#1 Song Review: Week of 2/25 – 3/3

Hello AramaJapan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw AKINO from bless4 come out on top against SMAP and Kumamushi. This week we have 2 fresh entries facing off. Find out what various staff members thought of the songs that topped the physical and digital charts this week and share your thoughts on them too!

Oricon #1: Arashi – Sakura (not released digitally)

Ronald: This is a pleasant surprise. A very pleasant surprise. I honestly wouldn’t expect this to be an Arashi song. For some reason, I can imagine JUJU singing this. The intro to the song immediately caught my interest. It’s very grand and sweeping. It almost gives me a Latin feel, like something from Argentina. The verses are ok, but with the pre-chorus you can really feel that this chorus is going to be an explosion, which it is. This is a great chorus. The use of strings in the chorus (and throughout the whole song) brings such a nice, sophisticated feel to the song. And there’s this electronic whirling sound that’s also a good add on. And then right after the chorus, that great intro kicks back in. In the end, Sakura is a surprisingly elegant turn from Arashi. I wouldn’t mind seeing more efforts from them akin to this. 8/10

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Recochoku #1 / iTunes #1: GReeeeN – Believe (not released physically)

Ronald: One thing that’s always annoyed me about GReeeeN is that it always seems like they’re more yelling their songs more than singing them. Like this song starts and then, as expected, the yelling comes in with the chorus. I know they’re trying to go for that big, singalong chorus vibe (witness those Yuzuru Hanyu CMs that use this song) but the yelling just kills it for me. It’s so forced. The non-chorus parts of the song are nothing too exciting. They’re what you’ll typically find in a song like this. The last half of this song just feels like one continual yell. It’s god awfully annoying. I just wanted the song to end. The main thing that sticks with me as far as this song goes is just GReeeeN’s typically yelling. 3.5/10

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Roanld’s Rank:

1. Oricon #1: Arashi – Sakura

2. Recochoku #1 / iTunes #1: GReeeeN – Believe

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