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Takuya Kimura to release second solo album, Next Destination, in January

Takuya Kimura's second solo album, titled Next Destination, will drop on 19 January 2022. (Photo: takuya-kimura.jp)
Takuya Kimura's second solo album, titled Next Destination, will drop on 19 January 2022. (Photo: takuya-kimura.jp)

Actor and J-pop idol Takuya Kimura announced on Monday (4 October) that his second solo album, titled Next Destination, will be released on 19 January 2022, two years since his first solo album Go With The Flow.

Through a dedicated website (Japanese only), Kimura revealed that the new album will feature the song Mojo Drive, which was composed by Tatsuro Yamashita, a well-known soft rock songwriter. This will be Kimura’s first collaboration with Yamashita, who wrote a number of songs for the artistes under the talent agency Johnny & Associates — where Kimura also belongs — including KinKi Kids’ Garasu No Shonen and Arashi’s Fukkatsu Love.

Apparently, Yamashita had attended Kimura’s Go With The Flow concert in February last year, and suggested that Kimura should sing baritone, which would make the song more attractive. Following that suggestion, Yamashita agreed to provide Kimura with the music, and he even directed the recording of the song.

“Even though I’ve known Kimura for more than 25 years, I’ve never heard his live singing voice. During his first solo concert, I realised to my surprise that he has a baritone voice,” commented Yamashita. “I think we were able to create a new frontier for Kimura.”

A short behind-the-scenes of Mojo Drive’s music video has been shared on YouTube by record company Victor Entertainment. You can listen to Kimura’s attractive baritone voice during the later half of the video!

Regarding the title of his new album, Kimura explained, “We can’t move around as we want due to the coronavirus restrictions. But I’m impressed when I see other artistes seeking new directions. While I was inspired by the positivity, what came to my mind was, ‘Rather than hoping it will go back to what it was, let’s take a step forward to the next destination.’”

Kimura added that he hoped to find a way to hold a fun and lively concert for this new album. This is likely due to the fact that most concerts nowadays in Japan are forced to be held with no live audience and through online streaming because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The actor-singer began his solo music career since the five-man boy band, Smap, disbanded in 2016. l