Two Most improved vocalists in Jpop

Hehe. Just a short post of something that I’ve been thinking of: the most improved vocalists in Jpop (that I’ve heard). You guys are free to add more that I may have forgotten/haven’t heard. =D

BENI (Arashiro Beni):

Then:

This isn’t her debut single (it was “Harmony”), and most of the videos are hard to find because Avex is well, Avex.
a) no tone
b) no emotion
c) out of tune

Now:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8ppyk_beni-kiss-kiss-kiss-pv_music
a) beautiful tone
b) lots of emotion
c) in tune

melody.
Then:

Debut single. This is actually one of the better songs off her debut album. Still: toneless, no support.

Now (as in whenever she released this XD):

Hear the massive improvement in tone and musicality and support for her higher notes? I still think she delivers “Love Story” better though, so you can check that out if you want, too.

XD I mostly made this post for BENI, since I think her progress is phenomenal, but melody.’s improvement over the years came to me while I was writing this. =P Two other people I can think of are Hamasaki Ayumi (I’m not fond of her music, but her singing has gotten a lot better despite being half-deaf, but she still has trouble), and Namie Amuro (still not a great singer, but an immense improvement over her debut days).

Who else can you think of?

B-day Stash

X-posted on my LJ~

Not included in picture:

• Build-a-bear gift card
• CDJapan gift “card”

DISNEY HIT’s Koda Kumi

This is a post I wrote for Fated Light, and I’m just x-posting to here so I keep my articles together XD..<3

Inspired by her intense love for Disney movies, Koda Kumi has announced that she will be releasing a Disney covers album sometime within the next 10 years. Rumours say that two overzealous fans locked her in a room next to angry 30+ aged women in order to force her to sing in a pink dress and a tiara and with a pumpkin carriage pulled by mice transformed into horses. It worked.

Now, she has officially announced Disney HIT’S, a cover album full of beautiful, exciting Disney covers from old classics to recent hit’s, all of them equal in quality to her previous two Disney covers of “A Whole New World” and “It’s a Small World”. Fan rejoice as the two tracks have also been added to the album’s line-up!

For those not familiar with the two cover songs, “A Whole New World” features Peabo Bryson, the original singer for the pop version found on Aladdin’s ending credits. The song features soulful, emotional vocals from both singers, highlighting their superior ballad-singing skills, and their perfect pitch. “It’s a Small World”, on the other hand, features the rapping duo Heartsdales and takes the original song to a new, edgy, tropical sound that will never fail to make you dance! Heartsdales assures us that “It’s a small world after all, no matter if you’re big or small”. Deep stuff.

Included in the rumoured list of songs covered by Ms. Koda:

• Enchanted’s “True Love’s Kiss” (a duet with Fergie as Prince Edward)
• High School Musical’s “We’re All In This Together” (featuring AAA)
• Mulan’s “I’ll make a man out of you” (with Koda Kumi as all voices)
• Snow White’s “Whistle While You Work” (on helium)
• Sleeping Beauty’s “Once Upon a Dream”
• Mary Poppins’ “A Spoonful of Sugar”
• Winnie the Pooh’s “Rumbly in my Tumbly”
• The Little Mermaid’s “Kiss the Girl” (with a French accent)
• Beauty & The Beast’s Beauty & The Beast”
• Lion King’s “Hakuna Matata” (misono as Timon, Koda Kumi as Pumba, VERBAL as Simba)
• Jungle Book’s “Bare Necessities” (KM-MARKIT as Mowgli, Koda Kumi as Baloo)

Samples:

• A Whole New World feat. Peabo Bryson
• It’s a Small World feat. Heartsdales

So, what Disney hit’s would YOU like Koda Kumi to cover? The Silly Song? Happy Working Song? The Work Song?

Mini Lesson (actually a rant) on Voice Parts

x-posted again! (sorry for clogging your feeds!)

As with any incredibly talented group, there is always going to be a debate as to who is the “better” or the “best” one. While we’re all entitled to our own opinions, if you’re going to go out of your way to insult to prove your point, sit down and shut up. Nobody really cares. For the “Fated Light” post of my 3-way feature of FictionJunction and Kalafina, I’m going to rant about all you haters who basically have no valid point (inspired by random comments floating the net about the topic). If you’re going to defend a point, don’t do it like an idiotic fan with no basis for their arguments. There is no need to full out insult anybody to make your point. Simply state it. It’s art. It’s subject to opinion always.

