POP STAR

Single Review
Ken Hirai – POP STAR

POP STAR is Ken Hirai’s 23rd single. It was released on October 26, 2005, and reached #1 on the oricon weekly charts. It sold a total of 244,000+ copies, and charted for 14 weeks.

tracklist:
1. POP STAR
2. Tameiki Kippu
3. POP STAR ~less vocal~

I never thought I would be a fan of Ken Hirai. I think he can sing and stuff, but to be honest, I never liked him before. I found his voice to be nasally, and the music he does wasn’t my kind of music. But in the end, I guess he deserved another chance, which I gave to him when I first listened to POP STAR.

I seriously laughed my throat out when I first heard POP STAR. I thought it was a ridiculous song, especially when it comes to the lyrics. The line “I wanna be a POP STAR” was quite uncomfortable to hear at first, because, well, a guy is singing it, and of all guys, it’s Ken singing!

I considered this song a joke, especially when I heard the lyrics, but once I got to see the translations at the web, the song wasn’t as unbelievable as I thought it was. When Ken was singing the “POP STAR” phrase, he was actually referring to a lover. Evidently in the line “As you fall in love, Anybody can be anyone’s pop star”.

After I finally knew what the words meant, I couldn’t help but think that this was such a wonderful song, because it really is! The lyrics were sweet, and the upbeat arrangement helps enhance the message of the song. Especially the happy pianos and violins.

I was then amazed by how relaxing Tameiki Kippu turned out to be. The guitars and strings blend in perfectly with Ken’s vocals, and the composition was perfectly mastered to blend in with the overall product.

While I was bored with the first 2 and a half minutes, I should say that I didn’t really mind it at the end because of how the ending was delivered. The way it progressed was quite good, and the ending finishes things off with a beautiful note.

Favorite Track:
POP STAR

shuffle rating!
A