We finally have a preview for the second A-side from Morning Musume's upcoming double A-side 47th single, Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo/Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai. However, the preview for Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai is about half of the song or less.
The song sounds nothing like I was expecting at all! The beginning of the song has some random train noises thrown in. Which immediately reminded me of the opening from Harajuku 6:00 Shuugou, just without the speaking parts, or Inspiration. And then the actual music starts and it sounds like a toned down version of Guru Guru Jump. And then theres also these beach party music randomly throughout the song. Which is a tad reminiscent to Berryz Koubou's Madayade. Which is awesome because I wanted an upbeat song with a big instrumental, something along the lines of Lemon Iro to Milk Tea. However, this song isn't that big. It's far too toned down. The song is almost there, they just needed to go all out and push it a little further. But I have to admit, I do like it more than Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo. I don't know, the sound is just better. But overall, this is a really incredible single. It sounds like the songs Morning Musume used to release. Hopefully, this is a sneak peek of things to come. This song is lead by Sayumi, and surprisingly I don't really care or mind. Sayumi hardly has one of my favorite voices in Morning Musume. But every once in a blue moon she's handed a song that's perfect for her voice and she actually enhances the song. She did it in Fantasy ga Hajimaru, It's You, and to some degree in Appare Kaiten Zushi. And I think Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai is one of those times. That mixed with being sick of hearing nothing but Ai and Reina, anyone else is a nice change. This song does still feature the usual suspects a lot. Ai, Reina, Risa, and Riho get lines. But just adding Sayumi's voice and having her take away some of the lines they woud get, throws off the normal balance and adds a different element to the song. And since this is only half the song we can hope that this means in the second half the other members will get lines. And even if they don't at least have a different 9th gen member sing where Riho's line would go in the second verse. I really want Aika to have a line. You can hear her voice in one of the group parts and she actually sounds good in the song.
The radio rip for C-ute's upcoming single, Sekai ichi Happy na Onna no ko, has been released.
I gotta say, I do really like the overall sound of this song. It is incredibly happy and upbeat. And it's also has a hint of a rock vibe, because there's a constant guitar rift in the background. The song is pretty much sounds like a generic idol song. But I still think there's a little something more than that in this song. Momoiro Sparkling was pretty generic too, but I like this song about 30 times more than Momoiro Sparkling. I really love the super fast lines that Airi and Maimi sing before the chorus. But for the most part, I don't really like the way this song is sung. The girl's are trying too hard to sound cute, and it's making their voices sound a little awkward. Especailly Chisato, Mai, and Saki. There voices are pretty annoying in this song. And don't even get ma started on Saki. Her voice isn't the greatest to begin with, but it's almost ear piercing at some parts.
The radio rip for the first song from Morning Musume's upcoming double A-side single, Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai, has been released. I have been waiting for this rip for weeks now. Since the concert rip wasn't the best quality I've been waiting for the radio rip to finally hear the song.
You know, I wasn't instantly in love with this song when I first started to listen to it. But half way through the song, it just made sense. And I actually do really like the song. It's not my absolutely favorite, and there is an obvious room for improvement. But I think the song sounds good. The beginning of the song has this funky sort of disco vibe, with some jazz undertones. Risa's and Ai's jazzy extended notes during the bridge were just absolutely incredible, and one of my favorite parts of the song. However, I can't really say that about Reina's line there. And then the chorus hits and it sounds like a completely different song. The song gets a lot more upbeat and happy. And for a minute I thought it was Ganbare Nippon Soccer Fight. The chorus is just Ai and Reina but they pretty much kill their lines, so I don't mind. And Reina also hits this high note toward the end of the song and it's nearly flawless.
I really want to complain that the song's line distribution is completely unfair, and it's basically the exact same line distribution from Only You. But this is Ai-chan's last single, so let her sing as much as you want. But, hopefully this single and 12th album will really be an end of an era. And Morning Musume can start fresh and give everyone a decent amount of lines like they used to. I mean when Morning Musume had 12-15 members the line distribution was a lot more fair than it is now! Can someone explain how that even makes sense?
