Kumi Koda news dump. Upcoming music videos. Sephiroth cosplay. Bad wigs. A 2023 tour. And an app.

I’m not commenting on that wig on the right.

HENNYWAY.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. Despite Kumi’s most recent release due to be the Wings EP on January 18, and her last studio album having been 2022’s Heart, her 2023 tour will be a throwback to her 2021 album EP’s angeL + monsteR [My Name Is...]. The dual theme being something which will be represented in the music videos for “Wings” and “Trigger”; with “Wings” having Kumi walking around dream Zanarkand, and “Trigger” having her dressed as Sephiroth.

Kumi Koda in the music video for “Wings” | © Avex Creative

There is also a teaser of the “Trigger” music video, where you get to hear a snippet of the song.

Kumi Koda in the music video for “Trigger” | © Avex Creative

“Trigger” sounds awful. I thought we were leaving this shit back in 2021, but I guess not. Kumi wants to be a YG girl so bad.

angeL + monsteR live tour 2023 | © Avex Creative

The one winged angeL + monsteR tour kicks off in March, and will run right the way through until July, which will probably be capped off with the release of either a Summer single or a Summer EP. We know how she do.

angeL + monsteR tour dates & locations
March 11, 2023
Fenice Sakai, Osaka

March 12, 2023
Fenice Sakai, Osaka

March 25, 2023
Ueno Gakuen Hall, Hiroshima

April 8, 2023
Kariya Cultural Center Iris, Aichi

April 9, 2023
Kariya Cultural Center Iris, Aichi

April 15, 2023
Fukuoka Sunpalace, Fukuoka

April 29, 2023
Grand Cube Osaka, Osaka

May 6, 2023
Koriyama City Cultural Center, Fukushima

May 13, 2023
Kitakyushu Soleil Hall, Fukuoka

May 27, 2023
Link Station Hall Aomori, Aomori

June 17, 2023
Utsunomiya City Cultural Center, Tochigi

June 24, 2023
Arcrea Himeji, Hyogo

July 1, 2023
Tachikawa Stage Garden, Tokyo

July 2, 2023
Tachikawa Stage Garden, Tokyo

July 8, 2023
Beisia Culture Hall (Gunma Civic Centre), Gunma

There will be the usual lottery application that you get with gigs in Japan, and this will starts from January 6th.

🎫 Get’cho tickets: The one winged angeL tour

The official Kumi Koda app | © Avex Creative

2023 will also see the launch of Kumi Koda’s official fan community app. This seems very 8 years ago, when every brand and every celeb was releasing an app, which would make it very on brand for Kumi Koda, who is always at least 5 years behind everybody else. But she may actually be onto something here, given how the app market is booming in Japan. And one thing Kumi Koda has is a very dedicated fanbase who will absolutely download this app.

But developing and maintaining an app is a far different undertaking to the development and maintenance of a gated fan website. ‘Let’s build an app’ being the solution over just redesigning her fan site to serve similar purposes is just very Japan. So I hope Kumi and her team are prepared for the demands an app will require.

There are a bunch of cool things Kumi could do with an app, but I don’t think it’s the way for Kumi to go at a point in her career where her fans already have an official space to log in and interact, and we’re seeing a shift towards artists sharing more content on public and (currently) free social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Kumi Koda should be trying to expand her fanbase. Not create additional gated fan spaces. On one Kumi Koda launching an official app makes sense, but on the other it really doesn’t.

But I’m not Kumi Koda’s target audience, so fuck what I say.

Kumi Koda has such a fun personality and persona on screen, that she would honestly be better off putting some of her fan gated content up on YouTube, and building her community there, where she can also monetise her shit. It’s backwards to me how Avex are so anti community and engagement when it comes YouTube. It’s not the best platform, but it’s a huge one, with good returns if you have the viewership, and Kumi being who she is would get that viewership easily.

But this app is probably a result of some new business venture of Avex’s, where somebody in some meeting decided that apps is how to grow their business, and decided that Kumi should be the guinea pig. They probably put it to Ayu, but she said ‘Fuck that shit’. You can already see that Ayu is happy posting outfits of herself in Balenciaga, and ain’t trying to get into the content churn game like everybody else, and good for her.

The replies on the tweet announcing the app were positive, with some fans being excited about being a part of the community and interacting with other fans. So if the app manages to do this, then that’s a great thing. And I think it would be a smart choice for Avex to market this as the selling point.

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💿 Kumi album reviews: Heart | angeL + monsteR [My Name Is...] | re(CORD) | DNA | AND | W Face | Walk Of My Life | Bon Voyage | Japonesque | Color the Cover | Dejavu | Eternity ~Love & Songs~ | Universe | Trick | Kingdom | Black Cherry | Secret | Grow Into One | Feel My Mind | Affection