[news on 浜崎あゆみ]

It's official, Ayumi's mini-abum (still untitled) will be released on November 29 and according to news sources, the album will contain 7 tracks in which 3 of them will be new songs. The confirmed new songs on the album will be "Jewel" and "1Love".

[news on 浜崎あゆみ]

Ayumi Hamasaki, the reigning queen of J-pop, is set to release a new album. To be more accurate, a mini-album around end-November.

This will be Ayumi's second mini-album since "Memorial Address". Some of the songs that are likely to be included in this mini-album are those singles that are released after "(miss)understood" like,

-Startin'
-Born to Be...
-Blue Bird
-Beautiful Fighters
-Ladies Night ~another night~

and also "Jewel" and "1Love" which is not set for release as a single yet.

Watch this space for more.

[single] Keep Tryin' - 宇多田ヒカル

Keep Tryin'-Utada Hikaru

This is, without a question of doubt, Hikki's BEST single since "Final Distance".

Hikki, the one who sold 9 million records of her debut album (she holds the record for the most albums sold in japan), is back with a smashing new single. CD JAPAN says that this single "is set to revolutionize Japan's music industry" and "it is Hikki's best work to date".

Yes, my dear music fanatics, this single is a must hear. In fact, this is one of few Japanese singles that is worth listening over and over again.

This single, sounds very light and breezy, somewhat similar to "traveling" but lighter. Insanely catchy and happy. Furthurmore it provides a positive message to keep on trying.

There is something special about this song, i know it.

It's a die-die must listen song.

Rating: 5/5

[single] 4 Hot Wave - 倖田來未

4 Hot Wave-Koda Kumi

Just two months after the release of "Koi no Tsubomi", Koda decides to spring a huge suprise on us by releasing a quadruple A-side single, hence the name "4 Hot Wave".

This sigle contains 4 A-side singles, namely "With Your Smile", "I'll Be There", "人魚姫" and "JUICY". All 4 songs are strong in their own ways and they are definately worth of being an A-side and i must add that all 4 songs are of different genres.

"With Your Smile" is a very happy, dance-y pop song, "I'll Be There" is a very summer-y, up tempo tune that will put a smile on your face. "人魚姫" is an aggresive rock song, exploding with vigour at every second of the song and "JUICY" sounds very hip-hop/R&B American number.

If ever you need to buy a Koda Kumi single, this will be it. It's edgy, fun and interesting, a breath of fresh air entirely. Kudos to Koda for experimenting with different sounds and genres on this single.

Rating: 4/5

[single] 恋のつぼみ - 倖田來未

Koi no Tsubomi-Koda Kumi

This is Koda's first release after her spree of 12 singles that was released weekly and chart performance-wise, it did relatively well by debuting at Number 2 on the Oricon charts.

Koda sounds very sweet and demure on this song, ditching her slutty/skanky image for once. The song reminds me of a strawberry lollipop, sweet but but not so extreme that it will give you diabetes (read: Morning Musume songs).

All in all, it is a nice single, worth a few spins and that's about it. Not hall of fame material.

Rating: 3/5

[album] Clay Aiken - A Thousand Different Ways

Clay Aiken-A Thousand Different Ways

Well, at the very least, this album is a slight improvement over his last one "Measure Of A Man" which was plainly mediocre.

There is not much faults with this as most of the songs are covers. But the arrangements of some songs are mind-inducing, and the intruments used for some covers are downright weird. Like, "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)", the starting sounds like Pocahantas being infected by the cheena bug.

Still, i do not get the feeling of amazement as i did when he was performing on American Idol. I mean, since the covers he performed on Idol were amazing, i figured the covers that is doing on the album will be amazing too. However, it sounds very toned-down on this album.

Still, this is much better than his debut.

Key tracks: A Thousand Days

Rating: 3/5

[album] B'DAY - Beyoncé

B'DAY-Beyoncé

Sadly, it sounds like Beyoncé is running out of steam on this album. It looks like Beyoncé gave it her all for a debut album and that's why it sounds spectacular. "B'DAY", in comparison, sounds recycled.

