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Anjaan (lit. The Fearless Man) is a 2014 Indian Tamilaction thriller film directed by N. Lingusamy and produced under his banner Thirupathi Brothers.^[4] The film stars Suriya in two distinct roles ^[5] with Samantha Ruth Prabhu as the female lead,^[6] while Bollywood actors Manoj Bajpayee, Vidyut Jamwal and Dalip Tahil play supporting roles.^[7] Cinematography and editing were handled by Santosh Sivan and Anthony, respectively, while Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the music.^[8] It was released on 14 August to negative reviews.^[9] The film was dubbed into Telugu as Sikandar and into Hindi as Khatarnak Khiladi 2 in 2016. It was unofficially remade in Bangladesh as Captain Khan in 2018 starring Shakib Khan.

• 3Production
• 5Release
• 6Reception

Plot[edit]

A handicapped man Krishna (Suriya) arrives at Mumbai from Kanyakumari at a train station after boarding a train from there. He, along with a taxi driver Raja (Soori), travel around Mumbai to look for his elder brother, Raju. Raja tries to get to know about Krishna but is unable to get any details about him from him. Krishna rents a hotel room, takes a shower, and changes his clothes. He gets Raja to take him to a club, where Krishna then tries to meet an old associate of Raju named Amar, who is a very powerful gangster through his henchmen, but fails. He then meets a close friend of Raju named Rajiv (Asif Basra), who overheard his conversation with Amar's henchmen. Rajiv tells Krishna that Raju is Raju Bhai (Suriya), a powerful and feared gangster. He then tells things to Krishna about Raju, until he passes out from being drunk.

Krishna leaves and sees Raja attempting to leave him, having overheard the fact that Krishna is Raju's younger brother. Raja revealed a personal damage to his taxi that Raju is solely responsible of and despite not wanting to have Krishna as his customer, still takes him to where he wants to go. A boy living in the streets steals Krishna's laptop and Raja tells Krishna he can't get back, only for some people to bring in the boy and give Krishna back his laptop, having seen Raju's photo on the desktop of Krishna's laptop and becoming fearful of him. Krishna then later meets JK (Dalip Tahil), an old enemy of Raju who tells his experience with Raju. He tells him that Raju could have killed him, but spared his own life. He tells Krishna to another close friend of Raju named Karim Bhai (Joe Malloori). Krishna meets Karim, who tells him that Chandru (Vidyut Jamwal), another powerful gangster, is an inseparable friend and partner in crime of Raju, while as they are emerging in the underworld, their own enemies grow too.

Their main henchmen are Johnny (Murali Sharma), Rajiv, Jackie, and Manoj (Chetan Hansraj). Karim is their personal and close friend. A new police commissioner (Bikramjeet Kanwarpal) plans to clean the city and kills a few henchmen of Raju and Chandru's gang. Raju then retaliates this by kidnapping the commissioner's daughter Jeeva (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) on her wedding and keeps her as a hostage or a guest for a day. The police wanted to strike back at Raju and Chandru but was against doing that now until later as his family relatives have came. When Raju goes to leave her back at the marriage hall, she tells him that she actually does not want to go or marry because she didn't love anyone. She attempted to watch a movie in a theater with Raju, which is arranged by Rajiv, but in the end Raju took her back to the marriage hall because the movie she was watching was Chennai Express, having seen about 5 times. She falls in love with Raju, who rejects it at first but later reciprocated it.

Unfortunately, the commissioner strikes back later at Raju and Chandru's gang forcing Raju to reject Jeeva just to keep his friendship with Chandra, as Chandru became suspicious of Raju, thinking he might have told Jeeva some details about their gang. Things go very well until Raju and Chandru invoke the wrath of Imran Bhai (Manoj Bajpai), a bigger and more powerful don than them and whom they both personally met at a gathering party. Imran praises Raju and Chandru for their work but also warns that if they get in his way or position, he will kill them. The next day, Raju captures Imran. Chandru becomes thrilled and gives Raju a surprise by getting him a new car. Raju then sees Jeeva inside. Chandru tells him he had given Raju a surprise and tells him to stay away for a week with Jeeva as a vacation.

The commissioner calls Raju about Jeeva, only for Raju to confess his love for Jeeva to him, leaving the commissioner to not say anything. Raju and Jeeva have a blast. However, they were attacked by henchmen and were forced to come back. Raju attempted to call Chandru, in which Amar answered it, until the line ended up being cut. When Raju comes back, he sees Chandru murdered. A frustrated and angered Raju goes in search of the killers but is shot and killed by Amar in a bridge, where his body fell into the water. Amar later calls Imran, telling him he has killed Raju. Krishna then becomes worried. At the same time, Amar comes to Karim's taxi service headquarters and starts beating one of the taxi drivers for not giving him nor his henchmen money. Karim protests and Amar leaves, before giving a warning, while Krishna hid away from them. But suddenly, the henchmen Krishna met at the bar in the club saw him and told Amar about him. Amar had already came to know that Krishna was looking for him.

He took his laptop and taunts him, while also revealing he killed Raju and showed the gun he used to killed him with. Amar then attempted to kill Krishna using his henchmen, while trying to get Karim helpless to save him, only for Krishna to beat and kill up the henchmen Amar set up to kill him as well as two other henchmen. It is then ultimately revealed that 'Krishna' is none other than Raju Bhai, who is alive and very well in a very different look that his old rugged look by having a toothpick out of his mouth, something that Raju Bhai does often. Raju then kills Amar and decides to keep pretending he is Krishna to catch Chandru's murderer. Karim promises to help by keeping his secret and giving him shelter in his own house, while also telling Raju that on the day Chandru died, there was a planned between him and JK. He also reveals the one person, who is not with the gang for the meeting with JK.

He then goes to find Jackie in a stadium for a horse race. Jackie ran away from Raju, upon noticing him following him and disguised as a handicapped him, only to come know his identity, when Raju pull out his chain necklace, which is covered underneath in his shirt. Jackie tearfully pleads he is innocent and reveals that Johnny told him not to go with them on the day of the meeting without explaining why. Jackie tried to call Raju, Raju was unable to answer it. So he called Chandru, but Johnny answered it. Scared and knowing something is not right, Jackie ran away from his home. Raju then finds Johnny in a parking lot of a shopping mall using his prostitute girlfriend Sindhu (Sanjana Singh) and taking of his henchmen in a very short work in the parking lot. Johnny initially didn't recognize Raju, until Raju unfold his shirt's collar. Johnny attempts to pin and frame everything on Jackie, only to be confronted by him as well.

Johnny was forced to revealed that on the day of the meeting, which took place in a hotel, that while Chandru, Amar, Johnny, and Manoj waited for JK, Chandru had a state change of mind about the meeting having earlier wanted to do it with Raju and decided to do it another day with Raju being here. The doorbell ranged and Chandru thought it was JK, only to for it to be revealed as Imran and his henchmen. They hold Chandru, Amar, Johnny, and Manoj as hostages and wanted Chandru to call Raju and get him to come here. Chandru had given them one chance to kill him, but not to kill Amar, Johnny, and Manoj. This resulted in a quick and short between Chandru and Imran's henchmen, in which Chandru won. Endnote x7 download free full version crack. Chandru was about to kill Imran, only to be grabbed by Amar, Johnny, and Manoj.

