[Koda Kumi] The Official 102nd Koda Kumi Thread

[Cloudsoldier]

the limited cover looks so much better in quality!

[NintendoHTF1242]

This release makes me want to now buy the album :| Damn you Kuu

[Lee^ChaN]

Those booklet pics are fierce!! and the limited cover is just

[TITANIC]

hooaa. I will give 9,5/10 for UNIVERSE. IMHO UNIVERSE is her best album ever.

1. Step into the world - My dreams come true. I wish she made full version of introduction of TRICK and it came to this song.. holly great 5/5
2. Can We Go Back - 4/5
3. SUPERSTAR - Fresh song. 3.5/5
4. You're So Beautiful - very nice RnB like Kana nishino's style. it made me reminds to 1 song but i cant remember the title. 4.5/5
5. Lick me♥ 0/5 - Hate this song
6. Work It Out! 3/5 its Ok for me
7. No Way - Excelent song. its too good for Kuu. 5/5
8. Stay - little bit like her old song style. 2/5
9. Comes Up 2.5/5 Ok lah for album track
10. Physical thing 5/5 very HOT song
11. ECSTASY - Best song of UNIVERSE 5/5
12. UNIVERSE - I like u kuu,I want more song like this. it sounds like missy elliot's song.
13. It's all Love! feat. misono - Blah blah blah 3/5
14. Alive 2/5 - boring
15. Moon Crying (Live ver. in Taiwan) - it doesnt need to appear in this album 1/5

[jean-baptiste]

the inside of the booklet is awesome!
but am i the only one who thinks she looks weird on the 2 cover booklets? =\

[Lee^ChaN]

^ really?
i think it's because of her hair and also her eye make-up. The black color made them look more dramatic.

Now I can't wait for her upcoming tour!!

[waterballoon]

OMG.

Here we go:

1. Step Into My World: Not bad, but I wished it was something else than a clone of INTRODUCTION TO TRICK.
3.5/5

2. Can We Go Back: Very cool song, and her voice rocked here.
4/5

3. SUPERSTAR: omg it sounds much better in HQ, though the chorus still kinda annoys me lol.
3.5/5

4. You're so beautiful: gorgeous song. I love it so much seriously!
5/5

5. Lick me ❤: cutie song!
5/5

6. Work It Out!: omg I actually really like this! the melody is catchy, and the beats are just <3
5/5

7. No Way: OMGSUN! I love this song SO SO MUCH! It's full on R&B, and there's this air of mystery and enigma around the song that makes it so sexy! I love everything about this!!!
6/5

8. Stay: bleh. The melody sounds familiar, and I don't really like it.
2/5

9. Comes Up: cute song but I think Good*day would have been a better choice!
3/5

10. Physical thing: 'nuff said. HOT.
5/5

11. ECSTASY: HOT, duh!
5/5

12. UNIVERSE: hot beats, but I feel something is lacking in the chorus.
4/5

13. It's all Love!: honestly this either is annoying or fun to me; it depends on my mood. But it's a cool-sounding song. (:
3.5/5

14. Alive: one of her prettiest ballads. and I love the piccolo in it!
5/5

EDIT:
15. Moon Crying ~Live ver. in Taiwan~: Wonderful emotions; love her ad-libbing. Only goes to show how wonderful a singer she is.
5/5

Overall:
Pros - The strong tracks are VERY GOOD, and the direction here is very different from the pop sounds she has been having since Black Cherry. I love how fresh it sounds for her!

Cons - the middle of the album; from Stay to Physical thing... was bad. like really bad lol. and oh SUPERSTAR's chorus! No faraway too... this album sorta needs BETTER ballads than the craps like Stay. : /

BEST SONGS: Can We Go Back, You're so beautiful, Lick me ❤, No Way, Work It Out!, Physical thing, ECSTASY, Alive

WORST SONGS: Stay, Comes Up

Final grade: 8.5/10

Well done Kuu, seriously. I love you.

[freedreamer]

The album is a grower. I love the variety here. Somethings are VERY different from what she has given us. Very colourful album. Nice one Kuu..and I thought I would be disappointed.

[AyuHamasaki01]

I think that UNIVERSE is the best new song (IMO)
I'm addicted to it, I'm listening to it nonstop haha.

[Corvina]

SCawaii cover:



Gosh, I absolutely love this cover, she looks amazing!

And the next release of Kuu... is a car navigation system!

Spoiler:

Koda Kumi car navigation system with the original audio 『KODA KUMI Driving Navi ~Koda Gumi』 Limited quantities for sale!



First artist! Announced the Navi car navigation system with voice communication by Koda Kumi!
Apart from navigation to destinations across the country as a car navigation system features the first 141 to sign up with recommendations for places date spot is also equipped with audio comments from flowing through the system approaches the spot that Koda Kumi!
Body, comes with soft case, original design patterns and hail unified package.

