OLIVIA is Sailing Free

After 2.5 years (and 7 months since her latest mini-album), OLIVIA will be releasing her 11th single, titled “Sailing Free.”

I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was suddenly postponed, only to turn into a mini-album, but since the release date is looming at only a couple of weeks away (April 15, 2009) I’d say the we have a true single on our hands! And there’s even some promotion as the insert song for a video game called Devil Kings (Sengoku Basara).

Yuna Ito – Koi wa Groovyx2

Tracklist
1. Koi wa groovyx2
2. Mafuyu no Seiza
3. miss you – Hawaiian Breeze Remix -
4. Koi was groovyx2 -Instrumental-

Yuna Ito’s 12th single, Koi wa groovyx2, uses a big band brass for a fun and upbeat track. Yuna’s vocals are really great, but that’s probably the best thing about it. I mean, it’s certainly fun to listen to a couple of times, but I tire of it quickly. The chorus is not bad, the high notes are quite good but generally, it gets annoying after awhile. The cover is gorgeous, though.

Yuna Ito – miss you

Tracklist
1. miss you
2. BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!!
3. Urban Mermaid -Bittersweet Movement Blood-I Riddimix-
4. miss you -Instrumental-

Yuna Ito’s 11th single is a mid-tempo ballad with a stunning arrangement. The first few times I listened to it, I wasn’t too taken by it, but I’ve come to really love it. One time the chorus was stuck in my heard but I couldn’t remember what song it was and it was really driving me crazy but then I remembered and appreciate it so much more now. The verse is really beautiful but it’s the chorus that really shines. The repetition like ‘masugu ni masugu ni’ is lovely and Yuna’s vocals are just gorgeous.

Wakeshima Kanon – Suna no Oshiro

Wakeshima Kanon’s second single, again a theme song for gothic anime Vampire Knight, has its share of ups and downs. The cello runs that start off the piece are to die for (and the solo in the middle), but the beats that layer in quickly after sound…off.

Ai Otsuka – Kurage, Nagareboshi

Ai Otsuka’s 18th single takes us back to her most iconic ballads. It seems to me that pretty much everyone has fawned over the title track, but Kurage, Nagareboshi just fails to impress me.

MONKEY MAIJK – Aitakute / MORNING-EVENING / goin’ places

Tracklist
1. Aitakute
2. MORNING-EVENING
3. goin’ places
4. The Letter
5. Aitakute -DJ Mitsu the Beats PM1:30 mix-

Aitakute / MORNING-EVENING / goin’ places is MONKEY MAJIK’s 9th single. It was released on June 25, 2008 and peaked at #21 on the weekly charts, so far selling around 10,000 copies.

MONKEY MAJIK – Together / Akari / Fall Back

MONKEY MAJIK is a four piece rock band consisting of Maynard and Blaise Plant (vocals and guitar), Kikuchi Takuya (aka tax, drummer) and DICK (bass). Maynard worked in Japan as a language teacher and later called his brother over, who was a solo musician in Canada. The band was formed in 2000 in Sendai and today they are still based there today. They’ve had a lot of success on the indie Oricon charts and usually chart #1 in the Sendai area. Now they’re signed on a sublabel of avex, binyl records. Their singles usual chart moderately well and their major-label albums have all made it to the weekly top 10.

Micro – Odore

Tracklist
1. Odore
2. Yukiyanagi ~we’re watching you~
3. Odore -Instrumental-
4. Yukiyanagi ~we’re watching you~ -Instrumental-

Anyone remember Yuna Ito’s Mahaloha single? It was a duet with Micro from the now broken up Def Tech, and he has also started his own solo career. Odore is his second single, released on May 21, 2008. It debuted at #8 on the weekly charts and has sold over 30,000 copies. Also, it was theme song for the Aoi Yu drama Osen (which is where I first heard it).

YUI – SUMMER SONG

Tracklist
1. SUMMER SONG
2. Oh My God
3. Laugh Away ~YUI Acoustic Version~
4. SUMMER SONG -Instrumental-

SUMMER SONG is YUI’s 13th single. It was released July 2, 2008 and became her third #1 single, a nice surprise, since there was no tie-in, big or small. So far, it has sold almost 100,000 copies.

Shibasaki Kou – Yoku Aru Hanashi ~Mofuku no Onna Hen~

Tracklist
1. Yoku Aru Hanashi ~Mofuku no Onna Hen~
2. Kaze Yura no Uta
3. Yoku Aru Hanashi ~Mofuku no Onna Hen~ -Instrumental-
4. Kaze Yura no Uta -Instrumental-

Shibasaki Kou’s 16th single was released on June 4, 2008. It peaked at #6 on the weekly Oricon charts and has current sold around 21,000 copies.