Lit (Koda Kumi song)
| "Lit" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Lit (stylized as LIT) is the first single by Japanese artist Kumi Koda released after her thirteenth joint-studio album W Face ~inside~ and W Face ~outside~. The single was the first of three planned releases Kumi had for the year of 2017. As with her previous single, Shhh!, LIT was only released via mu-mo. Due to it having no physical release, the single did not chart on Oricon; however, it was given a five star rating on the popular Japanese rating site RecoChoku.
Information
LIT is the first single by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi released after her thirteenth studio album W Face ~inside~ and W Face ~outside~, and her sixtieth overall single. It was her first single release in over a year, her previous being Shhh! in April 2016. As with Shhh!, the single was given a limited release through the popular music site mu-mo and was available at concert venues for her Live Tour 2017 ~W Face~.[1][2]
Due to having no wide release and only being available digitally, at concert venues or via mu-mo, LIT failed to chart on the Oricon Singles Charts; however, the song did garner a five star ranking on the popular Japanese digital music site RecoChoku.[3] The limited physical single harbored both the title track and its corresponding instrumental. On the DVD portion, instead of the music video being released, the making video was put in its place. On August 3, the day after the single's release, avex's official YouTube uploaded the full music video.[4]
The song "LIT" is a musical piece composed of surf music and modern pop music. The track was composed by musical composer Kenji03 under the name "Hi-yunk". While Hi-yunk composed the piece, the lyrical portion was written by Kumi herself.
To help promote the song, "LIT" was used as the theme song to a spin-off of the fantasy MMORPG Dragon Nest, titled Serencia Saga: Dragon Nest (セレンシアサーガ：ドラゴンネスト).[5][6] On the official site for Serencia Saga, an entire page was dedicated to Kumi's tie-in with the game.[7]
Background and composition
"LIT" is composed of a mixture between 60's surf music and modern pop music. The track was composed by Koda Kumi's husband Kenji03 under the name "Hi-yunk", from the Japanese rock group BACK-ON. Since their marriage, he has worked with Kumi for several songs, including those on her 2015 album Walk of My Life and her 2017 albums W Face ~inside~ and W Face ~outside~.[8] While Hi-yunk composed the piece, the lyrical portion was written by Kumi herself.
In an interview with Billboard Japan, Kumi said how the song "embodied 60s surfer music with an updated tempo", and how the dance in the music video was made to "show waves with hand movements."[9]
Music video
For the music video for "LIT," an 11x11 meter pool was filled with seven tons of water to project a dance floor. For the dance in the water, Kumi and her dancers wore high heels in thirteen centimeters of water. As for the scenes outdoors, Kumi adopted a more American style for the dance and cityscape, most notably California.
The video opens with Kumi and her dancers sitting on a bench, reading the daily news. Bored with the mundane "everyday," they explore the city to have fun, dancing and window shopping.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "LIT" | Koda Kumi | Hi-yunk | 3:30 |
| 2. | "LIT" (Instrumental) | Hi-yunk | 3:27 | |
| Total length: | 6:57 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "LIT" (Making Video) |
Alternate versions
- LIT: found on the single (2017) and corresponding album AND (2018)
- LIT (Instrumental): found on the single (2017)
- LIT [YUTO Remix]: found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 8 (2018)
References
- ^ "Koda Kumi Releases Music Video for Summer Bop "LIT"". ARAMA! JAPAN. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "倖田來未：LIT【ライブ会場・ファンクラブ・mu-moショップ限定】（CD+DVD）". mu-mo. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "『LIT』倖田來未/シングル、アルバム、ハイレゾのダウンロード". RecoChoku. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "倖田來未 / LIT (MUSIC VIDEO)". avex Official YouTube. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "倖田來未、新曲「LIT」がゲームアプリ「セレンシアサーガ:ドラゴンネスト」テーマソングに決定". Musicman-NET (in Japanese). July 19, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "Serencia Saga: Dragon Nest - New action mobile RPG revealed for Japan". MMO Culture. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "爽快3Dアクションバトル「セレンシアサーガ：ドラゴンネスト". SereSaga. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "Hi-yunk Discography". Discogs. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "Koda Kumi's Water Dance Is A Must See! New Song "LIT" Music Video Release". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.