Leah Dizon – Vanilla December 16, 2008

Track Listing

1. Vanilla
2. LOVE SWEET CANDY
3. Kanashimi to Egao no Naka de (CD only bonus track)
4. Vanilla (Instrumental)
5. LOVE SWEET CANDY (Instrumental)

1. Vanilla

I actually see how people don’t like the song because of Leah’s weak vocals, but c’mon the song is pretty funky all-around.  It does a good job being the “have a good time” kind of song.  There may by some parts that seem to meshed up together making it sound like a hot mess sometimes, but it’s as catchy as “Love Paradox” IMO.

2. LOVE SWEET CANDY

Reggae in J-pop is like a huge no-no to me, and this song fails for that initially, but Leah’s vocals kind of worked here and even though it’s placed in the worst style it is better than “Vanilla” in some points.  I’ll just say that LSC has given an opportunity to branch Leah’s horizons.  So that’s good.

3. Kanashimi to Egao no Naka de

The CD only gets this track, which is a Leah ballad and the only track from the era to not be included on “Communication!!!”.  I actually like this track a lot more than “Under the Same Sky” because Leah puts a lot more emotion with this track and it flows nicely along.  Lyrics are pretty romantic/sad whichever, still best song off the single.

 

 

Leah’s final single for the Communication!!! era kind of just passed by me altogether.  We have celeberatory Vanilla, reggae LOVE SWEET CANDY and ballad Kanashime to Egao no Naka de.  So you have 3 totally different styles, which is cool, but this is Leah Dizon.  So, it just kind of was OK….

Leah Dizon – Love Paradox November 15, 2008

Track Listing

1. Love Paradox
2. Under the Same Sky
3. Love Paradox (Instrumental)
4. Under the Same Sky (Instrumental)

1. Love Paradox

I was really surprised when she started the era with Love Paradox.  There’s some pretty hot beats in the song and even though Leah isn’t the strongest singer of the bunch, she makes up with her slick lyric selection.  She flows through English and Japanese pretty well and it there’s no issues at hand.  Song does sound like something Namie Amuro would do, doesn’t it?

2. Under the Same Sky

I think this was a compliment to the single.  Even though it isn’t so good being on the album, on the single I think it was nice after the hot “Love Paradox”.  The whole R&B ballad does work with the song and it’s very dreamy….I guess I underestimated it on the album.

 

 

Leah’s 4th single overall is definitly a nice listen.  Love Paradox is what she needed to boost her popularity, even if it ultimately fails in the long run.  Under the Same Sky was a nice ballad and probably one of her better tracks.  Good single to me.

Leah Dizon – Destiny Line October 19, 2008

Track Listing

1. IMPOSSIBLE
2. Everything Anything
3. Missing
4. Koi Shiyou♪
5. Unmei-sen
6. Could you be that one?
7. Are you feelin’ for me?
8. Softly
9. Time (Clock of the Heart)
10. Aishiteru~Love Story
11. Wonderlin’
12. L·O·V·E U
13. Drive me crazy
14. Again and Again
15. Koi Shiyou♪ ~yasutaka nakata-capsule mix~ (CD only Bonus Track)

1. IMPOSSIBLE

Alright, this is pretty awesome and has such a great beat to it.  She’s actually using English in the verses which are very surprising to hear on an artists debut album, especially the opening track.  I thought the song gave some great energy despite the vocal issues that Leah has in the first place.  Still, what a nice track.

2. Everything Anything

So hearing this track again brings me back to what I liked about her debut single.  I do like how she incorporated strings for the song and gave the song a needed cute factor.  Sadly, I didn’t really enjoy the fact that she speeds through the verses so fast and in a pretty annoying sound as well.

3. Missing

Leah sings the track with acoustic guitar being the main sound.  Though after the introduction, BKGD vocalists pop up and sing to a brilliant string chord.  I found that the clapping during the second verse was a bit odd.  Leah sounds alright, but not the best I’ve heard from her.

4. Koi Shiyou♪

Her most known song pops up and is the closest to a pop song so far.  I fell in love with the song just from the PV.  There’s just a great feeling when listening to the song especially with the English lyrics that we can understand.  It’s definitly one of her strongest A-sides in her repertoire.

