Pop singer KEN MIYAKE released a new album on June 5th.
THE iDOL is his first full-length release with TOBE. It contains new songs written by a number of up-and-coming artists that he personally made offers to, including Lucky Kilimanjaro vocalist Yukimaru Kumaki,
singer-songwriter Buki Miyake and ARAKI. It also includes the previously-released singles Ready To Dance and iDOLING, which were penned by R&B singer SIRUP and Def Tech's Micro, respectively.
Two of the new songs, HAUNTED and DROP, were composed by solo artist WurtS. A music video for HAUNTED directed by WurtS was also unveiled on the release date.
In a comment about the video, MIYAKE stated that he had heard WurtS wanted to try producing an idol one day, and he made him an offer because he thought that it would lead to something interesting, especially if he asked him to
handle the video as well.
WurtS commented that while he was speaking to MIYAKE, he was struck again by what an inquisitive spirit he has towards things like art and expression. He said he aimed to show a side of MIYAKE that no one has seen with HAUNTED.
He recorded the track with a band to give it a rock sound with a physical, energetic feel reminiscent of a live show.
The album is available on digital platforms and in three physical editions. The two limited editions both contain 12 tracks. Limited Edition A adds an "iDOLING" keychain randomly selected from two different designs and a 24-page lyric booklet, while Limited
Edition B (the "IVY" version) adds a Blu-ray disc with the music videos for Ready To Dance and iDOLING and a bonus video titled Issho ni odoreba Calorie Zero de I'm good and a different 24-page lyric booklet. The regular edition is
CD-only, with a 20-page lyrics booklet, but it adds two bonus tracks titled Love Bottle and Make A Wish Upon A Star.
Links to download and stream THE iDOL on various music platforms are available here.
The music videos for HAUNTED, iDOLING and Ready To Dance can be viewed below. Enable captions to watch with English subtitles.
