A (Rainbow song)

"A"
Single by Rainbow
from the album So Girls
Released August 12, 2010
(see release history)
Format Digital download
Recorded 2010
Genre Dance-pop, K-pop
Length 03:23
Label DSP Media
Rainbow Korean singles chronology
"Not Your Girl"
(2010)
"A'"
(2010)
"Mach"
(2010)
Music video
"A" on YouTube

"A" is a song by South Korean girl group Rainbow. The song was released on August 12, 2010, and was later included on their second mini album So Girls.

Korean version

Background

A teaser photo with the concept of the song was released in August 4.[1] A teaser of the music video was released in August 10[2] and the full music video in August 12, along with the release of the single.

Composition

The song was produced by Han Jae Ho and Kim Seung Soo (aka SweeTune), who also produced the songs "Rock U", "Pretty Girl", "Honey", "Wanna", "Mister" and "Lupin" for their label-mate KARA.[3]

Promotions

The promotions of the song started on August 13, in the KBS's Music Bank and also promoted on MBC's Music Core, SBS's Inkigayo and Mnet's M! Countdown.

Track listing

Korean digital single:[4]
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "A"  Song Soo YoonHan Jae Ho, Kim Seung Soo 3:23
2. "A (Inst.)"  Song Soo YoonHan Jae Ho, Kim Seung Soo 3:23
Total length:
6:26

Chart performance

In the debut week, the song debuted at number 50 and climbed to the position 11 on the following week. The highest peak of the song is number 9, ranked in the week of September 4. The song ranked number 80 in Gaon's Yearly chart with 337,665,388 points and with 1,617,074 digital copies sold.

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Gaon Weekly singles[5] 9
Gaon Monthly singles[5] 13
Gaon Yearly singles[5] 80

Japanese version

"A (エー)"

Regular edition cover
Single by Rainbow
from the album Over the Rainbow
B-side "Gossip Girl"
"A" (Korean)
Released September 14, 2011
(see release history)
Format CD single, Digital download
Recorded 2011
Genre Dance-pop
Length 03:22
Label Universal Sigma
Rainbow Japanese singles chronology
"A"
(2011)
"Mach"
(2011)
Over the Rainbow track listing

The song was re-record in Japanese as the group's debut single in Japan. It was released digitally on September 7, 2011[6] and physically on September 14[7] in 4 different versions: 3 limited editions (CD+DVD, CD + 32-pages photobook and CD Only + Bonus track) and a regular edition.

Composition

The Japanese version remains some lyrics written by Song Soo Yoon and was translated by Yu Shimoji and nice73. The B-side is a Japanese version of the song "Gossip Girl", previously recorded in Korean. The song is the lead single from their debut EP with same name.

Promotions

In Japan, Rainbow performed the song on the shows Happy Music, Hey!Hey!Hey! Music Champ and Music Japan. The group held their first event in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, which drew an enthusiastic crowd of 2,000 fans. They performed "A" and had a 15-minute talk session.[8]

Track listing

Japanese single:[7]
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "A" (エー; Ē)Yu Shimoji, nice73Han Jae Ho, Kim Seung Soo 3:22
2. "Gossip Girl" (ゴシップガール; Goshippugāru)Litz, nice73Hur Youn Won 3:11
3. "A" (Instrumental) Han Jae Ho, Kim Seung Soo 3:23
Total length:
9:55

Chart performance

The physical single debuted at number 3 in Oricon's Daily chart[9] and also number 3 in Oricon's Weekly chart with 24,082 copies sold on first week.[10] After hearing about their debut position in Japan, the girls stated “When we first heard that we were ranked in third, we were all surprised because we had no idea that they’d take such an interest in us. There were even some members who cried. There’s also a lot of pressure in that we have to work harder and do better. We’re still very grateful and thankful for our position on the charts. Since we’re already receiving so much love, we’re really not anticipating a rise in the weekly charts. For the remainder of our stay here, we’re just going to do our best.[11]

Charts

Oricon

Oricon Chart Peak Debut Sales Sales Total Chart Run
Daily Singles Chart 3 24,082 44,858 14 weeks
Weekly Singles Chart[10] 3
Monthly Singles Chart 18
Yearly Singles Chart 172

Other charts

Chart Peak
position
Billboard Japan Hot 100[12] 4
RIAJ Digital Track Chart weekly top 100[13] 15

Controversy

The "ab dance" featured in Rainbow's choreography was banned from broadcasting on September 8, 2010 due to it being "too sexual sugestive". The dance move involves the group lifting their shirts up but only up to the point where their abdomen or stomach can be seen before lifting it down again which was deemed similar to a 'strip tease'. The music video was also age restricted on YouTube, but DSP retired the restriction.[14] They started promoting the song without the "ab dance" in September 11.

However when group promoted the song in Japan they were allowed again to perform the dance, and referred to it as the "belly dance".

Release history

Country Date Format Label
South Korea August 12, 2010 Digital download, Promotional single DSP Media
Japan September 7, 2011[6] Digital download Universal Sigma
September 14, 2011 CD single

External links

References

  1. "레인보우, 무지개빛 눈화장 컴백 화보 공개". Star News. August 4, 2010.
  2. "레인보우(Rainbow) A Teaser". YouTube. March 3, 2011.
  3. "레인보우, 신곡 'A' 뮤비 공개..13일 컴백 무대". Star News. August 12, 2010.
  4. "(싱글) A / Daum 뮤직 :: 언제 어디서나 Music on Daum" (in Korean). Daum Communications. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Gaon Search - Rainbow" (in Korean). Gaon. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "iTunes - ミュージック - Rainbow「A (エー) - Single」" (in Japanese). iTunes. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 "RAINBOW - A (エー) 初回盤C - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN" (in Japanese). Universal Music Group. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  8. 레인보우, 日싱글 오리콘 데일리 판매 3위 (in Korean). Naver. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  9. "레인보우, 日 오리콘 3위로 데뷔 `기염`". Naver. September 15, 2011.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "2011年09月12日~2011年09月18日のCDシングル週間ランキング (Oricon's Weekly Chart for September 26th)" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2011-09-19. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  11. "日 성공적 데뷔 레인보우, "놀라고 감사해 눈물 흘렸다" (인터뷰)". Naver. September 17, 2011.
  12. "Japan Hot 100 / Billboard.com (Billboard Japan Hot 100 for October 1st)". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  13. "2012年03月21日~2012年03月27日 略称:レコ協チャート (RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue March 27, 2012)" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  14. 레인보우 '배꼽춤', 방송금지 "선정적, 수정 불가피" (in Korean). Star News. 2010-09-08. Retrieved 2012-01-09.