[Koda Kumi] The 167th Thread – 11th Album 「Bon Voyage」 + Remix Album 「Driving Hit's 6」

[pimenta]

I see Kuu and EunHae on the top of the ranking, I'll be super happy if they finish in #1 and #2

[ayumisrael]

I love the setlist. Thanks for the previews!!

From the previews only the CRANK THE BASS remix sounds nice so far. I hope the Fishbowls one will be awesome. And the others too.

[Zeke.]

All the remixes sound pretty enjoyable. Driving Hits always turns shit into something listenable.

[munckei]

The previews for DH6 are interesting, looking forward to hearing them in full.
Loving that majority of the track list is recent songs too.

[pheonixflame15]

OMG so excited for DH6!!!

[Party_King]

OMG! The previews and the tracklisting from DH6 sounds really promising! *-*

can't wait for:
01.Introduction for DH6 <- this from DH5 was greeeaaat! *-*
02.XXX [4 Skips vs. Floorbreaker EDM Remix] <- my fav track from this era!
03.Crank Tha Bass feat.OVDS [sumijun vs M.A.D Remix] <- WTF YEEEHAAA!!!
04.Boom Boom Boys [HEAVENS WiRE D'n'B Remix] <- D&B? Perfect!
05.Inside Fishbowl & Outside Fishbowl [Sunset In Ibiza Dubstep Remix] <- 2in1? I WILL LOVE IT! Shohei did a great job on his Dubstep mixes!
06.Lady Go! [DJ KOMORI Remix]<- finally a REMIX on DH-Series! ^_^
08.LOADED feat.Sean Paul [ELMER VoVo Remix] <- need any words!?
09.IS THIS TRAP? [Jumping Dog Remix] <- my 2nd fav track from this era!
10.Dreaming Now! [TJO & YUSUKE from BLU-SWING Remix] <- my 4th fav track from this era!
11.ESCALATE [Vesterbak's Fly-Me-To-Tokyo Remix] <- OMG! Can't wait to listin to! *-*
12.TOUCH DOWN [736 Remix] <- my 3rd fav track from this era!
13.Winner Girls [Dank-One Glitch-Hop Remix] <- sounds really great in that preview!
16.Whatchu Waitin' On? [Sham-Poo Beach Breeze Mix] <- YES! YES! YES! I hoped sooo much for this as a remix! AND I GET IT!
17.Crank Tha Bass feat.OVDS [OVDS Remix] <- ONE MORE TIME!? F*CK YEAH!!!

[orangeakira]

*patiently waits for there to be a remix of Lay Down some day*

Originally Posted by Party_King

OMG! The previews and the tracklisting from DH6 sounds really promising! *-*

can't wait for:
01.Introduction for DH6 <- this from DH5 was greeeaaat! *-*

Yeah. It's crazy but my most played track from DH5 was the intro. I'm amazed how awesome it turned out, it should have been a full song.

[murasakinohana]

whatever happened to the remixed version Pearl Moon? was it excluded from the final cut at the last minute?

[happiholic★]

The more I listen to Bon Voyage the more I appreciate it. I don't know if this was discussed before, but I feel like the title is kind of tied to Japonesque. When she created Japo she said she wanted to show that Japanese music could meet the international standard, but I think it was still very much Japanese music. I feel like Bon Voyage is saying goodbye to Japan and uses a much more non-Japanese sound. Tie that in with one of the singles being titled Summer Trip and I really think it makes sense.

Also, while Loaded is kind of a shallow song, there is one lyric I really like:

We don't care, if you do care, you lose

To me, it comes off as don't mind what others think of you, be however you want to be, worrying about what others think of you only hurts you. Just be happy. Kinda reminds me of Ayu's Party Queen.

I think this album's lyrics are full of little gems like that. There is one in LOL I like, too.

Also, I live for the intro to this album. Ugh, I loooooove it. At first I thought I liked the interlude more, but NOPE.

