Does that mean Ayu has been on a break for the past 3 years then as well? Lol.

Aw yeah great sales! I wasn't expecting it, but it is not much of a surprise, since there are two versions, a quite interesting DVD [even though there's nothing new, there have never been a compilation of her a/Rhythm nation' perfomances], a new song AND add to it all the fact that the pregnancy brought some more attention to her and, who knows, made her image a bit better? Congrats Kuu, and bring us that new single!

tbh I think she might as well have lol

still havent heard beach mix. sad. maybe later.

Ayu has just released a studio album and is about to release a BEST album tomorrow as well as perform on TV. If anything Ayu has been release whoring lately as usual. :p

Ayu promotes more her image than her music right now (which it's not a bad thing, I'm just saying) and Kumi isn't doing both of them, she could easily do magazine photoshoots like SCawaii last year, just her face. But I think this is good for her, she has been in the public eye for such a long time, she can rest her image a little till the new single.

I feel so sad with all those summer special lives with no Kumi. I know all the things that are going on, but summer is such a great time to see her performing. XD

Agree with everything you said XD

---

Also I was bored so I was looking at the page where it talked about giving Kuu's upcoming single to people who buy tickets from the fanclub and I noticed something about some Lawson voucher thing near the bottom on October 23rd. Does this basically confirm the October 24 date rumor flying around?

http://rhythmzone.net/koda/live/loveandsongs.html

who is in playroom here? she put a pic of the baby up! i want to seeee ;_;

I don't think the picture will leak anytime soon :(
The japanese media will explode everywhere showing the baby, and I think she just wanted to share with 'her fans" a.k.a. "the fans that paid for those things".

@KuuXAyu-fan: I'm not sure if this confirms the date, but the source where the release date leaked is reliable iirc.

Most likely - fanclub members - those members who are "loyal fans"... :no

No, it's not a photo of her son, it's apparently a photo of a friend's baby.
XD

Hurray for double b-side!! I'm assuming the CD+DVD info on the furthest right is some sort of fanclub version?

I love how her news isn't ever secretive. I'm excited for darling.

thanks <3

I think thats the anime edition.

A new single? I need this.

what is the third track in romaji?

honestly I'm disappointed GTTT is going to be an a-side, it's b-side material imo, or even an album track. I wanted double a-side single with a ballad + dance track ): oh well...

^ the third track is "to be confirmed"

^ "mitei"
means "undecided"

2012年初のシングルは、攻めのサウンドが満载の痛快作!

幸田来未の真骨顶とも言えるダンスチューン「Go to the top」は今年、期待度No.1、TVアニメ『トータル・イクリプス』オープニングテーマに决定!! !

ダブステップ要素を大胆に取り入れた疾走感あるビートが炸裂した今作は、恋爱、人生と様々な葛藤の中で生き る人々へ向けたメッセージが込められています！目の前に立ちふさがる困难があったとしても、何度でも立ち上 がろうとする姿势、前を见て歩き続ける事の大切さを教えてくれるのではないでしょうか！？

幸田来未らしい、ダンス・トラックで、今の幸田来未の势いをそのまま象ったような攻めのシングルとして期待 が高まりますっ！(^-^)v

カップリングには、リード曲とは打って変わって、ハートフルなアコースティックサウンド「darling」 を収录。今、ある"幸せ"をストレートに缀ったラブソングは彼女らしいもう１つの侧面を覗かせてくれる心温 まる一作。更に、DVDには初のアニメーションミュージックビデオを収录！

A面没什麼可说了
B面darling又是acoustic sound的少女恋歌
然后DVD是初次收录 动画MV。

Can anyone translate what this says?

thank you both! reminds me of Love Me Back announcement, so most likely the third track is a remix of Go to the top.

Yay! :shimmy

New page lol

I like Go to the top, I was expecting a ballad but it's good to have a dance tune right now. The singles seems a little like TABOO / Always. XD

I hope it's not a remix or something like that, it would be awesome if the single has two b-sides.

I agree, GTTT did not sound that great.

to be confirmed / undecided / to be announced, same thing

I'm interested to hear 'Darling', it sounds like it's going to be a sweet ballad-dy b-side, maybe like Always or whatever. :D

"53th single"? Whoa, that's quite a lot... More than Ayu (hello, where's 51st single?)...but shouldn't it be "53rd single"?

