After 10 years, she became one of the best-selling artists of the decade and one of the most popular and influential artists in Japan.
Koda officially debuted with the single TAKE BACK in December 2000.
In 2002, after the release of several singles, she released her first studio album affection, which charted at #12.
Some success came her way when she was asked to do the main songs for the video game, "Final Fantasy X-2", with real Emotion/1000の言葉 (1000 words), Koda also provided the voice for the character Lenne in the Japanese version of the game as well as the character, "Yuna's", opening sequence dance via motion capture. The single proved to be a success, debuting at #3 and becoming Koda's first release to enter the top ten. It sold 282,734 copies and became the #24th highest-selling single of 2003. A few weeks later, Koda released her second studio album, grow into one, which debuting at #9.
In 2004, Koda released three more singles before the release of her 3rd studio album, feel my mind which again showed Koda's determinated progress, charting at #7.
From here on, Koda's success increased and her popularity rose with the release of her 11th single, a cover of 1970's anime opening, キューティーハニー, debuted at #4. This single also marked the start of Koda's to be trademark, new style: "ero-kakoii" (or "ero-Kawaii") which roughly translates as: "sexy-cool" or "sexy-cute". Koda's fourth album secret was released in February 2005. The album debuted #3 with 505,600 copie sold, making it the #22 album of 2005.
With Koda's popularity reaching new heights, she held her first live show, "secret ~FIRST CLASS LIMITED LIVE~", (later becoming one of the top 10 selling DVDs in Japan) and released her sixteenth single, Butterfly. Debuting at #2, it became her highest charting single of her career to date and was very well received by the Japanese public. Following this success, she released her first best-of compilation, BEST ~first things~. This is the album which is said to have skyrocketed her career, reaching #1 on the weekly charts and selling 1,207,793 copies, making it the #6 album of the year and the highest selling female album of 2005.
In December 2005, Koda Kumi began her 12 Singles Project in which she released one single each week for twelve consecutive weeks. The first single, you, became Koda's first ever #1 single. Each of the remaining singles from the project charted in the top five of the weekly singles chart. The success of the project was celebrated with the release of Koda's second best-of compilation album BEST ~second session~ which sold over a million copies in just over a week. It became the #2 album of 2006 with 1,768,628 copies sold. During this time, Kumi also won the 47th Nihon Record Taishō (best award prize in Japan) with Butterfly.
Her 30th single, 恋のつぼみ, the first single to be released since the 12 singles project, was released in May 2006 and debuted at #2 with 140,000 copies sold. The track became one of the most downloaded single of the year, with more than 2 millions legal downloads in just a few weeks. After the release of several successful singles, including 4 hot wave (a maxi summer single) and 夢のうた, which had become her #1 and #2 best selling singles with more than 300,000 copies sold, Koda released her fifth studio album, Black Cherry which remained at the #1 position for four weeks, selling more than 1 million copies. By the end of 2006, both BEST ~first things~ & BEST ~second session~ had nearly sold two million copies. Koda Kumi became the highest selling female artist of the year.
In 2007, Koda Kumi released several singles including 愛のうた, which became one of the most sung songs in Karaoke and one of the biggest hits from Koda’s discography. On the December 21st 2007, Koda Kumi became the seventh Japanese female artist to hold a solo concert at Tokyo Dome. During the concert, she celebrated the 7th year anniversary since her debut in front of 35,000 fans. By the end of the year, Kumi became, for the 2nd time running, the highest selling female artist of the year.
In January 2008, during the promotion of her 6th album, Kingdom, Kumi appeared as a guest on TBS radio show, "All Night Nippon". During which Koda mentioned her manager had recently got married and that she had asked her manager, "whether or not they would have children". When her manager replied that they wouldn't for the time being, Koda responded with her opinion that they ought to have children as soon as possible, as, "when women are around 35 years old their amniotic fluids go bad."
The comment was deemed so offensive that many radio shows and newspapers received angry complaints from women around the country. Koda's official website was shut down, along with endorser websites featuring her. Despite the public backlash, the album reached #1 on the Oricon charts for two weeks, selling over 600,000 copies.
4 months later, Koda made a return to the market with Moon Crying. Through the song, Koda expressed her real feelings and her apologies. The song quickly became a success and Koda was able to make a return to performing her songs on TV and radio. Shortly after the release of her 40th single, Koda released the upbeat single TABOO (to become one of the most popular song with her overseas fan-base) as well as the winter ballad single stay with me (which reached 2,000,000 downloads in few weeks) before the release of her 7th album : TRICK, which topped the Oricon Charts at #1 for 2 consecutive weeks.