By the way, what are they doing about the PV? Was it already filmed? Becasue Aika and Riho are both on rest now. And Aika has been in a cast for a while, so even if the PV was already filmed what are they going to do about the dance? Is Aika, or Aika and Riho, just not in the dance scenes?
A short radio rip of Hey! Say! JUMP's upcoming single, Magic Power, was released a few days ago. I honestly don't know how I missed it until now. XD
As expected the song is pretty childish. But not as childish as I expected. It's obviously not one of my favorite Hey! Say! JUMP A-sides, but it's not so terrible that I can't listen to it. The music also has more of a motown feel then I thought it would have. The song is pretty cute I'll give it that, but after how mature Over was I was looking forward to HSJ moving away from their cute image. But as the youngest Johnny's group (NYC technically is, but they are more of a sub-group.) I guess there's no escaping it for now.
The line distribution is pretty awful. So far only Chinen and Ryosuke have solo lines. Just like I feared would happen. This is only half the song, so I suppose there could be more member's solos in the second half. But I wouldn't bet on it.
After officially confirming that Hapirapi ~Sunrise~ is Kikka's 2nd single a few dys ago, releasing on Spetmeber 21st, we now have a short preview of the song.
After hearing the short preview, I gotta say I'm not instantly in love with the song like I was with Kikkake wa You and it's B-sides. The song is a lot calmer and laid back than Kikkake wa You. I was expecting another upbeat and cutesy single from Kikka. This song is pretty slow and on the bland side. I also don't really like how Kikka is singing the song. So has an incredible voice and vocal range, but instead she seems to be forcing her self to sing in a cute voice. But it's so unnatural that's it's coming off as too much and obviously fake. Kind of the same way that Koharu's voice was forced in Papancake. Obviously not to the same screechy degree, but the way that they both were forcing themselves to sound cute is similar.
I don't know, I'm not really feeling the song right now. Maybe it will eventually grow on me.
The radio rip for KAT-TUN's upcoming single, Run For You, has just been released. Apparently we first heard this song back in May in a Suzuki commercial. But I do not remember that at all. XD
I was completely not expecting this type of song at all. The song has an extremely heavy electronic/techno beat. It's like Going and The D-Motion times a thousand. I actually really love the overall sound of the song. I love elctronic/club music. And I love auto tuning. However, I don't think KAT-TUN should ever use auto tune. There's just something about the tones of their voices that they sound absolutely horrible when auto tuned. Kame and Koki sound the worst. Kame's voice gets screechy and Koki ends up sounding like a frog. But no one sounds more like a frog than Inoo Kei. XD And actually Taguchi sounds pretty horrible too. His nasally voice becomes more prominent. But whoever did the auto tuning this time fixed Koki's lines. And your really only hear his frog voice once at 2:42. Bur luckly less then half of the song is auto tuned. Anymore and I think the song might have been completely ruined for me. But there are some good elements to the song. First off, the bridge is amazing. I think it might might actually be catchier than the chorus, which doesn't really happen to often with songs. The chorus is pretty catchy too. Even though it sounds more like Lan Lan Lan For You, then Run. Which is pretty hilarious. Also randomly throughout the song some random person with a deep voice says Run Run Run. Which is pretty weird, and throws the song off a bit. I laughed pretty loud the first time I heard that. Another thing I love about this song is how it's not just completely Kame. It sounds like Kame only has 1 solo line. But it may actually be more, because it's hard to tell 100% who is singing when their auto tuned. Ueda's and Kame's voice end up sounding very similar. But for most of the song it seems to be Maru and Koki. The only time you really hear Kame is during harmony lines, or group lines where he takes the higher melody. Which I'm not really complaining about. Any song that features Koki a lot is good in my book.
The first episode of Hana Kimi aired today, so that means we finally have a preview of AKB48's upcoming 22nd single, Flying Get.
