Birthday Eve

"Birthday Eve"
Single by Koda Kumi
from the album Best: Second Session
Released	14 December 2005 (JP)
Format	CD
Recorded	Japan
Genre	J-pop, pop
Length	9:02
Label	Rhythm Zone RZCD-45302 (Japan, CD) SM Entertainment SMJTCD-090 (Korea, CD)
Writer(s)	Koda Kumi, Toru
Producer(s)	Kumi Koda
Koda Kumi singles chronology
"You" (2005) "Birthday Eve" (2005) "D.D.D feat. SOULHEAD" (2005)

"Birthday Eve" is a limited edition single by Koda Kumi, 50,000 copies available. It was the second release in her 12 Singles Collection and charted #6 on Oricon, remaining for four weeks.

Information

Birthday Eve is singer-songwriter Kumi Koda's twentieth single and second in her 12 Singles Collection. It charted #6 on the Oricon charts and, despite being limited to only 50,000 copies, remained on the charts for four weeks.^[1]

Like the first single in the collection, you, the back cover to the single was a piece to a puzzle, as was the obi strip, which could only be completed by purchasing all twelve singles in the collection.

The song itself was pop and was about planning the following day for her and her boyfriend.^[2]

Reception

Birthday Eve received positive reviews from both Japanese and North American fans.

Tom wrote in their reviews how it appeared that Kumi had "borrowed some parts from Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend by Marilyn Monroe" in the music video, but how the artist still made the theme her own.^[3]

Benii, however, said that with Koda Kumi having a "cool image," it was "discomforting" to see a "cute image that [they] haven't seen before." However, they still gave it a positive review, saying it was a "nice birthday song."^[4]

Music Video

Unlike the first single in the collection, Birthday Eve was not part of a story line.

The music video depicted Kumi as a girlfriend getting ready for the evening, where she would go out to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday and how they would spoil each other. During the video, an homage to Marilyn Monroe's Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend with Kumi donning a pink dress as she walks down a flight of stairs with several men in wrestling masks and tuxedos.

Promotional Advertisements

Birthday Eve was used in a television advertisement for NTT DoCoMo Tokai (エヌ・ティ・ティ・ドコモ東海 / ENU•TI•TI•DoKoMo Toukai).^[5]

Cover

Each of the twelve singles' covers represent a traditional dress from a culture. Though the previous single, you, represented Alaska in the United States, this single's cover represented the lower 48 states of the United States of America, most notably California.

Track listing

(Source^[6])

Chart history

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Alternate Versions

Birthday Eve

1. Birthday Eve: Found on the single (2005) and corresponding album BEST ~second session~ (2006)
2. Birthday Eve [Instrumental]: Found on the single (2005)
3. Birthday Eve [Cup of Cappuccino Bossanova Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Remix Album (2006)

References

1. Avex Network (2005), Koda Kumi Official Web Site
2. Oricon Style (2005), Single Daily Ranking – Oricon Style Ranking