Beyond the Sea

SINGLE REVIEW
K - play and pray

1. play and pray
2. Believe in love you
3. Lovin’ You
4. play and pray -less vocal-

This is K’s 10th single and it was released on June 25, 2008. This single reached #48 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 2,673 copies.

Hmmm…play and pray is a step up from K’s last 2 singles, but even then I think it’s just an okay song. This mid-tempo R&B inspired song has uninteresting verses but a great chorus that’s pretty upbeat and jazzy. Similar to his past songs, there is a nice combination of his trademark piano playing mixed with R&B elements like fingersnaps and drum beats. His vocals are strong as usual too.

I liked the B-sides even more though…a lot more. The oddly titled Believe in love you should have been the A-side, honestly! The constant, yet rhythmic piano chords next K’s flowing vocals are fantastic and make this song stand out. The chorus is also quite vibrant with its inclusion of sweeping strings. Let’s hope this “B-side” makes the next album too.

When the tracklisting for this single was first announced, I couldn’t believe that he was going to cover Minnie Riperton’s 1975 classic Lovin’ You. You know, that song with the whistle notes? I kind of cringed at the thought of K performing of them, but I was glad that he DOESN’T after finally listening to his cover. He does his own normal high notes and his English has gotten even better (surprisingly).

Overall Rating 

3½ stars

SINGLE REVIEW
K × ET-KING - Kono Uta wo………♪

1. Kono Uta wo………♪
2. NO WOMAN, NO CRY
3. KI・ZU・NA ~Wasurenai yo~
4. Kono Uta wo………♪ -less vocal-

This is K’s 9th single and it was released on October 3, 2007. This single reached #19 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 4,942 copies.

There is one major problem that I have with Kono Uta wo………♪, and it’s ET-KING. The chorus is the only good part of the song because there is an actual harmony between the 7 members of ET-KING and K himself, and it doesn’t sound that bad. However, when they start freestyling and rapping, things go into the toilet. They sound SO annoying and obnoxious during these sequences of the song and what makes it worse is that they appear frequently. K’s solo parts are well done as usual, but even that doesn’t save this collaboration gone bad.

The first B-side is worse, FAR worse than the previous track. Words can’t describe how painful it was to listen to this cover of Bob Marley’s NO WOMAN, NO CRY. The song is riddled with horribly accented English and awful vocals thanks to ET-KING. Unfortunately, K’s vocals don’t sound that good either. The only saving grace of the song is the laid back reggae atmosphere that remains faithful to the original.

The next track is by far the best on the single and for one VERY good reason: ET-KING is not in it (rejoice!). KI・ZU・NA ~Wasurenai yo~ is a lovely ballad with a R&B feel to it. The chorus showcases strong vocals that are accompanied with calming strings. The piano arrangement that opens the song and is heard later in the background is excellent as well. This track better be on his next studio album.

Overall Rating

2 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
K - Birth of Treasure

1. Birth of Treasure
2. TRUST ME
3. To Be With You
4. Birth of Treasure -less vocal-

This is K’s 8th single and it was released on August 29, 2007. This single reached #42 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it sold 3,154 copies in its first week.

Birth of Treasure is a nice song, but an incredibly predictable one at the same time. It’s a cheery, yet generic ballad that doesn’t really show off anything new. K has done this before, and much better too. I guess you could say that I was expecting more after his excellent sophomore album Music in My Life. Don’t even get me started on that HORRIBLE cover with the ugly baby on it. It’s such a turn-off.

The B-side is definitely a lot more interesting. TRUST ME has a groovy, stylish sound that’s pretty cool. The only problem I had with it was K’s vocals near the end of the song because he goes a little crazy with his ‘yelling’ voice.

Track 3 is a cover of Mr. Big’s To Be With You.  I didn’t like K’s vocals in this song at because he’s definitely trying too hard to put unnecessary power into his voice. It just ends up sounding obnoxious to be completely honest. On the plus side, I liked the acoustic guitar, but that’s pretty much it.

Overall Rating

2½ stars

ALBUM REVIEW
K - Music in My Life

1. Music in My Life
2. First Christmas *
3. Again feat. Kurosawa Kaoru (Gospellers)
4. Together Forever ~album version~
5. Brand New Map *
6. Thirsty
7. Last Love
8. Stay Right Here
9. Asa no Hikari, Kaze no Nioi
10. The Day *
11. Blue
12. Hoshi no Omoi

♦

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 K’s 2nd Japanese album and it was released on December 13, 2006. This album reached #25 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it sold 12,864 copies in its first week.

The opening song on the album is the hot acoustic guitar track Music in My Life. K shows a new side of himself that I have never seen before and I absolutely love it. The acoustic guitar dominates this song and I think this the first time the instrument is an essential part of it. K’s English vocals are awesome as well.

The next track is the holiday love ballad First Christmas. This was the best holiday themed J-pop song of 2006 in my opinion. Its placement on the album is kind of weird though.

