The 90s opened up many doors to the pop genre, bringing us many new and talented faces. Britney Spears came out from the shadows and has become one of the most powerful pop stars to date. Christina Aguilera shot her debut out late in the decade, but she proved herself as being one of the best singers in history. These were also the days of iconic pop groups such as, Destiny’s Child, TLC, and the boy band that redefined the genre, The Backstreet Boys. As all these groups were emerging and taking the world by storm, not many solo pop artists were able to compete and intervene. However, a 22-year-old Kyoto girl, Kaori Asada, showed that even though she mostly stayed within Japanese borders, she was still able to capture the masses with great success.
Kaori Asada debuted as the pop singer, Bonnie Pink in 1995, with her single “Orenji.” The song was an instant hit, but it was unlike anything the pop genre had seen before. It was jazzy, but at the same time, incorporated the blues. It came through with that definitive pop vocalizations, but at times broke through with a strong rock tone. No one describes it better than Bonnie Pink herself. In the booklet from her debut album Blue Jam, she describes the sound she was going for as a “mixture of bitter honey, blues music, momentary silence, irresistible madness, teardrops, sourgrapes, hopeful bombs, big big love, and a few green apples.” At first this seems like a strange conception, but it truly is beautifully stated and well presented.
Bonnie Pink went on to release three incredibly successful albums in the 90s, but after these releases, she slowly started to lose popularity, until 2007 when her ninth studio album, Thinking Out Loud was released. Its single “A Perfect Sky” (released in 2006) brought her back into the spot light, and she has been staying at the top ever since. Unfortunately, she released some pretty damn good material in the early 2000s, that wasn’t picked up on by the charts. It wasn’t until her greatest hits album, Every Single Day, was released in 2006 that people began to revisit her older material. One of the songs featured on this greatest hits album is the song “Last Kiss.”
“Last Kiss” was the second single off of Bonnie Pink’s seventh studio album, Even So. There are so many reasons why I absolutely love this song and I’ll try my hardest to list them all for you. The song uses a heavy amount of string instruments which, when used in pop songs, can almost come off as being a crutch for the singer; letting the strings lead their singing for them. Fortunately, the string section on “Last Kiss” does nothing but give a perfect tone and environment for the song. The way the violins swell and release to give a perfect intense silence before each refrain is enough to give you the chills.
But, what makes it even better is the way Bonnie Pink solely delivers the refrain entrance. This girl needs no help driving her vocals. She is by far one of the greatest female vocalists to come out of that decade. It’s almost as if she isn’t capable of screwing up. Every dip, every sway, any inflection in her vocal patterns at all, comes off as perfectly executed.
Another aspect of the song that I really love is the way she intertwines the vibraphone. Wherever there seems to be a good place for movement in the bass, with the exception of the intro, the vibraphone does the work. This can be very subtle at times, but I see it as absolutely essential. If the bass were to come forth and play a moving part, it would break the line and become too intense for the environment set by the strings section. By using the vibraphone, you still get that less treble filled tone but with just a hair more reverb, which fits the song perfectly.
If you feel like listening to something a bit more relaxing than the past couple genres I’ve talked about this month, than Bonnie Pink is right for you. She’s got those beautiful compositions and vocals with just a hint of unique twist. So if you are looking for something a little different from your everyday American pop, be sure to give Bonnie Pink a try.
Here's the "Last Kiss" music video on YouTube:
Also, here's a cool duet version of Bonnie Pink's first single "Orenji," along with with an awesome live performance of "Last Kiss." Enjoy!
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