CD
CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray A
CD + DVD B & CD + Blu-ray B
This's NEWS' 1st single release of 2022 & it's also their 1st single to have Blu-ray version(s) .
Videos were made for both A-sides .
The 1st A-side LOSER was used as the opening theme no. to promote TV Tokyo's drama Kichijyoji Losers starring member Masuda Takahisa & it's described as a message song with the theme of loser .
The 2nd A-side Sanjyushi was produced & provided by GReeeeN . Sanjyushi is described as a refreshing & uptempo song with a heartwarming message .
4 B-sides in total are included in LOSER / Sanjyushi
- TOKYO SUMMER (CD Only Track)
- Deeper & Deeper (CD Only Track)
- (0,0,0) (CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray A Track)
- CANVAS (CD + DVD B & CD + Blu-ray B Track)
Just like NEWS' previous single Mirai e / ReBorn , their latest single release LOSER / Sanjyushi contrast each other but in a good way . LOSER is almost like Mirai e , empowering sound wise but Sanjyushi definitely is the standout A-side & it's not surprising it sounds almost like weeeek since GReeeeN created both tracks for NEWS .
B-sides wise , the one that I really like out of the lot is CANVAS as in this case , less is definitely more and the song allows NEWS to shine vocally .
With NEWS releasing 4 singles at this point in time , I think their next music release should be a new studio album .
And with NEWS LIVE TOUR 2022 Ongaku starting in late Aug , I will not be surprised if their new album will be released prior to the start of their new tour .
CD
CD + DVD A / CD + Blu-ray A
CD + DVD B / CD + Blu-ray B
CD + DVD C / CD + Blu-ray C
Their 1st release of 2022 , Hey ! Say ! JUMP is also the group's 1st triple A-side single release & their 4th single to have Blu-ray version(s) .
All 3 A-sides have videos made .
a r e a ::
Describd as a nostalgic melody with a slight EDM style , the song was pick to promote season 5 of the drama Kaseifu no Mitazono starring member Inoo Kei & TOKIO's Matsuoka (which he has done so as the lead role since the 1st season of the drama) .
This is the group's 3rd song to promote Kaseifu no Mitazono , after 2019's Ai Dake ga Subete -What do you want?- and 2020's Last Mermaid...
Koi wo Surunda ::
Used as the theme song to promote TV Asahi's drama Ore no Kawaii wa Mousugu Shohikigen!? starring member Yamada Ryosuke .
The protagonist for Ore no Kawaii wa Mousugu Shohikigen!? is Maruya Kosuke (Yamada) , a salesperson for a beer company who utilises his cuteness as his weapon . With his 30s looming around the corner , he experiences a shocking incident that makes him realise that his cuteness has an expiration date . Meanwhile , his love interest Sanada Izumi (Yoshine Kyoko) is a 26 year old woman who has never been in a relationship before .
On Koi wo Surunda , Yamada commented , "Since it's the theme song for my drama & I had a clear image of the story , I had a lot of discussions with the staff from the song's beginning stages ."
Actress Yoshine Kyoko who co-starred together with Yamada in Ore no Kawaii wa Mousugu Shohikigen!? is featured in the Koi wo Surunda video . In the video , she plays the part of falling in love with someone from the university but is quite unable to express those feelings to the guy .
Haru Tsubame ::
The 3rd A-side is described as a refreshing song of youth & it was used as the opening theme no. for the anime Love All Play .
4 B-sides in total are included in the single :
-- CD only - Happy! Birthdaaaaaaaay
-- CD + DVD A / CD + Blu-ray A - Weekender (Torikae Mix) ; 1st A-side of 13th single Weekender / Asu e no YELL
-- CD + DVD B / CD + Blu-ray B - TO THE TOP (Torikae Mix) ; included in best album Hey! Say! JUMP 2007-2017 I/O
-- CD + DVD C / CD + Blu-ray C - Boku wa Vampire (Torikae Mix) ; Track 4 in 2nd album JUMP WORLD
This year sees Hey ! Say ! JUMP celebrates their 15th anniverasry in the business & what better way to kick off with the release of their 1st triple A-side single a r e a / Koi wo Surunda / Haru Tsubame .
