Viyuden - Ja Ja Uma Paradise

Viyuden is marketed as a 'sexy' trio from Hello! Project; the cover image seems to suggest as much. As sexy as their image may be, unfortunately the attempt to create a sexy sound in this single falls a little flat.

Ja ja uma paradise has a certain Spanish flair with Latin beats and a recognizable mid-nineties H!P sound. In terms of the music it is good if a little familiar; the percussion and jazz-style piano create an underlying melody that makes one want to dance and has potential to make for an interesting instrumental. However, the vocals are a problem here and are unfortunately annoyingly breathy; they sound forced as if they are really trying to be mysterious and sexy rather than just letting it come naturally. Some richness to the voices would not have gone amiss. One can see that they were aiming for a sultry sound, but Viyuden sadly falls a bit short. While it is a fun song that doubtless will be popular at karaoke and concerts, on CD it is a formulaic and ultimately forced affair.

Seishun THE NIPPON meanwhile is a bubble gum pop song that sounds like any other Hello! Project b-side. The lyrics are encouraging while the music is perky and bouncy, using liberal amounts of brass and bell sounds together with a quick beat propelling the cheeriness forwards. This is a formula that has been heard time and time again and while it could never be an A-side song, it is frustratingly addictive. Despite the formulaic faults, it's quite likeable and will undoubtedly be another popular karaoke choice. Viyuden sounds more relaxed singing it as well, and this comes through the song strongly making it the better of the two songs.

Ja ja uma paradise (instrumental) is, as the title suggests, the a-side song without vocals. I prefer it like this actually and would make for enjoyable background noise were it not for one annoying synthesized brass part that the vocals covered up. Oh well.

If Viyuden did not sound as though they were forcing their vocals so much Ja ja uma paradise would have been a much more pleasant experience as it is, it is only really saved by a formulaic b-side that ticks all the right boxes for a happy pop song but does not necessarily encourage one to rush out and buy it.