Koi wa Owaranai Zutto

"Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" is Misia's first single in over a year and first since the release of her tenth studio album, Soul Quest. The first pressing of the physical release includes a poetry anthology written by Misia on the theme of "first love", titled Hatsukoi Uta (はつ恋歌).[3] Along with the title track, the single features the B-side "Hyakunen Ai", co-written by essayist Mayumi Satō, a stripped-down, acoustic piano version of "Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" and a remixed version of Misia's Japanese-language rendition of "Ribbon in the Sky" by Stevie Wonder, from the cover album Misia no Mori: Forest Covers.[3] A digital exclusive version, dubbed the Deluxe Edition, including an additional remix of "Koi wa Owaranai Zutto", was released a week later, on June 27, 2012.[4]

The artwork for the single was designed by Japanese balloon art group Daisy Balloon, who also designed the costumes for the Tour of Misia Japan Soul Quest Grand Finale 2012.[3] The single's cover art depicts Misia wearing a floral headpiece and shoulder ornaments, made entirely of balloon material, and holding a bear-shaped balloon.[2][3] The red apple sitting on the bear's head is meant to represent the intensity of a first love.[2]

"Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" was written by Misia and composed and arranged by Jun Sasaki. It is Misia's first single to be co-written by Sasaki since "Aitakute Ima". The song is composed in the key of A-flat major and set to a common time tempo of 77 beats per minute.[5] Misia's vocals span from G₃ to E♭₅. The lyrics, written specifically to echo the plot of Hatsukoi, tell the story of a protagonist who is unable to forget her first love.[6] The series marks the second collaboration between Misia and screenwriter Miho Nakazono, since Yamato Nadeshiko (2000), for which Misia's "Everything" served as theme song.[7] In a press release, Misia explained, "love, even if lost, is something that lives on in our memories and can change the course of our lives." After reading the script, Misia describes being inspired to put into song the feeling of "endless love".[2]

"Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" was praised as "authentic" by CDJournal critics, and compared to "Everything" for the analogous vocal restraint shown by Misia.[8] Her vocal performance was described as "passionate". Misia and Sasaki received acclaim for their musical compatibility.[8]

"Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" made its chart debut on the weekly RecoChoku truetones chart, ranking at number 27.[9] The song peaked on the weekly RecoChoku singles chart at number 14.[10] The single entered the daily Oricon Singles Chart at number 11, where it also peaked.[11] "Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" debuted at number 17 on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart,[12] with 5,000 copies sold.[13] It charted for seven consecutive weeks and sold a reported total of 11,000 copies during its run.[13]

Personnel[14]

• Vocals, production – Misia
• Songwriting – Misia, Jun Sasaki
• Arrangement, additional instrumentation – Jun Sasaki
• Electronic keyboard – Tohru Shigemi
• Drums – Fuyu
• Bass – Takeshi Taneda
• Guitar – Takashi Yamaguchi
• Strings arrangement – Gen Ittetsu Strings
• Strings – Gen Ittetsu Strings
• Horns – Otohiko Fujita, Yoshiyuki Uema, Atsushi Katsumata, Marie Fujita
• Engineering – Masahiro Kawaguchi, Noriyasu Murase, Colin Suzuki
• Mixing – Masashi Hashimoto
• Mastering – Herb Powers Jr.

• Official website