^ Yes, i should lmfao I think they also said "51th single" for AWT

I though it was going to be a double a-sided single, but it doesn't look so :P High hopes for the b-side, as always. And I also think the third track is a remix of Go to the top, Kuu usually doesnt put more than one bside like Kana Nishino... I wouldnt mind if it's actually a third song, of course :D

previews for GTTT are out

http://rhythmzone.net/koda/top.html

The preview is OK
It's too short for me to real know. I kinda want a winter ballad from Kumi....

The previews don't work for me T_T

EDIT: I'm getting my manager into Koda Kumi, lol. She's in love with the Shake It PV.

^ Incidentally, all of my friends who know Koda Kumi, well, they've seen the Shake It PV as well.
One of my fav Kumi songs. Shake It Up is great too.

Tadaaaa so today i did my promise to make a cake for Kuu celebrating her birth ! :luv2

http://i50.tinypic.com/2yxepag.jpg

I really want Kuu to see it :heart :heart

I love decorative cakes!! I was going to take a class to learn how to make them, but I had to drop out D: I wonder if you maybe tweet it to Kumi's staff maintained Twitter account they would show it to her?

go to the top is not really my type of song. idk, we'll see.

darling might be good :yes

Well, given the fact that Kumi has released 3 albums this year and Ayu only two.
Kuu is the bigger release *****.

Anyways... :D

A new single! YES! the preview... sounds... Well, I would like to hear the full thing before I make a judgment.

Whoa there lol

Anyway the single is up on CDJapan. :D

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/list_from_c...tml?key=259698

Total Eclipse edition comes with a slipcase. Also it appears the full song will be about 5 minutes long. Hopefully it has an epic breakdown. :luv2

@happiholic Yeah i already did , Even in Facebook , omg that would be a dream if kuu saw my cake :weep

Preview sounds great, but it lacks catchiness.. i really hope she steps it up with the singles this era cause the only one i really loved from Japonesque was Love Me Back. The album as a whole was much better.

Love Shake It.
Hate Shake It Up.

Btw, who arranged Whatchu Waitin' On?

omg this is amazing!!!! :thud

The message KuuXAyu-fan posted says darling will have a "heart-warming acoustic sound".

@Twinkle: That cake looks awesome and cute! <3

YAY for new single.


Don't know what to think about GTTT by now.

I think it will be great as usual ^^

i like Go to the top.. it's easy on the ears... the full song might have more "oomph" though, hopefully!

Sadly GTTT will have an animated music video, like Twinkle and Namie Amuro's Dr.
I'm not a big fan of that.

GTTT sounds cool to me :)

Wooo, finally the announcement!
I really like GTTT so far already from the Anime opening, so I'm excited (5 minutes long!!)!
Didn't expect her to come back with an upbeat single.
I hope the animated PV is done with a new animated story like Namie's Dr. and not just scenes from the Anime Total Eclipse.

i'm happy that "Go to the top" is the new single! can't wait! :)

Oh.. so.. the free cd for the fan who bought the ticket concert thru FC will be GTTT single... i assume? *not too excited -____-*

@Twinkie baby: ow! your cake is awesome!!

Heart warming acoustic sound? Oh I hope it isn't like 'you are not alone'. Chorus is alright, but I'm not find of acoustics.
I wonder what the new album will be like. More of the same? I hope kumi does something new for a change. She hasnt done anything new since... Well Kingdom was her last amazing album that I can actually listen to all the way. That, and secret.
I'm praying for a 'yume no Uta-like' ballad. Pregnancy changed Angela aki, so I hope it changes kumi. Angela actually gave us steel drums and monkeys...
I'd love for the album to make me fall in love with her all over again.

Kuu is having some really different sounding songs lately and I love it. Both Whatchu waitin' on and go to the top sound like nothing else in her discography, but in a good way this time :P. Can't wait to hear go to the top in full!

@Twinke !: I'm hoping with all my might that she sees your cake, too!

Just listened to the previews. The opening is a bit strange, but when it gets going it sounds really good. I get the feeling that its going to be a Hey Baby! kinda song. J-Pop mixed with a more Western sound, mixed with genuine Kuu charm... I need to listen to Hey Baby! now.

