Beyond the Sea

SINGLE REVIEW
JYONGRI - Unchanging Love ~Kimi ga Ireba~

1. Unchanging Love ~Kimi ga Ireba~
2. Trust & Try
3. YOUR SONG
4. Unchanging Love ~Kimi ga Ireba~ 
             / Instrumental
5. Trust & Try / Instrumental

This is JYONGRI’s 5th single and it was released on June 4, 2008. This single reached #12 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 15,715 copies.

At times, Unchanging Love ~Kimi ga Ireba~ sounded similar to JYONGRI’s last R&B infused pop ballad Lullaby For You. It’s less of a ballad than Lullaby For You though since it features faster vocals and a more upbeat rhythm. The verses are boring because the vocals sound a little dry but at least they transition into a vibrant chorus. This is where she begins to put some life into her voice and it’s a considerable change. In the end, this was another good A-side from JYONGRI but the B-sides…man, they’re bad.

Trust & Try is odd and a horrible combination of dance beats, electric guitar, and synth. The overall presentation of this song is just plain sloppy and it felt poorly put together. I had the biggest problem with the chorus because it’s a huge mess. It ranks with Romeo & Juliet as one of her worst B-sides.

There is one word describe her modern rendition of Elton John’s YOUR SONG: AWFUL. What ruins this otherwise okay cover is the rapper that blurts out random crap. It’s totally distracting and some of the things he says are just plain stupid (I wanted to punch him by the time it got to his “solo” part). I guess he was added into the song to make it more “urban” but it didn’t help one single bit.

Overall Rating

3 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
JYONGRI - Kissing Me

1. Kissing Me
2. You’re the One
3. Lullaby For You -English Version-
4. Kissing Me (Instrumental)
5. You’re the One (Instrumental)

This is JYONGRI’s 4th single and it was released on January 30, 2008. This single reached #11 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it sold 7,376 copies in its first week.

Kissing Me has to got to be JYONGRI’s strongest offering since her debut single Possession / My All For You. The song is actually quite similar to Possession in some ways, but it deviates from it as well. The music has an ambient atmoshere, combining an upbeat dance rhythm with a prominent piano arrangement. The overall product sounds quite refreshing and it’s different from anything she’s done before.

The single gets even better with the B-side, You’re the One, a more laid back track. It’s a really charming song and definitely one of JYONGRI’s better efforts when it comes to her more pop oriented works. I loved the catchy chorus and her vocals are excellent, especially when she starts adlibbing near the end. I also enjoyed the bridge where the music slows down a little bit for a cute drum sequence.

Included on the single is an English version of Lullaby For You, her previous single. The English lyrics are very good and they fit this love ballad extremely well. With the exception of this horribly cheesy lyric… 

Sweet dreams I do not see cause darkness scares me. Is it because I’m still fifteen or the loneliness in me?

Oh well. It’s still pretty good, if not as good as the Japanese version.

Overall Rating

4 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
JYONGRI - Lullaby For You

1. Lullaby For You
2. Catch me
3. Lovers DRIVE
4. ~Yakusoku~ Live Version
5. Lullaby For You (Instrumental)
6. Catch me (Instrumental)
7. Lovers DRIVE (Instrumental)

This is JYONGRI’s 3rd single and it was released on July 25, 2007. This single reached #12 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 20,963 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the Square Enix video game Subarashiki Kono Sekai (The World Ends With You overseas).

The opening piano chords of Lullaby For You are really pretty and set the gentle tone of this ballad. The song adds some R&B beats in the mix when it draws closer to the chorus. Speaking of the chorus, the vocals are great and JYONGRI puts a lot of emotion into her voice. This is a well done song.

The 2 new B-sides on the single are both upbeat tracks, the first one having a more aggressive R&B style to it. Catch me starts off promising but the annoying chorus kind of ruins it. The English lyrics of the song cheesy too: Catch me if you can and Gotta be a macho man.

I liked the other B-side Lovers DRIVE a lot more. It’s very poppy and JYONGRI’s vocals really add flavor to the song. The chorus is also fantastic. The only problem I had with the song was it’s ending; the English lyrics at the end really annoyed me: Sunny day, feels like it’s a holiday, come my way, so much fun like a birthday. Those lyrics can also be heard as the background vocals during the chorus but still, it’s a bad way to end the song.

The next track is a live version of ~Yakusoku~, one of the songs from her debut album Close To Fantasy. Instead of the piano arrangement of the original, it is replaced by the acoustic guitar. Compared to other live versions of other artists’, the quality of this one is sort of bad because everything sounds slightly muffled. Anyway, JYONGRI sings amazingly well live so I’m not really complaining about sound quality.

Overall Rating 

3½ stars

ALBUM REVIEW
JYONGRI - Close To Fantasy

1. Getting Funky!
2. Possession *
3. Hop, Step, Jump! *
4. ICHIZU
5. Stay
6. Let Me In
7. My All For You *
8. Romeo & Juliet *
9. ~Yakusoku~
10. Lost Girl
11. Wherever

♦

Note: Songs with a (*) at the end of their titles have already been reviewed. Click on the links to see their reviews.
Songs in bold are new tracks and will be reviewed.

♦ ♦ ♦

This is JYONGRI’s debut album and it was released on March 21, 2007. This album reached #25 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 28,275 copies.

The album opens with the catchy synth riffs of Getting Funky!. This is a great opening track because it clearly showcases JYONGRI’s crisp vocals and professional composition skills. I am amazed that she wrote and composed all of the songs on this album at the age of 18.

