Sakurario was released on March 7, 2007 by the graceful Angela Aki. Do I like it? Yes. But do I love it. No. I feel that she needs to have some more range in her song choices. A lot of her songs sound a lot alike. The overall single isn’t the strongest, but it is still worth spending your money on. Though I may seem negative, Angela is a lot better comparitively to other female musicians in talent. The piano version of “Home” is your treat on this single!

My Subjective Score: 8.5/10


1. Sakurairo
She has a beautiful tone throughout and the chorus sounds just as pretty. There are lots of strings that make it sound very “massive” for lack of a better word. Sakurario is a typical Angela ballad song and I am not disappointed.

2. On & On
I’m not sure if I like the way her voice sounds because at points she sounds like she’s wailing. Anyway, the song is uplifting and I can easily listen to it.

3. Power of MUSIC
I think she almost sounds like Madonna a bit in the beginning! I like that she mixed in some background music other than just a piano and strings to mix it up a little. For some reason this song annoys me just a little bit. It’s decent as a whole, I guess.

 
Track 1: Sakurairo

Angela Aki is fairly new on the Japanese music scene although she did release an indie album in the states a while ago. Kiss Me Good-bye was released on March 15, 2006 and reached #4 on the Oricon chart. It is the theme song for the video game Final Fantasy XII and a wonderful single. She no doubt has one of the most amazing voices out there and she is well worth to give any type of support! Angela’s music is different that normal pop acts, and I wouldn’t even call her that; her music reflects her personality because it’s a different sound.

My Subjective Score: 10/10


1. Kiss Me Good-Bye
There is basically nothing I can critque of this song. It is a beautiful ballad! You’ll have to listen to it to understand why I’m lost for words. Her sound is so different from what is currently popular I can’t help but say having this track on the FFXII video game gave her a larger fanbase than she would have had, not to say that she doesn’t derserve it because she’s terrific, but I think it really gave her a boost-up.

2. Santa Fe
The piano accompanient is quite catchy and her voice is just as great as the previous track. I think I like this track the best because I tend to lean to more of up-tempo songs when it comes to choosing my favorites. It has a nice jazzy piano sound to it.

3. Aoi Kage
A soft song that once again is only accompanied by a piano. Again, just as well-composed as the previous songs. Not much for me to say… She reminds me of Sarah McLachlan in a way…very mature and sure of what she wants to create music-wise. I hope she can be diverse with her sound, as even though the songs on this single are pretty, she could easily get stuck.

 
Track 1: Kiss Me Good-Bye