Newly Assessed Reviews: Entertainment Weekly Style

Amuro Namie
PLAY
(Avex Trax)
Pop

The latest album from re-usurping pop queen, Namie Amuro, is more than dance friendly, it actually happens to be music friendly. With the impeccable production team of Nao’myt and T.Kura & Michico, Amuro seems to strike the perfect balance of her newly coined Hip-Pop (Lil’ Mama better step down), as she shows her stuff on the horn blasting, synth bumping, hit album cut, Hide & Seek. While the boiling Violet Sauce (Spicy) adds a dash of you-know-what. Even the glass-breaking, pseudo-rock of It’s all about you doesn’t seem to fall flat. Where PLAY does fall flat in is that the music is more of a showcase of amazing production and songwriting, than the artist herself. A-
- Patrick Mullins

Download: Full Moon

Utada Hikaru
HEART STATION
(EMI Japan)
Pop

Acclaimed singer-songwriter, Utada Hikaru finds herself once again in sadly fading synth. Repeating almost verbatim what she showed us in Ultra Blue (2006), Hikaru offers nothing new but the refreshingly emotional Prisoner of Love and the Enya-esque Take 5. The single tracks, as they did as singles, fell flat. They showcase her lyricism but none of her musicianship. Just because Flavor of Life is the most successful digital song of all time (for now anyways), doesn’t mean it’s quality. But that also doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Music is a mire of mixing the good, the bad, and the stunning. B+
- Patrick Mullins

Download: Prisoner of Love

BoA
THE FACE
(Avex Trax)
Pop

BoA has a stunning voice, a stunning body, and a stunning FACE, so why the decline? Why is the once reigning Queen of Asian Pop, falling from grace in her most lucrative market? Someone needs the throw the girl a bone. And by bone, I mean good song. All of these songs are mediocre at best. Even the most danceable track, Girl in the Mirror seems old-hat. The ballads are as airy as a blow-up mattress and the rest of album tracks showcase none of the stunning performances from her last two Korean albums. As we watch her slow fall from grace, we can’t help but wonder… will she ever give us another hit? C
- Patrick Mullins

Download: Happy Birthday

Koda Kumi
KINGDOM
(Rhythm Zone)
Pop

Reigning sex kitten, Koda Kumi, once again startles the scene by releasing Black Cherry Part II, not that we don’t want it. Where Black Cherry (2005) succeeded is where Kingdom builds upon and climaxes in the wild, modern entity that is Under. But faltering horrifically on the faux-Amuro styled MORE. While no single from the album matches 4 hot wave, FREAKY does it’s best approximation of it and Amai Wana fills the gap that JUICY left. Koda Kumi offers us another helping of her “Black Cherry” (no pun intended), she’s found her stride, but at the cost of her self-respect, but when has that mattered? Definitely not since Britney. A-
- Patrick Mullins

Download: Amai Wana

Hamasaki Ayumi
GUILTY
(Avex Trax)
Pop

Ayumi Hamasaki’s ninth studio album offers something that the others have sadly left out, her musical soul. The rock numbers from GUILTY offer us an in depth look into her angst and fierceness, something human about that otherworldly beauty she poses. Her lyrics have always been stunningly real, but the music so far has yet to truly capture that feeling. In the single talkin’ to me, we hear roaring, splintering electric guitar, but all too soon, she falls back onto the robotic electronica we found on many of her albums. I look forward to the Ayumi who rocks her way to the floor, which seems to be her strongest play for musical genius. B
- Patrick Mullins

Download: Marionette

So, this is some of my reviews written in the style of magazine reviews, namely Entertainment Weekly. Tell me what you think… I want to know so badly!

Thanks,
Patrick

WAKE YOU UP

島谷ひとみ
[Hitomi Shimatani]
WAKE YOU UP
June 25, 2008
ORICON
Daily Singles Chart: #19
Avex Trax

~~~

WAKE YOU UP
Lyrics: 古屋真 [Furuya Shin] / Music & Arrangment: 笹本安詞 [Yasushi Sasamoto]

‘WAKE YOU UP’ will definitely, though whether or not you wanted to be up is up to you. Honestly, it sounds like nothing I’ve heard from Miss Shimatani; a messy, loud arrangement of elements that worked well in 1994. If you could call to mind the most cliché anime opening you have ever heard, ‘WAKE YOU UP’ would fall right next to it: a few American Gospel elements mixed in with 90s electronica, think Namie Amuro’s ‘Don’t wanna cry’ (1996) but busier. Although, once all the craziness pulls away and allows Hitomi’s voice to actually be heard, we find a chorus that is effortlessly sweet and catchy. With a different arrangement, ‘WAKE YOU UP’ might have been a welcome quit to your somnolence, but instead it’s that annoying cell phone alarm that won’t shut off.

雨の日には　雨の中を　風の日には　風の中を
[Ame no Hi ni wa Ame no Naka wo Kaze no Hi ni wa Kaze no Naka wo]
[In the Rain When It's Rainy, In the Wind When It's Windy]
Lyrics: 相田みつを [Mitsuo Aida] / Music: AKIHITO

A short folk-like opening and Shimatani begins a rather boring verse that ends with a chorus that takes almost its entire length to say the title of the song. The song is boring, plain and simple; nothing remotely interesting about it except for the length of its title.

Marvelous
Lyrics: 六ツ見純代 [Sumiyo Mutsumi] / Music:  コモリタミノル [Coterita Minoru]

Had ‘Camellia’ had been slowed down a bit, it would sound just like ‘Marvelous’. Seriously, the only difference is that the melody doesn’t sparkle, shine, or generally be interesting at any point.

