Since “Taiyou no Namida” is going to be released on Wednesday, NEWS has started their blitz of media appearances. There’s many more to come, but their first TV performance was on Music Station… where they performed and had water pouring down on them. Their “sun” isn’t just shedding some tears, it’s bawling. By the end of the song, after only about a minute and half of the downpour, they can’t make direct eye contact at the cameras with all the water coming down and are all soaked through. But the performance went well, and they looked happy despite being dripping wet, so it’s all good.

Of course, what would the world be like without leaks. It’s not supposed to be out until Wednesday, but… hey, not like there weren’t decent radio rips already, right?

Follow the links for song previews & downloads.

1. Taiyou no Namida – title song, so you’ve probably heard it already.

2. Beautiful Eyes – I’m a sucker for ballads, and I love this. It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s calming, more acoustic than synthesized, and has fabulous vocals.

3. Bambina (Limited Ed. Only) – Amazing. Pretty much NEWS + techno + sexy vocals compressed into song. This is probably my favorite of all the b-sides featured. And however much I like “Taiyou no Namida” I’m going to have to say it’s a struggle deciding whether it or “Bambina” is the standout song on this single.

4. Lady Spider (Regular Ed. Only) – With a name like “Lady Spider” I thought the song would be a bit more… venomous. I thought the backing music was lacking a bit and so the song lacked energy. It’s the weakest out of all the b-sides on this single.

Now that you’ve heard it, you can go ahead and get yourself a copy.

Personally, I feel “Taiyou no Namida” is the weakest song musically out of the three singles NEWS has released since their re-debut, but with the Kurosagi-tie in and the edgy image (very appealing to fangirls like me), who knows how it’ll do? I guess we’ll find out in a week or so how well this single is received.