The debut of Avex Trax’s transexual pop star Ai Haruna. Cool music which is nostalgic of Avex early ’90s but overall, a fun single but I wasn’t really getting into Ai’s vocals all that much.
ARTIST: Ai Haruna
CD SINGLE: I・U・YO・NE～
LABEL: Avex Trax
CATALOG #: AVCD-31559/B
DURATION: 14:04
RELEASE DATE: December 10, 2008
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- I・U・YO・NE～
- 艶桜フジヤマ・ナデシコ
- I・U・YO・NE～ (instrumental)
- 艶桜フジヤマ・ナデシコ (instrumental)
- I・U・YO・NE～ (MUSIC CLIP)
I have to admit that when I first saw the CD single cover for Ai Haruna’s “I・U・YO・NE～”, the first thing that came to my mind was…here’s the label again, going after an artist because of her boobs. After all, I have seen how the label has made Nana Tanimura a star and how all the press is reporting is more about her breast size than her music.
So, I figured, let’s give Ai Haruna’s “I・U・YO・NE～” a try and see if this artist can sing. And immediately, the voice made me suspicious because I felt her vocals was like a guy’s voice.
And what do you know… Ai Haruna is actually a transexual artist, a popular one who is known for her imitations of Aya Matsuura’s dance moves and has been on television quite a bit.
As for Ai’s music, “I・U・YO・NE～” is a pop track that utilizes the original Avex style that was popular back in the early ’90s via the “Juliana Tokyo” years. An upbeat, synth-driven, Euro pop track. It’s actually a good song but it just depends if you are digging Ai Haruna’s vocals. Again, for me, it was more of a shock because I was expecting a female’s voice.
The coupling track “艶桜フジヤマ・ナデシコ” (Fujiyama Pink Cherry Glaze) is a pop track that sounds more like a seiyuu cover but again, that is the style and vocals of Ai Haruna, which I believe her vocals would be great for anime soundtracks. But it’s a very cutesy style that I’m sure some fans will dig!
The two remaining tracks are the coupling songs.
As for the DVD, it’s the music video for “I・U・YO・NE～” and features Ai Haruna dancing and also sitting and being surrounded by women while singing and then dancing with both the guys and women on stage.
The CD insert features the lyrics to both tracks and production credits.
Overall, Ai Haruna’s “I・ U・YO・NE～” is an OK single. I did enjoy the music as it was nostalgic of Avex of old (early ’90s). The vocals, I was not digging as much as it is a bit nasally but Haruna does exhibit an anime-like cutesy style that I’m sure some fans will really dig. If you are a Ai Haruna fan, this one’s for you!
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