Secret is the fourth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi, released on February 9, 2005. This album also jump-started Kumi's ero-kawaii/sexy-cute image, with which she became synonymous. This style later spread throughout Japan's high school community upon her release of "Butterfly".
| Secret | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 9, 2005 April 13, 2005 (special editions) | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:03:23 | |||
| Label | Rhythm Zone | |||
| Producer | Max Matsuura | |||
| Koda Kumi chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Secret | ||||
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Commercially, the record peaked at number three on the Oricon Albums Chart in Japan, becoming her highest charting album at the time. It remained on the chart for 56 weeks.[1] It sold over 600,000 copies in the country and was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
Background and release
editSecret is the first predominantly-pop album by Kumi, with her first three albums, feel my mind, grow into one and affection, being R&B. Due to Kumi feeling most comfortable with the style she donned in "Crazy 4 U", she created the "sexy-cute" style (known as ero-kawaii) for her A-sides used in secret. This is the style that she became famous for and received both positive and negative attention. During her performance for "Cutie Honey" at Music Station, she donned the outfit she wore during the jazz parlor scenes in the Music video. The outfit was heavily criticized, when revealing clothing was not worn by mainstream artists in Japan at the time.[2]
On April 13, 2005, three special editions of the album were released, which contained the Music video for "Hot Stuff", which featured the rapper KM-Markit and, depending on which special edition was purchased, came with a T-shirt or a tank top.[3]
The DVD contained the Music videos originally released on her first DVD single, "Girls: Selfish": "Selfish", "Shake It" and "24". The song "24", which was written and composed by the arranger Hitoshi Shimono, was the first song released by Kumi with an entire chorus in English.[4] She worked with Hitoshi again for her 2006 song "Feel", which also contained a chorus completely in English.
Packaging
editSecret was released in four editions: CD, CD+DVD and a special CD+DVD edition. While the standard editions of the CD and CD+DVD combinations contained the fifteen musical tracks, the special editions contained two bonus songs and a bonus Music video. This edition also had achoice of either a tank top or a t-shirt.
The two bonus tracks contained on the special editions were "It's a Small World", which featured the female duo the Heartsdales, and a remix of "Hot Stuff", which featured the rappers KM-Markit and Uzi. The bonus Music video on the DVD of this version was the Music video for the latter track. Each edition contained different cover art.The CD only contained a blue heart, the CD+DVD contained a pink heart and the special edition contained a holographic heart.
Music videos
editTwo new Music videos were released on the DVD: the album version of "Hands", which was the first time a different version of a Music video was released, and "Trust You". There was a different version of "Trust You" released on her "Hot Stuff" single, titled "Thanks to Mam & Gramma Version". While there were only two new Music videos, the Music videos from "Girls: Selfish" were also placed on the album, because of "Girls: Selfish" being unsuccessful as a DVD single. These videos were "Selfish", "Shake It" and "24".
The video for "Trust You" was set in the future where men use technology to set women to perform. The A.Is, Kumi along with two others, are able to become sentient and reclaim dominance. "Selfish" carries a story of female vampires luring men to their hideout so they are able to live off their life force. "Shake It" carries a story of a man breaking into a tent, owned by Kumi. Kumi and her followers seduce him and convince him to leave. It is shown at the end he makes a phone call to an unknown source. The video for "24" contains a soft and sensual concept, showing Kumi in her downtime as she fantasizes about a lover. The Music video to "Hot Stuff" was later placed on the DVD when the special edition was released two months later. The Music video carried a dance battle theme, which had been inspired by the North American film You Got Served, which featured Omarion Grandberry and Marques Houston. Kumi later featured Omarion in 2012 "Slow" from her album Japonesque (2012).
