Luckily it's not a TABOO for such a hot song to exist!

Kumi Koda's 41st single, entitled TABOO, was released 08 October 2008. TABOO was featured in both a music.jp CM and a CM for the Nintendo DS game, Saihai no Yukue, and was also used as the theme song for the Women's Wrestling Championships 2008.

Composed and arranged by HIRO from Digz, inc, TABOO is a fusion of pop, dance and electronica, which is not unlike WILD by Namie Amuro and Just Dance by Lady Gaga. Unlike most of Kumi's other upbeat songs, TABOO is more dance orientated and has a sound that is different from the rest of her discography. While Kumi has always explored different musical genres, there have been times where these explorations haven't been all too successful. However, she struck gold with her exploration into electropop. There's no denying that TABOO is one hot song and is, without a doubt, one of Kumi's best songs. She should seriously consider exploring electropop some more.

Always sees Kumi work with Daisuke "D.I" Imai once again and is a sweet love song that is simple and easy to listen to. While it doesn't stand out from Kumi's discography like TABOO does, it doesn't fall into the trap of being so sweet that one can get cavities just listening to it (Don't know what I mean? Listen to Birthday Eve or Wonderland and you'll see). In fact, it is this quality that makes Always a good song. Since the release of Birthday Eve, Kumi has regularly released sugary pop songs that haven't always been welcomed with the open arms of her fans. However, with Always, we see that Kumi can still make a pop songs that don't scare dentists. In a nutshell, Always is a good song that doesn't try to be anything that it isn't.

Included on this single is a remix of TABOO, entitled TABOO -HOUSE NATION Sunset In Ibiza Remix-, which isn't really necessary in my opinion. The remix itself isn't bad but it simply pales in comparison to the original. However, one good thing about it is that it doesn't drag on like a lot of other remixes do. Even though it's almost 6 minutes long, it still manages to keep itself from becoming boring.

Single ranking: A

With TABOO, Kumi delivered one of the hottest songs that I have ever heard and since its release, TABOO has been one of my most listened to songs. While Always is a good song, it has nothing on TABOO and as for the remix, well, it could've been left off the single. Still, TABOO is one single that deserves to be a #1 single and proves that Kumi can still make some hot songs... when she wants to.