~~~

I keep hoping that Shimatani Hitomi is going to pull it together and do something spectacular, but it’s like she given up doing music that even attempts to be interesting. Another disappointment from her, that will, if it is lucky, land in the Top 30. Get it together Avex… give her a little help… ‘cause she obviously can’t do it herself. Pull something from the Namie Amuro / Koda Kumi catalogue, why don’t you?

70%
C-

think of me / no more tears

安室奈美恵
[Namie Amuro]
think of me / no more tears
January 24, 2001
Oricon
Weekly Singles Chart: #7
Total Sales: 112,670
Avex Trax
小室哲哉
[Tetsuya Komuro]

think of me
Lyrics, Music, and Arrangement: Dallas Austin

~~~

In anyone’s opinion, this is bar-none the worst song Namie ever put out. Vocally, it sucks on a level of rejected American Idol auditions, while simultaneously making me wish I could have choked who ever told her that these songs were good enough to put on a disc. I mean, I just don’t understand how this single got released. It is that bad. On an extremely happier note, she re-recorded it for her LOVE ENHANCED SINGLE COLLECTION and did the song justice. It is a very pretty song with a nice message and a very simple melody and a few key changes.

no more tears
Lyrics, Music, and Arrangement: 小室哲哉 [Tetsuya Komuro]

no more tears is slightly better and I actually liked this song. It’s about a girl saying that she’s not going to cry over her boyfriend anymore. It’s cool. It was a very electronic arrangement and cascading background of keyboard. It’s very staccato in places and a great chorus that will more than likely get stuck in your head.

I TO YOU
Lyrics: Jasper Cameron, Jason Chenevert / Music : Ricciano Lumpkins

An R&B number worthy of TLC, I TO YOU bounces and ticks its way along as Namie lays a whispery, faulted performance. The melody isn’t amazing and neither is the chorus. This song is rather bland and very uninspired.

 ~~~

I have come to the conclusion that when Amuro is good, she’s amazing. But when she is bad, she’s becomes one of the lowest grades I have ever given on Who’s Afraid of Music?. Sadly, the single sucked up what little sales figures she had left leading into the SUITE CHIC-STYLE era. After all the sub-par releases, most of her fans left her for Ayumi Hamasaki and Utada Hikaru, both of which were releasing better music during the early part of this decade. I really hate to say that about Ayumi Hamasaki… her lyrics may have spoken to a generation, but the actual music was boring.

D
66%

Vivid

BoA
Vivid
June 4, 2008
Oricon
Daily Singles Chart: #3
Weekly Singles Chart: #5
Billboard Japan
Hot 100: #17 (’Kissing you’)
Hot Single Sales: #5
Total Sales: 24,767
Avex Trax
Lee Soo Man

~~~

Kissing you
Lyrics: 藤林彰晃 [Shoko Fujibayashi] / Music: ArmySlick

 A crackly keyboard opens the upbeat ballad with the bounce I’ve come to expect from ArmySlick. The most interesting thing about the instrumental prospect is that he uses the same scale and then follows it with the same scale an octave down. It is far from ground-breaking, but it is an interesting flow behind the melody. BoA’s voice sounds, if humanly possible, more breathy but beautiful. I’ve always had a love/annoyance relationship with her voice. With the right music is sounds strong and powerful but with super-sweet ballads it really does border on saccharine. But that could all be because of the right vocoder and voice effects. Though… one never knows, does one?

Sparkling
Lyrics: MIZUE / Music: 原一博 [Kazuhiro Hara]

With a familiar cymbal rustle we enter ‘Sparkling’. I had such low expectations for this song that I was very afraid it would be as bad a Yuna Ito’s ‘Colorful’ from Urban Mermaid, but I was saved the horror when the beat kicked in. I still wasn’t sure though, dreading a boring chorus with horrible cliché lyrics. But I was so surprised with a heavily synth driven, crazy-beautiful melody came in and I was hooked. This is my favorite song on this single, bar none. Although it most definitely not a ‘Girls on Top’ or ‘My Name’.

Joyful Smile
Lyrics: Satomi / Music: 浅田雅明 [Masaaki Asada]

Joyful smile is another mediocre song that only succeeds in showing off BoA’s falsetto range. It is very pretty and the melody is nice, but it really does end up missing something. BoA has a pretty voice, move on! I crave something brave from BoA and she continuously lowers my expectations.

