[Koda Kumi] The 207th Thread - Take a Walk in the Summer of '21

[Corvina]

Upcoming

Spoiler:

Kuu made a bunch of announcements in her FC limited live stream on September 3rd, Kuu day!

First of all, we're getting another book release: a photo style book!
B5 size, 128 pages, called WALK, release November 13th, her birthday.
Price: 2,420 Yen.



Cover


Contents:
- special FLOWER shooting
- her 20 year career history
- clothes snaps
- talk about love and marriage
- stories about producing songs, writing lyrics and doing lives
- 93 questions from fans
- Kuu x Misono sister talk
- private photos from friends and family
- Kuu's future plans
... and more.

Her FCs are getting a special limited box of it called XXKK.
It contains the style book, a special beauty book and a 2022 calendar!

Cover


Beauty book


In it Kuu is sharing her wedding ceremony for the first time!
The happy story about it as well as private photos like e.g. of her wedding dress.
Also including her make up and how she does it as well as a complete face and body chart of her, 48 pages complete.

Calendar


32 pages, ring style, it includes quotes and motivating words from Kuu as well as of-shots from the style book.
The box costs 13,200 Yen altogether.

2nd announcement is a 21st anniversary live event in December!



3 dates:
December 3rd and December 4th at Zepp Tokyo before it closes.
December 6th at Tokyo Toyosu Pit

There will be no live stream of it.
Kuu's really sorry about this decision, cause it's only Tokyo.

But instead they're doing a FC limited birthday live streaming!



There's also going to be an original Koda Gumi birthday cake you can order for a certain time period.



Kuu is also rehearsing a pair dance choreography with her dancer Achi for an upcoming new song.

Profile

Spoiler:

Stage Name: Koda Kumi / 倖田來未
Real Name: Koda Kumiko / 神田來未子
Birthdate: 13 November 1982 (Showa 57)
Height: 154 cm / 5'0"
Blood Type: A
Hometown: Kyoto
Hobbies: shopping, miscellaneous goods
Favorite Sport: Squash
Favorite Music: HIP HOP
Special dish (to make): meat and potatoes
Favorite words: Ichi-go ichi-e (translated "for this time only," "never again" or "one chance in a lifetime")
Favorite color: green and purple
Favorite Season: Summer
Favorite DVD: はねるのトびら - You knock on a jumping door!
Favorite brand: D & G / H · A · K
Favorite food: pancake / 100% fruit juice / Perrier
Favorite Japanese music artists: Yonekura Toshinori / Sukima Switch
Favorite Western artists: Christina Aguilera / NELLY / PINK / Pharrell Williams
Indispensable thing: Love
Favorite place of my body: the "korikori" of her waist
Something surprising about me: No smoking, no alcohol
Can't forgive: lies and deception
Feats: Speaking until her voice is hoarse

Links

Spoiler:

→ Official Website
→ Official Instagram
→ Official Facebook
→ Official Twitter (Staff)
→ Official Youtube Channel
→ Official Global Fanclub

→ Official Perfume site
→ Official Color Contact Lens Series loveil
→ Official Fake Lash Series LOVE CHÉRIE

[Corvina]

It's flying-get-day for the Summer of '21 single!


Pic thanks to KK93 on Twitter


Pic thanks to @s_chan_LiSAkko on Twitter





The three digital single covers are included as jacket size cards in the single.

------------------------------------

Kuu's skincare brand Hemmy K. is now officially available on amazon!
Looks like it's doing well.

https://rhythmzone.net/koda/news/detail.php?id=1094155

Btw. the Hemmy K. staff shared on Insta where the name is coming from.
It's derived from the name of the first queen of Japan, Himiko, who reigned over the first Japanese state Yamatai from the Yayoi till the Kofun time period.

[KarenPang]

to be free PV preview

https://twitter.com/KODAKUMINET/stat...02818558685184

[_XXKK_]

cute

[Toniayu123]

The cover and tittle of the single are not the best, but the packaging makes it look good. Never saw anything like that.

[thinkingoutloud89]

the back would have been a better cover.

[minkAYuko]

I just got it! the cd it's inside the LP type package! that's so hot!

Originally Posted by thinkingoutloud89

the back would have been a better cover.

omg yes!, just the logo with her name! anything else u_u

[Corvina]

to be free is a very summery and quiet song, like a summer evening.
The verses are great!

