"D.D.D." is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist

Kumi Koda , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. After debuting with the single "Take Back" in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, "Real Emotion ...

, taken from her second

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

, '' Best ~second session~'' (2005). It contains guest vocals from Japanese music duo

Soulhead Soulhead (known as SOULHEAD in Japan) is a Japanese urban contemporary/ R&B duo consisting of sisters Yoshika Sawayama (よしか) and Tsugumi Sawayama (つぐみ). Both were born in Hokkaidō; Yoshika was born on July 20, 1978 and Tsugumi was bor ...

. It was written by Soulhead members and sisters Yoshika and Tsugumi, with production being done by Octopussy. The song is Kumi's first collaborative effort since her single " Hot Stuff" with Japanese rapper KM-MARKIT, which was released a month prior. As part of Kumi's ''12 Singles Collection'' releases, "D.D.D." premiered on December 21, 2005 as the third single from the album. The CD cover sleeve has Kumi wearing a black mini-dress and

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, de ...

. The cover sleeve is to represent the country United Kingdom, and its symbolism of

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

. Musically, "D.D.D." is a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song that borrows numerous musical elements such as R&B. The song borrows a 4-bar melody from the

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

and

Rockwilder Dana Stinson (born February 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Rockwilder, is an American hip hop record producer and rapper. A long term friend of Def Jam rapper Redman, Rockwilder got his start producing for East Coast hip hop artists ...

's remake of "

Lady Marmalade "Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, originally for Nolan's disco group. The song is famous for the repeated refrain of " ''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi''?" in French as part of the chorus, a sexually suggestive line ...

." The song is sung in half Japanese and half English. The song received favorable reviews from music critics, who commended the song's production and song writing. The composition and Soulhead's collaboration was also complimented. Restricted to 50,000 units, "D.D.D." reached #5 on the Japanese

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

, and sold over 48,000 units in that region. The song also reached number five on the Japanese

Count Down TV (also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...

Singles Chart. The accompanying music video for "D.D.D." was shot in Japan: it features Kumi and Soulhead dancing in a cave, with individual scenes of them with men in a jail cell. To promote the single, it was featured in several concert tours conducted by Kumi, including her tour for ''Best ~second session~'' and her 2013 ''Japonesque'' tour. A variation of the single, entitled "XXX," was released by SOULHEAD on their single ''

Pray/XXX ''Pray/XXX'' is the thirteenth single by the female duo Soulhead from their third studio album ''Naked''. The main track, "Pray," was an R&B mix, while "XXX" was an upbeat pop/ hip-hop mix featuring artist Koda Kumi. The single charted at No. 22 ...

'' in 2006.

Background and composition

"D.D.D." was written by the members and sisters of Japanese musical duo

, Yoshika and Tsugumi, with production being done by Octopussy.

Avex is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

approached Yoshika and Tsugumi to collaborated with Koda Kumi, which they accepted. The song is Kumi's first collaborative effort since her single " Hot Stuff," which was with Japanese

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

KM-MARKIT, which had been released a month prior. "D.D.D." was one of three songs from Kumi's

'' Best ~second session~'' to have included featuring artists - the others songs were "

Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

" featuring Mr. Blistah from rap duo Clench & Blistah, and "

Kamen Kamen () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the district Unna. Geography Kamen is situated at the east end of the Ruhr area, approximately 10 km south-west of Hamm and 25 km north-east of Dortmund. Neighbouring cities, t ...

" with

Tatsuya Ishii , also known as Tatuya Ishii (born September 22, 1959) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, artist, and industrial designer from Ibaraki Prefecture. Biography In 1985, he debuted as vocalist in the band . In 1992, their single won the Japanese r ...

. "D.D.D." is also one of four songs from ''Best ~second session~'' not co-written by Kumi. The others are " No Regret," "

Ima Sugu Hoshii Ima Sugu Hoshii (今すぐ欲しい / Want You Now) is the ninth single in Japanese singer Kumi Koda's ''12 Single Collection.'' As with the other singles, ''Ima Sugu Hoshii'' was limited to 50,000 copies. It debuted at No. 2 on Oricon Daily, tak ...

