First off - Take That!  Now, in fairness to this group, they do seem like a nice bunch of guys, and they have at least had the decency not to include the perennially annoying Robbie Williams in the new lineup.  They've even had a couple of decent songs - 'Patience' and 'Rule the World', although these are counterbalanced by the awful 'Shine'.  And if the reunion phenomenon had started and ended with Take That!, it would have been tolerable.

But it didn't end there.  Another group saw the success that the new Take That! were having, and decided that they wanted a slice of the action.  That group was the Spice Girls.  All of a sudden they were declaring themselves best friends again and saying how wonderful it was to be together.  Clearly it wasn't that wonderful, or they would never have stopped being together.  Anyway, they got together, announced that they were doing a tour, fell out again and split up leaving the tour unfinished.  They're still best mates though, honest.

Next up was New kids on the Block.  Now this one really disappointed me, because one of this group actually had found solo success.  Donnie Wahlberg is the man in question, and albeit his solo success was not in music (maybe a lesson to be learned there), he has garnered respect and acclaim as an actor.  He was in the terrific Boomtown and The Sixth Sense, among other work.  But I'm not sure that I can take him seriously any more.

Of course, the worst of all these reunions is Boyzone - a reunion I had been dreading ever since Take That! reformed.  Given that Louis Walsh, ex manager of Boyzone, once admitted on tv that all Boyzone did to achieve success was to copy Take That!, it was inevitable that they would copy them in reforming.  They too had a big fall out after they originally broke up - basically the rest of the band did not talk to Ronan any more - but obviously they are all friends again now, and of course, it's nothing to do with the fact that all of their solo careers have fallen flat and they could do with a few bob (ahem).  Anyhow, I was watching tv the other morning while getting ready for work and Boyzone came on performing their new song (which, believe it or not is even worse than any of their old ones).  As far as I could tell, Ronan and Steven Gateley (the only ones whose names I know) seemed to share vocals while the other three just swayed around in the background singing "aaahhh, aaaahhhh" and looking faintly embarrassed as well they should.

It can only be a matter of time before Westlife break up, but I know my joy at that long awaited event will be short lived, as they are bound to reform again two weeks later, and hit us with an onslaught of new crap, and a 'best of' compilation cd - just in time for Christmas probably (if anyone bought me such a cd, they would be off my Christmas card list for good).

Ah well, rant over.  I'm off to listen to some Foo Fighters and restore my faith in music.

Bros - When Will I Be Famous

East 17 - It's Alright

Take That - Do What You Want

Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True

Jaa, oled nüüd natuke ehk muheleda saanud ja noore Robbie Williamsi paljast taguotsa näinud. Päris hea päev siis ju.

Aga kas sa tead, millist lugu nendest viiest tegi eestikeelsena kohalik hittbänd Must Q? Oli see lausa nende kõige esimene ja mitte väga edukas lugu.

Ja veel üks küsimus - mis sa arvad, kas neljanda video stilist sai veel kunagi tööd?

Gabi :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6rFcwdjBM

oi, quatro pessoas que vieram aqui! :D hahahhaahha

ah, primeiro eu queria agradecer às queridas Li e Jana, que deixaram comentário e, depois, dizer que esse blog perdeu toda a pouca pretensão que tinha, porque eu não tenho o mínimo dom pra fazer blog interessante! hhahahahhahahha

hum... perguntei pra Gabi o que era a palavra que falava depois que jogava o lencinho e era "vício" hhahahahahah a gente tava viajando sobre algo de que não me lembro (pra variar só um pouquinho kkkkkk)

e, como eu prometi, aqui estão os vídeos do "galã" do Twister, o baterista Gilson (o melhor vídeo é o de "Perdi você", mas o de "40 graus" é o clássico, né! :D):

Perdi você
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi5aU_Qj91Q&feature=related

