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Tracklisting
1) love you
2) Ima Demo Aitai Yo… feat. Spontania
3) Brand New World
4) Koi wa Groovyx2
5) trust you
6) BAILA BAILA
7) BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!
8) miss you
9) LOVE MACHINE GUN
10) No one else
11) Body
12) Groovyx2 (Hidden Track)
DREAM is the third album from Yuna Ito. It had three singles released before it to promote the release, and is due to be released on the 27th of May, 2009.
Yuna Ito’s main focus has always been ballads. WISH was full of them, and HEART was almost as bad. You’d expect DREAM to continue this 
trend, but thankfully, we see something new from Yuna. And I don’t just say that because this album has nowhere near as many ballads as her previous albums.
DREAM, as a whole, was both a way for Yuna to experiment a little, and there are quite a few cases. We all know that Yuna’s been using the Hawaiian sound for quite a while, and now we get two examples of its use here: A bouncy, upbeat island tune in BAILA BAILA, which even goes so far as to add in a crowd cheering along with the song as if it was performed live. The other, BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!, was the b-side to the miss you single, but gives us a slightly edgier surf-styled song that uses a similar, yet less prominent beach/island sound.
Beyond expanding on this style, though, Yuna takes it a step further with two distinct songs on the album: LOVE MACHINE GUN is an all-out, edgy rock track. Or, rather, as close as it gets for Yuna. It uses a grungier, heavy instrumental instead of the bouncy, light-hearted sound many of the tracks use, and there’s even a bit of a vocoder over Yuna to make her voice fit better, and she’s also singing in a deeper voice, so it sounds 
radically different.
There’s also Body, which, believe it or not, showcases Yuna’s sexier side. The English lyrics are quite intriguing, revolving around love, attraction and the saucier benefits of relations. It’s not exactly the most fitting song for Yuna to formally end the album with, but she does place her lesser experiment here, too: Groovyx2, the remake of the Koi wa Groovyx2 single’s a-side that sounds exactly the same, yet has a completely English set of lyrics and was performed under the moniker of Christine Ito instead of Yuna Ito.
Experiments and lesser attempts behind us, there’s still quite a bit to be said about the album. As I’ve mentioned, it’s her happiest album so far: Of the 12 tracks, there are only four ballads: Ima Demo Aitai Yo, trust you, miss you and No one else. All you fans of Yuna’s ballads won’t find a lot here, but if you’ve been wanting something a bit more upbeat or different from Yuna.
Even with all of those ballads, the flow of the album is never really a huge issue. The only real issue with flow that the album faces comes in the transitions between trust you, a mellow synthed-up ballad, and 
BAILA BAILA, the island party song. It could also be said that Body and Groovyx2 don’t flow rather well, but with a minute of silence between them, can you blame it for that? I’m rather impressed with how well it all went together, as there are quite a few distinct songs in here.
For a fan of upbeat music like me, it was quite easy for this album to strike a chord with me. Anyone who’s read my miss you review will know that I loved BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!, and that love of course also follows on to BAILA BAILA. They aren’t exactly masterpieces, but they’re nice for when you just want to listen to something mindlessly happy. The real stand-outs here were love you and LOVE MACHINE GUN: love you for its disjointed, slightly Westernized sound that mixes brass instruments and that SLIGHT island sound with the banging, rolling drums; and LOVE MACHINE GUN for its edgy, mature sound that we really haven’t heard from Yuna before now. The fact that it’s so full of attitude and power was even more of a surprise.
Album Score
B
Favorite Tracks
1) LOVE MACHINE GUN
2) love you
3) BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!
4) BAILA BAILA
5) Ima Demo Aitai Yo… feat. Spontania
It’s not the best album out there, but it’s a definitely Yuna Ito’s strongest effort so far. The singles definitely weren’t much to go from, and overall they made me come into this album with a rather bad impression. However, they were definitely the weakest parts: The new tracks brought a lot to the table, and the greater majority of them were highly enjoyable. It was nice to see more of a focus on an upbeat, happier perspective instead of mechanical ballads that never really made a huge impression on the listener. This pop-meets-island/”experimental” sound suits Yuna a lot better, and I think this is what she should be focusing on in the future, really.