," and "Kamen". It was recorded in mid-2005 at Avex Studio in Tokyo, Japan. Musically, "D.D.D." is a

song that borrows numerous musical elements such as R&B. The song borrows a 4-bar melody from the

and

's remake of "

," which features singers Elliott, Mya,

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

. The song is performed in half Japanese and half English, both performed equally by Kumi and Soulhead respectively. The title "D.D.D." is an abbreviation for triple diamond, which was quoted by several journalists when it was pre-released. In February 2006, a variation of the single, entitled "XXX", was performed by Soulhead for their single ''

.'' This version credits Kumi as the featured artist and is inspired by

groove music Groove Music (formerly Xbox Music or Zune Music Pass) is a discontinued audio player software application included with Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. The app is also associated with a now-discontinued music streaming service, Groov ...

Release and artwork

As part of Kumi's ''12 Singles Collection,'' "D.D.D." premiered on December 21, 2005 as the third single from the album ''Best ~second session~.'' The single was released in two formats: a stand-alone

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

and a digital release. The CD single includes the original composition and the instrumental version. The CD cover sleeve has Kumi wearing a black mini-dress and donning a black

. For the collection, each single was given its own unique cover art, each which represented a dress from a different culture. For the cover sleeve of "D.D.D.", Kumi chose to represent the United Kingdom and its symbolism of

Commercial performance

In Japan, "D.D.D." debuted at #5 on the Japanese Oricon Weekly Chart with an estimated 42,548 units in its first week. "D.D.D." managed to reach higher than "

Birthday Eve ''Birthday Eve'' is a limited edition single by Japanese R&B-turned-pop artist Kumi Koda. It was the second release in her ''12 Singles Collection'' and charted No. 6 on Oricon, remaining for four weeks. The single became the first release to b ...

" which charted at #6, but was one of her lowest charting singles. The song lasted for five weeks on the chart, and sold over 48,000 units. This was one of her best selling limited singles from ''Best ~second session~'' alongside "Birthday Eve", "

feel Feel may refer to: *Feeling Music Bands *Feel (New York band), a dance and R&B band *Feel (Polish band), a pop rock band Songs * "Feel" (Kendrick Lamar song), 2017 * "Feel", by Phora, 2018 *"Feel", by Mahmut Orhan, 2016 * "Feel" (Kumi Koda song), ...

", and "Candy". "D.D.D." also entered at #5 on the Japanese

Chart. It fell to #49 the following week, and lasted two weeks in the top 100 chart.

Track listing

*Japanese CD single # "D.D.D feat.

" – 4:15 # "D.D.D feat. Soulhead" (Instrumental) – 4:15 *''Best: Second Session'' digital download # "D.D.D feat. Soulhead" – 4:15

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Best: Second Session''. *

– vocals, background vocals * Yoshika (

member) – vocals, background vocals, songwriting * Tsugumi (Soulhead member) – vocals, background vocals, songwriting * Octopussy – production, composing, arrangement * Avex Trax – Koda and Soulhead's record label, management * Avex Music Creative Inc. – Koda and Soulhead's distribution label *

Rhythm Zone (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 2000, ...

– Koda and Soulhead's record label, management *

S.M. Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

– Koda and Soulhead's distribution label * Recorded in Tokyo, Japan, 2005

Charts and sales

Charts

Sales

, - ! scope="row", Japan (

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include p ...

) , , 48,000 , -

Alternate Versions

Currently, there are three renditions of ''D.D.D. feat. SOULHEAD'': #D.D.D. feat. SOULHEAD: Found on the single (2005) and corresponding album BEST ~second session~ #D.D.D. feat. SOULHEAD nstrumental'': Found on the single (2005) #D.D.D. feat. SOULHEAD ink Chameleon's Remix'': Found on

Beach Mix ''Beach Mix'' is Koda Kumi's sixth remix album, out August 1, 2012. It is her first album to feature a playbutton - the album contained on an mp3 player in a button. It comes in three editions: CD, CD+DVD and CD+DVD+Playbutton. ''Beach Mix'' beca ...

(2012)

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

"D.D.D."
at Koda Kumi's official website, powered by

. {{authority control 2005 singles 2005 songs Koda Kumi songs Rhythm Zone singles