Voice (Mika Nakashima album)
Voice is the sixth studio album (ninth overall) by Japanese singer Mika Nakashima, released via Sony Music Japan on November 26, 2008. It contains all of her singles from "Life" up to "Orion". The album was distributed in two formats: a CD-only version and CD+DVD limited edition.[2]
| Voice | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 26, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007–08 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:07:30 | |||
| Language |
| |||
| Label | Sony Music Japan | |||
| Mika Nakashima chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Following its release, Voice became Nakashima's first number one album on the Oricon Albums Chart since Best (2005). It has been certified platinum by the RIAJ for physical shipments of over 250,000 copies in Japan, and has since amassed sales of over 340,000 copies.
Singles
"Life" was released as the album's first single on August 22, 2007. The song is an adult contemporary pop/rock number and was used as the theme song for the drama of the same name, starring Kii Kitano and Saki Fukuda. The B-side "It's Too Late" was used for an Kanebo Cosmetics CM, which starred Nakashima herself.
"Eien no Uta" is a reggae-inflected ballad with Stephen McGregor serving as the producer. It was used as the theme song of the movie Southbound (2007).[3] The B-side is a cover of Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," and was made with jazz band Katteni-Shiyagare and previously included on her Katteni-Shiyagare tribute album, Let's Get Lost.[4]
"Sakura Hanagasumi" is an adult contemporary ballad with a more poignant mood than "Sakurairo Mau Koro" (2005). The Daishi dance version of the song appears on the Voice album instead of the original version, which is featured in its promotional video. The next release, "I Don't Know", was Mika's first English-language single. It is a collaboration with owarai group Morisanchuu and was her first single to be released in a CD+DVD format in addition to the regular CD-only format. It includes the B-side track "Shut Up".
"Orion" is an lite rock-influenced ballad and was released on November 12, 2008.[5] It was the insert song for the Japanese TBS drama, Ryūsei no Kizuna, in which co-starred Mika.[6] The B-side song "Focus" was used for the television commercial of the Canon IXY Digital 920 IS camera.
| Release date | Title | Peak (Oricon) |
Certifications (RIAJ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 22, 2007 | "Life" | 3 |
|
| October 3, 2007 | "Eien no Uta" | 5 | — |
| March 12, 2008 | "Sakura Hanagasumi" | 12 | |
| July 23, 2008 | "I Don't Know" | 11 | |
| November 12, 2008 | "Orion" | 6 |
|
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arranger(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Life" | Ren Takayanagi, Heroism | Junkoo | Coldfeet | 4:02 |
| 2. | "Sakura: Hanagasumi (花霞; Cherry Blossoms: Flower Haze)" (Daishi Dance) | Mona, Hiroki Nagase | Hiroki Nagase | Daishi Dance, Tomoharu Moriya | 6:09 |
| 3. | "Focus" | Mika Nakashima | Akihisa Matsuura | Yoshito Tanaka Brass Arrangement: Yoshinari Takegami | 4:40 |
| 4. | "Eien no Uta" (永遠の詩; Eternal Song) | Kazufumi Miyazawa | Sin | Stephen McGregor String Arrangement: Shunya Mori | 5:45 |
| 5. | "Orion" | Rui Momota | Rui Momota | Rui Momota | 4:48 |
| 6. | "Anata ga Iru Kara" (あなたがいるから; Because You Are Here) | Haruna Yokota | Haruna Yokota | Naohisa Taniguchi | 4:34 |
| 7. | "My Gentleman" | Mika Nakashima | Akihisa Matsuura | Akihisa Matsuura | 4:34 |
| 8. | "Trust Your Voice" | Mika Nakashima | Lensei | Shin Kōno | 4:15 |
| 9. | "It's Too Late" | Mika Nakashima, Ayumi Miyazaki | Lori Fine (Coldfeet) | Coldfeet | 4:33 |
| 10. | "I Don't Know" (Mica 3 Chu) | Mika Nakashima, Lori Fine (Coldfeet) | Lori Fine (Coldfeet) | Coldfeet | 4:39 |
| 11. | "Shut Up" (Mica 3 Chu) | Mika Nakashima, Lori Fine (Coldfeet) | Lori Fine (Coldfeet) | Coldfeet | 3:53 |
| 12. | "Confusion" | Mika Nakashima, Masato Odake | Tomokazu Matsuzawa | The Flixx, Tomokazu Matsuzawa Background vocal arrangement: Lori Fine (Coldfeet) | 3:29 |
| 13. | "Flower of Time" | Masato Odake | Lensei | Akihisa Matsuura | 6:27 |
| 14. | "Koe" (声; Voice) | Jun Shibata | Jun Shibata | Takefumi Haketa | 5:42 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Life" (Music video) | |
| 2. | "Eien no Uta" (Music video) | |
| 3. | "Sakura: Hanagasumi" (Music video) | |
| 4. | "I Don't Know" (Music video) | |
| 5. | "Orion" (Music video) | |
| 6. | "Focus" (Music video) |
Charts and sales
Sales and certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[8] | Platinum | 343,000[9] |
References
- Greenberg, Adam. "Voice - Mika Nakashima - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
- "Sony Music Shop". Sonymusicshop.jp. November 26, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
- "中島美嘉、ニューシングル「永遠の詩」映画主題歌決定 (Nakashima Mika's new single "Eien no Uta" to be used as movie theme song)" (in Japanese). Barks. August 8, 2007. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
- "中島美嘉 : インフォメーション (Nakashima Mika: Information)" (in Japanese). Sony Music Online Japan. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
- "Sony Music Online Japan : 中島美嘉". Sonymusic.co.jp. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- ""ORION" / Mika Nakashima". Tbs.co.jp. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- "中島美嘉の作品" [Mika Nakashima products]. Oricon. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- "Japanese album certifications – Mika Nakashima – Voice" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2008年11月 on the drop-down menu
- "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved January 17, 2014. (subscription only)