Song Review: Koda Kumi - Under

Posted on Monday, January 14, 2008 by Steven

Title: Under
Artist: Koda Kumi
Album: Kingdom
Released: January 30, 2008

Review
"Under" is the 7th track in Koda Kumi's January 2008 album "Kingdom." Nothing screams quality like panting and heavy breathing in a song. Mix in some sensual vocals and you got yourself a classy hit. Such techniques are used by highly respectable North American artists like Britney Spears (try "I'm A Slave 4 U"). Amidst the thick sarcasm, there is some truth: the song is a hit. I hate to admit it, but "Under" does sound pretty addictive.

Even if you hate this song, you still have a highly suggestive video. I was pleasantly surprised at how much clothing Koda Kumi wore in this music video. Usually Koda Kumi's clothing starts disappearing as her song speed increases.

You know she's worked up a good reputation when fans expects her to be undressed and act suggestively in her music videos. What would be unexpected would be an innocent Jpop artist like YUI following in Koda Kumi's footsteps. I don't recall seeing YUI's bare shoulders (or shins for that matter) in her music videos. Yes, YUI is the model citizen for high school dress codes.

So what makes this song so addictive? The beats are undeniably addictive as is the chorus. The song does contain synthesized vocals, which I normally despise, but it works quite well in this song. It adds to the urban-style environment that is reminiscent of North American music. Even though her panting is distracting she doesn't keep doing it constantly, so it could be considered artistic. A really desperate justification indeed.

"Under" can get pretty repetitive since it's the same beats over and over again. The lasting appeal wears out surprisingly fast after about 7 or 8 times. I also think this song is too long. The ending is quite lazy when it repeats the same damn tune a million times. Just end it already!

The verdict: "Under" is a guilty pleasure that is good for a few listens
Lyrics
Romaji lyrics for "Under" will be posted when it becomes available.
Metadata
Artist: Koda Kumi
Release year: 2008
Genre: Pop
Song speed: Fast
Dominant voice: Female
Dominant language: Japanese

1 comments:

Anonymous says:

kumi koda is beautiful and yuko ogura is kikuanone and asia star have video of yuko ogura and other
Kumi Koda
Yuko Ogura