They, along with Imran, had plotted to betray and kill Chandru and Raju, with Imran promising them they can become very powerful dons like and alongside him in ruling the streets and the whole city of Mumbai. When Raju attempted to call Chandru, Amar answered in his place, making unaware of what is happening to Chandru. Chandru, being taunted by Imran over Amar's replies towards Raju in the cellphone conversation, ended up breaking his cellphone, cutting and canceling Raju's call. Imran killed Chandru by slashing him multiple times with a knife. Before Chandru dies, he warns Imran, Amar, Johnny, and Manoj that Raju will come back and kill them all. Raju kills Johnny and launches an attack on Manoj, who is now a powerful gangster and businessman running a successful gold company in Mumbai on his own company and his henchmen while he is away from India.

When he came back having heard of the attack and the deaths of Amar and Johnny, he orders his henchmen to kill whoever is responsible for this. He then founded out that Raju had earlier attempted to visit him in his office of his company's building disguised as Krishna in the last previous week. He sees through the footage of his security camera, that Raju has arrived again to his company building and Manoj ordered his assistant to bring him to his office. Manoj, thinking that Raju is 'Krishna' and telling him some noted details about Raju such as having a toothpick in his mouth, an unfolded collar on his shirt, and a scar on his right eyebrow, while telling his arrival to Mumbai is a waste of time and that Raju is 'dead', unaware that he is still alive and is standing before him disguised as 'Krishna'. Imran called him on his cellphone and Manoj had a conversation with him talking about his birthday party being held at a grand hotel, which Raju overheard and took note of it, all the while for Manoj to explain to Imran about 'Krishna'.

'Krishna' then tells Manoj that Raju is alive and is in his building, causing Manoj to send his henchmen to search his company building around for Raju, while he holds 'Krishna' at gunpoint. Raju then reveals his identity by revealing all noted details that Manoj pointed about him earlier and beats up Manoj and his henchmen. Raju kills all the henchmen and was about to kill Manoj, but Manoj tries to get Raju to spare his life by offering a deal to be successful in life. Raju seems to accept, but he punches Manoj in the face and refuses his deal, all the while, killing him by shooting in the head with his own gun. Raju, having killed all the betrayers of his former gang heads back to Karim's place by Raja, who he still thinks he is 'Krishna'.

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After taking a bath, Raju is handed a towel by Karim's daughter, who reminded of Jeeva. He then remembered at one time, that Raju, Chandru, and Jeeva went to a musical concert, which is finished, but using their influence and having been friends with the theatre manager of the concert, they get the concert back on running. At first, Guru Shastri (Brahmanandam), the head of the musical troupe performing the concert, refuses to play for them, given the fact that Raju and Chandru are gangsters, but accepts, when Chandru pointed out Raju and Jeeva are lovers and Jeeva wanted to see his concert. Unfortunately, Shastri's music turned out to be awful, making Raju, Chandru, and Jeeva leave the theater.

Then, a parade with some very good music came by and they all danced. It was there that Jeeva understands the friendship between Raju and Chandru. Raju then attempted to kill Imran in his birthday party, only to fail, when it is revealed Imran is not in India, but is in Dubai doing a live telecast call in the hotel of his birthday party. He also reveals he knows Raju is still alive and threatens to kill him. Imran's henchmen searched everywhere for Raju, including checking into the hotel where he rented a room. Then Imran's henchmen came at Karim's house and searched everywhere for Raju, but he is not there. So they kidnap Karim's daughter to hold her as a hostage in order to make Raju come to them.

When Raju and Karim came there, Karim was told his daughter is kidnapped. When Raju prepares to go rescue Karim's daughter, Karim reveals it was not his daughter who has been kidnapped, but it was none other than Jeeva. Jeeva, knowing Raju is alive given that his 'body' is never found and knowing that he will come back to Mumbai, decides to wait for him, until he finishes his quest for revenge against Imran for Chandru's death, understanding how much Chandru meant to him. Raju went to the location, beats up the henchmen, and gets Jeeva, who had her left hand injured by the leader of the henchmen using his smoking cigarette to safety by having be taken away by Karim, while killing all of them including the leader, who, before dying, found out Jeeva was Raju's lover because her left hand had a tattoo of Raju's name on it, which she got during the time she and Raju had a blast.

Unfortunately, he gets captured by Imran's top 4 henchmen and was taken to get killed by Imran face to face. Imran was about to kill Raju with the very same knife he had used to kill Chandru, only to held gunpoint by his main henchmen, which are now of them. Raju reveals just like how Imran got Amar, Johnny, and Manoj to betray him and Chandru, he used Imran's own remaining henchmen to betray him by making a similar deal to them, that Imran made to Amar, Johnny, and Manoj. When one of them remains faithful to Imran, while the other three decided to betray him, one of the three, mainly the leader of the group killed the faithful one. Raju killed Imran the exact way the latter killed Chandru, while Imran realizes his fate is sealed before he died.

Fulfilling his revenge over Chandru's death, the henchmen decide to clear up Imran's murder and ask Raju to leave, only for Raju to double-cross and kill them. Raju reunites with Jeeva and they both were leaving Mumbai, until they bump into Raja, who has noticed that 'Krishna' has never found Raju, but instead found a beautiful girl in Jeeva. When Raja saw that 'Krishna' is walking without his crutch, he ask him about him, only for 'Krishna' to reveal his true identity as Raju Bhai, by having a toothpick in his mouth, leaving Raja shocked. Raju and Jeeva leave Mumbai happily.

Cast[edit]

• Suriya as Raju Bhai and Krishna, the protagonist.
• Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Jeeva (Jiya in Hindi version), Raju's girlfriend and Commissioner's Daughter.
• Vidyut Jammwal as Chandru Bhai, Raju's best friend and partner who later gets killed by his own sidekicks.
• Manoj Bajpayee as Imran Bhai, the main antagonist who kills Chandru.
• Dalip Tahil as JK, Raju's enemy.
• Joe Malloori as Karim Bhai, Raju's close friend and a Taxi Driver.
• Murali Sharma as Johnny, henchman.
• Asif Basra as Rajiv, henchman.
• Chetan Hansraj as Manoj, henchman.
• Bikramjeet Kanwarpal as Police Commissioner, Jeeva's father.
• Soori as Raja, a taxi driver guest appearance
• Brahmanandam as Guru Shastri, the head of the musical troupe.
• Sanjana Singh as Sindhu
• Manobala as Director
• Chitrangada Singh as item number in song Sirippu En
• Maryam Zakaria as item number in song Bang Bang Bang
• Rajeevan in a special appearance

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

In July 2012, it was reported first that Suriya had signed on Lingusamy's film to be produced under the director's banner and that he would work on it after Maattrraan (2012) and Hari'sSingam 2 (2013).^[10] After the completion of both movies, the actor was reported to work simultaneously with Lingusamy and director Gautham Menon for a film titled Dhruva Natchathiram.^[11] Suriya waited for six months after Singam 2, but failed to receive a complete script from Gautham Menon and no progress took place in this period of time. Owing to this reason, he opted out of Gautham's film in October 2013 and announced that he would soon start work on Lingusamy's film.^[12] The director confirmed the news and also stated the film would officially start filming from mid-November 2013. It was said that the script had been modified a few times.^[13] The film was started without a title. In January 2014, the title was officially announced to be Anjaan.^[14]Vijay Milton was initially signed by Lingusamy as the cinematographer for the film,^[15] but in October 2013 he was replaced with Santosh Sivan, collaborating with Lingusamy for the first time.^[16] The film's editing was reported to be handled by Anthony while Rajeevan was recruited as the art director. Brinda Sarathy was confirmed to be the dialogue writer for the film.^[17]

