YUI is going on a pre-announced hiatus until next year to “re-energize”, but before she leaves she’ll be releasing a B-sides album “My Short Stories” on November 12. There will be one new song included – “I’ll be” – currently used in CMs for SONY’s Walkman Play You cellphones.

With three successful albums under her belt and having established her place as a strong chart topper, I’d have thought that a best-of singles collection would have been timely for now – I certainly wasn’t expecting a B-side compilation so soon. She’s going all out for this release though – the DVD version contains 3 PVs and 7 additional lives.

As for the new song, “I’ll Be” is a nice midtempo song with both rock and acoustic guitar touches. It has great vocals, laid-back atmosphere, and catchy melody that’s become standard with her songs. The PV focuses on people uniting thanks to YUI’s music (and, incidentally, through cell phones – clever marketing move there, SONY). Overall it’s another great song from YUI.

Since her last release in in November, it raises the question of how long YUI will be gone on hiatus – will she come back in early 2009 (which wouldn’t really be much of a hiatus at all), or will she disappear for half a year? A whole year? It’s nice that she’s leaving on a good note though, releasing another good song to tide her fans over until her next single.

As for “My Short Stories,” I think it’s a definite must-have for those who enjoyed her albums but haven’t kept up with her singles. YUI’s B-sides tend to be on the more simple and acoustic side, but they are excellent songs – in fact, “Winter Hot Music” (Rolling Star b-side) and “HELP” (Tokyo b-side) are amongst my top favorites of YUI’s discography. And with a DVD Limited that has enough live foodtage to be a mini-concert, this is definitely a release to pick up.

With Hikki working on her second English album, the question really still stands: if one j-pop diva or female group would make it in the English music industry, who would it be? After all, basing on the American charts, popular songs by female artists are rather limited. Pretty much most are R&B/hip hop hits (Rihanna, Beyonce, Fergie, Danity Kane, Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis), a smattering of pop rock (Colbie Caillat, Natasha Bedingfield, Paramore) and occasionally, a big pop song that makes it (Miley Cyrus).

So if all our favorite j-pop girls give it a try, who has the best chances of breaking into the market?

Utada Hikaru

I love Hikki and I love “Exodus,” but let’s face it – “Exodus” was brilliantly experimental and alternative but nowhere near mainstream. If she does her next English album in her Cubic U style or in her Japanese music style, she’d have a chance, but her idea of American mainstream R&B is a little too alternative. Unless she completely changes her image and sound, she won’t make it in the urban music genre she’s aiming for. But she does have beauty, quirkiness, and her language – she just needs to tailor herself to be more mainstream. Chances: 60%.

Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayu may be the queen of Jpop on the island, but only her very rock influenced songs would have a chance. The pop, the ballads – they’d all have to go. She definitely has the confident diva attitude as long as she tunes down the cute, but there’d also have to be an overhaul of image too – some of her visual trademarks, like her gaudy nails, princessy hair, shiny costumes, just won’t go over well. Chances: 30%.

Koda Kumi

Hell, Koda Kumi did a duet with Fergie; to be painfully honest, she’s not that much of a looker but has the music style and sluttiness to make it through the modern industry. Polish up the English, cut away all the perky bubbliness, do away with the ero-kawaii for just 120% ero, and call up Fergie to get Will.I.Am to produce some shallow hip-hop song for her – I can see it working. Chances: 80%.

Otsuka Ai

I love Ai-chin, so it pains me to say – this just isn’t going to happen. Well, her happy hyper songs have absolutely no chance. If promoted correctly – say in a movie soundtrack or something – a ballad of hers might have a chance, but only if she improves her voice 200% live and gets a completely different, more mature image. Unfortunately, English speakers just aren’t ready for intricate pop ballads and high voices like hers. Chances: 1%.

YUI

I’d say YUI actually has a pretty decent chance if she could get the English down – she has the guitar-strumming singer-songwriter vibe down for some songs and a hardcore rock chick image down for the other. She’s shy, which hurts her a bit, but she commands the stage well when she performs. The only thing that might not work out well is her voice – you usually don’t get such high, sweet voices in pop rock – but she does have the pretty face and the musician vibe. Chances: 60%.

