Japanese amateur vocalist Reol channeling Internet fame into solo album debut this summer

Krista Rogers

May 29, 2015

Reol (れをる), a female Japanese vocalist who has gained immense popularity over the last few years through her releases on online video sharing sites, is set to make her major debut on July 29 under Victor Entertainment.

The singer’s first solo album will be titled Gokusaishiki (極彩色), which translates to “Richly Colored.” If the album’s title track is any indication, the rest of the album will be a fantastical feast for your ears as well!

Reol is a well-known utaite (a person who covers previously released songs) among fans of online video sharing sites such as Niconico and YouTube. Her unique style and genre-defying sound has cemented her place in the hearts of fans, as evident in her video comments which span a range of different languages to boot. Furthermore, since her first upload in 2012, Reol’s videos have collectively been viewed over 50 million times–not too shabby for an amateur, if we do say so!

All that’s about to change, however, as Reol will be making her major label debut later this summer with the release of her first solo album titled Gokusaishiki. The album is currently set to include 16 tracks, including eight original songs composed with the help of frequent collaborator Giga-P. The remaining tracks, for which the titles have already been revealed, were also produced by some other big names in the Niconico/Vocaloid sphere.

▼ Currently released details regarding the track list for Gokusaishiki

As one would expect based on the meaning of the album’s title, the official music video for title track “Gokusaishiki” includes a rich vortex of colors and the repeated imagery of butterflies, flower petals, ornate lines, and kanji taken directly from the lyrics. Check out all of the snazzy visuals and video editing below:

Fans of Reol will also be pleased to know that Victor Entertainment is going to great lengths in order to make the singer’s major debut as special as possible. The album will be released in three versions–First Press Limited Editions A and B, and a regular version.

Limited Edition A will include a DVD featuring the music video and a making-of video for the title track, while Limited Edition B will include a “visual making book” which showcases illustrations from the album’s jacket design and music video. In addition, both editions will come packaged with a specially designed CD slipcase and randomly selected copies of the original lyrics notes.

▼ First Press Limited Edition A and its goodies

▼ First Press Limited Edition B and its goodies

While the bonus items are certainly exciting in and of themselves, buyers are in for even more of a treat once they see the album’s price tag. Both limited editions will be retailing for 3,000 yen (US$24.21) plus tax, while the regular edition will be sold for 2,300 yen ($18.56) plus tax. By Japanese standards, those are incredibly reasonable prices, seeing as many Japanese CDs that come packaged with DVDs and other goodies can easily run into the 5,000-8,000 yen price range.

To celebrate the release, Reol also plans to participate in two upcoming commemorative events in Tokyo. On August 23, the Gokusaishiki ~Blue Chapter~ event will be held at a currently undisclosed location of popular anime goods chain Animate. The following day, on August 24, the Gokusaishiki ~Red Chapter~ event will take place at Shibuya’s Tower Records. Reol will perform a mini concert and hold a talk segment at each event. See her official site for further details, or follow her latest news directly on her Twitter account here.

Lastly, we’ll leave you with some more eye candy from the “Gokusaishiki” title track music video. Here’s wishing Reol a successful summer debut!