Love & Honey

Last updated

"Love & Honey"
Kodakumilovehoney-01.jpg
CD only version cover
Single by Koda Kumi
from the album Feel My Mind/Secret
ReleasedMay 26, 2004 (JP)
Recorded2004
Genre Japanese pop
Length19:46 (CD+DVD)
22:23 (CD only)
Label Rhythm Zone
CD (RZCD-45129)
CD+DVD (RZCD-45128)
Songwriter(s) Claude Q, Takeo Watanabe, Kumi Koda, Sachi Bennett, Harutoshi Noda, Akira Ito, Miki Watanabe
Koda Kumi singles chronology
"Switch"
(2004)		"Love & Honey"
(2004)		"Chase"
(2004)

"Love & Honey" (stylized in all caps) is R&B-turned-pop singer-songwriter Koda Kumi's eleventh domestic single. The single reached No. 4 on Oricon, making it her first single in the Top 10 since real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba . It stayed on the charts for thirty-five weeks. [1]

Contents

Information

Love & Honey (stylized as LOVE & HONEY) is Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi's eleventh single under the avex sub-label Rhythm Zone. The single became her first to peak in the top ten on the Oricon Singles Charts since her 2003 single real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba, coming it at No. 4.

The single was released as both a standard CD and a CD+DVD combo. The two releases had slightly different versions of their second track, "The theme of Sister Jill." The CD+DVD version featured a short version of the song, whereas the CD only version featured the extended version of the song.

Both "Cutie Honey" (KYUUTI HANII / キューティーハニー) and "Yogiri no HANII" (夜霧のハニー / Honey's Foggy Night) were covers of the original opening theme ("Cutie Honey") and ending theme ("Yogiri no HANII") by Yoko Maekawa. [2] All of the songs on the single were used in the 2004 tokusatsu film Cutie Honey and placed on the soundtrack for the Re: Cutie Honey OVA . [3]

"Cutie Honey" continued Kumi's fashion theme of sexy and cute, which she began to don during her last single, Crazy 4 U.

However, while her choices helped her career to improve, it was still met with negative feedback by some of the public. The clothes she donned during the performance for "Cutie Honey" at Music Station were heavily criticized, whereas they were revealing and not something worn by mainstream artists in Japan at the time. [4]

Background narration

"Every day I felt 'I’m really doing what I want to do' and in response to that feeling, my single Love & Honey ranked 4th on the Oricon charts." – Koda Kumi

After the release of Love & Honey, Koda Kumi said how more fans would come to her events and the number of fan letters increased. She talks in KODA REKI how it was a time of trial and error. The attention she attracted with "Cutie Honey" was met with positive and negative responses. She was criticized for the clothes she donned at Music Station and when her sales dropped again (much how real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba did), she became discouraged and questioned her choices. However, she refused to quit, believing in her own style.

"I usually got scared easily, but this time I pushed through my own ideas for the first time. I could take a big step in 2004 and love the person I became." – Koda Kumi. [5]

Track listing

(Source [6] )

CD (CD+DVD)
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Cutie Honey" (キューティーハニー/Kyutii Hanii)Claude QTakeo Watanabe h-wonder 3:08
2."The theme of Sister Jill [Short Version]"Koda, Sachi BennettHarutoshi Nodah-wonder1:12
3."Yogiri no HANII" (夜霧のハニー/Honey's Foggy Night)Akira ItōTakeo WatanabeLeo Nishikawa3:46
4."Into Your Heart"Miki WatabeMiki Watabeh-wonder4:20
5."Cutie Honey" (Instrumental)   3:07
6."Into Your Heart" (Instrumental)   4:16
Total length:19:46
DVD (CD+DVD)
No.TitleLength
1."Cutie Honey" (Music Video) 
CD only version
No.TitleLength
1."Cutie Honey"3:08
2."The theme of Sister Jill [Love & Honey Version]"3:49
3."Yogiri no HANII"3:46
4."Into Your Heart"4:20
5."Cutie Honey" (Instrumental)3:07
6."Into Your Heart" (Instrumental)4:16
Total length:22:23

Chart history

Oricon Annual Single Top 100: No. 62

Total sales: 142,626 (est.)

