- Odorou (踊ろう; Let's Dance)
- Daisuki (大好き; I Love You)
- Kimi wo Wasurenai yo (キミを忘れないよ; I Won't Forget You)
- Yuuki to Hohoemi (勇気と微笑み; Smile and Courage)
- Melody (メロディー)
- Manatsu no Taiyou (真夏の太陽; Midsummer Sun)
- Kokoro (こころ; Heart)
- Sign (サイン)
- Tremolo Rain (トレモロレイン)
- Dear My Dream
- Kimi ni Naritai (君になりたい)
- September
- Scope
I gained interest in miss Sakurako when she made her film debut in "A Liar and His Lover"(カノジョは嘘を愛しすぎてる) where she also aided in providing her voice for the film's soundtrack. She was only about 16 years old then so it was amazing to see such a young girl with strong vocals and passion to back them up. I immediately went on a search to find more of her music just as her first album "Happy" was released.(It would have been nice to have seen the film's bands: Mush&Co and CRUDE PLAY continue to make music but they were both destroyed. Only Ohara Sakurako survived.)
"Happy" was her album to show japan what she had as a singer and this album, "V" is her basically appealing to the masses so that she will keep selling. More than half of the tracks are sugary pop and this can be a good or bad thing depending on who you ask. Lyrics in each track have to do with young love considering Sakurako has just reached the age of twenty. She's a very cute and her overall package spells out "Kawaii girl with a good voice." People will buy her albums because she's very cute and can sing pretty well. This whole concept is just lost on me though. I didn't come here to see her be cute without trying, I came to hear this girl strum on her guitar and sing her heart out like she did on a few tracks from "Happy's" library. This side of her is kind of lost in V's ever so sugary, cavity creating, tracklist. I don't mind the cute style so much but when the style gets to the point that its so watered down that you know these tracks were made just for the money, then we have a problem. I'm not sure how much say Ohara Sakurako has in the music she going to be performing but my guess is she didn't have much of a say with what songs that would be used for the album V. I started to lean towards boredom really quick because almost all the songs until track seven have that happy go lucky beat that made me either want to skip the song before it even began or bear it and rip what little bit of hair I have out along the way. Sakurako's voice couldn't even save these songs and she sings each one well. The last half of the album that include songs "Sign", "Kokoro", "September", and "Scope" makes me think that maybe someone let the poor girl do a little bit of the songs she ACTUALLY wants to sing. "Dear My Dream" is a new style for her and even this song works and I enjoyed listening to it. "September" takes bluesy saxophones and Sakurako's guitar blending them together for a upbeat style that sounds fresh and new while accompanying her vocals. "Sign" and "Kokoro" are the reasons i still give her a chance musically. She needs to leave the gimmicks alone and just sing songs she wants to.
There isn't much to say about the vocals. This girl has what it takes to fill arenas based on just her talent. She has a magical quality about her that only comes out when its just her and a guitar. Its a amazing to say the least. Her voice is on the high side and she sounds young but there's also a strength that can't be matched.
Ohara Sakurako isn't an artist where I would recommend all her songs. I have yet to like a full album by her but I do like select songs here and there. Everyone is different of course and her albums might appeal to you. Japan seems to have liked it. The album debuted at 3. on the Oricon charts so I'm happy for her.
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