j!-ent special feature article and interview with shimatani hitomi

A J ! - E N T F E AT U R E A R T I C L E & I N T E R V I E W
Shimatani
Hitomi
島谷ひとみ
B Y D E N N I S A . A M I T H & H I R O S H I TA G A WA
P H O T O G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F A V E X E N T E R TA I N M E N T, I N C .
Shimatani Hitomi Official Website - www.avexnet.or.jp/shimatani
J!-ENT
Image from Shimatani Hitomi’s CD single “Ai no Uta”. Image courtesy of Avex Entertainment, Inc.
A
dash of pop, rock, Latin, Spanish,
orchestral and other musical genres
is something to expect from avex trax
music artist Shimatani Hitomi.
Among the many female artists on the avex
trax label, Shimatani Hitomi is one unique
artist that features a diversity within her music
that no one can really predict what kind of
music from Shimatani will come out with each
CD single release.
The singer first began in her career through
the first annual “Japan Audition” back in
1997 held by avex trax where she bested over
200,000 girls to receive a recording contract.
In 1999, Shimatani released her first CD
single titled “Osaka no onna” (AVCD-20330,
rel. July 28, 1999) which would be her debut as
an enka artist and her last.
Her second single “Kaihoku” (AVCD
-30151, rel. Sept. 27, 2000) would reinvent
2
her to become a pop artist and would be used
on a commercial for the first time for Kanebo’s
“REVUE”.
Shimatani would then win the “New Artist of the Year” at the Nippon Yusen Taishou
Awards.
Her third CD single “PAPIYON ~papillon~” (rel. Feb. 2001) which was a cover of Janet
Jackson’s “Doesn’t Really Matter” became a big
hit for Shimatani selling over 200,000 copies
and also be used for NTV’s “FUN” .
Her fourth CD single “Ichiba no Ikko”
(AVCD-30247, Rel. May 30, 2001) would
be her first CD single to be used as a theme
song for TBS “Wonderful” followed up by her
fifth CD single “Yasashii Kiss no Mitsukekata”
(AVCD-30272, Rel. Sept. 12, 2001) which
was used as an ending theme for TV Tokyo’s
“ASAYAN”.
On June 27, 2001, Shimatani would
release her first album “PAPILLON”
(AVCD-11944) which debuted at #7 on the
Oricon charts.
On January 30, 2002, was the release
of Shimatani’s sixth CD single “Shanty”
(AVCD-30315, Rel. Jan. 30, 2002) which
would be her first drama theme song for TBS
“Pretty Girl”.
On May 2002, Shimatani would have her
largest selling CD single “Amairo no Kami
no Otome” (her seventh CD single) which
debuted at #4 on the Oricon Charts and sold
over 375,000 copies.
Her second album titled “Shanty”
(AVCD-17095, Rel. June 12, 2002) would
be her first album debut at #1 on the Oricon
Charts.
On Oct. 23, 2002, Shimatani would then
release her first DVD titled “8colors Hitomi
Shimatani CLIPS+LIVE” (AVBD-91112).
JANUARY 08 | J!-ENT
Image from Shimatani Hitomi’s CD single “Dragonfly”. Image courtesy of Avex Entertainment, Inc.
Following the DVD release, Shimatani
would release her first mini album titled
“Poinsettia” (AVCD-17187, Rel. November
27, 2002) which would feature a collection of
Winter songs.
In 2003, Shimatani’s music started to
experiment with different musical genres from
Spanish and Latin to music incorporating
strings.
Also, in 2003 would mark the first major
acting role for Shimatani as she played the
character of Imamura Keiko for the Fuji TV
drama “Boku Dake no Madonna” which aired
from July to September 2003.
Shimatani would play the early love interest
for TACKEY & TSUBASA artist Takizawa
Hideaki’s lead character Suzuki Kyoichi and
would continue to pursue acting with 2006 TV
Asahi drama “Damenzu Walker” and a play for
“Okage no Anne” (Anne of Green Gables) in
2007.
On Nov. 6, 2003, Shimatani would have her
first anime theme song release with “YUME
Biori” (AVCD-30517) as the ending theme for
J!-ENT | JANUARY 08
the popular series “Doraemon”.
Shimatani would end the year with a
release on Christmas 2003 with her very first
best album titled “Delicious! ~The Best of
Hitomi Shimatani” (AVCD-17368) would be
released which would include her second CD
single up to her 13th CD single.
In 2005, Shimatani Hitomi would have
her first video game theme song (opening and ending) with her 17th CD single
“Garnet Moon/Inori” (AVCD-30637, Rel. Jan.
26, 2005) for the Sony PlayStation 2 game
“A.C.E. - Another Century’s Episode”.
Shimatani would later have several theme
songs such as her 19th CD single “Falco”
for the anime series “Ueki no Hosoku”
(AVCD-30764, Rel. Aug. 10, 2005) and her
22nd CD single “Destiny -Taiyou no Hana-/
Koimizu -tears of love-” (AVCD-30976/B,
Rel. June 21, 2006) which was used as the
opening theme for the anime series “Black
Jack 21”.
Since her debut in 1999, Shimatani has
released 26 CD singles, one collaboration CD
single, six albums and four special albums.
Because of her diversity in different musical
genres, Shimatani has amassed a large number
of fans worldwide.
In December 2007, J!-ENT’s Dennis A.
Amith (USA) and Hiroshi Tagawa ( Japan)
recently had an opportunity to interview Shimatani regarding her music, her life and the
release of her cover album “Otoko Uta - cover
song collection”.
