Well, I wouldn’t really say MiChi’s changing anything, but nevertheless, she’s a refreshing edition to the mainstream Jpop scene. The British-born vocalist doesn’t write any of her own music—surprise—but she dons her image well. You can tell the marketing team is trying to milk her British roots by playing up the pseudo-punk image, along with a dash of Pantone’d American Apparel love. But beyond her image, what matters most is that she knows how to tone down the nasal register so prevalent in Jpop (sing with your diaphragms, for the love of all things green and good).

Her debut single includes the hit song “Change the World” (also the theme song of Kanno Miho’s new drama Kiina), an 80’s inspired track that features Pong-like bleeps and bloops and an uplifting touch of Moog. Though it’s not my favorite track, it’s a hit for good reason. “One of a Kind,” on the other hand, is a totally forgettable song. With lyrics like, “Damn you, making a fool outta me,” it’s transparent that they’re pushing for a rebel yell and snarl, but MiChi’s voice, while deeper than her pop compatriots, is nowhere mean… the song just ends up sounding like (arbitrarily) guitar-laced pop.

Opening with “All I know is all this started back in 95,” “Promise” is the one song off the mini-album that really paints a picture of who MiChi is (or who she wants you to think she is). Being her debut single (back in 2008), it’s also where she sounds the most comfortable. Against a backdrop of dance beats and acoustic strumming, MiChi impressively lays down whole verses as long trains of semi-spoken word; as the tempo chugs along at a faster pace, so too do her vocals. Towards the end, MiChi’s vocals start chopping up, while the background music starts ascending airily—literally sounding like, yes, a fast train ride (well, when you stick your head out of the window to actually hear it, that is).

With the mainstream pop scene being a beast in and of itself, where exactly does Michi fit in? I’d say it’s the same pond that Anna Tsuchiya wades in, only without all the obnoxious posing and ‘tude. I see really good things for MiChi as there is some semblance of her own individuality in her music. More than that, she seems like she’s comfy with musical flexibility, which can’t be said of Tsuchiya (just in music though—I like Tsuchiya the actress). MiChi’ll be out of that “I’m so rebellious” kiddie pool in no time.

Promise (album version, de-technofied):

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Change the World:

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