CD
CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray
1) Non Fiction
2) Kaibutsu-san Feat Aimyon
3) #302
4) 1995
5) Boku no Kokoro o Tsukutte yo
6) Orthodox
7) Polyester no Onna
8) Todokanaikara
9) Ite mo Tatte mo
10) Shiranai ne Desho?
11) Oni ni Narimashita
12) half of me
13) Oyasuminasai
Ken's last studio album release was 2016's THE STILL LIFE .
Anata ni Narita Katta was released on the same day as Ken Hirai Films Vol.15 DVD/Blu-ray .
The new album has 2 1st's for Ken :
- 1st album release that has a Japanese title
- 1st album release to get a fanclub version
Anata ni Narita Katta was released in 5 versions , CD , CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray and 2 fanclub exclusive CD + DVD & CD + Blu-ray .
13 songs are included in Anata ni Narita Katta which consists of 6 singles , 2 digital released songs & 5 new album tracks .
The 1st 3 songs in the album's tracklist are physical & digital released singles Ken released prior .
Kicking things off in Anata ni Narita Katta is Ken's 42nd single Non Fiction which was used to promote TBS's drama Chiisana Kyojin .
The next song is Kaibutsu-san which featured Aimyon . Not only it was the only new song Ken released digitally last March , it's also the only no. that's a duet .
#302 is Ken's 46th single & it was used to promote the TBS drama 4 Funkan no Marigold .
The 1st of 5 Anata ni Narita Katta new material , 1995 served as the album's lead promo track .
Written by Ken , 1995 was chosen to promote NTV's morning show Sukkiri!! last month . Before Anata ni Narita Katta was released , 1995 was 1st released digitally last month on 5th May .
A video was made for 1995 but it's surprisingly not included in Ken Hirai Films Vol.15 DVD/Blu-ray .
Out of all the new album material , it's quite evident why 1995 was chosen to promote Anata ni Narita Katta as not only it's seriously catchy but it's very much similiar to Sore Demo Shitai with both songs having a really fun memorable Bollywood inspired melody .
Boku no Kokoro o Tsukutte yo is Ken's 41st single & it was used as the theme song to promote the movie Doraemon Nobita no Nankyoku Kachikouchi Dai Bouken .
The next 2 songs are new album tracks . Orthodox was written & composed by Ken while Ken only had writing credits for Polyester no Onna .
Both songs are very different from each other but in a good way . Other than 1995 , Ken also promoted Orthodox on TV even though 1995 had more TV promo performances .
Todokanaikara is Ken's 43rd single & it was used to promote the movie 50 First Kisses which's a remake of 2004's USA movie 50 First Dates .
Ite mo Tatte mo was released digitally on May 2019 & it was used to promote the movie Machida Kun no Sekai .
Shiranai ne Desho? is Ken's 44th single & it was used to promote the TV Asahi's drama Mikaiketsu no Onna .
Oni ni Narimashita is the 2nd last album track & this was written and composed by Ken .
While I like Oni ni Narimashita , I wish the song could have been a bit longer even though surprisingly it's not the shortest song in Anata ni Narita Katta .
The final physical single included in Anata ni Narita Katta , half of me is Ken's 45th single & it's an answer song to Ken's 11th / 2000 single even if .
Wrapping things up in Anata ni Narita Katta is Oyasuminasai which's the last album track & it's also the shortest no. in the album . Written & composed by Ken , this song embodies the whole less is more approach & it showcases Ken's vocally at his very best .
Anata ni Narita Katta is a belated celebration of Ken's 25th anniversary in the business & the fact that it's also his 10th studio album offering , that says a lot .
Unlike other artistes' albums , Anata ni Narita Katta is relatively easy to get into especially since the majority of songs in it were already released prior so that just leaves the album tracks .
This also plays a factor in whether Anata ni Narita Katta will be liked or not & luckily the songs that Ken released before the album I generally like them .
Most of the album tracks are good & I don't know was it a delibrate decision for them to sound generally upbeat except for Orthodox & Oyasuminasai but at least it prevented Anata ni Narita Katta from sounding boring overall .
That's not to say Anata ni Narita Katta doesn't have any flaws . At times the album's sound consistency is not there as 1 moment it can be mellow while the next it can be really upbeat .
In addition even though I like Kaibutsu-san which featured Aimyon , I thought Ken should have recorded his own solo version of the song & make it a bonus track since he sung/performed it by himself during last Dec's Ken Hirai 25th Anniversary Special !! Ken's Bar -ONLINE- .
Other than that , Anata ni Narita Katta is another fine album release added to Ken's discography & for him to still be in the business for so long , it's admirable & I hope he will continue to make music as long as he possibly could .