In commemoration of her new NHK E-tele program, 'Angela Aki�s SONGBOOK in English', Angela has decided to release a new album. This album, adroitly titled "SONGBOOK", will be comprised of Angela's covers of 13 popular Western songs.

Angela recorded all the songs in Japanese and it seems as though the entire album will be done with a piano accompaniment -- a first for Angela. Fans will be particularly interested in Angela�s cover of Billy Joel�s �Honesty�; a song that she remembers hearing on the radio for the first time when she was 15 years old.

�SONGBOOK� will also include sheet music for all the songs, giving fans the chance to not just listen to the music, but to have fun and play along on their own pianos or guitars. The album will be available on January 11th.

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In related news, Angela is in her 9th month of pregnancy as of this month. However, she's determined to perform, and so she'll be at the Senda Sunplaza on December 24th and will hold her annual Budokan Live on the 26th. Angela will also be performing at Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year�s Eve for her 6th consecutive year.

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[SONGBOOK Tracklist]

01. Honesty (Billy Joel)

02. Will You Dance? (Janis Ian)

03. We�re All Alone (Boz Scaggs)

04. Material Girl (Madonna)

05. True Colors (Cyndi Lauper)

06. Without You (Badfinger)

07. Today (Smashing Pumpkins)

08. Kiss From A Rose (Seal)

09. A Song For You (Leon Russell)

10. Creep (Radiohead)

12. Still Fighting It (Ben Folds)

13. It�s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (Boyz II Men)

Source: barks