Quite a few filler songs on this album and it was kinda obvious. There were songs that were going nowhere musically and the song kinda breezes by without you noticing. That said, there are a few potential hits like "Freakum Dress" and "Green Light", which sounds very, very diva-licious.

One thing that irritated me about the album is the last track, it had 4 different things on that track. Let's see, it had the song "Check On It", a bonus track called "Listen" (off her new movie "Dream Girls"), some commentary by her and the remixed version of "Get Me Bodied". Couldn't they just seperate it out?

Key tracks: Deja Vu, Freakum Dress, Answer

Rating: 3/5

[album] 依然范特西 - 周杰倫 Jay

Still Fantasy - Jay Chou

It's the 7th album of this R&B prince in the mandrin music scene.
And thank god, he finally spits out most of the marbles in his
mouth. You can actually hear him sing properly. I have to say
this is the best he has produced so far other than 11月的蕭邦
[November's Chopin].

Jay decides to play around with 中国风 [chinese music influence]
with the song, 千里之外 which features veteran singer 费玉清,
which may let you wonder if the latter has been the influence of
Jay's sudden clarity in his singing.
Other songs that may just catch your attention include:
迷迭香, classy jazzy.
白色風車, a 一路向北 twin.
菊花台, Ending theme Song for the movie,
Curse of the Golden Flower

Overall, a big well done to Jay but your rapping still needs more work.

Key tracks: 聽媽媽的話, 千里之外, 本草綱目, 退後, 心雨, 迷迭香

Rating: 4/5

[single] Blue Bird - 浜崎あゆみ

Blue Bird-Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi's 40th single, after "Startin'/Born To Be...", generated a lot of hype saying that it was Ayumi's top form.

Upon listening to it, i was wondering who was creating all the unfounded hype. It's nothing like Ayumi's top form, fans should be well aware that Ayumi's top form equals to songs like "M", "Fly High" And "Evolution". "Blue Bird" is nowhere near there.

However so, this single is a general improvement over last single. "Blue Bird" sounds like "fairyland" and i hated that song, but thankfully, i kinda dig "Blue Bird". It sounds very summer-like and poppy, it also sounds very safe and typical.

"Beautiful Fighters", a B-side, sounds like Ayumi on an overdose of helium singing the song Ai Otsuka-style while empowering women everywhere. Catchy, but too hearing it too much might just make you hate the song.

Rating: 3/5

[single] Startin'/Born To Be... - 浜崎あゆみ

Startin'/Born To Be...-Ayumi Hamasaki

This is Ayumi's first single after the release of her latest album "(miss)understood". This single topped the charts on the Oricon charts (Japan's Billboard) after her previous single "Bold & Delicious/Pride" almost did not make it to Number 1, threatening the end of her consecutive Number 1 singles.

Chart performances aside, this single is nothing to go crazy about. Even as an Ayu-fan, i will have to be honest to say that i'm not too impressed with this. "Startin'" starts off really strong with the beats and synthesizers but when it came to the vocals part, it seems that her voice was drowned out by the beats. And it doesn't help that the PV (promotional video) was hard to watch, it was too Britney-esque and the butterfly sunnies have to go, Ayu.

"Born To Be..." scores slightly better than "Startin'", at least it feels a bit like a diva song and it is definitely worth a few more spins than "Startin'".

Overall, the single satisfys but packs no punch.

Rating: 3/5

[single] Something Kinda Ooh - Girls Aloud

Something Kinda Ooh-Girls Aloud

Girls Aloud broke into the music scene with a big bang, which was reasonable cause at that point of time, they just won POPSTARS: RIVALS over the other boyband One True Voice (One what? Indeed). Anyways, they had a string of top 3 hits untill recently where their popularity took a serious tumble.

Now, armed with a greatest hits album to be released soon and teasing us with this brand new single. "Something" sounds great, the beats are little heavier and it sounds edgier than usual, it's catchy even.

Girls Aloud is back to full form on this one. You might even think that this is one of their earlier works.

Rating: 3/5

[single] Come to Me - P. Diddy featuring Nicole Scherzinger

Come to Me-P. Diddy featuring Nicole Scherzinger

P. Diddy is probably more well-known for his extravagant parties more than anything else. Besides putting up great parties, he is also pretty good in coming up hits.

