Affection (stylized as affection) is the debut studio album by Japanese pop and R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on March 27, 2002. It has been her only album to not chart in the Top 10, debuting at No. 12 on Oricon and staying on the charts for six weeks, making it her lowest-charting studio album. During its run, it had only sold 91,360 copies. The limited editions of the album contained remixes for "Take Back" and "Trust Your Love", which had previously been released on her North American release of the singles.
| Affection | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 27, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 2000–2002 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 59:33 | |||
| Label | Rhythm Zone | |||
| Producer | Max Matsuura | |||
| Koda Kumi chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Affection | ||||
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This album carries her most famous ballad, "walk," which, starting from her first tour, Secret ~First Class Limited Live~ (2005), she has performed at every concert. It also contained her first collaboration attempt, "Till Morning Comes," which featured Japanese rapper VERBAL, who is part of the hip-hop duo m-flo.
Information
editAffection is singer-songwriter Kumi Koda's debut studio album. It charted at No. 12 on the Oricon weekly charts, but was her lowest selling album with only 91,360 copies sold.[1] The album was predominantly R&B with the only pop song being "Best Friend Of Mine," which was done a cappella. This has also been Kumi's only full a capella song to date.
The album was also released as a limited edition, which contained two remixes performed in English: "Take Back [Jonathan Peters' Radio Mix]" and "Trust Your Love [Hex Hector Main Radio Mix]," both songs which had been previously released on her North American release of the singles.[2] This edition was sold with a slipcase cover, as well.[3] Though the album contained a-sides, there was no accompanying DVD. Instead, the music videos for "Take Back," "Trust Your Love," "Color of Soul" and the limited single "So into You" were later placed on her DVD 7 Spirits, which would be released a year later on March 19, 2003, alongside her Grow into One album.[4][5]
The album contained her first collaborative effort on the CD, which was "Till Morning Comes." The track featured rapper Verbal, who is part of the hip-hop duo m-flo. Although her song "The Meaning of Peace," which had been performed with female singer BoA, was released prior in December 2001, the song was not classified as a collaboration and was, instead, classified as a duet.
affection also contained her most famous ballad, "walk," which, starting from her first tour, Secret ~First Class Limited Live~, she has performed at every concert.[6][7] In 2010, she would release a ten-year anniversary version of the song, titled "walk ~to the future~", on her Suki de, Suki de, Suki de. single.[8]
Promotional Advertisements
editAt the time of the album's released, Koda Kumi had not made a debut on television and traveled to local nightclubs to sing and promote.[9]
"I had to go across the country and sing in clubs for promotion purposes. . .it was tough on me." – Koda Kumi
In KODA REKI, Kumi's self-published biography, Kumi talks about how she felt guilty for not meeting what she felt was her staff's expectations as far as single sales. She explained how she had to go to nightclubs to promote her singles and album, and the difficulty to adjusting to the night life. Despite this, however, she said she was still "happy for the experience."[10]
Packaging
editThe album was released in two editions, a standard CD and a limited edition CD. The regular edition contained fourteen musical tracks, along with the booklet and the obi strip. The limited editions, however, contained two bonus tracks, remixes for the songs "Take Back" and "Trust Your Love," and a slipcase cover.[11]
The remixes of the two tracks were performed in English. Both remixes were from her North American releases of the singles – which she had released under the stage name "Koda" – neither of which had received a release in Japan.
Music videos
editaffection did not receive a CD+DVD release or a corresponding DVD upon its release; however, promotional videos were released during each singles' release.
The promotional videos for the a-sides released during the album's era were not released on a DVD until 7 Spirits, which also carried the music videos for the then-released album Grow into One.
The affection era videos released on the DVD were:
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "atomic energy" | Ken Harada | Ken Harada | Ken Harada | 1:33 |
| 2. | "Trust Your Love" | Kumi Koda | Kazuhito Kikuchi | h-wonder | 4:27 |
| 3. | "Go Together" | Kumi Koda | Kazuhiro Hara | Kazuhiro Hara | 4:40 |
| 4. | "Your Song (Original Mix)" | Kumi Koda | Kaido | h-wonder | 5:18 |
| 5. | "feel me" | Kumi Koda | Miki Watanabe | h-wonder | 4:20 |
| 6. | "Color of Soul" | Natsumi Watanabe | Miki Watanabe | h-wonder | 4:28 |
| 7. | "Best Friend Of Mine" | Kumi Koda | Miki Watanabe | Tetsuya Takahashi | 1:52 |
| 8. | "My Dream" | Kumi Koda | Motsu | h-wonder | 4:35 |
| 9. | "So into You" | Kumi Koda | Yasuhiro Abe | h-wonder | 4:31 |
| 10. | "Till Morning Comes feat. VERBAL (m-flo)" | Kumi Koda • VERBAL | Kaoru Okubo | h-wonder | 3:47 |
| 11. | "come back" | Kumi Koda | Miki Watanabe | h-wonder | 5:36 |
| 12. | "Take Back" | Kumi Koda | Kazuhito Kikuchi | h-wonder | 4:56 |
| 13. | "Can't Lose" | Kumi Koda | Ken Harada | h-wonder | 3:51 |
| 14. | "walk" | Kumi Koda | Kazuhito Kikuchi | Masaya Suzuki | 5:06 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | remix | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Take Back [Jonathan Peters' Radio Mix] ~English Version~" | Kumi Koda | Kazuhito Kikuchi | Jonathan Peters | 3:33 |
| 16. | "Trust Your Love [Hex Hector Main Radio Mix] ~English Version~" | Kumi Koda | Kazuhito Kikuchi | Hex Hector | 3:09 |
Charts and sales
edit| Oricon Ranking (Weekly) |
Sales |
|---|---|
| 12 | 105,360 |
Alternate Versions
editcome back
- come back: Found on the album (2002)
- come back [PLUG in LANGUAGE Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 3 (2011)
walk
- walk: Found on the album (2002)
- walk ~to the future~: Found on single Suki de, Suki de, Suki de. (2010)
- walk [soichi Ono Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 4 (2012)
References
edit- ^ "affection / KODA KUMI / ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "affection (Japan Version)CD". YesAsia. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "Affecton Japan CD w Slipcase Special Limited Edition Bonus Track". eBay. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ "7 Spirits (Japan Version) DVD". YesAsia. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ "grow into one (Japan Version) CD". YesAsia. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
- ^ "secret FIRST CLASS LIMITED LIVE : KODA KUMI / ローチケHMV". HMV. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "Kumi Koda Average Setlists of tour: LIVE TOUR 2017 ~W FACE~". setlist.fm. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "好きで、好きで、好きで。/あなただけが / KODA KUMI / ORICON NEWS". Oricon. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "What's the backstory of Koda Kumi albums? What's the story?". Topicks. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "(koda kumi) KODA REKI". Verduistering. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ^ "affection – Koda Kumi – JaME U.K." Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2007.