Summer of Love | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | July 22, 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2005–2015 | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Rhythm Zone | |||
Producer | Koda Kumi | |||
Kumi Koda chronology | ||||
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Summer of Love (stylized as SUMMER of LOVE) is the sixth greatest hits album by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda, released on July 22, 2015 through Rhythm Zone. It follows her five previous greatest hits albums, Best: First Things (2005), Best: Second Session (2006), Best: Bounce & Lovers (2007), Out Works & Collaboration Best (2009), and Best: Third Universe/Universe (2010). The compilation was released in many different formats including a one-disc standard edition, and a two-disc CD and DVD package. The album includes three new tracks; "Ex Tape", the album's lead promotional single, "Hurricane", and "No One Else but You".
Summer of Love was appreciated by contemporary critics who noted the vast production of Koda's collection. The album debuted at number seven on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart, making it her fifth top ten album, but became her lowest selling compilation album to date. Summer of Love is also Koda's first compilation to miss the chart in Taiwan. "Ex Tape" was released as a promotional single, but failed to chart in any Japanese music charts.
On May 22, 2015, Koda announced on her official Facebook account that she had started producing and "recording new music". [1] [2] Koda teased the album's title with the hashtag, #SummerofLove15, and confirmed on May 30 the release of the album. [3] [4] The album artwork was photographed by Japanese team Tisch, and designed by Jun Hirota; according to Thomas Swan from Classicalite.com, the artwork "shows a glowing, sophisticated Koda – a grown-up girl who has toned down the erokawa a bit for a more refined look, but with no less impact than she is known for." [5]
Summer of Love compiles "summer singles" that span from her 2006 studio album, Black Cherry , up until her 2015 studio album, Walk of My Life . [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] It features three new tracks; "Ex Tape" and "Hurricane", which are upbeat "urban songs," and "No One Else but You", which is inspired by "smoother, jazzier" music. [14] Two songs, "Niygohime" and "Juicy", were included on the televised commercial for Summer of Love, but the songs were pulled from the compilation at the last minute. [15] Summer of Love has a variety different music genres and musical styles; songs like "Lick Me", "Lady Go", and "Freaky" emphasize dance-pop and electronic music. [16] [17] [18] Tetsuo Hiraga from Hot Express stated that songs like "I'll Be There" is a "classic summer song", while songs like "Freaky" and "Girls" were inspired by rock, R&B, and pop music. [19] [20] "Lady Go" and "Once Again" were noted for its summery "festival" vibe. [21] "Lollipop" was noted for its Hip-hop elements, but Hiraga commented that the Japanese public would "shy away" from the Westernized hip-hop sound. [22]
"Ex Tape" was released as the album's only promotional single on July 8, 2015; the single premiered on Mu-mo websites, and was available for free streaming on iTunes Stores. [23] Despite its release, the song failed to chart in any Japanese or Taiwanese music charts. An accompanying music video was released for the song, which was included on the DVD version of Summer of Love. [24] "No One Else but You" was released on Japanese radio stations on July 14, and uploaded on Koda's YouTube channel the same day. [25] Koda co-promoted the album alongside Walk of My Life on her Koda Kumi Live Tour: Walk of My Life, performing the three new tracks. She performed the songs in Miyagi, and whoever attended that night received a reserved copy of Summer of Love, and goodies. [26]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | arrangement | Length |
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1. | "EX TAPE" | Kumi Koda | D.O.I | Unik Katerina Bramley | 3:12 |
2. | "HURRICANE" | Kumi Koda | D.O.I Sky Adams | Sky Adams Kanata Okajima Maegan Cottone | 3:58 |
3. | "NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU" | Kumi Koda | D.O.I | UTA Erik Petterson Angelica Ahman | 3:54 |
4. | "I'll be there" | Kumi Koda | Shintaro Hagiwara | tasuku | 4:13 |
5. | "With your smile" | Kumi Koda | Tohru Watanabe | h-wonder | 4:13 |
6. | "FREAKY" | Kumi Koda | Tommy Henriksen | Tommy Henriksen | 3:19 |
7. | "girls" | Kumi Koda | Kosuke Morimoto | h-wonder | 4:38 |
8. | "Lick me♥" | Kumi Koda | YOO | Hiroto Suzuki | 3:30 |
9. | "Once Again" | Pushim | Pushim Shunya Mori | Shunya Mori | 4:37 |
10. | "Lady Go!" | Kumi Koda | Kousuke Morimoto | Yusuke Tanaka | 4:53 |
