Season Sayonara

"Season Sayonara" (シーズンサヨナラ, Shīzun Sayonara, "Season Farewell"), stylised in English as "Season SAYONARA",[1] is a song by Japanese rock band Tokyo Jihen, led by musician Ringo Sheena. It was one of the promotional songs for the band's fourth album Sports, released on February 24, 2010.

"Season Sayonara"
Song by Tokyo Jihen
from the album Sports
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2010 (2010-02-08)
Recorded2009
GenreAlternative rock
Length3:38
LabelEMI Music Japan
Songwriter(s)
Ukigumo

Background and development

In 2009, Tokyo Jihen released the single "Nōdōteki Sanpunkan", which was their first song to feature in commercials for Ezaki Glico's Watering Kissmint brand of gum.[2] The Sports album was first announced on December 15, 2009.[3] The first promotional song from the album was "Kachi Ikusa", released on January 16, 2010, and used in Watering Kissmint commercials.[4]

Guitarist Ukigumo had previously written songs for the band's Variety album in 2007, most notably the single "OSCA". While vocalist Ringo Sheena typically either composed or wrote lyrics for Tokyo Jihen songs, "Season Sayonara" is an example of a song written entirely by Ukigumo.

Writing and production

The song was one of four compositions written by Ukigumo that appear on Sports, including the songs "Fair", "Foul" and "Kimaru".[5] "Season Sayonara" and "Foul" were two songs that were part of Ukigumo's already existing stock of songs, that were not written specifically for the album. These two were songs that vocalist Ringo Sheena had heard in the past, and considered "sporty", fitting the theme of the album.[6] "Season Sayonara" and "Fair" were the first two songs recorded for the album (excluding "Senkō Shōjo", which was recorded during the Variety sessions)[6][7] Ukigumo liked Ichiyo Izawa's piano backing for the song, as he had struggled to consider how he himself could back the song on the guitar.[6]

The song is primarily sung in Japanese by vocalist Sheena, with additional background vocals by Ukigumo. Lyrically, the song deals with someone looking back at a failed relationship, while making references to different seasons.[8]

Promotion and release

The song was first released digitally to cellphones on February 8, 2010. This was the same day that "Denpa Tsūshin" was released to cellphones, and that the song "Sweet Spot" was released to iTunes.[9][10] The song was first performed as a part of the set-list for their Ultra C tour in 2010, and also featured on their farewell Bon Voyage tour in 2012.[11][12]

Critical reception

CDJournal felt the song's "vague sadness" was part of its charm, and described it as an "upper pop" song.[13] Yoshiki Aoyuki of Listenmusic noted the song's "jazzy piano" and 8 beat drums.[14]

Commercial reception

The song began receiving airplay in February 2010, peaking at number 11 and charting for four weeks on Billboard's top airplay chart.[15] In the same period, it charted for a single week at adult contemporary radio stations, peaking at number 7.[16] This resulted in the song debuting at number 13 on the Japan Hot 100.[17] "Season Sayonara" was the most successful promotional single from Sports, beating "Kachi Ikusa" which had peaked at number 30, and "Denpa Tsūshin" and "Sweet Spot", neither of which charted.[18]

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from Sports' liner notes booklet.[5]

Chart rankings
Charts (2010) Peak
position
Japan Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay[16] 7
Japan Billboard Japan Hot 100[17] 13

Release history
Region Date Format Distributing Label
Japan February 8, 2010 (2010-02-08)[10] Ringtone, cellphone download EMI Music Japan
February 24, 2010 (2010-02-24)[19] PC download

References
  1. "Sports / INCIDENTS TOKYO". Kronekodow. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  2. "東京事変の新曲『ドーパミント！』、CMタイアップ＆配信限定リリース決定！" (in Japanese). Universal. July 27, 1010. Archived from the original on June 21, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  3. "東京事変、待望のニューアルバム『スポーツ』発売決定！" (in Japanese). Universal. December 14, 2009. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  4. "ニューアルバムからタイアップCM曲『勝ち戦』先行モバイル配信を開始！" (in Japanese). Universal. January 15, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  5. Sports (Media notes) (in Japanese). Tokyo Jihen. Tokyo, Japan: EMI Music Japan. 2010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. "「スポーツ」オフィシャル・インタビュー" [Sports Official Interview] (in Japanese). Toshiba EMI. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  7. "東京事変「閃光少女」インタビュー" (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. 2007. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  8. "シーズンサヨナラ" (in Japanese). J-Lyric. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  9. "ニューアルバムから新曲｢スイートスポット｣iTunesストア限定先行配信開始（2/8～）！" (in Japanese). Universal. February 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  10. "ニューアルバムから新曲｢シーズンサヨナラ｣｢電波通信｣先行モバイル配信開始（2/8～）！" (in Japanese). Universal. February 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  11. チャンネルガイド-東京事変オフィシャルブック- [Channel Guide: Tokyo Jihen Official Book] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kronekodow (published February 29, 2012). February 2012. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-4884182984.
  12. "東京事変、"最期の生実演"を完全収録した映像作品6/13発売決定" [Tokyo Jihen, DVD footage of their final concert to be released on 6/13.] (in Japanese). Barks. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  13. "東京事変 / スポーツ" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  14. Yoshiki Aoyuki. "新譜レビュー > 東京事変／スポーツ" (in Japanese). Listenmusic. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  15. "Hot Top Airplay 2010/03/15". Billboard (in Japanese). March 15, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  16. "Adult Contemporary Airplay 2010/03/08". Billboard (in Japanese). March 8, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  17. "Japan Billboard Hot 100 2010/03/08". Billboard (in Japanese). March 8, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  18. "Japan Billboard Hot 100 2010/02/01". Billboard (in Japanese). February 1, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  19. "本日（2/24）からニューアルバム『スポーツ』全曲モバイル＆PC配信開始！" (in Japanese). Universal. January 15, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
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