5. Unmei-sen

The sounds of birds chirping leads into our next new track and I liked how softer sounding and pretty it is.  It’s still very pop-like with the beats.  Then the chorus happens and I was like it sounds weird to me because everything up to the end of the chorus she’s pretty monotone.  I think my favorite part is the middle, where things sounds so nice and angelic.  My favorite off the album.

6. Could you be that one?

I’m still like thinking WTF, when I heard the song was used for Ninja Gaiden’s CM.  Like it just doesn’t seem right.  I still think it’s a carbon-copied “Koi Shiyou♪” and that’s not right.  I mean there’s nothing new that made it stand out and to put it on the album makes it filler to me.  Probably the worst track so far.

7. Are you feelin’ for me?

Oh my, is she trying to be all Koda Kumi all of a sudden?  The music is very dance-like and there’s like bells randomly ringing creating this interesting atmosphere.  I think her voice is a little weak putting against this kind of music, but I do like how she took on the song. 

8. Softly

As we enter out ballad debut, I’m quite happy to see this.  Even though it’s still pretty generic as ballads go, I did stop the pop songs for a little bit.  Leah’s vocals sounds so good, but why did the music have to be so bland.  I mean it’s your usual fare of piano and strings.  Nothing to stand out.

9. Time (Clock of the Heart)

A Culture Club remake?  That’s quite disturbing.  So this means that the song is entirely in English which is great.  The song sounds pretty funky with the synth being so fast and bells and strings being the back-up.  Sadly, I felt the song lacked any effort and Leah was just bored through it. 

10. Aishiteru~Love Story

I actually liked this song from it’s respectful single.  Just like I said it’s another aggressive dance track which is definitly a plus for me.  How she flowed through the verses and chorus was great and including clapping beats was a good idea.  Even the brass dropoffs were pretty cool.  Great song.

11. Wonderlin’

Wonderlin’ is pretty odd track.  Like it starts off pretty weird with her singing and the background sounds popping in and out.  Then when the song catches on there’s obviously brass instruments included, but Leah sounded tired or really weak in the song.  I like how the pace quickened at the bridge, nice!  Oh yea, brass solo = WIN!

12. L·O·V·E U

I’m still trying to decide which A-side was worse this one or “Softly”.  While the latter was uninspired, this track was damn annoying.  Like the chorus is consisted with some cheesy lines and spelling the title like crazy.  Like what the hell were you thinking?  It’s just as poppy as a few other tracks, but lyrically it’s pretty bad.

13. Drive me crazy

Just like how “BxKxRxxx” is like punk rock, this track is like what a prelude to it.  Though this one has a lot more synths and some pretty bad vocals this time.  I kind of found the song to be a little underwhelming, but I like her attitude when she says “Drive me crazy” and the little moment of asian sounds, that was surprising. 

14. Again and Again

Learned that she wrote the song with her brother which is a nice thing to do.  The music was quite soothing at the start with bubbles or underwater sounds happening.  Not this is what I wanted “Softly” to be like because this is an actually nice ballad.  Her vocals don’t seem too poor as well, which is great!

15. Koi Shiyou♪ ~yasutaka nakata-capsule mix~

I think this has to be the most awkward remix.  Though it does sounds like Nakata’s works for sure, I was like why did you choose Leah?  Anyway it changed the song into an electropop track and to be honest, I’m not sure if she went under the vocoder.  Sadly, I didn’t really enjoy this remix much because of how strange it sounds.

Tracks Recommended

• Koi Shiyou♪
• Unmei-sen
• Aishiteru~Love Story
• Again and Again

Song of Avoidance

• Could you be that one?

Leah’s debut was alright, I’ve heard better but this was a pretty good start.  What I thought was lacking is originality.  A lot of the songs sounded more or less related to other artist’s songs.  There were a few songs that stood out, but that was it.  Another issue is her singing ability, which is mostly pretty weak most of the time…she needs to work on that.  Still, Destiny Line is a good album, even with its problem.

