playing around with a loop pedal & then he wrote the lyrics by applying them to Three Stars' story .
Kagami no Kuni no Kimi was not recorded with a loop pedal , but there's a faint usage of synth in the background & the drum like sound is made from a guitar .
A line found in Kagami no Kuni no Kimi is 'Omou Yori Kitto Umaku Yukukara Daijoubu Dayo' ; AKIHIDE has been saying this line to himself in the mirror during the COVID-19 pandemic .
The lyrics are what AKIHIDE would say to himself in the morning when he starts the day & he wants to say the same thing to everyone .
Track 6 the Burning Star
This song was created based on the idea of a flaming star having a theme song & there's Arabian music influences in the melody .
Other than Arabic influences , AKIHIDE also incorporated Reggae in the Burning Star . The drums , percussion & synths used in the song were based on sample sound sources .
Track 8 Shironeko no Rendezvous
AKIHIDE combined French jazz & electric drums in this song . He often plays a Jazz version of Kuroneko no Tango during his solo concerts & he commented that Shironeko no Rendezvous as an answer song to Kuroneko no Tango .
Track 9 Akai Senritsu
AKIHIDE described this instrumental no. as something that might be included in a movie soundtrack .
Akai Senritsu is based on an imaginary story on a war in which a fiery star attacks another planet . There is a destructive sound in the background & the guitar riffs used in Akai Senritsu mimics the sound of a dragon roaring .
Track 10 Kimi wo Egaite
This song made AKIHIDE cry due to the lyrics .
Kimi wo Egaite is a straightforward ballad . This song is important to AKIHIDE & he exchanged many different lyrics ideas with the staff numerous times .
The last song in Three Stars serves as the bridge to the album's story but AKIHIDE wanted people to feel like it's something they could relate to even if they didn't know the story background .
AKIHIDE had a strong desire to write about the feeling of loss that came from losing someone important to him & singing songs like Kimi wo Egaite helps him .
Kimi wo Egaite was written with the hope that it would bring a smile to people's faces when they hear it , even just a little bit as AKIHIDE meets & say goodbye to many people every day .
At the end of the day , Kimi wo Egaite is a song that leaves behind an artist's pure feelings & when compared to reality , things such about current matters happening right now in the world & also sad things that will never go away , what should be done during such circumstances ? That feeling is also reflected in how Kimi wo Egaite sounds .
All in all , for AKIHIDE to reach the landmark 10th album release with Three Stars , it's also a great way to see how far musically he has come solo wise & frankly I don't think AKIHIDE will continue to stop what he does best which I hope he wil continue to do so in years to come .
Not only this's Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 1st mini album , P.U! EP is also their 1st release where it did not get a physical release .
P.U! EP includes 4 songs :
- Ready to Jump ; a video was made for this song & the video features SO-SO
- Daisuki na Kimi e ; was used to promote NHK's Minna no Uta from Oct to Nov
An animated video made for Daisuki na Kimi e
- Sorezore.
Promote the 6th season of the drama Kaseifu no Mitazono starring member Inoo Kei
Sorezore. is the 4th song that is used to promote Kaseifu no Mitazono after
- Ai Dake ga Subete -What do you want?-
- Last Mermaid...
- a r e a
- DEAR MY LOVER
1st A-side of 33rd single DEAR MY LOVER / Ura Omote
It's very surprising when P.U! EP was released digitally without any prior notice given last month .
That said other than DEAR MY LOVER , the 3 new songs in P.U! EP are distinct from each other & it's quite easy to see why Ready to Jump has a video made .
Ready to Jump is probably the group's most back to basics fuss free song they created to date as the melody's so simple but yet it really works well in their favour . In this context it's really less is more .
Daisuki na Kimi e is a very sweet song & the accompanied animated video really brings the song's value up a notch or 2 while I only find Sorezore. ok unlike the previous 3 songs Hey ! Say ! JUMP provided to promote the Kaseifu no Mitazono drama .
Hey ! Say ! JUMP's 10th album PULL UP! will be released next month on 6th Dec & all songs in P.U! EP will be included in the new album .
