2008 saw the start of one of my favourite Queens of J-Pop releasing her sixth album and OMGEE! It is worth it and in my opinion, one of the best J-Pop albums I have ever listened to. This album screams success but as promising as it is to me, not all albums can be flawless as it is to you perhaps.

Very pretty, no?

01. Introduction for Kingdom – Kumi enchants you with her voice into her Kingdom with a soothing melody in the background. I like it but listening to it after a while can be a bore.
02. Last Angel (feat. 東方神起) – Who doesn’t love a collaborate song between Koda Kumi and Tohoshinki? They fit so well in this song that I wish they did an album together. It’s the first song that I found Tohoshinki in and they really impressed me with Koda Kumi. From the start, the song is really catchy so it’s a definite request to listen to.
03. Amai Wana (甘い罠; Sweet Trap) – Koda Kumi explores yet another Arabian feel mixed with R&B into this song. It mixes well and it’s definitely a perfect song to listen to, one of the best in the album.
04. Himitsu (秘密; Secret) – A slow-tempo R&B love song for definite. It’s a nice change and displays Koda Kumi’s vocals.
05. Ai no Uta (愛のうた; Love Song) – Another ballad love song in the album. I’m not a fan of ballads but watching PV’s really help me to get adjusted to them especially how Koda Kumi uses narrative themes into hers.
06. Anytime – This song is pretty sweet. She changes from the ballads into adapting into a sweet song this time. However, I wasn’t so happy about this song.
07. Under – Definitely my most favourite track in the whole album. Perhaps because it sounds so strange mixing different sounds together (e.g phone ringing) with the slow tempo Hip-hop beat in the background.
08. BUT – I actually hated this song at first primarily because it was out of the ordinary and featured a lot of homosexuality in the PV which I wasn’t very comfortable with at first but it grew on me along with the song. Perhaps checking out the PV will show you why.
09. Koi no Mahō (恋の魔法; The Magic of Love) – A very sweet song again like anytime but better. I think listening to Koda Kumi from a happy side is good from a not-so-ecstatic side.
10. Aishō (愛証; Love Proof) – Absolutely love this song, there’s just something about it that made me love Koda Kumi even more. The song really relaxes me and somehow feels very colourful and Koda Kumi’s vocals are really good in this song.
11. Anata ga Shite Kureta Koto (あなたがしてくれたこと; What You Did for Me) – I can’t remember the order but Himitsu, Anata ga Shite Kureta and Koi no Mahō are a story altogether but I think this is the second part and Koi no Mahō is the last part.
12. Wonderland – I like Koda Kumi when she sometimes turns to sweet but not to this extreme. It’s too much, just maybe to an small extent like Koi no Mahō.
13. FREAKY – A different style of Koda Kumi that I loved. I especially love her hair, cornrows how great does she look with them in her hair? Sorry, going off track. The use of a rock feel for a beat like Selfish suits her well.
14. MORE – No…can’t describe how much that I dislike this song, it’s my least favourite. Unless you’re into a lounge/jazz feel then you may like it but for me, it’s not good.
15. Black Cherry – I’m very surprised this song wasn’t on the previous album as it has the name and to me, the feel of the Black Cherry album. Nevertheless, the song is quite catchy to listen to and I recommend it.

It’s got to be one of my top 5 albums in J-Pop. I’m giving a positive review because Koda Kumi knows how to entertain her fans plus every single song on this album is a music video expect Black Cherry. But if you purchase with the DVD, you can see her do it live as I did when I went to Japan. ^^ Since I was very happy about this album, I’m giving it a 4.5/5.