Alternate versions

Cutie Honey
  1. Cutie Honey: Found on the single (2004) and corresponding album secret (2005)
  2. Cutie Honey [Instrumental]: Found on the single (2004)
  3. Cutie Honey [House Nation Sunset in Ibiza Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's (2009)
  4. Cutie Honey [Mitomi Tokoto Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 2 (2010)
  5. Cutie Honey [Habanero Posse Remix]: Found on Beach Mix (2012)
  6. Cutie Honey [Mikoto Tokoto Big Room Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 5 (2013)
  7. Cutie Honey [JAXX DA FISHWORKS Remix]: Found of Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 7 (2017)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koda Kumi</span> Japanese singer

Kumiko Kōda, known professionally as Koda Kumi, is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiseki (Koda Kumi song)</span> 2004 single by Kumi Koda

"Kiseki" (奇跡 / Miracle) is Japanese soloist Kumi Koda's thirteenth domestic single. It reached No. 7 on Oricon and stayed on the charts for ten weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hands (Koda Kumi song)</span> 2005 single by Koda Kumi

Hands is Japanese R&B-turned-pop star Koda Kumi's 14th domestic single. The single charted No. 7 and remained on the charts for eight weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butterfly (Koda Kumi song)</span> 2005 single by Kumi Koda

"Butterfly" is Japanese pop musician Kumi Koda's sixteenth domestic single. The single came in CD and CD+DVD, with the latter editions containing a foldout poster. Because her previous single "Hot Stuff feat. KM-MARKIT" was re-cut to become the final single for secret, "Butterfly" became the first single for Best ~first things~.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy 4 U</span> 2004 single by Koda Kumi

"Crazy 4 U" is singer-songwriter Koda Kumi's 10th domestic solo single. It charted at No. 12 on Oricon and remained on the charts for six weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentle Words</span> 2003 single by Koda Kumi

Gentle Words is Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi's ninth domestic solo single. The single charted at No. 15 on Oricon and stayed on the charts for ten weeks. The b-side "Saigo no Ame" (最後の雨 / Last Rain) is a cover of Yasushi Nakanishi's song of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come with Me (Koda Kumi song)</span> 2003 single by Kumi Koda

"Come With Me" is R&B-turned-pop singer-songwriter Kumi Koda's eighth domestic solo single. The single charted at No. 14 on Oricon and stayed on the charts for nine weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba</span> 2003 single by Koda Kumi

"Real Emotion" / "1000 no Kotoba" is a double A-side single by Japanese singer Koda Kumi. The single contains the songs "Real Emotion" and "1000 no Kotoba ", which were featured in the video game Final Fantasy X-2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take Back</span> 2000 single by Kumi Koda

"Take Back" is a song recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda, taken as her debut and lead single from her first studio album Affection (2002). It was released on December 6, 2000 via Rhythm Zone in two physical editions; a CD single and 12" vinyl. Additionally, Sounday and Orpheus Records distributed the song in North America in May 2001 with four more formats, but was remixed as a dance number by Jonathan Peters. The track was written by Koda herself, composed by Kazuhito Kikuchi and produced by Max Matsuura. The result was finalized after she had won a competition to find another artist for the Avex Trax company, which later published Rhythm Zone under Matsuura's guidance.

<i>Grow into One</i> 2003 studio album by Koda Kumi

Grow into One is the second studio album released by Japanese pop and R&B singer Koda Kumi, released on March 19, 2003. It barely peaked in the Top 10 on Oricon, coming it at #8, and charted for 43 weeks. The album also contained, at the time, one of her best-selling singles, "Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba". Combined with the singles, the album has sold over half a million copies in Japan.

<i>Feel My Mind</i> 2004 studio album by Koda Kumi

Feel My Mind is the third studio album by the Japanese pop and R&B singer Koda Kumi, released in February 2004. The album charted in the Top 10 on Oricon at No. 7 and stayed on the charts for thirty-five weeks, selling over 147,000 copies. Its corresponding DVD was feel... and was her last album to be released as a CD only without a CD+DVD option.

