In honor of Kis-My-Ft2’s complete videography being uploaded to YouTube (in edited form, of course…), I can’t resist writing about each single. To put this in context for Bias List readers, Kis-My-Ft2 (or Kisumai, as they’re often known) are my J-pop version of Infinite. That’s how much I love them and their discography.

Yet, I rarely write about them because finding online links to their music was so hard… until now!

We Never Give Up (2011)

My god, this video is cheesy! But, it doesn’t change the fact that We Never Give Up is one of my all-time favorite Kisumai songs. You all know I love music that feels like it’s ready to march into battle, and this is certainly a rallying cry of a track. I only wish the YouTube upload didn’t remove the killer guitar solo that brings us into the final chorus! The full song is over five minutes long, yet it speeds by.

The chorus, the chorus! I’m always ranting about choruses, but it’s only because I love a great chorus so much. We Never Give Up’s hook is anthemic and huge, bolstered by great backing vocals that bring it to another level entirely. It’s 80’s hair metal via J-pop idol music – a genre mix-up that shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does. Electric guitar runs through most of the track, bringing intense energy to even its quieter moments. Of course, with a song like this, the idea of “quiet” doesn’t really exist!

Fun fact: this was co-written by Andreas Öhrn – one half of Swedish pop duo Gravitonas. He does a lot of K-pop work currently, though none of it sounds remotely like this! (I guess A.C.E’s Favorite Boys comes closest…)