Leah Dizon – L·O·V·E U October 9, 2008

Track Listing

1. L·O·V·E U
2. Brand New Day

1. L·O·V·E U

Well, this is definitly something.  There’s some pop ideas thrown out in this song and it reminds of the last single’s A-side which I guess doesn’t surprise me.  Though I don’t really enjoy the chorus that much because they spell the title out a lot…Anyway I guess I like the happy feelings the song strung out so I guess it did its job pretty well.

2. Brand New Day

Another happy-go-lucky song?  This time there’s more of a presence from the guitar which is the main difference between this and the last track.  Another one is that Leah can’t sing that well.  She tries for some of the higher notes, but they in the end come out too thin.  I guess I have a more connected liking to this song for some pretty interesting rhythms and lines. 

 

 

Leah’s final single for the “Destiny Line” era was a pop-festival for listeners.  Interesting to always hear her English but this time they got somewhat on the cheesy side especially with that annoying chorus from L·O·V·E U.  Brand New Day though was an alright song but it doesn’t beat out other well-known tracks.

Leah Dizon – Koi Shiyou♪ September 22, 2008

Track Listing

1. Koi Shiyou♪
2. Could you be that one?
3. Aishiteru~Love Story

1. Koi Shiyou♪

To put it bluntly this is one of my favorite Leah tracks and that’s not saying much.  There’s some R&B elements put in this track and Leah doesn’t sounds bad against it.  With some pretty cute lyrics in addition likt ~Baby Please, fall in love~ I mean awwww it’s cute.  Definitly better than her debut.

2. Could you be that one?

Used in a CM for Ninja Gaiden?  I can’t really picture this song being the song they decided to use.  It’s pretty much a beat driven “Koi Shiyou♪”  Though I swear I heard the chorus’s melody somewhere else before.  This song for me though, the song didn’t really appreciate Leah at all.  Srry, but try again Leah.

3. Aishiteru~Love Story

Hmmmmm, an even more aggressive R&B track?  Yep this has some funky beats and is in English mostly, but her English sounds a little strange to me even though she was born in the states.  Though she’s pretty good overall.  Her vocals come out odd as well since her higher register is very thin and just flat to my ears. 

 

 

So this 2nd single was better than her debut.  Even though her vocals really need some work, she can release so catchy songs like Koi Shiyou♪ and Aishiteru~Love Story.  Could you be that one? is the only one i really didnt find appealing to me. 

Leah Dizon – Communication!!! August 20, 2008

Track Listing

1. Step into my world
2. Love Paradox
3. LOVE SWEET CANDY
4. Without a good-bye
5. Vanilla
6. Nothin’ to Lose
7. Lost at Sea
8. Communication!!
9. Not Too Bad
10. BxKxRxxx
11. Under the Same Sky
12. Thank you

1. Step into my world

What a cute beginning.  Though after that is what becomes something that sounds so much like BoA’s recent track “Sparkling” and sadly the only thing that really kept the song alive is that catchy piano line.  Why does it already sound so too familiar.  I’m not feeling for this and it was the Promo track too, how depressing.

2. Love Paradox

First single, Love Paradox appears and actually I really like the heavy dance feeling this song produced.  Though it does sound R&B, it’s still very enjoyable.  Leah sounds pretty sexed up in the verses and sounds pretty hot IMO.  I loved the single too, which kind of helped the album out in a good way. 

3. LOVE SWEET CANDY

What’s up with artists thinking they can use Reggae at their own usage.  This is one of the lesser liked tracks of the album from me.  It just sounds awkward for me and just very out of context on the album.  I’ll say that Leah sounds nice but the music is just odd for me for some reason.  Not only that I’ve heard another failure in this genre from Koda Kumi.  Nice try.

4. Without a good-bye

Our first ballad or more along the lines of a pop/rock ballad.  It features some bubbly sounds and acoustic guitar until the chorus where the electric guitar takes over.  I kind of thought this song was an alright track, but this sound doesn’t really fit Leah’s voice well.  Though with her voice it sounded somewhat somber and depressing.  It kinda ends fast though.  Overall nice track. 

