Tracks:

1. stay with me

2. Winter Bell

3. stay with me (Orgel Version)

4. stay with me Instrumental

5. Winter Bell Instrumental

Koda Kumi’s stay with me was released on December 24th, 2008. It’s her 42nd single and it debuted at #1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts, selling a total of 58,108 copies.

What is it with Koda Kumi and ballads, anyway? Oh well, it doesn’t really matter, since they’re usually good. stay with me is your typical winter love song, complete with flowing strings, random chimes, and lots of piano. This time she incorporates an R&B beat to keep things interesting. Without it, this song would probably be pretty boring. I’ve read a lot of criticizm about this song, the most common being her voice is better suited for “sexy” songs. I disagree, because Koda Kumi has a really nice voice for ballads. Even though I’m not in love with this song, I will say that it’s better than Moon Crying.

I didn’t really like the B-side, Winter Bell. I don’t know what it is about it, I mean it’s a nice song, but I just wasn’t really into it. It might be that her voice sounds really weird when she tries to act “cute,” I’d much rather her voice be deeper because… well it just sounds better, in my opinion. This is your typical upbeat winter song with a heavy R&B beat. Nothing against Kuu, I just wasn’t really digging the song.

Overall Grade: