Japanese pop star Koda Kumi made an appearance on Korean TV as a performing guest on the show Change Street — which
fellow J-pop star Crystal Kay had also featured on. And just like Crystal, Kumi performed a couple of covers —
the number 1 hit ballad “Tsunami” by Japanese rock band Southern All Stars to get the crowd swaying, and
“Won’t Be Long” by the slightly problematic Bubble Gum Brothers to get the crowd bouncing their shoulders.
One thing Kumi will consistently deliver on is sounding good on a ballad. It’s always nice to have a reminder that Kumi really has no issue with her mic being on and that she can actually sing. So much of the music she releases and performs now does not highlight how nice a voice she has, and she really should address that. But she won’t.
Kumi had released a cover of “Won’t Be Long” back in 2009 with Exile and it was a far more uptempo affair. Back then she was slut dropping and whipping her Harajuku hair extensions around. But for this Korean audience in 2026, she kept the performance cute. But we know if Kumi was performing this cover at one of her own shows, she would’ve been slamming her pussy into the floor like Super Mario.
Kumi has such a cool presence when she performs. There is just something about her which draws you in — which is a big part of her appeal. Her music may be in the crapper right now, but she knows how to set a tone with her performances and deliver. And she did so here. And it says a lot about Kumi that she doesn’t need a huge stage or spectacle to hold a crowd in the palm of her hand.
%20Kumi%20Koda%20on%20Change%20Street%20%232.png "Koda Kumi performs covers of Southern All Stars and Bubble Gum Brothers on the Korean variety show, Change Street | 🖭 Random J Pop") |
| Koda Kumi on Change Street | ENA |
Kumi is so damn good with covers. Kumi’s two cover albums are two of the best albums in her discography. And the covers on
Unicorn are hands-down the best songs on it, and highlight how much that album really should have just been a cover album. Kumi
loves to tour so much and is always trying to mix things up with her shows, that she should consider doing a covers tour and releasing a third full cover album. Her original material these days just isn’t good, but her covers continue to be good — so she should lean into that. She should also cover herself. Find ways to revamp and re-work older songs.
It was cute to see Kumi’s husband smiling in awe of his wife. If he really cares about her though, he’ll stop producing her music. He’s a big part of the reason why so much of Kumi’s original material over the past decade has sounded like doo-doo.
%20Kumi%20Koda%20on%20Change%20Street%20%231.png "Koda Kumi performs covers of Southern All Stars and Bubble Gum Brothers on the Korean variety show, Change Street | 🖭 Random J Pop")
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