Crystal Kay to release her first cover album 'I Sing' in April

Just as I was about to cuss and say that we probably won't be seeing Crystal Kay's covers album this year, she goes and announces its release.

Yes, y'all. The album Crystal has been talking about and teasing for 84 years finally has a release date. Crystal Kay's first album of covers is titled I Sing and will be released on April 21, 2021.

1. Kaede | Originally performed by Spitz
2. Tada…Aitakute | Original performed by EXILE
3. Sangatsu Kokonoka | Original performed by Remioromen
4. I Love... | Original performed by Official Hige Dandism
5. Nandemonaiya | Original performed by RADWIMPS
6. Suki | Original performed by Dreams Come True
7. Tentai Kansoku | Original performed by Bump of Chicken
8. Hitomi o Tojite | Original performed by Ken Hirai
9. Utautai no Ballad | Original performed by Kazuyoshi Saito
10. Saudade | Original performed by Porno Graffitti
11. One More Time, One More Chance | Original performed by Masayoshi Yamazaki
12. Shiroi Koibitotachi | Original performed by Keisuke Kuwata
13. I Love... (Uptempo Version) | Original performed by Official Hige Dandism

Crystal Kay had said in an interview with Billboard Japan in December that her cover album would feature a heavy weighting toward covers of songs by men, but I didn't think it'd be pretty much the whole entire album.

Between the music that Crystal Kay has been releasing over the past few years, and the singles we'd gotten from this covers album, I'm not surprised at this tracklist at all. After the dismal commercial performance of Crystal Kay's 2012 album Vivid, Crystal's record label said 'Right. No more of that pop and R&B shit. We're going with songs that can actually push a unit no matter who's performing them'. No shade to any of the songs and artists being covered for this album, but it's very clear that this album is part the 'Make Crystal appeal to the Japanese music buying public' strategy. The tracklist features a selection of songs that many Japanese people across generations would likely know. Several of them are so well known and in the fabric of popular Japanese music culture, that they've been covered numerous times over the years. I've heard several covers of "Sangatsu Kokonoka", "Utautai no Ballad", "Shiroi Koibitotachi" and "Suki" in particular. Crystal herself has even covered and featured "Suki" on a release more than once.

If this is the way for Crystal Kay to secure a bag and a hit, then good for her.

I Sing seems very ballad heavy going by the song selections, the digital singles we've gotten so far and her flipping Official Hige Dandism's "I Love...". Of course Crystal could do the reverse and flip the mid-tempos and ballads into bangers. But I'm getting the feeling that I Sing is very much a ballad affair, which will also help it sell. I think it's smart. Crystal Kay isn't known for her ballads, but has some great ones in her discography, and is one of the few artists in J-Pop with the voice to do them justice. But I also think it's a shame that Crystal is being locked into these particular covers, when she has a voice and a fluency in English which could enable her to do so much more. There's also no sense of who Crystal is looking at this tracklist. None whatsoever.

Given how raggedy the promotion of Crystal Kay's singles has been and that Universal didn't even bother release the full music video for "I Love...", a song which deserved full promo and had the potential to be a top 10 hit on the Oricon, I can't see I Sing being promoted the way it needs to be. Nobody in the music business can use the pandemic as an excuse anymore. Not when we've seen artists such as Chloe x Halle, JoJo, Mariah Carey and even Perfume finesse promo during a pandemic. But let us see.

I Sing releases physically and digital on April 21st, 2021.

🎧 CK Playlist: This is Crystal Kay
📀 Special Edition: Euphoria, a Crystal Kay dance album
💿 Crystal Kay album reviews: For You | Shine | Vivid | Spin The Music | Color Change! | Shining | All Yours | Call Me Miss...