Moment (SMAP song)

"Moment" is a song by Japanese band SMAP. Released as a single on August 1, 2012, the song was used as the theme song for the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television broadcast of the 2012 Summer Olympics, for which SMAP member Masahiro Nakai was the main sportscaster. It was written by the band Sakanaction's vocalist and songwriter Ichiro Yamaguchi, while the single's B-side "Te o Tsunagō" was written by producer Kenichi Maeyamada. The single was commercially successful, reaching number one on Oricon's singles chart, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.

"Moment"
Five men standing in a line
Standard edition cover.
Single by SMAP
B-side"Te o Tsunagō", "Wow! Wow! Wow!"
ReleasedAugust 1, 2012 (2012-08-01)
Recorded2012
GenrePop
Length4:32
LabelVictor Entertainment
Songwriter(s)Ichiro Yamaguchi
SMAP singles chronology
"Sakasama no Sora"
(2012)		 "Moment"
(2012)		 "Mistake"
(2013)

Background and development

Since 2004, SMAP songs had been used by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television to pair with their Olympic Games coverage, with "Susume!" from SMAP 016/MIJ (2004) used for the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics broadcast, and "Kono Toki, Kitto Yume ja Nai" (2008) for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. The band's single "Triangle" (2006) was similarly used by TV Asahi for their broadcasts of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

In 2010, SMAP worked together with Sakanaction member Ichiro Yamaguchi, when he created the song "Magic Time" for their album We Are SMAP!.[1] Sakanaction's most recently released single at the time, "Boku to Hana" (2012), acted as the theme song for the drama 37-sai de Isha ni Natta Boku: Kenshui Junjō Monogatari, in which SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi starred.[2]

A week after the single was released, the band released their 20th studio album, Gift of SMAP, despite the song not appearing on the album.[3]

Writing and production

When SMAP's production team asked Yamaguchi to create the song, he did not know if the song was going to be a single or an album song as "Magic Time" had been. Yamaguchi created the song after listening to SMAP's previous singles, attempting to create a medium tempo song that could express the fire in someone's heart.[2] Yamaguchi felt that writing the song had been a learning process for him, as he needed to consider what type of pop music would suit the band and the song from a different perspective to how he wrote pop music for his band Sakanaction.[4] The song's lyrics have a message of encouragement for Olympic athletes. The song is a pop song build on top of fast tempo drums and synthesized string sounds.[5] CDJournal reviewers felt that the song was "overflowing" with a fast pace, feeling it lyrically emphasized the importance of now.[6]

Commercial reception

The single reached number one on Oricon's weekly singles chart. As this was the band's 48th single top chart in the top ten, this broke the record for a male artist to do so at the time, with SMAP beating rock band B'z record of 47 releases.[3] The song also became the most commercially broadcast theme song for the London Olympics in Japan, surpassing Ikimono-gakari's theme song for the NHK broadcast, "Kaze ga Fuiteiru".[3]

Track listings
Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)ArrangementLength
1."Moment"Ichiro YamaguchiSeikō Nagaoka4:32
2."Te o Tsunagō" (手を繋ごう, "Let's Hold Hands")Kenichi MaeyamadaShunya Shimizu5:02
3."Moment (Back Track)"YamaguchiNagaoka4:32
4."Te o Tsunagō (Back Track)"MaeyamadaShimizu5:00
Total length:19:09
Seven Net exclusive edition
No.TitleWriter(s){{{extra_column}}}Length
1."Moment"YamaguchiNagaoka4:32
2."Wow! Wow! Wow!"Kohei TsunamiTsunami4:19
3."Moment (Back Track)"YamaguchiNagaoka4:32
4."Wow! Wow! Wow! (Back Track)"TsunamiTsunami4:19
Total length:17:42
DVD
No.Title{{{extra_column}}}Length
1."Moment (music video)"4:32 

Chart rankings
Charts (2012) Peak
position
Japan Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay[7] 1
Japan Billboard Japan Hot 100[8] 1
Japan Oricon weekly singles[9] 1

Sales and certifications
Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales[10] 187,000
RIAJ physical shipping certification[11] Gold (100,000+)

Release history
Region Date Format Distributing Label Catalogue codes
Japan July 23, 2012 (2012-07-23)[12] Ringtone Victor Entertainment —
August 1, 2012 (2012-08-01)[1][13] CD, CD/DVD, rental CD VICL-37888, VIZL-1001, SSS-002
August 15, 2012 (2012-08-15)[14] cellphone download —

References
  1. "SMAPがTBS五輪テーマ曲担当、作詞作曲はサカナ山口" (in Japanese). Natalie. July 4, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  2. "SMAPに提供した楽曲が1位に！ 話題の楽曲を手掛けるサカナクション・山口が語る" (in Japanese). Oricon. September 6, 2012. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  3. "【オリコン】SMAP、五輪ソングで"金"一番乗り" (in Japanese). Oricon. August 7, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  4. Ichiro Yamaguchi (December 24, 2012). "2012年の総括" (in Japanese). Tokyo FM. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  5. Kamaishi (December 26, 2012). "今週の裏解説 第83回SMAP「MOMENT」" (in Japanese). FM Iwate. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  6. "SMAP / moment" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  7. "Japan Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay". Billboard Japan. August 1, 2012. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  8. "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hankyu Hanshin Holdings. August 13, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  9. "Moment(初回限定盤)" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  10. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  11. "ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2012年8月" [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (August 2012)] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. September 10, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  12. "「Moment」の着うた(R)配信スタート！" (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  13. "Moment" (in Japanese). Tsutaya. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  14. "「Moment」の着うたフル(R)配信スタート！" (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. August 15, 2012. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
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