The J-pop scene is busy this summer and Koda Kumi is no exception. I personally find that her singles are getting better as of late. So is this another hit or is it simply another piece of trash Avex is trying to get money off of?

SINGLE:

1. FREAKY: Of course, being the a-side, FREAKY is the strongest of all. Interestingly, this is more urban rather than pop. Has Japan outgrown pop? Anyways, it has a punk attitude and proves itself to be a worthy single when combined with Koda Kumi’s wonderful vocals. Especially the beginning and ending notes she hits. It’s almost reminscient of Christina Aguilera. I think of Koda Kumi as a Japanese Christina Aguilera sometimes actually.

2. Sora: It seems as if every artist has to have at least one called Sora. Seriously. And like others, this song is pretty forgettable. I guess it’s supposed to be a cutesy, relaxing, summer song but it failed. Next.

3. Run for Your Life: Like the song title, this song is pretty funky. It’s not as loud and crazy as I thought it would be but the chorus is still fun and catchy. But I don’t like Koda Kumi’s rapping. Seriously. It sounds like something like a drunk eight-year-old would do. But luckily the song emphasis is not on her rapping which makes it a pretty good listen.

4. girls: This song wouldn’t be that bad if it wasn’t a complete RIP-OFF of With your smile. I mean I liked With your smile but I don’t wanna hear release another single just like it. It’s like avex is saying “Hay guys let’s save on money and re-use this single from last year and make more money”. Thank god this is NOT the a-side.

So overall this balances out to be an okay single that could have been great with some of the mediocre b-sides taken out. Luckily, FREAKY has possibly the greatest Koda Kumi PV ever to back it up.

PV:

The PV was nothing short of amazing. I think it has been my favorite PV from her. I was really surprised because I was expecting a much more scandalous PV from looking at the CD + DVD cover of this single. Instead, this PV proved that Koda Kumi doesn’t need any scandals to stand out with the overall confident atmosphere, powerful coreography, and Kuu’s elegance. Oh and the blonde hair and her pretty nails don’t hurt.

Like many of Koda Kumi’s other PVs, this incorporates a story and isn’t just random singing and dancing. This starts out with Kuu sitting in a chair talking to what I guess is a gangster and getting restrained by a bunch of body guards. However, after being restrained for the million time, she finally disappears without a trace.

She then reappears wearing a gangster punks. A bunch of body guards come and as she braces herself, but then she laughs when she realizes its her friends. Then after some dancing, the real bodyguards come out and they attempt to spar (I say attempt because it was pretty obvious that none of them knew anything about martial arts obviously). I guess she eventually defeats the generic because she’s seen walking out with a smile on her face.

Overall this was a really good PV. The setting reminded me of her Love goes like… PV (which I will eventually review) but it has a lot more spunk. I’m glad Koda Kumi is improving as an artist and I hope to hear more from her.

Tags: japanese, jpop, koda kumi, music

Category: Japan

I believe myself~