Endorsements
edit"Selfish" was used as the theme to the 20th East Women's Ekiden.[5] "Hearty..." was used as the promotional theme for the Kojima Ltd. product Fresh Gray 2005.[6] "Trust You" was used as MTV Japan's Buzz Asia theme for March 2005.[7] "24" was used as the theme song for Sanctuary / Otona no Seiiki.[8] "Let's Party" was used for the television advertisement of Shueisha's More.[9] "It's a Small World" was used as the theme song for Japan's release of the 2004 film 80 Days.[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro: Get Down" | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | 1:27 |
| 2. | "Cutie Honey" | Claude Q. | Takeo Watanabe | H-Wonder | 3:05 |
| 3. | "Hot Stuff" (featuring KM-Markit) | Kumi Koda, KM-Markit | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Selfish" | Miki Watanabe | Miki Watanabe | Miki Watanabe | 3:56 |
| 5. | "Hands" | Kumi Koda | Katsumi Ohnishi | H-Wonder | 4:24 |
| 6. | "Hearty..." | Kumi Koda | Yasuo Ohtani | Yasuo Ohtani | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Shake It" | Kumi Koda | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | 3:48 |
| 8. | "Kiseki" | Kumi Koda, Kosuke Morimoto | Kosuke Morimoto | Reo Nishikawa | 4:59 |
| 9. | "Trust You" | Kumi Koda, Toru Watanabe | Toru Watanabe | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | 4:27 |
| 10. | "Chase" | Kumi Koda, Kazuhiro Hara | Kazuhiro Hara | H-Wonder | 5:00 |
| 11. | "Love Holic" | Kumi Koda | Tsutomu Yamasaki | H-Wonder | 4:25 |
| 12. | "24" | Kumi Koda, Hitoshi Shimono | Hitoshi Shimono | Hitoshi Shimono | 5:40 |
| 13. | "Let's Party" | Hinaco | Junpei Takada | H-Wonder | 4:40 |
| 14. | "Believe" | Kumi Koda | Kaido | Masaki Iehara | 4:30 |
| 15. | "Through the Sky" | Kumi Koda, Hiroo Yamaguchi | Hiroo Yamaguchi | Hiroo Yamaguchi | 5:34 |
| Total length: | 70:37 | ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "It's a Small Word" (featuring Heartsdales) | Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman | Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman | 2:46 | |
| 17. | "Hot Stuff (Remix)" (featuring Uzi & KM-Markit) | Kumi Koda, KM-Markit, Uzi | Daisuke "D.I" Imai | Sub-Zero | 4:17 |
| Total length: | 7:03 | ||||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cutie Honey" (Music video) | |
| 2. | "Chase" (Music video) | |
| 3. | "Kiseki" (Music video) | |
| 4. | "Selfish" (Music video) | |
| 5. | "Shake It" (Music video) | |
| 6. | "24" (Music video) | |
| 7. | "Hands [Album Version]" (Music video) | |
| 8. | "Trust You" (Music video) | |
| 9. | "Hot Stuff featuring KM-Markit" (Music video) |
Charts
editSales and certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[14] | 2× Platinum | 600,000[13] |
References
edit- ^ "secret / KODA KUMI". Oricon. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Koda Kumi - Cutie Honey". Youku. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "secret special edition for live (men's one-size black t-shirt included)(with DVD)". Amazon Japan. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- "secret special edition for live (women's one-size turquoise tank-top included)(with DVD)". Amazon Japan. Retrieved January 28, 2016. - ^ "Koda Kumi - 24 (lyrics)". JPopAsia. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "20th East Women's Ekiden". Dwango. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "[CM] Kojima fresh gray 2005 (BMG: Koda Kumi Hearty)". Tudou. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "TAIAPPU MYUJIKKU". Seesaa Music. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "SANCTUARY/Otona no Seiiki". NTVM. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "Let's Party (Koda Kumi) animelomix". Animelo. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ "80 DAYS (2004)". All Cinema. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ 倖田來未のリリース一覧 [A Look at Koda Kumi's Releases]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ "2005年 アルバム年間TOP100". Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Japanese album certifications – Koda Kumi – Secret" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2005年2月 on the drop-down menu