Cherry Girl/Unmei
| "Cherry Girl / Unmei" Cherry Girl/運命" | |||||||
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 "Cherry Girl" CD-only cover | |||||||
| Single by Koda Kumi | |||||||
| from the album Black Cherry | |||||||
| Released | December 6, 2006 | ||||||
| Genre | J-pop, Pop | ||||||
| Label | Rhythm Zone | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Kumi Koda, Curtis A. Richardson, Charlene Gilliam, Andreao "Fanatic" Heard", and Sherrod Barnes | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Andreao "Fanatic" Heard", Sherrod Barnes, The Conglomerate | ||||||
| Koda Kumi singles chronology | |||||||
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Cherry Girl / Unmei (運命 / Fate) is Koda Kumi's 34th single under the Rhythm Zone label. This was her last single released before the release of her 2006 album, Black Cherry.[1] The single charted #2 on the Oricon charts.
Information
Cherry Girl/Unmei is Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda's thirty-fourth single and final single in her Black Cherry era. It ranked #2 on the Oricon charts and remained on the charts for ten consecutive weeks.[2] It was released in both CD and CD+DVD editions, with the limited editions carrying the "Space Cowboy Remix" of Cherry Girl.[3] The limited editions of the CD+DVD version carried a sticker of the single's cover, the remix of Cherry Girl and a trailer of her upcoming film.
While Cherry Girl was an upbeat pop/rock mix, Unmei was a power ballad.
Cherry Girl became the theme song for Koda Kumi's debut drama Cherry Girl, which was later placed on the CD+2DVD version of her album Black Cherry. Unmei was used as the theme for the movie Oh! Oku.[4] Cherry Girl was composed by Kumi along with Curtis A. Richardson, Charlene Gilliam, Andreao "Fanatic" Heard and Sherrod Barnes.
Music video
Cherry Girl was composed of scenes from Kumi's film of the same name, along with her singing while wearing her initial outfit worn in the film's opening scene. Kumi had released a music video with a Charlie's Angels theme prior to this for her song No Regret.
Unmei carried a theme of love, telling the story of two people separated by fate, hence the song's title (unmei means "fate" in Japanese). The imagery and feel of the music video would later be the inspiration for other famous artists, including American singer Kelly Clarkson's song Already Gone.[5]
Response
The single garnered generally mixed reviews from North American fans. Cherry Girl received mixed reviews, with some fans praising the vocals and overall tone, while others said the background's bass "was pretty annoying."[6]
Japanese fans, however, gave the single more positive reviews. They compared Cherry Girl to Koda Kumi's earlier music, and that the music was "very cool" and the video was a "good look on her." Others said how Unmei was a nice track to come after the bass-heavy Cherry Girl.[7]
Track listing
(Source[8])
All lyrics written by Kumi Koda.
| CD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Arranger(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Cherry Girl" | Curtis A. Richardson • Charlene Gilliam • Andreao "Fanatic" Heard • Sherrod Barnes | Andreao "Fanatic" Heard • The Conglomerate | |
| 2. | "Unmei (運命 / Fate)" | Hirofumi Hibino | Masaki Iehara | |
| 3. | "Cherry Girl" (Space Cowboy Remix) | Space Cowboy | ||
| 4. | "Cherry Girl" (Instrumental) | Curtis A. Richardson • Charlene Gilliam • Andreao "Fanatic" Heard • Sherrod Barnes | Andreao "Fanatic" Heard • The Conglomerate | |
| 5. | "Unmei" (Instrumental) | Hirofumi Hibino | Masaki Iehara | |
| DVD | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Cherry Girl" (Music Video) | ||
| 2. | "Unmei" (Music video) | ||
| 3. | "DVD MOVIE「Cherry Girl」TRAILER" | ||
Charts
Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
| Release | Chart | Peak position | First week sales | Sales total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 6, 2006 | Oricon Daily Charts | 2 | ||
| Oricon Weekly Charts | 3 | 61,817 | 106,069 | |
| Oricon Monthly Charts | 10 | |||
| 2006 Oricon Yearly Charts | 145 |
| Preceded by "Won't Be Long" by Exile & Kumi Koda |
RIAJ Reco-kyō Chart number-one song "Unmei" December 2006 |
Succeeded by "Flavor of Life (Ballad Version)" by Hikaru Utada |
Alternate versions
Currently, there are four renditions of Cherry Girl and three for Unmei
Cherry Girl
- Cherry Girl: Found on the single and corresponding album Black Cherry (2006)
- Cherry Girl [Space Cowboy Remix]: Found on the single (2006)
- Cherry Girl [Instrumental]: Found on the single (2006)
- Cherry Girl [Sunset in Ibiza Remix]: Found on Beach Mix (2012)
Unmei
- Unmei: Found on the single and corresponding album Black Cherry (2006)
- Unmei [Instrumental]: Found on the single (2006)
- Unmei [Shohei Matsumoto Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 3 (2011)
References
- ↑ "Black Cherry [Jacket C]". CD Japan. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ↑ "Cherry Girl/運命 / KODA KUMI / ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ↑ "Koda Kumi: Cherry Girl/Unmei (with DVD)(Limited Edition)". Amazon Japan. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ↑ "KODA KUMI "Unmei"". Recochoku. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ↑ "Kelly Clarkson - Already Gone". YouTube. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ↑ "Cherry Girl/Unmei (SINGLE+DVD)(Japan Version) Customer Reviews)". YesAsia. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Koda Kumi - Cherry Girl/Unmei Review". Amazon Japan. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ↑ "Cherry Girl/Unmei OFFICIAL". Rhythm Zone. Retrieved January 15, 2016.