is a song that Japanese musician Miyuki Nakajima

Miyuki Nakajima

is a Japanese vocalist, guitarist, lyricist, composer and radio personality. As a principal Japanese female veteran singer-songwriter she is often compared to Yumi Matsutoya, she has released 37 studio albums, 40 singles, 2 live albums and multiple compilations to date, and whose sales have been...

 composed and recorded for the country's acclaimed television documentary program Project X -Chōsenshatachi-, which aired on NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

 during the first half of 2000s. It was released as a double A-Side single with in July 2000 and reached the number-one spot after 30 months, becoming one of the longest running singles in history of the Japanese 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...

 chart started in 1968.

History

After a couple of commercially lackluster studio albums were released, Nakajima left Pony Canyon

Pony Canyon

is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...

, a record label she had belonged to since her debut. Double A-Side single "Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)"/"Headlight, Taillight" is the first release under the record label, Yamaha Music Communications, which was newly founded in 2000.

Both songs were originally written for the TV documentary series which was aired on NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

. Akira Imai, a producer of the television program decided to ask Nakajima to write theme songs, because he was moved by lyrics of her 1998 smash hit "Another Name for Life". Imai thought that her insight on the song coincided with concept of a documentary that reports unknown activities of obscure people, who built up the modern Japanese society. The program premiered in March 2000, and her theme song which features her distinctive vocals widely became known.

A opening and a closing theme on the program were released as the thirty-seventh single for Nakajima in July 2000, and both of them also appeared on her 28th studio album Short Stories released in November 2000. In 2004, Nakajima re-recorded "Earthly Stars" on her studio live album and DVD entitled Miyuki Nakajima Live! -Live at Sony Pictures Studio in L.A.-, released in the following year. Utatabi, her 2008 live album released on CD and DVD also includes a live recording of "Earthly Stars" performed in December 2007.

Reception

"Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)" / "Headlight, Taillight" debuted at the number-15 on the Japanese Oricon Chart, in excess of 35,000 copies sold. It became a smash hit because of the long-lasting popularity of the TV documentary program, remaining on the Oricon charts for more than two years.

On 31 December 2002, Nakajima made her appearance on the annual NHK music program Kōhaku Uta Gassen

Kohaku Uta Gassen

, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...

. Here she performed "Earthly Stars" from the tunnel in Kurobe dam

Kurobe dam

The or , is a variable-radius arch dam on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan. It supports the 335 MW Kurobe No. 4 Hydropower Plant and is owned by Kansai Electric Power Company. At high, it is the tallest dam in Japan. It was constructed between 1956 and 1963 at...

, Toyama Prefecture

Toyama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Toyama.Toyama is the leading industrial prefecture on the Japan Sea coast, and has the industrial advantage of cheap electricity due to abundant water resources....

. Nakajima's performance recorded the highest audience ratings from the program in 2002. After appearing on the show, the single began climbing the charts again, reaching #1 in January 2003. The single was later certified to have sold more than a million copies.

Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)

Year	Performer	Album	Genre	Notes
2003	Various (Nobuo Furukawa, Toshihiro Nakanishi,Chuei Yoshikawa,Hideo Yamaki)	the most relaxing feel 3; Peace of mind	Easy listening Easy listening Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
2003	Richard Clayderman Richard Clayderman Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...	Clayderman Plays Antique Pianos	Easy listening Easy listening Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
2003	Twelve Girls Band Twelve Girls Band Twelve Girls Band are an all female Chinese musical group that initially consisted of twelve members before the addition of a thirteenth. Twelve Girls Band use traditional Chinese instruments to play both traditional Chinese and Western music. Formed on June 18, 2001, the women were selected by...	Beautiful Energy Beautiful Energy Beautiful Energy is the first album by Twelve Girls Band. It consists of fifteen songs played in a modernized Chinese form. It was released in 2003.-Track list:# "Miracle"# "Freedom"# "Sekai Ni Hitotsu Dake No Hana"# "Shangri-La"# "Take Five"...	Easy listening Easy listening Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres... /world World music World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...	also appeared on their 2004 Eastern Energy Eastern Energy Eastern Energy is an album by Twelve Girls Band. It consists of fourteen songs in a sort of modernized Chinese form on one audio CD and a DVD featuring the video for the song "Freedom" and other material. It was released on Platia 72438-64515-0-7 in 2004. This album is also considered as the... album released in the U.S.
2003	Julia Fordham Julia Fordham Julia Fordham is a British singer-songwriter based in California. Her professional career started in the early 1980s, under the name "Jules Fordham", as a backing singer for Mari Wilson and Kim Wilde.-Career:...	Nakajima Miyuki Tribute; Yourself...Myself...	Adult contemporary	sung in English lyrics written by Justin Tyme
2004	Fuyumi Sakamoto Fuyumi Sakamoto is a Japanese female enka singer under EMI Music Japan.-Career:On March 4, 1987, Sakamoto debuted as a recording singer with the single "Abare Daiko". In 1988, she took part in the 39th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen for the first time...	Zenkyokushū	Enka Enka is a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as nihonjinron, while adopting a more... /kayokyoku Kayokyoku is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. The Japan Times describes kayōkyoku as "standard Japanese pop" or "Showa era pop".Kayōkyoku is Western-style-inspired music of Japan. Music in this genre is extremely varied as a result...
2005	Michiko Shimizu	Uta no Album	Parody Parody music Parody music, or musical parody, involves changing or recycling existing musical ideas or lyrics — or copying the peculiar style of a composer or artist, or even a general style of music. Although the result is often funny, and this is the usual intent — the term "parody" in musical terms also...	as a part of the track "Utahime Medley"
2007	Aya Endo Aya Endo is a Japanese voice actress from Yamagata, Japan.- Voice acting roles :-Video games:*Agarest Senki 2 *Ar tonelico III *Chaotic *Koumajou Densetsu: Stranger's Requiem *Rune Factory 3...  (as Miyuki Takara)	Lucky Star Ending Theme Collection	Anime soundtrack
2009	Demon Kogure Demon Kogure , previously known as Demon Kogure, is a Japanese musician, entertainer, journalist and sumo commentator. He is the frontman of the heavy metal band Seikima-II, and is known for always working entirely in character....	Girls' Rock ~Tiara~	Heavy Metal Heavy metal music Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
2009	Dr.Metal Factory	Cover Metal Now	Heavy Metal Heavy metal music Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