:wave

^If you mean who composed/did the music I think it was Daniel J.Plante and Matthew Tishler :)
Bab
Also, kuu herself helped compose/do the music for the remixes of KOSOKOSO, Bling x3, V.I.P and Heat on Beach Mix, which is pretty cool! :D

HOLY CARP (yes, carp was intended) that's SO awesome, Twinkle! :D I so hope kuu sees it, I bet she would be thrilled! :D

I want a piece of that cake Twinkle! You worked hard on it.

That's adorable. Kind of looks like a Goldfish cracker too.

I'm thinking of food because I'm hungry, and your cake made it worse.

It looks delicious !!!
Amazing cake

I hope that darling sounds like Chiisa na Koi no Uta from Eternity. Her vocals on that song are her best, imo.

i agree, that's a very cute song!!!

Beach Mix scans:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7884/cdonlye.th.jpghttp://img6.imageshack.us/img6/8480/cdonlyback.th.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/8170/cddvdi.th.jpghttp://img836.imageshack.us/img836/9...dvdback.th.jpg

Small Beach Mix FC mag:

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/561/magun.th.jpghttp://img99.imageshack.us/img99/4287/mag2q.th.jpg
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1742/mag3ph.th.jpghttp://img705.imageshack.us/img705/1024/mag4e.th.jpg
http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/974/mag5a.th.jpg

Beach poster:
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/7405/bild0029ia.jpg

Oh I'm surprised Kuu co-composed some of the Beach mix songs! All the ones in which she collaborated are between my favourites from the album. Bring us another self-composed song on the next album, please Kuu <3

Thanks for posting those scans, Corvina! You can see her belly in some of the pics hahahaha <3

A new single, in the midst of having a child? Wow...and it's supposed to be an upbeat song? I hope it's ero-kakkoi style!

Man, this sucks. I like anime but... fully animated MV is kinda boring. IMO

Gttt might be like Ayu's You & Me. Not too many ppl liked short version, but much more ppl liked full version of the song. Opening versions sometimes sound different from single versions.

Epic cake Twinkle !, gotta send pic to Kumi somehow.

Please could someone tell me where I can download the PV version of Watchu' Waitin On? Is there a studio quality version?

The search function won't work for some reason. Sorry to ask, I've seen it mentioned before ^^;

^What do you mean "studio quality version"? I can upload the PV if you like...or it can be downloaded here at JPS:

http://jpmp3.com/thread-281636-1-6.html

Like a release on iTunes or CD. The CD version is a little different, and I've read the iTunes version is different too. So I wondered if any other digital site sold the song like it is in the PV, like a better quality than the PV rip.

I don't want the PV, but thanks anyway! ^_^

^ As far as I know, there is the CD version [which is equal to the iTunes one] and the PV one, but I've not seen a studio version for the PV one

didn't you hear Go to the top yet? it's not ero-kakkoii


here it is
http://shareplace.com/?399987A032 (credits: rich @ jps)

it's fanmade, mixed from the PV and itunes version. pretty much like a studio quality version

^That does justice to GTTT more than the 30 second snipped. I am interest.

I'm in love with GTTT. I want to hear MOAR.

Ah I haven't heard it yet, thanks for sharing that

Hmmm.. not sure if i like GTTT as much as i thought i would judging by the longer preview. It never really takes off or keeps me interested. The build up to the chorus is the best part, but then meh..

Go to the top will be the next single then. I was thinking it might be so actually. Kuu usually releases her tie-in songs as singles anyway. I'm so gonna love this single. A upbeat song and a acoustic song together is a total win for me. XD

And I'm finally listening to Beach Mix. I had no time because I got so into K-pop and Utada Hikaru. Then I had to go on a small trip to meet my friend and I didn't take my laptop with me there so I haven't been able to come here at all lately, hehe. It was fun to come here and see 5 new pages in this thread lol. :D And yes, as expected, I adore Beach Mix. :heart

Is there a gallery or something with all the pictures and photoshoots of Kuu?

^ KumiLoveS has a good gallery, not works well here because of the server, but it has a lot of good scans.

Yeah, you have to be a member but it's worth it, since Kumiloves has just about every picture of kuu almost ever. :D

Changing the subject, has Kumi ever talked about (in an interview or smth) about real Emotion/1000 words & FF X-2? I wonder if she has ever watched the game intro and her thoughts about it.