Thanks to Hikku-kun @ JPM for all this!

Downloading UNIVERSE right now.
Most people (here and on JPM) seem to love this album. If I love it, too, I'll be happy!
(but those who don't like really don't like it, lol)

[waterballoon]

^ SHE'S WORKING IT ALL RIGHT!

[jbrat2219]

Originally Posted by lollipop sophie

My gosh she looks so weird because her mouth is actually closed... xD;

Originally Posted by Corvina

SCawaii cover:



Gosh, I absolutely love this cover, she looks amazing!

Is this the same publication that washed out and over photoshopped Ayu? I hope they don't do the same for Kumi.

[Not~Yet]

Originally Posted by Corvina

Spoiler:

And the next release of Kuu... is a car navigation system!

Koda Kumi car navigation system with the original audio 『KODA KUMI Driving Navi ~Koda Gumi』 Limited quantities for sale!



First artist! Announced the Navi car navigation system with voice communication by Koda Kumi!

Thanks to Hikku-kun @ JPM for all this!

Oh wait, so does it talk with Kuu's voice? LOL how cool would that be. But it would take pretty many working hours to do that... right?

[waterballoon]

lol if the car navigator had her voice I wouldn't be able to drive at all! She would speak too fast!!!

[Corvina]

Ok, here's my rating:

Spoiler:

1. Step Into My World: Damn, I love this one, never expected that! XD It's much better than the Introduction of TRICK ever would have been in my fantasy. Awesome track! 5/5

2. Can We Go Back: Smooth song with a lot of power! Love her vocals and the slow part. 4/5

3. SUPERSTAR: I still don't like the chorus, the choruses are so much better! And I'm still loving the end. her acapella singing! It makes me smile. One of her better cutie songs. 4/5

4. You're so beautiful: One word: wonderful! 5/5

5. Lick me ❤: It's a fun cutie song, can be addicted to it in the right mood. But I think SUPERSTAR is better. 3,5/5

6. Work It Out!: Another song I love with first listen! The arrangement is awesome and somehow 80'ish, especially at the end. 5/5

7. No Way: It's really nice, especially the chorus. But it's too long. A shorter version would have been better. 3,5/5

8. Stay: Boring song, not a fan of it. But it's sweet to listen to. 2,5/5

9. Comes Up: Hm, ok. Reminds me of something else of Kuu, don't know what (the "feels so good parts" in the backtrack, so familiar). Sweet, but a bit boring. Good*day would have been indeed better here. 3/5

10. Physical thing: Hot and sexy, already liked it on the single. 4/5

11. ECSTASY: Is already one of my favourite Kuu songs of all time, love it! 5/5

12. UNIVERSE: Need some more listens, but it sounds nice so far and it's somehow really addicting. Love the end already! ECSTASY also need some time to grow on me, but now it's one of my favourites. Wouldn't surprise me if the same happens with UNIVERSE. 4/5

13. It's all Love!: Need the right mood to listen to it, but the lyrics and the changing parts (Kuu-misono-Kuu etc.) are still great. 3,5/5

14. Alive: I love Alive, even if I'm not a ballad person at all. I love classic music, though, and it sampled one piece, so maybe that's the reason.It's smooth and simple, her vocals are simply great. Great to end the album. 5/5


15. Moon Crying ~Live ver. in Taiwan~: Love the piano at the beginning! Great vocals as always with ballads live. 4/5

My overall ranking: 4,1/5

Worst songs: Stay and Comes Up.

Best songs: Almost the whole rest! XD Can't choose, really.

An awesome album, even better than TRICK, much more consistent!

(by the way, waterballoon, how funny, we seem to have the same taste! )

[lollipop sophie]

she looks so cute on the SCawaii cover !!!!
Oh and I'm glad that a lot of people like this album it makes
me more excited for when I listen to it lol !!!!!!!!!!! I'm excited
for the booklets too

[kirei_ayumi]

whoa! thanks for the scans, guys! kuu looks beautiful

here's my review of UNIVERSE:

01. Step In To My World - eww, why so similar to TRICK intro?! 1/5
02. Can We Go Back - , nice edgy-rock from kuu, more like this pls! 5/5
03. SUPER STAR - love the country guitar, kinda cutesy 5/5
04. You're So Beautiful - love it! sweet yet serene composition 4/5
05. Lick Me - rocky/poppy edge side of kuu...love it! 5/5
06. Work It Out! - kinda bland, but pretty good 3.5/5
07. No Way - great rnb feel, woke up singing this to myself, very catchy and one of my faves 5/5
08. Stay - totally unexpected of kuu, loving this side of her 5/5
09. Comes Up - lol composition is similar to namie's Baby Don't Cry, 'nuff said! love them both 5/5
10. Physical Thing - just awesome, beat gets me goin' 5/5
11. ECSTACY - kuu is blowing it up, lovin' it, especially the bridge part 5/5
12. UNIVERSE - fun, jumpin' music! get it poppin', kuu! 5/5
13. It's all Love! -cutesy/rock fun between sisters 4/5
14. Alive - love the flute and calmness, short and simple ballad 5/5
15. Moon Crying~live~ - a great addition to end the album, following the serene Alive...4.5/5