J!-ENT: Before we get into discussions
about music, let’s get to know a little
about Shimatani Hitomi. When you were
younger, was it always your dream to
become a singer?
HITOMI: Yes. When I was a child, I’ve
always imagined that I would be singing on
TV and singing in the future.
J!-ENT: Were you aware that you have so
many fans of your music worldwide and
how do you feel about so many International fans listening to Japanese music?
3
HITOMI: No, I didn’t know I had fans listening to my music all over the world. I’m very
happy to know there are many people listening to my songs! I listen to a lot of foreign
songs, so I would like people outside of
Japan to listen to Japanese music.
J!-ENT: Who did you listen to a lot when
growing up (Japanese or International
artists?)
HITOMI: I was always listening to songs by
Dreams Come True and Mr. Children.
J!-ENT: Very cool! Now, if I were to look
in your CD or MP3 player right now, which
artist would you be listening to right now?
HITOMI: I’m currently listening to Christina
Aguilera and Stevie Wonder.
J!-ENT: Many fans in world are also aware
of your acting skills from CM, Japanese
dramas like “Boku Dake no Madonna” and
have read about your participation in musicals such as “Okage no Anne” (Anne of
Green Gables). Were you always interested in acting and how did you get involved
with that?
HITOMI: Both singing songs and acting can
give people dreams and the feeling of emotion. So, it was a little hard for me to act. But
many people on staff helped me a lot and I
made effort to act more natural.
J!-ENT: Let’s go ahead and talk about
your music. We will talk briefly about the
earlier years to your recent release. I’ve
read on the Internet that when you first
debuted, you were an enka singer. Is that
true? And if so, how was that experience?
HITOMI: Yes, that is true. It was born from
just a TV project. I was listening to Enka
when I was a child and enka is part of Japanese traditional songs. So, I enjoy the music
very much. Now, I don’t sing Enka songs
anymore but I’ve learned a lot of skills from
following enka.
J!-ENT: As you look back from the very
first experience of releasing your CD
single (Osaka no Onna) back in 1999 to
the present time with the last release of
“Shinku/Ai no Uta”, what has been the
significant shining point in your musical
career that you will always be grateful for
(or will always remember)?
HITOMI: For me, the most significant thing
point in my career would be the release of
“Amairono Kami no Otome”.
J!-ENT: Do you feel that because your
music embraces musical styles from different countries and different genres, it helps
distinguish you from the many female solo
lingers from Avex and makes your music
very unique?
HITOMI: Personally, for me, I don’t want to
stay within one musical category and I want
to keep challenging myself and try to do
4
Image from Shimatani Hitomi’s CD single “Neva Eva”. Image courtesy of Avex Entertainment, Inc.
several different things.
J!-ENT: Because we have received so
many questions from your fans all over
the world, I want to give a few of them
the opportunity to ask you a question in
regards to your music.
FAN QUESTION: (From Kevin – Valencia,
Spain) - What do you do to help prepare
yourself when writing music lyrics? Do
you sit down and wait for inspiration to
come?
HITOMI: Usually, I just write what I see
and feel in daily life.
FAN QUESTION: (From Sarah – Bentonville, Arkansas – USA) – Out of all your
songs, is there one song that has a special meaning for you and why?
HITOMI: “Amairono Kami no Otome”.
The reason is that everyone knows me
through this song and it helped me appear
on NHK’s annual year-end New Year’s Eve
music festival called Kouhaku Utagassen.
FAN QUESTION: (From Sachiko – California – USA) – Your beautiful music
has such a large range of experimental
styles such as pop, Latin, techno/dance
and classical (I enjoy “Crossover”, which
I love very much). But I wondered is it
your choice for the shifts in music style?
Also, do you have a favorite style of
music?
HITOMI: Spanish to me is very passionate, so I like it very much. It’s very hard
for me to sing a full song in Spanish but I
definitely want to try it.
FAN QUESTION: (from Luis- Buenos Aires, Argentina) – Your music has a strong
Latin influence (for example: “Splash”,
“Angelus”, “Pasio”, “El Dorado”). Would
you ever consider singing a song entirely
in Spanish?
HITOMI: I definitely want to try to sing in
“Spanish” because it’s something that I’ve
never done before.
FAN QUESTION: (from Jose Mari,
Sevilla, Spain) – In our music style in
Spain, we can see influences from other
cultures. I was wondering by experimenting with different musical styles in
Japan, will you continue experimenting
with other different styles of music?
HITOMI: Definitely. Now, I’m very much
interested in Jazz music.
FAN QUESTION: (from Stephanie,
Australia) – You have such a big fanbase
outside of Japan. Being from Australia,
would you consider performing outside
of Japan and any chance of your music
being released outside of Japan?
HITOMI: Yes, I would like to go to many
countries and would like many people to
listen to my songs and to see my performance on stage. I hope it will come true in
the near future.
FAN QUESTION: (from Zach, Illinois –
USA) – When you debuted as an enka
artist, did you enjoy recording “Osaka no
Onna” and would you ever go back and
re-record that song in a different musical
style?
HITOMI: I was not so good at enka so I
practiced many times before the recording
of “Osaka no Onna”. But I was very happy
for my music debut, so practicing many
times was not too bad for me. Also, like
you mentioned, some day I want to make
different styles of “Osaka no Onna”. That
would be fun!
