Summer of Love (album)

Summer of Love (stylized as SUMMER of LOVE) is the sixth greatest hits album by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda, released on July 22, 2015 through Rhythm Zone. It follows her five previous greatest hits albums, Best: First Things (2005), Best: Second Session (2006), Best: Bounce & Lovers (2007), Out Works & Collaboration Best (2009), and Best: Third Universe/Universe (2010). The compilation was released in many different formats including a one-disc standard edition, and a two-disc CD and DVD package. The album includes three new tracks; "Ex Tape", the album's lead promotional single, "Hurricane", and "No One Else but You".

Summer of Love
Greatest hits album by
Kumi Koda
ReleasedJuly 22, 2015
Recorded2005–2015
Genre
LabelRhythm Zone
ProducerKoda Kumi
Kumi Koda chronology
Walk of My Life
(2015)		 Summer of Love
(2015)		 Winter of Love
(2016)

Summer of Love was appreciated by contemporary critics who noted the vast production of Koda's collection. The album debuted at number seven on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart, making it her fifth top ten album, but became her lowest selling compilation album to date. Summer of Love is also Koda's first compilation to miss the chart in Taiwan. "Ex Tape" was released as a promotional single, but failed to chart in any Japanese music charts.

Background and material

On May 22, 2015, Koda announced on her official Facebook account that she had started producing and "recording new music".[1][2] Koda teased the album's title with the hashtag, #SummerofLove15, and confirmed on May 30 the release of the album.[3][4] The album artwork was photographed by Japanese team Tisch, and designed by Jun Hirota; according to Thomas Swan from Classicalite.com, the artwork "shows a glowing, sophisticated Koda – a grown-up girl who has toned down the erokawa a bit for a more refined look, but with no less impact than she is known for."[5]

Summer of Love compiles "summer singles" that span from her 2006 studio album, Black Cherry, up until her 2015 studio album, Walk of My Life.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] It features three new tracks; "Ex Tape" and "Hurricane", which are upbeat "urban songs," and "No One Else but You", which is inspired by "smoother, jazzier" music.[14] Two songs, "Niygohime" and "Juicy", were included on the televised commercial for Summer of Love, but the songs were pulled from the compilation at the last minute.[15] Summer of Love has a variety different music genres and musical styles; songs like "Lick Me", "Lady Go", and "Freaky" emphasize dance-pop and electronic music.[16][17][18] Tetsuo Hiraga from Hot Express stated that songs like "I'll Be There" is a "classic summer song", while songs like "Freaky" and "Girls" were inspired by rock, R&B, and pop music.[19][20] "Lady Go" and "Once Again" were noted for its summery "festival" vibe.[21] "Lollipop" was noted for its Hip-hop elements, but Hiraga commented that the Japanese public would "shy away" from the Westernized hip-hop sound.[22]

Promotion

"Ex Tape" was released as the album's only promotional single on July 8, 2015; the single premiered on Mu-mo websites, and was available for free streaming on iTunes Stores.[23] Despite its release, the song failed to chart in any Japanese or Taiwanese music charts. An accompanying music video was released for the song, which was included on the DVD version of Summer of Love.[24] "No One Else but You" was released on Japanese radio stations on July 14, and uploaded on Koda's YouTube channel the same day.[25] Koda co-promoted the album alongside Walk of My Life on her Koda Kumi Live Tour: Walk of My Life, performing the three new tracks. She performed the songs in Miyagi, and whoever attended that night received a reserved copy of Summer of Love, and goodies.[26]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicarrangementLength
1."EX TAPE"Kumi KodaD.O.IUnik
Katerina Bramley		3:12
2."HURRICANE"Kumi KodaD.O.I
Sky Adams		Sky Adams
Kanata Okajima
Maegan Cottone		3:58
3."NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU"Kumi KodaD.O.IUTA
Erik Petterson
Angelica Ahman		3:54
4."I'll be there"Kumi KodaShintaro Hagiwaratasuku4:13
5."With your smile"Kumi KodaTohru Watanabeh-wonder4:13
6."FREAKY"Kumi KodaTommy HenriksenTommy Henriksen3:19
7."girls"Kumi KodaKosuke Morimotoh-wonder4:38
8."Lick me♥"Kumi KodaYOOHiroto Suzuki3:30
9."Once Again"PushimPushim
Shunya Mori		Shunya Mori4:37
10."Lady Go!"Kumi KodaKousuke MorimotoYusuke Tanaka4:53
11."Lollipop"Kumi KodaIan Curnow
Julie Morrision		Jane Vaughan3:22
12."Poppin' love cocktail feat. TEEDA"Kumi Koda
TEEDA		Back-OnBack-On & Jin5:02
13."V.I.P"Kumi KodaToby Gad
Jessie J		Toby Gad3:06
14."LALALALALA"Kumi KodaFigge Boström
Anna Engh		Shinjiroh Inoue3:37
15."TOUCH DOWN"Kumi Koda
Toby Gad		Toby GadToby Gad3:45
16."HOTEL"Kumi KodaH.U.B
Didrik Thott
Sebastian Thott
Ylva Dimberg		Naoki Yamada3:21

