INSOMNIAC SONG

26.06.2013

Thelma Aoyama - Ballad

 

For those who may not know, Thelma is a bilingual jpop/j-urban singer. Her music is similar to that of Crystal Kay, Mao Denda and May J. Ballad is part of a double best of release comprised obviously of Thelma's more popular ballads. The album begins with Nandomo. It's a fairly generic little ballad that suits her vocals well. Mama e follows with a slower pace, but failed to capture my attention. Diary is easy to listen to, but once again, there wasn't much that stood out about the song. It suits her vocals fairly well, but  I didn't feel like there was any emotion to her delivery. Suki Desu begins with a backing track that makes me think of a rainy day. Her delivery gets better with this one. Kaeru Basho was the ending theme for Doraemon: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King. It has enough of that catchy quality to keep a person's attention. The tone is certainly one of endings and moving forward to new beginnings. Cinderella Story failed to hold onto the attention that the previous track had gained. It's once again rather generic, but quite listenable. Uso Demo Iikara falls right in with Cinderella Story. There was just something about this one that I didn't care for at all. Daikkirai Demo Arigato is written by DREAMS COME TRUE, which I think helped Thelma out quite a lot. It's perhaps the best on the album. The next track, Without U, is a collaboration with the kpop girl group, 4Minute. Thelma would be well suited to being a member of a girl group. Her vocals blended well with the other girls. Wasurenai yo is a hopeful song about missing someone and waiting for them. It's one of the better tracks on the album. Futari no Yakusku no Hi falls back into that slightly more generic sound. This one was rather forgettable. Zutto was written by Thelma herself for her friend, Kinoshita Yukina's wedding. It works well for the type of song you'd hear at a wedding reception. Next came a song that I feel just doesn't work with Thelma's vocals. I Don't Want to Miss A Thing was a song made famous by the American rock band, Aerosmith. The original is such an iconic song that Thelma's cover is a pale comparison. The next track suffers the same fate even though she's accompanied by Brian Mcknight. The original version of Every Breath You Take was by English rock band, The Police. It's another iconic song that simply makes the cover feel like a weak offering. There's something lacking in their vocals that doesn't hold up to Sting's original vocals. The album ends with My Angel. While this song isn't bad, it falls into the generic feel that most of the album had. Thelma isn't a bad singer overall. I'm just not sure that she's really found what suits her best. The album is worth a listen if you enjoy female voalists.

 

Rating: 2.5/5

Recommended Tracks: Kaeru Basho; Daikkirai Demo Arigato; Without U (Featuring 4Minute)