PARADE-Hey! Say! JUMP
Album Concept: Dreams and Mystery
Track list:
ミラクルワンダーマジック
ファンファーレ
獣と薔薇
COSMIC☆HUMAN
はな壱もんめ
UTAGE Tonight
「I」
愛だけがすべて-what do you want?
Zombie Step
Lucky-Unlucky
Love Equation
アイノユウヒ
CALL & PRAY
パレードが始まる
Packaging: It’s wrapped around a transparent sleeve with the album title on the front and track list at the back. Behind the casing of the CDs, there’s a booklet with photos and the lyrics of each song.
MY TOP 3 FAVORITE SONGS (previously released singles excluded)
1.ミラクルワンダーマジック
2.獣と薔薇
3.「I」
REVIEW:
I have no words.
They were a surprise? That seems like kind of an understatement. This is definitely part of my top 3 favorite albums. It’s different, it’s new, and it’s a lot to take in at once. There were others who seemed turned off even from the cover, but listening to it won’t disappoint you. As someone who kind of doubted the success of this album, I can say that with full honesty. They mixed in so much, some songs made use of rock, others had a few oriental mixes in it, but, of course, there were some that felt familiar. The reason I love this group is because they’re different from basic pop artists. Pop artists each have one sound, so, as fans, we have one expectation. For some, that works because they like that sound. But, for Hey! Say! JUMP, as well as other J-Pop artists, they step outside of what’s “normal”. Hey! Say! JUMP is versatile and flexible, and that makes them a strong group.
They turned something simple into something complex. There’s two concepts and one album. They turned “dreams” and “mystery” into “PARADE”. They do something different every time and don’t disappoint us, that’s why a lot of people don’t get tired of them. JUMP, Johnny’s idols, and J-Pop singers in general, are the only ones who can confidently pull off these kinds of genre mixes. Their group and their producers created an album that had so many different elements, and all of that formed into something promising. They knew how to shuffle the music, knew what sounds to combine, and used their strong voices to complete everything. The more amazing part to this is that they can do it live. All singers have their limits and there are things they can’t do because of the song’s difficulty, but this doesn’t seem to be a problem for them at all. When they sing it, it sounds just a good as the studio version! (That’s also another reason why they’re so great. Most of the time, when they say live, they mean it.) Lastly, I mentioned earlier that other people weren’t really into the whole wolf themed idea for PARADE. Ultimately, the thing that makes this entire album and their music career work is that they don’t feel ashamed about any of it, and that’s a good thing. I’m sure they know there are people who insult them, mock them, degrade them, sometimes even hate them, but that doesn’t matter. I guess their main focus is entertaining the ones who support them while maintaining their authenticity. Sometimes, they change but never for worse. They’re a group who won’t change to satisfy the standards of the international community, they’ll stay the same and work hard for the ones who like them for the identity they’ve created as 9 members.
OVERALL, this was an amazing album, please give it a listen. If you’re a bit turned off by the costumes, theme, or anything really, I still suggest you that you try listening to the whole thing. It’s a new sound, it’ll surprise you. They changed their image and sound for this one, and you’re gonna love it. 😍