Composer is T-SK, lyrics by Kuu.
T-SK did OMG as well e.g.
So all three songs of this single are written by Japanese.
(ok, WBO had an international team, but the main composer is Japanese with Atsushi Shimada )

[junniorkopke]

Originally Posted by Corvina

It's flying-get-day for the Summer of '21 single!


Pic thanks to KK93 on Twitter


Pic thanks to @s_chan_LiSAkko on Twitter





The three digital single covers are included as jacket size cards in the single.

The package is amazing, but this cover UGH. Even the back cover without any text would be better.

to be free is my favorite song from this project, can't wait for the mv tomorrow. ♥

[kaled kalil]

Pretty much every picture from this project would be a better cover than the actual one.

I'm waiting for the PV to listen to the new song, which seems to be just a beauty shot and I don't mind.

[KarenPang]

to be free PV



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Qf2V5ZcF8

[kaled kalil]

The song is cute, but it kinda goes nowhere? It sounds like a demo that is missing the final part, it's just: verse 1, chorus, verse 2, repeat chorus. The lyrics are very nice tho.

As for the composers, this is the complete list: T-SK, ADAM YARON, Imad Eljattari, Luigi Nabuurs, Pascal Oorts.

Overall SUMMER OF '21 (argh, what an awful name...) is a solid single, but of all of her summer singles it's one of the weakest. 4 hot wave = 4 TIMES > FREAKY > Gossip Candy = 3 SPLASH > HOTEL > Summer Trip > MOON = SUMMER OF '21.

Eh Yo / Summer Time / DO ME would be a better summer single. As for that matter even XXKK / Lucky Star / puff would be a better single.

[Gustavopc]

Overall I agree with Kaled about the song, feels like something is missing. The video is okay, not bad but not great either, but I'm glad they shot it.

Now I'll be looking forward to that new video with the dance routine, wonder if a OMG ~episode II~ is coming up

[Corvina]

Originally Posted by kaled kalil

As for the composers, this is the complete list: T-SK, ADAM YARON, Imad Eljattari, Luigi Nabuurs, Pascal Oorts.

Saw that, too, but I've bought the song yesterday and in the official.song description only T-SK is listed (he's also the producer).
So I wonder how much the others actually did.

I'd love to get OMG II with a proper dance routine and a video.
Or another Is This Trap?, T-SK wrote that song as well.

[kaled kalil]

T-SK most likely reworked the original demo and produced the final song considering he's the only one from UFCreators there, but it's hard to know. I like most of his work, overall we got a lot of good songs with him involved, XXX, SHOW ME YOUR HOLLA, OMG, DO ME, IS THIS TRAP and so on. It's a pity that to be free is missing something extra imo.

One thing good is that the song is very clear, I saw someone comparing this to No One and I still can't enjoy that song from how weirdly noisy it is.

[Corvina]

Yes, it's hard to tell, but I think if it's demos Kuu bought and reworked, the original record company of the composers/producers is listed in the credits (just like with covers).
Here's a quick example with SHUTOUT/ Livin' La Vida what I mean:

Spoiler:

"Original" songs (non-demo) written for and with Kuu don't have that.
All T-SK songs are among that.
UFC has a couple of Swedish writers in their team, so might be they also write together with non-UFC composers as freelancers.
DO ME e.g. was written by T-SK and Hiromi (both UFC) and a third person.
And there are Swedish and Nordic composer teams writing for the Asian market/ Asian artists only.

And yes, if it wasn't clear already, he is one of my favourites, too!

[KuuXAyu-fan]

To Be Free debuts at #7 on Recochoku daily chart and #19 on Line streaming daily chart.

Nice to see the song doing well!

[KarenPang]

Amazon Music Japan promoting to be free in Shibuya

https://twitter.com/KODAKUMINET/stat...98621585219584

Yakult CM featuring KAT-TUN's Kame besides Kuu , xD

[ILoveGeniuses]

Does anyone have the instrumentals of We'll Be OK, DBDB & to be free?

[Zeke.]

To be free is is one of the very few songs I love from her in the past 10 years. HUSH is the only other one that stands out in my mind (maybe 1-2 more if I really think on it but nothing top of mind for me).

This song is super chill and yet feels complete. It’s the kind of song you put on to relax, sit down, have a drink, watch the sun. It’s cleansing.