Don't Cry Anymore
Encyclopedia
"Don't Cry Anymore" is Japanese singer-songwriter Miwa
's debut major label single, released on March 3, 2010. It was used as the Nana Eikura
starring drama Nakanai to Kimeta Hi's theme song. It was certified gold by the RIAJ for full-length cellphone downloads.
song. The lyrics describe somebody instructing themself to stop crying and to be strong, no matter what. References are made to an end of a relationship, such as the song's protagonist . She feels that she wants to hear that person's voice again and to see them again, but knows that she must walk forward instead.
Miwa felt that "Don't Cry Anymore" was less indicative of her personality than the B-sides of the single. Miwa describes the B-side "Megurogawa" as a "comfortable and tender" song, that feels like her starting point from where she started to make music. It describes somebody yearning to tell a boy about her feelings for him, as she stands beside Meguro River in Tokyo, in spring with cherry blossoms lining the river. "Wake Up, Break Out!" was written in her first year at high school, and she performed this often at live houses. She believes the song has the feeling of a live performance, since she recorded it with the same band as she did for "Don't Cry Anymore."
drama Nakanai to Kimeta Hi's theme song. It was written specifically for the drama, after Miwa was told about concept of the drama after the initial offer. The song was briefly used in commercials for Recochoku from late January 2010 onwards.
Miwa participated in a high profile episode of the music show Music Fair
, a month before the single's release. On it, she performed the song, as well as a cover of Cyndi Lauper
's "True Colors
" with Alan, Leona Lewis
and Kana Nishino
. Miwa also performed "Don't Cry Anymore" on Music Japan on the 7th of March. She also performed at the special 300th anniversary episode of Bokura no Ongaku a month after the single's release, performing a cover of Yumi Matsutoya
's "Hello, My Friend" with Hiroshi Kamayatsu.
.
Interspersed between these scenes are shots of Miwa performing the song in the same room, backed with a guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboardist and four member string
section.
's "For Your Entertainment
." It charted in the top ten airplay songs for three weeks. In the same time period, the song had poor reception on Adult Contemporary radio stations, only peaking at #52. Two weeks later, the song reached a higher ranking of #31 among the adult contemporary stations, though never reaching the success of "Don't Cry Anymore" on the overall airplay charts.
On the physical charts, the single charted in the top 30 for three weeks, and the top 100 for six. It was a gradual seller - only selling 9,000 copies in its first week, but eventually selling 22,000 copies.
The song performed well in the digital market. It debuted at #14 on RIAJ's Chaku-uta Full charts, but the next week reached #3. It charted for a further two more weeks in the top 10. Its final week in the top 100 was 7 weeks after its debut, where it reached #56. It was certified gold for 100,000 Chaku-uta Full downloads for the March 2010 period.
Critically, CDJournal praised the song as being dynamic with "earnest lyrics." They noted an influence from Avril Lavigne
and Carole King
in the song. The song won the award for best drama theme song at the 64th The Television Drama Academy Awards, beating out songs such as Arashi
's "Troublemaker
" and Mr. Children
's "Hanabi."
Miwa (singer)
Miwa is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She debuted in 2010 with the single "Don't Cry Anymore", used as the theme song for the drama Nakanai to Kimeta hi.- Biography :...
's debut major label single, released on March 3, 2010. It was used as the Nana Eikura
Nana Eikura
is a Japanese model, actress, and occasional radio show host.She was born in Izumi, Kagoshima, Kyushu island and grew up in Sagamihara, Kanagawa. She was scouted in front of 109 in Shibuya, Tokyo when she was in junior high school...
starring drama Nakanai to Kimeta Hi's theme song. It was certified gold by the RIAJ for full-length cellphone downloads.
Writing
The song is an upbeat pop rockPop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
song. The lyrics describe somebody instructing themself to stop crying and to be strong, no matter what. References are made to an end of a relationship, such as the song's protagonist . She feels that she wants to hear that person's voice again and to see them again, but knows that she must walk forward instead.
Miwa felt that "Don't Cry Anymore" was less indicative of her personality than the B-sides of the single. Miwa describes the B-side "Megurogawa" as a "comfortable and tender" song, that feels like her starting point from where she started to make music. It describes somebody yearning to tell a boy about her feelings for him, as she stands beside Meguro River in Tokyo, in spring with cherry blossoms lining the river. "Wake Up, Break Out!" was written in her first year at high school, and she performed this often at live houses. She believes the song has the feeling of a live performance, since she recorded it with the same band as she did for "Don't Cry Anymore."
Promotion
The song was used as the Fuji TelevisionFuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
drama Nakanai to Kimeta Hi's theme song. It was written specifically for the drama, after Miwa was told about concept of the drama after the initial offer. The song was briefly used in commercials for Recochoku from late January 2010 onwards.
