Kana Nishino - Distance

Distance is Kana Nishino's (西野カナ) 13th single. It was released on February 9, 2011.

Tracklist:
01. Distance
02. beloved
03. Call Me Up

Pretty cover! Love the colors.

☆★☆

Distance is such a pretty song. It combines piano with strings and awesome beats. The chorus is really catchy too. Kana uses more low vocals in the verses rather than her usual more high pitched voice. I thought her vocals were really nice and this was a great a-side!

beloved also uses strings with piano, but this song has a more cute and bubbly feel compared to Distance. It's really nice to listen to and has a relaxing feel, but it definitely isn't as good as Distance and the next song on this single.

While Distance and beloved were more relaxing songs, Call Me Up has a more fun and upbeat feel. The beats were so cute and again an addicting chorus! The 'ring ding dong' parts were very addictive too. This song also has more heavy strings compared to the first 2 songs.

Because I didn't find her last single that great, I wasn't getting my hopes up for this single, but this is definitely an upgrade from her last single! I can't wait for her next single that she's releasing on May 18! I hope it will be as good as this one.

☆★☆

Rating:

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Kana Nishino - Aitakute Aitakute

Aitakute Aitakute (会いたくて 会いたくて) is Kana Nishino's (西野カナ) 10th single. It was released on May 19, 2010.

Tracklist:

01. Aitakute Aitakute {会いたくて 会いたくて}

02. LOVE IS BLIND

03. Grab Bag

☆★☆

Aitakute Aitakute has a vibe I can't explain that makes me love this song. It is much more dramatic than her previous singles. Especially the strings in the chorus give it a more dramatic and 'grand' feel. There's a lot of variety in the song too. While the chorus are more fast paced, the parts after the choruses are suddenly very calm and the verses are slower paced too. The drums in the instrumentation were kinda unique too. I liked her previous a-side Best Friend more, but this song is also of high quality.

I really like LOVE IS BLIND. The song has a 'dance' feel to it and it's way more upbeat than the a-side. I especially liked a part of the synths that you hear throughout the song (except for the bridge). It makes the song have a funky atmosphere. The song is also pretty catchy.

I seriously don't get Grab Bag. It's such a weird song and there's just no structure in the song at all. Maybe it's just not my style, but I thought it was awfull. I could stand the verses, but when the chorus began I just couldn't stand it anymore. Seriously, this song is NOT worth a listen, try to avoid it when you listen to this single. 

The a-side and first b-side are both very good. But Grab Bag just ruins it for me. I would have given this single 5 stars if Grab Bag wasn't on here, lolol xD. But Kana Nishino really knows how to give some good a-sides. All her a-sides have been extremely good till now and I already can't wait for her next release!

☆★☆

Rating:

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BENI - Yura Yura / Gimme Gimme♥

Tracklist:

1. Yura Yura {ユラユラ}

2. Gimme Gimme♥ {ギミギミ♥}

3. bye bye DJ HASEBE REMIX

4. Yura Yura (Instrumental)

5. Gimme Gimme♥ (Instrumental)

Release date: May 5, 2010

I think the cover is really pretty! I like how colorful it is.

☆★☆

Yura Yura is a really upbeat song with a catchy chorus. I really liked instrumental, it has a nice clap/fingersnap beat and some piano. In the chorus you can also hear some strings. I think BENI's vocals are also very good. She really shows of the strength of her voice in the chorus and I think she is improving more and more.

The 2nd a-side is a bit slower and calmer than Yura Yura, but still upbeat. Gimme Gimme♥ also has a catchy chorus and I really liked the sweet and cute vibe that the song has. I thought the instrumental was very pretty.

BENI's first double a-side also has an remix of her previous single bye bye called bye bye DJ HASEBE REMIX. The remix is a bit more relaxing than the original and has more beats. It gives of a more R&B feel. The synths of the original have been removed and I liked the effect that it gave by adding those beats. I think I even prefer this remix over the original!

Both of the a-sides are really catchy! I think all her latest singles have been really catchy, she's really good lately. I still don't know if I prefer Yura Yura or Gimme Gimme♥ since both are great. I think I like Gimme Gimme♥ just a tiny bit more, but it's not much. Check this single out everyone!

☆★☆

Rating:

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alan - Diamond / Over the clouds

Tracklist:

1. Diamond | 2. Over the clouds | 3. Diamond (Instrumental) | 4. Over the clouds (Instrumental)

Release date: February 3, 2010

☆★☆

Despite all the critism on Diamond, I really enjoy listening to this song. The song starts kinda calm, but that all changes after about 1,5 minutes as the song turns into a more upbeat song while they start singing 'la la la' in the back. Although it becomes more upbeat, the song still manages to have a calm feeling to it. I thought the arrangement off this song was especially pretty and there's a nice guitar solo in the instrumental break. The song is almost 5 minutes long, but I didn't really notice it, because it was easy to listen to (atleast, for me).

The second song on the single is Over the Clouds. With the title I was expecting a really slow or calm song, but this song is really upbeat, way more upbeat than Diamond. I don't complain though, normally I always like the slower songs, but I like this one more than Diamond. It features heavy beats with strings and synths and Alan's voice is autotuned in the verses which really works well with the vibe of the song.

Although I really enjoyed this single, the reason why I got into Alan was because she did music that had a traditional feeling to it. This single didn't do much to show her vocal abilities and I know she can do much more than this. This was nice for a change, but go back to your old style soon, alan!

☆★☆

Rating:

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