Casting[edit]

In early November 2013, Manoj Bajpai was reported to be playing the film's antagonist while Vidyut Jamwal would also appear in a prominent role.^[18]Dalip Tahil was signed on for the role of a small, but powerful don in the film.^[19] In January 2014, actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu was added to the cast.^[20] Comedian Vivek was approached to play a role in the film,^[21] but could not take up the offer as a result of date clashes with Vai Raja Vai.^[22] Instead in March 2014, another comedian Soori was signed.^[23]Sana Khan was approached to do a special number in the film but she declined the offer as she wanted to promote her Bollywood film Jai Ho (2014).^[24] Actress Maryam Zakaria was chosen to do an item number in the film.^[25]Chitrangada Singh was chosen for another item number after discussions to have Sonakshi Sinha^[26] and later, Kareena Kapoor, in the song were unsuccessful.^[27]

Filming[edit]

In mid-October 2013, a test shoot occurred with Suriya and Malavika Rampradeep, a Bharatanatyam dancer, with the Red Dragon 6K Digital camera along with a high zoom lens.^[28] It was reported that it was the first film in the world to be shot with the camera.^[29] The technology had not even been used in Hollywood films, according to the makers.^[30] Suriya was said to possess two different appearances for filming, starting with a raw and jagged look,^[17] whereas, his other look was not yet revealed and that it was kept as a surprise for his fans in the movie.^[31] Filming started on 20 November 2013 in Mumbai.^[32] A few days before it began, Suriya completed a photo-shoot of the film which was done by still photographer Venkatram.^[33] The lead actors were shooting in Mumbai, but came back to Chennai before the one-month schedule.^[34] In December 2013 the intro song was filmed with Suriya, Vidyut Jamwal and Maryam Zakaria.^[25] The song was shot in a set, worth ₹80 lakh (US$120,000), that had been erected in Borivali in Mumbai.^[35] The first schedule was wrapped in early January 2014.^[36] In early February 2014, the crew was shooting for a song sequence in Panchgani.^[37][38] The third schedule started on 5 March 2014 in Mumbai.^[39] An item number featuring Manoj Bajpai and Chitrangada Singh was shot in March 2014.^[26] The song written by Na. Muthukumar was shot in June 2014 at the Morjim and Miramar beaches of Goa during the final schedule of 10 days.^[40]

While shooting for the film in Goa, Suriya injured his knee during a stunt sequence. Lingusamy stated that the actor suffered a minor ligament tear when a fighter who weighed about 120 kg fell from a height on his leg. The entire unit panicked when the incident happened but the actor wasn't fluttered. The director clarified that Suriya would be fit and fine soon and that he took a short break from shooting.^[41][42]

Soundtrack[edit]

The soundtrack and the score for the film were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, making Anjaan the fourth collaboration between the composer and director Lingusamy. The soundtrack album, released on 23 July 2014 to positive reviews, features five tracks, written by four lyricists. The male portion of one of the songs, 'Ek Do Theen', was sung by Suriya and became his first attempt at playback singing.^[43]

Release[edit]

The television rights were sold to Sun TV for ₹16 crore (US$2.3 million).^[44]Anjaan reportedly set a record for pre-release business of Tamil films as it made around ₹87 crore (US$13 million) from its distribution, satellite and music rights.^[45]

After first day show Some of Samantha Ruth Prabhu's Bikini Scenes was deleted.

Promotion and marketing[edit]

The first look posters of the film were released on 1 May 2014.^[46] The teaser of the film was launched along with the teaser of Kamal Hassan's Uttama Villain during the 8th Vijay Awards held on 6 July 2014 and was simultaneously uploaded to YouTube.^[47] The teaser received positive response^[48] and crossed 3 million views.^[49]Indiaglitz in its review of the teaser said, 'One could see the monotony which features in all the gangster flicks, but that has been easily shadowed by the power packed cast and crew'.^[50] The official trailer of the film was released on 8 August 2014 and aired on Sun Music.^[51][52][53] The trailer too received positive response^[54] and also crossed 1 million views.^[55]Behindwoods wrote in its trailer review, 'Lingusamy is eyeing another blockbuster here.'^[56]Indiaglitz in its review, summarised, 'Overall, the trailer lives up to the expectation and it is up to the movie now.'^[57] The video clip of the track 'Ek Do Theen', featuring Suriya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu was released on YouTube on 11 August 2014.^[58]

The official game titled Anjaan Race Wars was developed by Vroovy, a joint venture between Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and Gameshastra, who had previously developed and released the official movie games of Kochadaiiyaan (2014). It released on 28 July 2014.^[59] The game play revolved around Suriya chasing the goons in a car. The features of the game included two types of AI – One of them shooting and the other ones try to run away, 5 different cars, including Hummer, featured in the game. Power ups included Nitro, Fuel, Ammo, Instant repair and Shield, while the weapons included Pistol and Shotgun. The game is available on Android and iOS operating systems.^[60]

To counter unauthorized copying, the owners decided that the film would release only through digital screens and no physical print was allowed for screening it anywhere. Since the film was shot with 6K resolution physical prints offered no additional quality anyway. The makers wanted only digital projection of Anjaan enabling its makers to easily find the sources of leaks through identifying codes.^[61][62] As a result of this initiative, Anjaan became the first Indian film which had a 100% digital release.^[63]

Lingusamy and Suriya went to promote the film in Kochi.^[64] Two days before the film's release, Samantha and Lingusamy promoted the film at The Forum Vijaya Mall in Chennai.^[65] The entire crew of the film including Suriya, Vidyut Jamwal, Lingusamy, Brinda Sarathy and Yuvan Shankar Raja attended the premiere of the film at Kuala Lumpur.^[66][67]

Reception[edit]

Critical reception[edit]

Anjaan opened to negative reviews from critics, with praise directed towards Suriya's performance and the background score, and criticism towards the length of the film, the placement of songs, the screenplay and the plot.^[68]Deccan Chronicle rated 3.5 out of 5 and said 'It's Suriya's show all the way.'^[69]Sify rated 3 out of 5 and wrote, 'On the whole, Anjaan is for those who seek unabashed entertainment and relish masala films.'^[70] M. Suganth of The Times of India gave 2 out of 5 and wrote, 'When a film announces loud and clear, all that it wants to do is be in service of its hero, and make him as larger than life as possible, we accept it and all that we expect from it is to entertain us. But when it takes almost three hours to narrate its story with predictable twists and underwritten characters in a non-engaging fashion.'^[71]IANS wrote, 'It is high time Lingusamy, who is reluctant to change, accepts the fact that age-old formula doesn't work anymore.', and rated the movie 3 out of 5.^[72] Indiaglitz wrote, 'A commercial entertainer that might not go beyond Suriya's fan base!', and gave the movie 2.5 out of 5 stars.^[73] Behindwoods rated the movie 2 out of 5 and concluded, 'Suriya and Anjaan, [is] let down by the screenplay!'.^[74] Ramchander of OneIndia gave 2.5 out of 5 and wrote, 'Surya's Anjaan is lengthy and it is just an average movie in the end.'^[75]

