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  #161  
Old 29th December 2019, 03:19 PM
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re(CORD) is probably her most focused work in years. It flows quite well, and I still really enjoy it.

The biggest thing I appreciated was hearing strong and healthy vocals again. Both AND/DNA were recorded when she was coming off tours. This is probably the first album in awhile where her voice was rested and fully recovered.

I think Rich and Famous is indeed the key track on the album. STRIP remains a very pleasant surprise. Again is just lovely and nostalgic to listen to. I also still quite enjoy Eh Yo, Do Me, and Summer Time.

The videography for this album really fits the vibe I think she was going for. I wish Rich and Famous, Eh Yo and Do Me had gotten PVs but given the situation at avex, I'm not going to complain too much.

Last edited by lovethatkuu&ayu; 29th December 2019 at 03:21 PM.
  #162  
Old 29th December 2019, 10:39 PM
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Thanks for posting the performances, I really enjoyed watching them. Again really does have that nostalgic feel!
  #163  
Old 30th December 2019, 02:00 AM
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I had been slowly getting tired of Kuu with the release of W FACE. AND and DNA felt like a continuation of outside, and so do some song on re(CORD), but I do feel like this album has something the other did not. I do think I have a different impression than a few folks here since I didn’t listen to any of the tracks released before the album dropped. Personal faves for me are Put Your Hands Up!!, Rich & Famous, OMG, Eh Yo, and Merry Go Round. Mostly because we haven’t gotten songs like these in quite some time.
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  #164  
Old 30th December 2019, 02:51 AM
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Speaking of re(CORD) though, do y'all reckon we'll EVER get access to the FC DVD contents?
  #165  
Old 30th December 2019, 03:54 AM
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I've yet to listen to the new album as it isn't on Apple Music in the US. I should probably get around to downloading it a lot of you guys are saying interesting things about it.
  #166  
Old 30th December 2019, 02:37 PM
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Okay, I'll go back in time a bit to talk about re(CORD) cause I can see a path she went through with the last albums and I think it makes a lot of sense to look at the bigger picture to understande re(CORD). And it's the end of the decade + start of her 20th anniv, so a re(CAP) is in due time.

It all starts with Bon Voyage, which was a turning point in her career. Until the album's release, she was keeping her already well known habit of releasing a summer single, a winter ballad, some tracks with tie-in being singles as well in the middle, and then having the final actual album sounding like a single playlist. I do like her albums that way, don't get me wrong, it's just that I couldn't see much cohesiveness in her works since secret, except maybe for TRICK, and still it not as much as she had in her first three albums. Then, Bon Voyage came out, and the title was SO RIGHT. She mentioned on interviews she kinda did a recap of what Koda Kumi was, and decided what to take with her on her new journey and what to leave behind. And the album tracklist really portrays that. The first half, from the intro to the interlude, sounds like a singles playlist, with bangers, a summer song, a winter ballad, a rnb-ish track and so on. That's what Koda Kumi had been like for years. And then there's the later half, where she started using much more of that "nasal" or high-pitched voices, the sound was way more urban, even a bit alternative, with lots of hip-hop elements and different stuff thrown in. That was the new journey, the new sound.

From Bon Voyage to W FACE, she was on a roll to me, with each album getting more cohesive. WOML was SO amazing, with rock-inspired tracks, a bunch of upbeat songs, some funky ones and even the cute-happy song fit the album. There was even Dance In The Rain, a song which is pretty unique in her discography. I also loved the new tracks for SUMMER/WINTER of LOVE, she managed to deliver a new sound and still recap her releases up to then, so well done. W FACE was a high point to me, outside was so cohesive, fun and so Koda Kumi-esque, and both albums explored a lot of her identity and style, while still trying something new, like My fun, jazzy songs for outside and so on.

And then, when AND/DNA came out, I kinda withered lol The way she was singing in most tracks of AND really bothered me, and nowadays I listen to basically two songs (ALL RIGHT and IT'S MY LIFE). DNA was a improvement but still there was something off (but at least she delivered SO HARD with HAIRCUT, song and pv-wise).

Then we had the digital singles thing (sorry, I can't call it a project). While they were coming out I was not into the era cause the covers were so hideous and the release pattern seemed so messy, and the LLVL PV being released out of a sudden without being a single like WHY?? idk, it might have worked in Japan, but the strategy to me seemed odd. And then she mention re(CORD) was to be a continuation of AND/DNA so I just lol'ed But now I think more like AND was where she was trying too many different sounds and ways to sing all at once, at DNA she got the balance a bit better but still had the Koda Kumi-ness missing in most songs, and with re(CORD) she got it just right. There are songs in which she sings in three or four different ways, like GET NAKED, almost to the point of feeling like a girlgroup song. However she layered those styles much better and balanced how much she would use of each one and when she would use them. And she added way more idendity to those songs, like she matched her W FACE signature to the new stuff she had tried with AND/DNA. I got really REALLY proud of the result.