I knew i was going to like this song even before i heard it, and i do like it. This is a pretty smashin' song, the rapping by Diddy isn't too in your face (which is good, as there are too many Eminem and 50 cent wannabes) and best of all, it features the vocals of Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls (the only one in the group who doesn't look like a tranny).

And true blue Diddy style, the song exudes class and glam.

Rating: 3.5/5

[single] GLAMOUROUS SKY - NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA

GLAMOUROUS SKY-NANA starring MIKA NAKASHIMA

This time, Mika Nakashima is playing the role of NANA in the movie "NANA". But make no mistakes, she was a singer long before she did "NANA" unlike Yuna Ito, who was a new comer (both singing and acting).

For those who know Mika's songs before she did NANA, you would know that her songs are very sombre, jazzy-pop. Then came "GLAMOUROUS SKY" where she shocked (in a good way) everyone by rocking out. In fact, this is Mika's first Number 1 on the Oricon charts before being kicked off by Ayumi Hamasaki.

Upon hearing the song, i was truly suprised by Mika's ability to rock all out. The song is pretty swell as it composed by HYDE of L'Arc~en~Ciel. I like the way Mika handled the song, she did not go all pretentious by lowering her voice or screaming like a possessed school girl, but she did the song her way. Bravo to that!

With that said, i won't say that "GLAMOUROUS SKY" is a effing great song, but it is worth a listen.

Rating: 3.5/5

[single] ENDLESS STORY - REIRA starring YUNA ITO

ENDLESS STORY-REIRA starring YUNA ITO

Please do not confuse her with the other Reira from OLIVIA. Ok, in actual fact, they are both playing the same person. Yuna Ito here, is starring as Reira for the movie version of "NANA", OLIVIA, however is only channelling Reira to sing the theme songs for the anime only.

Now we got that sorted out, Yuna Ito is a breath of fresh air. Powerful vocals and a clear voice, furthurmore, she is pretty. "ENDLESS STORY" is a great ballad, perfect for Ito's voice and the good thing is, the ballad isn't cheesy at all. I must admit that "ENDLESS STORY" does not sound like what TRAPNEST would do untill i heard the ending of the song where the guitars kick in.

The B-side for this single is also worth mentioning, "Journey" is a very upbeat, light and poppy song. Very catchy as well.

A must listen!

Rating: 4/5

[album] Heart & Symphony - 島谷ひとみ

Heart & Symphony-Hitomi Shimatani

Sadly, Shimatani's 5th album contains more ballads than upbeat numbers, which is pretty dissapointing as i prefer her to do upbeat tracks although the titles of her songs might get too exotic sometimes.

All in all, the album can be a little boring and the only track that is worth repeating is probably "Falco -ファルコ-", which coincidentally is the best track off the album. The only other song that i vaguely enjoyed is "真昼の月", it is nice ballad-y song, albeit boring.

This album release also comes with a DVD, which i thought might be worth watching. But i was wrong, the show goes on and on about the commentary of each individual song. The progress was going so slow that i decided to switch my DVD player off.

Try again Shimatani, you are capable of better albums.

Key tracks: Falco -ファルコ-

Rating: 2.5/5

[single] a little pain - OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

a little pain-OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

You may have noticed the similarity in titles for this and the previous entry. This is because "a liitle pain" is the ending theme for the anime "NANA". And this time, Olivia Lufkin is channeling Reira (anime character from the band TRAPNEST) to bring this great song.

I prefer "a little pain" to the lacklustre "rose" because the song is amazingly good. I was hooked on that song for a week and it is among the most played song in my music library.

Anyways, "a little pain" starts off slow as a ballad, by the time it reaches the chorus, it has progressed to a light rock ballad-y song. A song that is worth listening again and again.

Rating: 4.5/5

[single] rose - ANNA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES)

rose-ANNA inspi' NANA (BLACK STONES)

"rose" is actually the opening theme to the anime "NANA" and it seems that Tsuchiya Anna is suppose to channel NANA (the leading character in the anime). Hence, what you get is a very rock song. Well, it was kinda obvious as BLACK STONES equals to rock songs.

On first listen, it might seem that the song rocks out aimlessly and mindlessly, but hearing it again for a few more times, i actually like it. With that said, it is an OK song, and it is nothing to wow about.

