Grow into One
| Grow into One | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Koda Kumi | ||||
| Released | March 19, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2002–2003 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 65:33 | |||
| Label |
Rhythm Zone RZCD-45078 (Japan, CD) | |||
| Producer | Max Matsuura | |||
| Koda Kumi chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Grow into One | ||||
| ||||
Grow into One (stylized as grow into one) is the second studio album released by Japanese R&B-turned-pop singer Koda Kumi, released on March 19, 2003. It barely peaked in the Top 10 on Oricon, coming it at #8, and charted for forty-three weeks. The album also contained, at the time, one of her best-selling singles, real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba. Combined with the singles, the album has sold over half a million copies in Japan.
The album featured rapping-duo Clench & Blistah (known as CLENCH&BLISTAH in Japan) and Urban contemporary singer and producer LISA. LISA had been featured on Kumi's single m•a•z•e on the b-side, after having just split from her founded hip-hop group m-flo.
Information
grow into one is Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda's second studio album and was released one year after her first album, affection. It was her first album to chart in the top ten on the Oricon Albums Charts, coming in at #8, and staying on the charts for nearly ten months.[1] The album was predominately R&B with the only pop songs being those she performed for Final Fantasy X-2, which was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2003.[2] Those songs were "real Emotion" and "1000 no Kotoba".[3] The only other pop song was "To be one," which was used in some of the online advertising for Final Fantasy X-2.
The album was released in two editions, a standard edition and a limited edition. Limited editions of the album contained a Final Fantasy X-2 trading card and an unpublished, alternate arrangement of "1000 no Kotoba."[4] This alternate arrangement would later be placed on her third compilation album, Best ~Bounce & Lovers~, four years later in 2007.[5]
There was one b-side to make it to the album: the song "one," which featured reggae artist and music producer LISA, and was originally released on Kumi's single m•a•z•e. The album also contained her first collaboration attempt with Japanese rappers Clench & Blistah with the first track, "Teaser." She would later feature Blistah (known as Mr. Blistah) for several works and collaborate with the duo for their own songs, most notably her song "Candy" and Clench & Blistah's song "Stands Up!."[6]
Between the album and the preluding singles, the total sales reached over 500,000.[7]
Packaging
grow into one was released in two editions: the standard CD edition and a limited edition. The album was not released as a CD+DVD, however, the album was released the same day as her 7 Spirits DVD, which held the corresponding music videos.
The standard CD carried the fourteen tracks, while the limited edition came with a Final Fantasy X-2 trading card and an alternate orchestra version of "1000 no Kotoba." This version was used during the ending credits of the game and had been placed on the second disc of the Final Fantasy X-2 Original Soundtrack. She would later release this version on her 2007 compilation album Best ~Bounce & Lovers~.
Music videos
Though grow into one was only released as a CD, it was released alongside a DVD: 7 Spirits. The DVD contained all of the music videos for the a-sides during her grow into one and affection eras. The music videos from grow into one were:
- love across the ocean: set in a futuristic setting with Kumi being sent to earth.
- m•a•z•e: set in an airport with Kumi being evaluated by a psychologist. This is most notably because "m•a•z•e" was the theme song to the Japanese drama Psycho Doctor.[8]
- real Emotion: set in the Final Fantasy world of Spira.
Despite being a main track, "1000 no Kotoba" never had an official music video. The only music video was in the game Final Fantasy X-2 during Yuna's song in the Thunder Plains.
Background narration
"Although my second album, which I released directly after real Emotion . . . the singles I released afterwards ranked outside of the top 10." - Koda Kumi
Koda Kumi was hopeful for her grow into one album due to the success of real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba. Due to the album gaining attention by charted in the Top 10, she began to push herself in her later singles. However, none of the following singles followed the success of "real Emotion."
"Because my hopes had been so high, the fall was really too hard." - Koda Kumi[9]
Track listing
Official track list.[10]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Teaser feat. Clench & Blistah" | Clench & Blistah • Sachi Bennett | Miki Watanabe | Miki Watanabe | 1:53 |
| 2. | "real Emotion" | Kenn Kato | Kazuhiro Hara | h-wonder | 3:59 |
| 3. | "BOY FRIEND?" | Ken Matsubara | h-wonder | h-wonder | 4:40 |
| 4. | "Your Only One" | Kumi Koda | Daisuke Suzuki | h-wonder | 4:53 |
| 5. | "one feat. LISA" | Kumi Koda • Elizabeth Narita | Elizabeth Narita | Ryuichiro Yamaki | 3:31 |
| 6. | "One night romance" | Daisuke Imai | Daisuke Imai | h-wonder | 4:36 |
| 7. | "1000 no Kotoba" | Kazushige Nojima | Noriko Matsueda • Takahito Eguchi | Noriko Matsueda • Takahito Eguchi | 5:58 |
| 8. | "S.O.S ~sound of silence~" | Kenn Kato | Daisuke Suzuki | Ryuichiro Yamaki | 3:23 |
| 9. | "m•a•z•e" | Kenn Kato | Hiroo Yamaguchi | 813 • h-wonder | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Ranhansha" (乱反射 / Diffused Reflection) | Ken Matsubara | Miki Watanabe | Ken Matsubara | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Pearl Moon" | Ken Matsubara | Elizabeth Narita | Ken Matsubara | 5:16 |
| 12. | "Nasty Girl" | Kumi Koda | Genki Hibino • Shifo | Seiji Akiyama | 4:39 |
| 13. | "To be one" | Kenn Kato | Masaki Iehara | Satoshi Hidaka | 4:25 |
| 14. | "Love Across the Ocean" | Kumi Koda | Tsukasa | h-wonder | 3:38 |
| 15. | "1000 no Kotoba" (alternate orchestra version) | Kazushige Nojima | Noriko Matsueda • Takahito Eguchi | 6:25 |
Charts and sales
| Oricon ranking (weekly) |
Sales |
|---|---|
| 8 | 201,033 |
Alternate versions
Teaser feat. Clench & Blistah
- Teaser feat. Clench & Blistah: found on the album (2003)
- Teaser feat. Clench & Blistah [Caramel Pod Dubstep Remix]: found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 4 (2012)
References
- ↑ "grow into one / KODA KUMI / ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Final Fantasy X-2 - PlayStation 2 - IGN". IGN. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ↑ Oricon Weekly Retrieved 2012.09.02
- ↑ "Koda Kumi "grow into one" CCCD Limited Edition with unreleased version of "1000 Words" and bonus trading card". soso. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Best ~Bounce & Lovers~ at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ↑ "Clench&Blistah OFFICIAL". ARTIMAGE. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ↑ Fans Report Sales Retrieved 2012.09.02
- ↑ "Psycho Doctor". NTV. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ↑ "(koda kumi) KODA REKI". Verduistering. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Discography: grow into one". Koda Kumi official site. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2016.