Single Review: Crystal Kay - Delicious na Kinyoubi

I sometimes hold grudges. And I also can’t let a lot of things go. And one thing that I can’t let go of is that Crystal Kay’s 2012 single “Delicious na Kinyoubi” did not get the love it deserved upon release. On paper and to the ear, it’s not hard to see why Crystal and Universal thought it would make for a good single. At least not to me. And I don’t think they were wrong. Although it was a decision which may have doomed Crystal’s tenth studio album Vivid and her ever doing music of this style ever again.

With Crystal being signed to Universal after spending 10 years at Sony, “Delicious na Kinyoubi” was a bit of a rebirth. Crystal’s last album for Sony Spin the Music was just plain bizarre, because it made so little sense. And the lack of sense was glaring for an artist whose discography up until that point had always made sense. With each album, you thought ‘Oh, I see where we’re going with this’. You could always see the vision; even if there were some stumbles and questionable choices made. Yes “Namida no Saki Ni”. I’m looking at’chu. But with Spin the Music? The sense. The vision. I couldn’t see it for shit. But with Vivid’s lead single “Superman”, I could see it. And with “Delicious na Kinyoubi”, I could also see it.

Whilst “Superman” was the reminder that Crystal was still that bitch when it came to smooth, pop leaning R&B, “Delicious na Kinyoubi” was the reminder that Crystal could still do pop that knocks. Both sounds of which were Crystal Kay’s bread and butter.

“Delicious na Kinyoubi” sonically made sense. It was spot on for the pop landscape at the time, but it also sounded like quintessential Crystal. It was the bridge that Crystal needed between where she’d left things with Color Change! (her last wholly good album for Sony) and where she wanted to go with Vivid. But unfortunately that didn’t mean shit to anybody, because y’all hated this song. Meanwhile, I was living and shaking everything I could to it.

On Spin the Music Crystal had begun to start dipping into her lower register on songs, which followed right through into Vivid. You don’t realise how different it colours Crystal’s music until you listen to some of her earlier songs. It’s like night and day. And I wonder if this was part of why the reception to “Delicious na Kinyoubi” was so lukewarm. Regardless. Crystal sounds good on this song. But if I had to knock points off for vocals, it’s that “Delicious na Kinyoubi” doesn’t really showcase Crystal’s voice. She sounds great on the song. But it’s so fast and straight-shooting rhythmically, that Crystal isn’t given much room to do too much aside from on the ad-libs that we get towards the end song. And it’s so easy to get lost in how feel good the music on the chorus is, that you forget a bitch is singing at all. To reiterate; Crystal still sounds good. But on a song which was pretty much her big comeback single, I think Crystal’s voice should have been pushed more to the forefront of the song. And I don’t just mean a bitch belting and giving runs all over the place. But in the details such as the vocal arrangements, which are also super light on this song by usual CK standards.

The production on “Delicious na Kinyoubi” is handled by Japanese producer Bachlogic, who also produced the single “Superman”, and “Fly High” on Vivid and Aklo’s song “I Don’t Care” which featured Crystal Kay. The sound is crisp. The mix is perfect. Everything pops the way that it should. Bachlogic does a brilliant job of nailing what a Crystal Kay song sounds like at a time where lines between pop, R&B and dance music are all blurring. The only faux pas is the horrendous breakdown which comes after the middle 8. Dubstep was still a thing in 2012, which was permeating its way into J-pop and video game music soundtracks across the board. (Side note. Dubstep fucking ruined the Tekken soundtracks). And it's unfortunate that even a CK song wasn’t safe from a few bars of wub-wub. Some like this switch. I personally hate it and feel it disrupts the flow of the song. As a music video edit with a dance break, it would have worked fine. But when you’re just listening to the song, it feels intrusive and unnecessary, and I wish the single edit of the song had cut it out.

But for how much I adore “Delicious na Kinyoubi”, the B-side is where Crystal really showed out. “Haru Arashi” not being a fellow A-side with a music video is when we all shoulda known that Universal was gonna play Crystal and her Vivid album. Whilst “Delicious na Kinyoubi” was a reminder of Crystal’s classic sound, and executed it to a tee (horrid dubstep-ish breakdown aside), “Haru Arashi” had Crystal charting a whole different course. Dance music was THE popular sound circa 2012. And “Haru Arashi” managed to follow that trend, without feeling contrived, time stamped and stripping out the essence of who Crystal Kay was. Crystal commanded the song and the sound in a way which reminded you that Crystal has done dance music before, and that she sounds great doing it, as Black women always have and continue to.

Even though the sound of “Haru Arashi” wasn’t new, and Crystal had dipped her toe into dance music, it still felt fresh for Crystal and J-Pop in general. And even when Crystal herself would revisit it, she wouldn’t pull it off as well as she did here.

Thematically “Delicious na Kinyoubi” and “Haru Arashi” are also a perfect pairing, because the intent of both songs somewhat mirrors the themes. “Delicious na Kinyoubi” was the safe song. A reminder of Crystal’s classic sound. A song about celebrating life and the familiarity of it. Where-as “Haru Arashi” was something a little different. It’s a new vibe. A song about closing a chapter in your life. “Haru Arashi” felt so poetic for where Crystal was in her life and her career - making it even more of a missed opportunity that it wasn’t given partnered A-side status.

I sometimes wonder if “Delicious na Kinyoubi” would have fared better as a single had it been flanked with “Haru Arashi” as an A-side. It seemed like too perfect an opportunity to test the waters of CK going to market with a new sound she hadn’t given on a single before. But alas. It did not happen. And “Delicious na Kinyoubi” released on its lonesome, limping into the Oricon charts at 171 and disappearing after a week. It’s no wonder that Universal said ‘We ain’t doing what we did on Vivid again’. Even though the sound was never the problem. How are you going to have Crystal put out a new single, barely give any televised performances of it, and not make a bigger deal of “Haru Arashi” which was the ending theme of a J-drama?

Gurl. Fire the whole management and marketing team.

“Delicious na Kinyoubi” was a great single, and still is a great single. I completely get why fans were underwhelmed. The song was safe. It didn’t push Crystal in any particular direction. It wasn’t a refine of anything. Especially after “Superman” giving more of the Crystal y’all wanted, and it having her further in her Janet Jackson bag, that fans got a taste for after “Kirakuni”. “Be Mine” probably would have been a better single choice. But I still buss down to the bitch on a Friday. And paired with “Haru Arashi”, it was a nice serving of the Crystal we knew and grew to adore over the years, with something forward facing and new. Both songs showed a sense of evolution and a renewed sense of energy and purpose from Crystal. It’s just a shame that the chart performance was so bad, that Universal closed the doors on Crystal ever revisiting either sound or producer again.

VERDICT: Hot Girl Spring