Love & Honey

"Love & Honey"
CD only version cover
Single by Koda Kumi
from the album Feel My Mind/Secret
Released	May 26, 2004 (JP)
Format	CD/CD+DVD
Recorded	2004
Genre	Japanese pop
Length	19:46 (CD+DVD) 22:23 (CD only)
Label	Rhythm Zone
Writer(s)	Claude Q, Takeo Watanabe, Kumi Koda, Sachi Bennett, Harutoshi Noda, Akira Ito, Miki Watanabe
Koda Kumi singles chronology
"Crazy 4 U" (2004) "Love & Honey" (2004) "Chase" (2004)

"Love & Honey" (stylized as LOVE & HONEY) is Koda Kumi's eleventh domestic CD single. Both キューティーハニー (KYUUTI HANII / Cutie Honey) and 夜霧のハニー (Yogiri no HANII / Honey's Foggy Night) were covers of the original opening theme (Cutie Honey) and ending theme (Yogiri no HANII) by Yoko Maekawa.^[1] All of the songs on the single were used in the 2004 tokusatsu film Cutie Honey and placed on the soundtrack for the Re: Cutie Honey OVA.^[2] The single reached #4 on Oricon, making it her first single in the Top 10 since real Emotion/1000の言葉. It stayed on the charts for thirty-five weeks.^[3]

The single was released in both CD and CD+DVD formats. The two releases have slightly different versions of their second track, The theme of Sister Jill. The DVD version features the "Short version" of the song, whereas the CD only version features the extended "LOVE & HONEY version" of the song.

Background Narration

"Every day I felt 'I’m really doing what I want to do' and in response to that feeling, my single Love & Honey ranked 4th on the Oricon charts." - Koda Kumi

After the release of LOVE & HONEY, Koda Kumi said how more fans would come to her events and the amount of fan letters increased. She talks in KODA REKI how it was a time of trial and error. The attention she attracted with Cutie Honey was met with positive and negative responses. She was criticized for the clothes she donned at Music Station and when her sales dropped again (much how real Emotion did), she became discouraged and questioned her choices. However, she refused to quit, believing in her own style and she did not want to give up.^[4]

"I usually got scared easily, but this time I pushed through my own ideas for the first time. I could take a big step in 2004 and love the person I became." - Koda Kumi.^[5]

Track listing^[6]

Chart history

Oricon Annual Single Top 100: #62

Total sales: 142,626 (est.)

Alternate Versions

Currently, there are six renditions of Cutie Honey:

1. キューティーハニー: Found on the single (2004) and corresponding album secret (2005)
2. キューティーハニー [Instrumental]: Found on the single (2004)
3. キューティーハニー [House Nation Sunset in Ibiza Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's (2009)
4. キューティーハニー [Mitomi Tokoto Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 2 (2010)
5. キューティーハニー [Habanero Posse Remix]: Found on Beach Mix (2012)
6. キューティーハニー [Mikoto Tokoto Big Room Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 5 (2013)

References

1. Avex Network (2005), Koda Kumi Official Web Site
2. Oricon Style (2005), Ranking – Oricon Style