"Masayume Chasing" is the 37th Japanese single by South Korean singer, songwriter, and dancer BoA. It was released on July 23, 2014, as one of the several singles for her eighth Japanese-language studio album, Who's Back? (2014) through Avex Trax. The CD single contains the B-side track "Fun", and was released in six physical editions: two CD+DVD editions, a CD-only edition, a CD-only Fairy Tail edition, and two limited USB editions only sold on BoA's official fan club shop.

"Masayume Chasing"
Physical edition artwork
Single by BoA
from the album Who's Back?
B-side"Fun"
ReleasedJuly 23, 2014 (2014-07-23)
Recorded2014
GenreJ-pop
Length3:39
LabelAvex Trax
Songwriter(s)Junji Ishiwatari
Producer(s)
BoA singles chronology
"Shout It Out"
(2014)
"Masayume Chasing"
(2014)
"First Time"
(2014)

Commercially, "Masayume Chasing" performed modestly in Japan, peaking at number 15 on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart and number 27 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. In South Korea, the song entered the Gaon international singles chart at number 54. The title track was used as the opening theme for part of season 7 of the anime Fairy Tail, which was broadcast from April 2014 until December 2015.

Background and release

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On June 10, 2014, BoA posted three single cover images to her social media accounts for her upcoming Japanese single, with the caption "Masayume Chasing coming on July 23".[1] The artwork of the single covers were noted for its summer vibe, accompanying the "cheerful" production of the song.[1] On June 16, she posted a video to her Instagram account showing her in the studio recording and preparing for the single's release.[2] It marked BoA's second Japanese CD single release in 2014, following "Shout it Out", which was released in March.[3]

The physical release comes in six versions: two CD+DVD editions, a CD-only edition, a CD-only Fairy Tail edition, and two limited USB editions only sold on BoA's official fan club shop, SOUL shop. Both USB are 4GB of storage and the four songs included come in WAV format. Both CD+DVD editions come with an application postcard and the CD-only edition come with an entry ticket to obtain a special DVD with the video "Masayume Chasing ~Limited Making~". The title track was used as the opening theme for the anime Fairy Tail.[4]

Reception

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Bradley Stern from MuuMuse wrote that the "pop princess has consistently supplied sparkling cuts in time for summer for well over a decade now — from 2002's 'Valenti' all the way up to last year's 'Tail Of Hope.' He added that "Masayume Chasing"'s "uptempo synth-pop gem is both a club banger and a super-saccharine J-pop smash ... complete with a surging chorus and some feisty chants."[5] Commercially, "Masayume Chasing" performed modestly, peaking at number 8 on the daily Oricon Singles Chart, and number 15 on its weekly counterpart.[4] On the Billboard Japan Hot 100, the track peaked at number 27.[6]

Track listing

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CD single
  1. "Masayume Chasing" - 3:39
  2. "Fun" - 4:03
  3. "Masayume Chasing" (Instrumental)" - 3:39
  4. "Fun" (Instrumental)" - 4:03
DVD (Edition A)
  1. "Masayume Chasing" music video
DVD (Edition B)
  1. "Masayume Chasing" music video (Dance ver.)
  2. "Masayume Chasing" making video

Charts

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Chart (2014) Peak
position
Japan (Oricon)[4] 15
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[6] 27
South Korea International (Gaon)[7] 54

References

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  1. ^ a b 보아, 7월 발표 日새싱글 재킷 공개..'시원한 夏여신' [BoA releases a new Japanese single jacket to be released in July... 'Cool Goddess']. Star News (in Korean). June 11, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2021 – via Naver.
  2. ^ 보아 日 싱글 ‘마사유메 체이징’ 백스테이지 공개…7월 23일 발매 [BoA's Japanese single 'Masayume Chasing' backstage released... July 23 release]. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). June 16, 2014 – via Naver.
  3. ^ 보아, 日 싱글앨범 재킷 공개…“한국의 여신 미모” [BoA unveils Japanese single album jacket... 'Korean goddess beauty']. Maeil Business Daily (in Korean). June 12, 2014 – via Naver.
  4. ^ a b c "Masayume Chasing | BoA". Oricon News. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Stern, Bradley (July 29, 2014). ""Masayume Chasing": BoA Keeps It Cute With Her Summer Dance-Pop Jam". MuuMuse. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). July 31, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  7. ^ 2014년 31주차 Digital Chart 국외. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.