Koda Kumi to release a Best album, Live in Metaverse ~The Best~

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The cropped shot of the 3CD + Blu-Ray edition cover art for Koda Kumi’s Live in Metaverse ~The Best~. Featuring a close-up shot of Kumi’s face, which features blue and pink cybernetics.

Koda Kumi is releasing a Best album y’all — Live in Metaverse ~The Best~.

I am bracing those who followed Kumi since the Final Fantasy X-2, that you will probably see the tracklist for this album and have the same reaction I did — ‘Damn, where’s all of the old shit?’.

CD: Disc 1
  1. Live in Metaverse -2093.12.06-
  2. Universe (Re-Vamp)
  3. Is This Trap? (Re-Vamp)
  4. Lippy (Re-Vamp)
  5. Lit (Re-Vamp)
  6. Crazy 4 U (Re-Vamp)
  7. Loaded featuring Sean Paul (Re-Vamp)
  8. Poppin’ Love Cocktail featuring Teeda (Re-Vamp)
  9. Sweetest Taboo (Re-Vamp)
  10. Pop Diva (Re-Vamp)
  11. Hush (Re-Vamp)
  12. Monet in My Bag (Re-Vamp)
  13. XXX (Re-Vamp)
  14. Vroom (Re-Vamp)

CD: Disc 2
  1. Unicorn
  2. Bow Wow
  3. Crank Tha Bass featuring OVDS
  4. Haircut
  5. Show Girl
  6. Shhh!
  7. Party
  8. Dance in the Rain
  9. Step into My World
  10. Black Wings
  11. Ecstasy
  12. Escalate
  13. Taboo
  14. Ultraviolet

CD: Disc 3
  1. Megumi no Hito (Hi-yunk Remix)
  2. Won’t be Long (EXILE MAKIDAI Remix)
  3. Real Emotion (DJ KOO & Bapjap Remix)
  4. Lucky Star (LunaRabi Remix)
  5. Trigger (iamSHUM & MEW3 Remix)
  6. Hey Baby! (iamSHUM Remix)
  7. Be My Baby (iamSHUM Remix)
  8. Someday (Sam is Ohm Remix)
  9. Cutie Honey (KATFYR Remix)
  10. Butterfly (DJ KOO & Bapjap Remix)
  11. Wind (Hi-yunk Remix)
  12. Megumi no Hito (iamSHUM Remix)

Blu-ray
Universe (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2010 ~Universe~)
Is this Trap? (Koda Kumi Hall Tour 2014 ~Bon Voyage~)
Lit (Koda Kumi Tour 2018 -DNA-)
Crazy 4 U (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2024 ~Best Single Knight~)
Loaded featuring Sean Paul (Koda Kumi Hall Tour 2014 ~Bon Voyage~)
Poppin’ Love Cocktail featuring Teeda (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2024 ~Best Single Knight~)
Sweetest Taboo (Koda Kumi 20th Anniversary Tour 2020 My Name Is…)
Pop Diva (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2011 ~Dejavu~)
Hush (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2018 -DNA-)
Money in my Bag (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2017 -W Face-)
XXX (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2023 ~angeL & monsteR)
Vroom (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2024 ~Best Single Knight~)
Bow Wow (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2023 ~angeL & monsteR)
Crank Tha Bass featuring OVDS (Koda Kumi Hall Tour 2014 ~Bon Voyage~)
Haircut (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2018 -DNA-)
Show Girl (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2009 ~Trick~)
Shhh! (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2016 -Best Single Collection-)
Party (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2018 -DNA-)
Dance in the Rain (Koda Kumi 15th Anniversary Live Tour 2015 ~Walk of My Life~)
Step into My World (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2010 ~Universe~)
Black Wings (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2023 ~angeL & monsteR)
Ecstasy (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2010 ~Universe~)
Escalate (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2013 ~Japonesque~)
Taboo (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2009 ~Trick~)
Ultraviolet (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2017 -W Face-)
Bonus Track | Black Wings (Music Video)


I ain’t mad at this tracklist. It features a bunch of songs I do not like. But I ain’t mad it. Best albums should not always be career spanning retrospectives, especially given the frequency at which Kumi releases them and how much music she puts out. Also, in an age of streaming — releasing career spanning Best albums seems pointless when these exist as continually updated playlists which will always feature more songs than any 3 disc physical release will.

In my review of Hikaru Utada’s 2024 Best album, Science Fiction, I had touched on the Best album conundrum in the age of streaming and that Science Fiction set a new standard in its approach. Well, I guess Kumi must have read that review, because here she comes with a Best album following a similar suit. But Kumi being Kumi, she had to be extra with it. And Kumi being Kumi, she may have missed the mark with it. But Kumi being Kumi, she really doesn’t care.

A promotional shot for Koda Kumi’s Live in Metaverse ~The Best~. Featuring a shot of Kumi wearing a black bodysuit and silver adornments in her hair, whilst stood in the middle of a set of fluorescent tube lights.
Koda Kumi - Live in the Metaverse ~The Best~ | Avex Music Creative, Inc.

However. The lightness on the oldies and classics wasn’t a choice made by Kumi or Avex. The songs on Live in Metaverse ~The Best~ have all been chosen by fans online, which is probably part of where the album title comes in. The first disc features ‘Re-Vamp’ versions of songs, which are re-arranged and re-recorded versions of songs, which have been made to ‘sound live’. I think the whole idea is that the Metaverse is a fictional Kumi concert that happened and the Re-Vamp versions of the songs are recordings from it. There is no English press release of this album, so I’m clutching at Google translated straws. The second disc features the original versions of songs, but has a completley different tracklist to the first disc, in addition a full version of “Unicorn”, which was first released as just a short intro to the album of the same name. And the fan club edition of Live in Metaverse features a third disc which is a selection of remixes from Kumi’s Driving Hits albums. And depending which version you pick up, Live in Metaverse will come with a DVD / Blu-Ray with a selection of live performances, which have also been chosen by fans.

Each of these discs could have easily been their own release. In fact, I’m surprised that they weren’t. We know how Kumi and Avex love to put out as many SKU’s as is legally possible for her releases.

Live in Metaverse ~The Best~ is a really cool package for fans though. Especially if the Re-Vamp versions of the songs turn out to be good. I don’t think the selection of songs is particularly great, but I’ll put this blame on the fans who voted for them. So often with these fan voted tracklists in Japanese music, you realise that a lot of these fans have questionable taste. But I haven’t seen what the polls were, so perhaps the choices didn’t feature evey song from across Kumi’s entire career. There was a definitive point in Kumi’s career where the music really started to fall off and this Best album seems very focused on that period. But it wouldn’t be so crazy for fans to have voted for songs during this period of Kumi’s career due to being sick of the old shit. And I can relate to that as somebody who looked at the setlist of Kylie Minogue’s Tension Tour and sighed at how many of the same old, well worn ‘classics’ were on it. A tour which — funnily enough — Kumi went to see.

Live in Metaverse ~The Best~ releases on 26th March 2025.

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