The Koda Kumi Rate: PART IV. All things come to an end, WINNER announced

[evilsin]

So whose 11 is missing out on Top40?

41
Guess Who Is Back

Average: 7,89
Highest scorers: 11x2 (@Sprockrooster, @Weslicious), 10x1 (@RUNAWAY), 9,5x1 (@Music Is Life)
Lowest scorers: 5x2 (@V3RYP05H, @lalaclairi_), 6x1 (@Cutlery)
My score: 8​

Did anyone expect this, I wonder? This is the only track in the rate that got multiple 11s. Produced by BACK-ON a.k.a. Hi-yunk's band, and written by them and Kumi, the track appeared on "DNA". It was also used as an opening theme for the anime "Black Clover", which made some people into new Kuu fans I'd imagine, since the feature turned the track into a digital hit. Currently it sits comfortably at the top of Kumi's most listened to songs on Spotify with whooping 9 million listens. Just imagine! It's 2 millions ahead of "Ai-fucking-no-Uta" of all songs. THE POWER!

I do enjoy this quite a bit, especially since it's kinda different in comparison to all of her rock songs. It actually reminds me of "No Man's Land" a lot with those more talkative verses and more sing-along-y chorus, but other than that not much else. I'm pretty sure I dug the verses right from the first listen, but the chorus had to get to the "lalala" part for me to click. I also love how it starts just like a typical anime song and then it just says "fuck it" and does its own thing.

I don't know what the anime is about, hence why I don't know what this song is about.​

The harmony I played with you is still
left behind in the past
Your confident scent still
pulls on my heart

"We'll be together for all eternity"
There's a trap hidden in those words
This world wanting a meaning isn't enough
I'll add some color to it
(c) @otenkiame

The lyrics in the verses are pretty though.

@Cutlery (6) decides to sharpen the suspense by making very... long... pauses... between... words, "I… kinda… like this… but I… kinda… can't stand this..."

Looks like @Yeziirl (7,5) has something against the anime openings, "oh yeah I’ve guessed right, rock anime openings are back and I’m not really happy. Though it’s probably her most popular song off DNA album and doesn’t sound bad overall." Yeah, actually, when I think about this songs popularity I always go:

​

@otenkiame (8) spurs me up, "Rock Kuu comes back with this aggressive and in-your-face number. Gotta say, for an anime track, it does well to not fall into your atypical anime rock sound. Kuu herself gives a great performance with a super catchy hook that I can attest was fun to hear live!" And I didn't! Shush!

@RUNAWAY (10) asks me how much I know him, "such A MOMENT. You know how much I love Rock-Kuu, and this song is another fantastic addition to that part of her discography. Boom Boom Boys, Ningyo Hime, Can We Go Back, ahhhhhhh I love just thinking about it <3" Do I know though? Always thought you more of a ballad lover, but then again, having seen your ballots for all for Parts of the rate you just love... Kumi. And I really appreciate it!

As for our precious 11s, first up is @Sprockrooster (11), "WHEW! I was not ready. The absolute power this track has in it's roaring guitar and fantastic vocals. Sprocky-bait." I've said it several times over the course of the rate, still it deserves a repeat when I say I love how the chameleonic nature of Kumi's artistry lets everybody find something to their liking in her vast discography.

Lastly @Weslicious (11) lauds the track, "Queen of coming back six months after her last album! I love this. Like LOVE. The attitude, the production, the call and response chorus... It all just works together to make her best rock song and arguably the best song in this batch. And it’s also always in her top songs on Spotify so Japan agrees with me. And if the country that gave us Ms. Koda Kumiko Kenji03 herself agrees with me, then I know I’m right." Let's not get overboard, when "Selfish" is right there, okay?​

Having this large of a tie-in this was bound to be performed live.
​

 

[evilsin]

TOP40

Dance In The Rain
Lippy
Mercedes
Like It
House Party
HOTEL
Gimme U
You can keep up with me
MONEY IN MY BAG
PIECE IN THE PUZZLE
Fake Tongue
Sometimes Dreams Come True
LIFE so GOOD!!
WALK OF MY LIFE
08/14