Miwa participated in a high profile episode of the music show Music Fair
Music Fair
Music Fair is a Japanese music show on Fuji Television. It is the longest-running Japanese music show and is currently sponsored by Shionogi.- Hosts :*Fubuki Koshiji *Sachoko Hidari *Yōko Minamida & Hiroyuki Nagato...
, a month before the single's release. On it, she performed the song, as well as a cover of Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's "True Colors
True Colors (song)
"True Colors" is a song written by songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, additional lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. It was both the title track and the first single released from Cyndi Lauper's second album. It was the only original song on the album that Lauper did not help write...
" with Alan, Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
and Kana Nishino
Kana Nishino
is a J-Pop singer and lyricist signed with SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008, with the single "I". CNN said that she was the favorite singer of teenage girls in Shibuya, Tokyo.- Life and career :...
. Miwa also performed "Don't Cry Anymore" on Music Japan on the 7th of March. She also performed at the special 300th anniversary episode of Bokura no Ongaku a month after the single's release, performing a cover of Yumi Matsutoya
Yumi Matsutoya
', nicknamed , is an influential Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. She is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice, and live performances, and is an important figure in Japanese popular music....
's "Hello, My Friend" with Hiroshi Kamayatsu.
Music video
The music video was shot by director Yuri Kanchiku. It depicts Miwa in a dark room with several free-standing doorways. Whenever Miwa travels through one of the doorways, she comes into the same room set up differently. The first time, it is set up for a frivolous banquet, with many different people dressed formally. The second time she enters it, the room is set up as if it were a busy park sidewalk, with many people dressed in work clothes ignoring her. She decides to sit down at a park bench. Miwa later finds a birdcage, and the scene switches to depicting her trapped inside the birdcage, with the floor littered with sheet musicSheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
.
Interspersed between these scenes are shots of Miwa performing the song in the same room, backed with a guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboardist and four member string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
section.
Reception
The single received low level airplay for two weeks before its release, before becoming the second most played song in Japan for a week, under Adam LambertAdam Lambert
Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter, and actor from San Diego, California. In May 2009, he finished as the runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol...
's "For Your Entertainment
For Your Entertainment (song)
"For Your Entertainment" is the debut mainstream single by American recording artist and American Idol season eight runner-up Adam Lambert....
." It charted in the top ten airplay songs for three weeks. In the same time period, the song had poor reception on Adult Contemporary radio stations, only peaking at #52. Two weeks later, the song reached a higher ranking of #31 among the adult contemporary stations, though never reaching the success of "Don't Cry Anymore" on the overall airplay charts.
On the physical charts, the single charted in the top 30 for three weeks, and the top 100 for six. It was a gradual seller - only selling 9,000 copies in its first week, but eventually selling 22,000 copies.
The song performed well in the digital market. It debuted at #14 on RIAJ's Chaku-uta Full charts, but the next week reached #3. It charted for a further two more weeks in the top 10. Its final week in the top 100 was 7 weeks after its debut, where it reached #56. It was certified gold for 100,000 Chaku-uta Full downloads for the March 2010 period.
Critically, CDJournal praised the song as being dynamic with "earnest lyrics." They noted an influence from Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
and Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
in the song. The song won the award for best drama theme song at the 64th The Television Drama Academy Awards, beating out songs such as Arashi
Arashi
is a Japanese boy band formed under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, which announced the formation of the group on November 3, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii...
's "Troublemaker
Troublemaker (Arashi song)
"Troublemaker" is a song recorded by Japanese boy band Arashi. It was released on March 3, 2010 by their record label J Storm. "Troublemaker" was used as the theme song to the drama starring Arashi member Sho Sakurai...
" and Mr. Children
Mr. Children
, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki. As a group, they are one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 50 million records and creating the in the mid 1990s in Japan...
's "Hanabi."
Track listing
Chart rankings
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
2 |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay | 31 |
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Weekly singles |
11 |
| RIAJ Digital Track Chart RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... Top 100 |
3 |
| RIAJ Digital Track Chart yearly top 100 | 77 |
Reported sales
| Chart | Amount |
|---|---|
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... physical sales |
22,000 |
| RIAJ Chaku-uta Full downloads | 100,000+ |
Personnel
- Tatsuhiro "Tabokun" Endo - bass
- Akitomo Fukushima - recording
- Hideo Kojima - drums
- Hiroyuki Matsugashita - electric guitar
- Miwa - acoustic guitar, chorus, songwriting, vocals
- Naoki-T - co-arranger, electric guitar, lead guitar, producer, programming, recording
- Quatre-M - co-arranger
- Toshio Uchida - electric guitar
- Risa Yamamoto - violin
- Takayoshi "Dr." Yamauchi - mixing