Aoyama Thelma

This girl has the voice for R&B – she’s the right type of voice to do all those hooks on the hip hop songs, you know, that sweet but powerful backing to some guy’s aggressive rapping – but she doesn’t have the gorgeous looks to gain attention or the star presence to make up for it. I mean, look at her performances – there’s hardly any attitude or presence at all. Her voice would work, but unless she gains 500% more attitude no one would pay any attention. Chances: 40%.

ayaka

Ayaka has the looks and voice, most definitely. She also has the bohemian gypsie image down pat. To make it though, she’d have to get some good songs – none of those boring ballad singles that she’s put out recently. It’s also hard to pull off her image and music these days unless she writes her own music and plays an instrument – so might want to work on that. Chances: 50%.

BoA

She can sing and dance. Her voice isn’t really suited for hip-hop or R&B, but – I can actually really see this working. But she’d really have to get some new songs – none of her ballady or pop-dance songs would even remotely work. She also needs more attitude – when she sings, she just doesn’t sound aggressive or strong, more poppy and cute – which just won’t work. Chances: 30%.

Morning Musume

Hmm. Well, supposing the current lineup does more R&B shaded songs, like “Resonant Blue” but with a much more aggressive beat, it would work – if you cut out some members or give them complete personality changes. The girls can look and perform fiercely, but some things – like Reina’s incessant winking and Koharu’s creepy bug eyed toothy grin – will have to go, permanently. Just don’t smile, look sexy, dance to a song with a good beat – they might be able to pull it off. Chances: 35%.

Perfume

Not to say that they’re a Japanese female technopop idol trio, but just being technopop will be enough to put them out of the running. Forever. But they’re on this list because they have a terrific chance of making it big in the English speaking electronic music industry – a lot of their songs are sure to be club hits. But as for mainstream – Chances: 0%.

JYONGRI

JYONGRI has impeccable English skills already; her style and image, not so much. Most of her music is synth backed pop, which isn’t bad, but might need to be toned a bit more to a Westernized pop style at risk of sounding retro and outdated. Looks-wise, JYONGRI isn’t the most beautiful girl out there, but she could look unique and fierce (read: Possession PV) and using a forward-tilting synthesizer could help her gain a unique image somewhat, if she can actually truly play it while performing. Chances: 40%.

PUFFY

Well, in a way, PUFFY has already made it as Puffy AmiYumi. Their Cartoon Network deal has given them some good songs – I’ll be honest, I didn’t know PUFFY did the Teen Titans theme and when I watched it I was jammin’ out to it. But they haven’t gotten major prominence yet – they have a pop rock kind of thing going on. If they can improve the English more and get a good song out – who knows, maybe. Chances: 70%.

Berryz Koubou

It’s not going to work even remotely for at least another five years, unless they all learn English and get a Disney Channel show a la Hannah Montana, and put out bad pop songs that little children love. Chances: 15%.

C-ute

Same as Berryz Koubou… except I see Berryz as more likely to be liked by the tween crowd. Chances: 10%.

Amuro Namie

Namie can do it. She’s sexy, full of attitude, and her music is hip-hop enough to be accepted. Her personality is a bit bland live, but her performances have spirit because her singing and dancing are near top-notch. Her current image is dark, exotic, and dominating – very commanding, and very fierce. If she has good English and gets some good songs, I can see her doing well. Chances: 75%.

Kimura Kaela

Kimura Kaela has her model looks to benefit her. She has a great hipster image – and while most hipster pop music isn’t mainstream, sometimes one becomes mainstream. If she gets lucky, she could work out well. Chances: 50%.

Leah Dizon

Leah Dizon can’t really sing and can’t really dance… but she’s beautiful, sexy, an import model. And seeing what hot (slutty) models can achieve in the American music industry… it’s almost scary how decent of a chance she has. And if she’s not breaking into the market as a singer, she could always become a video girl in a hip hop video – she’d fit right in, really. Chances: 60%.

Nakashima Mika

Nakashima Mika has a beautiful ethereal voice. Her jazzy, pop works would never make it overseas; the rock songs she does, however, do have potential, especially if she starts to front the vocals of a rock band instead of being a solo artist (just… a legitimate one, not an almost-joke one like MICA3CHU). But her image right now wouldn’t work – she might make it as a goth rock chick or something, but she just looks way, waaaay too creepy for mainstream audiences to handle. Chances: 10%.

Tsuchiya Anna

It helps that Tsuchiya Anna already has legions of Nana fans under her belt. Her English isn’t perfect, but her rock music would definitely have a shot at making it. She also has the edgy rock image that’s very appealing. Chances: 65%.

