"Feel" is a smooth R&B song by Japanese singer and songwriter Kumi Koda. For the song, she worked closely with composer Hitoshi Shimono, who had composed the instrumental. The single is Kumi's sixth single in her 12 Singles Collection and second single to chart at No. 1 on Oricon, selling 39,110 units within the first week. As with some of the other singles released in the collection, Feel was limited to 50,000 copies.

"Feel"
Single by Kumi Koda
from the album Best: Second Session
ReleasedJanuary 11, 2006
Recorded2005
Genre
Length4:19
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Koda Kumi
  • Hitoshi Shimono
Kumi Koda singles chronology
"Lies"
(2006)
"Feel"
(2006)
"Candy"
(2006)
Music video
"Feel" on YouTube

Background and release

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"Feel" is Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda's sixth single in her 12 Singles Collection. As with the other singles in the collection, "Feel" was limited to 50,000 copies. It shifted 39,110 units within the first week.[1][2] Despite it being limited, it became her second single to reach No. 1 on the weekly Oricon Singles Charts – her first being "You", which was also released for the collection.[3]

For the song, Kumi worked closely with musical composer Hitoshi Shimono.[4] She had worked with him previously for her 2004 song "24," which was released on Kumi's first DVD single, girls ~selfish~, and on her fourth studio album, secret.[5] This made it her second song to have a chorus completely in English.

Cover

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Each single in the 12 Singles Collection had unique cover art based on certain cultures in various countries. The cover for "Feel" draws its inspiration from Spain and the costume of matadors. The back cover of each single was a piece to a puzzle, which could only be completed by purchasing all twelve singles. The same was done for the obi strips, which contained a full image when arranged together in order.[6] However, the obi strip image was omitted on the Hong Kong versions.

Music video

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The music video for the song became the fourth in the story-line driven videos; the firsts being "Candy," "You" and "Lies." This was the final video before the conclusion on her final single in the collection, Someday/Boys♥Girls.

As with both "You" and "Lies," "Feel" opens with three men talking about the heartbreak they had experienced in their lives and the women they were with. Each man had a passion that they followed and found a lover who shared in their interests. Each video in the music video stories focuses on one of the men at the table, with their love interests being different incarnations of Kumi.

The love interest in "Feel" is played by Japanese actor Shugo Oshinari, whose passion is music. He becomes enthralled with an R&B lounge singer, played by Kumi, and the two begin a romance. After they breakup, he continues to frequent the lounge, reminiscing on the times Kumi was on the stage. There is a scene where Kumi has stripped her clothing in lingerie before she gets in bed with her boyfriend. Afterwards, Kumi writes the song on a piece of paper and towards the end, she vanishes leaving her boyfriend in distraught.

Promotion

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To help promote the single, "Feel" was used in an advertisement for the website music.jp, which is a music distributor site for Japan.[7][8] The site is also used by the RIAJ Digital Track Chart to measure cellphone downloads for musical tracks.[9] The music video for the single tied into the four others in the story line: "Candy," which featured rapper Mr. Blistah from Clench & Blistah, "You," "Lies" and "Someday," the latter of which was the finale. The love interest in the music video was played by Japanese actor Shugo Oshinari.[10] Shugo Oshinari is best known for his portrayals of Teru Mikami in the Death Note TV series and Takuma Aoi in Battle Royale II: Requiem.

Track listing

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CD single[11]
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Feel"Koda Kumi, Hitoshi ShimonoHitoshi ShimonoHitoshi Shimono 
2."Feel" (Instrumental) Hitoshi ShimonoHitoshi Shimono 

Sales

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  • Initial week estimate: 39,110
  • Total estimate: 48,116
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  1. Avex Network (2005), Kumi Koda Official Web Site
  2. Oricon Style (2006), Oricon Style Online
  3. music.jp (2017) 『music.jp|PCもスマホもケータイも!音楽・着うた®・着メロ』

References

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  1. ^ "Feel / KODA KUMI / ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "Weekly CD Single Rankings 2006.01.23". Oricon. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  3. ^ "You / KODA KUMI / ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  4. ^ "Hitoshi Shimono Discography". Discogs. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  5. ^ "Koda Kumi – 24 (lyrics)". JPopAsia. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  6. ^ "Koda Kumi 12 Singles Obi Strips". J-Pop CD Covers. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  7. ^ "倖田來未「Feel」-『BEST ~second session~』". RecoChoku (in Japanese). Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "music.jp online". music.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  9. ^ 着うたは着信メロディと何が違うの? [How Chaku-Uta is different from a ringtone melody?] (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. June 2, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  10. ^ "Koda Kumi and the secret of "someday"! The secret of the three men!?". UF LiveFreak. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  11. ^ "Feel – Koda Kumi OFFICIAL". Oricon. Retrieved January 15, 2016.