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Single Review
Aoyama Thelma –Wasurenai yo

Wasurenai yo is Aoyama Thelma’s 7th single. It was released on August 5, 2009 and reached #20 on the oricon charts. It sold a total of 7,839 copies, and has so far charted for 2 weeks.

tracklist:
1. Wasurenai yo
2. Don’t Stop
3. Wasurenai yo (Instrumental)
4. Don’t Stop (Instrumental)
5. Wasurena yo (Acoustic Version)

I have to tell you guys. Thelma has got to be one of the better people in JPop these days. I seriously thought that she won’t be able to bring up something as strong as Todoketai, but wow was I wrong. She actually released something better.

Wasurenai yo easily got me at the first listen. I really like it because, even though it’s not that different from any other Thelma ballad, it still gave me a really nice listen.

It’s such a beautiful track with all those melodic instruments, and Thelma’s impressive vocals. The background vocals were also able to highlight the way Thelma delivered the notes, and they also added color to the arrangement.

The slow beats also helped the song flow a lot better, and the piano added lots of emotion to the song. Just to make everything I said short, every single instrument used here really made the song sound so good.

When the A-side was slow, the B-side was an upbeat one. Don’t Stop is like MADONNA, from the Mamoritai Mono single, but this one has more attitude. Although, I’m not saying that it’s as mind-blowing.

I actually prefer this one that the B-side of Todoketai, but it’s actually not that amazing, in my opinion. I’ll admit that it’s catchy and fun to listen to, but I just don’t like the bridge, and the intro. The bridge was really misleading and confusing, while the intro with Thelma talking on the phone was kinda lame for me.

Just remove those two flaws, the we get a good track. period.

The acoustic version of Wasurenai yo was nice. It contains more piano elements than the original, so you can actually say that it’s a lot calmer. But I still prefer the original because this version almost came to a point where I was bored already. It’s a Nice addition though.

Favorite Track:
Wasurenai yo

Shuffle rating!
A-

Single Review
Aoyama Thelma – Todoketai… feat. KEN THE 390/Kono Mama Zutto

Todoketai… feat. KEN THE 390/Kono Mama Zutto is Aoyama Thelma’s 6th single. It was released on March 11, 2009 and reached #32 on the oricon charts. It sold a total of 3,015 copies, making it Thelma’s Lowest selling single since ONE WAY in 2007.

tracklist:
1. Todoketai… feat. KEN THE 390
2. Kono Mama Zutto
3. SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME
4. Todoketai… feat. KEN THE 390 (Instrumental)
5. Kono Mama Zutto (Instrumental)

I was quite happy to see that Thelma has quit releasing mediocre singles, and went on to release the type of singles that I would call “EXCELLENT”, just like Todoketai, a mid-tempo song featuring KEN THE 390. What I liked most about this song is the string arrangement because they were so melodic, and it totally fit the sad feeling in the song. The piano, the beat, and Thelma’s vocals blended well together, even KEN THE 390’s rap sounded good. Despite the song’s sad feeling, It was so catchy, especially the chorus. The chorus got stuck in my head for days, and until now, It’s on repeat. I was also amused with how the ticking sounds fitted the song well. I just didn’t think that a sound effect like that would turn out to be good in songs like this. In all, a very very nice song. You’ve done it again, thelma!

The other A-side, Kono Mama Zutto, shares a lot of similarities with her single, Mamoritai Mono. I liked Mamoritai Mono but, man, Kono Mama Zutto sucked, which disappointed me a lot. Thelma doesn’t do anything special in it, and the oldies feeling I get whenever I listen to it is very very bad. Unlike Todoketai, this song is very disappointing.

The only B-side of the single, SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME, is waay more interesting than the previous track. It doesn’t outshine Todoketai since the song isn’t on the same level, but, This song is interesting, to say the least. Thelma’s english is really good, and the way she sings it is quite relaxing the ears too. It’s definitely a great addition to the single.

Favorite Track:
Todoketai… feat. KEN THE 390

Shuffle rating!
B

DIARY is Aoyama Thelma’s debut album. It was released on March 26, 2008 and reached #3 in the weekly charts. It sold a total of 351,828 copies in sixteen weeks and because of this, it became the #26 best-selling album in Japan this 2008.

