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 .