One good thing to note is that, there are no traces of engrish when she rocks out in english. Which is highly commendable as most japanese artises succumb to the deep pits of engrish.

Kudos to Anna for that.

*As this is a single, there will be no key tracks for it*

Rating: 3/5

[album] Nelly Furtado - Loose

Nelly Furtado-Loose

Ok, it's official. Nelly Furtado is like the biggest thing in music for 2006. I mean she is like everywhere! After her will be Gnarls Barkley with the infectious hit "Crazy".

Reverting back, Nelly Furtado returns to planet pop, bigger than ever. This release contains two of the most biggest hits of 2006, "Promiscous" and "Maneater", which i must add, went on to be Number 1 in the UK and US. The album debuted at Number 1 on the US Billboard charts.

Album-wise, it is ok. It is very sex-driven pop record with heavy beats and quite a few collaborations. You might even think that Kanye West produced this album (which is not by the way). I must say that Furtado made a good move to do more hip-hop-esque songs on the album and veering away from the styles of her previous two releases "Whoa, Nelly!" and "Folklore".

In my opinion, her ballads are the one that scores (take a listen to "Try" and you will know what i mean) and on "Loose", there is one ballad, namely "In God's Hands". The song does not make you go WOW like "Try", but this album is filled with so many beat-driven songs that you appreciate the ballads and you might actually think that the song is good, however, it is only mediocre.

Still, an enjoyable album.

Key tracks: Maneater, Promiscous

Rating: 3/5

[album] Continuum - John Mayer

Continuum-John Mayer

John Mayer returns with a third LP called "Continuum". When compared to his previous 2 albums, this sounds more mature and slightly darker with his lyrics. But i'm not saying that it is a bad album, in fact, this album is far better than his previous effort "Heavier Things".

First single off the album, "Waiting on the World to Change" delivers a meaningful message, one particular phrase that stands out from that song is "It's hard to beat the system, when we are standing at a distance". I can't say that he is a lyrical genius, but he is on his way there.

However, those who are not fans of Mayer should probably stay away from this album as you might find it a tad bit boring and you might find it a bit foreign, trying listening to his first LP "Room for Squares".

For those who love Mayer and how his music progresses, you will sure fall in love with this release. The best John Mayer record to date. "Vultures" is probably the catchiest song on the album but my personal favourite is "In Repair" where Mayer sings about coming out of depression after a failed relationship. Pensieve but so good.

Key tracks: Waiting on the World to Change, Gravity, In Repair

Rating: 4.5/5

[album] HOME - アンジェラ・アキ

HOME-Angela Aki

Before she sang the theme song for "Final Fantasy XII", she was a indie artise with a enormous amount of potential who needed to big break to get in to the japanese market. Put Nobuo Uematsu into a picture and you have a big star.

Angela Aki's album is nothing short of perfection, each song is sung with extreme emotions and oomph. Every song on this album is writtened and composed by her, not to mention she plays the piano, guitar, violin and drums. It seems like she came out of nowhere and wows everyone with her talent.

She didnt debut at Number 2 on the oricon charts for nothing, if it is not for Utada Hikaru's "Ultra Blue", she would have debuted at Number 1.

There is virtually nothing to say bad of the album, each song is a pleasure to listen to. One song to take note of is "Your Love Song", which in my opinion, brings the album to a climatic end. The song features Angela's voice and her piano and thats it. That song is what talent is all about and it features one full minute of piano playing.

Just keep her name in your head, she is bound for greater things.

Key tracks: Your Love Song, This Love, お願い (onegai)

Rating: 4.6/5

Orientation

Welcome to the the reviewer blog.

Hello, kenneth here, doing the reviews on this blog.

As many of you might know, i'm a huge fan of music and thus, it is only right that i review some of the CDs that i have.

My CD collection contains mainly english and japanese CDs and so i will most likely do reviews on them. Please note that i will also review albums that are not so recent.

I will reviewing albums, singles and probably music videos as well (see how it goes) and they will be based on "upon 5" rating, where 5 is full marks.

Anyways, this will be my first post so get everyone familiar with my blog.

Enjoy!