5. Vanilla

Uhm, this is such a weird track from Leah.  It’s something I wouldn’t have expected though (i’ve heard the single before.)  It’s got a funky beat and some sparkly sounds strung out in it which makes the song sound fun and kind of quirky at the same time.  I don’t know why no one really likes the track, I think it brought more versatility in Leah actually.

6. Nothin’ to Lose

Oooo, another dance track from Leah.  I found myself like the clapping and snapping in the song creating a pretty cool beat.  Leah sounds definitly gettin the track and mixing Eng. and Jpn. together for some fun vocals.  The middle of the song is just sexy and pretty rad.  I think so far this is her best track.

7. Lost at Sea

I’m not sure what to think of this new song.  It’s kind of American sounding, though the song is a great track bringing in some of her emotional sound to the forefront.  Sadly, at the account for that her vocals can be a little squeaky and off.  Still it’s a great track.

8. Communication!!!

Title Track Time!!!!!!  What was with that horrible entrance?  I swear that was pretty bad.  The song is another one of the danceable tracks but I was definitly not impressed with majority of the song.  The chorus was where it stuck out the most to me.  This is sad for me at a title track huh?

9. Not Too Bad

Ok, this was even worse American R&B….I swear this sounds like so much of 90′s R&B, that it’s just tasteless.  Though she says ~Damn~ that’s a winner.  There’s just nothing in particular great about the song except probably that it’s FILLER!!!!!!

10. BxKxRxxx

After that complete letdown we have this surprisingly great track.  It’s got a got a pretty nifty beat to it.  The song is actually punk rock.  This has got some interesting lyrical content and what’s even better is the chorus, where she’s loud and crazy eventually getting fast with the lyrics as well.  This has go to be her best new track off the album.

11. Under the Same Sky

Kind of a quiet R&B song at heart.  The song is kind of slow at the starts and doesn’t really interest me until where the ethereal chorus starts and sounds beautiful.  Then when it finishes there is this quiet part and that was pretty cool.  Though I still dislike the boring verses, everything else was just right in the song.

12. Thank you

Appropriate title to end the album.  ~Happy days for you and me~ leads off the track into, once again, a R&B track.  I did like how she says thank you in both languages, that was cool.  I also like the synth/flute part in the song that was cute.  Fair track to end on

Tracks Recommended

• BxKxRxxx
• Nothin’ to Lose
• Love Paradox
• Vanilla
• Lost at Sea

Song of Avoidance

• Not Too Bad

Ouch, this album was pretty bad compared to “Destiny Line”….To be honest, this album wasn’t on the top of my list to listen to, but I was right, some of the songs are so generic and bad.  The 5 I recommended though are really good.  Depends if you want to get this album, but I won’t recommend it.

 

Leah Dizon – Softly August 16, 2008

Track Listing

1. Softly
2. Everything Anything
3. Fever (CD+DVD ONLY)
4. Without Your Love (CD ONLY)

1. Softly

As you can tell by the title, it’s a ballad.  Leah’s voice sounds smooth and kinda soothing.  Sadly it falls under the generic ballad routine.  I’ll give her credit to her trying a ballad as her debut A-side, that’s very daring of an artist.  Still, not very memorable.

2. Everything Anything

This definitly was something i wasn’t expecting.  It’s cute since Leah is mixing her English with her Japanese which shows a lot of versatility in language.  It’s a little too much like BoA’s stuff, so I wasn’t too impressed but I do love how cute the verses are.  It’s the best song off the single so far.

3. Fever

Then we get to her debut track which is a remake of Kylie Minogue’s title track “Fever”.  Since I love Kylie, I was happy to hear a remake since I loved the song.  What came out was definitly more pleasing to me.  Leah does have some awkward notes, but she’s made the dance track a bit better with stronger vocals.  She adds some lyrics of her own accord and they worked just as well.  Great Song!

4. Without Your Love

Then we slow back down for some R&B with Leah again.  This time it’s much more better and she has a nice tone throughout.  It still ranks as too typical of the genre, but it’s got some nice stuff.  Maybe, she should think of another genre.

 

 

Leah Dizon’s debut single was just too typical and just not special.  I think she should’ve put all for songs together.  Since “Fever” and “Without Your Love” had too much pressure put on as they are the best tracks of each version.