11. | "Lollipop" | Kumi Koda | Ian Curnow Julie Morrision | Jane Vaughan | 3:22 |
12. | "Poppin' love cocktail feat. TEEDA" | Kumi Koda TEEDA | Back-On | Back-On & Jin | 5:02 |
13. | "V.I.P" | Kumi Koda | Toby Gad Jessie J | Toby Gad | 3:06 |
14. | "LALALALALA" | Kumi Koda | Figge Boström Anna Engh | Shinjiroh Inoue | 3:37 |
15. | "TOUCH DOWN" | Kumi Koda Toby Gad | Toby Gad | Toby Gad | 3:45 |
16. | "HOTEL" | Kumi Koda | H.U.B Didrik Thott Sebastian Thott Ylva Dimberg | Naoki Yamada | 3:21 |
DVD
No. | Title | director(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "EX TAPE" (Music Video) | YKBX | |
2. | "HURRICANE" (Music Video) | YKBX | |
3. | "I'll be there" (Music Video) | Shigeaki Kubo | |
4. | "Ningyo-Hime" (Music Video) | Tadashi Tadakoro | |
5. | "JUICY" (Music Video) | Shigeaki Kubo | |
6. | "FREAKY" (Music Video) | Takashi Tadokoro | |
7. | "Run For Your Life" (Music Video) | Shigeaki Kubo | |
8. | "Lick me♥" (Music Video) | Shigeaki Kubo | |
9. | "Hashire!" (Music Video) | Seki ☆ Ryuuji | |
10. | "That Ain't Cool feat. Fergie" (Music Video) | Fatima Robinson | |
11. | "Lollipop" (Music Video) | Seki ☆ Ryuuji | |
12. | "Poppin' love cocktail feat. TEEDA" (Music Video) | Hiroaki Higashi | |
13. | "V.I.P" (Music Video) | Hiroaki Higashi | |
14. | "LALALALALA" (Music Video) | Fatima Robinson | |
15. | "TOUCH DOWN" (Music Video) | Fatima Robinson | |
16. | "HOTEL" (Music Video) | Kanji Sudo | |
17. | "EX TAPE/HURRICANE" (Making Video) | YKBX |
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Japan Weekly (Oricon) [27] | 7 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Japan | — | 23,000 [28] |
Kumiko Kōda, known professionally as Koda Kumi, is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.
"D.D.D." is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda, taken from her second greatest hits album, Best ~second session~ (2005). It contains guest vocals from Japanese music duo Soulhead. It was written by Soulhead members and sisters Yoshika and Tsugumi, with production being done by Octopussy. The song is Kumi's first collaborative effort since her single "Hot Stuff" with Japanese rapper KM-MARKIT, which was released a month prior. As part of Kumi's 12 Singles Collection releases, "D.D.D." premiered on December 21, 2005 as the third single from the album. The CD cover sleeve has Kumi wearing a black mini-dress and headdress. The cover sleeve is to represent the country United Kingdom, and its symbolism of Britannia.
"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.
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.
The discography of Japanese pop singer Koda Kumi includes 17 studio albums, 2 cover albums, 10 compilation albums, 10 remix albums, 9 live albums and 57 singles. All of her Japanese musical releases have been with Rhythm Zone, a sub-label of Avex Group.
"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.
3 Splash is an EP by Japanese recording artist and songwriter Kumi Koda. It was released on 8 July 2009, by Kumi's record label, Rhythm Zone. Her fourth extended play consists of three recordings; "Lick Me", "Ecstasy" and "Hashire!", with three additional interludes. It was released in two different formats: stand-alone CD, and a CD+DVD bundle - the latter bundle was re-released with a pink-transparent CD holder. The three artworks for the EP depicts Kumi posing with the title of the work superimposed over her. The CD+DVD bundle artwork features her holding a basketball, this artwork was also used for the digital release of the EP.
Best: Third Universe is the third greatest hits album by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda. It was released as a double album with her eighth studio album Universe on February 3, 2010 by Rhythm Zone. The greatest hits album includes singles between May 2006 "Koi no Tsubomi" and her December 2008 single "Stay with Me", with a bonus disc with newly recorded material. As a double album, it was released in four different formats; a two album bundle, a two album and DVD bundle, a two album first pressing bundle, and a two album digital release. A fifth format was released, but only featured the compilation.
Gossip Candy is an extended play by Japanese recording artist and songwriter Kumi Koda. It was released on July 7, 2010, by Koda's record label, Rhythm Zone. Koda's fifth extended play, Gossip Candy consists of five recordings; Lollipop, Inside Fishbowl, Outside Fishbowl, For You, and a cover of Got to Be Real, originally performed by Cheryl Lynn. It was released in three different formats: Digital EP, CD and CD+DVD. The CD only version was re-released as the "Dream Music Park" edition with a bonus baseball cap. The Dream Music Park concert was later released on the CD+2DVD edition of Dejavu.
