BALLAD BATTLE: Namie vs. Kuu
After the massacre that was Ayu’s victory over Hikki’s tiny ballad army, ballad battle is back, this time with two new contestants, both not remembered specifically for their ballads, but instead for their(either) slutty pop music and awesome dance tracks.
THE CONTESTANTS
- Hamasaki Ayumi
- Amuro Namie
- Utada Hikaru
- KOKIA
- Koda Kumi
- alan
- Otsuka Ai
- Nakashima Mika
ROUND 2
This time it’s the newly situated “Queen of J-Pop” Amuro Namie versus the ever flopping sex queen Koda Kumi. Both have a pretty large discography, so let’s take a look at what ballads they have to offer~
The Ballads~
Amuro Namie: Ningyo | CAN YOU CELEBRATE? | Should I Love Him? | The Meaning Of Us | ALL FOR YOU| Wishing On The Same Star
Koda Kumi: you | Yume no Uta | Ai no Uta | 1000 no Kotoba | Moon Crying | stay with me | Faraway | Your Love | Ai no Kotoba | No Way(?) | Stay(?) | Alive | etc…
Bold tracks are my top 3 favorite ballads from the artist.
Only 6 ballads for Amuro, WHUT?!!1! Well, after jumping through her extensive discography, and focusing more on her biggest hits and recent releases(ignoring all of her crappy older albums), these are her best ballads. Hey, quality over quantity right?
Kuu of course has tons of ballads. I chose the recent ones, along with the most popular. Unlike Namie, she has tons more I can name, but there mostly boring, generic stuff.
Analysis~
Now to pick which ballad to represent Kuu. I could go for the ever popular and her best winter ballad, you, or I can pick her FFX-2 hit 1000 no Kotoba. I’ll skip Moon Crying and Yume no Uta since I find them to not be too special. I’ll pick a song that Namie can compare with, “Alive”.
Sharing that similar relaxing, orchestral, and magical feeling is Namie’s, Ningyo. While I don’t consider this her best ballad(Wishing On The Same Star is her best), it’s the easiest to compare with Kumi. However, I won’t choose whose the better ballad singer just because of these two songs.
Like I said, the winner is decided by the artist’s entire discography of ballads, not just a few songs.
In Amuro’s case, she suffers of what Hikki did. She has a huge discography but only a few ballads. Ignoring her old “R&B” music and sticking to more recent stuff, all her ballads are hits. During her PLAY album, the only ballad was in the form of a “Hip-Pop” song, and she still managed to make it awesome.
Kumi, on the contrary, has a ton of ballads, but they aren’t all necessarily hits. Songs like Yume no Uta, Ai no Uta and Moon Crying may sound alike and are as typical a J-Pop ballad can get, but even so are still very pretty. Recently she’s been changing it up with No Way and Alive, which is very welcome in her case. I don’t think she has the best voice for a ballad(and Namie has problems with high notes) but she makes them unique anyway.
So while Amuro suffers from lack of ballads and struggles to hit notes, Kuu has a voice better fit for dance songs but has a larger, more varied selection of ballads.
The Winner~
There’s sometimes when a Queen gets dethroned, such as now. But in the end, the Queen will prevail in every other area. The winner is…
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KOTA KAMI!!!
Extras~
Since I mentioned that both girls had better ballads, here are the PV’s for what I say are there best ballads EVAR. you and Wishing On The Same Star.
So, what is your favorite ballad from these two J-Pop ladies?
….You seriously let the slut win? Way to discredit yourself, in no way did she deserve to. >:|
Also, Ningyo was an a-side, it just didn’t get put onto PLAY.
Oh right, shall fix that. >_< AND YEA, I LET HER WIN. >:l SO WUT?!?!
totally agree… I love Namie and all, but Kuu does ballads much more frequently (and therefore is much more experienced). My favs from her would be 1000 no kotoba, Yume no Uta, Pearl Moon, and Moon Crying.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jin, Jin. Jin said: Brand new "BALLAD BATTLE" posted! This time featuring the Queen Namie and the Whore Kumi. Who will win? o: http://bit.ly/9nUggO [...]
I agree with your verdict. Kumi’s recent ballads have been better lately. Also, love the banner.
I have to say I do prefer Namie Amuro’s ballads a lot more since Kuu’s voice, as you said, sounds better in dance tracks for me. However, Kuu actually has a reputation for good ballads while Amuro isn’t really about ballads despite how great I think they are when they show up so I understand your decision.
Can You Celebrate? however is the best ballad I think I ever have heard and will hear (even if it is pretty old now), so I don’t think Kuu will ever top that.
Also, would you call White Light by Amuro a ballad? ‘Cause I love that song. xD
Your favourite 3 ballads are my favourite 3 ballads. I love those ones too the best! ^_^
I’ve never EVER listened to a Namie Amuro ballad and don’t think I ever will because to be honest, they are not very great in my opinion.
Koda Kumi has the best voice for ballad. When she sings high notes, her voice is thundering loud and clear. “Yume no Uta” is a good example. When she sings low notes, her voice is thick, passionate, smooth, and powerful. “1000 no kotoba” or any of her ballads can prove.
“Yume no Uta” and “Ai no Uta” earned her “Song of the Year” and “Artist of the Year” awards in 2006 and 2007. “Moon Crying” moved many non-Japanese-speaking people to tears. These examples showed that the Japanese record industry like her ballads, so are the people outside of Japan like them too.
None of your contestants has a better voice for ballad than Koda Kumi. As a matter of fact, nobody in the world has. Koda Kumi for ballad is just like Vincent Van Gogh for painting. They are both the treasure of the human race.
While I agree that Kuu has a pretty good ballad voice, I definitely wouldn’t consider her the Van Gogh of ballads.
Have you listened to alan or KOKIA? Those two have much better ballad voices. Plus, they reach epic status in ballads. I’ve never heard a Kumi ballad and considered it “epic”.
I love you by Koda Kumi, definitely my fave ballad from her. I agree with your choice, I think Namie Amuro has better music generally (especially now) but Kuu does come out with some pretty good ballads.
[...] Koda Kumi [...]
[...] Koda Kumi [...]