ORICON ROUNDUP

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 Oda Kazumasa 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 back to reviewing after missing out on last week's new releases. I didn't really have the time last week, and none of the releases sparked much of an interest in me so I just didn't bother ... sorry!

Anyway - onto this week's new releases:

Anata to ayaka X KOBUKURO

This ballad is the second collaboration between ayaka and KOBUKORO. It is a beautiful song and ayaka's vocals mix well with the KOBUKURO boys. Unfortunately, the song suffers from not being totally memorable and though pretty it just doesn't have that lasting appeal for me. I'm very particular on my ballads, so others may like this and I'm not disputing that it is a good song, but just not a favorite of mine. Also, while a different style, I don't think it's as good as last year's collaborative effort.

Rating: 7/10

The Birthday ~Ti Amo~ EXILE

EXILE's new track, is the birth of something called Chapter 1. I'm not certain what that means but I can only assume Chapter 2 is sure to follow (2 comes after 1, right?) The PV for this song is pretty incredible (check it out if you can find it - Nazi Avex have pretty much removed it from existance on the net), but the song itself isn't as great unfortunately. It suffers from a very laid back style which makes it sound like elevator music or something. There is no real variation or growth in the song. It's nice and could have been really good but it's a bit bland.

Rating: 6.5/10

Can't Stop The Disco Suzuki Ami

Suzuki Ami's new track is a techno/pop dance song with synth vocals. I'm not a fan of the genre and this song doesn't change my opinion. I'm not certain if Suzuki usually synthesizes her vocals (the few tracks of her's I've heard in the past haven't had synth vocals) but I personally feel the song would have been better with normal vocals. Apart from this, the chorus is OK and the beat is pretty decent.

Rating: 6.5/10

POLARIS no Namida Onsoku LINE

POLARIS no Namida is a new ballad from Onsoku LINE and though I do somewhat enjoy it, it's bland with a capital B. It's almost like they toned down what could have been an amazing chorus just so that it would be very laid back and I think that ruins the song. Bland chorus = bland song. Nice backround music, though.

Rating: 5.5/10

Sayonara Baby/Koi Shiteru Kato Miliyah

Kato's new double A-side features the upbeat Sayonara Baby and the happy-go-lucky Koi Shiteru.
Sayonara Baby is a mid tempo dance track. This song is actually pretty good; better than I had expected it to be. It's not hugely memorable but it's a good dance track with a catchy chorus and good vocals.
Koishiteru on the other hand is a fun, poppy song but I have to admit, I find the chorus REALLY annoying. It repeats throughout (obviously) which makes me unable to like this track. Even if I did like the chorus, the whole thing is still nothing special... at all.

Rating: Sayonara Baby: 7.5/10 ~ Koi Shiteru: 4.5/10

Walk Over the Rainbow SHAKALABBITS

Walk Over the Rainbow is a funky, pop/rock track with some strange vocals. The vocalist's voice is really odd and will probably put some people off but I do think she provides the interest in this song- without the vocals it would be a mess. Hmm... Despite this, it doesn't leave much of an impression on me at all.

Rating: 5.5/10

Single of the Week

Sekai wa Odoru/Shakunetsu BREAKERZ

DAIGO's group BREAKERZ have begun branching out into singles territory after a couple of albums last year and had moderate success (top 10) with their first single SUMMER PARTY/LAST EMOTION. Their second single Sekai wa Odoru/Shakunetsu offers more of the cool, rocky edge that is seeing them continue to grow in popularity.

Sekai wa Odoru

Sekai wa Odoru opens with some really beautiful strings and bursts straight into the chorus which is the highlight of this track for me. The chorus is quite catchy and DAIGO's vocals are pretty awesome. While the verses lack the punch of the chorus, they provide a nice contrast of energy and allow that all important growth that I'm always harping on about. The instrumental is really great with the inclusion of strings in the rock track. There isn't a bridge in this track, the group instead opting for a guitar solo which was a good choice (though both could have been accommodated I suppose). The solo leads on to a really soft chorus, beautifully sung over a nice simple piano instrumental which then launches back into the rocky chorus. I really love how the rock song slowly fades out as the strings are reintroduced to close out the song; It's a really lovely ending.

Shakunetsu



Shakunetsu is a bit more hard and rough compared to Sekai wa Odoru, which is a great contrast of rock styles for this single. It is the Japanese theme song for Wanted (starring Angelina Jolie, among others). Interestingly, compared with the previous track, I find the verses in this song to be the strongest factor. They're really catchy, with a dark moodiness and DAIGO's vocals are once again, very good. The pre-chorus builds really well to the high-energy chorus which is great but short. I really like how DAIGO sings this song, he puts everything into his vocals and the final note of the chorus is great! Once again, there is a rock instrumental section of the song which leads onto the final choruses.

I think the thing I enjoy most about BREAKERZ is that their songs really do feel like they are done by a group, rather than a DAIGO solo song. This is difficult to accomplish with such a popular frontman, but the rock instrumentals and guitar solos allow the other two members their time to shine. The more intricate style of Sekai wa Oduru matches well with the uninhibited Shakunetsu and the single makes a lot of sense as a double a-side.

Rating: Sekai wa Oduru: 8/10 ~ Shakunetsu: 8/10