I have been in love with this song since the first listen. As of right now I've been listening to the song on a loop for about 10-15minutes now. The music is just incredible. It has this sort of island or tropical feel to it. I'm sure there's a legit name for this type of music, but I have no idea what it is. XD The music is just energetic, upbeat, and super happy. There's a lot going on with the music. It sounds like there's horns and bongos. The song is just amazing, and it has a very distinct summer feel to it. It blows Everyday Kachuusha out of the water. And I think I might this song more than SKE48's Pareo wa Emerald. Which I didn't even think was possible. I don't know, words can't properlly describe how awesome this song is or how much I love it.
Since this song is really amazing, and with the drama tie-in, there's no doubt that this song will easily top Everyday Kachuusha's sales. Which I'm kinda excited about. Have this song beat the record for the best first week sales. And then I'd actually be happy. Because I think this song deserves it.
I would recomend watching this video quickly, if you want to hear the song. Since the video is the actual ending to Hana Kimi, this video most likely won't be up for much longer.
The radio rip for Berryz Koubou's upcoming 27th single, Aa, Yoru ga Akeru, has just been released.
When I first listened to the radio rip, I wasn't expecting what I heard at all. The song is very weird sounding. It's like 2 different genres at once. It sounds like techno, diso, funk, and a ballad all rolled into one. And the music sounds like a bunch of different H!P songs jumbled together. It sounds like Furare Pattern, Suki Sugite Baka Mitai, Grand Demo Rouka Demo Medatsu Kimi, Happy! Stand Up, and Koi no Jubaku. Even though the song is almost a jumbled mess at times, I absolutely love every second of this song. The music is incredibly weird, infectious, and slightly addicting. And I love all the high notes at the end of the chorus. They sound really amazing. Especially Miyabi's. And I love all the little harmonizing she does in the middle of the song. But Yurina is really bringing it too. The one line she hits at the end is really amazing. I never really noticed how high of a range Yurina really has until I heard Heroine ni Narou ka. Now, if only she was better at singing live. XD
Even though I am love with the song,I'm a little dissapointed by the line distribution. The song is back to what most Berryz songs are. The 4 main singers and then you never hear the other members at all. I literally can't hear the other members. I'm sure they sing. But even at group parts you can barely hear their voices. I think the only other one you can kinda hear cleatly is Saki. And not only that, this song seems to mainly focus on Risako. Which is always boring, because they always focus on her. Just when it seems like Berryz is finally letting the other members sing, they make a song like this.
Avex's official youtube channel has posted a commercial for DiVA's upcoming 2nd single Cry. The commercial is about 30 seconds long and is the first time the fans get to hear the song.
I really had high hopes for DiVA to become my favorite AKB48 sub-group. They are the best singers in AKB48, and after watching the little bit of AKB48 shows I've watched I'm starting to really like Sayaka. I wasn't really impressed with Tsuki no Uragawa all that much. Lyric wise the song is beautiful. Singing and music wise, it was pretty lack luster. The music was too soft and the singing was too bland. They didn't use their full singing potential. However, in this song that's not the case. During the chorus we get to hear some fairly high and powerful notes sung beautifully. I mean, the notes are held seamlessly. And we get to hear each member have a solo line. At least I think, I'm like 80% sure the last solo in the commercial was Ayaka. Even though I am really excited that we finally have some high notes in a DiVA song, I'm not really impressed so much with the song itself. The song is basically the same as Tuski no Uragawa. Except that the music it's a fraction higher. I know that slow songs and ballads show off a singer's vocal ability. But does that really mean that all the songs they release have to be slow? Not really. They could have a regular idol type of song but then hit some really high notes along the way or during the chorus. The songs also seem to be this tempo because DiVA is going with a more mature and adult image. Which is why I don't really like mature idol groups that much. They're boring. Mature and idol groups should never really be used in the same sentence. At least in my opinion. But there I go jumping to conclusions. This is only the chorus of this song, no one knows what the verse sound like yet. But I'm willing to bet it's nearly the same as the chorus.