I saw the japanese opening, and well, Kumi's husky voice doesn't fit Yuna hahaha

^she provided the motion capture for real Emotion opening sequence if I remember right xD I'm sure she's seen it! That was the single that brought her a lot of attention

^Oh, I see! I searched a little and also found out that Kumi was the model of Lenne and provided her voice as well! I didn't know that! There's this video of the scene where Lenne is dubbed by Kumi:



Lenne is kinda important in the story but she just really appears in the end of the game :(

^ That vid is so cool! I wish she would do more high-profile voice overs..

From what I remember back in the day, Kumi was singing as Lenne through Yuna.

The piano version of 1000 no kotoba from this video sounds soooooo beautiful o__o does anyone know if there's a full version of it, even if it's without Kuu vocals?

^You can find that version in "Final Fantasy X-2: Original Soundtrack". The name of it is "1000 Words (Piano Version) ~Feelings That Crossed Time~"



So even in the intro, just because Leblanc was wearing the songstress outfit, the voice that came from Leblanc's mouth was Lenne's?

And really offtopic but do you guys understand the opening of FF X-2? I mean, Leblanc got the garment grid from Yuna, so she could have and wear the songstress sphere, but what was the point of having the appearance of Yuna and singing in a concert? O.o

And do you guys know who worte the english versions of real Emotion/1000 words?

^ Thank you for sharing! That piano work is magnificent!

So, as I said I am in the process of getting my manager into Koda Kumi. I wrote on her wall on Facebook my recommendations for Kumi's sexiest PVs. Today I was going through my Facebook and see that my other manager, who is friends with both me and the first manager on Facebook, "liked" my Kumi recommendations as well as posted the Shake It PV to her wall :P I'm going to turn my workplace into a house of Kumi worship.

gosh, that piano version of 1000 no kotoba makes me cry ;o;

mh...

this is funny XD

I think it was Jade Valerie from SWEETBOX? the one who provided the english sound version of songs for the game :)

I love GTTT, haters gonna hate~

Oh, the epic Final Fantasy X-2. :heart I'm one of the view people who actually worship this game more than the original FFX (which is epic and makes me cry my eyes out too). I just can't express how much I love the dressphere system and the battle system and the characters and and and... I just wish Kuu had done the English versions for the songs and also the voice acting for her. That would've been so epic. XD I would've gotten into her in 2004 if she had done those. I heard Japanese versions for real Emotion and 1000 no Kotoba after I had listened to Jade Valerie's versions and thought deep voice sucks. -.- It would've been other way around if I had heard Kuu's voice first. :D

And I just realized it's been a while since I last played FFX-2. I gotta start a new game in it after I have beaten Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria and Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly. XD

I loved real emotion in FFX-2 but I never liked 1000 no kotoba lol.
My friends always told me it was epic and amazing, but I found it to be a drag.

Yes, I was always really pleased knowing that Lenne was modelled and voiced after Kuu because I am a huge fan of X and X-2. :D Although I'll admit X-2 seemed to be more for the girl fans of Final Fantasy, I really enjoyed the dresspheres as well. But that's cause I am a sucker for pretty costumes. :D

EDIT: Oh yes, here is the link to my mediafire folder with all the Kuu instrumentals I have (songs that don't have official instrumentals), which I have got from Utauga, M-karaoke, and ClubDAM. :) http://www.mediafire.com/?a7vny0ud904rs
If there is one you'd like that isn't there, let me know and I'll see if I have it somewhere! :)

^thank you! but the link is not working, it goes to the homepage s:

I don't really care for sales but I hope GTTT will sell better than the Japonesque singles.

I'm really hoping so as well. I also hope it'll peak higher than 6 as thats where all the singles last era peaked lol

Hopefully the Muv Luv fans buy it lol

Muv Luv?

The song Joy, which is technically by TRF, but features Kuu, is it sung entirely by her or is there another singer?

^ There is another singer as well. The song is pretty beautiful btw but it lacks something imo

<33333333 XD!!

http://imageftw.com/uploads/20120814/DLKSAJDSA.jpg
http://imageftw.com/uploads/20120814/jjd.jpg

Oh Kuu(chie)!!

I now I'm probably late but I'm really excited for the new single!

Uh, never seen this performance before. Where is it from? :3