[02/22] Berryz Kobo's 8th album 愛のうた８ (Ai no Album 8)

[nachdenki]

At the berikyuu single release event it was supposedly announced that Berryz Kobo's 8th album will be released on 02/22 and be called "Ai no Uta 8"

No further information yet

source: 2ch ookami thread & event recording

[daigong]

WHOA! all the exclusive news at concerts now eh, more reason to go to one lol

SOLID! gonna be a big month of releases H!P-wise

[Rina the Robot]

As for official confirmation, here's a LQ cover and it turns out the album tittle is actually Ai no Album 8!



Edit: official track list from the H!P site

1. Mythology ~Ai no Album~
2. Yo no naka barairo
3. Shy boy
4. Because happiness
5. Renai Moyou - Chinami, Maasa, Yurina, Risako
6. Ai no Dangan
7. Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Saku - Berryz x C-ute
8. Atarashii hibi - Saki, Momo, Miyabi
9. Aa, yo ga akeru
10. Seishun gekijou (Berryz version)

Updated official pictures

[Rina the Robot]

Limited edition cover:

Regular edition cover:

[Rina the Robot]

Dvd contents announced! Solo versions of the Be Genki pv for each member, a live performance of the song, and an album jacket making of video.

[Rina the Robot]

The album comes out tomorrow and no one's really been talking about it. Here are 3 songs to get you excited 

Yo no naka barairo



Renai moyou



Because Happiness

[CrypticShadow8]

I really like this album I just wish it was longer since there's only like 6 new songs. I love all the songs but I especially like Shy Boy and Because Happiness. Here's Shy Boy since it hasn't been uploaded:



It was funny because yesterday I was blasting this song in my apartment and I played Shy Boy like 3 times in a row then my roommate who isn't into JPop came into the room and was like "I like that song play it again." Then I was like "But I just played it 3 times in a row" and she was like "I know play it some more." lol I feel like I'm slowly turning her into a fan. I've already convinced her to come with me and my other roommate (who I also turned to JPop though she was already into anime) to AnimeNEXT to see Berryz.

[Rina the Robot]

^ Same, I've really been enjoying their more electronic sounding songs recently like Omoide and Shy Boy! Can't beat adult Berryz 

[nachdenki]

My copy finally arrived today. Been staying away from previews since I have bad experience with listening to them too often before the actual release 

For my ears, on this album all new songs are good and worth more than one listen. Actually all of them except Ｍｙｔｈｏｌｏｇｙ～愛のアルバム～, which is the weakest in my opinion or least favorite, instantly make you want to listen to them again~ They're all so good that I can't name one favorite yet.

I'm glad and happy it turns out to be a good album yet again even if sales ranking doesn't seem to be good.

[J-Triumf]

I picked up this album in New Jersey for the sole purpose of getting autograph priority for Berryz, but it turns out I really like the songs on this! My two favorite tracks happen to be the ones that don't feature the full group, "Renai Moyou" and "Atarashii Hibi". I actually bought both this and the 7th album out there expecting to enjoy the 7th more, but it turns out this one has been more fun to listen to.

Anyway, having acquired this album in June and enjoying it immensely somehow reminded me of another album from a long time ago that I acquired in the month of June and enjoyed a lot: Return of Dragon by Dru Hill frontman Sisqo! Upon noticing that both albums have similar-sounding songs for the last track, I took a deeper look at what else they have in common.

First off, the album covers:

Bright sunny setting overlooking a vista, shiny embossed wordmark, lots of post-production effects, slightly weird outfits.

And the stats:

	Return of Dragon	Ai no Album 8
Release date	June 19, 2001	February 22, 2012
Run time	42:19	44:11
Number of tracks	12 (10 songs, 2 interludes)	10 (all songs)

Even a little rundown of the track listing shows some near-parallels!

The first full song of each album is an upbeat celebration of the artist's own legacy, or "mythology" if you will:

vs

Followed up by a general high-energy track:

vs

The third song is a weird, minimalist affair:

vs

And the fourth song intended to have collaborative connotations with the artist's most well-known contemporaries:

vs

Of course, whereas Sisqo's song actually features the other singers by default, the Berryz song was made with a secret mashup in mind.

Songs 5 through 9 don't line up directly like the first four songs, but within this grouping are equivalents: a slow, downbeat emotional song ("Close Your Eyes" - "Renai Moyou"), an energetic intense tune released as a lead single ("Dance With Me" - "Ai no Dangan"), two danceable songs in minor key melodies ("Homewrecker", "Last Night" - "Aa, Yo ga Akeru", "Atarashii Hibi") and an energetic song in which the artist performs alongside respective "associates" ("Off the Corner" - "Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Saku").

Finally, ending each album is a soft and sweet sounding piano-driven song:

vs

Driving the similarities even further, Risako's hair has recently taken on some very Sisqo-esque color changes nowadays if y'all haven't noticed.

CONCLUSION: J-TRIUMF SOMETIMES TRIES TOO HARD TO COMBINE HIS TWO WORLDS. SOMEBODY STOP HIM.

Also, special thanks to Pauekn for the quote tag formatting tip!

[yooshimen]

I'm very interested now because I have listened only old Berryz Koubou songs (Anata nashi de wa ikite yukenai etc.)