Random J Mix: Crystal Kay - First Love (Random J Mix)

One thing about Crystal Kay’s Makenai Monday’s on Instagram Live was that there was pretty much always some form of guarantee that she would sing at some point during it; whether it was a song of her own or somebody else’s. And it was great, but also a little heart-breaking, because you really get a sense of how much Crystal loves to sing and that a bitch is ALWAYS ready to do it, yet she doesn’t get as many opportunities in her career to do so. In the past 10 years, Crystal Kay has released 4 albums and barely toured. We got the Vivid tour and that lil’ acoustic tour she did in the US. And that’s been it. The only tours she has done in a decade, and they were barely tours.

Girl, fire the whole management and marketing team.

During a Makenai Monday back in February (on Valentine’s Day of all days) Crystal was asked to sing something by Hikaru Utada and she ended up singing “First Love”. No instrumental. No mic. Just her singing in her living room with her phone perched somewhere. And it was great. Not long after Crystal Kay launched her YouTube channel, she released a video where she spoke a little on Hikaru Utada’s First Love album, and then sang a little of “First Love” again. Impromptu. No studio setup. No backing track. And I said ‘No bitch’. So, I took those clips, cut them together and put them over the official instrumental.

Still raggedy, but it’s something, and no longer buried under Instagram Reels or un-search friendly YouTube videos.

It just occurred to me. Does Crystal Kay have an official name for her fans? I remember seeing her trying a ting a few years back, but I don’t think it caught on.

HENNYWAY.

Crystal Kay has sang and partially covered a couple of Hikaru Utada’s songs over the years, and has yet to release anything officially. I’ve mentioned several times that not putting a Hikaru Utada cover on her 2021 cover album I Sing was a big mistake, and I will keep saying it. Us fans know that Crystal could pick any Hikaru Utada song and cover the shit out of it. And this isn’t even me being biased as a Hikaru Utada and Crystal Kay fan. Just from a purely business standpoint, Hikaru Utada is still a big name with a big-ass fanbase, and there is a HUGE overlap of Hikaru Utada and Crystal Kay fans. So having Crystal release a cover of a Hikaru Utada classic would have been such an easy way to have a Crystal Kay to fully hit a fanbase that’s big enough to move the needle for her. Far more so than “Utautai no Ballad” and “Sangatsu Kokonoka” were ever going to. Even when it came to Crystal’s YouTube channel; Crystal should have been put up in a proper studio with an engineer, a camera man, the official instrumental of the song and recorded a PROPER cover of “First Love”. Because, now look. Netflix has a whole series inspired by that song and the album is getting a special vinyl re-release, two things which Crystal could have been catching some views and streams off the back of.

If Crystal’s team had played this right, they coulda maybe gotten in with Teruzane to see if he could pull strings at Sony to get “Kirakuni” up on streaming.

Crystal’s team keep letting low hanging fruits just rot on the vine.

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🎧 CK Playlists: This is Crystal Kay | Crystal Kay: Ballads
📀 CK Special Editions: Euphoria, a Crystal Kay dance album | Sparkle, a Crystal Kay Christmas album

💿 CK album reviews: I Sing | For You | Vivid | Shine | Spin the Music | Call Me Miss... | All Yours | Color Change! | 4Real | Crystal Style | Almost Seventeen | 637 -Always & Forever- | C.L.L. ~Crystal Lover Light