Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby

"Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" (唇にBe My Baby, On-the-Lips Be My Baby) is the 42nd single by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. It was released in Japan on December 9, 2015. As of February 22, 2016 (issue date), it has sold 1,041,763 copies.[1] It was number-one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart and was also number-one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.

"Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby"
Type A cover
Single by AKB48
from the album Thumbnail
A-side"Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby"
ReleasedDecember 9, 2015 (2015-12-09)
Recorded2015
GenreJ-pop
Length4:38 (Title track)
Label
Songwriter(s)Title song:
Yasushi Akimoto (lyrics) / Yoshifumi Kōchi (music)
Producer(s)Yasushi Akimoto
AKB48 singles chronology
"Halloween Night"
(2015)
"Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby"
(2015)
"Kimi wa Melody"
(2016)
Music video
Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby Full Version

Background

edit

The title track of this single marks Minami Takahashi's first time to hold an unshared choreography center position since 2006's "Sakura no Hanabiratachi".[2] The B-side track "365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" is a gentle, medium-tempo song.[3] It won Excellent Work Award in the 58th Japan Record Awards,[4] Best Theme Song in 88th The Television Drama Academy Award[5] and 11th Taisho Ryou Music Award.[6]

Release

edit

The single will be released in nine versions: Type A (two editions: limited and regular), Type B (limited and regular), Type C (limited and regular), Type D (limited and regular), and a version called a "Theater Edition". All versions, except the Theater Edition, include a DVD with four music videos (there's a music video for every song included in the particular version) and a video related to Minami Takahashi.

For the first time since "Chance no Junban", AKB48 did not sell a million copies of a single within the first week after the release, breaking the so-called Million Streak that had started since "Everyday, Kachuusha". Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby still managed to sell a million copies after several weeks. "Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" sold 905.490 copies in 2015, making it the 4th best selling single of the year, according to the Oricon.

Music video

edit

The music video for the title track was directed by Eiki Takahashi, who had already directed several music videos for the group. The full version (included only in limited editions) lasts for 13 minutes and was published along with the release of Kimi wa Melody (43rd single). On March 8, 2016 (2016-03-08), A Full version was released on official AKB48 YouTube channel.[7]

Track listings

edit

All lyrics were written by Yasushi Akimoto.

The first two tracks are the same for all versions.

Type A

edit
CD
No.TitleMusicArrangementLength
1."Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" (唇にBe My Baby)Yoshifumi KōchiHiroshi Sasaki4:38
2."365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" (365日の紙飛行機)Toshikazu Kadono, Hiroki AobaTeppei Shimizu4:42
3."Kimi o Kimi o Kimi o..." (君を君を君を…) (performed by 次世代選抜)   
4."Yasashii Place" (やさしい Place) (performed by Team A)  4:28
5."Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby off-vocal ver."  4:38
6."365 Nichi no Kamihikōki off-vocal ver."  4:42
7."Kimi o Kimi o Kimi o... off-vocal ver."   
8."Yasashii Place off-vocal ver."  4:28
DVD
No.TitleDirectorLength
1."Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" (music video)Eiki Takahashi13:08
2."365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" (music video) 5:06
3."Kimi o Kimi o Kimi o..." (music video)  
4."Yasashii Place" (music video)  
5."Words: Minami Takahashi Speaks Words of Wisdom" (WORDS ~minami takahashi speaks words of wisdom~)  

Type B

edit
CD
No.TitleLength
3."Madonna no Sentaku" (マドンナの選択) (performed by れなっち総選挙選抜) 
4."Onēsan no Hitorigoto" (お姉さんの独り言) (performed by Team K) 
7."Madonna no Sentaku off-vocal ver." 
8."Onēsan no Hitorigoto off-vocal ver." 
DVD
No.TitleLength
3."Madonna no Sentaku" (music video) 
4."Onēsan no Hitorigoto" (music video) 
5."Party no Sono Saki e: Takahashi Minami Sotsugyō Chokuzen Interview" (PARTYのその先へ ~高橋みなみ 卒業直前インタビュー~) 