40 graus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnFkC9CNEuA

de onde que eu tirei Twister depois de tanto tempo? ué, mas lógico que foi de ficar assistindo a vídeos vergonhosos de alguns anos atrás nas madrugadas afora! hahaahahhah claro, o que vcs acham que eu fico fazendo na net a essas horas? só podia ser esse tipo de coisa, né? hahahhahha e eu e a Gabi, super arrependidas de não ter o único (?) cd do Twister :(( alguém tem pra vender? hahhahahhaha é porque, na época, surgiu outra banda no mesmo estilo... e sempre acontece isso, né? repara... nunca vem uma banda sozinha :O sempre tem duas! aí, a gente acaba escolhendo uma e deixando a outra meio de lado e foi isso o que aconteceu com o Twister. estou muito arrependida! hahahahhahah

vcs viram as tags do primeiro post? a primeira é "Add new tag" HAHHAAHAHHHAH isso que dá ser amadora!

ó, se o Leo virar um marido exemplar, eu vou ficar louca da vida. sério, eu tô amando tudo o que o autor tá fazendo na novela, exceto a parte do Malvino, porque eu adoro ele e, com esse papel, eu tenho que odiá-lo, mas não dá para aceitar uma mudança daquele tipo numa pessoa. a "pessoa" bateu na esposa, falou milhões de vezes que ela era um lixo e todo o resto e agora vai me dizer que ele mudou? ah, aqui não. me poupa.

ufa, depois desse momento desabafo...

 beijãoo! Carol

 this nkotb reunion is making me feel 14 again - without actually having to be 14 again.

reasons to be thankful for not being 14:

• that aching feeling you had all year
• fancying totally unattainable men
• being mortified by your parents
• having to choose cool friends over friends you actually liked
• having to wear the same outfit outside of school, for most of the year
• hating your skin, hair, everything about yourself
• having no cash

download nkotb

2 in the morning

call it what you want

don't give up on me

girls

i wanna be loved by you

if you go away

i'll be missing you come christmas

my favourite girl

never let you go

single

valentine girl

whatcha gonna do about it

Inutile dirlo, ma indispensabile farlo sapere, le boyband sono sempre esistite! Dai leggendari Beatles ai commercializzati Tokio Hotel passando per i "sempreverdi" Take That, le boyband hanno assunto nomi diversi a seconda delle epoche, e molto probabilmente, essendo io di vecchia generazione, probabilmente neanche boyband è il termine adatto!

Tempo fa andai da una mia vicina ad installare msn alla figlia 13enne: aveva tutta la stanza piena zeppa di poster dei Tokio Hotel, e la mamma mi disse "ma anche a te piacciono 'sti tipi?" ed io scherzando dissi "no io sn della vecchia scuola preferisco i Backstreet Boys!" al che la ragazzina mi rispose "Chi???" e la mamma "ah si li onosco mi piacevano anche a me sono quelli che cantavano..."  e qui inizia a cantare We've Got It Goin' On primo singolo dei Backstreet Boys uscito nel lontano '96...rimasi di stucco la figlia nn li conosceva e la madre si??? possibile?? poi vedi tutti questi ragazzi vestiti da punk, che quando ero piccola io ci si vestiva così solo a carnevale con qualche vestito strappato e magliette bianche con su scritto "Forza Vasco!", trucco nero sugli occhi anche per i ragazzi...ma dove siamo finiti?mi sono chiesta...ma sarà davvero rock, punk rock, o roba simile quella che ascoltano i ragazzi di oggi? Allora ho ascoltato alcuni brani dei tokio hotel, appunto, dei finley,ed altri nuovi di cui nn ricordo il nome, anche perchè mi sembrano tutti uguali, ed indovinate? di rock nessuna traccia, se nn vogliamo contare la chitarra elettrica, ma quella la usano anche i backtreet boys ed i take that...dunque mi sn chiesta qual'è la differenza dalle mie boyband ed i loro gruppi rock? NESSUNA!!! esattamente nessuna, solo che ora nn si porta più chiamarle boyband, i ragazzi acqua e sapone, perfettini, nn sono più di moda, anzi hanno stancato, come i loro balletti...

i beatles fanno parte della storia della musica, i backstreet boys suonano ancora dopo 15 anni portando in parallelo le loro carriere soliste, ma i Tokio Hotel? ed i Finley? finiranno nel dimenticatoio come gli 'nsync (ex boyband di Justin Timberlake) o i Boyzone o i Westlife...o peggio ancora gli Ultra...e ve li ricordate i five (o 5ive?)?

