Itano Tomomi Single [10nen go no Kimi e] 1st Week Sales + Review

Itano Tomomi's 3rd solo single [10nen go no Kimi e] ended its first week in second place,  losing only to popular boy group SMAP.  The single sold nearly 73000 units, which is less than either her first or second singles, but still fairly decent.  Hopefully the declining trend in sales will pick back up for subsequent releases!














This single featured several different versions, and included a B-side song for which Itano wrote her own lyrics.

In any case, on to the review!


10nen go no Kimi e (10年後の君へ)

Nostalgic music box is what the opening sequence reminds me of.  This song is perfectly the genre of song that gets to me - sort of a melancholy fast ballad.  I love the verses, probably more so than the chorus itself (although I'll admit the chorus is catchy too), and the backing rhythm is just wonderful - some sort of chacha?  I adore how Tomochin sounds when she sings low, and this mood of song really fits perfectly with the slightly husky/raspy timbre that she tends to have.  I wish she didn't sound so forced when she sings higher/louder - that's the only that really detracts from my enjoyment of this song.  Take care of your vocal chords, Tomochin!!

Clone

Her transition into head voice is actually really good in this song!! If only her high range always sounded this nice.  I love the juxtaposition of her head voice with the purr that she gets in her voice when she drops to the lowest notes.  As for the song itself, I feel sort of neutral about it - the melody I don't find particularly compelling, but it does have a very bad-ass sort of feel about it that I think Tomochin does a good job of portraying.  It makes me think of dancing in a crowded nightclub, is what it does :-P

deal feat. NO-FACE

Angst seems to be the theme du jour.  I love the little opening flourish, but I wish she didn't sound like she was pushing her sound again.  Her little adlibs are just lovely though!  The song itself doesn't really catch my ears.  The melody isn't that catching, maybe even a little boring, nothing particularly memorable about it.  I'm... not at all a fan of Mr. Way-too-auto-tuned Backup-singer-rapper...  Overall, I can't say I'll really spend a lot of time re-listening to this song, given that Tomochin doesn't exactly sound her best here and the song just isn't to my taste.

Always I need you

Love love love this song!  Maybe just because I like the sort of Euro-trance feel of the beat and background instrumental.  It definitely got stuck in my head and had me sort of dancing around my room to it ^_^ The constant drumbeat and the synth-ey sound just sound like the right combination to go with the song.  Definitely a song I can groove to, plus Tomochin sounds really good here!  She for certain needs to stick to a lower range - it'll be healthier for her voice and she just sounds so good low!

lose-lose

This is the song she lyricized herself, so I was really eager to hear it.  I think she did a nice job!  Maybe more consecutive repetitions of specific phrases than I think sounds good, but hey, I can't do any better :-P  The composition itself is pretty nice - I'm not a big fan of some of the intervals used, but at least it makes the melody interesting and the backing beat is pretty catchy.  I especially love the bridge section - it's pretty and she carries the sound nicely there.

Seifuku Resistance (Itano Solo Ver.) (制服レジスタンス (板野ソロ Ver.)

One of those stage songs that I now think of as very much a Tomochin trademark style (and I mean this in the best of ways - she is darn good at pulling off this type of song).  I've always loved the way she sounds (and looks XD) in the stage videos I've seen of this song, and she does not disappoint here!  The song is extremely catchy, and her voice is smooth as melted butter.  I cannot express in words what this does to me... I love it!  Her voice purrs in all the right places and breaks at all the right moments ^_^