The Koda Kumi Rate PART II: WE'RE DONE, for now

Okay, so after checking the PMs it looks like I did make the mistake in the spreadsheet, so I'm gonna have to adjust the scores tonight, when I get back from work. Mess. We'll see how feel's position changes. So sorry, guys.

Or at least Top30, yes.

WOO-HOO! I wish I could go faster though. I will try to do more eliminations over the weekend, still we are going to the movies to see the new Ant-Man, so I probably shouldn't make any promises.

 

I didn't expect "feel" to do well, but was secretly hoping you guys would come through for it. Leaving before even the Top 30 is a travesty.

 

here for feel jumping up even 1 spot, come thru that 8

 

GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!

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40
feel

Average: 7,58



Dear God, please let me not fuck this up again...​

 

FEEL IS TOP 40 YAS

 

44
(TIE)
Lies

Average: 7,45
Highest score: 10x1 (@Remorque) 9x5 (@RUNAWAY, @Cutlery, @EachSmallStep, @ThisIsRogue, @lalaclairi_)
Lowest score: 2x1 (@yuuurei, whut?) 5x1 (@aaronhansome)
My score: 8,5​

Now I would say that Best ~second session~ just keeps on losing the songs... but we all know now that I fucked up! So here's to another lovely single leaving us. Lies was released as the 5th single in the 12-in-12 and was produced by YANAGIMAN (who worked with god knows how many Japanese artists) and written by Kumi. The song is a bouncy R'n'B number propelled forward by a quirky guitar. I really like this, it's very straight forward in it's sound and vocal delivery and even though I do recognize that it could've been at least a minute shorter it is a lot of fun to sing along that long ass chorus. The message of the song can be interpreted as the guy cheating on Kumi with her having trouble walking away from him at first glance, still if we look a bit closer, it is implied that he's not the only one lying and yet they still cling to each other:

Hey my baby, even if we both love each other
we're using lies in our hearts
You're my special, you're my bad boy
Don't tell a lie anymore to me
We only need to arrange our words simply
Hey, babe, just my hot boy
I want to meet you halfway, even just a little
I just want you, babe
You're my bad boy

The thing called romance
doesn't have to be that complicated a thing, yeah
We just have to change things like our train of thought a bit...
(c) @otenkiame

The cover art for this single is said to be drawing inspiration from China:

​

Now, @yuuurei, what do you have to say for yourself? "I like the music but that's about it. It goes on way too long and these lyrics ... honey, just forget him, "bad boys" are trash" The music deserves more than a 2 though!!!

Some of y'all couldn't pass on the chance to draw attention to the English parts of the song. @RUNAWAY just quotes, "I just want you baby! You are my butt boy!" Glad she has one. @Eskiath (7,5) goes one step further and sings the part, "I don't think I've listened to this too much but I remembered the chorus instantly and it's pretty fun to sing along with the 'you my special you are my butt boy' bits." Just rolls off your tongue, right? And @vague (8,5) reminisces, "dddd okay, so, when this first came out someone mentioned that it sounded like she was singing "you are my butt boy~" and that has always stuck with me and now i can't unhear it. mess!! but you know what i love butt boys and i love this, so it's all good" Maybe Kumi remembered about this one when she was writing BUT?

On a more critical note, @aaronhansome believes there is such thing as too much of a good thing, "She’s done this song many times over it feels like, and way better." Where? Where are they? I would've asked @TABOO (7), but looks like he won't be able to answer as well, "I’ve always found Lies to be one of the weaker tracks of the 12 Singles Collection. Perfectly serviceable - she does bop a bit - but I wish it was shorter. Oh well, work the pole in that PV at least." The music video is great, yes! @otenkiame doesn't appreciate the length, "I like that Kuu goes for this dark R&B track, and I'm fond of all the pain and frustration she brings in her delivery. It's a shame that the track drags, especially the end with all the unnecessary(?) disc scratching." Well, since you're not sure, those scratching sounds are, in fact, necessary.

Coming to a close, @Cutlery gushes a bit, "This mid-tempo R&B number is quite the listen! With guitars and occasional synths going hand in hand with Kumi’s vocals, sometimes pitched and turntable’d, it's accessible and difficult not to love in her dramatic delivery, particularly during the choruses" I have to agree that all the parts sound very organic together. Turning to our top scorer @Remorque we find him humming along, "I was ready to give this the 7 it deserves, but then it stayed firlmy lodged inside my head for a couple of days, so well done, I guess..." It is quite catchy, no denying there.

