74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e (74億分の1の君へ; To you, the 1 out of 7.4 billion) is the 7th single from the Japanese idol girl group HKT48, released on April 13, 2016 by Universal Music Japan. It was debuted live during a live concert held on March 30, at Marine Messe Fukuoka.
| "74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Type A cover | ||||
| Single by HKT48 | ||||
| A-side | "74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e" | |||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | April 13, 2016 (Japan) | |||
| Genre | J-pop | |||
| Length | 4:05 | |||
| Label | Universal Sigma | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Yasushi Akimoto (lyrics) | |||
| Producer(s) | Yasushi Akimoto | |||
| HKT48 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e" Not available for YouTube Red regions | ||||
This single was released in five different versions, and in addition, this release occurs in a very delicate moment for the group: the HKT closed its old theater, located in the Hawks Town Mall on March 31 and will be opening a new one, located in Nishitetsu Hall on April 28, two weeks after 7th single release.
The single was number-one on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart,[1] with 238,828 copies sold.[2] It was also number-one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.[3]
Only full versions from "74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e" and "HKT-jou, Ima Ugoku" music videos are available on JPopAsia and JPopSuki. Other MVs (in full version) are not available on these sites to date. As the official channel HKT48 does not release full versions from music videos of coupling songs, only "74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e" (MV Full) will be available along the release of "Saikō Kayo", on September 7, 2016. Instead of M-On, the full-size music video premiered on Space Shower TV.
This is the last single to feature Chihiro Anai, who announced her graduation on June 8, 2016.
Music
editThe intro from "74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e" is notable for having similarities with "Octavarium", from American progressive metal band Dream Theater. The chorus of this song has some similarities with "Around the World", from Aqua, as well of choruses of "Start:DASH!!" and "Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari", from μ's.
Release
editWhen the full version from "74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e" music video releases (September 6, on Eastern Time), Chihiro Anai was graduated from the group after participating from her last activity as idol, on July 30, 2016. Unfortunately, the Full MV is not available for regions who apply YouTube Red.
Controversy
edit
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The B-side "Einstein yori Dianna Agron" (NakoMiku & MeroMio), written by group creator Yasushi Akimoto, was a subject of much controversy and received several negative reviews in social media for its themes and messages about the role of young women in society.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Comparing scientist Albert Einstein's intelligence and actress Dianna Agron's charm, the song was criticized as misogynistic in tone and message and as insulting to Agron. Some commentators, including The Japan Times, were particularly critical that Akimoto, who at the time was involved in organising the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, would be allowed to represent the nation to the world.[9][10][11][12] Akimoto said that he did not intend to spread discrimination and/or sexual harassment in the lyrics. The full version music video from this song was not released on YouTube by force of contract with the label.[citation needed] The song also received criticism for referring to actress Dianna Agron as empty-headed.[9][10]
Korean group BTS severed ties with Akimoto in 2018 because of the song, not releasing the song "Bird" from their Japanese EP "Fake Love / Airplane Pt.2" (originally "Bird / Fake Love / Airplane Pt. 2") after "Einstein yori Dianna Agron" resurfaced; Akimoto reportedly wrote the lyrics of "Bird".[13][14]