Box office[edit]

Anjaan collected ₹15.3 crore (US$2.2 million) from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka regions on its first day, where the Telugu version Sikandar collected ₹4.1 crore (US$590,000) on its first day.^[76]Anjaan also collected ₹30 crore (US$4.3 million) on its opening weekend worldwide, with its Telugu version contributing ₹9 crore (US$1.3 million) from Ap-Nizam centres, which provided a worldwide distribution share of ₹23 crore.^[77]International Business Times described the film's financial performance as below average.^[78]

References[edit]

1. ^'UTV to co-produce Suriya's upcoming 'Anjaan''. Hindustan Times. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
2. ^''Anjaan' from 14th August itself'. Behindwoods. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
3. ^''Anjaan' censor details..'Indiaglitz. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
4. ^'Suriya's upcoming film is titled 'Anjaan''. The Times of India. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
5. ^'Suriya in a deadly dual role in 'Anjaan' it was remade in bangladdsehi bangla as captain khan in 20018it'. Sify. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
6. ^'Samantha's sexy makeover a hit online'. The Times of India. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
7. ^'Remakes Don't Suggest Creative Bankruptcy'. Box Office India. 15 March 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
8. ^'Shotcuts: Red is ready'. The Hindu. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
9. ^https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-surya's-anjaan-fails-miserably-south/20140818.htm
10. ^'Suriya's next film with director Lingusamy!'. The Times of India. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
11. ^'Suriya to work with Gautham, Lingusamy simultaneously'. The Hindu. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
12. ^'Suriya drops Gautham Menon's 'Dhruva Natchathiram''. Zee News. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
13. ^'Suriya & Lingusamy complete photo shoot!'. Sify. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
14. ^''Anjaan' is the title of Suriya`s next film'. Sify. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
15. ^'Vijay in Suriya-Lingusamy project'. The Times of India. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
16. ^'Santosh Sivan signs up for Suriya film'. Sify. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
17. ^ ^ab'Suriya-Lingusamy film to go on floors'. The Times of India. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
18. ^'Manoj, Vidyut in Suriya's next with Lingusamy'. The Times of India. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
19. ^'Dalip Tahil to play a don in Suriya's film'. The Times of India. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
20. ^'Samantha happy with focused 'Anjaan' team'. Business Standard. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
21. ^'Vivekh teams up with Suriya and Lingusamy'. The Times of India. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
22. ^'Vivekh reveals how he got Ajith flick'. The Times of India. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
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24. ^'Sana gives Suriya-Lingusamy film a miss to focus on Salman's B'wood project'. The Times of India. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
25. ^ ^ab'I would love to act with Suriya: Maryam Zakaria'. The Times of India. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
26. ^ ^ab'Chitrangada does an item song in Suriya’s film'. The Times of India. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
27. ^'Kareena: I don't know who Suriya is'. Rediff. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
28. ^'Santosh Sivan gets experimental'. The Times of India. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
29. ^'Suriya, Lingusamy & Santosh Sivan to create history'. Sify. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
30. ^'Suriya-Lingusamy project to create history'. Behindwoods. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
31. ^'Photo: Surya's Stylish Avatars In 'Anjaan'. OneIndia. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
32. ^'Suriya's untitled film starts in Mumbai'. Sify. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
33. ^'Photo shoot of Suriya's next wrapped up'. The Times of India. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
34. ^'Samantha hits back at her detractors!'. Sify. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
35. ^'Suriya shoots intro song in Mumbai!'. The Times of India. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
36. ^'Suriya-Lingusamy first schedule wrapped'. The Times of India. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
37. ^'Suriya's Sivaji connect'. The Times of India. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
38. ^'Samantha completes 'Anjaan' song'. The Times of India. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
39. ^''Anjaan' third schedule begins in Mumbai'. The Times of India. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
40. ^'Anjaan' team has a blast in Goa'. The Times of India. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
41. ^'When a fighter weighing 120 kgs fell on 'Anjaan' Suriya'. Behindwoods. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
42. ^'Suriya injured on the sets of 'Anjaan'?'. Deccan Chronicle. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
43. ^'A musical treat for Suriya fans'. The Hindu. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
44. ^Features, Express. (1 May 2014) 'Sun TV grabs 'Anjaan' TV rights'. Newindianexpress.com. Retrieved on 11 June 2015.
45. ^'What Are Prices Of Surya's 'Sikandar' Distribution, Satellite Rights?'. OneIndia. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
46. ^'Stylish' Suriya Rocks in 'Anjaan' First Looks; Film's Teaser Trailer to Release Soon'. IBTimes. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
47. ^'Teasers of Kamal Haasan's 'Uttama Villain' and Suriya's 'Anjaan' to be Released at Vijay Awards'. IBTimes. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
48. ^'Anjaan' teaser gets massive response'. IBTimes. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
49. ^'Anjaan' teaser reacher 1 million views'. The Times of India. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
50. ^'Anjaan' Teaser Review'. Indiaglitz. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
51. ^'Suriya's 'Anjaan' trailer tomorrow'. The Times of India. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
52. ^'Get Ready For Surya's 'Anjaan' New Trailer'. OneIndia. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
53. ^'Sun Music airs 'Anjaan' trailer launch'. The Times of India. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
54. ^'Suriya's 'Anjaan' Trailer Released, Raises Audience Expectations'. IBTimes. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
55. ^'Suriya's 'Anjaan' Trailer Crosses 10 Lakh Hits'. IBTimes. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
56. ^'Lingusamy and Suriya are eyeing a blockbuster here ..'. Behindwoods. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
57. ^'Anjaan' – Trailer review'. Indiaglitz. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
58. ^'ANJAAN' – EK DO TEEN SONG VIDEO'. Behindwoods. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
59. ^'Anjaan' becomes Immortal!'. Behindwoods. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
60. ^'Anjaan' game launched in Chennai'. The Times of India. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
61. ^'Team 'Anjaan' brings about a revolution in South India'. Behindwoods. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
62. ^'Anjaan' biggest release for Suriya'. The Hindu. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
63. ^'Anjaan' goes 100% digital, release on Aug 15th'. Sify. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
64. ^'Kochi welcomes Suriya'. Indiaglitz. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
65. ^'Anjaan' at The Forum'. Chennaionline. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
66. ^'Suriya, Vidyut and Yuvan leave for..'. Behindwoods. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
67. ^'Anjaan' team to celebrate premiere in Malaysia'. The Times of India. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
68. ^''Anjaan' Movie Review Roundup: Fails to Live up to Expectations'. IBTimes. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
69. ^'Movie Review 'Anjaan'.'Deccan Chronicle'.15 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
70. ^'Anjaan'. Sify. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
71. ^'Anjaan'. The Times of India. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
72. ^'Anjaan' fails to impress (Tamil Movie Review)'. IANS. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
73. ^'Anjaan Review – Anjaan – Style, Guns, Bromance & Mumbai'. Indiaglitz. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
74. ^'ANJAAN MOVIE REVIEW'. Behindwoods. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
75. ^'Anjaan Movie Review'. OneIndia. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
76. ^'Anjaan First day collections'. One India Retrieved 16 August 2014.
77. ^'Anjaan Opening Weekend Collection'. Andhraboxoffice. Retrieved 18 August 2014.^{[permanent dead link]}
78. ^Box Office Collection: 'Anjaan' Declared Average; 'Irumbu Kuthirai' Gets Decent Opening. Ibtimes.co.in (1 September 2014). Retrieved on 2017-10-25.

External links[edit]

• Anjaan on IMDb

Kumiko Kōda (神田 來未子Kōda Kumiko, born November 13, 1982), known professionally as Koda Kumi (倖田 來未Kōda Kumi), is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. After debuting with the single 'Take Back' in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, 'Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba', were used as themes for the video game Final Fantasy X-2.^[1][2] Her popularity grew with the release of her fourth studio albumSecret (2005), her sixteenth single 'Butterfly' (2005), and her first greatest hits album Best: First Things (2005), reaching the number-three, number-two, and number-one spots respectively.^[3][4][5]

Though her early releases presented a conservative, quiet image, since as early as 2003 Koda has adopted a sexier and more provocative style.^[6] Because of this image, she has become a fashion leader among young women, setting trends such as the ero-kakkoii style.^[7] In 2006 and 2007, Oricon named Koda as the top selling artist of the year.^{[fn 1]}

• 1Life and career
• 2Musical style
• 3Image
• 5Discography

Life and career[edit]

Early life[edit]

Koda was born into a family of musicians. Her grandfather was a Shakuhachi master and her mother was a Koto teacher;^[10] she is the older sister of Misono, current solo artist and former lead singer of Day After Tomorrow. Inspired by her mother, who performed in karaoke bars, Koda, from a young age, had aspirations of becoming a singer.^[10] Her school years were unhappy; she described her junior and high school years as 'obscure times', as she was ridiculed due to her 'fatness', 'shortness', 'ugliness', and other factors related to her appearance.^[11][12][13] During her second year of high school Koda auditioned in Avex’s 'Dream Audition', where she came in second out of 120,000 participants. She was then signed onto the Avex sub-label Rhythm Zone.^[10] Koda's first semi-biographical book, Koda-shiki ('Koda-style') was officially described as 'a story about a girl who was filled with inferiority complex pursuing her way'.^[14]

2000–2004: Early career and image change[edit]

Koda debuted on December 6, 2000, with the single 'Take Back'; it was followed by 'Trust Your Love', 'Color of Soul' (both 2001), and 'So into You' (2002). 'Trust Your Love' and 'Color of Soul' were both Top 30 singles; the former reached number 18 on the chart and became Koda's first Top Twenty single.^[15][16] Using the stage name Koda, Koda recorded 'Take Back' and 'Trust Your Love' in English and released the singles in the United States under Orpheus Records. 'Take Back' peaked at number 18 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart;^[17] 'Trust Your Love' had more success, reaching the top spot on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart.^[18] The single also charted on the Hot Singles Sales chart and Hot Dance Club Play chart, at #19 and #35, respectively.^[19][20] After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Koda recorded the charity single 'The Meaning of Peace' with Korean singer BoA as part of Avex's Song+Nation project to raise funds for charity.^[21][22] In March 2002, Koda released her debut album Affection under Rhythm Zone; it peaked at number 12 on the Oricon album chart.^[23]

After the release of Affection, Koda released three singles. 'Love Across the Ocean', 'Maze' (both 2002), and 'real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba' (2003). 'Love Across the Ocean' and 'Maze' peaked at the number 19 and 25 positions.^[24][25] Koda achieved minor success with 'real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba', which peaked at number 3 after three weeks on the charts.^[26] The songs were used as the opening and ending themes, respectively, of the video game Final Fantasy X-2; in addition, Koda motion-acted the dance moves of one of the characters and voiced the character Lenne in the Japanese version of the game.^[27] She released her second album, Grow into One in March 2003. It debuted at number 11 on the charts,^[28] and peaked at number 8 in the fourth week of its run.^[29]

From then on, Koda continued a string of Top Twenty singles with 'Come with Me', 'Gentle Words' (both 2003), and 'Crazy 4 U' (2004).^[30][31][32] She then released her third album Feel My Mind (February 2004), which debuted at number 7.^[33] Koda also covered the theme song of the anime series Cutie Honey originally by Yoko Maekawa for the 2004 live-action film and Re: Cutie Honey. The song, which shared the same name as the show, was included as a bonus track on the album and became the title track of her eleventh single, 'Love & Honey' (2004), after the album's release. At the end of the year, Koda released two more singles, 'Chase' and 'Kiseki'. Although Koda had always been known for her changing fashions in her music videos, the video of 'Crazy 4 U' marked the beginning of her incorporation of her sexy image into her music videos.^[34]

During her image change, Koda stated her concern about what her parents would think. When they approved and supported her, she chose to keep the style that would become infamous with her name: 'ero-kakkoi'.

2005–2006: Growing popularity[edit]

Koda's first release of 2005 was her fourteenth single, 'Hands' (January 19). Less than a month later, she released her fourth album, Secret. Secret debuted at number 3 and became her first album to debut in the Top Five.^[3] The album was certified double platinum by the RIAJ for selling 521,000 copies total.^[35] Koda then released her fifteenth single, 'Hot Stuff', from the album. Shortly afterwards, Koda released her first live DVD, Secret: First Class Limited Live. In 2006, Oricon reported that Secret: First Class Limited Live had set a new record on the music DVD charts by remaining at the top of the Oricon DVD charts for seven weeks in total.^[36]

Koda released her sixteenth single, 'Butterfly', which debuted at number 2 on the Oricon chart.^[4] 'Butterfly' was followed by 'Flower' and 'Promise/Star'; both peaked at number 4 in the weekly chart.^[37][38] In September, Koda released her first greatest hits album, Best: First Things. The album debuted at number 2 on the chart in its first week but rose to the top the following week, giving Koda her first number-one album.^[5][39]Best: First Things sold over a million copies and was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.^[40]

In December, Koda began the '12 Singles Project' in which for twelve consecutive weeks, she released one single per week (nine of which were labeled as limited editions).^[41][42] The first single of the 12 Singles Project, 'You', debuted at the top of the chart, giving Koda her first number-one single.^[43] Koda then released 'Birthday Eve', 'D.D.D.', and 'Shake It Up' before the end of the year. Koda released the remaining eight singles in the beginning of the new year. The first single was 'Lies', followed by 'Feel', 'Candy', 'No Regret', 'Ima Sugu Hoshii', 'Kamen', 'Wind' and 'Someday/Boys & Girls'. On the same day as she released the last single from the project, she released digitally Koda Kumi Remix Album, which includes remixes of songs from project. 'Feel', the fifth single from the project, debuted atop the charts.^[44] 'You' remained in the Oricon Top Ten during the release of 'Shake It Up' and 'Lies', making Koda the first female artist to have three singles in the Top Ten of the Oricon Weekly Singles chart.^[45] Koda's fashion in this period, in which she wore skin-baring clothes, started the ero-kakkoii trend in Japan.^[46][47] 'Get It On', the thirteenth and last single of the '12 Singles Project',^{[fn 2]} was Koda's first digital single; it was followed by her second greatest hits album, Best: Second Session.^[48] The album featured all twelve singles along with two new tracks and was released in three different formats: CD-only, CD+DVD, and CD+2DVD. Best: Second Session debuted at the top of the chart with 983,000 copies sold in its first week, making Koda the first female artist with the highest greatest hits album debut sales since Hikaru Utada's Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1.^[49] Like Best: First Things, Best: Second Session was certified million by the RIAJ.^[50]