Now on to the PV. Wow, for being an AKB48 subgroup they release some pretty cheap PVs. At least the set for Tsuki no Uragawa was pretty, despite also being a cheap PV. But are they serious with the Cry set? They are dancing in front of a plastic tree! And the insanely bright setting of the dance space doesn't fit with the tempo or theme of the song at all. The close-up shots don't really get anymore cutting edge either. They are just standing in front of falling water. Which makes sense because the song is called Cry. But it's been done before. Give us something new and exciting. However, the PV isn't all bad. The girls look absolutely gorgeous. I love the military inspired outfits. The lighting makes them look practically flawless. And I love that the close-ups have their hair styled simple.
A commercial for Min Min Daho energy drink featuring SDN48 has started airing. In the commercial we get to hear a short preview of SDN48's 3rd single Min.Min.Min. And I mean a short preview. The commerical is only 18 seconds longs, so we pretty much only get to hear the very beginning of the chorus.
The song sounds completely different than their last 2 singles. GAGAGA and Ai Juseyo both had fairly heavy dance beats. This song is just completely toned down, and not really what I was expecting at all. I know SDN48 has a few slow B-sides, so it's not really that new for them to make a song this slow. But this song so far doesn't really fit with their theme. The song sounds too cute for SDN48's sexy/adult image. I don't know, I'm just a little thrown off by the song. I mean, it doesn't sound that bad so far. But it just doesn't fit them.
The radio rip for Watarirouka Hashiritai 7's 8th single, Hetappi Wink, has been released. Can I just say that I was under the impression that the 8th single was just going to be Watarirouka Hashiritai. Boy, do I feel stupid now. XD
After hearing the song I am actually a little underwhelmed by the song. As of right now, the song doesn't really have that wow factor. Pretty much all of Watarirouka Hashiritai's songs have been effortlessly cute. But with this song it's missing the immediate cute factor you get with songs like Gyu or Valentine Kiss. The song is pretty heavy and upbeat, which would usually be a big plus for me. But for some reason the music just reminds me of Shugo Chara Eggs songs. Not even because the music is similar, because it's not. There's just something similar about it that I can't quite put my finger on. I am also completely unimpressed with the singing. I know Watarirouka Hashiritai isn't exactly known for having the best voices, but at some parts of the song the singing sounds a lot more strained than usual. And right after the chorus they repeat the word wink like 8 times, which comes off more as annoying than cute. Just the way they are saying wink sounds like they are trying to hard for it to sound cute instead of letting it naturally happen.
I'm a little sad by how lackluster the song is. Watarirouka Hashiritai is my favorite AKB48 sub-group. And I was expecting a lot more from this song. Hopefully, the song will eventually grow on me. But for now it's not one of my favorites.
So, I haven't really been keeping up with SKE48 despite me saying how I was going to over a month ago. Apparently SKE48 is going to release their 6th single, Pareo wa Emerald, on July 27th. But that was announced in May, so I'm sure most people have heard about it already. SKE48 preformed this song recently during one of their stages. (I think that's were this clip is from, I'm 100% sure.)
As soon as the song started and it was just as a heavy dance track as Banzi Venus and 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku I was in love. It actually is different fromthose songs, because they were a little more electronic sounding. While this song is a little bit more laid back. It sounds like amped up version of Gome ne Summer. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I absolutely love every song that is basically a walking idol cliche. So if a song has heavy music and is insanely upbeat chances are I'm going to like it. I mean, it's songs like this that make me want to get into SKE48 to begin with. The song might be a little boring for people, because it's sung nearly the same way throughout the song. And honestly that's the only draw back that this song has. But the song and dance have such high energy that I absolutely love the song.
As always, you can purchase this single from CDJapan by clicking the links below.
The concert rip for S/mileage's upcoming 6th single Uchouten Love, has been out for a few days now. And I really wanted to wait until the radio rip came out before I commented on the song. But since the single is coming out August 3rd we probably won't hear the radio rip for another month.
