"Innocent World" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Mr. Children | ||||
from the album Atomic Heart, 1/42, Mr. Children 1992–1995, and B-Side | ||||
Released | June 1, 1994 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 13:31 | |||
Label | Toy's Factory | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kazutoshi Sakurai | |||
Producer(s) | Takeshi Kobayashi | |||
Mr. Children singles chronology | ||||
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"Innocent World" is the fifth single by Japanese rock band Mr. Children, released on June 1, 1994 by Toy's Factory. This was their first single in about seven months since their previous work, "Cross Road," and its release came at a time when their popularity had risen incrementally due to the long-term success of their aforementioned previous single. "Innocent World" served as the advertising jingle for Coca-Cola Japan's "Aquarius Iosis" beverage. [1]
The initial tentative title for the song was "innocent blue". The lyrics were intended to be polished into a love song like their third single "Replay," [2] and the opening line of the song was "I'm a little tired". [3] Takeshi Kobayashi was the one who suggested changing "blue" to "world". [4] Unlike their previous singles, the song has a strong message, incorporating objective satire rather than romantic sentiments. [2]
The off-vocals for the song were swiftly completed, but Kobayashi thought that this would be a turning point for Mr. Children, and he decided that the lyrics that Kazutoshi Sakurai had written should be "something that only Sakurai could write, including the clownish parts of him," and "the lyrics should be meaningful only because Kazutoshi Sakurai sings them. What is the meaning of the lyrics?" [2] As a result, the lyrics could not be easily completed. [3] However, on the way home, while driving near Waseda Street on Loop Route 7, the lyrics suddenly came to Sakurai, [2] and he stopped the car and repeatedly took notes, which he then used as the basis for completing the lyrics at home. Sakurai thought, "This is a song for a commercial, and I wonder if I can sing about something so personal." However, the members and Kobayashi both praised the song, and the lyrics were accepted as they were. [3]
After completing the vocals, the tie-up was abruptly cancelled due to "political issues". [3] However, the group was not pessimistic, [5] as they were convinced that the new song would open up a new career for them, and the tie-up was suddenly reactivated about a month later, although the circumstances were unclear. [3]
The blue record sleeve for the CD single was chosen because the song's tentative title was "innocent blue". The art director was Mitsuo Shindō.
"Innocent World" sold 206,030 copies in its first week, [6] becoming their first single to reach No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Less than two months later, its sales surpassed 1 million copies and became the best performing single in Japan of 1994, [7] while also being certified Million by the RIAJ. The success of this single also created a great synergistic effect, as it brought their previous works back on the chart. In the end, "Innocent World" sold 1,935,830 copies, [8] making it the third highest-selling single by Mr.Children, after the 6th single "Tomorrow never knows" and the 10th single "Namonaki Uta". [9]
On the annual karaoke chart, it was ranked No. 1 for two consecutive years in 1994 and 1995.
On May 10, 2018, the song was made available on various streaming services; in June 2021, it surpassed 30 million streams and was certified Silver; in July 2022, it surpassed 50 million streams and was certified Gold. [10]
"Innocent World" won a myriad of accolades including the "Grand Prix" (analogous to Record of the Year from the Grammy Awards) at the 36th Japan Record Awards, [11] however the members were absent from the award ceremony due to shooting the music video for "Tomorrow never knows" in Australia, which was very unorthodox at the time. When the group won the Grand Prix again in 2004 for their 26th single "Sign", all the members attended the ceremony. "Innocent World" also won "Best 5 Single Award" at the 9th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards, [12] and the "Silver Award" at the 13th Annual JASRAC Awards. [13]
All tracks are written by Kazutoshi Sakurai
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Innocent World" | 5:48 |
2. | "My confidence song" | 1:55 |
3. | "Innocent World (Instrumental Version)" | 5:48 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Japan (RIAJ) [16] | Million | 1,935,830 [17] |
Streaming | ||
Japan (RIAJ) [18] | Gold | 50,000,000† |
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone. |
|}
Mr. Children, commonly referred to by their contracted nickname "Misu-Chiru" (ミスチル), are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one of the best selling artists in Japan and one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 75 million records and creating the "Mis-chil Phenomenon" (ミスチル現象) in the mid-1990s in Japan. They held the record for the highest first week sales of a single in Japan for 15 years, with 1.2 million copies of their 10th single "Namonaki Uta" (名もなき詩), have 30 consecutive number 1 singles, replaced Glay as the all-male band to have the most number 1 albums on the Oricon charts, and won the Japan Record Award in 1994 for "Innocent World" and in 2004 for "Sign". As of 2012, Mr. Children has published fifteen original studio albums and 34 physical singles, along with five compilations, a live album, and fifteen home video releases.
