''Music Gift'' is a free release EP released by Kokia, handed out on the streets of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in on 9 December 2008, limited to 10,000 copies. It was created as a memorial for the 7th anniversary of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

. The original title of the project was the "Remember the Kiss Music Gift" when it was mentioned in Kokia's blog in September 2008. "Candle in the Heart" later featured on a bonus CD on Kokia's 2009 greatest hits album, '' Coquillage: The Best Collection II''. The then

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

, wrote Kokia a letter thanking her for her efforts.

Recording

" Amazing Grace" and "Remember the Kiss (Dedicated to "New" NY)" were released on Kokia's album ''

Christmas Gift A Christmas gift or Christmas present is a gift given in celebration of Christmas. Christmas gifts are often exchanged on Christmas Eve (December 24), Christmas Day itself (December 25) or on the last day of the twelve-day Christmas season, Tw ...

'' in October and November 2008. , the original Japanese version of "Candle in the Heart," also featured. "Amazing Grace" and "Candle in the Heart" were recorded sometime between May and September 2008. Kokia travelled to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for a week in early September 2008 to record "Remember the Kiss (Dedicated to "New" NY)," an English language translation of the song. The song was recorded with a church organ and church choir at the Institutional Church of God Church in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Distribution

On 9 December, Kokia flew into New York, and on the 9th handed out all 10,000 CDs in a single day at

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, dressed in a santa costume.

Track listing

References

{{Kokia Kokia (singer) EPs 2008 EPs 2008 Christmas albums Christmas albums by Japanese artists Folk Christmas albums Japanese-language EPs Pop Christmas albums