Album Review
Aoyama Thelma- DIARY

tracklist:
1. My Beginning
2. Soba ni Iru ne feat. SoulJa
3. ONE WAY
4. My dear friend
5. Last Letter
6. Rhythm
7. GOOD TIME REMIX feat. MIKU from YA-KYIM
8. HIGHER
9. Paradise
10. This Day feat. Dohzi-T
11. Kono Mama de
12. Anata ni Aete Yokatta
13. Mama e
14. DIARY

It’s crazy to be in love with a thirty-second opening track but, I just can’t help it. My Beginning was perfect because it gives the album an amazing start with it’s beautiful piano-based background. Aoyama talks over the background piano while she simply tells us what the album’s about, her “DIARY”. Anyway, it’s just an opening track but man, it blew me away. Who said an Opening track this short can’t blow off a person’s mind?

Right after My Beginning, Soba ni Iru ne comes in smoothly, without even noticing that it ended already. In my opinion, it was a great idea to place this track next to the introduction because it gives us a flashback of her success. It also gives this song more appeal since the first track leaves us craving for more, and this track satisfies it. Actually, My opinions about this song haven’t changed at all since I don’t get tired of it. I think it’s still great, fresh, and most of all, amazing. It’s definitely one of Thelma’s better tracks.

Thelma’s debut song, ONE WAY, comes in next and just breaks off the calm atmosphere the 2 previous tracks had, which is good since the album needed a quick change before the listener gets tired of it. Same with Soba ni Iru ne, My views on this song hasn’t changed at all but, in my opinion, it’s gotten a bit old because I used to listen to this a lot. Still, It’s a great track, and is definitely enjoyable.

I hate to see all of the previously released songs at the first quarter of the album, especially My dear friend but, I guess they did it to give us a quick recap of Thelma’s past works. Even though, I still think it’s an excellent song! I love the happy energy it has, and the tune that is very very catchy! It doesn’t fail to give us an entertaining show, and it never disappoints. It’s one of the best tracks of this album, and It’s definitely one of Aoyama’s best works too.

The first new song from this album (it’s the first one since My Beginning was just an opening-track) is Last Letter. When you guys thought Soba ni Iru ne was great, this song is BEYOND AMAZING!! As of the moment, it’s my favorite song from Thelma, and is actually my favorite from this album. This heartfelt ballad uses the magic of strings and pianos to create an astounding sound that does not fail to get the listener’s attention. I’d have to say that I was very impressed with Thelma, since she didn’t fail to let us feel the emotion she has in this song. Also, I was impressed with her voice because there wasn’t a single note that she missed to sing. Actually, just to put it in short, Thelma really owned the song. She did an excellent vocal performance, and all of the instruments suited her voice. Definitely a golden track, and it’s definitely RECOMMENDED. I’m sure anyone who takes a good listen to this song will have a great time, just like I did.

The next track, RHYTHM, was quite good too. I was just a bit disappointed since I was expecting something like the previous track. I was expecting it to be as excellent as Last Letter was but, It was just an okay track. It didn’t wow me much because there were less moments where Thelma would do something impressive. The 2 things I liked about this song was it’s intro, and of course, Thelma’s vocals. The rest for me was just okay.

Happily, the few next tracks saved this album from slowly falling down.

Appearing as the 7th track, is the remixed version of GOOD TIME, the b-side of her debut single. It opens with some synth, continously followed by the rnb beats and some of thelma’s adlibbing. It’s then followed by the CATCHYCATCHY chorus, and then the verses. Actually, I was very happy with this track because it wasn’t as repetitive as the original version, and the added rnb/hip-hop feel to it was definitely magic. It promoted the song from very good to EXCELLENT! The rap added by Miku from YA-KYIM was good too because in my opinion, it added more freshness, and added more uniqueness to the song. It’s undoubtedly one of Thelma’s best collaborations, as well as one of her best songs. Definitely a must hear for all of Thelma’s fans.

My 2nd favorite song from this album is HIGHER. What’s not to like about it? Everything about it was infectious, and every-single-line Thelma sings felt like HEAVEN!! It opened with infectious synth lines, and heavy-type beats that suited well Thelma’s vocals. The chorus and verses then comes next, which was really really good, and catchy. Actually, everything about it was catchy. And yes, including the verses. The main reason why I said the verses were good because I found them so catchy too. The “Let’s Go Let’s Go kono saki wo, Let’s Roll Let’s Roll mayotte demo” lines were so catchy that it was stuck inside my head for days. There was one thing I hated about the song though, it’s VERY SHORT playing time! Clocking shortly at 3:39, it leaves you craving for more catchiness, amazingness, and synthyness (is that even a real word?!? XDD) Anyway, this song is truly one of the gems of this album, and is absolutely a must listen.

