...my true love gave to me a hit single, a stunning voice, the sweetest song, a deliciously creepy new artist, and a WINTER PARTY!
When we talk successful songs in 2008 you can't look far past ARASHI's Truth. The single (Truth/Kaze no Mukou e) is by far the highest selling single of the year, infact ARASHI have been the best performing group on the singles chart this year with 3 of their 4 singles in the yearly top 10.
Now I'm not really a Johnny's fan, I do like some tracks and some groups but I don't listen to anything regularly and I'm not all that excited about releases. I knew pretty much nothing about Truth before the single was released and only listened to it because I was reviewing it for the blog. Boy did I get a surprise, this track is so great! The whole single was totally awesome but this song in particular had to be one of my 12 memorable tracks for the year not only because of its success but because I really do love it (a lot of people do it seems!)
It really has been ARASHI's year. Truth/Kaze no Mukou e sold 618Kwhich is just amazing in itself, but to have all 4 of your releases sell in excess of 370K is ... WOW! The boys already have a single scheduled for 09 and no doubt it will be as much of a success as 08.
Well ARASHI are just blitzing the charts this year, aren't they? Beautiful days is ARASHI's 4th single of the year and their 4th no.1 hit of the year. They hold the top 2 positions in the yearly sales ranks, with truth/Kaze no Mukou e at the top followed by One Love. Step and Go is in the top 10, while Beautiful days is 12 on first week sales alone. The ballad sold 351K and charted at the top of the charts all week long. Fellow Johnny's group Kanjani8 fell from the top spot to 7th selling close to 22K. Sales are up from the previous singles' second week sales.
Urgh, another BEST album selling well? Actually not really ... you see Kato Miliyah's BEST DESTINY isn't really a typical BEST album, as the majority of the album is new material. The album is a collaborative effort which sees Kato-san sample other artists' material in each of her songs and is comprised of 4 singles from throughout her career plus a whole bunch of new songs. Either way, it sold well raking in 92K, up from Kato's last album TOKYO STAR. Kings of the chart last week, Porno Graffitti saw both their BEST albums fall outside the top 5, ranking at 6 and 7 with sales above 20K each.
Berryz Koubou's newie MADAYADE failed to live up to expectations, halting the recent rise of the Berryz' girls. Coming off receiving one of the New Artist awards in Korea, you would have thought they would have gained on their past singles' sales but instead they sold over 7K less first week sales than their last single Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance. The single charted at a respectable 6th for the week, but sales of only 22.8K were disappointing.
CHARTS:
Singles: 01 Beautiful days ARASHI 351,860 02 Shish Kebab Yuzu 52,271 03 Toki no Ashioto Kobukuro 33,477 04 Kyou mo Dokoka de OdaKazumasa 28,672 05 Wakaba Spitz 27,364 06 MADAYADE Berryz Koubou 22,861 07 Musekinin Hero Kanjani8 21,723 08 Nihon no Mikata -Nevada Kara Kimashita- Yajima Biyoushitsu 20,111 09 Angelic Smile / WINTER PARTY BREAKERZ 19,142 10 Somaru Yo chatmonchy 17,586
Albums: 01 BEST DESTINY Kato Miliyah 92,423 02 Surf Bungaku Kamakura ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION 56,110 03 Expressions Takeuchi Mariya 30,592 04 DJ KAORI'S JMIX II (Various Artists) 28,838 05 WE LOVE HEXAGON Hexagon All Stars 28,317
REVIEWS: I'm tardy with my reviews once again this week but I am determined to keep reviewing new singles so here are this week's reviews, new singles from BREAKERZ, ARASHI, Berryz Koubou and Yuzu.
Angelic Smile / WINTER PARTY BREAKERZ
I really liked BREAKERZ last single and I’m really interested in the double A-side thing they’ve been going for. I get really annoyed with double A-side singles when the two songs are really alike, but BREAKERZ last single had two totally unique, great songs, so I had high expectations for this one.