BRIDGET SONG
Bring It On
Yorokobi no Kakera
Stand By You
Suki de Shite
Kimi Omoi
On my way
What's Up
Promise you
My fun
00/10

W FACE
Ultraviolet
insane
Damn real
Heartless
Bassline
Shhh!
Bangerang
Wicked Girls
Cupcake feat. AKLO
09/10

PARTY
SWEETEST TABOO
GOT ME GOING'
WHO
OUTTA MY HEAD
NEVER ENOUGH
ALL RIGHT
LIT
BRAIN
IT'S MY LIFE
04/10

HUSH
Dangerous
WATCH OUT!! ~DNA~
ScREaM
CHANCES ALL
Aenaku Naru Kurai Nara
HAIRCUT
Guess Who Is Back
HOT HOT
Kokoro kara i love u
Work That
PIN DROP
07/12

DO ME
GET NAKED
STRIP
k,
Rich & Famous feat. Sean Paul
again
Merry Go Round
Eh Yo
GOLDFINGER 2019 / Livin' La Vida Loca
Put Your Hands Up!!!
Summer Time
OMG
SHUTOUT
07/13


EXTRAS

TURN AROUND
SO FEVER
NEVER GIVE IT UP
EX TAPE
HURRICANE
NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU
Wanderin' Destiny
On And On
NO ME WITHOUT YOU
Soba ni Ite
puff
05/11




~~~
We're half-way through, y'all!
Honestly, I didn't expect "W FACE ~outside~" to have such a strong showing. Poor "~inside~"...
I'm dreading asking this question, but which ones should go next, you reckon?​

 

[mi|kshake]

Guess Who Is Back should have been Top 20!

How is Livin' La Vida Loca still here?

 

[Cutlery]

I blame the incessant titular screams in the slightly too repetitive chorus. Is this opinion hypocritical coming from a WATCH OUT!! ~DNA~ stan? Maybe so

 

[Yeziirl]

Guess Who is Out?

 

[YourLeadSinger]

OOOPH! You had me there for a minute @evilsin , I thought it was gonna be mine when I saw I was tagged. I was prepping the itsover.jpg to post.

Also, the tracks left from DNA are pretty much the ones I keep playing from that album (with the addition of ScReAm).

How is Livin' La Vida Loca still here?

Because SLAYIN’ La Vida Loca is a bop.

 

[Weslicious]

I've just had my first visit back to the forum in an age (sorry for missed likes, not been too well), to find my 11 cut. Ew.
Now to catch up to see what other awful decisions I've missed.

 

[Sprockrooster]

At least the song has a double 11. Not even the winner has that.

 

[evilsin]

How is Livin' La Vida Loca still here?

Because SLAYIN’ La Vida Loca is a bop.

Is it though?

40
GOLDFINGER 2019 / Livin' La Vida Loca

Average: 7,93
Highest scorers: 10x2 (@Sprockrooster, @RUNAWAY), 9,5x1 (@Yeziirl)
Lowest scorers: 5x1 (@mi|kshake), 6x2 (@Weslicious, @Remorque)
My score: 7,5​

It is, kinda. Produced by Desmond Child and written by him and Draco Rosa in its original form, the song was first sung by Ricky Martin in 1999. Only 4 months later the Japanese legend Go Hiromi released his version of the song in Japanese, retitled "GOLDFINGER '99". The Japanese lyrics were written by Kan Chinfa (BoA's "Kimochi wa Tsutawaru" and "VALENTI" !!!). In an unprecedented turn of events, Kumi recorded both versions of the song, because why the fuck not, right? This also marks the second song of Hiromi's Kuu has covered, with the first one being the ever lovely "Ienai yo", which was released on "ETERNITY" and also poorly rated in this very rate in Part III. There were actually rumors that Kuu might release a new cover album with a possible title of "re(CODE)" after she unceremoniously dumped this onto her YouTube channel, but looks like it was never meant to be. Both of Kumi takes appear on "re(CORD)", which is a bit of an overkill.

It's a nice enough rendition, really. She sounds great both in English and in Japanese and brings the necessary energy to the table. I mean, we all know the original song and it was quite a moment, and since Kumi doesn't change much about this, I guess it all boils down to our perception of the original. Kumi did bring in a kind of weird / kind of genius dance break into the song and... it's probably my favorite part of it? I didn't really get it the first time, still after the repeated listens I was only drawn to it more and more. It's magic, I'm telling you.​

You know the meaning of the Ricky's version, true, but the Hiromi's one is... interesting.

Ouch, so hot! Is it burning?
Now, ouch, so hot! Did you feel it?
Oh, upside inside out, even if I make you cry
