Wings (EP)

Wings is the seventh EP by Japanese artist Koda Kumi, released on January 18, 2023. It is her seventh official EP, her last being Angel + Monster, which was released in 2019 - the extended plays from her Fever series excluded. The EP debuted at No. 5 on the daily Oricon albums chart.[1] It dropped in ranking throughout the week, though remained in the top 10 at No. 10 with a total of 4,340 units sold.[2]

The EP was released in four editions. A CD+DVD and CD+Blu-ray were released to the public, while a limited CD+2DVD and CD+Blu-ray was released to her fan club Koda Gumi. The edition released to the public housed five tracks on the CD and an edited version of her Premium Symphonic Concert 2022 performance for Billboard Classics that was held at Festival Hall, Osaka on June 18, 2022.[3][4] The fan club editions contained the entire performance on the first DVD and the music videos for the tracks "Wings" and "Trigger".[5]

The title track, "Wings", was originally released as a digital single on August 31, 2022. It was utilized as the theme song for the Ikemen game series All for Love!.[6][7] A special music video made for the game was released two months prior on July 1, 2022 on the series' official YouTube.[8]

Kumi performed the song during her 21st→22nd Anniversary Event Live at Tokyo Dome City Hall on December 6, 2022.[9][10]

Of the five tracks on the EP, two received music videos: "Wings" and "Trigger".

"Wings" opens as a bird flies through clouds before shifting focus to Koda Kumi descending stairs from the sky. As the song progresses, wings continued to grow larger on her back. At the end of the video, the wings have grown to their full size. It then cuts back to the bird flying from the opening. The music video was uploaded to Koda Kumi's official YouTube on January 17, 2023.[11]

"Trigger" carries a darker theme, opening with a shot of the sky before shifting to the ground. It then focuses on Koda Kumi with black wings, lying on the ground as though she had fallen from the heavens. The video cuts to several edits of her dancing and clawing at the dirt on the ground. It ends with the sun rising and Kumi, still donning black wings, standing before disappearing into a cloud of black smoke. It then cuts to the opening of "Wings." The official music video was uploaded the same day as "Wings" on January 17, 2023.[12]