"Hanataba o Kimi ni" | ||||
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Single by Hikaru Utada | ||||
from the album Fantôme | ||||
Released | April 15, 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2016 | |||
Genre | J-pop | |||
Length | 4:42 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Hikaru Utada | |||
Producer(s) | Hikaru Utada | |||
Hikaru Utada singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Hanataba o Kimi ni" on YouTube |
"Hanataba o Kimi ni" (花束を君に, lit. "A Bouquet For You") is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It was released digitally on April 15 2016, alongside "Manatsu no Tōriame" as joint singles for her album Fantôme. The song was the theme to the dorama Toto Neechan.[1] The single is Utada's first release since 2012's Evangelion: 3.0 theme song "Sakura Nagashi", and marks her official comeback to the Japanese music scene.[2]
Composition
[edit]"Hanataba o Kimi ni" is a soft J-pop ballad featuring prominent strings, as well as a piano and drums. It is one of her few singles to be completely in Japanese, with no English words in it. Lyrically, it speaks about the appreciation felt for a departed person and symbolically sending them a bouquet to show it. During one verse, she talks about how pain and sorrow were vital for love to exist (If there weren't any of the daily secret pains and loneliness / And there were only fun things / Then we got away without feeling anything like love).[3]
Commercial reception
[edit]On April 30, 2016, the song entered Billboard's Japan Hot 100 at number 3, based on strong radio airplay and digital sales.[4][5] The next week, it rose one place to number 2, which became its peak position on the chart.[6] In its third week the song fell to number 7, then to number 9[7] and continued to slowly drop down on the chart during the following three months. After 16 weeks, it fell off the chart on the issue dated 20 August, but re-entered the next week at number 64.[8] Boosted by the release of the official music video in early September, "Hanataba o kimi ni" shot up 52 positions from 79 to 27 and then stayed in the top 40 nearly uninterrupted until early November, reaching number 23 shortly after the album's release.[9][10] It again descended down the charts and stayed in lower positions throughout November and December, but re-entered the top 20 after New Year's Day.[11] It has spent 45 non-consecutive weeks on the Hot 100, over a timespan of more than a year and a half.[12]
The song has received a double-platinum certification by the RIAJ for digital sales in excess of 500,000 copies or more and became the second-highest-selling download single of the year, behind only "Zenzenzense" by Radwimps. In October 2019, it was awarded triple-platinum for exceeding digital sales of 750,000. It thus became her highest-selling download single since 2008's "Prisoner of Love, which was certified Million.[13]
Track listing
[edit]All lyrics are written by Hikaru Utada; all music is composed by Hikaru Utada
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Hanataba o Kimi ni (花束を君に)" | 4:37 |
Credits
[edit]Credits adapted from Fantôme liner notes.[14]
- Hikaru Utada – vocals, songwriting, production
- Ian Thomas – drums
- Ben Parker – electric bass
- Simon Hale – acoustic piano
- Steve Price – strings recording
- Steve Fitzmaurice – percussion, additional drum programming, recording, mixing
- Darren Heelis – additional engineering, additional drum programming
- Komori Masahito – vocal recording
- Jeremy Murphy – strings recording assistance
- Tom Coyne – mastering
Release history
[edit]Region | Date | Format |
---|---|---|
Japan | April 15, 2016 | PC download |
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
Certifications[edit]
|
References
[edit]- ^ "[2016/03/10] Title of theme song of NHK morning drama "Toto Nē-chan" is announced!". Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016.
- ^ "[2016/07/08] Utada Hikaru Releases Her 6th Original Full Album, First in 8 Years, on Sep. 28!!". Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016.
- ^ "Hanataba wo Kimini – A Bouquet To You". Animelyrics. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. April 30, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot Radio Songs". Billboard Japan. May 2, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. May 7, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. May 21, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. August 27, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. September 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. October 8, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. January 21, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ "有料音楽配信認定". RIAJ. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
- ^ Fantôme (booklet). Hikaru Utada. Virgin. 2016. TYCT-60101.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Japan Top Radio Songs Chart" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. May 2, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100-year-end chart 2016". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ "AKB48 and Justin Bieber Top Billboard Japan's Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ "有料音楽配信認定". RIAJ. Retrieved November 25, 2019.