Kazutoshi Sakurai is a Japanese musician. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked No. 8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" and in 2007 was voted No. 4 as the "ideal father image" by Oricon. Also, in 2009, he was chosen as one of the Young Global Leaders in World Economic Forum. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded AP Bank, where he personally provided 1 million dollars of seed money to launch and fund the nonprofit lending group which finances environmentally friendly projects.
The discography for the Japanese band Mr. Children consists of 19 studio albums, 5 compilations albums and 38 singles. They are one of the best selling artists in Japan.
Shinkai (深海) is the 5th studio album recorded by Japanese rock band Mr. Children, released in June 1996 under the record label Toy's Factory.
Atomic Heart is the fourth studio album by Japanese rock band Mr. Children, released in September 1994. The album features two successful lead singles "Cross Road" and "Innocent World".
Kind of Love is the first long-play record by Japanese rock band Mr. Children The album was issued in December 1992, only 7 months after the release of their debut EP entitled Everything. It has commonly been regarded as the band's second studio album.
Everything, is the seven-track EP recorded by Japanese pop rock band Mr. Children, released under the record label Toy's Factory in May 1992. It has generally been considered their first studio album.
Dakishimetai (抱きしめたい) is the second single released by Mr. Children on December 1, 1992.
"Replay" is the third single released by Mr. Children on July 1, 1993.
"Tomorrow Never Knows" is the sixth single released by Mr. Children on November 10, 1994. The single sold 2.766 million copies and is the eighth-highest-selling single in Japan in the Oricon history.
"Sign" is the twenty-sixth single released by Mr. Children on May 26, 2004. The title track was used as the theme song to the Japanese drama Orange Days and won the 'Song of the Year' award, known as the 'Grand Prize', in addition to the 'Gold Prize' award at the 46th annual Japan Record Awards ten years after the group's win for their 1994 single "Innocent World". The single went on to also win 'Best Theme Song' at the 41st Television Drama Academy Awards and also 'Song of the year' at the 19th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards. Like their previous single, it debuted at number one with 370,000 copies in its first week. It has sold over 770,000 copies, and became the 2nd best selling single of 2004.
"Ai wa Katsu" is a song composed and recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Kan, released as the artist's eighth single in September 1990. It was initially featured on his album Yakyū Senshu ga Yume datta, issued a month before the single came out. The song became the performer's first charting hit and the most successful single with sales of over 2 million copies, and has been regarded as his signature song.
(An Imitation) Blood Orange is the fifteenth studio album by Japanese pop rock band Mr. Children and was released on November 28, 2012. It was the band's first studio album in two years. The album consists of a total of 11 tracks, including their triple A-side single, "Inori: Namida no Kidou" / "End of the Day" / "Pieces", released in April 2012, as well as "Hypnosis". "Joutoku" was used as the theme song for Ikuta Toma's drama Osozaki no Himawari: Boku no Jinsei, Renewal and their charity digital single "Kazoe Uta", released in April 2011, for victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. This album was released in two versions: a limited CD+DVD edition and a regular CD-only edition, but the same price. The limited edition comes with a DVD including the PVs for "Hypnosis", "Marshmallow Day", "Inori: Namida no Kidou", and "Joutoku".
Takeshi Kobayashi, is a Japanese keyboardist, lyricist, composer, arranger, and record producer.
Best II is the fourth compilation album by Japanese singer Akina Nakamori.
"I Seek/Daylight" is the 49th single by Japanese boy band Arashi. It was released on May 18, 2016 under their record label J Storm. "I seek" was used as the theme song for the drama Sekai Ichi Muzukashii Koi starring Arashi member Satoshi Ohno, and "Daylight" was used as the theme song for the drama 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi starring Arashi member Jun Matsumoto. The single sold over 737,000 copies in its first week and topped the weekly Oricon Singles Chart. "I seek/Daylight" was certified for Triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
"Synchronicity" is the 20th single by Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46. It was released on 25 April 2018. It reached number one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart with 1,117,000 copies sold. It was also number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. The song won the Grand Prix at the 60th Japan Record Awards, giving the group their second win in a row.
Enka is the enka covers album by Japanese singer Akina Nakamori. It was released on 27 June 2007 under Universal Music Japan. It is Nakamori's fourth covers album.
"C" is the debut single by Japanese entertainer Miho Nakayama. Written by Takashi Matsumoto and Kyōhei Tsutsumi, the single was released on June 21, 1985, by King Records.
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