Type C

edit
CD
No.TitleLength
3."Amanojaku Batta" (あまのじゃくバッタ) (performed by Team 8) 
4."Kin no Hane o Motsu Hito yo" (金の羽根を持つ人よ) (performed by Team B) 
7."Amanojaku Batta off-vocal ver." 
8."Kin no Hane o Motsu Hito yo off-vocal ver." 
DVD
No.TitleLength
3."Amanojaku Batta" (music video) 
4."Kin no Hane o Motsu Hito yo" (music video) 
5."Teramina: 812 Terabyte kara Gensen-shita Takahashi Minami Kessaku-shū" (テラみな ~812テラバイトから厳選した高橋みなみ傑作集~) 

Type D

edit
CD
No.TitleLength
3."Senaka Kotoba" (背中言葉)4:53
4."Nanka, Chotto, Kyū ni" (なんか、ちょっと、急に…) (performed by Team 4)4:44
7."Senaka Kotoba off-vocal ver."4:53
8."Nanka, Chotto, Kyū ni off-vocal ver."4:44
Total length:39:58
DVD
No.TitleLength
3."Senaka Kotoba" (music video)6:45
4."Nanka, Chotto, Kyū ni yo" (music video) 
5."Tabidatsu Kimi e: Takahashi Minami e no AKB48 Group Member Oiwai Comment-shū" (旅立つ君へ。 ~高橋みなみへのAKB48グループメンバーお祝いコメント集~) 

Theater Edition

edit
CD
No.TitleMusic{{{extra_column}}}Length
1."Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" (唇にBe My Baby)Yoshifumi KōchiHiroshi Sasaki 
2."365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" (365日の紙飛行機)Toshikazu Kadono, Hiroki AobaTeppei Shimizu 
3."Sakki made wa Ice Tea" (さっきまではアイスティー) (performed by 虫かご)   
4."Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby off-vocal ver."   
5."365 Nichi no Kamihikōki off-vocal ver."   
6."Sakki made wa Ice Tea off-vocal ver."   

Personnel

edit

"Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby"

edit

The senbatsu (member selection/lineup) for the song consists of 16 members. The center (choreography center) is Minami Takahashi.

"365 Nichi no Kamihikōki"

edit

The "Asa ga Kita senbatsu" (member selection/lineup) for the song consists of 16 members. The "center" is Sayaka Yamamoto.

"Kimi o Kimi o Kimi o"

edit

The "Next Generation Senbatsu" (member selection/lineup) for the song consists of 16 members. The "center" is Haruka Kodama.

"Madonna no Sentaku"

edit

The "Renacchi Sōsenkyo Senbatsu" (member selection/lineup) for the song consists of 16 members. The "center" is Natsumi Tanaka.

"Ama Nojaku Batta"

edit

Team 8's song. The "center" is Ikumi Nakano.

  • Team 8: Mei Abe, Moeka Iwasaki, Rin Okabe, Yui Oguri, Nao Ota, Erina Oda, Momoka Onishi, Reina Kita, Yurina Gyoten, Narumi Kuranoo, Moeri Kondo, Nagisa Sakaguchi, Akari Sato, Shiori Sato, Nanami Sato, Miu Shitao, Maria Shimizu, Karin Shimoaoki, Kaoru Takaoka, Ayane Takahashi, Yuri Tani, Hijiri Tanikawa, Kurena Cho, Ikumi Nakano, Serika Nagano, Haruna Hashimoto, Yuna Hattori, Sayuna Hama, Riona Hamamatsu, Tsumugi Hayasaka, Kotone Hitomi, Ayaka Hidaritomo, Natsuki Hirose, Rena Fukuchi, Natsuki Fujimura, Hitomi Honda, Rira Miyazato, Kasumi Mogi, Karen Yoshida, Moka Yaguchi, Nanami Yamada, Ai Yamamoto, Ruka Yamamoto, Yuri Yokomichi, Yui Yokoyama, Nanase Yoshikawa, Miyu Yoshino

"Senaka Kotoba"

edit

Minami Takahashi's graduation song.