FAN QUESTION: (from Michael from On-
JANUARY 08 | J!-ENT
“Personally, for me, I don’t want to stay within one
musical category and I want to be challenge myself and try to
do several different things.” - Shimatani Hitomi
any hobbies?
HITOMI: I love talking and spending time
with my friends. So, I enjoy talking with
them at a café for several hours.
J!-ENT: Curious... Have you ever sung
your own songs at a karaoke and do you
ever get a perfect score?
HITOMI: My friends often ask me to sing
my songs during karaoke. My best score
singing my song at karaoke is an 82.
J!-ENT: You’re a very fashionable person.
Are there certain designers that you
enjoy their clothing line and also for
shopping, which cities in Japan or around
the world that you love shopping at?
HITOMI: I don’t stick with any particular
brand, but I often go shopping in Harajuku
and Omotesando.
Image from Shimatani Hitomi’s best album “Delicious! - The Best of Hitomi Shimatani”. Image courtesy of
Avex Entertainment, Inc.
tario Canada) – If there is one place that
you would like to travel and visit?
HITOMI: I want to go to Spain and learn the
passionate music over there.
J!-ENT: Thank you to the Shimatani fans
for sending us your questions. Now, getting back to questions in regards to your
music, I would love to talk about your recent work. First, I want to ask you about
“Destiny-Taiyou no Hana-“. From the
arrangement to the overall balance of the
song musically and vocally, how do you
feel about your music when it incorporates
that symphonic feel to it?
HITOMI: For “Destiny - Taiyou no Hana-”, I
like the sound of strings very much. It was so
beautiful. It fills up my heart when I hear the
music.
J!-ENT: One thing that I enjoy about your
music is that with each CD single, it’s always a surprise and you never know what
to expect. With “Destiny” it was more
symphony-based, with “Pasio”, it was a
Spanish style of music, “Dragonfly” was a
rock song and “Neva Eva” featured a lot
of brass horns/ska like feel. But I’m curious. Do you get hassled by a lot of fans
who wish your musical style didn’t change
so much?
HITOMI: I like to try and experiment with
new genres of music but on the other hand
sometimes I go back to an original style. I
always listen to my fans voices carefully.
J!-ENT: Earlier in the year, you released
your sixth album “PRIMA ROSA”. How
was the experience of working on this
album compared to working on your fifth
6
album “Heart & Symphony” (2005)?
HITOMI: I’ve never released albums in the
Spring before. So, because of that, I tried
to make “PRIMA ROSA” happy and bright.
I took care of my throat since making an
album is very long work. There are many
bright songs on “PRIMA ROSA”, so I enjoyed recording it very much.
J!-ENT: On December 5th (2007) you
released “Otoko Uta ~Cover Song Collection” in which you sing cover songs from
bands such as Original Love, Fujii Fumiya,
Off Course, Begin and more. Was it
difficult to plan out the songs that you
wanted for this album?
HITOMI: It was very difficult work to
choose songs from many requested lists
that the staff and my friends have made.
Every songs they have selected were so
great. Then, I sang all songs in karaoke and
chose the songs that suited me the best.
J!-ENT: Let’s move on to live performances. If there was one live performance
that you treasure the most, what performance would that be and why?
HITOMI: That would have to be “PRIMA
ROSA” in June of 2007 which took place
in Tokyo and Osaka. I always feel nervous
during a liver performance but I didn’t feel
nervous during these performances and
I enjoyed the live performance a lot for
“PRIMA ROSA”. So, that’s the reason why I
treasure that performance the most.
J!-ENT: Let’s go ahead and talk about
things outside of music. Whenever you
are not busy working, what do you like to
do in your free time? And do you have
J!-ENT: If you have one word to describe
yourself, what word would that be and
why?
HITOMI: “Challenger”. The reason is
because I don’t want to satisfy myself just
for the present, I want to keep challenging
myself.
J!-ENT: In every J!-ENT interview, we
do a word play where we ask you five
words and you give us your definition of
those words. The first word is:
a. LOVE
HITOMI: The origin of everything
b. SUCCESS
HITOMI: The result of effort.
c. SEX
HITOMI: No comment.
d. SADNESS
HITOMI: No comment.
e. BEAUTY
HITOMI: Fun.
27. What final words do you have for
your fans around the world?
HITOMI: Thank you very much for listening
to my songs. I will continue to keep working to make better music. I wish for one
day that I can sing in front of you. Thank
you very much!
DENNIS A. AMITH is the founder/owner of
J!-ENT and is an entertainment-writer-at-large.
HIROSHI TAGAWA is J!-ENT Chief of
Operations in Japan
For more information on Shimatani Hitomi, please
visit her official website at:
www.avexnet.or.jp/shimatani
JANUARY 08 | J!-ENT
“I like to try and experiment with new genres of music but on the other
hand sometimes I go back to an original style. I always listen to my fans
voices carefully. ” - Shimatani Hitomi
worldgroove
J!-ENT
A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEW
Shimatani Hitomi
Destiny - Taiyou no Hana -/Koimizu
-tears of loveavex trax
AVCD-30976/B (CD+DVD)
DURATION: 20:24
RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2006
1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
Destiny -taiyou no HanaKoimizu -tears of loveDestiny -taiyou no Hana- (Black Jack 21 Mix)
Destiny -taiyou no Hana- (Instrumental)
Koimizu -tears of love- (Instrumental)
DVD: Region 2, 4:3, Duration: 9 minutes
1. Destiny -taiyou no Hana- (MUSIC CLIP)
2. Koimizu - tears of love- (MUSIC CLIP)
Wow! That was my feeling after listening
to the 22nd CD single by Shimatani Hitomi.