After HIGHER leaves you wanting more good stuff from Thelma, Paradise comes in to the picture and satisfies you craving. It’s kind of weird because it sometimes reminds me of RHYTHM for some reason. It opens at a sort-of-bland way with Thelma’s echoing acapella. Everything then comes to life, and all of the instruments, especially the guitar, comes in. To tell you guys the truth, what I like most about this song is the guitar sound at the background. It gives the song such an amazing summer feel that just reminds you of relaxing, and playing at the beach. Sort of like summer paradinse XD. Anyway, Thelma sound like she’s having a blast singing, and through that, She makes the listener have fun too. In all, Paradise is an excellent song and is definitely recommended.

This day was originally released as the b-side of Thelma’s Soba ni Iru ne single. It’s a christmas song but, I actually think this song is good despite that. It carries a great melody and rhythm, which I think is the reason why I enjoy listening to this song so much. My favorite thing about this song is that it remained fresh-sounding even though It was released before. Just like I said in the single review,  listening to it is not a waste. It’s a good song, and is another recommended track.

The transition from This day and Kono mama de was brilliant! Why? since putting a mid-tempo(ed) song next to a ballad is a great way to keep things going in an album. Anyway, Things get a bit mellow since the next 4 tracks are all ballads (except track 13 since it was a bit.. upbeat. Bah whatever. Just scroll down to know later.) I’m really happy with this song because it has a lot of things common with my favorite Aoyama song, Last Letter. Both songs are ballads, features a great piano section, and features great guitar sounds. I mean, I like Last Letter better but, this song was amazing, just like it. I can feel the emotion Thelma wants us to feel when listening, and the english lines she sings just makes this song sound more amazing. The rnb flavor of the song suited the style of the song too, and really went well with Thelma’s vocal excellence (sounds familiar? XD) In all, a great track, and is a great treat to all ballad lovers.

The next track, Anata ni Aete Yokatta, begins at a boring start because it is just accompanied by snaps and a simple acoustic guitar but, I’m glad to say that as It reaches the first chorus, it gets soo much better because more power can be heard from her voice. I think that the other thing that helped the song sound so great is the relaxing atmosphere this song constantly carried from start to end. I never really heard the original version of this song but, I’m pretty sure that Thelma did justice to the original version with this great track.

I think Mama e is a good track too. It’s touching that she offers this song to her mom but, I think the album took a step backward with it. Not that I’m saying it’s bad or anything. I just think that it wasn’t as mind-blowing as the previous tracks. This song is great too, I just think that something was missing, and the intro was sort-of a turn-off. Especially the wah-wahs. I don’t like the sound the intro has presented but luckily, the rest of the song makes up for that part’s loss. The song is made up of heavy beats, some synth, and strings to create a good overall sound. Actually, this song is not that bad. In fact, It’s quite good. It’s worth a listen, and is never a waste of your time. It’s not that mind-blowing though but, yeah. The rest were good.

Ending the album on a sad note is DIARY, an unbelievably stunning ballad. I didn’t really pay attention to Thelma’s ballads before but,  after listening to this album fully, I now know that I was very wrong since I find ballads to be her specialty. She has a relaxing voice that grabs the listener’s attention, and has that addictive factor that makes people want to hear her voice again and again. I’d have to say that DIARY is one of the best ballads I have heard all my life. To tell you guys the truth, I  had very high expectations to this song because it’s the title track of the album. Well, after listening to it right now, I’m glad to say that all of my expectations are satisfied. The song, despite being slow, has those catchy moments that makes you just want to join Thelma sing and enjoy the moment. The harmony produced by all the instruments and Thelma’s voice is very beautiful. I think that, even though this album closes on a very sad note, It closes on a very beautiful way with this song. Definitely a recommended song, and is definitely one of Thelma’s BEST tracks.

Overall, I seriously regret that I ignored DIARY before because there were tracks that were too good to be missed. I actually think this is one of the best albums of 2008, and since I ignored it before, I wasn’t able to add it on the nominees for the awards ;=;. Anyway, I really think this album is one of a kind because It’s rare these days for an artist to show off their skills in different ways just like how Thelma did in this album. There’s no single track that’s bad, or horrible because all of them are AWESOME. Definitely one of the best album of 2008, and is definitely one of the best albums of all time.

