He/Him
Ddddddd low-key do not expect a lot of high scores for the ballads though... They're nice, but that's about it.
The Koda Kumi Rate: Part III, COMPLETE. See you in Q1 2020
- Thread starter evilsin
- Start date
Hopefully you're not the only last minute voter, dddd.
People say this before rates begin, but... personally, that hasn't been my experience so far.
I mean, people, me included, can be pretty defensive when it comes to their faves. Still, I realize that not a single song in the world can be to everyone's liking, and someone giving less points to a fan favorite can ignite some reaction. It's just how it is. That's usually why commentary is so crucial, because a 0 without any comment can be quite frustrating to those, who gave the track a decent score.
It's really upsetting to me when Kumi's ballads are all downvoted just because they are ballads, as if it's one and the same song everytime, when she has different takes on them even in this very Part. I'm actually dreading the Part IV, because there is one little album called "W FACE ~inside~", which basically has 7 ballads, give or take. I already know it's going to be massacred.
She has amazing ballads... Just not in this part of the rate.
That being said, with this song selection, I can't see an entire 35 songs better than Suki De which I'm assuming is the ballad at 36 because otherwise...
So, there may be some wrong going on but fingers crossed for a boptastic Top 10.
That being said, with this song selection, I can't see an entire 35 songs better than Suki De which I'm assuming is the ballad at 36 because otherwise...
So, there may be some wrong going on but fingers crossed for a boptastic Top 10.
Lyrics having more of a deciding factor in my scoring of ballads certainly probably hasn't helped Kumi out much, considering the language barrier. I hope the rate doesn't disappoint @evilsin , you've put a lot of work into the previous parts of her discography rates, they were enjoyable to go through, even if I didn't participate.
That, I believe, is granted even without the latst batch of voters.
I did provide a link to @otenkiame's blog later in the thread, you could have followed the translation, if it was important for you to know the meaning of a song.
Thank you! I just want to celebrate Kuu, and some scores soured my mood a little. I actually got used to hearing all sorts of things about Kumi over the years, so I'm trying not to be bothered.
But where are the likes?
I hope for this too. I hope I can help it with my ballot
Also, I think the balladry in this part is quite better than part II actually dd
RUNAWAY
Staff member
he/him
You could nicely ask the person to....reevaluate some of their scores, and if they refuse, chuck the whole ballot.
That's exactly what I did. Still, considering the limited number of voters as it is, it's going to be painful to exclude ballots.
Okay, so officially the voting period has ended 38 minutes ago, hurrah. I realize that it was a bit weird to make the time based on my timezone, as it's still morning of Sunday for half of the world. Based on that and the fact that @Remorque is yet to send me his ballot, I'll leave the voting open until tomorrow morning, my time.
September 30th
September 30th, 12:00PM, MSK
September 30th, 10:00PM, BST
September 30th, 2:00AM, PDT
September 30th, 5:00AM, EDT
September 30th, 6:00PM, JST
No, but really, this is the last time I'm doing this, y'all had 40+ days.
September 30th, 12:00PM, MSK
September 30th, 10:00PM, BST
September 30th, 2:00AM, PDT
September 30th, 5:00AM, EDT
September 30th, 6:00PM, JST
No, but really, this is the last time I'm doing this, y'all had 40+ days.
Last edited:
He/Him
I love Bon Voyage.
He/Him
We've finally arrived at the start of eliminations.
So which track has been deemed the weakest by you lot?
Have the callings for "Melting" as one of her worst tracks accumulated over the years and beared fruit?
Apparently not!
83
All for you
Average: 5,75
Highest scorers: 10x2 (@Music Is Life and @me!), 9x1 (@Coming Century)
Lowest scorers: 0x1 (@Ana Raquel), 2x1 (@Cutlery)
My score: lookie above
So which track has been deemed the weakest by you lot?
Have the callings for "Melting" as one of her worst tracks accumulated over the years and beared fruit?
Apparently not!
83
All for you
Average: 5,75
Highest scorers: 10x2 (@Music Is Life and @me!), 9x1 (@Coming Century)
Lowest scorers: 0x1 (@Ana Raquel), 2x1 (@Cutlery)
My score: lookie above
5 voters: #60, 6,70 avg.
10 voters: #80, 5,55 avg.
15 voters: #82, 5,93 avg.
18 voters: #83, 5,75 avg.
10 voters: #80, 5,55 avg.
