Music review: Ai Kago Meets Jazz ~The first door~

You probably know Ai Kago, nicknamed Aibon, as the former member of Morning Musume, Minimoni, Tanpopo, and W. Just before the third album from W was released in 2006, Aibon was caught in a smoking scandal. At a mere 18 years of age, she was two years too young to legally smoke in Japan. The tabloid Friday was responsible for publishing the pictures of the teen smoking. As a result, Aibon was indefinitely suspended from Hello! Project. A little over a year after her house arrest began, she was back in Tokyo working behind the scenes for Up-Front Works, the agency that runs the Hello! Project family. Less than a month later, Aibon was reportedly in a relationship with a much older man and smoking again. This time she was released from the contract completely.

Now it is 2010. Four years after her big smoking scandal. Aibon has slowly returned to the entertainment industry. On March 31, 2010, she released her first solo album, Ai Kago Meets Jazz ~The first door~. The 11-track album is almost entirely in English, which was very surprising.

After listening to the album multiple times, it is my opinion that Aibon does much better with the faster songs than she does with the slower ones. "Sunny," an up-tempo ditty, is one of the best tracks on the album. On the other hand, "Blue Moon" makes me want to fast forward to the next song. And, of course, there is "Fly Me To The Moon," probably the most overused English song in Japan. Here's a note to any future Japanese jazz singers - Pretend "Fly Me To The Moon" never existed. We would all appreciate it. However, my biggest complaint is the background music. It sounds like she's singing in front of a midi track instead of a live band. I'm not sure if they mixed her voice with older instrumental recordings or if they did, in fact, record the background music just for her. I firmly believe that the bad songs on the album would have been a lot better if the instruments themselves sounded better.

It is impressive that Aibon took on this project. She has said that she's not particularly comfortable with the English language and singing in English can be rather difficult when it's not your first language. As a whole, the album is good. Even the bad tracks aren't completely awful. I hope that Aibon does another project like this. Not necessarily jazz, but something other than pop. Maybe she should try a big band album next!

Kago Ai - no hesitAtIon

On June 24, 2009, the infamous Kago Ai released her first solo single after the big scandals. (For those that don't know, she was caught smoking in 2006, when she was only 18. Then she was caught dating an older man AND smoking, which prompted her release from Hello!Project.) The title track, "no hesitAtIon," is a cute little ditty with lyrics that were written by Aibon herself. At first listen, the song seems like a fairly typical pop tune. However, after a few rotations, you can hear the "Kago-ness" come out. Lately, Aibon has kind of dubbed herself a spokesperson for teaching young people how to behave properly. (Meaning not smoking or having risky sex...things like that.) As such, this song has an uplifting message about starting over and being yourself. Granted, it's not quite as good as the B-side, "Children of the Night," but it is still a really great song. I hope she keeps going long enough to release a full album on her own.

Kago too?

Yesterday, I posted about Gackt acting in a Hollywood movie. Well, today it has come out that former-Morning Musume/Mini Moni/W girl, Ai Kago, will be acting in a Hong Kong movie. For those of you that forget, Aibon was at the center of a lot of scandals a few years ago. First it was underage smoking then it was dating a man a lot older than her then it was smoking again. It got her booted out of the Hello!Project world and she's been very quiet since. Earlier this month, she reappeared with a new, more mature look saying that she wanted to return to show business, specifically acting. I've always really liked Aibon so I'm very hopeful that she will do well in her new path in life.

Music review: W - Koi no Vacance

duo_uu.jpgArtist: W Members: Ai Kago, Nozomi Tsuji Album: Duo U&U Release date: 6/6/04 Video link: On Veoh (Original song sung by The Peanuts)

English translation: Your kiss, Enough to make me sigh A maiden's heart seeing a sweet dream of love

Shining in a gold color Above the hot sand Let's love in bare flesh like mermaids

Gathering your sunburned smiles The promise we whispered It's a secret between the two of us A sigh escapes my lips

Ah, love's joy in the rose-colored days The first time I saw you... A vacance of love

Gathering your sunburned smiles The promise we whispered It's a secret between the two of us A sigh escapes my lips

Ah, love's joy in the rose-colored days The first time I saw you... A vacance of love About the song: W's first album consisted entirely of cover songs from the late Showa period (1924-1989). Despite the songs not being originally written for the duo, they bring a completely new sound to them. The original version of Koi no Vacance had a very 'Japanese' sound with a bit of big band tossed in. Aibon and Nono not only gave it an updated pop sound but they were also able to hold onto the original feeling of the song. While this isn't my favorite W song, it does make the top 10.

Music review: W - Robokiss

Artist: W Members: Ai Kago (Aibon), Nozomi Tsuji (Nono) Album: 2nd W Release date: 3/2/05 Video link: on Veoh

English translation: That amazing girl is a go girl That risky guy is a yes man Is everyone ordinary? No, no!

Where are you throwing it?! No control I got asked out on a date, love control A hole is opening, a lotus root takes seed Etcetera, etcetera

Of course I know about love, at the very least

I love you, I Iove you, give me a kiss I love you, I love you, kiss me infinitely I love you, I love you, I know about kisses I love you, I love you, even if I'm a robot

Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Robo robo

Now I'm friends with that girl Then it's fade-out with my boyfriend Why consecutive holidays after this! No, no!

With quick calculations, a ferocious attack! Consenting to your faults in a headlock Accept the whereabouts of love with thanks!

I'm not always gonna be a kid

I love you, I Iove you, give me a kiss I love you, I Iove you, take caution in your kiss I love you, I Iove you, no one can I love you, I Iove you, kiss by themselves

I love you, I Iove you, give me a kiss I love you, I Iove you, take caution in your kiss I love you, I Iove you, no one can I love you, I Iove you, kiss by themselves

Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Robo robo Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Shabala lan lan lan lan la-la Robo robo About the song: Robokiss is just a silly song. It's about a girl in love with a robot. Both Aibon and Nono are so cute that it's difficult to not like their songs, even though a majority of them are covers of older songs. The "Suki suki ssu kissu" part is the best since it basically just sounds like like suki suki suki (pronounced sue-key). Sadly, W is no more. Last year, Aibon was caught smoking underage and was suspended. This year, just as Aibon was coming back into the fold, she was caught not only smoking again but dating a 37-year old man. (For the record, Aibon is 19.) As a result, Up Front Agency cancelled Aibon's contract. Nono was going to be in a new group but shortly after the group was announced, Nono announced her pregnancy and upcoming marriage. She has decided to take a hiatus from show business. There was a third W album that was supposed to have been released but it was cancelled due to Aibon's controversy.