Staremo a vedere...

Baciuz

Bonzai Girl

Forget Backstreet Boys, Westlife or even Boyzone. Maybe New Kids on The Block. But isn't Avenue absolutely appropriate to be the new boyband of this millennium? Well, I really do think they can top the charts. Especially with that rendition of Gabriella Cilmi's 'Sweet About Me'.

I'm on sugar high.

--------

giri giri de itsu mo ikite itai kara
saa omoikkiri buchi yaburou riaru wo te ni ireru n da

ore ga hasuraa KID kore hatasu dake
koe karasu wake koerareru ka Dis
sore wa dare da? Ha-Ha ore wa JOKER
Doop na Rhyme de naki dasu jou chan
machi ni matta kore ga ore no Show Time
soudai kimero All Night
yabame na FLOW de waki dasu jounai
West Side East Side agero Hands up!

asufaruto wo keri tobashite
taikutsu na yoru ni doroppu kikku shita tsumori
subete karaburi...
tekitoo na nori de bakkurete
arienee uso narabetatte
sekai kaerare ya shinai...

yume wo miru furi shitereba
(J.O.K.E.R K.O geki ni naru)
nanka otona ni nareru ki ga shite
(Ai-Yo keihou narase kazase te wo)
shitauchi wo shita
(teichou ni yobe yo)

giri giri de itsu mo ikite itai kara
Ah koko wo ima tobi dashite yukou ze
kono namida nageki mirai e no step
saa omoikkiri buchi yaburou
(To go Through fire and water)
riaru wo te ni ireru n da
(The low of the jungle, So we never lost)

atarashii shatsu nigi sutete
zubu nure ni natta kayoubi wo
waraitakya waraeba ii
ame agari nureta teibou de
hajimete kimi ni tsuita uso wa
ima mo kawaicha inai

warui kedo kashikoku wa nai sa
(Sneaker, Speaker, Diva, kono no Key Right?)
kitto atama yori kokoro de
(Big Star, East Side, West Side, ore no Big Time)
kangaeru taipu
(teiou te wo agero sawage harabakku)

giza giaza de kiba wo muki dashi nagara
Ah ore tachi Start Dash de yuku n da
kono chikai dekai sekai no saki e
saa mugen koete ikou
(time lost can't be recalled)
riaru wo mitsuke ni ikou
(Faith come move mountain)
(J-O-K-E-R Yeah
Wake up, wake up, make up samero sainou
Play back, make bounce teiban kowashi Shine on)

giri giri de itsu mo ikite itai kara
Ah koko wo ima tobi dashite yukou ze
kono namida nageki mirai e no step
saa omoikkiri buchi yaburou
(Failure teaches success, So I wanna believe)
riaru wo te ni ireru n da
(The die is cast, So we have to go)

ore ga hasuraa KID kore hatasu dake
koe karasu wake koerareru ka Dis
sore wa dare da? Ha-Ha ore wa JOKER
Doop na Rhyme de naki dasu jou chan
machi ni matta kore ga ore no Show Time
soudai kimero All Night
yabame na FLOW de waki dasu jounai
West Side East Side agero Hands up!

In August of 1997, we arrived at the Bangkok International Airport, it was around midnight, and we were exhausted after 20 hours of travel! When you get off the plane, one of the first things you see is a banner that displays "Welcome to the Land of Smiles" and you see all the cute little Thais. We still had a two hour drive still ahead of us, just to get to the hotel where we'd be staying, what a LONG day that was!

We drove to Pattaya, which is south of Bangkok, the nearest city to where we'd be living. The hotel we stayed at was called the Royal Garden, and it had a MALL attached to it! I had never seen such a thing, and thought it was SO cool! As a 14 year-old girl, I was in heaven! The hotel was GORGEOUS, and the next day, I went to check out the mall, with no money of course, I forgot to ask for some Baht (Thai currency). I found this one store that, apparently, is big over in the UK, Boots, an odd name for a drugstore type of store, but they had a lot of American and British beauty products (although you'd pay the price for 'em), which was great! The mall also had a Benihana's, so it was a MAJOR improvement from Cairo.