After Best: Second Session, Koda released 'Koi no Tsubomi' which reached number 2 in its debut week with 140,000 copies sold,^[51] and eventually topped 1 million downloads.^[52] This was the highest debut week sales for a female artist in 2006, until Ayumi Hamasaki surpassed it with her single 'Blue Bird'. On July 26, 2006, Koda released her first photobook, Maroc; the book, photographed by Leslie Kee, was tied with her thirty-second single '4 Hot Wave', which was released on the same day.^[53] Koda reclaimed the title of highest debut week sales for a female artist in 2006 with '4 Hot Wave';^[54] which also ranked second behind the KinKi Kids.^[55] '4 Hot Wave' is Koda's nineteenth consecutive single to debut in the Top Ten since 'Kiseki'.^[41] Koda's next single, 'Yume no Uta / Futari de..' (2006), was a musical first for Koda, as she took full creative control over the production of the single and music video; she wrote the lyrics, chose the outfits, and produced the concepts for the videos of both songs.^[56] Koda then recorded a cover of the Bubblegum Brothers' 'Won't Be Long' with label-mates Exile. 'Cherry Girl/Unmei' was the last single Koda released before releasing her fifth album Black Cherry in December. Black Cherry became the first female studio album to stay atop the charts for four weeks since Ayumi Hamasaki's album Duty.^[57] At the end of 2006, Oricon named her the best-selling artist of 2006 with ¥12,702,200,000 profit (approximately $136,465,304), and Yahoo! Japan declared her to be the most-searched female artist and tenth most searched term overall in 2006.^[8][58][59]

2007–2010: Commercial peak and controversy[edit]

On March 14, 2007, Koda released her thirty-fifth single ('But/Aishō'), another greatest hits album (Best: Bounce & Lovers), and a DVD of her second tour Live Tour 2006–2007: Second Session. Her second single of 2007, 'Freaky', reached the top spot on the Oricon, giving Koda her fourth number-one single. Koda performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth in Tokyo on July 7, 2007, and attended AP Bank Fes '07, a conservationist-themed concert, hosted by Kazutoshi Sakurai of Mr. Children on July 15, 2007.^[60][61] At the end of 2007, Koda released two singles, 'Ai no Uta' and 'Last Angel', a collaboration with Korean boy band TVXQ better known as Tohoshinki in Japan. 'Last Angel' was used as the theme song for the Japanese release for Resident Evil: Extinction.^[62] On December 1, she held her first performance at Tokyo Dome for her third nationwide and first arena tour. Koda became the seventh solo female singer to perform at Tokyo Dome with an estimated audience of 45,000 people.^[63] Having sold more than 7.3 billion yen worth of CDs and DVDs, Koda was again the best-selling artist of the year in Oricon's 2007 year-end rankings.^[9]

Koda released her thirty-ninth single 'Anytime' on January 23, 2008; it was followed by her sixth studio album Kingdom, which was released in the same format as her previous album. With a little over 420,000 copies sold in its first week, Kingdom debuted atop the Oricon.^[64] On January 31, Koda hosted All Night Nippon; discussing her manager's recent marriage and plans on having children, Koda remarked that 'When women turn 35, their amniotic fluid goes rotten, so I'd like them to have a child by 35'.^[65] Because of the controversy instigated by the comment, Avex released an apology stating that as a consolation, all promotion of Kingdom would cease.^[66] Additionally, several of Koda's commercial endorsements were placed on hiatus. Koda herself made a public apology on Fuji TV.^{[65][67][68][69]} Despite the controversy, Kingdom remained on top for a second consecutive week.^[70] Two months after her controversial statement, Koda released Live Tour 2007: Black Cherry Tour Special Final in Tokyo Dome, her fourth live DVD. Her fourth nationwide tour Kumi Koda Live Tour 2008: Kingdom commenced on April 12, 2008.^[71]

Koda's fortieth single 'Moon' was released on June 11, 2008. Like 'Freaky', 'Moon' contained four tracks. The single contained 'Moon Crying', used as the theme for Asahi Television dramaPuzzle, and a collaboration track with The Black Eyed Peas' Fergie^[72] Koda again attended Avex's annual summer concert A-Nation '08. She appeared at all eight shows in Japan and performed with other Avex artists such as Every Little Thing, Ai Otsuka, Namie Amuro, Ayumi Hamasaki, TVXQ, and Maki Goto.^[73] In October, Koda released her forty-first single, 'Taboo'. With around 66,000 copies sold in its first week, 'Taboo' debuted at the number-one position and became Koda's fifth single to reach the top.^[74] Koda released her forty-second single 'Stay with Me' on Christmas Eve, which debuted atop of the chart selling 58,000 copies.^[75] Koda's seventh studio album, Trick, was another number-one album for the singer, selling 253,000 in its first week.^[76] The album stayed at the number-one spot for a second week selling 56,000 copies.^[77] Although the album debuted at the number-one position, this was her lowest selling album since her fourth studio album, Secret.^{[fn 3]}

On March 25, Koda released two albums, Out Works & Collaboration Best and Koda Kumi Driving Hit's [sic]. The former is a compilation of collaborations with other artists and the latter is a remix album.^[79]Out Works & Collaboration Best and Koda Kumi Driving Hit's debuted at number 7 and 6 respectively.^[80][81] Koda's forty-third single, 'It's All Love!', was released on March 31, 2009.^[82] The single, a collaboration with her younger sister Misono,^[83] debuted atop the Oricon, making the sisters the first siblings to have a single top the chart in its initial week.^[84] The second song from the single, 'Faraway', was used as the theme song for the manga-based movie Subaru.^[82] On July 8, 2009, Koda released her forty-fourth single, '3 Splash'.^[85] The single debuted at number 2 on the charts making it Koda's thirty-third Top 10 single.^[86] Following the release of '3 Splash' was her forty-fifth single, 'Alive/Physical Thing', which took the number-one spot on the single charts.^[87]

2010–2011: Tenth anniversary[edit]

On January 20, 2010, Koda released a new single titled, 'Can We Go Back', which is a cover of a bonus track on Kelly Clarkson's 2009 album All I Ever Wanted.^[88] On February 3, 2010, Koda released a new best album, Best: Third Universe, and her eighth studio album, Universe, which are packaged together under the name of Best: Third Universe/Universe.^[89] On July 7, 2010, she released her 47th single, 'Gossip Candy',^[90] which peaked at number 4 on the Oricon chart. On September 22, 2010, she released her 48th single 'Suki de, Suki de, Suki de./Anata Dake ga'^[91], two ballads and a re-recorded version of 'Walk'. The DVD release of her tour 'Kumi Koda Live Tour Universe' was released on October 6, 2010. A week later Koda released her first cover-album Eternity: Love & Songs, on which she covers songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Koda didn't release a number-one single in 2010, her first time since 2004 not to do so. On December 5, 2010, Koda held a concert celebrating her 10th Anniversary named 'Fantasia', where she performed a selection of songs from all over her career. The concert was filmed for DVD release and held at Tokyo Dome.

2011–2012: Dejavu, Japonesque, marriage and motherhood[edit]

On February 2, 2011, her 49th single 'Pop Diva' was released and on February 23, 2011, Koda released 'Eternity -Love & Songs- at Billboard Live' an audio DVD of her performance at Billboard Live Tokyo in October 2010, where she performed many songs from her Eternity: Love & Songs cover album. She released her ninth studio album named Dejavu on March 2, 2011. Koda was planning to release Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 3 in March, but due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the date was pushed back to May 4.