Angelic Smile is an upbeat rock song and it’s a great track. DAIGO of course is great on vocals, his voice really suits the rock genre; It’s really great to listen to. Like I mentioned on my review of BREAKERZ last single, this truly feels like a group rather than a front man and some band. AKIHIDE and SHINPEI get some awesome solos and the instrumental is generally really good. I like the bridge after the instrumental break in this song, it melts back into this great change of pace before the final chorus.
WINTER PARTY excited me because of the title, if you had read my post on Koda’s new track, you’d know I love all things Winter. The little bell chimes at the beginning just get my spirit soaring ^_^ … this track is really quite fun. It definitely has that Christmas vibe to it, from the instrumental to the lyrics (the chorus mentions silent night, holy night and later on they sing Merry Christmas … you can’t get more Christmasy than that ^_^ ). It actually gets me kind of excited for Christmas, so it does its job well especially for a rock song. I really like the pre-chorus bridge, it’s the highlight of the track for me. Another great single for BREAKERZ, both tracks being unique and top quality songs. They’ve captured the winter theme really well.
Rating: 8/10 & 9/10
Beautiful days ARASHI
2008 is definitely ARASHI’s year with all their ’08 singles selling huge amounts, their last, Truth/Kaze no Mukou e in excess 600K. So now that we’ve determined they are hugely successful, let’s get to their latest single Beautiful days. The thing I immediately like about Beautiful days is that it is unique from the rest of their recent singles which have shown a nice range for fans. While it doesn’t have the immediate infectious hit of Truth, Beautiful days has a charming, pleasant arrangement. It’s easy to listen to and the guys are all sounding pretty nice, it is definitely a genre they excel in. The chorus is particularly likeable, and pretty catchy actually. I was totally getting into it even on the first listen. I’m predicting another huge seller for ARASHI (yes kind of cheating since its two day sales are pretty amazing) … but I would have predicted this 2 days ago too, I swear ;)
Rating: 9/10
MADAYADE Berryz Koubou
Why am I doing a H!P track review in my new release reviews? – There is a very simple reason … I can’t be bothered doing a full review ;) I totally forgot to review Pepper Keibu, so I’m just gonna stick MADAYADE in here or I’ll forget that too. Berryz lately has been on top of the fun, upbeat tracks and I think that is really working for them. MADAYADE is another upbeat, catchy, fun song. I really dig the surf feel to the instrumental and the verses are really cool, especially the Arabian sounding bit (I’m probably the only one who thinks it sounds Arabian but yeah, that bit :P ). I gotta say my tiff with this song is the chorus. While the chorus is undeniably catchy, it’s also really effin annoying. HA HA!! MADA MADA MADA – I can take maybe 15 or 20 MADA’s but after that it starts to get repetitive and boring. Despite this, as a whole it’s a good song, but it doesn’t live up to the previous two singles imo.
Rating: 7/10
Shish Kebab Yuzu
Shish Kebab is Yuzu’s 3rd single of the year, and is the theme for the drama Salary Man Kintaro. I don’t know the duo well, so I don’t have much to say on them. They’ve been around for AGES, I probably should know their stuff, but alas I don’t. I’m going into this blind. So, my first impressions are that it’s a fun, upbeat, endearing song. The shish-shish-ka-bab lines are catchy and really cute (see Berryz, sometimes less is more :p ). The pre-chorus bridge has lines which sound suspiciously similar to some lines from MM’s Da Di Du De Do Da Di! … but it’s probably just me. The song grows really well leading up to the chorus and the instrumental has a nice folky sound to it. Shish Kebab is one of those happy, fun songs that doesn’t take itself too seriously. From the silly chanting to the let loose chorus, it invites you to have a fun time listening.
