7th Wave of @JAM EXPO 2018 Performers Announced!
Previews of You Kikkawa’s Epic 17-Minute Single “Hana” Have Been Released!
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You Kikkawa has really outdone herself for her first single of 2015! At 17 minutes and 25 seconds long, “Hana” (release date: May 6) is one of the most ambitious idol songs of the current era.
In the first part “Dai-ichi Gakushou 〜Hinageshi no you ni〜”, Kikkawa introduces listeners into the world of the song while dancing cheerfully and jumping through the air in slow motion as flower petals flutter gracefully. Even though English subtitles in Up-Front MVs always come with the disclaimer “this is a literal translation, the translation may not be perfect”, couldn’t they have used a less clinical translation for hinageshi than “Papaver rhoeas”? Unless you’re somewhat of a botanist, you might not know that she is singing about red poppies, which represent “fun-loving” in Japanese flower language. Despite that minor issue, it is an upbeat and encouraging 1st movement of the song reflecting the flower in its title.
In the second part “Dai-ni Gakushou 〜Anemone no Koi〜”, things slow down as Kikkawa sings about the complex nature of relationships, reflecting on the nature of the anemone flower which represents “sincerity” in Japanese flower language used in the title. It remains to be seen what relevance the parts about Santa Claus in the lyrics have but, it could just be a random jumble of thoughts just as she talks about how the mind can wander when one is in the middle of fun things.
In the third part “Dai-san 〜Cosmos he no Inori〜” the music shifts to an uptempo dance track as Kikkawa expresses hope for the future to come. The cosmos represents “a girl’s heart/feelings” (otome kokoro) in Japanese flower language but, it could also be referring to the cosmos of outer space, reflecting the futuristic EDM tone of the song and mention of the universe in the lyrics.
“Hana” will be released in 3 versions: limited A and B which come with DVDs and a regular CD-only version. Here is the cover art for the 3 versions. If you scroll through the gallery, you can see that they form a bigger picture if you arrange them in a certain order. “Hana” was composed by michitomo and the lyrics were written by NOBE, Seiko Omori, and Naoka Daika (michitomo’s “secret” lyricist pseudonym). As “Hana” is such a long song, it and the instrumental version are the only tracks on the CD. The DVD for the limited A version has the full version of the MV for “Hana” and the limited B version DVD has a behind the scenes clip as well as clips from Kikkawa’s appearance at “Natsumatsuri 2015” in Peru back in February.
It is an incredibly bold move for You Kikkawa to release such a unique and lengthy song when many artists this year are releasing double and triple A-side singles with generally unrelated songs packaged together. It seems that concept albums are all but dead but, when has a concept single been done before? When it comes to a live performance, will she be able to remember all the lyrics and dance moves? Will the release event mini lives consist solely of this one song? One thing is for sure, “Hana” is unlike any song released by an idol in 2015 and it might be safe to say that there will not be another one like it for quite a while. Don’t miss out on this historic release!
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You Kikkawa Official site: http://kikkawayou.com/
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You Kikkawa
Kai Okudara
Writer, researcher, photographer, foodie, KSDD
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