The Koda Kumi Rate PART I: The End. Onto the next part we go

evilsin

evilsin

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40 (3 track tie) life
Average: 7,18

Highest score: 9x3 (@Sprockrooster, @mi|kshake, @Remorque)
Lowest score: 5x1 (@BoomBoX)
My score: 7​

Another pure b-side leaves us. This time it's life from Kiseki single. Produced by Kim Hiroshi of AVANT GARDE (Kumi's Shake It Up, BoA's MEGA STEP and EXPECT, a few of hitomi's songs (Japanese Girl!!!)) and written by Kuu, the track is about well, life, I guess. More specifically the theme of moving on is present, something happened, life happened, and Kumi had to part ways with the person she's singing about, but she will always remember them. Sonically the song is quite melodic, especially in the chorus, one of her strongest, still overlooked due to being only a b-side. Thinking back it does sound reminiscent of her first album, don't you find?

@RUNAWAY (8) is pleased, "yas! this song is great! Definitely should have made the album over Through the sky." But Through the sky is great as well! Our highest-amount-of-points-awarder @Sprockrooster wasn't sure if he was listening to the right track, "That video is very artsy; not sure what is going on with those masks and floating, but she looks damn gorgeous." Once again I had to disappoint Sprocky with the fact that he had mistaken the song for WALK OF MY LIFE. BUT SHE DOES LOOK GORGEOUS! Oh well, it didn't really sway his score anyway, "Loving the prominent background singers in the chorus." Glad you've liked both tracks, even though you will be able to rate WALK OF MY LIFE properly only in Part IV. And our pro-life (?) activist @send photo (7,5) proclaims, "life rots like amniotic fluids". Preach, sis.
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As you might imagine, there is only a Spotify link for this one.
Because life is life.
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evilsin

evilsin

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(speaking of ties, ehehe)
40 (3 track tie) Nasty girl
Average: 7,18

Highest score: 9x1 (@Remorque)
Lowest score: 6x1 (@Ceir)
My score: 7​

grow into one hasn't lost anything in 10 places... so here we go! Nasty girl was produced by shifo and Hibino Genki (Kibun Jou Jou↑↑ by mihimaruGT!!!) and was one of the 4 songs written on the album by Kumi. The track is a laid back yet groovy number with some distinguishable elements like harmonica that makes it quite unique in Kuu's discography. Lyrically this one is confusing though. With a name like that you would expect a sleazy bop about all the naughty things she would do to her lover... and we're getting a run-of-the-mill "you're so nice to me and make me love you so much" thing (almost Lick me♥ teas, kii!). Maybe there is some reverse psychology at play here? There are some lines in the wake of "Forgive me for taking it slow, it's because I like you so much" and "Forgive me for touching so lightly, but I'll show you, keep looking", so perhaps Kumi is a nasty girl, but that guy is just so dreamy she just melts in his arms and can't really show him exactly how nasty she is. If it so, then she's a genius. Although even if it isn't she's still a genius. Shut it.

Anywho...

Y'all didn't say much about this one, so I did instead. Let's just get over with the obvious. Looks like @send photo (7) changed his stance to pro-choice (?), "Nasty amniotic fluids". Okay. And @Sprockrooster (8) was impressed, "Kind of a massive and captivating intro." It surely is.​

Another forgotten to never be performed track.​
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evilsin

evilsin

And it's almost the end of Sunday...




















































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39 One night romance
Average: 7,21

Highest score: 10x1 (@RUNAWAY)
Lowest score: 5x3 (@Sprockrooster, @BoomBoX, @lalaclairi_)
My score: 7​

Let us resume after a bit of a bender on my part... Ahem. grow into one loses yet another track. This time it's the one produced by the mid-tempo bop genius Daisuke "D.I." Imai and written by him as well. It's officially the first song he created for Kuu. The R'n'B number that has all of the elements of an early 2000's bop is, as you can guess, about a one night stand, although here we have a bit of hope that this particular encounter would turn out into something more serious. Despite Kumi not writing this one, she sounds quite emotive about the midnight shindig she got herself into. Speaking of lyrics, I really like how D.I. described lust in the first chorus:​

One night romance
The night draws us in and we sink into it
The lust we’ve unleashed wraps around us, destroying everything in its path
(c) kiwi-musume

Two of you who wrote commentary for this one drew comparisons to some other pop divas. @Monkey0 (9) crawled out of his cave for this, "It has iconic “yeah yeah yeah” line! Subtle homage to Britney." You know, I never notice until you pointed that out. The top scorer @RUNAWAY is impressed beyond contempt, "all I wrote in my notes is "J-Lo bop 2000's realness harpsichord sounds" and that's pretty much spot on. It's awesome." I can here a bit of JLo in One night romance, not gonna lie.​

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evilsin

evilsin

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38 So Into You
Average: 7,25

Highest score: 10x1 (@RUNAWAY)
Lowest score: 5x1 (@Ceir)
My score: 7,5​

This round affection loses another single. So Into You was produced by Yasuhiro Abe (misono's Hot Time, kii!) and written by Kumi. The track, as you might guess from the title, is about being very much in love with someone and wanting to go anywhere with that person. Another slice of pop/R'n'B of the early 2000's variety, the song has quite the hook in the chorus' first line that grips me every single time, although I still don't find it any better then her other singles from this era.

Our affection-commentary-submitter @Remorque (7) has some valid critisism, "Quite serviceable. About the video though... Her producers needed to learn what a good radio edit is and the girl haself needs to learn to lip-synch for ha motherfucking life. /kthxbai" As far as I know "radio edits" aren't really a thing in Japan. Funnily enough when I watched my first Kumi music video I thought she couldn't lip-sync as well. Although it wasn't as jarring after I watched it more. @Weslicious (7) is as brief as he is brusque, "The worst of this albums singles, but not terrible." Maybe it is, maybe it's not. At the same time @Sprockrooster (8) is grooving, "Ooh very RnB-lushy and smooth." Let's leave the top-scorer (again!) @RUNAWAY for the curtain call and a bit of juicy statistiques, "Love this absolute jam of a song. Hate that this one flopped even harder than most of her other songs. Yeah it charted higher than TAKE BACK, but it only sold 5,000 copies TOTAL. It deserved better." People are stupid, Leslie.​

Here's an early live from 2003!
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O

otenkiame

I'm so sad I found out about this too late! I totally wanted to participate ;;
Oh well, I'll wait for the second part while enjoying the rankings~
 
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