[Dream]

Has anyone gotten their hands on the Live DVD yet? I really wanna watch it.

[Corvina]

So, after listening to the album a whole lot in the last days, I`m going to do a detailed review.

Spoiler:

Introduction:
Great beat and melody. Also a nice and fitting start to the album with those sailing sounds at the beginning.
SHOW ME YOUR HOLLA:
Jazzy instrumental parts mixed with a catchy dancable beat. I love that melody in the background you can notice in the HQ rip!
LOADED:
At first I was a bit taken aback. So much autotune. And those parts where Sean Paul and Kuu are singing next to another in a wild mess were so irritating. I still don`t know why they did like that. But prechorus and chorus are insanely catchy and Sean Paul fits so well. It grew on me.
Winner Girls:
Oh, I love the music in this one! And her vocals! Sadly I`m not too satisfied with the lyrics. Pretty divaish, rofl. Just a good song and not perfect because of that.
Imagine:
A bit dull in the verses, but the chorus and the gorgeous lyrics won me over!
Koishikute:
I don`t, I can`t do much with this song from the beginning. The chorus is nice, but that`s it for me. It fits really well after Imagine and in the album though.
LALALALALA:
First I noticed is how rich it sounds in HQ! A song for a certain mood, sunny and happy days. But it absolutely doesn`t fit in the album. I wished they just axed it.
Let`s show tonight:
Such a nice little change in style. Great vocals. Carries the theme of the album to the second album part.
Only complain - it`s too short.
Interlude:
Again a sick catchy beat. Fits musically to the Intro. Though I like the Intro better.
I guess, cause Intro and Interlude are a pair, Kuu added Let`s show tonight as a short song. Let`s show tonight probably was the Intro first, but after deciding to have a fitting pair as Intro and interlude, she still wanted to include it, cause she liked it so much.
TOUCH DOWN:
The most american hip hopesque Kuu ever made. Love the heavy guitar in the background. Always liked it.
Crank Tha Bass:
Probably the most structured song on the album. Every part fits to the others. Different with grunge elements and a great break. I just love it!
LOL:
Addicting and catchy song! I love the attitude and lyrics, especially the chorus.
Go to the top:
Always loved this song. Dupstep dance song with a positive message to go your own way.
Dreaming Now!:
Very maistream song, but done in the right way. Another single I always loved. And it flows so damn well in this part of the album.
On your side:
My other favourite song from the album next to Crank Tha Bass! Gorgeous lyrics, great vocals, nice composition.
U KNOW:
8-bit melody combined with a very european sounding pop composition. The chorus is a bit generic and could get on my nerves at some point. But I like it, it`s a nice album ender. Btw. the 8-bit parts sound like the sound system from the Sega console according to my boyfriend.

Overall a really strong and cohesive album. Imo it flows absolutely well. Except LALALALALA. Take it out and it will be pretty perfect.
Time will tell if it becomes my favourite album. But it is in my top 5.

Favourite songs:
Crank Tha Bass, On your side, LOL, Go to the top and Dreaming Now!

Least favourite:
Koishikute and LALALALALA

[ayumisrael]

Bon Voyage is #4 today with less than 2,700 copies sold.

Was quite shocking to me since I didn't never ever expected it to drop this low on the 3rd day. Maybe 6000 but not like 2500. Oh well. I do hope it will pick up somehow. I really liked the album tracks. They are mostly amazing. Better than I thought.

I'm so not used to see ayu and kuu not remotely as interesting to the public.

[inthezone]

so it probably wont be #1

[Corvina]

It depends on the next days.
For now she`s still ahead.
Let`s hope the best.

[tsumekaze_]

Originally Posted by ayumisrael

Bon Voyage is #4 today with less than 2,700 copies sold.

Was quite shocking to me since I didn't never ever expected it to drop this low on the 3rd day. Maybe 6000 but not like 2500. Oh well. I do hope it will pick up somehow. I really liked the album tracks. They are mostly amazing. Better than I thought.