The next track is the first song from her debut single. Possession is the most aggressive song on the album because of its mix of fast paced classical strings and strong dance beats. JYONGRI’s vocals are at their best as well.

I absolutely love the next track, Hop, Step, Jump!, her 2nd single. Even though it somewhat lacks energy, it more than makes up for it in terms of overall sound and presentation. The chorus is extremely catchy and the song’s R&B undertones are great. Along with Possession, I consider this song as the signature track of the album.

The first new track is ICHIZU, a laid back pop song. I did find this track to be a little on the boring side and nothing that special.

I thought the next track, Stay, was great. The piano chords were excellent and the beats were odd, but effective. The overall mood of the song is melancholy and JYONGRI’s vocals really match the sad tone the music.

Things get even better with track 6, Let Me In. This is an upbeat song with a catchy chorus and upbeat vocals. The music combines synth, underlying piano, and even some electric guitar. Compared to the rest of the tracks on the album, this song is quite unique.

The next track was the 2nd song from JYONGRI’s debut single. My All For You is a really pretty song and is the first of the 2 ballads on the album. The chorus is definitely the highlight of the song and becomes stronger towards the end.

Track 8 is probably my least favorite song on the album. Romeo & Juliet just gets on my nerves with its cheesy lyrics and sound. This song was originally the B-side on the Hop, Step, Jump! single.

The last batch of new tracks begins with ~Yakusoku~. I liked the opening English lyrics that seamlessly flow into a slow mix of strings and piano. This track is similar to ICHIZU, but features better music.

Track 10 is another somewhat laid back song. Lost Girl is more progressive and features a catchy chorus. The English lyrics are great as well: I lost myself when I lost you and So scared, where do I go from here?. JYONGRI’s falsetto is probably the weakest aspect of her voice but she still manages do it well.

Along with Getting Funky!, the final track is my favorite of the new album tracks. Wherever was the first song that JYONGRI released in Japan in the form of a PV. This is a simple piano love ballad with a lot of heart and grace. The chorus of the song is mainly in English with some Japanese in the middle: Your love lets me fly so very high and No matter the distance, we’ll be together forever. I thought this was an excellent ending track for the album.

Close To Fantasy is not a bad debut album to say the least. It’s not great either but it shows a clear indication that JYONGRI has a lot more potential as a singer, songwriter, and composer. She has plenty of time to grow, refine, and improve the sound of her music because she has only just begun to show what she is capable of. I will definitely be looking forward to her future works.

Overall Rating

3 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
JYONGRI - Hop, Step, Jump!

1. Hop, Step, Jump!
2. Romeo & Juliet
3. Hop, Step, Jump! (Instrumental)
3. Romeo & Juliet (Instrumental)

This is JYONGRI’s 2nd single and it was released on February 21, 2007. This single reached #32 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 5,895 copies.

Compared to her debut single Possession / My All For You, Hop, Step, Jump! was a little underwhelming. Despite its shortcomings, this was a really pleasant song. It has a nice, toned vibe with great vocals from JYONGRI. Even though it is a mid-tempo song, the beats are pretty strong, especially during the catchy chorus. The English lyrics at the end of the song are cute too: Let’s hop and step and jump together, it’s easy like your ABCs, it’ll take you anywhere you want to be, so don’t be shy.

Unfortunately, the B-side Romeo & Juliet is not good at all. The chorus irritates me because of the cheesy lyrics and generic sound. Well, this is a cheesy song and a very forgettable one at that.

Overall Rating 

3½ stars

SINGLE REVIEW
JYONGRI - Possession / My All For You

1. Possession
2. My All For You
3. Possession (English Version)
4. Possession (Chris Paul Club Remix)
5. Re-Possessed 
    (Possession - Chris Paul Dub Mix)
6. Possession (Instrumental)
7. My All For You (Instrumental)
8. Possession (Vocal Track)
9. My All For You (Vocal Track)

This is JYONGRI’s debut single and it was released on December 13, 2006. This single reached #16 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 30,277 copies.

JYONGRI is a new artist on Toshiba EMI record label (the same as Utada Hikaru) and by listening to this single, I think she shows A LOT of promise as a young and fresh newcomer in the Japanese music industry. Possession is a fast paced dance track that combines JYONGRI’s fluent English and Japanese. I thought it was pretty daring to mix strings and R&B beats together in the song but it works pretty well. JYONGRI has a great voice and she really shows it off during the bridge.

The other A-side is the R&B ballad My All For You. This is a typical slow R&B track but I actually like this song more than Possession. JYONGRI gets a chance to showcase the full extent of her voice during the chorus, which is my favorite part of the song. The song elevates a little bit towards the end when a stronger beat comes into play.

The next 3 tracks on the single are the English versions of Possession. The original English Version is set to the BGM of the Japanese version. I don’t really like the English version, not because of JYONGRI’s vocals (they’re perfect), but the song just doesn’t seem to flow as well in English. The same goes for the Chris Paul Club Remix as well.
The last remix has been retitled Re-Possessed (Chris Paul Dub Mix) because it’s pretty different. There are some interesting twists and turns in this remix and the slow down part at the 2:20 mark is pretty cool. This is when the remix starts to become a full blown electronica / dance hybrid.

Tracks 6 and 7 are just your basic instrumentals of Possession and My All For You but I thought it was an excellent idea to add vocal tracks (tracks 8 and 9). The vocal tracks do not feature any music at all and only feature the main and background vocals. Now I wish more singles included vocal tracks.

Overall Rating

4½ stars