Tracklisting
1) trust you
2) Brand New World
3) Koi wa groovy×2
-DJ-PASSION MORE PASSION REMIX-
4) trust you -Gundam 00 Version-
5) trust you -Instrumental-
trust you is Yuna Ito’s 13th overall single. The title track was used as the second ending theme for the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam 00. It reached #5 on the Oricon weekly charts, and was released on the 4th of March, 2009.
To me, Koi wa Groovyx2 was a flop. Thankfully, trust you is a bit better. It’s a ballad, and uses a lot of strings and a bit of synth, as well as some light R&B beats. Yuna’s singing sounds great in this semi-minimalist arrangement, but something about her voice is starting to bug me when I listen to her, so I wasn’t really enjoying it as much as I could have. The first chorus is similarly minimalistic, but the upsurge in the strings helped it quite a bit. It’s a rather simple song, but it was at least sort of enjoyable. There is a bit of a rise in the mood later in the song, but it was pretty similar all the way through at the same time.
Brand New World, however, has this light dance feeling to it with its synths, with a lighter synth playing the main hook of the song. Yuna sounds… Worse here. The lyrical arrangement could have been a bit better, and her voice sounds horrible when she lowers her voice in the middle of a note. She sounds kind of strained at the higher notes, too, but nothing too bad. I’m not really feeling this track either, it seems kind of… Generic. I do like it more than trust you though.
Ugh, it’s Koi wa groovyx2 all over again… But this time, it’s the DJ PASSION MORE PASSION remix, and honestly, they’ve just changed the beats in the background a bit. You can even hear that they sound rather similar to the original ones, they just made it less latin, more… Something. I can’t even think of how to describe it. I’ll pass, thanks.
And the single ends with the Gundam 00 Version of trust you. There are a few arrangement changes here, but nothing really special. It’s just a shorter version used to close the anime. It only appears on the special edition that has the anime cover, too, so most people won’t even get it, depending on just how limited it is.
Single Score
B-
Favorite Track
Brand New World
Eh… Yuna’s in a downward spiral for me. This single was okay, but really… I’m just not feeling it. I used to like her voice and her music a lot, and now I’m not sure whether it’s just me, but her voice is starting to get more and more annoying with each passing single, and the music is getting worse as well. Thankfully, trust you kept it from getting even worse, but still, I wasn’t really wowed like I have been in the past. I’m not really looking forward to seeing how DREAM turns out anymore.
Tracklisting
1. Koi wa groovyx2/ Koi wa groovy groovy (恋はgroovy×2; lit. Love is groovyx2/Love is groovy groovy)
2. Mafuyu no Seiza (真冬の星座 lit. Midwinter Constellation)
3. miss you (Hawaiian Breeze Remix)
4. Koi wa groovyx2 (恋はgroovy×2; lit. Love is groovyx2)(Instrumental)
Koi wa groovyx2 is Yuna Ito’s 12th overall single, and the second in her latest era. It will be used to promote Gap Japan’s 2008 Holiday Collection Winter Neutrals line. It was released on the 26th of November, 2008.
Originally, I was a fan of Koi wa groovyx2. It suited Yuna’s mechanical singing voice, and I thought it was kind of fun. But really, the whole latin dance sound doesn’t do a whole lot for me. The beginning of the chorus, with the “Na na na-ing”, gets kind of annoying fast, and she strains her voice quite a bit when it comes to the faster high notes in the chorus. It is good that it’s only 3:36 in length, because any longer and I doubt I’d be able to finish the track when I listened to it now.
Mafuyu no Seiza is another ballad from Yuna, and while I’m not usually a huge fan lately (I’ve really changed my view of her since miss you came out), the opening of this song is stunning. Yuna’s singing already sounds a lot better than it did in ‘miss you’, her previous single, as she isn’t staying on one note all the time, and you can actually hear some emotion in her singing. The simple arrangement fits the song well, while not taking it to an entirely orchestrated sound. The section with only the piano accompanying near the end sounds brilliant, too, but unfortunately that doesn’t last long. A whole chorus of that closing the song would’ve made it even better, but whatever, it’s not a huge problem.
The miss you Hawaiian Breeze Remix changes the song from a somewhat island-themed ballad to a full-on, laid back island song, with its subdued arrangement and slower sound. While the verses sound alright, the chorus only adds a few more synths to it, which really don’t help when it reaches the end of this section. It also has some extended instrumentals with Yuna speaking over them, and the wind instrument (I’m not too sure which it is) near the end actually sounds pretty good as it goes over the simple music and Yuna speaking to the listener again. It’s over seven minutes long, which seems kind of like overkill to me, but it’s good for what it is.