Aother reason I wanted to wait is because concert rips are usually really bad quality, or they distort the actual music too much. However, the concert rip for this song is actually not that bad. It's a lot clearer than other rips I have heard before. So, we get to hear the song at probably about 80% or 90% accuracy. I really like what I hear of the song so far. The music has a very techno, eurobeat sound to it. It reminds me a bit of their major debut single Yume Miru 15sai. Which is always a good thing because that is one of my favorite songs by S/mileage. The song and music is also a little reminiscent to something that Hinoi Team would have released. And I've expressed my love for them more than once in my blog. The song is also a big step away from their last single that was childish and super cutesey. The song is a little more mature sounding while still holding the upbeat, fun, and playful image that S/mileage has. The song is pretty different than anything S/mileage has done before. But that's what I love about S/mileage. None of their singles sound exactly the same, and you never really know what kind of song you are going to get from them. The song also has pretty fair line distribution, which is always a plus. But S/mileage is always fair line wise. But who knows if that will continue to happen after this single. Maybe the new member(s) will grab the other members lines.
As always, you can purchase this single from CDJapan by clicking the links below.
The full radio rip for NMB48's debut single Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo was just released.
Talk about jumping to conclusions. After hearing the full song I take back absolutely everything I said about the single being bland and forgettable. And I definitely take back saying that the single wasn't strong enough to be an A-side. I absolutely, completely, 100% love this song! This song is incredibly catchy. I was literally hooked on this song after the first listen. I think this song is a lot better than SDN48's debut single, and even their second single. The song isn't an instant idol classic like I feel about 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku! or Oogoe Diamond. But it's actually pretty up there. The song starts out in full force with this light, but still upbeat music, that can only be described as disco mixed with electronic. And the rest of the song is this amazing sort of techno/electronic club music. They start singing in these high voices, that almost sound like harmony lines, but they continue throughout the song. And for some reason I absolutely adore them. Then the chorus hits and it brings the energy level up to about 110%. And the notes hit at the later half of the chorus are sung just beautifully. And then the rest of the song adds a bunch of effects to make the song engaging and interesting from start to finish. There is this incredible echo effect that happens right before the first chorus. It also sounds like the effects they use in auto tuning, but done completely light that it's not to over overbearing. And then they also have the members every so often say words in the background. Like onaji, yeah, come on, etc. That might sound pretty cheesy and cliche on the surface but it actually works 100% for the song. And towards the end of the song they have the members sing underneath the original singing and it sounds super amazing. That's not really explained well, but listen to the song from about 3:00-3:12 to see what I mean. It's really short, but it is still an awesome effect. The song also gets really awesome for me, when they take their singing break and just have instrumental, like pretty much every song in the world does. But the song has this really awesome electronic, club, or house music feel to it. And it's absolutely incredible. The electronic music throughout the whole song is really awesome. And it sounds like the kind of music they release in the US. Which is an added bonus to me since I love all of America's autotuned club sounding music.
I am just completely in love with the song! I cannot wait to see the PV.
With a little less than a month until the release date, Not Yet has released the radio rip for their upcoming 2nd single Naminori Kakigori. I don't really understand why they are relasing te radio rip so early. I actually don't really remember or pay that close attention to when radio rips are usually released. But in does seem to be obnoxiously early.
I actually like the song. It's exactly what it promised it would be, upbeat and summery. This song is a tiny bit slower than Shuumatsu Not Yet, but hardly at all. The only real complaint I have about the song is that the singing doesn't pick up during the chorus. I can't stand when songs are sung in the same melody the entire song. But besides that the song sounds good. The line distribution seems fair, and the song is incredibly catchy. But my favorite part of the song is toward the end when they start singing really slow. It only lasts for a couple of seconds but I love when songs do that.
I absolutely love the the theme that Not Yet seems to be going for. Just really upbeat, happy, and danceable music. They have only released 2 singles, but they are really starting to become one of my favorite AKB48 sub-groups.
The audio for this video is extremely low. I had to turn my headphones up to 54 just to hear the song at a normal level.
Passpo recently streamed their concert live on their ustream channel, and during their encore they performed their upcoming new single ViVi Natsu. Which is going to be released sometime in August.