<i>Best: First Things</i> 2005 greatest hits album by Koda Kumi

Best: First Things is the first compilation album released by Japanese pop singer Koda Kumi. It debuted at No. 1 on Oricon, giving her first number-one album, and became her longest charting album, staying on the charts for 124 weeks. The album included all of her a-sides released since her debut in 2000 with Take Back and became one of her highest selling albums, selling nearly two million copies as of 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon (EP)</span> Koda Kumi single

Moon is the fortieth single released by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi. Much like her past summer single "Freaky" and "4 Hot Wave", Moon carried four songs. It charted at No. 2 on Oricon and stayed on the charts for nineteen weeks. It was released in CD and CD+DVD editions, with the limited editions of both versions carrying an alternate rendition of "Moon Crying".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taboo (Koda Kumi song)</span> 2008 single by Kumi Koda

"Taboo" is a song by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda, taken from her seventh studio album Trick (2009). It was written by Koda, and co-written and produced by Hiro. "Taboo" is a dance-pop song that lyrically discusses several taboo subjects including sex and homosexuality. It contains numerous elements including electropop and hip-hop, and employs use of vocoder. It was released as the second single from the album on October 8, 2008 by Rhythm Zone.

<i>Trick</i> (Koda Kumi album) 2009 studio album by Koda Kumi

Trick is the seventh studio album released by J-pop singer-songwriter Kumi Koda. The album continued her No. 1 streak and stayed on the Oricon charts for twenty-nine weeks. It was released on January 28, 2009, and came in CD and CD+2DVD with the latter being a limited edition and the second DVD containing her Live DVD "Koda Kumi Special Live "Dirty Ballroom" ~One Night Show~". The limited editions of both versions carried the bonus track "Venus," originally released by Shocking Blue in 1969.

<i>Koda Kumi Driving Hits</i> 2009 remix album by Kumi Koda

Koda Kumi Driving Hit's is the second remix album by Japanese pop star Koda Kumi - her first being Koda Kumi Remix Album (2006). It reached #6 on Oricon and remained on the charts for twenty-one weeks.

The music of Cutie Honey spans many soundtracks, including Cutey Honey: TV Original B.G.M. Collection and New Super Android Cutey Honey: Music Collection Vol. 1 by Columbia Records, and Koda Kumi's Love & Honey by Avex Group under the Rhythm Zone label.

<i>Koda Kumi Driving Hits 2</i> 2010 remix album by Kumi Koda

Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 2 is the third remix album released by Japanese singer/songwriter, Kumi Koda. It was released a year after Koda Kumi Driving Hit's on March 31, 2010. It ranked higher than its predecessor, coming in at #5 on Oricon and staying on the charts for twelve weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go to the Top (song)</span> 2012 single by Kumi Koda

"Go to the Top" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda for her eleventh studio album, Bon Voyage (2012). It premiered on October 24, 2012 as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Kumi, while production was handled by Clarabell. It was used as the opening theme song for the Âge–developed anime series Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse. Musically, the track was described as an electronic dance song with elements of 8-bit music, dance-pop, and dubstep.

<i>Koda Kumi Driving Hits 5</i> 2013 remix album by Kumi Koda

Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 5 is the seventh remix album by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda. It was released on March 20, 2013, the same day as her live DVD/Blu-ray Premium Night: Love & Songs and six rental live albums. Following the trend from Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 4, this album contains remixes kept in drum and bass and dubstep style, as well as house remixes. It is the first of her remix albums to have an introduction and a megamix made of remixes from her previous Driving Hit's albums.

References

  1. ↑ "LOVE & HONEY / KODA KUMI / ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  2. ↑ "キューティーハニー". Toei Anime. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Cutie Honey Original Soundtrack". Amazon Japan. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Koda Kumi – Cutie Honey @MusicStation". Youku. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  5. ↑ Koda Kumi. "KODA REKI Translations". Koda Kumi. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  6. ↑ "LOVE & HONEY – Koda Kumi". Rhythm Zone. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.