In 2010, Koda celebrated the 10th anniversary of career beginnings, making it know that she wished to make the year special for her fans, the first project of the year was the release of her 8th album, UNIVERSE, coupled with a best album containing the biggest hits from her 2006~2008 works. During the year, she released several singles, including Lollipop & 好きで、好きで、好きで。, the later became her biggest digital success since 2008. She later released her first cover album, ETERNITY ~Love & Songs~, and held her first Stadium Tour in Summer 2010. In December, 2010, Koda Kumi hold a special concert in Tokyo Dome, for the 2nd time, in order to close the first chapter of her career with her fans.
Koda released her ninth studio album named Dejavu in March 2011. Shortly after its release, the singer started her national tour. Although Koda decided to perform in hall in order to be closer to her fans, this live tour is so far her longest tour to date with 72 dates from April to October.
Koda's 50th single was released August 2011 titled 4 TIMES. It included 4 songs as well as 4 music videos (first time since Summer 2006). The main song of the single is Poppin' love cocktail feat.TEEDA, a summer song produced by the pop rock band BACK-ON. The same year, she released 2 more singles where Koda shows the sexiest image of herself. In November 2011, Koda performed in Singapore for Mnet Asian Music Awards. She was the only Japanese star to perform and won the "Hottest Asian Artist" award. Koda's tenth album album was announced on December for a release in the beginning of 2012. Entitled , JAPONESQUE, the album includes a music video for each song, 17 in total. In the same time, Koda surprised everyone by writing on her official site that she is engaged to Kenji03 from BACK-ON. She announced her wedding by the end of the year. Few days after, Koda also confessed that she was 8 weeks pregnant.
JUST THE WAY YOU ARE
倖田來未 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
光で目が 今日も覚めたの
一気に飲み干す
フレッシュジュース
重いからだ 目指すは my closet
ワンピース 身にまといお決まりの
メンバー&カフェで bad day talk
いつでも 背中を押してくれたのは
I like you,
You are my best friend
今日のあたし そう前を向け
I like you just the way you are
昨日の泣き虫は もうさよなら
小さなことで 今回も
携帯片手に 泣きわめく
そんなときも 電話して
会いに来てくれたのは you
一緒に 涙流してくれた
同じ痛みのように
優しく 肩をなでてくれるだけで
落ち着くんだ
I like you,
Thank you from my heart
今日の失敗は 次の一歩
I like you just the way you are
自分らしく 歩いていけばいいさ
ドラマのように 上手くは行かない
シナリオは自分次第で
変えていこう
I like you,
You are my best friend
今日のあたし そう前を向け
I like you just the way you are
昨日の泣き虫は もうさよなら
I like you,
Thank you from my heart
今日の失敗は 次の一歩
I like you just the way you are
自分らしく 歩いていけばいいさ
The lyrics of 倖田來未's song "JUST THE WAY YOU ARE" is about the importance of having friends who support and inspire you. The song encourages listeners to appreciate themselves for who they are and to embrace their uniqueness. The opening lines refer to starting a new day and feeling refreshed after drinking a glass of fresh juice. The singer is motivated to get ready for the day and put on her favorite dress to meet her friends. She enjoys spending time with them, sharing her troubles, and listening to their stories.
The chorus "I like you, You are my best friend, I like you just the way you are" expresses the singer's gratitude for her friends and their unwavering support. She appreciates their presence in her life, especially during tough times when she cries and feels down. Her friends are always there to comfort her, hold her hand, and offer their shoulders for her to cry on. They give her the strength to face her fears, overcome her problems, and move forward.
The song is a reminder to cherish the relationships that matter the most and to be true to oneself. It encourages listeners to embrace their imperfections, mistakes, and failures, and to keep walking on their own path towards their dreams. The song's lyrics remind us that life is not perfect, and sometimes things might not work out, but having good friends can make all the difference.