Single Score
C
Favorite Track
Mafuyu no Seiza
So, I’m not overly happy with the a-side of this single as it stands, but the b-side really helped the single along, and while the remix was a bit long-winded, it was one of the better remixes of Yuna’s songs that I’ve heard. It’s not a great single, but it would be a lot worse without the b-side. I wouldn’t recommend it, but die-hard Yuna fans might enjoy it.
Tracklisting
1. miss you
2. BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!!
3. Urban Mermaid -Bittersweet Movement Blood-I Riddimix-
4. miss you (Instrumental)
miss you is Yuna Ito’s 11th overall single. It was released on the 3rd of September, 2008, and as such, no sales information is currently available. (It will be added after the first week of sales.)
So, I decided to review miss you a little early, so there isn’t any sales information yet. Onto the song itself, it opens with the sound of the beach, which is quickly joined by a subdued strings section, with Yuna ad libbing, before the vocals come in. It sounds like the usual sort of Yuna ballad, but for some reason, I don’t mind it as much this time, and it quickly begins to pick up at the bridge, which you won’t be waiting for very long. The chorus relies on the repetition of two phrases per chorus, with Yuna’s vocals between them. Many frequent visitors will know I’m not a ballad fan, but there’s something about this one that can keep me interested and listening. It’s not a slow song by any means, instead going at a medium tempo, with the usual rise in tone as the song progresses helping more here than it does in many other songs. This is definitely Yuna’s best ballad yet.
At first, the title BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!! scared me to death. The song opens like a usual beach song you’d hear in the 50s, with Yuna speaking over this introduction: “Everybody to the beach! / We’re gonna be breezin’”. That pretty much sets the tone for the song, and despite the opening being in English, it’s all in Japanese. I’ve always had an odd attraction to these songs, and Yuna pulls this one off surprisingly well. The chorus sounds more electronic than a song from Yuna ever really has, while not making it sound like downright techno-pop. She seems to be trying a few new styles since WISH came out, and this is definitely one that could make her interesting if she at least keeps up with a similar style. Not that it’d make a good entire album, but it’s not something you hear a lot of lately.
The Bittersweet Movement Blood-I Riddimix of Urban Mermaid has a much livelier opening compared to the original. It starts with an ethereal, sparkling opening (possibly done by a piano), followed by a line of synth that seems to be trying to mimic the sound of strings… Unless it’s electronically enhanced strings. Either way, the usual vocal line comes in over this brand new arrangement, which quickly leads into the chorus, which once again sounds like it takes some influence from island music. The breakdown near the end is a furthering of the chorus arrangement, which basically sticks throughout the remainder of the song, in a much livelier manner. It still has the downright awful lyric in there, but this is actually a solid remix.
Single Score
A+
Favorite Track
miss you, BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!!
This single was quite surprising. When I first heard the preview, I was really turned off, as it sounded like another Yuna ballad. However, once I heard the full version, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they actually made it work this time. The b-side was probably the bigger surprise, as it actually managed to make itself sound good, even with a horrible name. This is the first single I would whole-heartedly recommend from Yuna, and it’s definitely her best to date.
Tracklisting
1. Power of Love
2. alone again
3. Anata ga Iru Kagiri ~A World to Believe In~
4. Urban Mermaid
5. HEARTBEAT
6. Colorful
7. Unite As One
8. Mahaloha
9. A Long Walk
10. Moon Rabbit
11. I’m Here
12. Wish
13. Tokyo Days
14. MY HEART WILL GO ON
WISH is Yuna Ito’s second studio album. It reached #3 on the Oricon weekly charts, and sold approximately 101,250 copies. It was released on the 20th of February, 2008.
The album opens with Power of Love. While this song starts slowly and sounds like a ballad, it slowly picks up the pace and gets faster as the song goes on. The opening verse can be somewhat annoying, and at first, I didn’t even notice it came to the chorus, but it’s got a nice sound to it. The fast-paced chorus is the most appealing part of the song, but the rest of it is somewhat forgettable.
alone again takes it down a notch. It’s a much slower song than Power of Love, which wasn’t overly fast in the first place, and has a calmer sound to it that should remind single listeners of Urban Mermaid. Again, the verse tends to be somewhat boring (again, like Urban Mermaid, coincidentally), but when it explodes into the chorus, it picks up. Again, the song tends to be somewhat forgettable.