Goto Maki

Now that Gocchin is with avex, she seems to be going to divalicious R&B image even more than before? Well, he supposed sensei is Beyonce, after all. But if she is going for the diva route, she’s going to have to whore it up much, much more. She has the sexy image down in Japan, but “Some Boys! Touch” wouldn’t even raise eyebrows; she’d need an upped image and upped dance moves. Chances: 40%.

Yuna Ito

Yuna Ito has the English and the voice and the beauty. But her style isn’t very in wish modern popular music – I mean, while Koda Kumi is slutting it up with Fergie and Goto Maki is following Beyonce’s bootyliciousness, Yuna’s counterpart is Celine Dion. And Celine Dion isn’t really top 40 hit material these days. If she gets lucky, she could make it with a well advertised and placed ballad – but she’d have to work on her upbeat songs, because she’s really bad at those. Chances: 45%.

Chatmonchy

Chatmonchy rocks out, hard. What really hurts them is that Eriko’s distinct vocals, too high and shrill sometimes even in Japan, is definitely too high and shrill for American audiences. If they get a good song, they might catch on, but it would take a lot of effort to get audiences to like such high pitched vocals matched with rock. Chances: 10%.

Angela Aki

She’s already tried and failed; that doesn’t put Angela off to a great start. Angela has piano pop that would make it paired with her great voice, but her image isn’t very interesting or attention grabbing and she doesn’t have the model-esque looks. Her music also tends to blend in – they’re calming, but few are extremely striking as to become that one big hit. But her music speaks for itself – she could make it as the next Vanessa Carlton with a few hits of her own, if she’s lucky. Chances: 50%.

There’s more ladies of course, but that’s all I can think of (or bear to go through) right now. I’m still rooting for Utada, big time, because I love her music and hope that she gets success, but who knows – maybe one day Fergie will return a favor to Kuu-chan or the rest of the world will pick up on Namie’s fierceness and I’ll hear one of them on my local radio.

Following her successful “I LOVED YESTERDAY” album, YUI’s next single “SUMMER SONG” is going to be released July 2nd.

As shown in the PV, “SUMMER SONG” is a summer sequel to “Laugh Away.” The song is, like “Laugh Away”, lighthearted, but is much more cheerful as opposed to wistful. She uses her high notes differently in this song, enough to make a distinct impact, but it is still the kind of laid-back YUI song we all know – acoustic guitar paired with a midtempo beat and her clear vocals.

This single is a first for YUI in many ways. She is wearing a dress. She is wearing high heels! And most surprisingly, her single is happy and she looks and sounds happy. I, for one, am glad we’re finally seeing this girl sing while smiling instead of looking eternally devastated; maybe she won’t be the poster child for Japanese emo after all (although I do like her slightly wistful songs the best).

At the end of the single there’s a small preview for the acoustic version of “Laugh Away” that will be on the single. I guess there won’t be a “Namidairo” acoustic version – making it, like her “TOKYO” single, one of the few that don’t have an acoustic version on the following single – but it makes sense, because it’s acoustic enough already. The other song on the single is called “Oh My God” – no previews yet, but that’s definitely a song I’m curious about.

I’m digging the song – it’s a catchy song that’s distinctly YUI, but it still sounds different from her other songs. I’m looking forward to live performances of this – we’ll see YUI perform happily, finally.

“Laugh away” is YUI’s new song, and is used for Glico CM. It will not be released as a single, but will probably (most likely) appear on her yet untitled album that’s scheduled to drop April 9th.

For me, the first thing that comes to mind about “Laugh away”’s music video is if it’s “Tomorrow’s Way” part two. Maybe I’m reading too much into unintentional parallels, but the two videos do share many of the same aspects: green grass, wide-spanning skies, a lone schoolboy, large white headphone, Lily-Chou-Chou hints. Or maybe large white headphones are just in style again.

Either way, the video itself feels free – there’s lots of nature and aerial shots, and has a casual and pleasant feel. The scenes are simple, but the way YUI and her band casually play on a grassy hill and her serenely frolicking amongst sakura petals is pretty to watch.

“Laugh away” is a softer pop-rock song that reminds me of her last year’s spring release “CHE.R.RY”. Even without looking at the lyrics, the breeziness of it conveys freedom and happiness. After a string of songs either fast-paced rock (My Generation, Jam) or melancholy (LOVE & TRUTH, Namidairo) it’s nice to hear YUI release a cheerful song again. It’s a great song – as always, YUI puts out high quality music.

Honestly, there’s really nothing I can pick at with YUI – I think some songs are a little better, some a little worse, but all YUI releases have been great. “Laugh away” is no different, and it’s definitely getting me more excited for the release of her album.