When we went to see our new home, we were in disbelief that it was as beautiful as it was. We lived ON a golf course, so my parents and brother were ecstatic, HOWEVER, I tried taking golf lessons in Egypt, and decided I could care less. The 2nd mode of transportation was a golf cart, everyone had at least one.

I can't tell you how SPOILED ROTTEN we were over there, it's so cheap to live there, we are fortunate enough to afford a maid and a driver!!! Our maid and driver were married, and the lived with us, in the outside quarters. They really became part of our family, they had a beautiful little girl whose nickname was Ploy, which means pearl in Thai, isn't that sweet? To give you an idea of how cheap it is, we paid the maid the equivalent to $200, and she was one of the highest paid maids in the area! She felt so blessed we were able to give her a job, she gave up beef in return, completely on her own, and stuck to it!!! The Thais are willing to bend over backwards to please, and they really LOVE to smile, which makes me miss Thailand.

Because the primary religion is Buddhism, they have a different new year, their version is known as Songkran, which is celebrated April 13th - 15th, and it's just a big HUMONGOUS water fight! They do have a white powder they mix with water, and that is supposed to ward off evil, and they will nail you with that, as well, and can sting your eyes. If you think you can go out, and still stay dry, FORGET IT!!!!! Watch the clip below and see it's all in good fun:

School was different, we had uniforms, and I was not happy with that in the beginning. I'd never been to a school with uniforms, and the thought of wearing the same thing day in and day out was appalling! The school, the International School of the Eastern Seaboard (ISE) was SO small, even compared to my old school, CAC, there were less than 20 kids in the WHOLE 9th grade! We all had the same classes together, and there weren't choices in what you could take, except you had the option of learning French of Spanish. I couldn't even learn Thai in school, because there supposedly wasn't enough interest to have a class, the majority of the students were Thai. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to learn it, besides the basic 1-10 and hello, good-bye, thank you, etc... In the 10th grade, we went on a Biology trip, we called the "Barge Trip" where we were on a boat, and went around to different sights, and had a good time. I remember feeling tired throughout that trip, just the fresh air and the heat got to me, and maybe just gross from the fact we literally had timed showers, you had 3 minutes once you got in the bathroom area, to jump in and out, and get dressed again...that was rough! I do remember everyone taking turns in groups cooking, and that was fun! That was my first experience with okra, turned out I kinda liked it.

Here's a picture of the high school, that was newly built when I was there. If you can see the stairs have a covering, it's because there's no roof over the center of the building. One teeny tiny tidbit they may have overlooked, during the design process, was that there's monsoon season!

The good thing I learned is, when it's a small school, you get a chance to get to know everyone there, and I appreciated that, we had people from all corners of the world, and I can't tell you how NEAT it is to interact with people from such different backgrounds! I feel so blessed to have met EVERYONE there, the good, the bad and the ugly. It's interesting how you look back, and you realize the ways people shaped your life.

In Thailand, drinking was legal, so long as you paid, and the same went with prostitution. The typical stereotype if you saw a foreigner with a Thai girl, usually much younger, is she was getting paid for her company, and that was something you saw EVERYDAY! Even the next door neighbor would have parties with a few Thai women when his wife left. Everyone knew everyone else's business, MUCH more so than should've. I guess that's what happens when wives (of ex-pats) can't work (weren't allowed work permits), and have nothing better to do.  Anytime one of the their kids screwed up, and we ALL did, EVERYONE knew about it, and that was really annoying. My bad experience was with our golf cart. One day, I was screwing around on the golf cart paths, going up and down the hills for cheap thrills, and missed a turn,  I tried to compensate by turning sharply, which resulted in me falling out, and the cart kept going...right into the pond!!!!!! I was so upset, one of the neighbors happened to be driving by, and they gave me a lift back home. All I remember was I was grounded after that, and told I could NEVER drive it again! I was able to drive it again, they trusted me, and that was the last time I went up and down hills for excitement! I think it was about $100 or so just to dry it out. My mom jokingly told me to tell people I went looking for my dad's old golf balls, sadly, that excuse didn't fly!