Now to the album tracks themselves A lot of them, to me, are revisiting older songs and bringing them to new era, which is basically the concept of re(LIVE) as well. R&F is the key track in all of this, since it's basically CHANCES ALL 2.0 but also featuring an artist she already worked with. Put your hand up!!! gives me Lady Go vibes, she talked about Eh Yo being WIND part II, and so much can go on here. again is also a clear example of the album's concept, especially its video. And I like all tracks, some a bit more, but all are great songs. I love the latin vibe of some tracks, the hip-hop sound of others, and as a whole the album has so much energy and power. I think it might be one of my favorite albums of hers already! I wish some things were different of course but song-wise she nailed it this time. I can't wait to see where she'll go next, now she's got her stamina again. Hoping for new surprises and specially new collaborations to spice things up a bit in 2020
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Last edited by Gustavopc; 30th December 2019 at 02:40 PM.
  #167  
Old 31st December 2019, 12:41 PM
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She really started a self-discovering journey with Bon Voyage.

Kuu just was up at Momoiro's Kohaku for a talk part:





Pics thanks to yukiyukiyukida and kuuchan69devil on Twitter

Pink dress and pink heels.
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  #168  
Old 31st December 2019, 02:34 PM
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Kuu is just now performing GOLDFINGER 2019.





Pics thanks to mamiyax02 and tsuchimodok1 on Twitter

Wooow, looks like a lot of people are watching the stream, cause like 100s of new posts on Twitter were just now popping up while Kuu performed.

Sadly it's GOLDFINGER again, tho she probably keeps perfroming it because of the pair dance she learned for it.

Here's a fan sharing something of the beginning, the talk part and her performance:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6vY8aLn...=17u6gkf0eifie
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Last edited by Corvina; 31st December 2019 at 03:08 PM.
  #169  
Old 31st December 2019, 04:01 PM
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She's so extra. Three costumes for one performance. haha Love all three tho, specially the pink one. The first half of the concert is out on JPS, however she performed during the second half.
  #170  
Old 31st December 2019, 04:21 PM
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Aaand the ending:



https://twitter.com/annnkuuu/status/1212041515066806273

https://twitter.com/007231No/status/1212031095614476288
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  #171  
Old 31st December 2019, 04:42 PM
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Even though it's still some time for Europe and the Western world-
Happy new year, everyone!



From Koda Gumi

No party for me today as I'm ill and with fever alone at home, but everyone else have a good time with friends and family!
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  #172  
Old 31st December 2019, 04:54 PM
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Happy Kuu Year to everyone! Onward to a new decade and Kumi's 20th anniversary celebration.

I watched the performance, and it was a good one. Great energy and a good fun crowd. I hope she does this year end event next year. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing from the clips I had the chance to see.
  #173  
Old 31st December 2019, 06:42 PM
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Yeah, haven't seen Yokohama arena for a while.
Forgot how huge it is.
When Kuu was announced at the beginning, the cheering was really loud!
Or better the roaring, even Kuu joked in her posts she now made how low the voices of the audience sounded.
Most of the audience was male, like expected for wotas/idol fans, I guess.

Here Kuu shared a bit of her performance as video on her Insta:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6vtCUmAjj6/

Wishing us all a happy new year and thanking everybody for all the support and cheering at the live as well as people watching the broadcast today.
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  #174  
Old 1st January 2020, 06:39 AM
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I forgot, what does a-chi-chi mean again?
  #175  
Old 1st January 2020, 07:10 AM
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Spoiler:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gustavopc View Post
Okay, I'll go back in time a bit to talk about re(CORD) cause I can see a path she went through with the last albums and I think it makes a lot of sense to look at the bigger picture to understande re(CORD). And it's the end of the decade + start of her 20th anniv, so a re(CAP) is in due time.

It all starts with Bon Voyage, which was a turning point in her career. Until the album's release, she was keeping her already well known habit of releasing a summer single, a winter ballad, some tracks with tie-in being singles as well in the middle, and then having the final actual album sounding like a single playlist. I do like her albums that way, don't get me wrong, it's just that I couldn't see much cohesiveness in her works since secret, except maybe for TRICK, and still it not as much as she had in her first three albums. Then, Bon Voyage came out, and the title was SO RIGHT. She mentioned on interviews she kinda did a recap of what Koda Kumi was, and decided what to take with her on her new journey and what to leave behind. And the album tracklist really portrays that. The first half, from the intro to the interlude, sounds like a singles playlist, with bangers, a summer song, a winter ballad, a rnb-ish track and so on. That's what Koda Kumi had been like for years. And then there's the later half, where she started using much more of that "nasal" or high-pitched voices, the sound was way more urban, even a bit alternative, with lots of hip-hop elements and different stuff thrown in. That was the new journey, the new sound.

