Tracklist

1. BUT
2. Aishou (愛証; Proof of Love)
3. BUT ~The Ghettobots Remix~ (First Press Bonus Track)
4. BUT (instrumental)
5. Aishou (instrumental) (愛証; Proof of Love)

This is Koda Kumis 35^th single and was released on March 13, 2007. It reached #2 on the Oricon Charts and has sold 130,890 copies. BUT was used as the theme song for the Japanese release of the movie Step Up.

Let me get to the point. BUT is probably one of the best singles Koda Kumi released for Kingdom. It has a synth arrangement similar to that of Justin Timberlakes Sexyback, but whoever said that was a bad thing? Filled with tons of synth and other beats, this song is catchy and aggressive to no end. Koda has some nice crisp vocals, and I enjoyed the constant repetition of “You know you love your(self)” during the chorus, that, surprisingly, didn’t get boring.

I also wanted to comment on the PV. For one thing, it’s silly as hell. XD I’m surprised that this time around, Koda didn’t really go slutty on us. Instead, she went for a more “pimpin” look with those crazy clothes (I’m surprised she actually had a full set of clothes on!)

The other A-Side, Aishou is pretty different from BUT. Aishou is actually a ballad that consists of the acoustic guitar and the occasional bursts of electric guitars. I liked how Koda was able to create a feeling of despair in this song, and she had some strong vocals during the chorus. The only problem I had was that there were times where her vocal performance got kind of sloppy.

The ~The Ghettobots remix~ of BUT isn’t really an eye opener. It is not as aggressive or catchy as the original, but I liked the different kind of synth used in the song, that I really am unable to explain. It gives the song a different style of a “destructive beat” used in original that I surprisingly liked. But that may be because I only got to downloading this song after listening to the original too many times. Overall, it’s not a ghetto mix really (I hope someone gets this) XD

Overall Rating:

4.5 out of 5