Oh, god, no… Anata ga Iru Kagiri ~A World to Believe In~ obviously made it on, but unfortunately, it’s the duet version with Celine Dion. I’ve always loved this song, but Celine just ruins it. Granted, her voice works somewhat well in this song, and she harmonises well with Yuna, so it’s bearable. I’m thankful that she didn’t mess it up as much as she could have.
Women’s anthem to the max~ Urban Mermaid sounds brilliant with its airy synthesized backing track, and Yuna’s spot on vocals, but when the chorus opens, the “I’m a beautiful mermaid” line just makes me cry in pain. I like the song, but that one line kills a great track. “Don’t be afraid/Naked heart” comes close to it, though.
HEARTBEAT gives us the second pop track on the album, and it’s also the fastest song thus far. It doesn’t borderline on being a ballad at all, like Power of Love seemed to at first, and it manages to sound different than the rest of the songs on the album so far, which is great, because it was starting to get monotonous. (I never usually count Urban Mermaid.) Yuna’s voice goes a BIT too high at times, though, which is sort of an annoyance.
Colorful is another pop song, but it tends to sound a bit more bubblegum compared to HEARTBEAT. The synth backing track is probably my favorite so far, and Yuna’s voice sounds great here again. It annoys me that they need to have that pause between the verse and chorus though, and it tends to make the transition sound choppier than it should have been, so the track isn’t without its flaws.
Six minutes of hell. Unite As One is another slow ballad, which I can usually forgive Yuna Ito for. However, when it’s 6:47 long, and it sounds like many of her other slow ballads, it just makes it unbearable. I never listen to this song, it tends to drag on WAAAAAY too much.
Mahaloha is another song that never fails to annoy. While it would be pure win and would easily be her best single in this era if it was a solo song, the fact that it’s a collaboration with Micro from DEF-TECH, who has the most annoying raspy voice I’ve ever heard, which is made worse by how much it clashes with Yuna’s own voice and the backing music. This song would be great if he wasn’t in it, but it’s just sub-par as is.
Best. Song. Ever. A Long Walk easily wins the best track award for this album, as it SOUNDS DIFFERENT. The opening synth is full of buzzing music and pauses that are slowly joined by the rest of the arrangement before Yuna starts singing. It has a unique sound, as stated, and I want to say it sounds somewhat ethnic, but that’s not the right word. Yuna’s vocals fit well in this song, but I must admit, that opening synth can be annoying in some parts of the song.
Moon Rabbit is a confusing song. I’m not really sure what it’s about, so the title confuses me to no end, but the fast-paced, pop atmosphere the song holds gives the song a great sound. The mixing of the synth and guitars is excellent, as they both blend well together, and while the song can be somewhat repetitive, it is one of the better tracks.
I’m Here was definitely one of the better singles from this era, and it stands out form the rest of the songs here as well, as it actually sounds a bit more like rock than plain pop, with how aggressive it sounds compared to the rest of her music. It doesn’t use electric guitars or anything like that, but it has a much darker atmosphere than a song of this nature from her has ever had.
The title track Wish is, predictably, a ballad. It opens solely with Yuna’s vocals and a piano playing alongside them, but being the anti-ballad person that I am, I find this song to be somewhat boring after the last three interesting songs we were given. It would’ve fit perfectly in the opening section of the album, but it tends to be somewhat outshined where it is. It isn’t too bad, but it’s out of place.
And it sounds even more out of place when it has a song like Tokyo Days following it. This is another pop song, that once again borders on bubblegum, while not quite making it. It’s a great track to listen to, but it sounds strangely like a filler track at the same time.
And the album closes with Yuna Ito’s cover of the Celine Dion song MY HEART WILL GO ON, which is what led to the duet between the two artists. It uses the same backing track that it ever did, and Yuna sings it in complete English. This was one of Dion’s better songs, and Yuna’s voice fits it perfectly, so she does the original version justice. Which is good, considering how popular it was/is.
Album Score
C+
Favorite Tracks
Colorful, A Long Walk, I’m Here
While this album was relatively sub-par, it did have its share of good songs. It’s hard to say whether it’s better or worse than HEART, but it holds its own as an album, and that’s what counts, really.
