stay with me is Koda Kumi’s 42ndh single. It was released on December 24, 2008, and reached #1 on the charts. It sold a total of 65,657 copies.
tracklist:
1. stay with me
2. Winter Bell
3. stay with me (Orgel Version)
4. stay with me (Instrumental)
5. Winter Bell (Instrumental)
ANOTHER BALLAD?! PFF.
Okay, it may seem like I’m hating stay with me so much, but actually, I don’t. Well, I don’t hate it right now, but I HATED it A LOT before. I was actually quite happy about how the ERA for TRICK was going, but I was suddenly turned off when I first heard stay with me.
I thought it was the worst single she’s put up recently, but actually, it’s an alright song. It has a really nice winter theme in it that fits the love message in the song. The string arrangement and sparkly instruments they used for this track was really good too.
So Overall, It may not be the best Kuu ballad, but it’s definitely a better ballad than her recent ones.
I must say that I quite like the backing track of Winter Bell. Only the backing track though, because I hate Kuu’s vocals here. She sounds sick here or something, and it sometimes sounds like she’s forcing her voice to sing the notes.
The orgel version of stay with me was simply an orgel playing the tune of the song. It was a nice listen though.
MOON is Koda Kumi’s 40th single. It was released on June 11, 2008, and reached #2 on the charts. It sold a total of 138,743 copies, and is the 46th best-selling single of 2008.
tracklist:
1. Moon Crying
2. That Ain’t Cool feat. Fergie
3. Once Again
4. Lady Go!
5. Moon Crying Piano Version
6. Moon Crying (Instrumental)
7. That Ain’t Cool feat. Fergie (Instrumental)
8. Once Again (Instrumental)
9. Lady Go! (Instrumental)
I am not a big fan of Kuu’s ballads but, I do have to say that Moon Crying is impressive. Kuu really shocked me with how powerful her voice sounded, and how she carried the right amount of emotion in her voice. With the piano arrangement and Kuu’s emotional vocals, you can really tell that this was such a sad and depressing song. Kuu sings about how she wants to see a person, and how she realized that she’s still in love with that person. To be honest, I don’t have much to say about this song except that it’s such a beautiful ballad. It will stun you with it’s graceful arrangement, and powerful vocals.
I’m gonna be honest. I used to like That Ain’t Cool when it first came out before, but now that we meet again, I don’t like it as much as before. I think this song indeed sounds like a Fergie feat. Koda Kumi, which kind of disappoints me too, because I wanted to hear more from Kuu. This song isn’t bad, but it doesn’t appeal that much to me anymore.
The raggae-inspired Once Again comes next, and I’ll have to say one thing: I don’t like it. I think it’s boring, and Kuu’s vocals sounds so much messed up here. Although, the “once-a, once-again” part was quite catchy.
Lady Go! was so much better than the previous 2 songs. The arrangement sounds so upbeat and fresh, which is really appealing to my ears. This song sound so summer-y as well, which is one reason why I think it’s great. It’s pretty catchy, and really joyful. It will put a smile on your face whenever you listen to it.
The piano version of Moon Crying doesn’t seem that much different from the original version because of the constant use of the piano but, it’s still beautiful. The piano was really relaxing, and Kuu’’s vocals fit in the arrangement really well. This is such a wonderful version!
Just this morning, I was thinking of ways to spice up this blog because, I’d have to admit, this blog gets boring and a lot more boring at times, which is why I’d like to make things exciting. So I finally came up with this silly idea about listing reasons to some concerts why people should watch them. Actually, you can consider this post as a mini-review for many concerts but, it’s not too formal, so just enjoy this post as it is!
First in this list is Namie Amuro’s PLAY TOUR back in 2007.