Ouch, so hot! That's what the sun
makes you do
The summer sun
(c) @otenkiame

Oh wow.

My theory about the original proves true with @Weslicious (6), "I never much liked the original. I mean, it’s an uptempo and catchy so I won’t be bombing it but I definitely don’t imagine we run the risk of a cover winning this part like we did Ayu's rate." I mean, "Movin' on without you" is just a better song.

@otenkiame (8) doesn't mind this one even one single bit, "This is an unexpectedly fun track. Everyone knows the original, but Kuu did wonderfully making this her own. The latin pop sound isn't as prominent, but I'm so glad she kept the horns. And, yes, I still like the weird trap dance bridge that has no business being in the song."

@Cutlery (9) was awe-struck with Kumi's charisma in the video form, "Either iteration of this is pretty much amazing. She ate that up! Especially in the video." The video was definitely fun.

Who knows, maybe @Yeziirl's (9,5) suggestion isn't that far off, "English one has better lyrics, so… not a fan of la vida loca, but I think it’s a very good cover with an amazing music video and it is definitely stuck in my head! Kumi I am eagerly waiting for Ricky Martin on your next random featuring!" I mean, we had some unexpected collaboration in the past, nothing is off the table for Kuu, I guess.

@RUNAWAY (10) is probably dancing in the sun to this or something at the moment, "I absolutely love her GOLDFINGER cover and it’s a fucking bopperoo."

And finally @Sprockrooster (10) adores this and thinks it's a fantastic cover, "What a fantasic cover. I adore it."​

This was already a hit two decades ago all around the world and in two languages, so naturally Kuu milked this live like a savvy businesswoman that she is.
​

 

[YourLeadSinger]

Oopp.... guess it was Livin’ La Vida Floppa after all.

I thought I commented on this but guess not. My score was based on the average of the two covers, I love the English one (probably due in part to Nostalgia) but the Japanese one does nothing for me. Too bad re(CODE) wasn’t a real thing because it would’ve been cool if she continued on with the dual language covers (if other examples even exist?) or just 90s bops redone Kuustyle.

 

[evilsin]

Oopp.... guess it was Livin’ La Vida Floppa after all.

I thought I commented on this but guess not. My score was based on the average of the two covers, I love the English one (probably due in part to Nostalgia) but the Japanese one does nothing for me. Too bad re(CODE) wasn’t a real thing because it would’ve been cool if she continued on with the dual language covers (if other examples even exist?) or just 90s bops redone Kuustyle.

Sis, you've commented on like 4 songs in total and only after I asked you to comment on your lowest scores, dddd. And this wasn't one of them as you can see.

"re(CODE)" does sound like a fun idea on paper, just imagine all those 90s Western classics covered by Kuu. I'm salivating.

 

[Cutlery]

What a fun pair of covers, but I'm glad she didn't pull another full covers album a la Color the Cover and gave us new material

 

[cookiedough]

I thought this was a smart choice for a cover song - both appealing to Japanese audiences and international ones. I think she did a great job on this one and it also added variety to the album.

I’m here for more 90s bops redone Koda Kumi style.

 

[evilsin]

There was no elimination yesterday since she was out with her girls last night for the first time since January. Apols. We'll resume tonight Moscow time.

 

[cookiedough]

C’mon girls let’s make some noise

 

[evilsin]

Hey! You know (know, know, know, know)
Wonderful (hey, yeah, yeah, yeah)
24H (know, know, know, know)
'itsudemo kigaru ni Please phone... 'cause'

39
HOTEL

Average: 7,96
Highest scorers: 10x2 (@Weslicious, @Yeziirl), 9,5x1 (@Music Is Life)
Lowest scorers: 4,5x1 (@Cutlery), 5x1 (@lalaclairi_)
My score: 8,5​