Koda is featured in the Far East Movement song 'Make It Bump', which was only released on the Japanese edition of their album Free Wired. On May 18, 2011, Koda released the DVD of her 'Fantasia' concert entitled 'Kumi Koda 10th Anniversary: Fantasia in Tokyo Dome'.^[92] Alongside DVD, the concert was also released in Blu-ray format. Her previous concerts were also re-released in Blu-ray format.^[93] Koda's 50th single was released August 17, 2011. The single is titled '4 Times' and includes four songs as well as four music videos to accompany them (Such as her previous 2006 summer single, '4 Hot Wave'). Since it is Koda's 50th single, it was released in two different special limited edition commemorative versions. One comes with 50 Kumi Koda 50th Anniversary post cards and the other with a special digital camera. Immediately after the release of '4 Times', it was posted on her official website that her 51st single, 'Ai o Tomenaide' was to be released September 21, 2011. The song charted at number 4 on the Oricon charts. On November 29, Koda became the only Japanese star to perform at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. On November 30, 2011, her 52nd single, 'Love Me Back', was released, debuting at number 5 on the Oricon charts.On December 7, 2011, Koda's tenth album was announced for release on January 25, 2012. The album is entitled Japonesque and comes in four different types: CD, CD+DVD, the DVD containing music videos, a limited edition featuring a B4-size, 32-page booklet and a CD+2DVD edition which would features additional live content alongside the music videos.^[94]

On August 1, 2012, Koda released a remix album called Beach Mix, which included a new song and a new music video, titled 'Whatchu Waitin' On?' This was the first release of any content since Koda gave birth. It was at this time that Koda announced a nationwide arena tour of Japan in 2014 for the album Japonesque. It was announced in August that 'Go to the Top' would be released as Koda's 53rd on October 24, 2012. The single went to number 1 on the Oricon charts, her first in three years to do so. Her 54th single 'Koishikute' was originally set for December 5, 2012, but was pushed back to December 26, 2012. However, it had been released on iTunes Japan the original date; and subsequently peaked at #7 on the Oricon chart when the physical single was finally released.^[95]

2013–2016: Bon Voyage and Walk of My Life[edit]

In February 2013, Koda released her 2nd cover album Color the Cover fronted by a somewhat controversial cover of late rock-singer Hide's hit 'Pink Spider'; as well as other popular hits such as Kome Kome Club's 'Shake Hip!' and Kenji Ozawa's 'Lovely'. The album peaked at #3 on the Oricon chart and charted for 17 weeks. Furthermore, in March, continuing the Driving Hit's series, Koda released her 7th remix album Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 5.

In March, Koda embarked on a Japan-wide arena tour for the album Japonesque.

Following the release of two new singles, 'Summer Trip' in July 2013 and 'Dreaming Now!' in November of the same year, Koda announced her 11th studio album, titled Bon Voyage which was released on February 26, 2014. This was immediately followed by the release of the 6th entry in the Driving Hit's series, her 8th remix album Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 6.

Soon thereafter, Koda embarked on the Bon Voyage Hall Tour, a series of concerts held throughout Japan to help promote the album. Free license key for avast antivirus for 1 year.

On August 6, Koda released her yearly summer single called 'Hotel'.

In November of the same year, Koda became the first singer in the world to use the Oculus Rift technology to shoot the music video for her first digital single 'Dance in the Rain', which coincided with the start of the 15th anniversary celebration since her debut as a singer, nicknamed 'KXVK'.This was followed by a special concert held on December 6 at STUDIO COAST, called the 'Koda Kumi 15th Anniversary First Class 2nd Limited Live' during which she performed 62 of her songs.

As part of her 15th anniversary celebration, Koda's 12th album, called Walk of My Life was released on March 18, 2015, followed by a Japan-wide Walk of My Life 2015 Tour supported by Mercedes-Benz. The album reached the number 1 position on the Oricon charts on its release day becoming Koda's 8th studio album to achieve this feat and continuing her trend of managing to hit the number 1 spot with her studio albums for the 8th time in a row since Black Cherry. Kumi also embarked on a tour in 2016 which celebrated her 15th anniversary in the music industry

2017–Present: W FACE, AND and DNA[edit]

On March 8, 2017, Kumi released her thirteenth album, as well as her first double album 'W FACE ~inside~' and 'W FACE ~outside~'. Both albums topped the Oricon Weekly Charts at number one and number two. She then became the second female artist in forty-years to hold the top two positions on the Oricon Album Chart, after Ayumi Hamasaki who released A BEST 2 in 2007.^[96] In July 2017, Kumi announced her 60th single to be released in August 2017. It will be a limited release and only sold at concert venues and the Japanese music site, mu-mo. The single is the first of three planned singles released for the year: with her 61st single released in October and her 62nd single released in December.

On August 2, 2017, Kumi released her 61st single 'LIT' and on October 4, 2017 released her 62nd single 'HUSH'. After the release of 'Never Enough' in December, she released her fourteenth studio album AND on February 28, 2018.^[97] The album would be one of two albums planned for the year, with the second album, titled DNA, set to be released in August.^[98] The future album currently has a special promotional site via Rhythm Zone's official site for the artist.^[99]

Musical style[edit]

Koda's musical style is mainly Japanese Urban and R&B music; however, it was only after Koda signed to Rhythm Zone that Japanese Urban and R&B became her main musical styles.^[10] But throughout her career her musical style has spanned additional styles such as rock, hip-hop, electropop and dance.^{[10][100][101][102][103]}

Themes[edit]

Koda has even explored the themes of sexuality and taboos in her lyrics. While listening to the music of 'But', the first thing that came to Koda's mind was homosexuality.^[104][105] Regarding the theme of homosexuality, Koda said in an interview: 'I'm the type of person who thinks that [in a relationship] it doesn't matter what sex the other person is. No matter who they are, it doesn't change the 'I love this person' feeling, does it?'^{[fn 4]} The video for 'Taboo' portrayed homosexuality and other 'taboo' subjects to deliver Koda's message of 'there really is no such thing as a taboo'.^[106] She also said of 'Taboo's themes, 'Instead of trying stuff out and experiencing it, we put up a 'No' sign, we never try to break the taboos' and 'Sometimes we shouldn't retreat into safety, we should have courage to do things. Those are the feelings kin the song.'^[107] Such themes are also present in her music videos: she has incorporated her 'sexy' image into her videos since 'Crazy 4 U' through sexually charged dances and skin-baring outfits. The video of 'Ima Sugu Hoshii' featured two males in sexual positions, and the video of 'Juicy', which also featured sexual posturing, was censored in Taiwan.^[108][109]

Lyrics and composition[edit]

Kumki Movie Songs Online

Since the start of her career Koda has been writing the lyrics to her songs.^{[fn 5]} On her second studio album, Grow into One, Koda wasn't as much involved with the writing of the lyrics, as only four songs were written by her. Koda's control over the writing of the lyrics grew with her thirty-third single 'Yume no Uta / Futari de.. '. The single was originally intended to be a single song about 'happy love', however Koda felt the melody had represented both the elements of happiness and sadness. She wrote the lyrics for both songs to represent the sadness and the happiness. In doing so Koda ended up creating two songs with the same melody. She remarked, 'It was a first time experiment for me, but I was able to convey how happiness and sadness are two sides of the same coin.'^{[56][fn 6]} Koda lists Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, and Beyoncé Knowles as her inspirations; she has also stated that when she produces, she 'is like a different person'; thus, she refers to herself in the third person and 'looks at [herself] objectively'.^[110]