Track 3 is a slow and mellow R&B song featuring Kaoru Kurosawa of the the famous acapella group The Gospellers. Again features an absolutely catchy beat and chorus. Kurosawa doesn’t start singing until the middle of the song, but when he and K’s voices start to blend together, it’s pure magic.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a full version of Together Again, the B-side on the Only Human single, on this album. The new album version adds even more to the original, which makes it better.

Track 5 is definitely the most upbeat song on the album. Brand New Map is a very cheerful and happy song. It’s one of my personal favorite songs from K and it always cheers me up now.

The next track hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard it. Thirsty mixes dance and club beats with excellent vocals from K. I’m not afraid to call this song sexy, BECAUSE IT IS. =O

Track 7 is another upbeat song, but this time it is more brass driven. Last Love is pretty relaxing too.

Track 8 marks a turning point in the album because this is when things start to slow down, but not to the point where they are boring. Stay Right Here is a soulful R&B influenced song with slower paced vocals.

The same goes for track 9, Asa no Hikari, Kaze no Nioi. However, I could definitely sense some blues and jazz undertones.

Track 10 is the bittersweet ballad The Day. Since this was his first single after the release of Beyond the Sea, it still has some of the depressing piano chords and sad lyrics of his previous singles.

The last 2 songs on the album didn’t really do anything for me like the previous ones, but they work well as ending album tracks. Blue and Hoshi no Omoi are both upbeat, the latter track being a little slower but featuring a more progressive beat.

This album is quite different from his debut album Beyond the Sea in many ways, but the biggest difference is the overall mood, which is light-hearted and almost bittersweet. In my opinion, Music in My Life was a step up. It contains a lot more upbeat tracks and the songs are brillantly crafted (tracks 1, 3, and 6 being my favorite of the new songs). It’s good to see K experiment with different genres of music, and making more R&B and soul influenced tracks. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the ballads of his first album, but this is an excellent departure.

Overall Rating

5 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
K - First Christmas

1. First Christmas
2. STILL
3. Every Year, Every Christmas
4. First Christmas (less vocal)

This is K’s 7th single and it was released on November 1, 2006. This single reached #25 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 7,780 copies. The title track was the theme song to the movie 7gatsu 24nichi Dori no Christmas.

First Christmas features the traditional elements of a perfect Christmas song: jingle bells, an amazing string arrangement, and a lot of heart and soul. The middle of the song includes an acapella ensemble that gives the song a very old school and classic feel to it. I absolutely love the ending because of K’s spine tingling falsetto, reminiscent of the vocals in Only Human. I’m also happy to say that K’s English vocals in this song are at their very best. His pronounciation of words (otherwise slaughtered by other artists) is impeccable.

The first B-side, STILL, is a very light-hearted pop song with catchy English vocals in the chorus. This song would have been perfect if an R&B beat was incorporated into the music.

The next B-side is a cover of Luther Vandross’s Every Year, Every Christmas. The piano chords and additional light percussion are very jazzy and K’s English is almost completely understandable. He definitely gets the award for most improved English vocals for any J-pop artist.

I was very happy with all the songs on this single. K can definitely pull off a soulful song, even if it is Christmas themed.

Overall Rating

4 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
K - Brand New Map

1. Brand New Map
2. Sunshine
3. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?
4. Brand New Map (less vocal)

This is K’s 6th single and it was released on August 23, 2006. This single reached #20 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 14,385 copies. The title track was used as the 4th ending theme song for the anime BLOOD+.

To me, this was a very refreshing single. Brand New Map is probably his most upbeat pop song to date. The song has a very calming and cheerful atmosphere to it. The chorus is very catchy and like I said before, it’s very refreshing to the ears. The looping English phrase I’m gonna be on my way, bye bye my younger days, now wipe your tears away that is heard throughout the song is SOOO good and I love hearing it. There’s more to K than just his depressing piano ballads and this song proves it.

The next track, Sunshine, is a little more R&B influenced than the previous track. This song ALSO has a catchy chorus and it’s more laid back too.

K continues to wow me with his recent English covers. I absolutely loved his cover of I Like It and it was pretty daring of him to make his own version of Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?, the classic Rod Stewart song. I was a little nervous to listen to this song at first, but I realized that it is REALLY good. K’s version of the song has some slight R&B beats along with the famous synth line of the original version. His English has improved greatly as well, especially his pronounciation.

Overall Rating

4½ stars

SINGLE REVIEW
K - The Day

1. The Day
2. Let Me Go Now
3. I Like It
4. The Day (less vocal)

This is K’s 5th single and it was released on April 19, 2006. This single reached #14 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 12,965 copies. Also, this is his first single since the release of his debut album. The title track was used as the theme song for the movie TYPHOON. 

The title track, The Day, another high quality track. K’s vocals are great as usual and the combination of piano and strings is nice. What makes this song a little different is that it incorporates a great R&B beat in the background.

The single gets even better with the awesome B-sides. Let Me Go Now has a great beat with catchy lyrics. The song is a lot more energetic and upbeat than The Day and it would have made a better A-side in my opinion.

