Ue kara Mariko

"Ue Kara Mariko" (上からマリコ, "Mariko From Above") is the 24th major single by the Japanese girl idol group AKB48, released on December 7, 2011.[1]

"Ue Kara Mariko"
Single by AKB48
from the album 1830m
B-side
  • "Noël no Yoru"
  • "Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai" (Type A)
  • "Zero-sum Taiyō" (Type K)
  • "Yobisute Fantasy" (Type B)
  • "Hashire! Penguin" (Theater Edition)
ReleasedDecember 7, 2011 (2011-12-07) (Japan)
Recorded2011
GenreJ-pop
Length4:40
LabelYou, Be Cool! / King
Songwriter(s)Yasushi Akimoto (lyrics)
Producer(s)Yasushi Akimoto
AKB48 singles chronology
"Kaze wa Fuite Iru"
(2011)		 "Ue Kara Mariko"
(2011)		 "Give Me Five!"
(2012)
Music videos
Ue kara Mariko on YouTube
Noël no Yoru (preview) on YouTube

Release history and information

The AKB48 members participating in the single were determined in the rock-paper-scissors tournament held on September 20, 2011, at Nippon Budokan, so called AKB48 24th Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai. The 16 members from the group who advanced into the semi-final and final rounds of the tournament are those that were featured in this single. From this, the Top 8 were chosen to be the main vocalists while member Mariko Shinoda, who came at first place in the tournament, is in the center position.

The single's title song was announced to be "Ue Kara Mariko" on October 29 at the Flying Get handshake event at Ajinomoto Stadium.[1][2][3][4]

The single was released in 4 versions: Type A, Type K, Type B, and Theater Edition.[5]

It has sold 959,280 copies on its first day and later on sold over 1 million by the end of its first week making it the fourth most successful single from the group to sell over a million.

Concept and artwork

The name Mariko in "Ue Kara Mariko" ("Mariko from Above", "Mariko from the Top") refers to Mariko Shinoda, the member of the group whom the single will be centered around for the first time, having won the rock-paper-scissors tournament. This is also the first song by the group with a member name in the title.[1][3] The words "ue kara" ("from above", "from the top") might be seen as referring either to Mariko being the eldest[3] or the tallest in the group, or both.[4]

It was also revealed that title song was originally planned to be "Hashire! Penguin" ("Penguin, Run!") but was changed to fit Mariko Shinoda's image.[1][3][4] "Hashire! Penguin" was instead sung by Team 4 and appears only on the Theater Edition of the single.[1]

Track listing

Type A
CD
No.TitleMusicArtist(s)Length
1."Ue Kara Mariko" (上からマリコ)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
2."Noël no Yoru" (ノエルの夜)   
3."Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai" (隣人は傷つかない) Team A 
4."Ue Kara Mariko (Off Vocal Ver.)" (上からマリコ off vocal ver.)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
5."Noël no Yoru (Off Vocal Ver.)" (ノエルの夜 off vocal ver.)   
6."Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai (Off Vocal Ver.)" (隣人は傷つかない off vocal ver.)   
DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Ue Kara Mariko music video" (上からマリコ Music Video) 
2."Noël no Yoru music video" (ノエルの夜 Music Video) 
3."Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai music video" (隣人は傷つかない Music Video) 
4."24 Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Document Eizō (Zenpen)" (24thシングル 選抜じゃんけん大会ドキュメント映像（前編）) 

Type K
CD
No.TitleMusicArtist(s)Length
1."Ue Kara Mariko" (上からマリコ)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
2."Noël no Yoru" (ノエルの夜)   
3."Zero-sum Taiyō" (ゼロサム太陽) Team K 
4."Ue Kara Mariko (Off Vocal Ver.)" (上からマリコ off vocal ver.)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
5."Noël no Yoru (Off Vocal Ver.)" (ノエルの夜 off vocal ver.)   
6."Zero-sum Taiyō (Off Vocal Ver.)" (ゼロサム太陽 off vocal ver.)   
DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Ue Kara Mariko music video" (上からマリコ Music Video) 
2."Noël no Yoru music video" (ノエルの夜 Music Video) 
3."Zero-sum Taiyō music video" (ゼロサム太陽 Music Video) 
4."24 Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Document Eizō (Chūhen)" (24thシングル 選抜じゃんけん大会ドキュメント映像（中編）) 

Type B
CD
No.TitleMusicArtist(s)Length
1."Ue Kara Mariko" (上からマリコ)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
2."Noël no Yoru" (ノエルの夜)   
3."Yobisute Fantasy" (呼び捨てファンタジー) Team B 
4."Ue Kara Mariko (Off Vocal Ver.)" (上からマリコ off vocal ver.)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
5."Noël no Yoru (Off Vocal Ver.)" (ノエルの夜 off vocal ver.)   
6."Yobisute Fantasy (Off Vocal Ver.)" (呼び捨てファンタジー off vocal ver.)   
DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Ue Kara Mariko music video" (上からマリコ Music Video) 
2."Noël no Yoru music video" (ノエルの夜 Music Video) 
3."Yobisute Fantasy music video" (呼び捨てファンタジー Music Video) 
4."24 Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Document Eizō (Kōhen)" (4.24thシングル 選抜じゃんけん大会ドキュメント映像（後編）) 
5."Shinoda Mariko Gachi Interview, Interviewer: Putchokun" (篠田麻里子ガチインタビュー インタビュアーぷっちょくん) 

Theater Edition
CD
No.TitleMusicArtist(s)Length
1."Ue Kara Mariko" (上からマリコ)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
2."Noël no Yoru" (ノエルの夜)   
3."Hashire! Penguin" (走れ!ペンギン) Team 4 
4."Ue Kara Mariko (Off Vocal Ver.)" (上からマリコ off vocal ver.)Masahiro Kawaura 4:40
5."Noël no Yoru (Off Vocal Ver.)" (ノエルの夜 off vocal ver.)   
6."Hashire! Penguin (Off Vocal Ver.)" (走れ!ペンギン off vocal ver.)   

Members

"Ue Kara Mariko"

Center: Mariko Shinoda

Top 8 members are in bold.

"Noël no Yoru"

"Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai"

sung by Team A

"Zero-sum Taiyō"

sung by Team K

"Yobisute Fantasy"

sung by Team B

"Hashire! Penguin"

sung by Team 4[note 1]

Oricon Charts
Release Oricon Singles Chart Peak position Debut sales (copies) Sales total (copies)
December 7, 2011 Daily Chart 1[6] 959,280 1,304,312
Weekly Chart 1[7] 1,198,864
Monthly Chart 1 1,273,748

Notes
  1. Mina Ōba is absent.

References
  1. "AKB次作は篠田麻里子の"初冠"シングル じゃんけん選抜曲名は「上からマリコ」". Oricon (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  2. "AKB48、最新曲「風は吹いている」を1万5000人に初披". Oricon. Oricon Inc. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  3. 篠田麻里子、じゃんけん選抜曲決定！その名も「上からマリコ」. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Yomiuri Online (The Hochi Shimbun). 2011-10-30. Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  4. しのまり 新曲「上からマリコ」に「笑っちゃった」. Sports Nippon (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  5. "AKB48's discography" (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  6. "AKB48、篠田初センター曲が初日首位 初動売上歴代3位の95.9万枚" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  7. "【オリコン】AKB48、初の4作連続"初週ミリオン" 今年全5曲が100万枚突破の快挙" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 13, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.