15 voters: #82, 5,93 avg.
18 voters: #83, 5,75 avg.
I'll be the first to admit, that I overscored this, if we take all of the aspects of this song into the account, and yet... having seen y'all decimate this poor thing, I stand by my score. Written by Kumi and produced by Hi-yunk, a.k.a. KENJI03 of BACK-ON, a.k.a Kumi's husband, "All for you" is the closing track for "JAPONESQUE" and has a distinct one-take quality to it. Perhaps the idea behind that was to make it sound more personal and meaningful, but in the end it worked to the track's detriment. What is more crucial about this, is that Kumi dedicated the track to her fans. You see, "JAPONESQUE" came after the announcement that Kumi is pregnant and is getting married to Hi-yunk. The release date for the album was even pushed forward a week. It feels like the song was to commemorate Kumi's love for her fans and assure them that despite the changes in her life she is still going to sing for them. To tell the truth, this did make me tear up when I first listened to it and recently as well, when I was refreshing my ears with the heavenly sounds for this very rate. Since my stan days are long over, I always try to look at Kumi's music objectively, even though I still love everything she does, but here I couldn't resist and the stan jumped out. The lyrical highlight for me is definitely these two lines closer to the end of the song:
"Sooner or later, you'll be okay without me"
Don't say that. I suddenly think
(c) @otenkiame
Now what did you lot have to say about the poor thing?
@Cutlery (2) has some questions, "What was the point of this, I ask? It's literally some unfinished acoustic demo recording through whatever iPhone number they were using in 2011. As a positive, I'll say she emotes rather distinctly, it's almost sweet" Maybe they did rush this after the news, who knows?
@otenkiame (4) wanted a lot more from this, "The song that could've been. I want to like this because of the sentiment behind it, but the whole "recorded in one sitting" thing gets old fast, leaving me wishing that a proper studio version had been made. It would've made for a cute little acoustic track. Oh well."
I hope @abael (4) finds some answers in my write-up, "Girl and guitar switch up aside, why is this recorded like it's an unapproved leak rather than an official release? Strange."
@Weslicious (4) doesn't know her, "Whilst the video suggests it was recorded live in a studio, the audio gives me bathroom recording on a dictaphone. Japonesque stops after track 18 for me."
@Yeziirl (4) doesn't know the truth, "it was only acoustic on iTunes, but I don't think that the addition of music would help it." Who's gonna tell him, guys?
@RUNAWAY (6) shares the sentiment with the majority of voters, "it’s okay but like...including a live track as the final song of an INCREDIBLE album was a real misfire for me."
And lastly, a newborn stan @Music Is Life (10) got exactly what he wanted, "*Me when this starts* “Please be a cute acoustic guitar live/demo ballad type thing” - *Me as it goes on* “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS” - *Me when it’s over* “FUCK YES that was amazing!”"
@otenkiame (4) wanted a lot more from this, "The song that could've been. I want to like this because of the sentiment behind it, but the whole "recorded in one sitting" thing gets old fast, leaving me wishing that a proper studio version had been made. It would've made for a cute little acoustic track. Oh well."
I hope @abael (4) finds some answers in my write-up, "Girl and guitar switch up aside, why is this recorded like it's an unapproved leak rather than an official release? Strange."
@Weslicious (4) doesn't know her, "Whilst the video suggests it was recorded live in a studio, the audio gives me bathroom recording on a dictaphone. Japonesque stops after track 18 for me."
@Yeziirl (4) doesn't know the truth, "it was only acoustic on iTunes, but I don't think that the addition of music would help it." Who's gonna tell him, guys?
@RUNAWAY (6) shares the sentiment with the majority of voters, "it’s okay but like...including a live track as the final song of an INCREDIBLE album was a real misfire for me."
And lastly, a newborn stan @Music Is Life (10) got exactly what he wanted, "*Me when this starts* “Please be a cute acoustic guitar live/demo ballad type thing” - *Me as it goes on* “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS” - *Me when it’s over* “FUCK YES that was amazing!”"
Speaking of a "studio version", the live rendition from "Premium Night ～Love & Songs～", which was held to celebrate Kumi's 30th birthday, had a lovely rendition, that might be a little more to your liking:
Whew, guess I'm going to spend an hour on each elimination again...
Whew, guess I'm going to spend an hour on each elimination again...
Wtf.
The roughness really elevates it tbh.
The roughness really elevates it tbh.