DVD

No.Titledirector(s)Length
1."EX TAPE" (Music Video)YKBX 
2."HURRICANE" (Music Video)YKBX 
3."I'll be there" (Music Video)Shigeaki Kubo 
4."Ningyo-Hime" (Music Video)Tadashi Tadakoro 
5."JUICY" (Music Video)Shigeaki Kubo 
6."FREAKY" (Music Video)Takashi Tadokoro 
7."Run For Your Life" (Music Video)Shigeaki Kubo 
8."Lick me♥" (Music Video)Shigeaki Kubo 
9."Hashire!" (Music Video)Seki ☆ Ryuuji 
10."That Ain't Cool feat. Fergie" (Music Video)Fatima Robinson 
11."Lollipop" (Music Video)Seki ☆ Ryuuji 
12."Poppin' love cocktail feat. TEEDA" (Music Video)Hiroaki Higashi 
13."V.I.P" (Music Video)Hiroaki Higashi 
14."LALALALALA" (Music Video)Fatima Robinson 
15."TOUCH DOWN" (Music Video)Fatima Robinson 
16."HOTEL" (Music Video)Kanji Sudo 
17."EX TAPE/HURRICANE" (Making Video)YKBX 

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Japan Weekly (Oricon)[27] 7

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan — 23,000[28]

References
  1. Koda, Kumi (May 13, 2015). "Timeline Photos – Now , music production!!". Kumi Koda's official Facebook. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  2. Koda, Kumi (May 22, 2015). "Timeline Photos – Recording new music..." Kumi Koda's official Facebook. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  3. Koda, Kumi (May 28, 2015). "夏は、恋の話をしたくなる。そう思わない？そう思う人はシェアしてね♪". Kumi Koda's official Facebook. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  4. Koda, Kumi (May 30, 2015). "夢中になった気持ちは、間違いじゃないはず。夏は恋の話をしたくなる。サマーコレクションアルバムを本日発表。 SummerofLove15". Kumi Koda's official Facebook. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  5. Swan, Thomas (June 10, 2015). "Koda Kumi New Album 'Summer of Love' Sees Release Date of July 22". Classicalite.com. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  6. Koda, Kumi (2006). Black Cherry (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-45508.
  7. Koda, Kumi (2008). Kingdom (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-45831.
  8. Koda, Kumi (2009). Trick (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-46171.
  9. Koda, Kumi (2010). Universe (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-46493~4.
  10. Koda, Kumi (2011). Dejavu (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-46831.
  11. Koda, Kumi (2012). Japonesque (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-59081.
  12. Koda, Kumi (2014). Bon Voyage (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-59530.
  13. Koda, Kumi (2014). Walk of My Life (Liner notes). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone. RZCD-59747.
  14. "Koda Kumi to release Summer collection album". Aramajapan.com. June 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  15. Koda, Kumi (July 15, 2015). "いよいよ「SUMMER of LOVE」発売まで1週間！本日SPOTがYouTubeにて公開となりました★ 新曲「HURRICANE」のMUSIC VIDEOもチラッと公開！皆さんはどの曲がお気に入り？". Kumi Koda's official Facebook. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  16. Martin, Ian (2010). "Best: Third Universe & 8th AL Universe 2 Disc". Allmusic. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  17. Greenberg, Adam (2010). "Best: Third Universe & 8th AL Universe 1 Disc". Allmusic. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  18. Greenberg, Adam (2010). "Koda Kumi's Driving Hit's". Allmusic. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  19. Tetsuo, Hiraga. "Review List – 4 Hot Wave by Koda Kumi" (in Japanese). Hot Express. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  20. Tetsuo, Hiraga. "Review List – Freaky by Koda Kumi" (in Japanese). Hot Express. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  21. Tetsuo, Hiraga. "Review List – Moon by Koda Kumi" (in Japanese). Hot Express. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  22. Tetsuo, Hiraga. "Review List – Gossip Candy by Koda Kumi" (in Japanese). Hot Express. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  23. "倖田來未、ファンの恋の悩みヒントにした新曲「EX TAPE」先行配信" (in Japanese). Natalie. July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  24. Koda, Kumi (July 22, 2015). Summer of Love (CD+DVD/Blu-ray). Kumi Koda. Japan: Rhythm Zone.
  25. Koda, Kumi (July 14, 2015). "新曲「NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU」がYouTubeにて試聴スタート★ 明日はJ-WAVE「GROOVE LINE Z」に生出演♪ 是非チェックしてくださいね！". Kumi Koda's official Facebook. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  26. "Koda Kumi news". Rhythm Zone. June 15, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  27. 倖田來未のリリース一覧 [A Look at Kumi Koda's Releases]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  28. "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 (in Japanese). Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  • Summer of Love – Kumi Koda's official website, powered by Rhythm Zone.
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