Favorite Tracks:
Last Letter, HIGHER, DIARY, and My dear friend

Shuffle rating!
A+

Single Review
Aoyama Thelma – Soba ni Iru ne

Soba ni Iru ne is Aoyama Thelma’s 2nd single. It was released on January 23, 2008, and reached #3 in it’s first week of charting. It climed up to the top spot on the next week, and charted for 35 weeks. It sold a total of 454,426 copies and was the 7th best-selling single for year 2008.

tracklist:
1. Soba ni Iru ne feat. SoulJa
2. My dear friend
3. This Day feat. Dohzi-T

Soba ni Iru ne is a great follow-up single to ONE WAY ..but sadly, I don’t like it that much. I mean, It’s good and all but, I don’t think it overpowers ONE WAY that much. For me, ONE WAY is a trillion times better than this song but not to worry though, I still think it’s good. I loved the piano-based atmosphere it carries, and the blending of Thelma&SoulJa’s voices. Actually, I’m very impressed with this song because despite being only a reply song to their previous collaboration, which was titled Koko ni Iru yo by the way, It remained fresh and new. I listened to Koko ni Iru yo several times before but, I didn’t think it was as good as this track. I thought Koko ni Iru yo was missing something but, on the brighter note, Soba ni Iru ne made up for that loss. Only one thing bothers me about this song though, It’s kind off scary when SoulJa whispers some of his raps. Don’t get me wrong. I like how their voices blend but, it just was a bit of a low-point for me. Anyway, as I have said, Soba ni Iru ne is one amazing & fresh track. No wonder why it charted for weeks.

I thought Soba ni Iru ne was the best out of the 3 tracks in this single but, I guess I was wrong because it’s My dear friend which is the best out of the 3. I’m surprised since I rarely find B-sides better than A-sides. I really think this song is awesome because it’s different from all of the songs she’s released before. It’s still an RnB song but, it carried a bit of pop, which I think is a great combination. I also think the vocals in this song are one of the best Thelma has recorded. She takes great control of her voice which is why she reaches some of the high notes properly. In all, an excellent song, and In my opinion, is better than the other 2 songs from the single.

The next song, This day, is actually a Christmas-themed song. I’m not really sure about it but I think it is, because it uses some Christmas bell sounds, talks about Christmas and Santa, and the atmosphere is joyful and cheery. Anyway, despite it being only a B-side, I think it’s good too. It satisfies my tastes with the good rhythm it has and the catchy chorus it contains. Definitely a great addition to the single, and definitely is worth a listen.

Favorite Track:
My dear friend

shuffle rating!
B

Single Review
Aoyama Thelma – ONE WAY

One Way is Aoyama Thelma’s Debut Single. It was released September 5,2007 and reached #98 in the charts. The title track was used as the Artist Koushiki Sound CM song, the dwango.jp CM song, and the op. theme song for the Terebi Tokyo TV show, Ryuuha-R.

tracklist:
01. ONE WAY
02. GOOD TIME
03. ONE WAY (DIORI REMIX)
04. ONE WAY (Instrumental)

ONE WAY, the catchy, urban-ized song is what we get from Thelma in her debut. It’s full of urban elements, full of infectious words, and full of energy. It starts with peaceful sounds mixed unobviously with acoustic guitars. After that 10 seconds of intro, all the beats and instruments come in and thelma starts singing the most infectious part of the song, The chorus. The chorus has an energetic feel perfectly paired with some synth-upped instruments and has catchy lines such as the “nanana…” lines she keeps on repeating. To tell you guys honestly, I have never heard a girl, who used to sing only in duets, sing this good. I heard lots and lots of artists who used to sing in duets but, seriously, most of them weren’t really that good. That’s why, when I found out that Thelma used to sing only in duets, I was pretty shocked. Her voice is good and when I heard her songs with other artists, I thought she wasn’t duet-material… she was more of a solo artist-material. Anyway, I wonder why this single didn’t sell well in the market. It seems to have a fresh feel and was highly promoted (oh come on, 2 commercials and 1 program used it as a theme song), It only reached #98 in the charts. Too bad. Overall, I think it was a good debut song and is highly highly recommended. ^^

Try to listen to ONE WAY fifteen times then try listening to GOOD TIME. Don’t they almost have the same beats and used almost all the same instruments in ONE WAY? Despite that copy-thing I’m blabbing about, I also liked the fresh style this song had. It opens with an upbeat tune for about 10 seconds then the chorus and all the instruments come in. It was quite fun until I noticed one thing about this song. What is that Kill-Joy fact I noticed about this song? Well, It keeps repeating the chorus in the near-end part, which is kind of irritating. Overall, It’s a good song. It’s almost perfect if the repetitive part wasn’t included but, Yeah! GOOD TIME definitely gave me a GOOD TIME listening to it.

Next is the most hip-hoppy remix I have ever heard, the DIORI REMIX of ONE WAY. It features good beats, a head-nodding tune, and a good rapping section. Actually, there’s only one word I can say that explains this remix completely… It’s AMAZING. Period. It has a completely different but perfect structure and has a good rhythm that is actually the greatest thing about this remix.

Favorite Track:
ONE WAY

shuffle rating!
A-