The 3rd track totally took me by surprise. I Like It is an English cover of the song made famous by DeBarge. The brass intro is HOT and instantly sets the mood of the song. The beats are amazing as well. K’s English is understandable at best, but he does a really good job overall. I honestly think this is the best track on the single.

Overall Rating

4½ stars

ALBUM REVIEW
K - Beyond the Sea

1. Cover Girl
2. Girlfriend *
3. Only Human *
4. TAXI
5. Oka no Ue no Fune
6. Beyond the Sea
7. Play Another One feat. Mummy-D (RHYMESTER)
8. Fly Away
9. Friends before Lovers
10. Dakishimetai *
11. over… *
12. Bye My Friends

♦

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 K’s debut Japanese album and it was released on January 18, 2006. This album reached #2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 142,221 copies. 

Track 1, Cover Girl, begins with a great and almost infectious beat. He has an amazing vocal range and this song is only a taste of what’s to come.

Tracks 2 and 3 were both released as singles. Girlfriend was K’s 3rd single and Only Human is his 4th. Only Human is his most successful single to date and I also think it’s his best Japanese song as well.

Track 4, TAXI, is a great mid tempo R&B song with a very catchy chorus. It’s definitely a highlight of the album.

I like the jazzy chorus of track 5, Oka no Ue no Fune. The song is an upbeat piano ballad with a nice string arrangement.

Track 6, Beyond the Sea, is another wonderful piano driven song with calm vocals from K. This is a very soothing song indeed.

Track 7, Play Another One feat. Mummy-D (RHYMESTER), is a new version of the song that was originally on the Girlfriend single. The original version featured only K’s vocals but this new version also features rapping from Mummy-D. The BGM is pretty much the same except for the intro and the bridge. Mummy-D has a weird voice too (haha).

Track 8, Fly Away, didn’t really grab my attention because it’s rather generic but K does a great job during the chorus.

Track 9, Friends before Lovers, is another mid tempo R&B number that didn’t really impress me. The English lyrics sounded a little too cheesy for me (You’re my best friend, your’re my lady). 

Tracks 10 and 11 were also released as singles and they are the both melancholy piano ballads. Dakishimetai was his 2nd single and over… was his debut single.

The final track on the album, Bye My Friends, starts off pretty normal but it completely changes once the background choir vocals arrive. The song itself is cheerful despite being about farewells. The ending is the best part because K sings along with the choir and it’s pretty inspiring to listen to. The song ends with the sound of people clapping and cheering and it’s a great way to end the album.

I don’t listen to that many male artists so I was a little skeptical when I first got this album because I never heard anything by K before. However, once I listened to each track, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a great album and it contains a very nice blend of various genres of music. I genuinely like his voice and find it astounding and pleasing to the ears. He has one of the best voices out there in my opinion.

Overall Rating

4½ stars

SINGLE REVIEW
K - Only Human

1. Only Human
2. Together Forever
3. Steppin’ Out
4. Only Human (less vocal)

This is K’s 4th single and it was released on November 23, 2005. This single reached #5 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 200,423 copies. The title track was used as the ending theme song for the uber-sad drama Ichi Rittoru no Namida (One Litre of Tears).

I am dead serious when I say that Only Human is one of the saddest songs ever. Everything about the song is sad. The lyrics, the BGM, and K’s vocal performance are all full of sadness. The most striking feature of the song is its simplicity. The piano chords are very simple but effective and the addition of background choir vocals is amazing. I honestly think this is his best Japanese song to date. The lyrics and English translation can be found here.

The first B-side, Together Forever, is short and sweet. It has a nice R&B beat and the overall mood of the song is great. A complete version appears on the Music in My Life album.

The English cover on this single is of Joe Jackson’s Steppin’ Out. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t heard the original version but I do like K’s version. Once again, he has pronunciation problems, especially with the word “electricity” (which he absolutely slaughters LMAO). Aside from that, it’s not a bad song.

Overall Rating

5 stars

SINGLE REVIEW
K - Girlfriend

1. Girlfriend
2. Play Another One
3. Just the Two of Us
4. Girlfriend (VOCALLESS)

This is K’s 3rd single and it was released on July 27, 2005. This single reached #19 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and it has sold 10,297 copies.

Girlfriend is probably one of my least favorite single from K. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s a good song, but I don’t like it as much as his other singles. This song does have a stronger R&B influence than his past 2 singles over… and Dakishimetai and the song really stands out during the chorus. The lyrics depict lingering memories between him and his ex-girlfriend:

Maybe you can take my hand without saying a word, just like when you were my girlfriend.

The Japanese B-side, Play Another One, is definitely the strongest R&B song of his Japanese career. It features loud brass with a lot of beats and his crazy falsetto is all over the place at the end of the song. A new version of this song features the hip-hop artist Mummy-D and it is on his debut album Beyond the Sea.

The English B-side, Just the Two of Us, is a cover of the famous Bill Withers song. This English cover is K’s best one yet. The opening piano keys are very nice and they smoothly glide into some light R&B beats. K’s English is good and it gets better with each single release.

Overall Rating 

3½ stars