Ai no Tane
Encyclopedia
is the unofficial debut single of Japanese pop idol
group Morning Musume
, released under a defunct independent sub-label
of Zetima Records on November 3, 1997. It is sometimes called the "zeroth single"— being the "first single" and so on.
It was later included in many other Morning Musume releases: in their first official single "Morning Coffee"; their first album, ; and their first "Best of" compilation, Best! Morning Musume 1
. An instrumental for this song was included in the bonus karaoke disc in the Early Single Box
.
organized a talent search competition named under the show Asayan
. After the competition, producer
and Sharan Q vocalist Tsunku
offered Yuko Nakazawa
, Aya Ishiguro
, Kaori Iida
, Natsumi Abe
, and Asuka Fukuda
—five of the ten losers of the competition—the chance to be taken under his wing on one condition: to sell 50,000 copies of their debut single, which turned out to be "Ai no Tane." The girls agreed to the challenge and were named Morning Musume
; thus, the recording of the song began.
. During the production, the group faced a big issue regarding with Yuko Nakazawa
. At the beginning, Nakazawa wore long hair that was originally featured in their single's cover. She later cut it short before debuting publicly. This act caused for a re-shoot of the cover and her solo lines in the song's bridge
.
The single was released and first distributed on November 3 at Shinsaibashi
, Osaka
, selling 16,610 copies, and then on November 9 at Fukuoka
with 9,004 copies. Distribution continued on November 23 at Sapporo with 14,853 copies. During this event, Kaori Iida
was hospitalized because her contact lens broke and caused temporary blindness
. She was able to come back before the fourth day of "Ai no Tane" distribution at Nagoya embarked; they sold 9,533 copies. After four days of distribution, the five girls accomplished their task and were officially under Tsunku's care.
Japanese idol
In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
group Morning Musume
Morning Musume
, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...
, released under a defunct independent sub-label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
of Zetima Records on November 3, 1997. It is sometimes called the "zeroth single"— being the "first single" and so on.
It was later included in many other Morning Musume releases: in their first official single "Morning Coffee"; their first album, ; and their first "Best of" compilation, Best! Morning Musume 1
Best! Morning Musume 1
is the first "best of" compilation from the J-pop idol group Morning Musume, and was released January 31, 2001. It is currently the largest selling album of their career and sold a total of 2,259,510 copies...
. An instrumental for this song was included in the bonus karaoke disc in the Early Single Box
Early Single Box
Early Single Box is the first box set compilation from J-pop idol group Morning Musume, and was released December 15, 2004. It contains their first eight singles in their entirety, each on a separate disc with an additional bonus track each...
.
History
In 1997, Sharan QSharan Q
is a Japanese pop rock band composed of lead singer , on guitar, on drums and on keyboards.- Biography :They debuted with in 1992. They were not an instant hit initially, but their fourth single broke the top 50 of the Oricon charts. Eventually, the single got a lot of attention since it...
organized a talent search competition named under the show Asayan
Asayan
Asayan, originally known as , was a talent search variety show that aired on TV Tokyo from 1995 to 2002. Many Hello! Project artists and groups were discovered through Asayan auditions produced by Tsunku....
. After the competition, producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and Sharan Q vocalist Tsunku
Tsunku
, better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...
offered Yuko Nakazawa
Yuko Nakazawa
is a Japanese pop and enka singer, and actress, best known as one of the original members of the all-female J-pop group Morning Musume. She is currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.- Biography :...
, Aya Ishiguro
Aya Ishiguro
is a singer, writer, TV personality and fashion designer in Japan, most famous for her participation in pop group Morning Musume. She was born in Hokkaidō, Japan on May 12, 1978.Aya Ishiguro was a runner-up in a 1997 contest to find a new female rock idol...
, Kaori Iida
Kaori Iida
is a Japanese pop singer and actress, associated with Hello! Project and best known as a founding member of the girl band Morning Musume. She has also recorded with the Morning Musume side project band Tanpopo and is currently a solo artist...
, Natsumi Abe
Natsumi Abe
is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.-Career:On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watashi," which means "Me, 22 years old," just a few days after her 22nd birthday...
, and Asuka Fukuda
Asuka Fukuda
is a Japanese pop singer, and she was a member of Morning Musume from 1997 until April 18, 1999.In 1997, Fukuda joined Morning Musume along with Yuko Nakazawa, Aya Ishiguro, Natsumi Abe, and Kaori Iida. Although she was the youngest member at that time, she was the first to graduate in April 1999...
—five of the ten losers of the competition—the chance to be taken under his wing on one condition: to sell 50,000 copies of their debut single, which turned out to be "Ai no Tane." The girls agreed to the challenge and were named Morning Musume
Morning Musume
, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...
; thus, the recording of the song began.
Production and distribution
Recordings began on mid-September as well as the photoshoot for the CD coverAlbum cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
. During the production, the group faced a big issue regarding with Yuko Nakazawa
Yuko Nakazawa
is a Japanese pop and enka singer, and actress, best known as one of the original members of the all-female J-pop group Morning Musume. She is currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.- Biography :...
. At the beginning, Nakazawa wore long hair that was originally featured in their single's cover. She later cut it short before debuting publicly. This act caused for a re-shoot of the cover and her solo lines in the song's bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
.
The single was released and first distributed on November 3 at Shinsaibashi
Shinsaibashi
Shinsaibashi is a district in the Chūō-ku ward of Osaka, Japan and the city's main shopping area. It centers around Shinsaibashi-suji, a covered shopping street, that is north of Dōtonbori and parallel and east of Mido-suji street. Associated with Shinsaibashi, and west of Mido-suji street, is...
, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, selling 16,610 copies, and then on November 9 at Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
with 9,004 copies. Distribution continued on November 23 at Sapporo with 14,853 copies. During this event, Kaori Iida
Kaori Iida
is a Japanese pop singer and actress, associated with Hello! Project and best known as a founding member of the girl band Morning Musume. She has also recorded with the Morning Musume side project band Tanpopo and is currently a solo artist...
was hospitalized because her contact lens broke and caused temporary blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
. She was able to come back before the fourth day of "Ai no Tane" distribution at Nagoya embarked; they sold 9,533 copies. After four days of distribution, the five girls accomplished their task and were officially under Tsunku's care.
Musical personnel
- Morning MusumeMorning Musume, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Saeki Kenzō – lyricistLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
- Tetsutarō Sakurai – composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, and chorusChorus effectIn music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one... - Yūji Yokozeni – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Masahiki Rokugawa – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Kiyoshi Tsuchiya – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Shin Kōno – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
External links
- "Ai no Tane" lyrics at Projecthello.com