Each of the A-side are strong & could stand on its own but it's evident that prominence wise , Koi wo Surunda for now has more TV performance exposure unlike the other 2 A-sides which's a slight shame because if so , then a r e a & Haru Tsubame shouldn't have been released together with Koi wo Surunda and be delegated to B-side ranking instead .
B-sides wise , Happy! Birthdaaaaaaaay is adorable . Oddly none of the 3 newly recorded songs left a good impression on me which I find it surprising and for once I prefer the original versions of each song & not so much on the new versions .
It'll be interesting to see what else Hey ! Say ! JUMP plans to do in celebration of their 15th anniversary & I'm sure a r e a / Koi wo Surunda / Haru Tsubame will not be the only new release they put out .
Regular
Limited
1) HELLO
2) Puzzle
3) Boku ni Wa
4) I'm Here
5) Phantom
6) Mendokusai
7) CEO
8) Shinjite
9) Delusion
10) LIFE IS A DRIVE
11) Ibara no Umi
12) Special Day
13) Ai no Shizuku
No prior released singles are included in I , which Mika wrote & composed the entire release by herself .
Prior to the release of I , Mika has never composed before so she started doing so by buying a computer . She was assisted by COLDFEET & other musicians she personally admires which led to the creation of I which she said it's her favourite release to date .
Before the physical release of I dropped , 4 songs from the release were 1st released digitally .
The release's opening no. HELLO was 1st released digitally last month on 6th April . A video was made for this energetic number with positive lyrics but it was not included in the physical release of I .
HELLO promoted the morning show Sukkiri!! last month .
Track 3 Boku ni Wa was released digitally on 13th April . Same with HELLO , a video was also made for the song but not included in the physical release of I .
The video made for Boku ni Wa has a documentary touch that's linked to the song's lyrics that portray Mika's feelings toward the band members who have supported her over the years .
Track 6 Mendokusai was released digitally on 20th April & this song has Ska influences .
Track 9 Delusion was released digitally on 27th April . Same with HELLO & Boku ni Wa , a video was also made for the song but it's also not included in the physical release of I .
After being in the business for more than 2 decades , I by far is most definitely Mika Nakashima's 1 of her most intruging yet unique releases to date .
Before releasing I , some of Mika's past releases she put out were interesting but others were a bit reductant & not worth considering .
Luckily I didn't had any of that type of feeling towards I & for Mika to write + composed the entire release by herself , it's commendable especially since this's something she has never done before until now .
I on whole is quite heavily Rock driven which's evident in HELLO , I'm Here (the only song Mika sung entirely in English) & Ibara no Umi .
This to me not surprising as ever since she released GLAMOROUS SKY back in 2005 , Rock is something that I feel suits Mika's vocals well & quite a lot of it can be felt in I .
Surprisingly for me , I like the ballads in I the most ie. like Boku ni Wa & Ai no Shizuku , not that the non ballads are not good . I also like LIFE IS A DRIVE even though I thought it felt a bit unfinished & Special Day is also a standout no. too .
That said , not all songs in I are memorable but this can be excused considering this's Mika's 1st attempt to write & compose everything .
I really hope this will not be the 1st & last time Mika do something like this and who knows maybe after this , her future releases will feature more creative input from her ? If so , that's something I will not mind .