This concert probably is Namie’s best one. Many of the songs she performed WOWed me, and watching the concert made me have a really great time. Anyway, the 5 reasons why you chould watch this concert are:
reason #1: Namie will blow your mind with her cool, and confusing dance steps in every song she sings. You’ll be so stunned with her movements, especially the ones with Hide and Seek.
reason #2: Namie doesn’t look so exhausted even though she performed 22 songs straight!
reason #3: You will crack because of a crazy male dancer of Namie who could really pull off a great Namie move, and because of Namie’s hilarious dubbing in the Golden eggs segment!
reason #4: The drum solo was AWESOME and the rap was as CATCHY AS HELL during her Chase the Chance performance!
reason #5: Namie brings you HOTNESS during the whole show! >:)
Crystal Kay’s 2006 tour, Call me miss… Live Tour ‘06 is next on the list.
(this isn’t the official cover because the concert wasn’t released as a DVD but, it was released on Television, through the WOWOW channel.)
It’s actually my first time watching a CK concert with this one. Given that it’s my first, I was expecting a lot from it. I was quite happy with it because, even though It was my first CK concert, I got to check out a lot of perf highlights. IT met my expectations, and above all, I had a hella great time watching it, and I’m sure you guys will if you watch it because:
reason #1: There’s this cool shot of Kuri with the lights in front of her which make the performance look so unique.
reason #2: The performance of I Know was full of energy and hype, which will make you want more and more.
reason #3: You will fall in love with Kuri’s ballads more with her performances of the ballads in this concert. I fell in love more with Kitto after watching her perf on this concert.
reason #4: CHEMISTRY will appear as a surprise guest (which won’t be a surprise now when someone watches it), and will put on a great performance of Two As One. A member will also sing two lines of Koi ni Ochitara.
reason #5: It’s amazing how Kuri keeps the crowd going on with her, even though it’s the last song already.
Next on the list is BoA’s 2008 concert tour, BoA LIVE TOUR 2008: THE FACE.
I LOST MY MIND just watching this concert! I seriously loved every part of it, especially the opening band solo, then the part where she sang LOSE YOUR MIND. Definitely one of the Best concerts I’ve seen!
Why should people watch this?:
reason #1: As I have said, the opening and LOSE YOUR MIND, sets things in a fantastic way! Especially when the band ended their solo, and BoA started her adlibbing, even though she wasn’t anywhere appearing on the stage.
reason #2: The setting and lighting effects of the live looked so striking, especially the one with Sweet Impact.
reason #3: The way BoA said the “Minna, Gyappu ni Yarareta?!” line looked sooo cute!
reason #4: BoA has never looked soo much cute before with the Gyappu ni Yarareta performance.
reason #5: Even though BoA cried on this concert, She really gave the audience great time with her performances, and she definitely made her fans feel her hard work with how high the quality of each performance looked.
Next up is Koda Kumi’s Koda Kumi Special Live: DIRTY BALROOM ~ONE NIGHT SHOW~, released with her album TRICK, just this January 2009.
Even though this concert isn’t that official, It still blew me away. Every performance was of High Quality, and everything was polished and well-produced! But, why you’ll love this live truly is because:
reason #1: You’ll love the animations present during the production of some numbers.
reason #2: You have never seen kuu get so active in live performances. The first time she would probably be so hyper is in this concert.
reason #3: You’ll love her performance of TABOO, especially because of her outfit!
reason #4: Her performance of Amai Wana will make you get jealous of the guy Kumi’s dancing with. Trust me.
reason #5: Kuu is HOT and SEXY. Which mainly is the reason why you should watch this.
Definitely one of the concerts in this list would have to be Utada Hikaru’s 2006 concert, UTADA UNITED.
First of all, WTF is wrong with the cover?! XD.