~~~

In all honesty, when I heard the title of the single, I was excited for a cool dance tune. Then I heard she was doing ‘Kissing you’, I was excited because I love that song from Romeo & Juliet. Then I heard the titles ‘Sparkling’ and ‘Joyful Smile’ that made me give up on this single. I heard what ‘Kissing you’ sounded like and I really did throw in the towel. But she did happen to beat my expectations, but they weren’t really that high. Had I had no information on the track listing, I would have been utterly dismayed. There is not a real standout track here.

On the other hand: she is teaming up with her old songwriters from her past three studio albums and more than half of her singles. BoA delivers her audience a soft, bouncy ballad, an up-beat pop song that sneaks up on you, and a pretty song. Altogether a nice single from BoA, though nothing truly spectacular. The truth is that BoA’s popularity is waning. She can barely outsell JYONGRI and she isn’t all that amazing.

Delving a bit into BoA’s personal life, I can help but feel that she isn’t completely satisfied in the Japanese market. She wants to be in the U.S. and SM Entertainment basically told everyone that she’s not going; like she was denied a piece of candy. But that piece of candy can make you sick if you already have three countries in which you are active. America is a dream of BoA’s whether or not she gets here. Not that her work is suffering, it’s not as if she has too much say-so over her song choices, and if she does, what is she thinking?

Give America a foot-stomper BoA, give us a song that shows off how edgy and sexy you can be. America will love you for it, at least for a little while.

~~~
TOKIO HOT 100

‘Sparkling’ debuted at #76 this week, although Koda Kumi and YUI debuted higher. On a side note, ‘Kissing you’ is at #17 on the Hot 100 from Billboard… I can’t decide who’s doing this right…

MOON

倖田來未
(Koda Kumi)
MOON
July 11, 2008
Oricon
Daily Singles Chart: #2
Weekly Singles Chart: #2 (Prediction)
Billboard Japan
Weekly Singles Sales: ??
Rhythm Zone
Masato ”Max” Matsuura

Moon Crying
Lyrics: 倖田來未 [Koda Kumi] / Music: [Miwa Furuse]

While I have said more than once that all of Koda Kumi’s ballads sound the same, for some reason this one doesn’t. Thank God… A soft piano takes center stage while Koda’s echoic vocals pierce the cloud of chords and runs produced by the main instrument. Interestingly enough for Koda, her vocals and performance seem less sincere and more rehearsed. Heard very distinctly here, she sounds almost bored, dead, as if trying to be more demure, as if she is a bit self-consious after her disasterous comment, something that doesn’t work for her very often (’anytime‘ is one example in which it works). Also, it runs emotionless through the chorus and even the bridge. All together disappointing but a blessing to find a more original ballad (and that’s not really saying very much from her).

That Ain’t Cool
Music & Lyrics: Stacy Fergusen, Kumi Koda, Keith Harris

Borrowing from most of Koda Kumi’s hit dance singles, ‘That Ain’t Cool’ sounds more like a watered down version of ‘Amai Wana‘ than anything especially cutting-edge. Vocally, Koda Kumi not only takes second fiddle to Fergie’s gritty voice, she takes backup, never singing a chorus. Her more sensual voice contained in a single verse with an almost unforgivable amount of Engurish. While her English skills are undoubtedly better than they were in the train wreck that was her cover of ‘A Whole New World’ on Black Cherry, they are no where near good enough for an entire song with a native English-speaker.

Once Again
Music & Lyrics: PUSHIM

‘Once Again’ is, dare I say it, basically boring. It has the definite Reggae feel, but without the correct delivery from Koda; but who can get much out of a song that drags at like 45 bpm.. The song should have been more upbeat, clubb-ish. The lyrics are boring and her pronunciation is pinched and in general this song is just quite bad. In vain, I was hoping for something along the lines of the remix of ‘Freaky‘. I was sorely upset at what I was given.

Lady Go!
Lyrics: 倖田來未 [Koda Kumi] / Music: 森本康介 [Kousuke Morimoto]

About the best thing about ‘Lady Go!’ is that it saves us from ending the single on such a sour note. Where ‘Once Again’ was boring with a touch of bland, ‘Lady Go!’ feels quite different with a super-upbeat progession of synthetic drums and plenty of airy synth and bleeps. The melody is much more memorable and in general feels more true to Koda Kumi’s signature style.

~~~

Overall, this single was a disappointment. Only ‘Lady Go!’ showcased Koda Kumi as Koda Kumi, ‘Moon Crying’ fell flat in an unexpected way, and ‘Once Again’ just proved how much they need to preview songs before they record them. Even if ‘That Ain’t Cool’ was not that best song since ‘JUICY’, it still had a beat that made me get up and dance. It would have been a great addition as a solo song for the released version of The Dutchess.

On the TOKIO HOT 100, ‘Moon Crying’ and ‘That Ain’t Cool’ debuted next to each other at #70 and #69 respectifully.

P.S. Sorry that took so long… here we go on a good stretch of reviews!
Enjoy!