Tracklisting
1. Anata ga Iru Kagiri ~A World to Believe In~
2. Anata ga Iru Kagiri ~A World to Believe In~ (U.S.A Mix)
3. Anata ga Iru Kagiri ~A World to Believe In~ (Yuna Ito Solo Ver.)
4. Anata ga Iru Kagiri ~A World to Believe In~ (Instrumental)
Anata ga Iru Kagiri is Yuna Ito’s tenth single overall, and her final single for the WISH era, and is also a collaboration with Celine Dion, the American singer. It was used as the image song for the LISMO CM. It debuted at #8 on both the daily and weekly Oricon charts, and has sold approximately 24,105 copies. It was released on the 16th of January, 2008.
When I first saw this tracklisting, I died a little inside. I HATE Celine Dion, no offense intended to her fans, but I just can’t stand her voice. Anata ga Iru Kagiri ~A World to Believe In~ is a grudgingly accepted exception to this rule. Before the vocals, the song has a slow opening, with the acoustic guitars and other strings playing over a synth backing, before (unfortunately) Celine Dion comes in singing. I usually like to pretend this part doesn’t exist when I listen to it, but she isn’t terrible in this song, which is a good thing. Then, Yuna comes in and, surprisingly, starts singing in Japanese. So we have Celine singing in English, and Yuna singing in Japanese. I’ve always found this odd, but it works well, and they both harmonise in the chorus really well, but obviously, Celine stays out for the Japanese part, which Yuna solos. She thankfully gets a much larger part in the second verse, with Celine taking the bridge this time, and once again it’s a language clash, but it still works on at least some level. The token epic verse before the end of the song sounds great, and the final chorus sounds absolutely epic. So, overall, it’s not a huge disappointment because of Celine.
But I literally lose all hope now. We now have the U.S.A mix of Anata ga Iru Kagiri. It’s not as bad as I expected, Yuna’s still in it, but Celine gets a much larger role in the song overall, with her voice being much clearer in the chorus instead of receiving an overlap with Yuna’s. I still find it inferior, and you should all know why. Never liked Celine, never will, and this version of the collaboration doesn’t change that.
I nearly soiled myself in excitement this time around ( Sorry for that imagery. xD;; ), as Yuna DOES get a solo version on this single, which is obvious due the the title being Anata ga Iru Kagiri (Yuna Ito Solo Ver.) This version is, of course, the superior of the three for me, because Yuna gets EVERY role in this song, instead of an enlarged role. Well, it is an enlarged role, really, but either way, this still sounds great, with the entire song being in Japanese now, apart from the chorus. I’m almost certain that Dion does some background vocals here, though.
Single Score
B+
Favorite Track
Anata ga Iru Kagiri (Yuna Ito Solo Ver.)
This is a great single overall, really, but I just can’t stand Celine Dion at all, which was the huge letdown here. It would’ve been a lot better if Yuna had done it as a solo, but that can’t really be helped. Hey, at least she got a solo version of it here, so overall, it’s better than nothing.
If you can actually stand Celine Dion’s voice, then you might get a lot more out of this single than I obviously did, so it’s definitely worth a try if you’re a fan, but if you aren’t, I’d mainly just try the solo version instead.
Urban Mermaid is Yuna Ito’s 9th overall single, and her third (and second last) single in the WISH era. Urban Mermaid was used as the Lux Super Shine shampoo CM song. It debuted at #9, with a weekly rank of #10, a weekly peak of #10 as well, and a daily peak of #8. It was released on the 24th of October, 2007, and has sold a total of 19,983+ copies.
Track Listing
1. Urban Mermaid
2. Colorful
3. Mahaloha -Gira Mundo”City Lights at Night”Remix-
4. Urban Mermaid -Instrumental-
Oh, dear god… Yuna, what the HELL is so appealing about making an ass out of yourself?
I’ll elaborate. Urban Mermaid starts out fine, as a slow, calming poppish tune, with Yuna giving us a beautiful vocal performance that suits the song perfectly. That is, until the chorus unexpectedly blares at us with one of the cheesiest lines I’ve heard her ever sing: “I’m a beautiful mermaid.” WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!?! I’d fire those writers if I was you. Apart from that though, and a few other lines along that line (“Don’t be afraid, naked heart” comes to mind), it is a pretty nice pop song; They actually don’t ruin the song as much as I’m making out. It’s also a lot slower than I expected it to be. Can anyone say, women’s anthem? No, seriously, that’s what it’s supposed to be. I guess it all makes sense after that.