Headlight, Taillight

Year	Performer	Album	Genre	Notes
2001	Takashi Obara	Try! Try! Try! Piano yo Utae Special; J-Pop Tokushū 2001	Easy listening
2003	Janis Ian Janis Ian Janis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist, and science fiction author. Ian first entered the folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-sixties; most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century...	Nakajima Miyuki Tribute; Yourself...Myself...	Folk	sung in English lyrics written by Ian

Uses in popular culture

The song Earthly Stars was sung in karaoke

Karaoke

is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

 form at the end of Episode 7 of the anime Lucky Star. It was sung by a character named Miyuki Takara, voiced by Aya Endo

Aya Endo

is a Japanese voice actress from Yamagata, Japan.- Voice acting roles :-Video games:*Agarest Senki 2 *Ar tonelico III *Chaotic *Koumajou Densetsu: Stranger's Requiem *Rune Factory 3...

. (see also: List of Lucky Star albums)

The song is also used in the Suntory

Suntory

is a Japanese brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to sandwich chains...

 Boss Commercial featuring Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....

.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Miyuki Nakajima, arranged by Ichizo Seo

1. – 05:11
2. – 04:58
3. [TV mix] – 05:11
4. [TV mix] – 04:58

Personnel

• Miyuki Nakajima - vocals
• Ichizo Seo - keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A 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...
  
  , strings arrangement & conduct
• Hideo Yamaki - tomtom
  Tom-tom drum
  A tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snare.Although "tom-tom" is the British term for a child's toy drum, the name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala; the tom-tom itself comes from Asian or Native American cultures...
  
  , cymbal
  Cymbal
  Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
  
  s
• Hideki Matsubara - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Masayoshi Furukawa - electric guitar
• Elton Nagata - keyboards, acoustic piano
• Keishi Urata - computer programming
• Seiichi Takubo - computer programming
• Masatsugu Shinozaki - violin, concertmaster
• Kiyo Kido - violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
  
• Jun Yamamoto - violin
• Yumiko Hirose - violin
• Osamu Inou - violin
• Kei Shinozaki - violin
• Yu Sugino - violin
• Naoyuki Takahashi - violin
• Kathrine Cash - violin
• Tsunehiro Shigyo - violin
• Keiko Nakamura - violin
• Machia Saito - violin
• Masako Mabuchi - viola
• Joshin Toyama - viola
• Gentaro Sakaguchi - viola
• Kaori Naruse - viola
• Masaharu Karita - cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
  
• Tomoya Kikuchi - cello
• Masahiro Tanaka - cello
• Susumu Miyake - cello
• Yasuhiro Kido - background vocals
• Fumikazu Miyashita - background vocals
• Katsumi Maeda - background vocals
• Toshiro Kirigaya - background vocals
• Etsuro Wakakonai - background vocals

Chart positions

Year	Country	Chart	Position	Weeks	Sales
2000-03	Japan	Oricon Weekly Singles Chart (top 100)	1	183	1.1 million+
		Oricon Weekly Singles Chart (top 200)		202

Footnotes: Until expansion of the hit parade in December 2002, Oricon provided only the top-100 sales charts in general (except a more detailed magazine especially published for the music industry called Original Confidence)