The only Nishino Kana I've ever heard until now was her "Kimitte" PV, and although she's not someone that I'd pick out to buy, her music is pretty good sythny pop. "If" is a pretty typical offering, as far as I can tell, progressing from the pop ballad "If" to the energetic "Beautiful."
"If" is a pop ballad with a decent sound - there's an interesting variety of instruments, including some that aren't very common: in addition to the usual drum machines, synthesizers, and chimes, there are also hand bells and a choir! If you listen carefully to your music at all, "If" makes for an interesting listen. But not necessary a good one: among the synth are gross synth strings. (As a violin player, I can smell those fake strings from all the way across the Pacific, and if GLAY can't get away with it, neither can Kana.) Other than that, though, the song is pleasant enough. A pretty good A-side, but not a standout song.
"I'll be there" is a basic R&B-pop fusion, and my least favorite. Even more gratuitous synth strings! Pardon my third-grade French, but barf! There are also come cutely hilarious parts, like her backup lyrics of "Freva! Freva!" for "Forever! Forever!"*
"Beautiful" is easily the best song on the single, and in my opinion sounds more like an A-side than the A-side! It's fun, bassy, and has a good dance vibe. Also, good pronunciation on this one! (Weird but welcome.) It's a song good enough that I'd be happy to add to a playlist. (Watch the PV!)
*I'm not above making fun of performers' pronunciation.** There's no excuse for blatantly bad pronunciation. There are enough foreigners in Japan and they're rich enough that they can either get language coaching or fluent backup singers. Besides which, even if they don't have a good grasp on how big their Western fanbase is, I'm pretty sure that they know it exists and should be trying to add to that fanbase. Good pronunciation is a good foundation on which to expand into the West.
**I'm hard on them because I love them. It's called "tough love," people!
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