CD
1) Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
2) STING
3) Honey on me
4) Prisoner
5) Love Supply
6) Roar
7) Born Free
8) EUPHORIA
9) We Just Go Hard Feat AK-69
10) CRYSTAL MOMENT
11) Womaniser
Only in this version
11) Yoru wa Aiteru (Kamenashi Kazuya)
12) Cantabile (Ueda Tatsuya) ; Ueda wrote the lyrics
13) Moon Shot (Nakamaru Yuichi) ; Nakamaru co-wrote
14) UPDATE
CD + DVD / Blu-ray A
1) Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
2) Honey on me
3) Prisoner
4) Love Supply
5) Roar
6) Born Free
7) EUPHORIA
8) We Just Go Hard Feat AK-69
9) CRYSTAL MOMENT
10) Womaniser
CD + DVD / Blu-ray B
1) STING
2) Honey on me
3) Prisoner
4) Love Supply
5) Roar
6) Born Free
7) EUPHORIA
8) We Just Go Hard Feat AK-69
9) CRYSTAL MOMENT
10) Womaniser
KAT-TUN's last studio album release was 2019's IGNITE . 2 physical singles Roar & We Just Go Hard Feat AK-69 / EUPHORIA + the digital prior released CRYSTAL MOMENT are included in the new album .
In addition , Honey is also KAT-TUN's 1st studio album to get a Blu-ray verison(s) alongside with DVD(s) . 4 songs (3 solo songs & 1 group track) are only available in the CD only version of Honey .
2 album tracks Ain't Seen Nothing Yet & STING have videos made . Prior to the physical release of Honey , Ain't Seen Nothing Yet was released digitally on 22nd March ie. KAT-TUN's debut anniversary date .
KAT-TUN released their 1st album in almost 3 years ! As the title Honey suggests , KAT-TUN's 10th album is full of sweet & lustrous songs with a sting . This theme is represented in the lead tracks Ain't Seen Nothing Yet and STING .
Celebrating their 16th debut anniversary this year , what better way for KAT-TUN to do so by also reaching a landmark milestone with their 10th album , Honey .
To say that the overall music direction KAT-TUN undertook in their latest new album is drastically if not completely different from what they used to do , it's an understatement .
Even before KAT-TUN released Honey , I think the change in their music direction/style was already felt when they released Roar as at that time when they released it , it sounded nothing like what they used to do & the same thing goes for Honey as well .
For the new album songs in Honey , I definitely think Ain't Seen Nothing Yet deserves to have a video made . Not only it's a really good opening album no. , it's such a smooth mid tempo song & oddly the more I listen to it , the more catchy & sexier sounding it's which's in line with the album's theme .
Whereas for the other album track STING , I don't think it should have a video made & even the accompanied video for the song is a bit odd . Given a choice I rather have Born Free be the song that had a video made , not STING .
Lyrically the new material in Honey is very adult rated driven so in a way it was nice for the 3 solo songs to counteract things & finally for once after a very long time , I like Ueda's latest solo offering . While it's not a full out ballad , at least Cantabile is something I don't mind to listen to it on a regular basis & also Ueda has personal input in the song ie. he wrote the lyrics .
Kamenashi's solos all the while is either hit or miss . This time round unlike Roar's Pure Ice , his latest solo no. Yoru wa Aiteru is a ballad which was written & composed by Chara . I think the song's really sweet & it's defintiely 1 of the better solo ballads he has put out over the years .
On the other hand , Nakamaru's latest solo offering Moon Shot is the most upbeat solo as compared to Kamenashi's & Ueda's . With lyrics that Nakamaru co-wrote himself , it's another solid solo no. from him and to me Nakamaru's solos all the while been consistently good although to some he played things safe but regardless , it works .
I've been a KAT-TUN for a long time & it's so surreal for them to officially now have 10 studio albums in their name especially with what they've gone through over the years .
As to whether Honey is a good or bad album , it's frankly up for debate but if this release can gain them new fans in return , then why not ?
Personally I support KAT-TUN taking a music risk with Honey even though this might not sit well with some of their longtime fans but if their latest album were to sound like a carbon copy of they used to do , I would be a lot more disappointed .
Music tastes & preferences are always evolving and what I might like , others might not & vice versa and there's no right or wrong answer for this .
