[ limited / regular ]

Dakishimete Dakishimete PV

I like the covers, simple but still nice looking. I think I prefer the regular one to the limited.

As for the PV, I honestly think it’s one of the best ones to come from H!P in a while. It looks like their was actually some budget. Every girl looks gorgeous, and the dance is really interesting. The song is also pretty good too.

The single will be released on March 11th.

Omoi Afurete – Matsuura Aya’s 6th Album

01. Kekkon Shinai Futari

Rating – 8.5/10

I like this song. It’s not overly exciting or boring, it’s just a nice, relaxing song to listen to. The music is really nice.

02. Nanakai Utau to Ii Koto ga Aru Uta

Rating – 6/10

I got lost in this song. It’s not that interesting.

03. Beautiful Day

Rating – 8.5/10

Not very exciting, but it’s a nice listen. The song flows nicely, making it really easy to listen to. It’s probably a song I would listen to on a beautiful day, it really fits. :P

04. Boomboomboom

Rating – 10/10

This is the first song on the album that I really like. Very catchy! I’m already finding myself sing along to the chorus. Normally I find repetitions in the lyrics annoying, but the boomboomboom’s all over the song is just awesome.

05. Omoi Afurete

Rating – 10/10

This song blew me away. A ballad with that “dramatic” effect to the music and singing. Ayaya sings really well here and really showcase her vocals. The chorus is just beautiful. Probably the best ballad I have ever heard by her.

06. Rescue! Rescue!

Rating – 9/10

This song is really cute. The random English all over the song is awesome, and the song is very catchy. This song reminds me of something, but I can’t really put my finger on it…

07. Chuuou Kaisatsu

Rating – 7.5/10

Another typical ballad. Not great but not bad either. There isn’t really much to say about it.

08. Shinju

Rating – 6/10

Don’t like this song that much. It’s pretty boring and the way she holds on to some of the words is really annoying.

09. Fallin’

Rating – 7.5/10

The chorus is nice, but nothing really amazing.

10. Kizuna

Rating – 10/10

Overall Rating – 8/10

Nothing special, but there are a few good tracks here. I can sense that boomboomboom will be on repeat for a few days.

Morning Musume will finally release their 9th album titled Platinum 9 Disc on March 11th.

I’m really looking forward to this. It’s been two years since we had an original Morning Musume album. I hope JunLin will actually get some more lines, I really want to hear more from them since they don’t see to be doing much yet.

C-ute will release a new single titled Bye Bye Bye! on April 15th.

Good news, of course. I was slighty dissapointed with their lastest album, but their singles can usually stand on their own. More Chisato and Kanna please~!

4 Akogare My Star – Cute’s 4th Album

01. Akogare My Star

Rating – 9/10

This song is pretty good. It’s catchy and some of the girls’ vocals have really impressed me here. However, I can sense that this is one of those songs that you can begin to hate after listening to it too much. So it’s a good listen, but it’s not a song that should overstay it’s welcome.

02. One’s Life – Umeda Erika, Okai Chisto and Hagiwara Mai

Rating – 9.5/10

The rapping parts are awesome lol. This song is really flowy and calmish, I like it. It needs less Mai though. Way, way less Mai. Her voice just doesn’t fit the song and almost ruined it for me. Despite that, defiantly my favorite new song on the album.

03. Yes! All My Family – Suzuki Airi

Rating – 8/10

The song is no Tsuugaku Vector, but it’s pretty good. Airi’s vocals sound a bit strange here though, I don’t know how to explain it well, but she just sounds like she is singing while she has something stuck in her throat. It doesn’t sound like her. Oh well, it doesn’t really subtract from the quality that much. The way she says the title is really cute by the way~

04. Naimda no Iro

Rating – 9.5/10

05. Aishiteru Aishiteru – Nakajima Saki and Arihara Kanna

Rating – 7/10

The song isn’t horrible, but defiantly not anything special. It’s a bit on the boring side and their vocals don’t really help them out that much. It’s just not a good song for either of them. I think this song would have fit Airi or Chisato better.