And thus "HOTEL" is the last song in the rate that was deprived of an 8+ average, meaning that 38 songs managed to get into this coveted selection of songs. Quite surprisingly at least for me Part IV boasts the largest number of songs with an 8+ average. Part I had 17 and both Part II and Part III had 27. Not bad for a girl, who apparently "lost it" according to some. Produced by Sebastian Thott (Nishino Kana's "I Wanna See You Dance") and written by him, his brother (?) Didrik Thott (Amuro Namie's "ONLY YOU"), Ylva Dimberg (Amuro Namie's "BRIGHTER DAY"), H.U.B. (a fucking tonne of amazing Japanese bops) and Kumi, the track served as her 57th single, hence why it got an appropriate music video set in what looked like a hotel, or perhaps a mighty fine mansion. The location is pretty popular, since at least one more music video was shot there - Crystal Kay's "Forever". I'm also pretty sure I've seen it somewhere else as well, but for now the thought of where eludes me.

I actually always quite like this, it's not the best thing ever, still it most definitely hits that summer bop spot quite nicely. That's why it was so weird for me to see that this had some naysayers. Yes, it's mostly silly, but it's so much fun. The synth-heavy instrumental is catching and both pre-chorus and chorus won't leave you for days after you listen to this, daft lyrics or not. Speaking of...

...This is about a stay at the hotel, I guess. Or maybe, more generally, about finding that special place to relax and unwind with a boo who can use yours anytime.​

Right now knock on this hot summer's door
Top service you can only find here
Knock knock
You can get anything for your order
"I want dreamy boys at once!"
(c) @otenkiame

My thoughts exactly, bring them to room 69.

Apparently I've used @Cutlery's (4,5) commentary for this when I eliminated "Gimme U" even though I asked him myself to clarify which song got which commentary... so here his commentary for "Gimme U" I guess, "This is a bit too dated and bright and bubbly for me to enjoy. But the vocals are pretty good!"

Of all the thing @RUNAWAY (9) could have called this, I wouldn't choose the word, which he chose, "this is a cute single, and the video is great, but it’s also kind of basic….I really do like it though." Really?

@otenkiame (9) definitely has a love-hate relationship with this one, "The song that took me time to warm up to. The lyrics are rubbish (I'm still not exactly sure what the message is supposed to be), and her rapping sounds almost like she's bored. Erm...BUT I do love this track! The brassy elements are my favourite element of the song, and the hooks are absolutely amazing." Dare I say it's your guilty pleasure? Although, you know what? If you enjoy it, it's not that guilty really.

@Music Is Life (9,5) lives for the instumentation, "This is a lot of fun. I love love love the chorus to be honest. The production is loud and busy, but I think it works for this one. The drums and horns combo is so “high school band-esque” but I kinda like it dddd." I... kinda never payed attention to the percussion part of the track and you're right, it's great.

At the same time @Yeziirl (10) makes me think of another thing, "all time classic, EX TAPE predecessor, summer saver, come anytime, sit on my couch and drink my champagne, girl!" Hm... it's definitely a lot different to "EX TAPE", however it's kind from the same family? Maybe cousins thrice removed?

It's good to be @Weslicious (10), when he needs so little to feel happy, "This is a lyrical mess, but a sonic rush. Like, I get happy the minute that cheap instrumental begins." Well, I'm happy that this makes you happy.​

Being an a-side this is criminally underperformed live.
I believe she performed it on four occasions in total, which is, honestly, a shame.
​

 

[mi|kshake]

Expected Hotel to be way higher! Gotta say I'm shocked this part has so many 8s too!

 

[evilsin]

Next in line we are having yet another tie, this time consisting of 3 songs, which are an extra, a single kinda and an underrated album track.

 

[Yeziirl]

I fucking gasped when I saw HOTEL! Excuse me, but I live for this lazy-ass masterpiece!

 

[RUNAWAY]

I'd probably score it lower now tbh. I stand by the basic comment.