Dejavu is the ninth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi. It was released on March 2, 2011, one month after her single "Pop Diva". Just like her previous albums, beginning with Best ~first things~ (2005), Dejavu topped the Oricon charts at No. 1 and remained on the charts for twenty-four weeks.
"Pop Diva" is a song recorded by Japanese musician Kumi Koda, taken as the fourth and final single from her ninth studio album Dejavu (2011). It premiered on February 2, 2011 by Rhythm Zone and Avex Music Creative Inc. in two physical formats and for digital consumption. The song was written, composed, arranged and produced by musical artist Lil' Showy, making it one of few tracks from Dejavu to not be written by Koda.
Japonesque is the tenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda. It was released on January 25, 2012 by Rhythm Zone. It was also released just a little under a year after her 2011 album, Dejavu. Japonesque marks Koda's tenth consecutive studio album to be produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, amongst many other producers, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to majority of the songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English language, Japonesque is a Japanese pop album with numerous musical elements such as dance music, R&B, electronica, and rock music.
"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.
Bon Voyage is the eleventh studio album by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda. It was released on February 26, 2014, by Rhythm Zone. Bon Voyage is Koda's first album since her 2012 Japonesque, and her longest album in production since her 2008 studio album Kingdom. The album's production was handled by several music producers, such as Joseph Lawrence, Toby Gad, T-Sk, Mats Lie Skare, Figge Bosstrom, Tommy Henriksen, Badur Haberg, and Clarabell. It also features guest appearances from Sean Paul and OVDS. Five different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a CD and DVD bundle, a CD and Blu-ray bundle, a fan package featuring a live DVD, and a digital release in Japan.
"Dance In The Rain" is an R&B/pop single by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda. It received a worldwide release as a digital single and only received a physical release to her official fan club.
"Trust Your Love" is a song recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi and was used as the second single from her debut album Affection (2002). It was released on May 9, 2001 via Rhythm Zone in two physical editions: a CD single and 12" vinyl. Additionally, Sounday and Orpheus Records distributed the song in North America with the same formats, but was remixed as a dance number by Hex Hector. The song was written by Kumi herself, whilst composing and production was handled by Kikuchi Kazuhito and Max Matsuura respectively. Musically, it is an R&B song that incorporates synthesizers and keyboards, and describes two lovers believing in each other.
Universe is the eighth studio album by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda. It was released as a double album with her third greatest its album Best: Third Universe on February 3, 2010, by Rhythm Zone. Beginning in early 2009 after completing two mini-concert tours, the album's production was handled by several music producers, such as Andy Dodd, Adam Watts, Figge, Tim Larsson, Tommy Henriksen, U-Key Zone, Thomas Gustafsson, and H-Wonder. It also features a guest appearance from Koda's sister and Japanese recording artist Misono. Koda contributed towards the album as the executive producer and songwriter. Universe is primarily a J-pop album with numerous elements of dance-pop, rock, R&B, electropop, and pop ballads.
"No Man's Land" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda, taken from her tenth studio album, Japonesque (2012). It was written by Koda, Mr. Blistah, Pete Kirtley, Jorge Mhondera, Samiya Berrabah, with production being done by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. The song premiered on January 18, 2012 as the album's fifth promotional digital single, which was served through online retailers Dwanga, Mora, Mu-Mo, music.jp and Recochoku. It was re-released as a promotional radio airplay single on January 25, the same release date as Japonesque. The single artwork uses the CD and double DVD cover of Japonesque, which was used exclusively through Recochoku stores.
Winter of Love is Japanese singer Kumi Koda's seventh compilation album, released under Rhythm Zone. It was issued in CD, CD+DVD/Blu-ray and CD+Fan Club DVD editions. The album features some of Kumi's top selling ballads, as well as two new songs. The track On And On was used as primary promotional song. The music video for On And On was the first music video strictly made for mobile phones. Kumi premiered the music video during a live broadcast on her official LINE account on 19 January 2016. It was released worldwide the following day. The full video kept the cellphone aesthetic, but was rendered to fit full screen.
W Face is a two-part studio album release by Japanese recording artist Koda Kumi. The albums were packaged separately under the sub-titles Inside and Outside, and distributed on March 8, 2017 by Rhythm Zone and through digital retails stores by Avex Music Creative Inc. Production on both collections started in early-2016 when she finished her concert tour for Walk of My Life (2015), and launched the campaign with the promotional recording "Shhh!". Furthermore, the singer returns as the album's primary and only songwriter while collaborating with a variety of foreign and international composers and producers.