倖田來未 (Koda Kumi), born November 13, 1982 in Kyoto, Japan, is a female Japan… Read Full Bio ↴倖田來未 (Koda Kumi), born November 13, 1982 in Kyoto, Japan, is a female Japanese solo R&B and pop singer. She is the older sister of singer misono. She had dreamed of becoming a singer ever since she was in elementary school. She was eventually noticed by Avex Trax and began releasing pop music with an urban feel.

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.

Sweet Kiss
倖田來未 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tell me why?
一人で眠る夜は
あなたとの距離を感じてるの

不安つのるただ愛しいだけで
あなたは私を置いて
何をしているの?

Kiss me ただそれだけで
私の顔に花がこぼれてく
Take me あなたの側で
ひとときの甘い夢見ていたいの

少しの優しさそれだけで
小さな勇気がうまれてゆく

一緒にいると
「自分も変わっていける」
そんな気持ちにあなたが
気付かせてくれた

Kiss me そのままでいて
止めて二人の時間だけにして
Take me ほほを寄せ合い
ピンクに染まった二人で居たいから

Kiss me ただそれだけで
私の顔に花がこぼれてく
Take me あなたの側で
ひとときの甘い夢見ていたいの
Kiss me そのままでいて
止めて二人の時間だけにして

Take me ほほを寄せ合い
ピンクに染まった二人で居たいから

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Koda Kumi's song "Sweet Kiss" express a deep longing for closeness and intimacy with a loved one. The singer begins by questioning why she feels the distance between them when she sleeps alone at night. The anxiety builds up, yet all she wants is to be loved by the person she adores. She wonders what the person she loves is doing while leaving her behind.

The chorus emphasizes the power of a simple kiss. The singer describes how a kiss makes flowers bloom on her face and longs to be by the side of her loved one, experiencing a sweet momentary dream. The lyrics highlight the transformative effect of a little act of kindness and the birth of courage that comes with it.

Being together with this person has made the singer realize that she can change and grow. The song further expresses the desire to preserve the special moments between the two, to have their own separate time. The singer wants to share sweet moments, with their cheeks close together, and remain in a pink-colored world. The repetition of the chorus reaffirms the longing for those precious moments and the desire for the person she loves to remain unchanged.

Overall, "Sweet Kiss" portrays a yearning for love, intimacy, and the transformative power of a simple act of affection.

Line by Line Meaning

Tell me why?
Please explain to me the reason behind your actions or feelings.

On nights when I sleep alone
During the nights when I am by myself and go to sleep

I feel the distance between you and me
I sense the emotional and physical separation between us

Anxiety builds up, just affection is not enough
Worry and uneasiness accumulate because love alone is not sufficient

You've left me
You have deserted or abandoned me

What are you doing?
I am curious about your current actions or activities

Kiss me, just with a kiss
Touch my lips with yours, expressing love and affection

Flowers overflow on my face
Feelings of happiness and excitement bloom on my expression

Take me, by your side
Bring me close to you, in your presence

I want to have a sweet dream for a brief moment
I desire to experience a short-lived, pleasant dream next to you

With just a little kindness
With even a small act of gentleness or tenderness

A small courage is born
I find the strength to face challenges or fears, however minor

When I'm together with you
When we are in each other's company

I feel like I can change myself
I experience a sense of motivation and inspiration to transform

You make me realize those feelings
You enable me to recognize those emotions or sentiments within myself

Kiss me, just as you are
Embrace me with your true self, without reservation or alteration

Stop and let it be only our time
Pause and allow us to enjoy a moment exclusively for the two of us

Take me, bring our cheeks close
Bring our faces closer to each other, so intimately that they touch

Because I want to be with you, dyed in pink
Because I yearn to be with you, immersed in a blissful and romantic atmosphere