ORICON ROUNDUP: I'm seeing double this week as ARASHI manages to score two top ten places on the Singles Chart. Their newest single Truth / Kaze no Mukou he scores a massive 468K, rocketing to the top of the chart and eclipsing the record for debut single sales for 2008. The previous highest selling debut was KAT-TUN's DON'T YOU EVER STOP which sold382K back in May. Their last single One Love is the current best-selling single of the year and continues selling, staying put at no.9 this week with another 13K copies sold bringing their total sales to 492K.
Porno Graffitti's Gift debuts at a strong no.2 with 57K while May'n and Nakashima Megumi's collaboration Lion sits at 3rd. Continued strong sales from Southern All Stars and the Fuijioka Fujimaki and Oohashi Nozomi pairing see their respective singles fill out the top 5 while last week's no.1 from SMAP falls down to no.7. Buono!'s newest single Gachinko de Ikoi! debuts at no.6 with 25K, lower than their previous singles but still with decent sales. Satoda Mai's group Aladdin manages to just stay in the top 10 with another 12.5K sales.
~ Deja vu ~
Namie Amuro continues her domination on the Albums Chart with BEST FICTION at no.1 for the 4th straight week. Tokunaga Hideaki's BEST SINGLES album falls one spot, surpassed by Slipknot(USA), while the Detroit Metal City album is at 4th. Saitou Kazuyoshi's SINGLES BEST album jumps up into the top 5 at no.5 while SOFFett's debuts at #10. Chart regulars Koi no Uta and GReeeeN fall out of the top 10 (It was bound to happen eventually) placing at 11th and 14th. Leah Dizon's new album fails to make the top 10 on debut, unfortunately charting at no.16 with a rather average 8.6K.
CHARTS:
Singles: 01. Truth / Kaze no Mukou he ARASHI 467,288 02. Gift Porno Graffitti 57,667 03. Lion May'n / Nakashima Megumi 56,455 04. I AM YOUR SINGER Southern All Stars 30,207 05. Gake no Ue no Ponyo Fuijioka Fujimaki & Oohashi Nozomi 29,331 06. Gachinko de Ikoi Buono! 25,469 07. Kono Toki, Kitto Yume ja Nai SMAP 20,465 08. GIFT Mr.Children 20,338 09. One Love ARASHI 13,374 10. Hi wa, Mata Noboru Aladdin 12,587
Albums: 01. BEST FICTION Amuro Namie 88,335 02. ALL HOPE IS GONE-SPECIAL EDITION- Slipknot 44,888 03. SINGLE BEST Tokunaga Hideaki 43,382 04. Makaiyuugi - for the movie - Detroit Metal City 19,756 05. "Uta Utai 15" SINGLES BEST 1993~2007 Saitou Kazuyoshi 16,018
10. SOFFet BEST ALBUM ~ALL SINGLES COLLECTION~ SOFFet 12,757 11. Koi no Uta (Various Artists) 10,693 14. A, Domo. Ohisashiburi Desu. GReeeeN 10,008 16. Communication!!! Leah Dizon 8,620
NOTE: I've decided to switch the date of the Oricon Articles to the Tuesday release date rather than the previous weekly date which Oricon uses. This is because it tends to create confusion being a week later than the charts are posted and the fact that I have to constantly check since I have no idea how they work it out. Tuesday dates from now on *nods*
sg WANNE BE+ is a Korean trio who have been active since 2004 and (I believe) are making their Japanese debut with this single. GET ALONG TOGETHER is a piano ballad with very impressive vocals. All three of the group's members sound really fantastic with very smooth, emotional voices. The song itself isn't too impressive unfortunately. It's a typical ballad and not something that I would think you would want to kick your career off with in Japan. It isn't overly catchy or unique at all. Just when you think it is lifting it drops back. It's a bit of a teaser to be honest. Lots of potential in this group but this single isn't a winner for me.