Sidenotes: a pretty good album, overall rating 8/10
there's a new kuu this year, 2010 is her UNIVERSE! love the album, kuu
definitely getting when I have money

[ayumisrael]

I really don't get the hate for Stay!

If it would be SUPERSTAR or Comes Up I would understand.

Yeah Stay is of the style of Your Love and Your Love is one of the most boring songs kuu has ever made and it was one of the worst on TRICK.

But come on, she could make a song like that and actually make Stay sound pretty!
(Well actually the composer and arranger made a good job with that style of song for her). It's one of my favorites from the album. I even like it way better than You're So Beautiful.

[GRACE]

Originally Posted by lollipop sophie

Thank you for this <3 I wanted to use this picture on iTunes for the UNIVERSE tracks <3

[pop909]

01. Step In To My World - 5/5 I know its an extension but I find the repitition to be great. Maybe she should have just put this into trick though. After listening to the whole album, I remembered this song the most!! Very catchy quick words that make you kinda tune in more to see what shes saying.
02. Can We Go Back - 3.5/5 A song that needs to get used to but its good. I dont think she should have released it as a single to begin with. Over all a good song though.
03. SUPER STAR - 4/5 I loved the preview a bit more. Cute melody..but weird ending. I think she overused "I wanna be" a bit too much for my liking.
04. You're So Beautiful - 4/5 This song is great!!!!! A really nice and smooth voice as well as great composition. At this point ive realized that this album is full of repetition even outside of the chorus >_>
05. Lick Me - 5/5 Great choice from 3 SPLASH. Fits great into the album. I think this song primarily was the success of 3 SPLASH too, not just ecstacy. But at the same time, I dont know why she didnt include Hashire! (Maybe because she found that the upbeat wasnt fitting in so well).
06. Work It Out! - 3/5 The beginning is a bit slow... like something ive heard before but the chorus really brings this song justice. A lot of power and something I could see staying in my head for a long time. But...cococo? LOL maybe im just not catching it.
07. No Way - 2.5/5 Probably my least favourite song. The beat seems very similar to something ive heard before and the verses are very dry. The chorus SOUNDS SO SIMILAR TO SOMETHING ELSE. CANT STRESS IT ENOUGH!! But just like Work it Out!, the chorus brings this song justice.
08. Stay - 5/5 By far my most favourite song from the album. A great ballad that just sounds so cute! The chorus to this song is just so charming and enjoyable.
09. Comes Up - 3.5/5 Sounds a bit more old school of her cutesy stuff. Nothing new from this song, but I still like it just because it has such a strong upbeat feeling.
10. Physical Thing - 2/5 I actually dislike this song very much. However, I can see why people like it, its just not that good. ECSTACY is a lot better and in a very similar genre.
11. ECSTACY - 4/5 At first I didnt like this song just because it sounded weird when she said "remix" right smack in the middle. But after a while i enjoyed it and now I find myself listening to the whole 3 SPLASH single a lot more because of it. Good addition to the album.
12. UNIVERSE - 3.5/5 My expectation of this song was a lot more from the preview. A partial part of this grade was because of this small let-down. The beginning is JUST like Lose Control by Missy Elliot. Anyone else? haha. I like the background voice a lot throughout the song but I think it could have been used less. Like saying "universe" was okay but... "move your boy and lets get down wow" was too much.
13. It's all Love! -2/5 The concept of this collaboration could have gone way better than what it turned out to be. Their voices are very different an they could have used that instead of making it some sort of like shootout during the chorus they could have separated parts. Overall I think the song just goes by too fast and doesn't catch any listeners.
14. Alive - 2/5 Such a slow song that doesnt help her at all. The performance on the charts just goes to show the interest of the japanese audience. I think the chorus has no GRAB to make the person more interested. She shouldnt have ended the album with this and MOON. It seems to be a duller on such a great album

VERDICT: It feels like this song has a lot of similar beats to a couple western songs that I cant seem to have a grasp on. overall, the ballad and cutesy section is great, it is definitely a great way to start an album. The rock section of the album is koda kumi's prime. She definitely knows how to use her voice for songs like ECSTACY and UNIVERSE. Overall, the album had a good listen. To improve, I think she could have taken out Its All Love! for Hashire!Also, to maybe use less repetition throughout all the songs.