By the time her debut album was released in June of 2009, teen singer Nishino Kana had already established a place in the J-pop scene with six singles released before the actual album itself. Therefore, it was no surprise that Love one. sold well as fans enjoyed her fast-paced pop hits. A year later, the talented singer and lyricist is back with her follow-up album, to Love. While her first album was respectable, Nishino stepped up her game with to Love, and gave her fans an album they expected, and much more.

While her first album was a straightforward pop album with a sprinkling of R&B, to Love is a showcase of the variety of music genres that the young songstress can sound equally well in. This is noticeable early in the record as the first three full-length tracks after Prologue are distinctly different from one another. Best Friend (Track 2) is a finger-snapping, head-bopping J-pop hit, followed by the perfect summer anthem Summer Girl. The fun and upbeat track, featuring Japanese reggae artist Minmi, celebrates all the great things under the sun and is definitely a song to be played at beach parties all over Japan. The fourth song Hey Boy continues the lighthearted mood set from the previous song with quick electric guitar strums and funky keyboard sounds. It’s reminiscent of a pop song from the early 90s.

Rock, dance, and hip-hop are also featured on the 14-track record. Nishino fools you into thinking Maybe (Track 8) is a slow song as she starts off singing softly before the thumping beats and electronic effects come in, making it an enjoyable, quick-tempo love song to dance to in the clubs. Wrong (Track 9) is a personal favorite, not only because it’s a rock track with heavy guitar riffs throughout the track, but also because the music and her vocals perfectly match the message of the song, illustrating the hatred and anger of being misjudged.

In her previous album, she worked with rappers Wise and Verbal of M-flo but in to Love she decides to try rapping herself. However, I wouldn’t necessarily consider her verses in Come On Yes Yes OH Yeah!! (Track 10) as rap as it is more along the lines of short and quick deliveries of several lines. That being said, the song itself isn’t too bad since it does its job of pumping people up and getting them to move.

Given the large array of music that the album has to offer, it’s the slow tracks that are the best as it is on these tracks that you can really hear Nishino’s great voice. While it was already good before for her first album, her voice sounds noticeably better and more complete this time around. Paired with pianos and violins, she effortlessly hits the higher notes in the aforementioned Best Friend, Motto (Track 5), Like This (Track 7), and Aitakute Aitakute (Track 12). Her sweet and pleasant voice is perfect for singing all the love songs in the album.

Pop stars are getting younger and more talented every day and the 21-year-old vocalist is no different. As Nishino and her music continue to mature, she will definitely give former teen pop superstars Utada Hikaru and Hamasaki Ayumi a formidable challenge for many years to come.

by Leon Lee