Rating: B-
Gift Porno Graffitti
Gift is Porno Graffitti's 25th single and the theme song for Flying Rabbits which unfortunately is not about flying rabbits at all but about basketballer air hostesses instead. What a shame! Now to the song: It has that indy-rock feel which everyone just seems to love in Japan. I'm really liking Okano-kun's vocals, they're nice and unique and obviously fit the genre well (they'd have to by now, eh?) The song has a nice layed back feeling to it without being boring. It reminds me very much of a school/university drama theme, not so much basketballer air hostesses. That doesn't matter much though, I still like it.
Rating: B
Life Goes On CHEMISTRY
CHEMISTRY's newest single is a double A-side with Life Goes On ~Side K~ and ~Side D~.I have absolutely no idea what side K or side D represents and I have no desire to start throwing random guesses about. Life Goes On ~Side K~ is sort of a techno beat dance track, not so dissimilar from the likes of Perfume. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the genre and this track doesn't stand out to me that much. The chorus was pretty good and it was better towards the end. It really isn't my genre though, I've tried to like groups like Perfume and I just can't. sorry. From the ecclectic ~Side K~, Life Goes On ~Side D~ is very laid-back and sombre in comparison. The vocals are quite nice in this song, albeit soft. It's like an acoustic version of the previous track with some strings inserted here and there. I wouldn't say it is any better than the other track, it's different. I guess whichever genre you prefer will be the side you prefer.
Rating: B- for both.
Lion May'n / Nakashima Megumi
Oh yay! An Anime track. I love my Anime openings, they're usually surprisingly good. Lion is a collaboration between May'n (Nakabayashi May) and Nakajima Megumi. It is the Opening theme for Macross Frontier, an anime (well duh!). Lion is a synth driven upbeat track with some light rock and orchestral elements. The song itself is good for what it is, which is a mindless anime tune. It doesn't bring much that hasn't been heard before (over and over and over). The biggest disappointment is that they haven't really utilised both girls. If I didn't know better I would have just assumed it was a single artist with backing vocals. This may be because both artists sound similar, I don't know, but I don't see the point of doing a duet if you can't even tell. The song is catchy, despite its downfalls and is one of those songs that you find yourself humming without even thinking.
Rating: B
Single of the Week
Truth / Kaze no Mukou he ARASHI
Despite scouring the new release charts in a desperate bid to not have a Johnny's song as my Single of the Week, I could not find a better single this week than ARASHI's newest double A-side Truth / Kaze no Mukou he. Coming off the lovey-dovey, sickeningly sweet albeit highly successful One Love, Truth / Kaze no Mukou he is a great change of pace for the boys.
Truth
The song starts off with some dramatic strings and the whole instrumental is very orchestrally inspired which is an automatic winner in my books. The guy's vocals aren't overly impressive (in fact they're surprisingly bad in some bits, especially the lower registry), but they are idols so that can be forgiven. I know I blab on and on about songs needing to be catchy and this one fits the bill in almost all aspects of catchy..ness. It has the infectious "I take your life forever, you take my life forever" lines in the verses; the undeniably brilliant backing vocals in the bridge and a very decent chorus. The second verse and bridge mix it up enough to remain fresh throughout and the instrumental is great. I don't know much about ARASHI but I like this song.
Rating: A-
Kaze no Mukou he
The second single on the track is a mid-tempo Summerish song and it ticks the boxes a Summer song should. Laid back? Tick. Summer influenced instrumental? Tick. Rapping? Tick. Catchy? Tick. Uplifting? Tick. It's another really good song. The vocals on this song are better than the previous, though the range seems much less on this song which may be the reason. The song is a touch repetitive but the chorus is good enough to make up for it and it doesn't even take a full listen for you to already be singing along "Kaze no Mukou he!" whilst bobbing around like an idiot. A top rate Summer track.
Rating: A-
I really enjoy the antithesis of light and shade in these two tracks. From the dramatically moody Truth to the upbeat Kaze no Mukou he. The contrast is wonderful. I'm not sold on the group yet but I do enjoy this single very much. Tracks are on the media player at the top of the blog so have a listen and see if you agree.
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