Thailand has some Amazing beaches, in Pattaya, Phuket, and the small islands. Our family traveled to Phuket a few times, and stayed at Le Meridian Resort, which was recked in the tsunami, but has since been restored. We LOVED that place, there was always something to do, and everyday, they had this fantastic mongolian barbecue (I'm such a foodie), definitely one of the things I looked forward to. The only thing i hated was the pain from my "pasty-white-girl-tan", otherwise known as a sunburn, from being in the sun all day. Another place we visited was Chiang Mai, and on that trip, this Aussie boyband, Human Nature, performed in the lobby lounge of the hotel, and I remember thinking they were some FINE lookin' men LOL, but my tastes have changed since then, but a couple of them are still cute LOL. They ended up having some songs on the Asian and Aussie music charts, but nothing too big. What can I say, I was a sucker for any cute boy!!!!

Earlier, I mentioned how I'm kind of a foodie, and I love Thai food. I'm not one for a lot of spice, like most of their dishes, but it's worth the sacrifice, and if you think you're eating Thai food, but your nose isn't running, and eyes aren't watering, then it may not be authentic. I did learn how to make Thai fried rice, from our maid, sesame beef. I do have a recipe for chicken cashew, just have never made it myself, but it's awesome! Chicken satay and pad thai are my favorites!

Durians are a fruit that is native to southeast Asia, and you would KNOW if you were ever within a half a mile of one, the smell is unforgettable, to say the least! Remember how I said the high school was all open-aired??? Well, one day, someone brought 2 durians to school, and left them at the bottom of the stairs, and the smell was just AWFUL!!! One writer describes it as "overripe cheese. Rotting fish. Unwashed socks. A city dump on a hot summer's day", and I couldn't agree more!! Apparently, the public buses, which are all open-aired as well, wouldn't allow anyone with one of these supposedly tasty fruits on board due to the pungent odor. I never tried it, the smell was enough to turn me off. Pomelo was another fruit that is native to SE Asia, and it is SO good! It tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit.

Durian

See this picture...

Gorgeous, huh??? Well, these are what the Thais refer to as Katoys, which means "ladyboys", and they have Mr. Miss beauty pageants!! So, if you go there, you may not always get what you see, As you can see, many of them are more beautiful than real women! My parents took us to a cabaret show when we were on vacation, and later, we met some of the stars of the show, and my mother broke it to us that they were men, I just couldn't believe it, they were SO beautiful, but then I noticed the adam's apple!

While I was in Thailand, I had the opportunity to travel Vietnam, Bali and Australia. I think we loved Phuket so much, we didn't do as much traveling to other places, but I really don't have any places on my must see list, that I haven't already seen. I really loved the people, the culture, and the land, I would move back there in a heartbeat, if given the opportunity! There is a woman's blog I've been reading, who just moved there, and it brings back memories to read about her daily life, although, she lives in a different part of the country. I'm sure I missed things, but this gives you an insight into my life, as well as the things the average tourist might not experience.

JYP finally did it! He finally showed his new boyband group, 2PM on the 25th (Korean time).

JYP released a photo of the new group and it went around through the internet quickly, he also added a statement: "My pride hangs with this group. It is the first boy band I am releasing since g.o.d. which was 10 years ago." In addition, JYP stated, "Since this is the first boy band in 10 years, I put extra effort into the creation of this group. This group will change the meaning of the phrase 'boy band,' if they weren't different, I wouldn't allow them to debut."

Looks like JYP thinks this new boyband will be a hit! Do you think his new boyband will rise up to the top??

A colleague of ours passed us the DVD of the 2007 film Stardust of Michelle Pfeiffer fame and at the credits we heard this song "Rule The World" by Take That. We absolutely love it to pieces and found the video on Youtube and have been playing it over and over again thanks to imeem.com. Wondering who is Take That? Take That is the grand daddy of British boybands made up of members Jason Orange, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Gary Barlow (they are literally daddies with family and children of their own). 2007 was their very successful comeback year after a hiatus of 10 years. They are still as hot, only slightly older! Read more about them at Wikipedia.

That That (From L to R) Jason Orange, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, Gary Barlow

Take That in 1992, and yes the guy in yellow is Robbie Williams.

Dear shuyan shared this with me. Really amazing. We have a rekindling of hope now!

Psychische Probleme die trotz Behandlung nicht besser wurden, Burnout ähnliche Syntome - der junge Sänger gibt auf und kümmert sich erst einmal um seine Gesundheit.

Also I have to mention the Save the Light Bar campaign, and not just because it's uber-stumble home convenient for me! I thought it was being demolished for Olympic train line malarkey, but apparently it's for a tower block which is a horrible idea, I've heard grumbles from fellow Shoreditch residents since I moved there about how the city is eating into Shoreditch and Brick Lane, see the likes of The Onion Field, one among many to address this. It's such a great area, the city needs to be held at bay!

Anyway, check out Lewis' blog for news about the next Twit.

This is the last album by Us boyband 'NSync, and is here for you:

Download it here

Tracklist:

Download it here

Anyway, i am absolutly loving their new sound! This is a video off Youtube of the boyz singing their new song on the night i was there. The song should be released in October i think...it's got quite a bit of a rock edge to it, much different to the usual!

500 at Clark movie shoot
Crew is in Worcester filming new teen comedy

WORCESTER— Walking into Clark University’s Atwood Hall was like going through a time machine yesterday as 500 people with 1980s-style big hair and high-waisted Jordache jeans took part in the film “We Got the Beat.”

It’s the latest production by the dynamic duo of Jon Artigo and Andrea Ajemian, who made “Rutland, USA,” “Freedom Park” and the soon-to-be-released teen drama “Still Green.” Atwood Hall was the setting for “The Talent Show,” at which the lead character transitions from the hot-shot, high school quarterback to the leader of the “first-ever” boy band in 1982

FOR MORE GO TO:

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080726/NEWS/80726033

Today is Saturday morning, my first full day. We going to an island for a holiday, whatever that entails. Probably hiking. And getting laughed at and stared at. You should have seen the reaction when I said that I had a bikini with me!

They took me to a Korean restaurant for the first even, it was amaaaazing, but there was no karaoke. I did subtley mention it though... ;)

Afterwards we went to the big supermarket EMART, where the mother tried to buy me a top. Apparantly I dress like the whore of Babylon or something. Oh well. I'll play the baka gaijin card as long as possible. It's too hot for anything else!

All in all, so far so good. We had some issues at immigration because I didn't know my family's address but it turned out ok.

The most notable thing is....everyone is Korean! It's a lot stranger than it sounds. Everyone stares at me and says "ooooooh, beeea-utiful"! Which makes me terribly uncomfortable.

I ate an egg for breakfast! Can you believe it! It was runny, but I did it! Aren't you so proud of me!

I also saw my first boyband thing  - an ad on TV for an SG Wannabe concert. I don't particularly like SG Wannabe (the SG stands for Simon and Garfunkle, seriously) but it was still very exciting!

Also exciting is the toilet - it's one of those crazy futuristic ones...ooooooh!

I should probably go and pack for the trip now. Hopefully I'll post again soon!

Siobhan xxx

P.S. If somebody wants to tell me what was covered in Friday's training, that would be great! ;)

I can only hope Andrea doesn't need to send me any urgent text messages today. "Russian models, big birds, and money" and "Go home", just another day at AA Films. Up late baking cupcakes again. I figured we needed a team moral booster, considering the stress level in the office has been at the orange mark all week. Nothing screams stress-free like a devils food cupcake with AA Films colored M&Ms on them.

Boyband arrived this week. I am happy to say, Ryan Pinkston's mother and Andrea our planning our wedding. The anticipated meeting between Ryan and I involved him in rainbow suspenders and a belly shirt and me getting ready to audition a man, for what would later sound like a porn tape.

Anyway, Ryan is adorable, and I'm thinking this may work out, considering I am in constant communication with his mother. Speaking of communication, I have had the privilege of dealing with a certain phone company, for the past three weeks and have yet to fix the phone lines or the internet. But hey, I should be grateful, we now have two phone lines, oh wait, they're all static!