I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a double A-Side single, but as it is, Colorful actually made it onto WISH. I was surprised by that. Anyway, this is an upbeat, synth-filled pop song, and it actually makes me think of Shining On (from the Mahaloha single) and, again, Workaholic (From her debut album, HEART.) It’s just an easy to listen to synth pop song. It lacks the crappy lyrics that Urban Mermaid had, which makes it shine compared in a way, but as I didn’t necessarily hate the A-Side, it’s pretty much on par.
The remix of Mahaloha basically gives the song the exact same island feel that the stuck on you remix on the Mahaloha single. To be totally honest, this song was boring right from the beginning, and the vocals don’t fit the music at all. It’s long winded, too, clocking in at 6:21, so it’s not easy to sit through. Another bad side, Micro’s still in the song; It’s not good, that’s all I can say.
Overall Grade
A-
Favorite Track
Colorful
Wow. I even surprised myself with this review, I never expected Urban Mermaid to be my favorite of Yuna Ito’s singles for WISH… Those lines bug me a bit too much, but I guess it’s not a bad song overall. It embarrasses me a bit to admit that I like the song (mainly because of the horrible English lyrics), but hey; It’s catchy. Colorful might be a bit too familiar, but it still works. If Yuna would stop putting out horrid remixes of her old songs, maybe she could make a great single some day.
Mahaloha is Yuna Ito’s eigth overall single, and her second from her WISH era, and is a collaboration with Micro, from the indies band Def Tech. It debuted at #5, which was also its weekly rank and weekly peak, with its daily peak being #4. It was released on the 27th of June, 2007, and has sold 43,233+ copies and was the #181 single of the year.
Track Listing
1. Mahaloha (Ito Yuna with Micro of Def Tech)
2. Shining On
3. stuck on you -Reggae Disco Rockers Kiss & Tell Remix-
4. Mahaloha (Instrumental)
A simple drum-and-guitar opens the song, shortly joined by Yuna’s vocals. It starts pretty quickly, and actually sounds like something you’d expect from Yuna. It’s a simple, easy to listen to song that just seems to make you think of Hawaii, which was of course the intention, as that’s where the name of the song comes from. Apart from the somewhat boring first verse, it’s certainly one of the better singles Yuna’s released overall… That is, until Micro comes in and ruins the remainder. His voice clashes horribly with Yuna’s, and he sings at a very high key, especially when you compare it with Yuna’s as well as the arrangement. It would’ve been boring if Yuna had sung the whole song if you think about it, but Micro was just a bad choice for this song. Way to go, another song ruined. That’s not to say it’s all bad, but come on. It could be a lot better.
For some reason, Shining On reminds me of Workaholic, the opening track from Yuna’s debut album, HEART. It completely ditches the Hawaiian theme, and goes for a more synth-based sound that, as I said, sounds highly reminiscent of a few of Yuna’s previous works. It shares the same similar 60’s sound that the aforementioned Workaholic had, but not to the same extent, and mainly due to the instrument choice. This single is definitely one of the examples of singles where the B-Side outshines the A-Side. The song doesn’t tend to get as boring (or annoying) as Mahaloha is, and Yuna’s voice is perfect for songs like these, so it all fits.
Ok, this is just odd. Kiss & Tell remix of stuck on you has a very tropical island arrangement to it, that just doesn’t really seem to fit the song. I was originally hugely disappointed that stuck on you was left off of HEART (It was a single, why did they do that anyway?), as it was my favorite single from that era. This just ruins the song. Remixes tend to do that, as we all know, and this is just another prime example of when that happens.
Overall Grade
D+
Favorite Song
Shining On
Mahaloha sounded promising at first, but good GOD, Micro was a bad choice as a feature artist. Let Yuna do the song by herself, it’d sound so much better. This was actually one of the rare times that a Yuna song didn’t have awkward English lyrics thrown in, too. A big disappointment, really. Shining On really could’ve been a better A-Side.
