EXILE - real world

EXILE's real world was the second single the group released in 2004 and has a total of five tracks. The title track also appeared on EXILE's SINGLE BEST album.

real world starts with a kind of digital intro, after which the instruments join in and eventually, the vocals can be heard. The voices sound distorted in the beginning, and every now and then the distorted vocals return for a moment, adding to the digital feeling of the song. In the second half of the song there is a beatboxing part, which goes with the beat of the music and gives it a hip-hop atmosphere. Overall, it is a nice song that might make you want to move.

After the first notes of arigatou, you can already hear that this is going to be a beautiful ballad by EXILE. Next to the vocals, this song is carried by the acoustic guitar, and these two aspects go well together. Halfway through the song more instruments can be heard, but unfortunately the style of the vocals remains pretty much the same throughout the song. arigatou is a nice ballad, but seems to lack originality.

The third song on the CD is a different version of the title track. This version has a traditional Japanese touch, which is suggested in the title, real world (REPRESENT JAPAN DUB). The traditional intro is pretty long but creates a good foundation for the rest of the song. After about two minutes, the slow music flows into a more dance rhythm. In this version too, there is a beatbox/hip-hop part towards the end. The combination of traditional and modern music has been done very well in this song.

There are two more tracks on this single: karaoke versions of the first two songs. The CD represents the two sides of EXILE, with the infectious dance song real world which incorporates some hip-hop elements, and the calm but beautiful ballad arigatou. The instrumental real world (REPRESENT JAPAN DUB) is definitely a nice addition to this single.