I'm so not used to see ayu and kuu not remotely as interesting to the public.

Same here. It sucks, because they are probably one of the very few ARTISTS in the very sense of the word. Especially in the JPOP panorama. Charts are so meh.

[pimenta]

Originally Posted by inthezone

so it probably wont be #1

it's still #1 for now, but if Donghae & Eunhyuk keep having better sales for the rest of the week she might loose it...

[milky_way]

Just got my copies of Bon Voyage and affection. My studio album collection is officially complete!

[toniayu]

My copy arrived today! It is a nice album overall but is not her best album in my opinion. I agree with many people's opinion,this album is really fun!
What I think about the tracks:

Spoiler:

The interludes are AMAZING,seriously kumi has the best interludes and they are even better than some full songs. That introduction is gorgeous.
Show me your holla: is a really good song, a good choice to promote the album because is one of the best songs on it.
Loaded: is one of my favorites, I really love this song!
Winner girls: another awesome song on the album, one of my favorites too.
Imagine: this is a beautiful ballad. I love that kind of sound from kumi. Just so mature and touching.
Let's show tonight: why this isn't longer?? It is so good! It should be a full song...
Crank tha bass: I really don't like that song. It is so aggressive for my taste,even kinda scary. The best part is the bridge though,if the whole song sounded like that maybe I would like it.
LOL: it's not bad at all but I don't really like Kumi's voice in that song, it is a little bit too exaggerated in my opinion. But still a great song, really funny. Edit: this songs is amazing too,luv it. Lol
On your side: it is nice not my favorite but I like it.
U know: AWESOME. Yes, I think this is my favorite on the album, it is perfect to close the album with that song.

As for the singles track: I like them, specially touch down and dreaming now(which remains one of my favorites on this album too) but I really HATE GTTP, seriously I can't even listen to that song, I would have let it out of the album and included xxx instead.

Well done Kumi! Is a good album, so fresh and cohesive, and it does deserves good sales.

[orangeakira]

After listening to the album multiple times I definitely think the songs could have been changed.

Spoiler:

-I think Show Me Your Holla would fit perfectly after Let's show tonight. They sound really similar and I feel like LST actually sounds like a prelude to SMYH.
-LOL would fit perfectly after the intro. They both have a bad-ass feel to them.
-Is This Trap and XXX should have both been on the album. XXX would be after Crank Tha Bass and Is This Trap? before Touchdown.
-I'd take Imagine and Koishikute off the album entirely or remix koishikute to make it sound less generic and make them both bonus tracks (if I had to put them on the album at all).
-I'd switch Go to the top and Dreaming Now, cause GTTT has that 8-bit sound that U KNOW has ( I think On Your Side has a little bit of it too).
-I's switch On Your Side and U KNOW cause OYS has a slower beat and feels like a song she'd sing at the end of a concert, and I feel like it'd flow into Imagine easier.

01. Introduction ~Bon Voyage~
02. LOL
03. LOADED feat. Sean Paul
04. Winner Girls
05. LALALALALA
06. Let's show tonight
07. SHOW ME YOUR HOLLA
08. Interlude ~Bon Voyage~
09. Is This Trap?
10. TOUCH DOWN
11. XXX
12. Crank Tha Bass feat. OVDS
13. Dreaming Now!
14. Go to the top
15. U KNOW
16. On Your Side
Bonus Tracks
17. Imagine
18. 恋しくて[AILI's Warmy Remix]

I'm really not sure what I'd do with koishikute. It needs a remix/album version/something to make it fit with all the other songs.

[happiholic★]

I'm obsessed with Aili's Warmy Remix of Ai no Kotoba. It took a craptastic song and made it enjoyable.

Also, I second the request for the Live DVD with Bon Voyage. I love that its Halloween themed (on her nautical themed album ).