Aitakute Aitakute (Japan Version)

Fortunately for us elders, Nishino is slowly maturing as a singer as well, moving from the light and peppy Best Friends to the dark and emotional ballad Aitakute Aitakute, her 10th single. Composed and produced by her partner-in-crime Giorgio Cancemi, the song retains the dynamic pop sound of her previous works in arrangement, but the composition and lyrics suggest a rather different story. Once again, the lyrics are direct and near the point of being over-dramatic ("Baby I know/You are kind of no longer mine/But I'm absolutely hopeless if it's not you/You're the one"), but the style also lends Nishino the opportunity to go beyond her fashionable image and show her skills as a vocalist.

In addition to Nishino's lyrics, Cancemi's composition also challenges the singer with its considerably wide range. At the same time, it's also an affecting composition that Nishino was able to complement with her own writing ability. However, the arrangement is problematic in that it moves and sounds too much like a pop dance ballad and it seems to be confused about what impression the song is trying to give its listeners. Its style fits with the pace of Nishino's past efforts, but it doesn't quite fit the tone that the lyrics and the composition are attempting to achieve.

The Shibuya-based look and the lyrical style seem to be here to stay for Nishino. There's no doubt from the progression of her musical work in the past nine months that the 21-year-old singer is slowly maturing as a musician. She is holding a precarious balance between appealing to her current target demographic and trying to broaden her fan base at the same time, and it appears that she's succeeding for the time being. One day, Nishino may become a full-fledged pop diva that takes the J-pop world by storm, and maybe I will have mastered the art of mobile music downloads by then as well.