Quote:
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Originally Posted by mishidabo
have you ever heard real j-rock by a female.. ?
i think you havent
Cheers-
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Neither have you if you think ningyo hime is actually "raw"... haha, i don't think so.
aikawa nanase, cocco, that's raw. In my opinion, ayu's able to pull off rock-ish songs because her voice is perfect for the material... kumi is more r&b-friendly and should stick to that kind of music.
sorry kumi fans, but i think it's "pathetic" for kumi to release a "rock" song in a major single when her musical style is clearly pop r&b and has always been heading in that direction. she should stay true to herself with stuff like "i'll be there" and "juicy" and quit the "rock" stuff...
my review:
ningyo-hime - If i heard this song and didn't know who sang it, then i probably would have liked it more. sorry, knowing that kumi koda sang this, i just can't reconcile the song with her image... this style is not for her, and the song doesn't come across as authentic, looking back at all the music she has released so far... I think she should have waited until her music progressed toward a more rock style to release this single and not just allow avex to dictate what kind of music she should release. you can't expect people to believe you're in charge of the direction your music takes if you go from the 12 weeks of xmas singles to koi no tsubomi to ningyo-hime. what the f...?
score 2/5 (should be 4/5 but i subtracted for the above reasons...)
i'll be there - perfect song for kumi. best song in the single, in my opinion... this is the kind of music kumi should be making. j-pop at its best. this song also has the best verse and arrangement in the single. the bit before the chorus with someone singing "i'll be there for you" in the background is the best piece of music kumi has ever made.
score 5/5
juicy - sounds too much like candy to convince me... but this is the kind of music kumi does best... even though it's a music style i don't like. it is in these kinds of songs that she is able to use her voice the best...but as an R&B-type song, it's pretty generic. she has better R&B-type songs than this, like D.D.D.
score 2.5/5 (trying to be as objective as possible)
with your smile - a really fun, light-as-a-feather song, would have been more fun if not for the horrible "smile me" bit. this song has the best chorus in the single. and, like "i'll be there", this is the perfect style for kumi...
score 5/5
overall, i hate the inclusion of ningyo-hime in this single... and it had to be the first song! unfortunately, it makes it seem as if kumi is just a puppet in the strings of avex, no offense. She should stay true to the kind of music she wants to make (she mentions how she's been heavily influenced by R&B), and not just allow avex to dictate how her career goes... this would have been an excellent single without ningyo-hime, and I might have begun to respect kumi more, but as it is...
overall: 14.5/20 = C