Somehow it looks like this was never performed live? Although I do have a feeling it might have been on TV during the release week of the single.
So lemme steal @BEST FICTION idea and post a random vid.

​

 

Yes! I knew I rated 'Feel' higher!

 

I always want to like Lies more than I do but it just gets a bit repetitive.

 

Yaaas! feel getting the bump in rank it justly deserves!!!

I was having a hard time conveying that in my comment. It’s a good song, but there’s just something about it that keeps me from outright loving it.

And while all you were hearing butt boy, I was just hearing popcorn. “You are my popcorn~”

 

if i was rating the music alone, sure, but we're rating the whole song and the other aspects i mentioned were bad enough to drag the score down that much for me. i'm not sorry it's out.

 

This is not Poppin' love cocktail, dddd.

Okay, I get that, still too low of a score.

 

So I'm a mess that has been going to bed at 1-2AM every day this week, so yesterday my body gave up and didn't let me eliminate anything except itself. Apologies, we'll see something go tonight.

 

Might be a biT off topic but, does anyone wanna tell me what this Kumi Rewind album is that's floating around on a few websites? It looks like a B-sides best but I saw 0 announcement of it?

 

We have a general Kumi thread, hun. It looks like a fanmade b-side collection, nothing more.

 

44
(TIE)
Koi no Mahou

Average: 7,45
Highest score: 10x3 (@Squashua, @Empty Shoebox, @soratami) 9x5 (@RUNAWAY, @ThisIsRogue, @Remorque, @me!)
Lowest score: 4x2 (@yuuurei, @Eskiath) 5x1 (@Weslicious)
My score: lookie above​

My beloved Kingdom loses another track. Koi no Mahou was produced by Nakano Yuta mostly of Ayumi fame and written by Kumi. It's a hyper cute track with one of the catchiest hooks and I usually can't resist it right from the opening high pitched lines. Happy and bright, this manages not to feel forced, although it might have gained some from removing one of the choruses and getting a proper middle 8. Lyrics wise, this is a love letter to Kumi's darling where she describes all the ways he makes her feel:

You give me an unexpected present on a regular day
Did you pick it out thinking of me
Saying, "I wonder if it'll suit her~?"!?
You're feelings, actions, and everything make me so happy
You're so lovely and charming

I want to get where I know
what you're thinking quickly. If I do that,
then I feel like I'll be able to know you deep within
(c) @otenkiame

Looks like you guys didn't have much to say about this just as I didn't. We got lows: @Weslicious (5), "Very much filler"; we got highs: @Squashua, "Glitter'n'b" - everybody were mostly brief.

For @TABOO (6) it was too sweet, "Definitely the weakest link on Kingdom. 恋の魔法 is cutesy, but is too saccharine for me to truly fall in love with it." I agree about the sweetness of some of Kumi songs, still for some reason this one never really bothered me in that regard. Could it be due to amazing melodies? Nakano Yuta, ha impact! @otenkiame (7,5) got me wondering... "Cutsey and poppy, it could've been a disaster, but turned out really nice. She sounds great singing with a cute voice here." ...How are the cute songs of Part III would fare, hmm? Okay, do you love a chorus? Cause @vague (7,5) loooves a chorus, "this is so sugary sweet without being grating, which i appreciate. the bridge+chorus combo is fantastic, but i find the verses a little dull in comparison" Kumi's delivery is top-notch in them though.

@ThisIsRogue definitely knew what state to rank the songs in, "I must be in some sort of mood today, because I'm really loving her cute sounding songs. The sparkly xylophone is what grabbed me." Did you take a little something something before doing this? And for a change we're ending with @Empty Shoebox, who appreciated the inspiration behind the track, "I think I gave this more points for the 90's retro feel. Well, it's done now. No Regrets - The Walker Brothers." This made me google.

Not really a go-to song for Kumi to perform live due to the pace of the chorus, still it was performed during Kingdom Tour.

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Hmm I’m starting to notice a pattern here:

Guess I’m a Koda Kutie stan

 

Did you just...? You better stop, it's hard to like you even more, you know.

Oh and tomorrow we'll have another tie with 2 iconic in two different senses songs leaving us.

 

All I’m gonna say is that Melting is part of Part III, so...

 

Are you me Ayumi? You read my mind, hun.

 

Lies deserved top 40 with feel, but at least one got redemption! Happy to see Black Cherry get a break, but for how long?