Koda was not as involved concerning the composition of her songs. 'Milk Tea' (ミルクティーMiruku Tii), from Black Cherry, marked the first time she composed a song.^[111] Her involvement in the composition stage grew during the production of her seventh studio album Trick.^{[fn 7]}

Image[edit]

Awards[edit]

Koda won her first award at the 47th Japan Record Awards for Butterfly on January 1, 2006,^[112] and was awarded 'Triple Crown' at the Japan Gold Disc Awards on March 10, 2006, for pocketing three awards: 'Pop Artist of the Year', 'Pop Album of the Year', and 'Music Video of the Year'.^[113] She continued to win more awards for this song; on May 27, 2006, the MTV VMAJ's awarded Koda with 'Best Female Video' and 'Best Video of the Year' for 'Butterfly', and 'buzzASIA from Japan' for 'Trust You', a track from her album Secret.^[114] Later in 2006, her song 'Yume no Uta' from her 33rd single, 'Yume no Uta / Futari de..', garnered Koda more awards. She was a Grand Prix winner at the 39th Japan Usen Grand Prize.^[115]

On May 26, 2007, Koda won three awards from MTV Video Music Awards Japan for the second year in a row. 'Yume No Uta' was nominated in three categories and won 'Best Female Video and 'Best Video of the Year'. Koda herself won a special award known as 'Best Stylish Artist Award'.^[116] At the 2007 Best Hit Kayōsai Koda's 'Ai no Uta' earned her the Grand Prix in the pop category, also winning one of the golden awards for the 49th Nihon Record Taishō.^[117][118]

Koda, while having success on Oricon charts with physical CD sales, maintains success on online music sales as well. It is reported that twenty-two of her music videos chart the top 100 most downloaded videos, with four of her videos dominating the top five, and having 'Koi no Tsubomi' top the Overall Downloads Chart, which thirteen of her other songs chart.^[119][120]She has sold more than 15 million records in Japan.

Koda won the 'Hottest Asian Artist' at the 13th Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) in 2011.^[121]

Koda and director Mika Ninagawa won the 'Music Short Excellence Award, Cinematic Award' for 'Pink Spider' at the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2013 (abbreviation: SSFF &ASIA).

Fashion[edit]

Koda has been known for her 'sexy' image. In 2003, she started a cleavage-baring trend when she appeared in advertisements wearing a metallic bra.^[122] Her 2004 work with the anime movie Cutie Honey continued this image,^[123] and in 2005, she began the 'ero kawaii' or 'ero-kakkoii' trend in Japan and was partially responsible for making the wearing of lingerie in public more acceptable in Japan.^[7][124] Koda's image has inspired other artists: Korean singer Ayumi Lee and American Japanese expatriate model-singer Leah Dizon, both known for their use of sexuality in the image, are inspired in part by Koda.^[125] Singaporean newspaper The New Paper suggested that her sexy image was responsible for her sales—she outsold 'reigning J-pop queen' Ayumi Hamasaki in 2006 and 2007.^[126][127] In 2006, Koda began winning awards for being a new trendsetter in Japan, including the 'Best Jeanist Award' on September 4, 2006,^[128] and the title of 'Nail Queen' for her nail art on November 21, 2006, by Japan Nail Expo.^[129][130]

In 2006, when the popularity of Japanese singers was declining in Singapore due to the rising popularity of the Korean Wave, Koda's sexy image garnered her popularity in the region and renewed interest in J-pop.^[131] James Kang, marketing director for Warner Music in Asia, noted that Koda's sexy image is popular not only with men but also with women, even 'Japanese aunties', because she uses her image to 'make a feminist statement [..] She's constantly telling women to believe in themselves and do what they want to do'.^[125] In 2007, it was proposed that the term 'ero-kakkoii' be added to the Japanese Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words.^[132]

Personal life[edit]

In August 2007, it was rumored that Koda was dating SMAP leader Masahiro Nakai.^[133] The media questioned the artists' agencies on the matter; neither agency had confirmed or denied the rumors.^[134][135] In September, during a variety show that Nakai was a semi-regular on, socialiteDewi Sukarno was discussing her ideal boyfriend and mentioned that Nakai and Koda were dating.^[136] It was also rumored that the two would get married before Koda's 25th birthday.^[136] In the December issue of Josei Seven, it was 'confirmed' that the two were dating.^[137]

The couple has been dubbed as the 'national couple', a nickname last used in the early 1960s when actor Akira Kobayashi married enka singer Hibari Misora.^[136] However, some have denied that the relationship is real, claiming that Johnny Kitagawa orchestrated the relationship in order to move SMAP to the Avex label; websites have claimed that Koda is just a cover up for Nakai's real girlfriend.^[136]

On December 12, 2011, these rumours were finally proven false, as it was announced through Kumi Koda's official site that she was engaged to Kenji03 from Back-On.^[138] Kumi then announced on December 16 that she was eight weeks pregnant;^[139] this was discovered after returning from the Mnet Asian Music Awards in Singapore. The two married on December 22, and Koda gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, on July 17, 2012.^[140][141]

Discography[edit]

Filmography[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• 2006: Maroc Koda Kumi Photobook (Maroc 倖田来未写真集)ISBN978-4-8470-2942-4 - photography by Leslie Kee^[142]
  deluxe edition (2007), ISBN978-4-8470-2953-0^{[citation needed]}
• 2006: Koda-Shiki Koda Kumi Style Book (倖田式 Kumi Koda Style book)ISBN978-4838717569^[14]
• 2009: Koda Kumi Live Tour 2009 Behind of Trick Live Book (Koda Kumi Live Tour 2009 TRICK裏 倖田来未ライブブック)ISBN978-4847042072^[143]
• 2010: BrazilISBN978-4847043314 - photography by Leslie Kee, released for 10th anniversary, second photo book^[144]
  deluxe edition (2011), ISBN978-4847043321^[145]
• 2011: Koda RekiISBN978-4062167628 - lifestyle book^[146][147]
• 2013: Koda Kumi Parparazzi!!ISBN978-4800203953^[148][149]

Footnotes[edit]

1. ^She made ¥12,702,200,000 in profits, in 2006^[8] approximately $ 136,465,304 and ¥7.3 Billion in 2007^[9]
2. ^Although 'Get It On' is the thirteenth single from the project, the cover art is marked with 00.
3. ^In its first week Secret sold 186,377 copies.^[78]
4. ^Original text from Oricon Style: 私は相手が異性であろうと同性であろうと関係ないと思うタイプなんです。相手が誰であろうと“人を愛する気持ち”に変わりはないでしょ？^[104]
5. ^Some of the lyrics are either co-written or written by others.
6. ^Original text: 「初めての試みでしたが、幸せと悲しみが表裏一体だってことが表現できた」
7. ^Koda co-composed 'Bling Bling Bling', 'Just the Way You Are', 'That Ain't Cool' and 'This Is Not a Love Song'.

References[edit]

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External links[edit]

• Official website(in Japanese)
• Koda Kumi's channel on YouTube