KAT-TUN had a great overwhelmingly positive year in celebrating their 15th anniversary last year & I see Honey as an extension of the celebration . No matter who you're , having 10 albums to your name is a landmark milestone & despite what they've went through , I'm really glad KAT-TUN stuck it out as longtime fans like myself are still here for them & I look forward to see what else they have in store next .
ayumi's 1st new song release of the year , Nonfiction was to commemorate her 24th debut anniversary in the business .
Nonfiction was 1st performed during the encore segment at last month's ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR ~24th Anniversary special @ PIA ARENA MM~ that was held 2 days before ayumi's debut date ie. 8th April .
It has been such a long time since I was so into an ayumi song & the moment I 1st heard Nonfiction , I really like it immediately .
In recent years if not prior , ayumi has been known more for Rock driven songs . For once Nonfiction is not another Rock no. , it's a refreshing change . Instead it's a full on fun upbeat R&B no. and the melody's very catchy & my favourite part of the song is the 2nd 1/2 of the no. .
Last month's ayumi hamasaki ASIA TOUR ~24th Anniversary special @ PIA ARENA MM~ will be released in DVD & Blu-ray on 1st July which's an important date significance to ayumi & in addition her 18th studio album is scheduled to be released in Autumn .
Kobukuro's 1st new song release of the year , Days was 1st performed during the encore segment of KOBUKURO FAN SITE MEMBER EXCLUSIVE LIVE 2022 "NOCTURNE" which took place on 25th March at Osaka Jo Hall .
Days is classic Kobukuro at their best . The duo released their 33rd single Ryobou last July & musically it was quite different from their usual works .
However this's not the case for Days which's relatively easy to like on 1st listen & hopefully the release of this song will make some of their longtime fans happy .
CD
CD + Photobook
CD + Photobook + Blu-ray
1) Keibetsu
2) Daisuki Dakara…
3) 13 Tsuki
4) Roadside Tree
5) Ekitai
6) Damashii Ai
7) Shiroi Koe
8) Jiu no Kuchizuke
9) Yureru Natsu Fuku
10) Umibe
SID's last studio album release was 2019's Shonin Yokkyu & a total of 10 songs are included in Umibe , including the digital released song Jiu no Kuchizuke which was used as the opening theme no. for the Tenkan Shifuku anime , which's a Japanese dubbed version of The Heaven Official's Blessing anime .
The physical CD released singles that came out in 2020 & last year ie. delete , Houkiboshi & Star Forest are not included in Umibe .
2 album tracks Damashii Ai & Umibe (song) have videos made & Umibe is also SID's 1st album release to get a Blu-ray version .
These 3 album tracks were released digitally prior to Umibe's physical album release :
- Daisuki Dakara… ; released digitally on 8th March
- Damashii Ai ; released digitally on 1st March
- Umibe ; released digitally on 15th March
13 Tsuki & Roadside Tree were 1st performed during SID TOUR 2021 ~peep of 2022~ .
All songs in Umibe were written by vocalist Mao while the other 3 SID members were responsible for composing the material in the album as follows :
Composed by guitarist Shinji :
4) Roadside Tree
9) Yureru Natsu Fuku
Composed by bassist Aki :
1) Keibetsu
6) Damashii Ai
8) Jiu no Kuchizuke
10) Umibe
Composed by drummer Yuya :
2) Daisuki Dakara…
3) 13 Tsuki
5) Ekitai
7) Shiroi Koe
SID brings their 1st original album in over 3 years ! The band ambitiously creates their own genre dubbed Reiwa Kayo for the album Umibe , which tells 10 love stories .
I wrote before that for any artiste that chose not to include any prior released singles in an album that says a lot on how confident the artiste felt about the material & that's quite evident in SID's latest album offering Umibe .
While it's a bit unfortunate SID didn't include delete , Houkiboshi & Star Forest in Umibe , they free up space for more new songs in return & on whole Umibe is actually good .
On 1st look 10 songs for a studio album might felt little but for Umibe , it's quality over quantity & with the 3 SID members handling composing for different songs in the album , the result is Umibe is very musically diverse on whole .
SID has been around for a really long time & with a release like Umibe , I don't think they're going away anytime soon .