Back to the FJ/Kalafina topic, it will focus on Wakana for the most part. Being part of both acts, along with her ability to sing well, she often gets noted as the one that “always” sings the melody. First of all, it’s not her fault that her voice happens to be the strongest in the mid-soprano range, which most of the melodies that Kajiura puts out centres around. Meaning, her voice part coincidentally fits the role, so why not give it to her? It’s called four part HARMONY people. Just because the other vocalists get stuck with the harmonies more often, it doesn’t make them less of a vocalist, the same way it doesn’t count to say that Wakana is overrated because she gets the melody. Keiko happens to take majority of the low alto voice parts because she’s just about the only one of the pack that CAN sing that low, especially with that much power. People like Hikaru and Yuriko end up with the higher soprano harmonies because like Keiko, they have that voice type.

This does NOT make any of them less of a singer. Why would it? We don’t all have the same strengths, and neither do they. Therefore no, it doesn’t mean one is more talented than the other just because of the voice part they sing in.

To clarify one more point, Keiko has more of a chance to showcase her full range because she does get the melody at times. It makes it obvious for us to hear her fantastic low to mid-range. As for Wakana, just because she sits at the second soprano range most of the time, doesn’t mean she does not have a range. Quite the opposite actually. She has a range about equivalent to Keiko’s but on the other end of the spectrum. She can enter the high soprano voice part rather beautifully and well-supported. Behold:

Yes, that IS Wakana you’re hearing.

Clearly, these girls are all capable. Some people ought to learn a bit more respect.

- Tsuki

[Tsuki's Articles] FictionJunction Vocalists Poll

Okay, not all of these singers were featured in FictionJunction projects, but It’s more of a poll which includes all the vocalists that Kajiura Yuki have worked wit h in the past. This is sort of in response to Megu’s earlier post of the H!P Poll. XD

The Top “Single Digits” (because I couldn’t decide on the 10th one)

1. Kubota Keiko
Keiko is right now, my favourite alto. I adore her performance style. She has fantastic stage presence and is a very engaging vocalist to watch. The first solo FictionJunction work I heard from her, “Kaze no machi e”, was what made me fall in love with her voice to begin with. I later found out she had a very strong alto voice from her Kalafina works, and is the one that takes on majority of the lower background vocals for any of Kajiura’s works.

2. Ootaki Wakana
I don’t suppose it is a surprise that two Kalafina girls round off my top two. I adore Wakana almost as much as I adore Keiko. I agree with Megumi when she says that Wakana has the best control of all of Kajiura’s vocalists. Both she and Keiko have incredibly powerful voices, and I just adore how Wakana carries herself. She often gets the melody, but has a gorgeous high soprano voice as well.

3. Oda Kaori
Kaori only recently moved up on my list. She doesn’t have as much control as the more experienced vocalists, but she is still very good considering her age. She also is quite versatile, often switching between a lower vocal part or supporting the higher vocal part. She might get drowned out slightly due to her lighter voice type, but don’t underestimate her. She can carry quite a tune.

4. Nanri Yuuka
At one time, Yuuka dominated the scene with her own solo collaboration with Yuki. I love the timbre of Yuuka`s voice as it is quite unique. She has very folk type of sound to her, and she can sing very well. The only reason why she is not higher on my list is that she unfortunately gets a bad case of nerves when performing.

5. Hikaru
Hikaru really surprised me with how well she sang. Most of Kalafina’s works heavily feature my NO. 1 & 2. Hikaru is no pushover though. She’s has a very strong stage presence as well. She conveys a lot solely from her singing, and like Wakana, she’s a wonderful soprano.

6. Arai Akino
One of the people that worked with Yuki early on, and produced many stunning tunes. Akino has a gentler voice, so she doesn’t get the more dramatic material like we hear with the modern day Kajiura vocalists, but nobody does beautiful and dreamlike the way she does.

7. Ishikawa Chiaki
Before the big FictionJunction boom, we had See-Saw and Chiaki. She’s one of the weaker vocalists on this list, but what I liked the most about See-Saw was the good relationship Chiaki had with Yuki. If you watch them together, they have a more true collaborative feel between the two of them, making “See-Saw” more of a true duo.

8. Kaida Yuriko
Yuriko doesn’t get as much attention as the other FictionJunction girls, but I like her too. She doesn’t necessarily get featured a lot in the group songs, especially because she doesn’t have that big powerful voice like the others, however, she is the strongest first soprano of the bunch, providing the upper harmonies that the rest don’t do as well as she does.

9. Itou Eri
I love Eri’s haunting voice. She again is very strong soprano and you can find her featured in many of the Tsubasa soundtracks. Like Yuuka though, she often has a bad case of nerves as well which hampers her overall performance a bit. When she’s on though, she has a breathtaking voice.

That’s it for now. Check out either Fated Light or Lost Wing for more Yuki Kajiura (and related projects) features.

- Tsuki