Otsuka Ai is a cute pop idol I do so adore and I have been following her for quite a while ©. CHU-LIP is her 14th single and debuted at #2 on the Oricon chart and its ranking is deserved. She is the typical singer that will give you songs to satisfy your “Jpop” quench. Not a bad thing at times, though. I really like her with blonde hair as a side note.

My Subjective Score: 8/10


1. CHU-LIP
I actually prefer Ai on upbeat songs than the normal ballads she usually produces. I think part of it has to do with the fact that her voice is quite high and thus sounds cutesy. Anyways, the song is quite fun! I thought that it would have been really over-the-top silly, but it didn’t turn out that way, and CHU-LIP is decent and a welcome single from Ai. The music has some ska mixed into it so it’s up-tempo.

2. Kimi ni Kaeru
Though listening to the very first part of the song made me think otherwise, her voice sounds very pretty and soft in the chorus. At some points I’m not sure if I really like the accompanient of some of the music which sounded I think like synthesizers or something…the little beeps are what I’m referring to. Overall the quality of her voice was surprising well-sounding.

 
Track 1: CHU-LIP