Ai Uta

"Ai Uta"
Cover of the single
Single by Greeeen
from the album Ā, Domo. Hajimemashite
LanguageJapanese
ReleasedMay 16, 2007 (2007-05-16)
Length3:58
LabelNayutawave Records
Composer(s)Greeeen
Producer(s)Jin
Greeeen singles chronology
"High G.K Low (Hajikero)"
(2007) 		"Ai Uta"
(2007) 		"Hito"
(2007)
Music videos
"Ai Uta" on YouTube

"Ai Uta" (愛唄, lit. 'Love Song') is a song by the Japanese band Greeeen (now Gre4n Boyz). It was released on May 16, 2007.

Release and reception

"Ai Uta" was released on May 16, 2007, as the band's third single.[1] The song was later included in the band's first album Ā, Domo. Hajimemashite.[2] Greeeen's label, Nayutawave Records, specifically marketed the song towards junior and senior high school students in an attempt to appeal to them, as they estimated that 85% of Greeeen fans were high schoolers.[3]

The song quickly rose to popularity, selling 250,000 copies. The chaku-uta version of the song was downloaded 2 million times in two months.[3] "Ai Uta" later became the third best-selling multi-format single of 2007 in Japan with over 6.2 million combined sales.[4][5] It ranked second on Recochoku's 2019 "Heisei Download Ranking", just behind "Kiseki", another one of the band's songs. The song surpassed 100 million streams on Billboard Japan in February 2024, making it the ninth song from the 2000s to do so.[1] The song ranked as the ninth most played 2000s song on Spotify Japan in 2022.[6] It peaked on Oricon's weekly chart in May 2007 at second.[7]

At the 22nd Japan Gold Disc Awards, Greeeen won the category of New Artist of the Year for the song.[8] The song was ranked as the third highest certified song by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, with 2.5 million downloads tracked between 2007 and 2009.[9] In a survey conducted by Oricon in 2007 about "heart-throbbing love songs that are perfect for autumn and will liven up your romance", the song ranked first; the survey wrote that the song was "making girls' heart fluttered."[10]

The song was used as the sixth ending theme covered by Rie Takahashi for the 2018 anime Teasing Master Takagi-san,[11] and the second ending theme covered by Manaka Iwami for the 2023 anime The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.[12][13] The song was also covered by Whiteeeen for the ending theme of the live-action adaptation of the manga Strobe Edge.[14]

A live-action adaptation of the song entitled Ai Uta - Yakusoku no Nakuhito (愛唄 ー約束のナクヒトー) was announced in April 2018 and premiered on January 25, 2019, in Japan on Line Live, starring Ryusei Yokohama. It was directed by Taisuke Kawamura and the script was written by Greeeeen with Shimizu Tadashi. The film was distributed by Toei.[15][16][17][18]

Chart

Weekly chart performance for "Ai Uta"
Charts Peak
position
Oricon weekly hottest topic ranking 2[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "GReeeeN「愛唄」ストリーミング累計1億回再生突破 | Daily News". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). February 21, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "あっ、ども。はじめまして。". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "デジタルとパッケージでブレイク、Greeeen". ORICON NEWS. March 4, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  4. ^ "ＧＲｅｅｅｅＮキバッた初連ドラ主題歌…ＴＢＳ系「ＲＯＯＫＩＥＳ」" [First drama series theme song ... TBS system was GReeeeN Kiba~tsu "ROOKIES"]. Sports Hochi. March 31, 2008. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  5. ^ "GReeeeN「愛唄」が映画化 「キセキ」に続く2作目". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). April 9, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  6. ^ "Spotify、海外で今年最も再生された日本のアーティスト／楽曲TOP10発表". ORICON NEWS. December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "2007年ヒットソングの傾向、「泣き歌」". ORICON NEWS. March 4, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  8. ^ "EXILEが初のゴールドディスク大賞を受賞！". ORICON NEWS. March 4, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "一般社団法人 日本レコード協会". RIAJ. September 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  10. ^ "女のコを胸キュンさせるラブソング1位は、GReeeeNの「愛唄」". ORICON NEWS. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  11. ^ "TVアニメ「からかい上手の高木さん」公式サイト". TVアニメ「からかい上手の高木さん」公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Cambosa, Teddy (February 19, 2023). "The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Gets New Special Ending Theme Song". Anime Corner. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Loo, Egan (February 16, 2023). "The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten Anime Posts 2 New Videos". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  14. ^ "GReeeeN Contributes Live-Action Strobe Edge Film's Theme". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "GReeeeNが脚本に参加、横浜流星主演で「愛唄」映画化（コメントあり）". Natalie (in Japanese). April 9, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  16. ^ "GReeeeN、映画「愛唄」主題歌をシングルリリース". Natalie (in Japanese). November 30, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  17. ^ "愛唄 ー約束のナクヒトー | あらすじ・内容・スタッフ・キャスト・作品情報". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "GReeeeN脚本参加の映画「愛唄」特番配信、横浜流星や主題歌歌うNo titleほのか登場". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  19. ^ "今週の注目ランキングトピック一覧！". ORICON NEWS. March 4, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2024.