"Yasashii Place"

edit

Team A's song. The "center" is Haruka Shimazaki & Sakura Miyawaki.

"Onēsan no Hitorigoto"

edit

Team K's song. The "center" is Mion Mukaichi.

"Kin no Hane o Motsu Hito yo"

edit

Team B's song. The "center" is Rena Kato & Yuria Kizaki.

"Nanka, Chotto, Kyū ni"

edit

Team 4's song.

"Sakki Made wa Ice Tea"

edit

The "Mushi Kago" (member selection/lineup) for the song consists of 12 members. The "center" is Haruka Komiyama & Shu Yabushita.

  • Team B: Moe Goto, Seina Fukuoka
  • Team 4: Haruka Komiyama
  • Team 8: Nagisa Sakaguchi
  • SKE48 Kenkyūsei: Obata Yuna, Goto Rara
  • Team M: Uemura Azusa
  • Team BII: Shu Yabushita
  • HKT48 Kenkyūsei: Aramaki Misaki, Maria Imamura
  • NGT48 Kenkyūsei: Oguma Tsugumi, Moeka Takakura

Other versions

edit
  • The Thai idol group BNK48, a sister group of AKB48, covered the song "365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" and named it "Sam Roi Hoksip Ha Wan Kap Khrueangbin Kradat" (Thai: สามร้อยหกสิบห้าวันกับเครื่องบินกระดาษ; IPA: [sǎ:m rɔ́:j hòk.sìp hâ: wan kàp krɯ̂aŋ.bin krà.dà:t]; "365 Days with Paper Airplanes"). First performed on June 2, 2017, at the group's debut event in Bangkok, the song was included on the group's debut single, "Aitakatta – Yak Cha Dai Phop Thoe", officially released on August 8, 2017.[8]
  • MNL48, AKB48's sister group in the Philippines, made a Filipino version of the song "365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" titled "365 Araw ng Eroplanong Papel" ("365 Days of Paper Airplane"). This was the idol group's third single, released on April 11, 2019.[9]
  • Indonesian idol group JKT48, a sister group of AKB48, covered the song "365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" in Indonesian called "Pesawat Kertas 365 Hari" ("365 Days of Paper Airlane"). The song was included on the group's album Mahagita.

Release history

edit
Region Date Format Label
Japan December 9, 2015 King Records (YOU BE COOL division)
Hong Kong, Taiwan King Records
South Korea November 2, 2018

References

edit
  1. ^ "AKB48 売上 唇にBe My Baby" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  2. ^ "高橋みなみセンターのAKB48ニューシングル曲名発表、たかみなプロデュース公演も" (in Japanese). Natalie. November 8, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  3. ^ "AKB48 to be in charge of the theme song for NHK morning drama 'Asa ga Kita' | tokyohive.com". www.tokyohive.com. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  4. ^ "第58回 輝く! 日本レコード大賞各賞が発表! - TOWER RECORDS ONLINE". tower.jp. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  5. ^ "ドラマソング賞 受賞結果 1位:365日の紙飛行機、AKB48 | 第88回 - ザテレビジョンドラマアカデミー賞". ザテレビジョン (in Japanese). Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "Nagano Nippo Web » 大正琴音楽大賞にAKB48 琴伝流全国普及会:長野日報のニュースサイト". February 14, 2017. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "【MV】唇にBe My Baby / AKB48[公式]". YouTube. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Prompong (June 21, 2017). "ทุกคนพร้อมเปย์! ซิงเกิ้ลแรกของ BNK48 จะมาแล้ว!". Bear Tai (in Thai). Bangkok: Show No Limit. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  9. ^ "【MV】365 Araw ng Eroplanong Papel / MNL48". YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2019.