Lesson of the day: How to send a package:
Step 1. Call a company to pick-up a package.
Step 2: Tell operator to pick this package up at specified address.
Step 3: Make sure someone will be there all day.
Step 4: Wait for the phone operator to say, "okay, someone will come by."
Step 5: Confirm the address, number, and pick-up time with the operator.
Step 6: Make sure everything checks.
Step 7: Pick-up does not occur.
Step 8: Repeat Steps 1-6 with Step 7 as result.
Step 9: Repeat Steps 1-6 with Step 7 and 8 as result.
Step 10: Call a certain phone company to complain because clearly you can't get through to the shipping company either and while the shipping company was having trouble processing your request the three times you made it, you were listening in on alien signals from the phone line, which still has yet to be fixed!

I think I will bake cupcakes again tomorrow as I find we are slowly moving into the red zone.

Tracklist

1. Introduction For Kingdom
2. LAST ANGEL Feat.TOHOSHINKI
3. Amai Wana (甘い罠; Sweet Trap)
4. Himitsu (秘密; Secret)
5. Ai no Uta (愛のうた; Love Song)
6. anytime
7. Under
8. BUT
9. Koi no Mahou (恋の魔法; The Magic of Love)
10. Aishou (愛証; Proof of Love)
11. Anata ga Shite Kureta Koto (あなたがしてくれたこと; The Things You Did for Me)
12. Wonderland
13. FREAKY
14. MORE
15. Black Cherry (Bonus Track)

This is Koda Kumis 6^th album and was released on January 30, 2008. It reached #1 on the Oricon Charts and has sold 607,305 copies in Japan, but in total 1,159,263 throughout Asia. The song "Amai Wana" was used as Honda's "ZEST SPORTS" CM song and "Under" was used as VISE's "KOSE" CM song.

Opening Kingdom is apparently Koda Kumi’s take on the amazing whistle note, or something like it. I’m not really sure what the hell that sound is in the beginning. But anyway, the Introduction For Kingdom is a very pretty one. Nice and relaxing with the constant repetition of “love”. Although I really don’t get this introduction, or at least the track they placed after.

So why the hell did they place Last Angel right after the introduction? They clash horribly together. Nice sweet R&B (or whatever the intro was) and futuristic pop just don’t work together. Anyway, I’ve found myself never being able to make up my mind on this song. I love it one time, I hate the other time, I think it’s okay the next, then I decide it’s the worst song from Koda Kumi. So really, instead of making my mind, I’m just going to say Last Angel is a good song at times, but it could have been much better if Tohoshinki didn’t overemphasize their vocals at times, and if the music was just a bit more aggressive.

And up next, possibly one of my all time favorite songs on the album. Amai Wana has made an amazing playcount of 80 on my iTunes, and for a very good reason. I absolutely love Arabian works, and that what Amai Wana is. A hot Arabian track. Filled to the brim with sexy almost belly dancing like music and excellent vocals from Koda Kumi who finally shows us her nice range, this is a song to lookout for on the album. Although I question the live performances for this song. Apparently, Koda suddenly lost the ability to sing and dress properly (baggy hip hop clothing isn’t something for an Arabian song silly)

Ah Himitsu. It’s a nice sweet little R&B/Pop track, that doesn’t sound like Koda and her producers were in the Morning Musume mood. The little piano was nice, along with Koda’s vocals, but at the same time, this song feels horribly average.

And this is where we get to one of my favorite parts of the album. The ballad phase, starting with Ai No Uta. Even though this song is horribly typical of any J-pop artist and Koda Kumi (I guarantee you that EVERY SINGLE ARTIST out there has done song) it’s still very nice. Mainly because of Koda’s vocals, which were very well controlled (unlike in Aishou).

There’s just something so likeable about anytime. I’m guessing it’s because we all forget about the Britney Spears of Japan image Koda Kumi has and we get to see a much more adorable gentle side of her. This song is just really adorable and relaxing, and even though it sounds like something a little girl would sing to her so called “lover”, I liked it anyway. I really want to learn how to play those strings.