From Bon Voyage to W FACE, she was on a roll to me, with each album getting more cohesive. WOML was SO amazing, with rock-inspired tracks, a bunch of upbeat songs, some funky ones and even the cute-happy song fit the album. There was even Dance In The Rain, a song which is pretty unique in her discography. I also loved the new tracks for SUMMER/WINTER of LOVE, she managed to deliver a new sound and still recap her releases up to then, so well done. W FACE was a high point to me, outside was so cohesive, fun and so Koda Kumi-esque, and both albums explored a lot of her identity and style, while still trying something new, like My fun, jazzy songs for outside and so on.

And then, when AND/DNA came out, I kinda withered lol The way she was singing in most tracks of AND really bothered me, and nowadays I listen to basically two songs (ALL RIGHT and IT'S MY LIFE). DNA was a improvement but still there was something off (but at least she delivered SO HARD with HAIRCUT, song and pv-wise).

Then we had the digital singles thing (sorry, I can't call it a project). While they were coming out I was not into the era cause the covers were so hideous and the release pattern seemed so messy, and the LLVL PV being released out of a sudden without being a single like WHY?? idk, it might have worked in Japan, but the strategy to me seemed odd. And then she mention re(CORD) was to be a continuation of AND/DNA so I just lol'ed But now I think more like AND was where she was trying too many different sounds and ways to sing all at once, at DNA she got the balance a bit better but still had the Koda Kumi-ness missing in most songs, and with re(CORD) she got it just right. There are songs in which she sings in three or four different ways, like GET NAKED, almost to the point of feeling like a girlgroup song. However she layered those styles much better and balanced how much she would use of each one and when she would use them. And she added way more idendity to those songs, like she matched her W FACE signature to the new stuff she had tried with AND/DNA. I got really REALLY proud of the result.

Now to the album tracks themselves A lot of them, to me, are revisiting older songs and bringing them to new era, which is basically the concept of re(LIVE) as well. R&F is the key track in all of this, since it's basically CHANCES ALL 2.0 but also featuring an artist she already worked with. Put your hand up!!! gives me Lady Go vibes, she talked about Eh Yo being WIND part II, and so much can go on here. again is also a clear example of the album's concept, especially its video. And I like all tracks, some a bit more, but all are great songs. I love the latin vibe of some tracks, the hip-hop sound of others, and as a whole the album has so much energy and power. I think it might be one of my favorite albums of hers already! I wish some things were different of course but song-wise she nailed it this time. I can't wait to see where she'll go next, now she's got her stamina again. Hoping for new surprises and specially new collaborations to spice things up a bit in 2020


This analysis was awesome. I agree with most of it, and overall appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

I've yet to listen to re(CORD) since it isn't on Apple Music yet, but after reading this (and other people's positive perception of the album) I just might download it to take a listen.
  #176  
Old 1st January 2020, 07:17 AM
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Happy new year everybody

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xianghua View Post
I forgot, what does a-chi-chi mean again?
It's kinda like when you get scalded or burnt , Japanese would say atsui

A-chi-chi is also another way of saying it too
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  #177  
Old 1st January 2020, 08:26 AM
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The wallpaper for January:





Kuu says in her new year's message, that she wants to make her fans happy in her anniversary year and even though she knows those are pretty much just words used everywhere, she wants to come up with suprises for us.

Mayu Yoshikawa, a member of the girlgroup Up Up Girls, met Kuu yesterday:



She said she waited for a chance to meet her since elementary school (she's 21).
The group gave Kuu one of their CDs with a personal message written on it.
And now she posted a reaction video right after she met Kuu, being drenched in tears of happiness.
https://mobile.twitter.com/uug2_mayu...09407268139008

The guys Kuu was standing in between at the final of Momoiro's Kohaku yesterday were BOYS AND MEN, the boyband she was joking with in her Insta stories (and who came to watch her re(LIVE) tour earlier 2019).
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Last edited by Corvina; 1st January 2020 at 10:30 AM.
  #178  
Old 1st January 2020, 02:33 PM
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From Barks



https://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000176875
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  #179  
Old 2nd January 2020, 04:42 AM
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Xianghua Xianghua is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenPang View Post
Happy new year everybody



It's kinda like when you get scalded or burnt , Japanese would say atsui

A-chi-chi is also another way of saying it too
Oh I get it! Thanks
  #180  
Old 2nd January 2020, 05:02 AM
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Okay, so I know this is random but... with the uploading of some of her old PVs recently, I was reminded of the Cherry Girl drama she shot during Black Cherry that was packaged with the album. Well, back in the day, I tried to watch it, but not knowing Japanese, I really had no clue what was going on so I gave up. So, seeing the Cherry Girl PV made me remember the drama and I watched it with English subs and I have so many questions!!! Mainly, my issue with it is this: why did the two opposing parties plan together to kill Kuu's trio of private investigators?! How did they even know they existed and how were they a threat to them?? I just don't understand the reasoning behind the plot... They staged all this stuff to hire these girls just so they could kill them foooor what reason exactly? Please enlighten me someone!
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