Namie Amuro – I HAVE NEVER SEEN (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

1. I HAVE NEVER SEEN [Single Mix]
2. I HAVE NEVER SEEN [With Her Soul Mix]
3. I HAVE NEVER SEEN [Instrumental]

Namie Amuro makes her return after being away for a year after her marriage with SAM (of TRF) and both being proud parents of a baby boy. Many people were wondering if Namie Amuro would be able to return to music and still be appreciated by her fans despite being married and having a child (which is usually a nail in the coffin for many Japanese female pop stars) and sure enough, Namie Amuro has shown that it is possible as her 11th comeback single “I Have Never Seen” has reached the #1 spot on the Oricon Charts and becoming her ninth CD single to achieve #1 status.

Featuring a song written and produced by Tetsuya Komuro (TK), “I HAVE NEVER SEEN” is used for the NTV drama “Yonige Yamotoho” and is a more mellower pop song from the artist. TK’s piano arrangement is pretty nice but I have to admit, this is probably the first Namie Amuro song that really didn’t draw me in. In fact, my reaction to it was more like it was an average pop song at best but it’s a good mid-tempo song.

The coupling track is a “With Her Soul Mix” and it’s mostly Amuro singing to a beat and occasional bass with the music having a more subtle sound and not as pronounced as the beats. Personally, I felt this coupling mix was bad and I expected more from TK. The third track ends with the instrumental of “I HAVE NEVER SEEN”.

I am glad to see Namie Amuro back again but the single for me, was not one of her best and as for TK, as much as I enjoyed his arrangement, the coupling track was his weakest mix ever. Overall, “I HAVE NEVER SEEN” is a good single but not a song I can see myself listening to a lot.

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