The latest CD single features “Destiny
- Taiyou no Hana-”, a song used for the
opening theme for the anime series “Black
Jack 21”.
But the music has to be one of the most
powerful songs coming from Shimatani
as “Destiny - Taiyou no Hana-” captures a
feeling of emotion with the use of strings and
an orchestral feel with a balance of pop music
but so unlike Shimatani’s previous releases.
The “Black Jack 21 Mix” is merely a
shortened version of “Destiny” at 2:05.
The other A-side track “Koimizu - tears
of love-” was used as an ending theme for
a TV Tokyo mystery program but there is
nothing mysterious about it.
In fact, I use the words “elegant” and
“beautiful” to describe this beautiful ballad.
Like “Destiny”, “Koimizu” utilizes a string
quartet, so where one song makes you feel a
sense of action, “Koimizu” is just beautiful.
The accompanying DVD is very cool as
the DVD features the music videos for both
tracks and a director and artist commentary.
“Destiny - Taiyou no Hana-” features
Shimatani walking through a lush forest with
dancers and people playing the violin in the
background. Very enchanting!
“Koimizu -tears of love-” features
Shimatani singing the song with a close-up
on her but during the second verse, stops
singing and showing a tearful Shimatani as
the song plays on. Very touching!
I enjoyed many songs and CD singles
from Shimatani Hitomi but “Destiny Taiyou no Hana /Koimizu -tears of love” is
probably my favorite release thus far.
Highly recommended!
— DENN I S A . A M I T H
8 J!-ENT
< Absolutely Enchanting!
Shimatani’s 22nd double A-sided CD single is enchanting and elegant and one of her best releases.
A TOUCH OF SPANISH
FOR SHIMATANI
Shimatani Hitomi
PASIO
avex trax
CATALOG #: AVCD-31123/B
Rel. Nov. 15, 2006 / Duration: 19:15
Shimatani Hitomi’s 23rd CD single
“PASIO” features the diverse artist exploring Spanish music and again showing
the listener to expect the unexpected
with each CD single release.
With “PASIO”, Shimatani returns with
a song that combines pop music but a
Spanish style of rhythm. The song is used
as a theme for NTV’s “Entame Sports”.
So, with “PASIO” on one musical spectrum, the coupling song “True Blue” is on
the other by featuring a more acoustic,
mid-tempo ballad.
The song is used for the anime series
“Ueki no Hosoku”.
As for the DVD, featured is the music
clip for “PASIO” featuring Shimatani and
a magician and my favorite segment being the Special Live “crossoverII” perfor-
mance of “Destiny ~taiyou no Hana~”.
I highly recommend getting the DVD version for this because you will not see her perform
this song on her latest “PRIMA ROSA” 2007 live
DVD.
I have embraced Shimatani’s experimentation
of different genres and learned not to get fixated with a certain style because the next would
more than likely be different.
So, all in all, I enjoyed the “PASIO” CD single
and if you embraced her utilization of different
musical genres for her releases, you’ll probably
dig it as well. Check it out!
worldgroove
J!-ENT
A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEW
Shimatani Hitomi
Dragonfly
Avex Trax
AVCD-31135/B (CD+DVD) | AVCD-31136
(CD only) | DURATION: 16:28
RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2007
01. Dragonfly
02. Bye-Bye
03. Dragonfly (instrumental)
04. Bye-Bye (instrumental)
DVD: Duration: 8 minutes, 4:3, Region 2
01. Dragonfly - Single Version Music Clip
02. Dragonfly - Music Clip Making Shimatani has always been an interesting singer
to follow. Unlike many of the other female divas
from Avex, there is always a consistency I find.
May it be BoA, Amuro Namie, Hamasaki Ayumi,
Suzuki Ami, always some sort of consistency. The
same can’t be said about Shimatani Hitomi.
Not only is she beautiful but she can do it all.
May it be an R&B song, a rock song, a latin song
and even enka (which is the music she originally
began singing when she debuted).
But at the same time, some listeners can often
be impatient and for Shimatani fans, many have
been attracted to her music that either has a
dance, symphony or latin-style to it.
It’s a formula that has worked tremendously
well with songs like “DESTINY ~Taiyou no
Hana~”, “Mermaid”, “Garnet Moon”, “Falco”,
etc.
For her 24th CD single, Shimatani Hitomi
is back with “Dragonfly” which is more rock
influenced.
For me, I have accepted Shimatani’s music
and accepted that there will be no consistency,
something a bit different and I don’t mind that at
all. Some will but I don’t.
It’s what makes me appreciate her as an artist,
because she stands out among other female
artists is her ability to do challenge herself
musically with different genres. And she makes
it hapen.
Interesting enough, the coupling song “ByeBye” is very different and more R&B-based and
reminiscent of the style of a former avex trax
artist Amagata Naomi.
The music video retains Hitomi’s sexiness and
features the artist performing with a band and
dancing. The making of shows the making of the
music video.
All in all, it’s something different and if you
are willing to accept her music and the change of
styles that she experiments with, then go for it.
Otherwise, if you are expecting another
“DESTINY ~Taiyou no Hana~”, then this CD
single may not be for you.
Make sure you check out Hitomi’s new album
(her 6th) titled “PRIMA ROSA” which will be
released on March 7th.
For more information on Shimatani Hitomi,
please visit her website at:
www.avexnet.or.jp/shimatani
< And yet again...something a bit different.
Shimatani Hitomi goes rock with her 24th CD single “Dragonfly”
NEVA EVA THOUGHT
ABOUT A LITTLE SKA
FOR SHIMATANI
Shimatani Hitomi
Neva Eva
avex trax
CATALOG #: AVCD-31234
Rel. June 6, 2007 / Duration: 14:15
So, let’s see...for the 22nd CD
single we get the strings, the 23rd
CD single we get Spanish, the 24th
CD single, we get rock and now for
Shimatani Hitomi’s 25th CD single we
get the horn section and a ska-like
song with “Neva Eva”.
The first time I heard this CD
single was seeing the music video for
it which featured an OL Shimatani
Hitomi working in an office setting
and it was totally hot!
The CD single definitely has that
energy and makes it one enjoyable
track and full of energy.
Which is good, since the song is
used as the image song for NTV’s “Wrestling
2007”.
The coupling track titled “Hakuchuumu”
features Shimatani returning to Latin style and
also another fun, energetic track.
All in all, another track that surprised me
from Shimatani and definitely enjoying the fact
that I don’t know what kind of musical genre
that her CD single will be experimenting next.
— DENNIS A. AMITH
J!-ENT 9
worldgroove
J!-ENT
A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEW
Shimatani Hitomi
Shinku/Ai no Uta
avex trax
AVCD-31285/B (CD+DVD)
DURATION: 24:01
RELEASE DATE: September 5, 2007
1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
Shinku
Ai no Uta
Shinku [A.C.E. 3 version]
Shinku (Instrumental)
Ai no Uta (Instrumental)
DVD: Region 2, 4:3, Duration: 10:09 minutes
1. Shinku (PROMOTION VIDEO)
2. MAKING
Shimatani’s 26th CD single marks the return
of Shimatani Hitomi to her original pop roots
but also returning for two theme songs for the
Sony PS2 game “A.C.E. 3” (Another Century’s
Episode 3).
For those not familiar with Shimatani’s music,
she’s not your typical pop star nor should she
be compared to other female pop stars from the
avex trax label.
For one, each CD single release features
Shimatani challenging herself with musical
genres which include influences from Spanish,
Latin, orchestral, rock music and much more.
For this double A-sided CD single, “Shinku”
features a dance pop style of sound. A second
version titled “A.C.E.3 version” is included which
is a shorter version but features an orchestral
introduction.
For the second A-track “Ai no Uta”, the song
features a beautiful sole piano-based ballad which
is sung elegantly and played beautifully.
The accompanying DVD features the
promotional video for “Shinku” which features
a somewhat post-apocalyptic intro but then
features Shimatani singing in a lush, misty forest
area and inside what seems to be a church that is
rundown.
The DVD also features a five minute making
of and you pretty much learn that the forest area
that Shimatani and staff is filming at is actually
freezing despite it being shot in July.
Also, the DVD features an interview with the
director of the promotional video.
Shimatani’s versatility of taking on a variety
of musical genres is a positive for those who
embrace it, because it makes her a unique pop
star because literally, each CD single release
sounds differently.
For those who cling to the artists dance music
from her earlier career, they be happy to know
that “Shinku” is a return to those original roots.
But all in all, the CD single features a good
balance of J-Pop and a beautiful ballad and is
worthy of recommendation.
— D E N N IS A. AMITH
10 J!-ENT
< Shimatani returns to her pop roots
Shimatani’s 26th double A-sided single features the theme to the PS2 game A.C.E. 3
SHIMATANI’S FIRST
BEST ALBUM
Shimatani Hitomi
Delicious! - The Best of Hitomi
Shimatani
avex trax
CATALOG #: AVCD-17455
Rel. Mar. 17, 2004 / Duration: 1:07:05
For those who are finding difficulty in
obtaining the earlier works of Shimatani
Hitomi, I highly recommend her first
best album titled “Delicious! - The Best
of Hitomi Shimatani”.
The best album features Shimatani’s
second CD single (the first CD single
which features Shimatani singing enka
is very difficult to find) “Kaihoku” from
Sept. 2000 through up to her 13th CD
single “YUME Byori” which was released
in November 2003.
Also, included in this best album are
songs that were coupling tracks plus a
track from her Winter mini album “Poinsettia”.
From listening to the album, you get
to see the beginning of how Shimatani’s
music started out more pop-based and then
once she reached late 2002, her music would
then start to incorporate other genres of musical genres.
The accompanying DVD features a 13-minute
DVD that includes the music videos for “papillon”, “Shanty” and the music video for her popular hit “Amairo no Kami no Otome”.
All in all, this is a solid best album for Shimatani’s earlier works and it definitely makes
it much easier to purchase this album versus
searching for the CD singles of her earlier
works.
Highly recommended!
worldgroove
J!-ENT
A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEW
Shimatani Hitomi
PRIMA ROSA
Avex Trax
AVCD-23176/B (CD+DVD), AVCD-23177 (CD)
Website: www.avexnet.or.jp/shimatani
RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2007 | Dur: 49:03
1. Ramblin’
2. Kimi no Koe
3. Hareta hi wa
4. Dragonfly
5. Psychedelic Future
6. Camellia (PRIMA ROSA version)
7. Destiny -taiyou no hana8. Prague no Onna
9. Koizumi -tears of love10. PASIO
11. El Dorado
12. Haru machibito
13. Brand new Dream
DVD: 54 minutes, 4:3, Region 2
1. Haru machibito
2. Camellia
3. Destiny -taiyou no hana4. Koizumi -tears of love5. PASIO
6. Dragonfly (PRIMA ROSA Version Music Clip)
7. Ramblin’
8. Hareta Nichi wa (Offshot Movie)
Bonus Contents from LIVE DVD Special Live
“crossover II”
1. Sarasoujou
2. Destiny -taiyou no hana3. Camellia
Shimatani Hitomi returns with her sixth fulllength album “PRIMA ROSA”.
Her latest album would feature seven songs
that were used with TV tie-ins and also feature
her 21st CD single “Haru machibito/Camellia”
(released on Mar. 15, 2006) up to her 24th CD
single “Dragonfly” (released on Feb. 21, 2007).
Where her fifth album “Heart & Symphony”
would be a fan favorite for its use of classical
and orchestral music fused with pop music,
“PRIMA ROSA” would continue Shimatani’s
experimentation of different genres of music.
By saying that, let it be known that Shimatani
is a music artist that is very much differentiated
from other female pop singers because nearly
every CD single released in the last four years
have musically been different.
Whereas with most female music artists, you
somewhat expect consistency with their music.
Shimatani breaks the Japanese female solo
artist paradigm with each CD single release that
you get something different.
“PRIMA ROSA”
For example, the first three songs on the
album “Ramblin’”, “Kimi no Koe” and “Hareta
nichi wa” is very pop and similar to her older
style of music.
When you get to “Dragonfly” (her 24th CD
single, used as ending theme for TBS show
“Aichiteru”), the song is rock-based. Go on to
the next track “Psychedelic Future”, you then
get a pop song that is dominated by brass
horns.
Then you get to “Camellia”, “Destiny
-taiyou no hana-” (opening theme song for NTV
< “PRIMA ROSA” is sophisticated and vibrant
Shimatani Hitomi’s sixth full-length album showcases her finest work of her music career.
anime “Black Jack 21”), “Prague no Onna”
and “Koizumi -tears of love-”, you get the
orchestral, symphonic style of music.
When it comes to Shimatani’s vocals, this
style of music matches perfectly.
Shimatani is also known for dabbling in
music that is influenced by Spanish or Latin
music such as her 16th CD single “ANGELUS”
(rel. Aug. 11, 2004).
Shimatani brought back the Spanish style of
music with her 23rd CD single “PASIO” (a song
used as theme song for NTV’s “NNN News
Real Time” and NTV’s “Good Looking Love”)
and the equally catchy “El Dorado”.
Going back to her vocals, Shimatani has
always displayed a sophisticated, vibrant and
refreshing vocal style that truly becomes habit
forming each time I listen to her music.
Looking through the album’s booklet,
it appears that Shimatani also has written
several of the songs such as “Hareta nichi
wa”, “Koizumi -tears of love” and “Brand new
Dream”.
As for the album, it’s also important to point
out that “PRIMA ROSA” CD version also has a
few extras that the CD+DVD version does not
have.
The CD version of “PRIMA ROSA”
features the bonus track “Futari de iijyanai”
(ESCL-2926), a song that she did a duet with
popular crooner Suzuki Masayuki.
Also, the CD version includes a CD EXTRA
featuring her live performance of “Somewhere”
and “Kokoro” from her live at Tokyo Metropolitan
Art Space with Soga Daisuke of Tokyo New City
Orchestra.
As for the CD+DVD version, on the DVD you
get seven promotional videos, an off shot video
and three live concert clips. So, for everything
that you get for the CD+DVD version, definitely
the version I recommend on purchasing.
As far as the whole album is concerned,
“PRIMA ROSA” is an album that I enjoyed and
listened to several times non-stop.
I understand that for some Shimatani fans,
the continuing differences in her music can be
disappointing especially if they prefer a certain
style of music over the other.
For me, I have embraced Shimatani’s music
and I find Shimatani Hitomi’s music like a breath
of fresh air because her music is so different from
other solo music artists.
If you have an open mind when it comes to
music, “PRIMA ROSA” would definitely be a great
addition to your music collection.
- DENNIS A. AMITH
worldgroove
J!-ENT
A J!-ENT MUSIC REVIEW
Shimatani Hitomi
Otoko Uta ~cover song collection~
Avex Trax
AVCD--23399/B
Website: www.avexnet.or.jp/shimatani
RELEASE DATE: December 5, 2007 | Dur: 55:18
01. Kanashimi ni Sayonara (Anzen Chitai)
02. Koishikute (Begin)
03. Rainy Blue (Tokunaga Hideaki)
04. ESCAPE (Moon Child)
05. CANDY (Harada Shinji)
06. Tsuki no Urade Ai Mashou ~Let’s Go To The Darkside Of The Moon (Original Love)
07. Another Orion (Fujii Fumiya)
08. Hatsukoi (Kouzou Murashita)
09. One More Time, One More Chance (Masayoshi
Yamazaki)
10. Shiawase na Ketsumatsu (Eiichi Ohtaki)
11. Kotoba ni Dekinai (Oda Kazumasa)
12. Kanade (Sukima Switch)
DVD: 50 minutes, 16:9, Region 2
1. Another Orion
2. Tsuki no Urade Ai Mashou ~Let’s Go To The Darkside Of The Moon
3. Shiawase na Ketsumatsu
4. Kotoba ni Dekinai
5. ESCAPE
6. CANDY
7. Koishikute
8. Amairo no Kami no Otome
9. One More Time, One More Chance
10. Rainy Blue
11. Kanashimi ni Sayonara
12. Hatsukoi
13. Kanade
You know that you start to feel old when
artists you enjoyed immensely start to receive
the cover treatment.
But fortunately, in this case, the cover
songs featured on “Otoko Uta - Cover Song
collection~”, the latest album from Shimatani
Hitomi turns out to be a beautiful and whimsical
nostalgic road but also beautiful renditions from
the singer.
The album is pretty much a cover of popular
music (a lot of ballads) that spans from the
1960’s up to 2004 and features a beautiful,
whimsical, melodic version spin on songs by a
male artist or band and given a beautiful spin to
it that Shimatani Hitomi does so well.
For those familiar with Shimatani Hitomi’s
music, in the past couple of years, we have
gotten a little bit of everything from her. Latin,
Spanish, rock, symphonic, orchestral… a variety
of different styles that she has incorporated
into her music but for “Otoko Uta”, Shimatani
manages to take popular ballads and makes it
her own and successfully pulls it off.
In a way, some may look at this cover album
almost as similar to Natalie Cole’s cover album
by incorporating a whimsical, orchestral balance
that made her “Unforgettable” album, a big hit.
This album obviously is not just targeting
towards the younger demographic, this is going
for the individuals who loved these hits in the
80’s and 90’s and not redoing the songs in a
similar manner, but to give it almost a livehouse,
whimsical and at times orchestral balance and
< A cover album that is definitely nostalgic
Shimatani Hitomi’s covers popular hits from the 60’s to the present in her first cover album.
that is what is the true strength of “Otoko Uta”
and her cover versions.
But what caught my attention was the
choices of music that was selected for this
album. The songs featured are chart topping
ballads.
The first track is Shimatani’s cover of Anzen
Chitai’s “Kanashimi ni Sayounara” is a blast
from the past, especially for those in the US,
who remember the anime “Maison Ikkoku” was
a major hit in the 80’s.
A very livehouse style of feel with the
acoustic guitar and soprano sax.
The second track “Koishikute” is a cover
from the band BEGIN.
I can remember hearing this song over and
over in the early 90’s, as the band would play
this song at a beach and just thinking of how
awesome a ballad the song is.
And Shimatani manages to do the song
justice with her beautiful vocals and I absolutely
love the arrangement.
Love how the wood bass, strings and
everything just balances together with the main
music.
The third track “Rainy Blue” was a big hit
in the 80’s by Tokunaga Hideaki. Tokunaga is
having a bit of a revival with his “VOCALIST”
albums which have been chart topping albums
in the past two or three months now and
Tokunaga alone has been a major crooner in
the 80’s and 90’s and great to see a cover by
Shimatani on this album.
The song utilizes the acoustic guitar, violin,
keyboard and other instruments.
The seventh track “Another Orion” is one
of my favorite ballads (among the many) from Fujii
Fumiya which came out back in 1996.
Shimatani’s version incorporates a harp instead
of an acoustic guitar, oboe and strings. I love the
orchestral style of it. Very beautiful cover!
Many of the CD singles are very well done on
this cover album (a more in-depth review of the
songs on this album can be found online at J!ENT’s World Groove).
The CD only version comes with a thirteenth
track titled “Amairo no Kami no Otome” originally
from the Village Singers from 1966 and was
released as a CD single back in 2002 by Shimatani.
The song is not included on the CD+DVD version
but can be found as a performance on the DVD.
As for the DVD, the 50-minute DVD features
Shimatani and her band performing the songs in
the studio.
Various cameras located around the studio
focusing on Shimatani and various musicians
performing the songs on the album in their
entirety.
About three short off shots are featured
throughout the performance with Shimatani
talking during the break between performances.
The final minutes on the DVD features a brief
interview with Shimatani after the recording is
complete.
Some cover albums in my opinion tend to
include obscure songs that Japanese listeners
have no idea who the originals are from.
With Shimatani Hitomi’s “Otoko Uta ~Cover
Song Collection~”, nearly every song featured is a
classic or chart topping hit. Highly recommended!
- DENNIS A. AMITH
HITOMI SHIMATANI - LIVE 2007 -PRIMA ROSAHITOMI SHIMATANI - LIVE 2007 PRIMA ROSA
Shimatani Hitomi
avex trax
AVBD-91489
1-Disc DVD, region 2
Release date: Sepember 12, 2007
DVD INFORMATION: Region 2, 4:3, Duration:
112 minutes, two audio: 1. LPCM/Stereo 2.
Dolby Digital 5.1
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. E
nergetic. Vibrant. Beautiful.
Among the words I can describe
Shimatani Hitomi in her latest concert
DVD titled “LIVE 2007 - PRIMA
ROSA”.
Shimatani Hitomi’s latest concert was filmed
at the “Tokyo Livehall Stellarball” back in June
and features a live band and a supportive crowd.
Previous concerts that I have watched Shimatani, typically the songs featured were ballads or
faster dance tracks, so I was a bit curious to see
how a full Shimatani Hitomi concert would be.
What you get is a very energetic concert with
Shimatani really getting into the groove, dancing
during the faster songs and looking elegant during the ballads.
In this concert, Shimatani performs many of
the songs from her latest album “PRIMA ROSA”
album which include CD singles such as “PASIO”,
“Dragonfly”and “Neva Eva”. As well as beautiful
ballads such as “Koimizu ~tears of love~” and
classics such as “Garnet Moon”, “Falco” and
“ANGELUS” ala medley.
