J-Pop News: Tomomi Kahala returns!

January 3, 2013 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

Tomomi Kahala (38) made her return to the music industry after being out for over five years. The singer performed on Fuji TV’s “Glitter WINTER LAND” on January third and performed five of her hit songs including “I’m proud” in front of an audience of 1,000 people.

Kahala surprised the audience at FNS when she came out to perform her first major hit “I Believe” and was in tears during her performance. Receiving a standing ovation by the audience.

Back in the early ’90s, Kahala was best known as a gravure model but musically remembered for being part of the TK family and was in a relationship with producer Tetsuya Komuro (TK). After undergoing hardships, Kahala told the audience how happy she was to be back and is determined not to fail.

Filed Under: Japanese Entertainment News

TK presents YOU ARE THE ONE (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single)

January 7, 1997 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The TK family have dominated the charts and it’s great to have everyone together and take part in this song. If you are a TK family fan, “YOU ARE THE ONE” is highly recommended!

GROUP: TK Presents/TK Presents Konetto

CD SINGLE: YOU ARE THE ONE

LABEL: Nippon Crown, Ltd.

CATALOG #: KPDD-20171

DURATION: 17:30

RELEASE DATE: January 1, 1997

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YOU ARE THE ONE ORIGINAL MIX
YOU ARE THE ONE A CAPPELLA MIX
YOU ARE THE ONE JUST INSTRUMENTAL

The TK family has dominated the music charts for the past three years and it doesn’t look we are going to see any end to this domination anytime soon…Tetsuya Komuro and his family of popular artists and music groups look like they are here to stay (for the time being).

During this past Christmas holiday, I had a chance to see TK and a few of his TK family perform in the US as they were celebrating the holiday season on television but also we had a chance to hear “YOU ARE THE ONE” which features artists and members of groups that are part of the TK family.

“YOU ARE THE ONE” is like what Michael Jackson and friends were able to pull off with “We are the World” and many artists and groups who were produced by TK appear on this single.

Here is the lineup of performers on “YOU ARE THE ONE”:

Yuki Uchida, hitomi, Yoshihiro Kai, Takashi Utsunomiya, Yaya Auga, taco, Asami, Kaba (of dos) with Cozy Kubo, Masatoshi Hamada (Downtown/H-Jungle with T), Sam, Etsu and Chiharu (TRF), Naoto Kine with Takashi Utsonomiya, m.c.A*T, Naomi Amagata with Cozy Kubo, taeco, Asami, Kaba (dos) with Cozy Kubo, Marc Panther, DJ KOO, Namie Amuro with TK, Tomomi Kahala with TK, KEIKO with TK, YU-KI (of TRF) with TK and Alisa Mizuki with TK.

Personally, I felt this was an awesome collaboration between all of the TK family members to get together and perform this song on New Year’s Eve. The song is catchy, addictive and it’s just a pretty awesome single when you can get everyone together (which is difficult) to take part in the song.

The CD single comes with an A CAPPELLA MIX. It’s not necessarily a cappela as you can hear the synth in the background. But the song does focus more on the vocal tracks. The third track is the instrumental version of “YOU ARE THE ONE”.

If you are a TK family fan, “YOU ARE THE ONE” is highly recommended!

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Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Tomomi Kahala – I Believe (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

October 11, 1995 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

A pretty awesome follow-up to “Keep Yourself Alive”, Tomomi Kahala returns with another upbeat TK track titled “I Believe”!

ARTIST: Tomomi Kahala

CD SINGLE: I Believe

LABEL: Orumok Records/Pioneer LDC

CATALOG #: PIDX-1003

DURATION: 18:02

RELEASE DATE: October 11, 1995

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I Believe [Radio Edit]
I Believe [Extended (Milan Mix)]
I Believe [Instrumental]

Tomomi Kahara was a former bikini model and when she paired up with Tetsuya Komuro. For those who haven’t been keeping up with the J-Pop music scene of late, Tetsuya Komuro aka TK has become the top producer in Japan and everything he has touched, has seemed to be gold. From trf to Namie Amuro and his recent group globe, #1 hits keep coming. And with the recent experiment with Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ host Hamada-san, TK proved that he can make him a #1 star.

So, now he has focused on his current girlfriend Tomomi Kahala to generate some #1 hits. Although her debut single “Keep Yourself Alive” did not generate a#1 hit, “I Believe” is currently tearing up the charts and is currently the commercial theme song for Minami Sports.

“I Believe” is true TK, synth pop and pretty much, it’s all TK when it comes to the lyrics, composition, music and arrangement and Tomomi Kahala performs the song with ease. Kahala seems to have this voice that is truly unique and a voice you can’t confuse with anyone else. You either love it or hate it, as we have seen on the forum but for now, I’m enjoying her music thus far.

The second track “I Believe – Extended Milan Mix” is more like an extended version of the song with a lengthy introduction and the third track is the instrumental version of the song.

Overall, if you have been getting into Tomomi Kahala this winter, then definitely pick this single up!

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Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Tomomi Kahala – keep yourself alive (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

September 8, 1995 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The first single from bikini model turned singer Tomomi Kahala but unlike other models who have tried before, she has mega producer Tetsuya Komuro on her side. A decent single but we’ll have to wait and see how this artist progresses for the upcoming second single.

ARTIST: Tomomi Kahala

CD SINGLE: keep yourself alive

LABEL: Orumok Records/Pioneer LDC

CATALOG #: PIDX-1001

DURATION: 17:14

RELEASE DATE: September 8, 1995

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keep yourself alive [Radio Edit MIX]
keep yourself alive [Original Full Length MIX]
keep yourself alive [Instrumental]

Tomomi Kahara was a former bikini model and when she paired up with Tetsuya Komuro. For those who haven’t been keeping up with the J-Pop music scene of late, Tetsuya Komuro aka TK has become the top producer in Japan and everything he has touched, has seemed to be gold. From trf to Namie Amuro and his recent group globe, #1 hits keep coming. And if you thought the man was busy, he is taking on another artist and it will be interesting to see how much he puts in to this new artist…Tomomi Kahala.

“keep yourself alive” is the debut single for Tomomi Kahara and a CF image song for Oracle. “keep yourself alive” is a fast, electro pop single and the type of music that Komuro is known for. A release for Komoro’s Orumok Records and mixed by Gary Wright, “keep yourself alive” is an OK song. If anything, I felt that I enjoyed the song much more when I was watching the music video for it, but overall, it’s an OK song. If anything, it’s going to be interesting to see how far TK will be able to take this star and see if he can add another artist to his list of artists in which he has generated #1 hits for.

The single features a radio edit mix, an original full length mix and an instrumental version of “keep yourself alive”. Again, it’s an average song at best but it’s catchy and I definitely will wait and see how Tomomi Kahala does with her second single.

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Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS