Normally, I steer clear of the mass manufacturing evil that is Johnny’s Entertainment, as all they seem to do is churn out crap boybands that end up destroying every other artists’ sales whenever they release an album or single. I will go on the record as saying I’ve only heard of few of these JE songs, but I’ve always concluded that they are crap. Well, I guess I’ve been proven wrong by music once again, because on a whim, I listened to NEWS frontman Yamashita Tomohisa’s newest solo single, “One in a million”, and I’m surprised by how much I enjoy it.

The eponymous title song is a Eurotrance-inspired groove and I’m unashamedly in love with it. Maybe it’s the autotune covering up his voice, maybe it’s the heavily Westernized sound that reminds me of mainstream K-Pop. Who knows? This song is pretty hot though, with a DENPA-sounding riff throughout the epic chorus. Whatever the reason, “One in a million” = instant love. Some might dismiss it as another recycled pop song, but something about it…I don’t know. I’ll be repeating this for a while. I’m instantly thrown on guard by the first b-side though. “Kuchizuke Adios” (口づけでアディオス) is much more typical idol fare, with some tacky brass and faux-H!P flavor to it. I want to say “Ick”, but…this guy has a pretty voice. I don’t like this song in general, though.

Yay! More K-Pop soundalikes! Just kidding~ “My Dear” is more mid-tempo and is more of a ballad-ish track with an uptempo chorus. Honestly, I was thinking GIRL NEXT DOOR done right the entire time. And there was no annoying CHISA present! Bonus points awarded right here. “World is yours” is a nice acoustic song that reminds me of someone like YUI or even a guitar-ified version of sexy man Ken Hirai. The last b-side to the single (or should I say mini-album at this point?), “Flavor Flavor For You” is more along the lines of something Hirai would do, but I’m also reminded a lot of  some R&B vocalists I can’t quite put my finger on.

If this is what the majority of JE sounds like, I may have missed my missing link to more Japanese male vocalists I need in my library. I hope so, at the least.

Plus, he’s freaking hot. Can I get a “UNF!”?

★★★★★☆