I’m Here is Yuna Ito’s 7th overall single, with the title track being used as the theme song for UNFAIR the movie, with the B-Side, “Reason Why”, being used as an insert song for the same movie. It debuted at #15, which was also its weekly rank, and it peaked at #10. It was released on the 14th of March, 2007.
Track Listing
1. I’m Here
2. Reason Why
3. Faith -Teardance Remix-
4. I’m Here -Instrumental-
We now have what is definitely the most aggressive piece Yuna has offered us to date. I’m Here opens with a string and piano solo, followed soon by some fast, yet quiet synth, which for some reason I can’t describe… This trio stays for the whole song, giving it a dark, almost (for a lack of a better word) suspenseful feeling.
While the verses work well, with Yuna singing in a lower voice than you sometimes hear for her, it explodes into a chorus that sounds alright at first, but also sounds sort of half-finished. It’s an extremely unique piece compared to many of her past singles, and her debut album HEART, but the chorus probably could’ve been somewhat better, as it sounds sort of awkward at parts. It can sound like she’s just shouting the chorus instead of singing sometimes, too.
Reason Why comes with a bit more of a generalized sound to it. It consists mainly of a quick synth beat that once again gives it a feeling that makes you feel like you’re running out of time in a video game or something (but that’s just my way of describing it.). The verses have some awkward lyrics in them (“Ring ring ring, I hear the bell ring” and similar lines), and they sound a bit stupidly out of place at times, as does the bridge (to some extent). The chorus, however, is probably what makes me like this song as much as I like I’m Here. She sounds like she’s straining her voice in the verses and bridge, but the chorus sounds a bit better in this respect, and it doesn’t sound as stupid either. The background vocals sound a bit odd, too. Very annoying as well. To be honest, I can’t even tell if it’s a guy or a girl singing back-up… Odd.
The Teardance remix of Faith starts with a jumpy synth that makes me think of A Long Walk, which later appears on her second album, WISH, as well as the sound of rushing wind. I like the overall sound of the music in this song, the back-up sounds like the same people from Reason Why, but they seem to fit better. It sounds DRASTICALLY from the original version of Faith, it’s had a total overhaul, and that’s no joke. I actually prefer it. It has a much larger focus on the synth, and Yuna just sounds better in it for some reason. I’ll admit, at times it sounds like it doesn’t fit, mainly in the chorus, but I’m surprised to say that this is actually my favorite song on the single.
Overall Grade
B-
Favorite Song
Faith -Teardance Remix-
I’m Here is a pretty mediocre offering, but it’s a refreshing change compared to the highly pop sound of HEART. It’d be great if she gave us more songs like this, just better. I’m a little disappointed that the remix was better than the actual title track and B-Side (they never usually are for me), but hey, that’s the way it goes. Keep working on it, Yuna
So, I’ve been thinking over which artists to add to my listings for a while, and I have now declared two as being good enough to be here on the blog~ And they are…
I swear, sometimes Yuna Ito’s writers make her music almost IMPOSSIBLE to listen to (I don’t think I need to tell her fans what I’m talking about. I mean, she’s fluent in English, why give her half-translated songs?), but when it’s good, oh god, is it good. So, as such, I’ve decided to feature her here. I’ll be starting with her first single from the Wish era, I’m Here. Expect it within the next few days.
As for the second artist…
I went through a period where I ignored most of Namie’s work. I was never a real fan of her Queen of Hip-Pop album, so I pretty much ignored the PLAY era. I highly regret that now, as she is most definitely the BEST Japanese R&B singer that I have ever heard. I’ve listened to her for a while now, and her 60s 70s 80s single was my second review on my first blog (Before I became an organizational freak.) So I’m finally going to feature her here. Again, expect the review of the first Play single, White Light / Violet Sauce, in the next few days~
However, I’m missing a few tracks from a number of the singles/albums I planned on reviewing soon, after some computer troubles. It might take me a few days to get it all with the way my internet’s acting (It’s decided to mess up on me as well, I was lucky to be able to post this blog), so I apologize if I don’t get any new reviews done in this time. I’ll be trying, but if you don’t see anything, my apologies~
These’ll be my last features for a while, but I already have a few in mind for the next ones (Namely Otsuka Ai and Eri Nobuchika (Thanks again for the recommendation, blackmager~), plus a few more I’m still not entirely decided on), so keep an eye out. I want to finish the reviews I have lined up so far first though.
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