After 2 sweet slow songs, you guys were getting comfy huh? I bet you were lying down just getting ready to take a nice little nap at the park right? Well YOU’RE WRONG. Koda Kumi decides to give us a little wake up call. If you get into the comfy mode, the transition from anytime to Under can be freakishly scary (I should know). It’s like when you’re a guy, chatting with a sweet woman, you know, nice and all. Then she suddenly decides to strip down to her underwear and does a lapdance for you, but you’re gay.

….

Well anyway, if you guys thought Amai Wana was hot, Under is smoking center of the sun hot. This song features this really hot and “down and dirty” heavy industrial beat, and yet again, Koda is back to her really sexy vocals. Everything is just really hot about this song (can anyone say strip club music?), and I especially enjoyed those rap sections in the song. You might have a hard time pointing out where the chorus is exactly, and it may drag on for a while, but really, who cares? This song just breezed by for me.

Even more sexiness emanates from Koda, just in a more pimp cane and hat kinda way. Even after constant listens and repeats, But is still by far the best single that was released for this album. It’s still insanely catchy and danceable.

…And Koda Kumi is back with clothes on. When I heard those high pitched vocals in the beginning of Koi No Mahou, I was ready to give this song up. It’s quite a lot like Himitsu. Meaning, happy upbeat pop. This time around though, it’s not as average. Still average, just not as much.

So, Koda Kumi actually decides to take things seriously for once with Aishou huh? This song is actually very good, and a very emotional one too. The arrangement is pretty good, with the acoustic guitar and sudden bursts of electric guitar. But there is one big flaw of this song, and that is Koda Kumis vocals. It’s just all over the place in this song, as if she was slightly drunk (or trying too hard to add emotion) while she was singing this song.

This is where we reach the lowest point in the album. Anata Ga Shite Kureta Koto is the dullest song on the album, and there’s really nothing eye opening of this song. Just skip it. Really, the only thing that made this song even listenable was how she sang the title a few times during the chorus, but that gets old really fast.

Oh lovely, Koda Kumi is dipped in sugar yet again, but hey, at least it’s the kind of sugar that doesn’t make you nauseous. Wonderland is the happiest and poppiest song on the album, but god damn, it’s pretty good. It is still a horribly typical song, but I enjoyed the crazy “I won $10928430928490234 at the casino!” feel it had to it.

Possibly the weakest single released for this album, I actually forgot that Freaky was actually a single in the first place. Here’s the reason why, I find Freaky rather…average too. I mean, it’s good, but I really don’t find anything too eye opening about this song. I still enjoy singing along to the “get freaky” lines though. XD

And we finally get to see a side of Koda that I have never seen before. Bye bye sexy image, bye bye “I’m a little Morning Musume girl”. HELLO diva. More is one of the most unique songs on the album because of it’s very jazzy diva like arrangement. Plus, there’s a certain power to Kodas voice in this song, but I think she should have really belt it out a bit more, since it felt like it was lacking. I gotta say though, I enjoyed the background vocals, and it was entertaining listening to the constant of repetition of “more”. I like this jazzy side of Koda.

Hey, remember the introduction to Black Cherry? Well I sure don’t! But whatever. Apprently, Black Cherry is actually an extension of the introduction from Koda’s pervious album Black Cherry. This song sticks out like a sore thumb, but it’s pretty damn good. Very danceable, and tons of English lyrics. The song tends to feel very repetitive after a while though, which is why I was glad the song ends in a very surprising unexpected way.

You know what’s funny? I really didn’t want to review this album. For some reason, in my head, I kept telling myself that this was a really really crappy mediocre album that didn’t even deserve my attention. However, when I finally got off my butt to review this, man was I wrong. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of the songs on this album are worth a listen. Almost every song here is of high quality, and has something good about them. Really, this is the very first album by Koda Kumi that I have listened too fully, and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a bit sad though, that all that stupid controversy with Koda Kumi made things harder for this album. Still worth a listen though.

Overall Rating

4 out of 5

Thanks to baka_tenshi for the scans!