06. Seishun Song – Yajima Maimi

Rating – 8/10

This song has it’s catchy parts, but it also has you waiting for “When will something interesting happen?” The chorus is really good and it’s already stuck in my head, but I think I’ll need a few more listens for this one to like the song completely.

07. Big Dreams

Rating – 7/10

Cute, but nothing special. There isn’t really much to say about it, it’s just not my type of song I guess. Airi’s solo in the middle of the song was nice though.

08. Shines

Rating – 3/10

I kept asking myself, “When is this song over?” The “WOWWWWWWWWW WOWOWWWWWWW WOWOWWWWWW” they sing like every 5 seconds is REALLY annoying. T_T

09. Yakusoku wa Toku ni Shinai wa

Rating – 9/10

Why did they put all the group songs at the end? I had a feeling this song would be a ballad. It’s really nice sounding, kinda like a better version of Aishiteru Aishiteru. I seriously couldn’t reconize some of the voices here, they sound really different but they pull it off really well. Finally they pull out a good ballad.

10. Forever Love

Rating – 9/10

11. Edo no Temari Uta II

Rating – 10/10

Overall Rating – 8/10

Better than their last album, but still a bit lackluster. If only they could come out with an album that was good as their 2nd. Oh well, this wasn’t horrible, really, but I was a bit dissapointed. I guess we can wait until their 5th album?

[limited / regular]

The covers are cute. I think I like the limited edition one more. Miyabi’s hair kinda bugs me, but everyone looks nice and the covers aren’t the usual crap that they get most of the time.

The album will be released on February 11th.

co・no・mi・chi – Buono!’s 6th Single

01. co・no・mi・chi

Rating – 9/10

Very nice song, and I believe it’s the first  Buono! song composed by Tsunku. The song took a while to grow on me, but it’s a really great song and Tsunku should definitely be involved with more of their songs. If you compare all of the girls vocals to the vocals in their earlier songs such as Honto no Jibun or Renai Rider, their vocals have definatly improved and this song really showcases it well.

02. Muteki no ∞ Power

Rating – 9/10

One of their best b-sides. The chorus is extremely catchy and like the a-side, it shows off the improvement of their vocals. In my opinion, this song is almost as good as Kokoro no Tamago.

Overall Rating – 9/10

Very nice single, and it’s their only single where both songs are equally good. I seriously can’t pick which one I like the best! This single has also made me like Miyabi a lot more lately…she used to be 6 on my rankings and now she is 3. I never noticed how much I love her voice.

Hello! Project soloist Mano Erina will make her official debut with a single called Otome no Inori, to be release on March 18th.

It’s been roughly a year since she released her first indies single. Is she ready? Honestly, I can’t stand Manopiano. I have only listened to it a few times though, so I should listen to it again to see if my mind can be changed. Lucky Aura was pure genius, and she actually sounded pretty good in the vocal department. I still haven’t listened to Lalala Sososo though. I had it downloaded and like a month after it finished, I decided to listen to it, but the file was corrupt. The comments I’ve read on various forums weren’t so good though…however, I think Erina has a chance at success. Although I am not her biggest fan, I will look forward to her releases.

Former Morning Musume member Yaguchi Mari will be collaborating with Airband, who are apart of Hexagon, and will release a single sometime in March. The exact date has not yet been announced.

It’s been four years since she has been featured anything…I’m so excited! Hexagon is pretty popular, right? I don’t know much aboutit, but Satoda mai seems to be having success with it. Best of luck to Mari, and I hope this won’t be the last thing she’ll release.

Very cute cover!  She looks really nice and I love the vibrant colors.

There is also a preview of the song floating out there, I have decided to wait until the PV until I listen to it, but some people are saying it’s “the return of Aya”. I believe it’s a happy and upbeat song, unlike her last few ballad singles. I’m really excited to hear it! I’ll be listening to her album that was released a few days ago and I will will write my thoughts on it here.

The single will be out on February 11th.