In their paper "Manufacturing Identity: Femininity, Discourse and Representation in Japanese Popular Music" (as published as chapter ten of Music in the Making of Modern Japan: Essays on Reception, Transformation and Cultural Flows), Ayako Ōtomo and Aya Satō noted that while Japanese idol groups had originated as a form of modernization, the HKT48 group was an example of persistent social conservatism, which they said "Einstein yori Dianna Agron" exemplified; they wrote that the song "functions as an externally imposed deformation of female identity, even as Japanese society is, in many ways, attempting to move past such hidebound conservatism." They also wrote that Agron and her Glee character, mentioned and depicted as kawaii in the song, are not representative of each other, and that Agron, in fact, represents a Western modernity that in the song "[has] been sidestepped and turned into a justification for sexism". The essay notes that the target audience for such songs is young men who are attracted to a conservative view of family and so prefer to see young women depicted both as youthfully innocent and as the ideal wife, something about which the Western girl group format allowed them to become fanatics.[15]
Selected Members (Senbatsu)
edit| 74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Haruka Kodama | Chihiro Anai | Aika Ota | Yui Kojina |
| Riko Sakaguchi | Rino Sashihara | Meru Tashima | Natsumi Tanaka |
| Miku Tanaka | Mio Tomonaga | Mai Fuchigami | Natsumi Matsuoka |
| Hana Matsuoka | Sakura Miyawaki | Madoka Moriyasu | Nako Yabuki |
| NOTE: The member marked in GREEN is the center for the song. Chihiro Anai graduated in July. | |||
Track list
edit| # | TYPE A | TYPE B | TYPE C | THEATER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e | |||
| 02 | Chain of Love | |||
| 03 | Taboo no Iro (Sakura Haruka) |
HKT-jou, Ima, Ugoku (Platinum Girls) |
Einstein Yori Dianna Agron (NakoMiku & MeruMio) |
ZuuZuushisa wo Kashite Choudai (Diamond Girls) |
| 04 | 74 Okubun no 1 no Kimi e (off vocal) | |||
| 05 | Chain of Love (off vocal) | |||
| 06 | Taboo no Iro (off vocal) |
HKT-jou, Ima, Ugoku (off vocal) |
Einstein Yori Dianna Agron (off vocal) |
ZuuZuushisa wo Kashite Choudai (off vocal) |
References
edit- ^ "週間 CDシングルランキング 2016年04月25日付". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
- ^ "Oricon Weekly Charts for 4/11 ~ 4/17". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2016/4/25". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved April 24, 2016.
- ^ "HKT48 and Akimoto Yasushi Criticized for Misogynistic Song". Arama! Japan. 10 May 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ "VIDEO: HKT48 song angers the president of a women's university in Tokyo". SBS TV. 10 May 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ ""I Prefer Dianna Agron Over Einstein" : Is Charm Valued Over Cleverness in Japan?". Tokyo Girls Update. May 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ "HKT新曲の歌詞が女性蔑視だと大炎上…「女の子はバカでいい」と書く秋元康のグロテスクな思想は昔から" (in Japanese). Litera. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ "【炎上】HKT48の新曲が海外ドラマ『glee』を侮辱しているとネットで大炎上!! 「女性蔑視だ」「全然ドラマを理解していない」と物議" (in Japanese). Rocket News 24. 14 April 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c "「女の子」を愚弄した秋元康を＜断罪＞する 『glee』が私たちに教えてくれたこと" (in Japanese). Wezzy. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "University chief rips AKB48 songwriting star for 'Einstein' lyrics". The Japan Times. 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ Chassany, Anne-Sylvaine; Lewis, Leo; Ahmed, Murad (2016-05-12). "Tokyo Olympics bid questioned as prosecutors probe $2m payouts". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "Sexist Lyrics in Japan: translating 3 songs by AKB48 Mastermind Yasushi Akimoto 日本の性差別的な歌詞秋元康の歌詞の翻訳 – Japanoscope". japanoscope.com. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ "BTS Won't Release New Japanese Single After Concerns About the Songwriter's Past Misogyny". Teen Vogue. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ Herman, Tamar (2018-09-17). "BTS Pull Single From Upcoming Japanese Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ Ōtomo, Ayako; Satō, Aya (2021). "Manufacturing Identity: Femininity, Discourse and Representation in Japanese Popular Music". In Hibino, Kei; Ralph, Barnaby; Johnson, Henry (eds.). Music in the Making of Modern Japan: Essays on Reception, Transformation and Cultural Flows. Springer Nature. pp. 187–208. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73827-3_10. ISBN 978-3-030-73826-6. OCLC 1264263417. S2CID 241226743.