Anyways, Words can’t express my love for this concert. Every single song that Utada sang just blew me away, and every moment of it was so cool! The lights, the effects, and the visualizations were just stunning, and the way they played each song was just fucking great! Anyway, there are so much reasons why I’d like you to watch this awesome concert but, since I’d have to narrow it down to 5, I had a hard time choosing these 5:
reason #1: The way they play songs are brilliant! They quickly change a song to another without any breaks, which makes them sound just like a medley!
reason #2: Listening to how the songs Utada sings in the live just make you want to love them even more than the original ones.
reason #3: The Kremlin Dusk performance was FREAKIN’ EPIC! EPIC I TELL YOU.
reason #4: the visualizations will keep you staring! They were so cool, especially when the traveling plays. When I just saw the music video playing at the floor where she was performing, I got so amazed.
reason #5: Utada knows how to ROCK and HAVE FUN, and knows how to put on a great show, at the same time.
Well then, there you have it! hopefully, this post became helpful to some of you guys who likes to watch and try different concerts. Also, I hope that after reading this post, you’ll try at least one of the concerts above because actually, you’re never gonna regret it!
TABOO is Koda Kumi’s 41st single. It was released on October 8, 2008, and reached #1 in the oricon weekly charts. It sold a total of 88, 037 copies in 4 weeks, making it Japan’s 86th best-selling single of 2008.
to be honest, I was starting to lose hope from Kuu because of her previous releases but, I’m glad to say that she’s got her game on again with TABOO. TABOO is fun, sexy, catchy, and brilliant if you put it in 4 words. It’s an awesome dance track that shows off how Kuu can rock the house down with her all-out sexy kind of talent. actually, the last SONG I truly loved from Kumi was HOT STUFF and it was released what? like 4 years ago? you see, for me, Her previous releases were kind of a mess. I’m not saying that they suck too much, I’m just saying that they weren’t as good as this one. Not as energetic, and great. ..which makes me think TABOO as a comeback single from all those controversy that forced her to stop for a while. I believe it’s a song where Kuu became her old, sexy self again without facing any trouble. Once again, BRAVO KUMI!!
The cutesy B-side, Always, was such a great addition to the single because it removes the hang-over you’ll have with TABOO once you listen to it. It welcomes you to a new, laid-back pop atmosphere that gets you to relax and have fun at the same time. Kuu’s voice is great as always, and the lines were as catchy as hell. in conclusion, another brilliant offering from miss Koda, and in my opinion, is one of her best.
The HOUSE NATION Sunset In Ibiza Remix of TABOO was quite good too. There were just some weird moments I had with it that made me think of it as only good, but seriously, it is. The new beats and effects fits the song perfectly, and it’s one of her better remixes, I might add.
WON’T BE LONG is a collaborative single released by EXILE and Koda Kumi. It was released on November 22, 2006 and reached #2 in the oricon weekly charts. It sold a total of 235,770 copies, and charted for more than 16 weeks. It was the 56th best-selling single of 2006.
tracklist:
1. WON’T BE LONG
2. WON’T BE LONG (Karaoke)
3. WON’T BE LONG (Karaoke For Guys)
4. WON’T BE LONG (Karaoke For Ladies)
I used to read reviews about WON’T BE LONG in different Jpop review sites. I got curious about it so, I listened to the song myself. At first, I thought it would be something bad but, when I turned on the player and put on my headphones, I found out that I was 100% wrong. I was really impressed! I’m actually a big fan of Koda Kumi but not that much with EXILE so, as a big fan of Koda Kumi, I would normally like her part better than EXILE’s but, what happened was the complete opposite. I liked EXILE’s part better mainly because I didn’t feel so much energy with Kuu’s voice but, as I heard EXILE’s part, I was like WOW! (ed). As for the melody, who would think that trumpets could be mixed perfectly with RnB beats and pop(like) elements? The song is full of surprises (to make it short) so, listen to the song yourself and tell me what you think. I also heard that EXILE has a solo version for this song so, I better check that out.
TABOO is Koda Kumi’s 41st single. It was released on October 8, 2008, and reached #1 in the oricon weekly charts. It sold a total of 88, 037 copies in 4 weeks, making it Japan’s 86th best-selling single of 2008.