Line by Line Meaning
カーテンの隙間から 光で目が 今日も覚めたの
I wake up every day from the light shining through the gap in my curtains
一気に飲み干す フレッシュジュース
I chug down fresh juice
重いからだ 目指すは my closet
I head to my closet with my heavy body
ワンピース 身にまといお決まりの メンバー&カフェで bad day talk
I put on my dress and do my usual bad day talk with my members at the cafe
いつでも 背中を押してくれたのは みんなだった
Everyone was always there to support and encourage me
I like you, You are my best friend
I truly like you and consider you to be my closest friend
今日のあたし そう前を向け
I can face today with confidence
I like you just the way you are
I appreciate and accept you for who you are
昨日の泣き虫は もうさよなら
I say goodbye to the crybaby I was yesterday
小さなことで 今回も 携帯片手に 泣きわめく
I cry with my phone in hand over something small once again
そんなときも 電話して 会いに来てくれたのは you
You are the one who calls and comes to see me during those moments
一緒に 涙流してくれた 同じ痛みのように
You cry with me and share a similar pain
優しく 肩をなでてくれるだけで 落ち着くんだ
Just by gently rubbing my shoulder, I feel comforted
Thank you from my heart
I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart
今日の失敗は 次の一歩
Today's failure is a step towards success
自分らしく 歩いていけばいいさ
I just need to be myself and keep walking
ドラマのように 上手くは行かない シナリオは自分次第で 変えていこう
Things don't always work out like in a drama, but it's up to me to change the script
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Matthew Gerrard, Greg Critchley, Kumi Koda
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@KODAKUMI_official
倖田來未-KODA KUMI- Listen Here →《https://avex.lnk.to/koda》
NewAL「re(CORD)」Release Now →《https://avex.lnk.to/KODAKUMI_reCORD》
【20周年記念スペシャル ＜MVフル尺大公開＞】
KODA KUMI（倖田來未）の20周年イヤーを記念し、
今までの楽曲のリリース日に合わせて、MVのフル尺を大公開！
今だに進化し続ける国内トップのパーフォーマーKODA KUMI（倖田來未）
20年間を振り返りながらお楽しみください
@Risa.92
『TRICK』
2009.01.28 RELEASE
7枚目のオリジナルアルバム！
「JUST THE WAY YOU ARE」
”素顔の倖田來未”をテーマに作られた
ミディアムなR&Bナンバー！
”毎日はドラマのように上手くはいかないけど
そんな自分を大切な友達が支えてくれる”という
”SEX AND THE CITY”的な
日常を描いたとの事。
「「show girl」と相反する
素顔の自分を表現する為にエキストラではなく
実際の友人に出演してもらい撮影を行った」と語る。
メリーゴーランドのくぅちゃん可愛い🎠
変幻自在のエンタテインメントSHOWが
遂に幕開けの『TRICK』でしたー！
〜𝐾𝑜𝑑𝑎 𝐾𝑢𝑚𝑖 20𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑦 20𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑦〜
𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲⧉
@LoveLoveLove_1997
中1の頃の青春曲でした💕👍
お金貯めてTRICKのDVD付きのやつ買って何度も擦り切れるほど聴いたりPVやライブ映像とか繰り返し観たなぁ〜。
もう23歳になっちゃったけど…
@monkn8516
この歌めっっっちゃ好きだったーー☻︎
全盛期ー！
@kodakumi5093
本当のご友人方とあって、すごく素の表情なのが伝わってきます。さりげなく励ましてくれるような素敵な曲
@nezu____9959
懐かしい...TRICK ALで1番好きな曲💓
これロケ場所が栃木那須ハイランドパークなんだけど自分の地元だから当時めちゃくちゃ嬉しくて便乗して行ったな〜wwww
序盤で出てくるぐるぐる回る椅子のアトラクションと友達連れて歩く時同じように『I Like you〜🎶』歌いながら真似した良き思い出蘇る(アオハル)
@user-eg7cu4sd8m
旦那さんとの運命の曲ですね❤️❤️❤️
どっちもいい曲で好き～❤️❤️❤️
@SaikiKikuchi
小さい時も今も大好き
@yyychayyy1299
ちょっとフィルターのかかったPV 遊園地でのくぅちゃんのリアルな女子会を見れた気がして☺️SNS普及が無かったあの当時はなんだかくぅちゃんを近くに感じられて、ずーーーっと見てました☺️当時の流行を感じるメイクや衣装も多いけど、この曲は違和感ないです👏👏👏❤️❤️🌈POPに背中を押してくれる曲❤️
@kk-yx4hp
なんや、この可愛いさわ
@user-vo2zc1pc9z
神曲だなあ、、♡
@user-qp1gj6oz7w
BACK-ONと運命の曲。