The song still has the familiar guitar riffs and pop rock melody that makes Passpo, Passpo. But the song is a little different that what Passpo normally does. They made the rock beat a little less intense then previous songs, and instead added some rap parts into the song. Which I think is absolutely amazing, and are my favorite parts of the song. With Akari gone from MomoClo, I didn't think I'd hear rapping in idol music again any time soon. But I'm glad that Passpo added this to their song. It gives them a fresh vibe, and just adds to them being different then other idol groups. I also love the random English lines that are in the song. Which were actually noticable. Usually when there's English in a Japanese song I don't even ntoice until they perform it live on TV and I see the lyrics on the screen. XD
I'm really looking forward to a radio rip of this single. The song will probably sound completely different. Since concert footage and rips usually distort the music slightly. Or in Aisaresugiru Koto wa Nai no yo's case not so slightly.
NMB48 was featured on a morning show recently to promote their debut sing, Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo. And during their breif segment they previewed about a minute of the song. Which is the first time fans get to hear it.
I have to say the song is completely different than the type of song I was expecting. I was expecting something similar to enka. But this song isn't even remotely close to enka. Which is actually a relief. The song itself is extremely laid back. The song has a very soft and soothing feel to it. Which makes it very pleasant to listen to, but doesn't really work as a debut song. You'd figure that since this is their debut single, that they would have a very elaborate song to draw attention and new fans to them. SKE48's and SDN48's debut singles both were attention grabbing. Tsuyokimono yo with it's heavy anime sounding instrumental, and GAGAGA with it's unique club sounding music. But I think ABK48 did the same thing. I always thought Aitakatta would have made a better first single, and for a while I actually thought it was their first single. Back when I was a bigger AKB48 noob then I am now. XD After a couple listens I am starting to find the song enjoyable and likeable, but I still think it's pretty lack luster for a debut single. Perhaps NMB48 will win me over with the PV.
With a mere 25 days unttil release date of no3b's new single, Kuchibiru Furezu, we are finally getting to find out more about the single. No3b was recently promoting for Kuchibiru Furezu, and because of that we finally get a song and PV preview of this single. Both are extremely short, and most of the time the members speaking block both. But at least we're getting this peak.
The song is very rock centric. The music is basically just a heavy guitar rift. The song is a little heavier than I was expecting. Even though it is the song is still basically power pop, it is a change from what they usually do. No3b doesn't usually release songs that are cutesy and upbeat. Every once in a while they throw in songs like Lie and Kiss no Ryuusei. I have to say I do prefer their more obvious idol sounding singles. But this song isn't bad either. It's actually kind of cool. It reminds me of something Buono would do. I kind of wish we could hear more than the chorus though.
To match the song the PV also follows a darker theme. It seems the overall storyline is no3b's as criminals. They are shown ransacking an office, pouring money out of a suitcase, and it even looks like Haruna has a knife strapped to her leg. But because it's also a music video, and they have to sing at some point, it also shows the girls randomly jumping on tabels and singing. And also singing in a back alley. Which is a little awkwarrd with the whole apparent criminal theme. But I'm sure it will somehow fit in the actual PV better than what we've seen.
It was announced recently that Hey! Say! JUMP will be releasing their first single of 2011. The single is titled Over and will be released on June 29th. What's even more exciting is that Ai ING ~Aishiteru~ will be encluded as one of the B-sides. If that wasn't exciting enough, the other B-sides will be Hey! Say! BEST's new song Screw and Hey! Say! 7's new song You Got More. Which marks the first time both Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7 have their own B-side songs. We all know that Hey! Say! 7 had their own song, Kagayaki Days, featured on Hitomi no Screen, which was a little unfair if you ask me, because BEST didn't get one. And can I just say how nice it is to finally know what all the new songs from Hey! Say! JUMP are being used for. I'm a little sad that they aren't for a new album, since it's been nearly a year since their first album was released. But hopefully we'll get a new Hey! Say! JUMP album in late 2011 or early 2012.