In the early performance of the concert,
Shimatani comes out with a black leather jacket,
a dress that is not as ballerina-froofy-esque ala
Jodie Watley and black boots.
Her performance of “Dragonfly” was pretty
much spot on and with the band performing
and rocking out with her on stage, early on I was
wondering how songs such as those that utilized
an orchestra or symphony would be performed
and I realized that a lot of my favorites were not
being performed possibly because the stage was
smaller to accommodate live rock band, background singers, dancers and Hitomi herself.
So, the live band worked well with songs
such as “Dragonfly”, “Ramblin’”, “Bye-Bye” and
“C’est la vie!”.
When it got to the medley featuring her
classics such as “ANGELUS”, “Garnet Moon”
and “Falco”, Shimatani came out with two
background dancers and that is when her fans
became more vocal and shouting as if you were
watching an idol singer perform.
During this performance, Shimatani was
J!-ENT | JANUARY 08
Introduction - Kaihoku
Dragonfly
Domenica
Ramblin’
Kimi no Koe
Bye-Bye
C’est la vie!
Ichiba ni Ikkou (Melancholic Version)
energetic and vibrant as halfway through the
concert, we get a glimpse of classic Shimatani
as she dances and definitely feeding off the
energy from the audience.
Songs that utilized the Latin or Spanish style
definitely worked well in this concert as Shimatani wagged her hips and got into motion with
songs such as “PASIO” and “El Dorado”.
As for crowd participation, the crowd was
definitely supportive especially during the medley of “ANGELUS” and “Garnet Moon” as the
diehard fans started to scream during segments
of a song.
Probably the most interaction was during
the performance of “Camelia” as Shimatani,
the band and the audience started twirling and
waving their towels.
I don’t think I’ve seen this much towel waving in an event that’s not sports related, so that
was interesting to see. Especially as the camera
starts to focus on the audience as they spin
their towels over their head.
Camera angles used in the filming of the
concert were well done as we get an angle of
Shimatani closeup, faraway, sideways and angles behind the audience and looking towards
the front of the audience. Also, various cameras
on various band members and her background
singers.
As for the editing of the camera angles, I
noticed a five second setting per angle before a
switch. Edited well and not dizzying.
As for the stage, the stage setup is elegant
with the live band behind her, the background
singers on the viewer’s left side and mobility for
Shimatani and her dancers to dance. Background setup was a blue drape and lighting was
very well done.
As for the encore songs, for “Neva Eva”,
Shimatani and her background dancers came
out with their eyeglasses and business outfit
(while Shimatani donned a white and black
checkerboard outfit) and performed the final
four songs.
As for the special feature, the 15-minute
document of “Hitomi Shimatani Live 2007
J! DVD REVIEW
9. Koimizu-tears of love10. Itsu no Hi ni Ka…
11. ANGELUS-intro~Garnet
Moon~Falco~Angelus Medley
12. PASIO-~El Dorado
13. Perseus
14. Taiyoushin
15. Camellia (Original Version)
16. Neva Eva
17. Amairo no Kami no Otome
18. Psychedelic*Future
19. Brand new Dream
BONUS CONTENTS:
Document of Hitomi Shimatani Live 2007
- PRIMA ROSAVisit Shimatani Hitomi’s Official Website at:
http://www.avexnet.or.jp/shimatani
- Prima Rosa-” feature Shimatani and her
background dancers learning the choreography for her songs, Shimatani and the band
gettings things prepared for the concert and
many scenes of Shimatani singing in front of
her band with no music and overall rehearsals
in the studio and then at the Stellarball.
Also included are footage before the concert,
during the concert, what went on behindthe-scenes before the encore and also to see
the fans waiting in line and coming into the
concert area.
The document ends with a personal
message from Shimatani talking about the
behind-the-scenes footage and more.
As for the DVD insert, the booklet contains photos from the concert, concert credits
and tracklisting.
All in all, I enjoyed this concert DVD.
Because of the concert arena, audience participation and the fact that it was more of a
live house feeling, you feel the energy of the
concert and you see Shimatani really feed off
that energy.
It may not have the orchestral/symphonic
songs that I enjoy but I happen to enjoy her
recent CD singles and to see them performed
with this band but Shimatani was indeed
vibrant, energetic and sexy.
The overall DVD was fun to watch and I
really like the addition of the bonus content
showing Shimatani and band and dancers,
behind-the-scenes. Definitely a different perspective compared to someone like Hamasaki
Ayumi and what you would see on her DVD.
So, overall, compared to previous DVD’s
that I have watched and concert performances from various other events from her
CD+DVD, “LIVE 2007-PRIMA ROSA” was the
most enjoyable.
A DVD featuring a good balance of her
older hits and her new.
A very cool DVD that Shimatani fans will
definitely enjoy!
— DENNIS A. AMITH
12
J!-ENTの島谷ひとみPIN-UP!
J!-ENTの島谷ひとみPIN-UP!
J!-ENTの島谷ひとみPIN-UP!
J!-ENTの島谷ひとみPIN-UP!
J!-ENTの島谷ひとみPIN-UP!
J!-ENTの島谷ひとみPIN-UP!
IMAGE COURTESY OF
UNIVERSAL MUSIC
JAPAN
DON’T STOP A.I.
LIVE IN LA!
2008.1.31 THU | EL REY THEATRE | ALL AGES
5515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 | 323-936-6400
VISIT www. waentc.com for more information
Purchase your tickets today at Ticketmaster.com