Otsuka Ai – Kurage, Nagareboshi

Kurage, Nagareboshi was Otsuka Ai’s 18th single. It was released September 10, 2008. It sold 34,118 copies in it’s first week, 42,711 overall and reached #4 on the charts. This single celebrates her 5-year anniversary as an artist.

Tracklist

1. Kurage, Nagareboshi

2. H20

3. Ame no Tsubu, Waltz ~LOVE MUSiC~

4. Kurage, Nagareboshi (Instrumental)

5. H20 (Instrumental)

If you ask me to compare Kurage, Nagareboshi to any other of Otsuka Ai’s releases, I’d immediately tell you Planetarium and Kingyo Hanabi. Kurage, Nagareboshi is one of Ai’s trademark extremely epic ballads that just blow you away. I really was extremely impressed with this song, everything about it is absolutely amazing. The beautiful piano and orchestra that open up the song lead perfectly into Ai’s soothing vocals. The first verse and chorus of the song manage to stay minimum on the instruments, but even so it sounds absolutely incredible. It isn’t until the second verse starts that the song really reaches it’s true potential as light beats and background vocals are added to the song, along with some more instruments. This song is easily one of Ai’s best works recently and does an amazing job as the a-side of an anniversary single. I highly recommend you listen to it if your interested in hearing the best ballad in 2008 yet.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with a song title like H20, but unfortunately, it wasn’t what I would of liked to hear. The song is your standard Ai rock song and isn’t really catchy in any way. The electric guitar only proves to be annoying and Ai’s cutesy vocals didn’t help either. This song sounded really messy.

Fortunately, Ame no Tsubu, Waltz ~LOVE MUSiC~ manages to make up for the last tracks faults and manages to bring even more. The son gis actually a rearrangement of an older Ai song, LOVE MUSiC and let me tell you what a great new version it is. It begins with some EXTREMELY soothing piano and ethereal sounding noises. Ai’s vocals are just perfect, maintaining a nice calm tone and pace, reaching perfect harmony with the quiet instrumental. The song only gets better as it progresses into it’s second verse as the instrumentals reach an all time high. This is truly an amazing b-side and ALMOST as good as Kurage, Nagareboshi, almost.

I don’t think Ai could have released a more amazing single than this, not counting H20. Kurage, Nagareboshi is now one of my favorite ballads ever and top 3 in Ai’s discography. I couldn’t have asked for a better b-side than Ame no Tsubu, Waltz ~LOVE MUSiC~, which reminded me a lot of Sora to Kujira on her Rocket Sneaker / OnexTime single. If your interested into getting into Ai’s music, this is the single for you.

♠Single Rating♠

Otsuka Ai – Rocket Sneaker / One×Time

Rocket Sneaker / One×Time was Otsuka Ai’s 17th single. It was released May 5, 2008, sold 30,382 copies in it’s first week, 44,428 overall and reached #4 on the charts. Rocket Sneaker was used as the ending theme song to the drama Sanma no Manma, and One×Time was used as the POND’S CM song, which Ai herself started in.

Tracklist

1. Rocket Sneaker

2. One×Time

3. Sora to Kujira

4. Rocket Sneaker (Instrumental)

5. One×Time (Instrumental)

The first of the a-sides, Rocket Sneaker, starts off with some nice piano work along with Ai’s vocals. The piano plays a big part into the entire song, giving it an upbeat and happy tone along with the electric guitar. Ai manages to maintain her vocals cute and sweet throughout the entire song, especially during the great chorus. It’s definitely the more upbeat song out of the a-sides.

The second a-side, One×Time is the more relaxed and laid back song. It starts with some fingers snapping, along with the familiar piano and backed up with a great string arrangement. Ai’s vocals seem to whisper at certain times of the song, and they actually manage to sound a bit creepy. The string instruments kick in during the chorus, making it all the more better. This is the better a-side of the two.

The b-side, Sora to Kujira(which this blog was named after) easily beats both the a-sides as the best song on the single. It begins with an acoustic guitar that never seems to stop throughout the entire song and than Ai’s vocals kick in, seeming to perfectly contrast the guitar. The first part of the song, including the chorus, has only the guitar instrumentals and Ai’s vocals, but as soon as the chorus finishes we’re treated to the addition of more instruments and background vocals from Ai. As if the song wasn’t already as good, it only gets better during the second half. The chorus sounds amazing with the added instruments and additional vocals and it should be noted that Ai’s vocals are exceptional throughout this entire song.

I couldn’t have been happier with this single. Rocket Sneaker, an upbeat piano and guitar tune, One×Time, the more calm and relaxed a-side and the unbelievable Sora to Kujira. The b-side did an exceptional job of pulling this single together and should be given a listen to anyone who’s interested in an amazingly arranged song with outstanding vocals.

♠Single Rating♠