Hey! Say! JUMP (Actually 5/10 of JUMP) preformed this song on last weeks's episode of Yan Yan Jump so fans get to hear a nice preview of it. Instead of all those choppy concert rips. XD When I heard that HSJ was releasing a new single I was a little worried that I wouldn't like the song. Their last single, Arigatou ~Sekai no Doko ni Itemo~ was one of my least favorite JUMP singles, and I was a little under whelmed by Ai ING ~Aishiteru~. But after hearing Over I was pleasantly surprised. I absolutely love the song. The music has this sort of European dance music vibe to it. And reminds me of a far less intense version of Shinku. I'm a little sad that during the chorus the music doesn't pick up at all. However, you can't even notice that aspect because during the chorus the singing picks up signifigantly and is very powerful. I also really love the bridge of the song. That's where a lot of nice high notes take place. What's also surprising about this song is Hikaru raps in it and it actually doesn't ruin the entire song. Usually when Hiakru raps it's either insanely soft with singing over it so you can barely notice it like in Ultra Music Power. Or the lyrics are so bad that it throws the whole song off like in Score. Every once in a while Hikaru's raps actaully enhance the song like in Ai Scream. I think Hikaru's rapping actually compliments the song nicely. But that's probably because he's rapping very softly and not overdoing it. I also really love how the song is supposed to be sung like a phone call. At least that's what I got from the lyrics and the random phone dance move they do in the begining. I also love the random speaking part in the begining. And of course I loved Ryosuke's with you towards the end of the song. Just because I'm a sucker for Japanese accents. The only real fault of this single is the lyrics. At first I thought the song was supposed to be about ending a relationship that's not going well. But then the chorus basically says no matter what I'll stand by you and support you. I don't know, that contradiction makes me confused about the overall meaning of the song.
The performance itself was actually pretty good. The dance was a little simple and lame. But it's not like HSJ is really known for having the best dances ever. I don't think I've ever actually liked any of their dances. I think Deep Night was like the only one. Also, I wish the rest of JUMP was there just so I know who's really getting the solo lines. But most likely these are the people getting them, since they usually are anyway. Maybe Takaki and Daiki will be thrown a line or two but that's about it. Which is really sad. But hey, Yuto's getting lines again so I can't really complain.
With only about 2 weeks until the release until Berryz Koubou's upcoming new single, Ai no Dangan, a radio rip and PV preview have been released.
Now, here's a song I was in love with since the first listening. I'm not even sure why. The song is completely laid back. It only has a very slow slight rock instrumental. And it doesn't even pick up or change it's beat when the chorus hits. And it's a huge step away from Heroine ni Narou ka's intense music and big chorus. And yet, I still love the song, becasue despite it being a pretty clam song for some reason it still grabs my attention. Half because of how abolutely perfect every line is sung and half because the line distribution is awesome. Even though the song is mostly lead by Risako, Momoko, Miyabi, and Yurina, the rest of the members still get a good chunk of lines. The main singers only get about 3 more solo lines than the other members. Which could be better, but is actually pretty good. Especially comapared to what it could be like. Also I think Saki and Yurina completely killed in this song. It fir their voices perfectly. I also think Chinami sounds pretty good in this song. Usuall she sounds a little strained on her lines.
The PV preview is only about 22 seconds, but that's long enough to see how horrible the PV is. The preview consists of Berryz dancing in tight red spandex suits, that look what Britney Spears wore in the Oops I did it again music video. Which is never a good look by the way. But not only are the outfits hideous the dance itself is terrible. It's completely awkward with some of the worst dance moves I have ever seen. There's this one butt shaking move that I guess was supposed to come off as sexy, but it's so weird and awkward that it's hilarious. If that wasn't enough I think this might very well be the worst PV H!P has ever made. It just shows Berryz Koubou dancing on a plain black floor in front of panels that are flashing abstract designs. And that's it! I seriously hope there's more elements to this PV then just these dance scenes and close-ups. If not, this is going to be on horrible PV.
If you like what you hear, you can purchase this single from CDJapan.
