Aldebaran (song)

"Aldebaran"[lower-alpha 1] is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on November 1, 2021, by EMI Records and Universal Music Group. The song served as the theme song for the Japanese television drama, Come Come Everybody and subsequently served as the third single from Ai's twelfth studio album, Dream.

This article is about the Ai song. For other songs, see Aldebaran (disambiguation).

"Aldebaran"
Single by Ai
from the album Dream
Language
  • Japanese
  • English
ReleasedNovember 1, 2021 (2021-11-01)
Recorded2021
GenreOrchestral
Length4:26 (original version)
2:52 (radio version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Naotarō Moriyama
Producer(s)
Ai singles chronology
"In the Middle"
(2021)		 "Aldebaran"
(2021)		 "Start Again"
(2022)
Music video
"Aldebaran" on YouTube

Upon its release, "Aldebaran" received critical acclaim from critics for its composition and lyrics.[1][2] The song debuted and peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and number 6 on the Oricon Digital Singles Chart. In May 2022, "Aldebaran" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.

Background

It's a song I want to convey to people who are working hard in this era, with the life of the main character of the drama, and in this era, various things are happening...

— Ai's thoughts on the lyrics of Aldebaran[3]

On September 27, 2021, Ai announced on her social media of a song she recorded for an upcoming NHK TV series.[4] Written by Naotarō Moriyama and featuring arrangements by Neko Saito, the song is named after the star of the same name in the Taurus constellation.[5][6] Regarding the song, Mone Kamishiraishi, one of the actresses to be in the film, commented that the song was "beautiful" and "nice and encouraging".[7] Eri Fukatsu also commented she was wary of Ai's recording but stated, "My heart was shaken, robbed and filled."[7] Actress Rina Kawaei, also an actress in the film, commented that she was "impressed by the gentle singing and the wonderful lyrics".[7] The song was originally written by Moriyama on New Years in 2021 about environmental issues and was originally titled "Daphnia Pulex".[8] "Aldebaran" was not intended to be the theme song for Come Come Everybody until Moriyama allowed Ai to record the song with reworked lyrics.[8]

Promotion

To promote "Aldebaran", Ai was to appear on NHK's Utacon to preview the song on September 28, 2021, however the event was cancelled and moved to October 4 due to an emergency deceleration.[9][10][11] Universal Japan issued a compilation chapter titled Self Selection "Piano Ballad" on the same day the single was announced.[12] On TikTok, a 30 second television version was released to the service.[13] On October 4, a radio edit of "Aldebaran" was sent to Japanese radio stations. An official audio of the radio edit was uploaded to Ai's YouTube channel.[14] On October 26, Ai performed the song on an NHK broadcast show.[15]

Commercial performance

"Aldebaran" debuted at number 5 on the Oricon Daily Digital Singles chart on November 2.[16] The song later peaked at number 4 on the Daily Digital Singles chart.[17] On the weekly Oricon Digital Singles chart, "Aldebaran" debuted at number 11.[18] For the week of November 16, 2021, "Aldebaran" reached a new peak at number 6 with 8,331 total downloads.[19] On the Billboard Japan Hot 100, "Aldebaran" debuted and peaked at number 37. "Aldebaran" marked Ai's first appearance on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 since her 2017 single, "Kira Kira". In March 2022, "Aldebaran" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Japan Top User Generated Songs chart. The song was later ranked at number 29 on the Billboard Japan Top Download Songs year-end chart for 2022.

Accolades
Year Organization Award/work Result Ref.
2022 The Television Drama Academy Awards Best Drama Song Won [20]
15th Tokyo Drama Awards Theme Song Award Won [21]

Music video

A music video for "Aldebaran" was announced on October 25, 2021 and premiered on YouTube on November 5.[22]

Live performances

Ai performed "Aldebaran" on the day of its release during her 20th anniversary tour It's All Me at the Tokyo International Forum Hall.[23] Ai performed "Aldebaran" at the 72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on December 31, her fourth appearance on the show. Ai appeared on 193rd episode of The First Take, a YouTube channel where singers perform a song recorded in one take. She performed an excerpt of "Story" prior to "Aldebaran".[24] It marked her first appearance on the channel.[25]

Charts

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Dream liner notes and Tidal.[31][32]

  • Ai Carina Uemura – lead vocals, production
  • Naotarō Moriyama – songwriting
  • Neko Saito – production, arranging
  • Midorin – drums
  • Tomohiko Ohkanda – bass
  • Fumio Yanagisawa – guitar
  • Satoshi Onoue – guitar
  • Hideaki "Lanbsy" Sakai – latin percussion
  • Tomoyuki Asakawa – harp
  • Great Eida – concertmaster, strings
  • Jo Kuwata – violin
  • Nagisa Kiriyama – violin
  • Haruko Yano – violin
  • Yukinori Murata – violin
  • Akane Irie – violin
  • Ayumu Koshikawa – violin
  • Akiko Maruyama – violin
  • Yui Kaneko – violin
  • Masahiro Miyake – violin
  • Yuji Yamada – viola
  • Mayu Takashima – viola
  • Ayano Kasahara – cello
  • Yoshihiko Maeda – cello

Certifications
Certifications and sales for "Aldebaran"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[33]
Single track 		Gold 100,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history and formats for "Aldebaran"
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Japan October 4, 2021 Radio airplay Radio edit Universal Japan [14]
Various November 1, 2021
Original
[34]
March 11, 2022 First Take [24]

Notes
  1. Japanese: アルデバラン; Hepburn: Arudebaran

References
  1. "連続テレビ小説『カムカムエヴリバディ』主題歌AI「アルデバラン」、ヒロインの未来を照らすあたたかい楽曲に". Real Sound｜リアルサウンド (in Japanese). November 2, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  2. "【コラム】AIの新曲「アルデバラン」、"朝ドラ放送前からすでに号泣"の声が続出する理由". BARKS (in Japanese). October 30, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  3. "AI「アルデバラン」次期朝ドラ「カムカムエヴリバディ」主題歌 - ドラマ : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  4. "１１月スタート新朝ドラ「カムカムエヴリバディ」主題歌にＡＩ ２８日「うたコン」で初披露（スポーツ報知）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  5. TVガイド (September 28, 2021). "AIの新曲「アルデバラン」が「カムカムエヴリバディ」の主題歌に決定！ 作詞・作曲は森山直太朗 ｜ TVガイド". TVガイド (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  6. "『カムカムエヴリバディ』主題歌がAI「アルデバラン」に決定 ヒロイン3人からコメントも（リアルサウンド）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  7. "カムカムエヴリバディ：次期朝ドラ主題歌はAI「アルデバラン」 作詞作曲は森山直太朗 明日「うたコン」で初披露". MANTANWEB（まんたんウェブ） (in Japanese). September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  8. "森山直太朗、朝ドラ主題歌「アルデバラン」の仮タイトルは「ミジンコ」だった AIや上白石萌音らへの提供楽曲制作秘話を聞く". Real Sound｜リアルサウンド (in Japanese). February 24, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
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  18. "オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2021年11月01日～2021年11月07日 11～20位". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  19. "オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2021年11月08日～2021年11月14日". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  20. "ドラマソング賞 受賞結果 1位：アルデバラン、AI | 第111回 - ザテレビジョンドラマアカデミー賞" [Drama Song Award Winner 1st Place: Aldebaran, AI | The 111 Television Drama Academy Awards]. WEBザテレビジョン (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
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