Happy Birthday (NEWS song)

"Happy Birthday"
Single by NEWS
from the album Color
B-side Gan Gan Ganbatte
Push On!
Game of Love
Released October 1, 2008
Format Maxi single
Recorded 2008
Genre J-Pop
Length 18:53
Label Johnny's Entertainment
Writer(s) SEAMO
NEWS singles chronology
"Summer Time"
(2008)		 "Happy Birthday"
(2008)		 "Koi no ABO"
(2009)
"Happy Birthday" Limited Edition cover

"Happy Birthday" is the tenth single of the Japanese boy group NEWS. It was released on October 1, 2008, in two editions; a regular edition which contains two b-sides: Gan Gan Ganbatte and Push On!, and a limited edition which also contains Happy Birthday and its b-side Gan Gan Ganbatte from the regular edition, as well as another b-side entitled Game of Love and an instrumental version of Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday is NEWS tenth consecutive number-one single since their debut in 2004. This single makes them the second group to have this distinction (the other being KinKi Kids, who currently has twenty-seven consecutive number-one singles).[1]

Contents

Overview

Happy Birthday was written and composed by Japanese Hip-hop artist SEAMO.[2] Happy Birthday reached the number-one spot on both the daily and weekly Oricon charts, selling 201,304 copies in its first week; just 38 more copies than their previous single Summer Time, which sold 201,266 copies in its first week.

Promotion

Happy Birthday is the theme song for Kose's Happy Bath Day Precious Rose commercial,[2] which features all six-members.[3]

TV performance

Track list

Regular Edition
No. Title Length
1. "Happy Birthday"   3:49
2. "Gan Gan Ganbatte (written by zopp)"   3:54
3. "Push On! (written by Aya Hawerukazu)"   3:07
Limited Edition
No. Title Length
3. "Game of Love (written by Yu Shimoji/rap by JACRREN)"   4:17
4. "Happy Birthday (Instrumental)"   3:48

Music video

The music video for Happy Birthday was filmed using a green screen and cardboard cut outs.[4] The music video is very simple. It features all six-member singing, dancing and playing with the cardboard cut outs.

Charts

Oricon chart

Release Chart Peak Position First Week Sales Sales Total Chart Run
October 1, 2008 Oricon Daily Singles Chart #1
October 1, 2008 Oricon Weekly Singles Chart #1 201,304 1 week*
October 1, 2008 Oricon Monthly Singles Chart #2 227,644
October 1, 2008 Oricon Yearly Singles Chart #26

*Still charting

Billboard Japan chart

Release Chart Peak Position
October 1, 2008 Billboard Japan Hot 100 #1[5]
October 1, 2008 Billboard Japan Hot 100 Airplay #1
October 1, 2008 Billboard Japan Hot Singles Sales #1

Airplay

Chart Peak
position
FM Osaka 851 Top 100 #2[6]

Digital sales

Chart Peak
position
Recochoku Chaku-Uta All #30[7]

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
"The Birthday (Ti Amo)" by Exile		 Oricon weekly number-one single
October 13, 2008		 Succeeded by
"Taboo" by Kumi Koda
Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one single
October 13, 2008		 Succeeded by
"Love, Too Death, Too" by Porno Graffitti

References

  1. ^ "NEWS tied with KinKi Kids for tenth consecutive single" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/rankmusic/58767/. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
  2. ^ a b "New NEWS song written by SEAMO" (in Japanese). livedoor. http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/3788118/. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 
  3. ^ "NEWS crazy about smell of a rose" (in Japanese). livedoor. http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/3781332/. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 
  4. ^ NEWS (2008). Break Point (Making of). Japan. 
  5. ^ "Japan Hot 100". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=848&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Japan+Hot+100+Singles&ci=3102051&cdi=10021182&cid=10%2F17%2F2008. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 
  6. ^ "FM Osaka 851 position". Billboard. http://fmosaka.net/ncf_top100.html. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
  7. ^ "NEWS Recochoku Chaku-Uta All position". Recochoku. http://recochoku.jp/recochoku_ranking/all.html. Retrieved 2008-10-12.