is Japanese idol group AKB48's third single, and the first major single released through DefSTAR Records, on 25 October 2006. Regarded as the

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

of AKB48, the song has continued to be AKB48's most recognizable tune among the public. It was also the theme song for the AKB48 TV show '' AKBingo!'' until 2016''.''

Promotion

With support from DefStar Records, the song has played a major role in causing the public to take notice of AKB48, as it has been frequently used as an introductory song when AKB48 appears on TV programs as guests, including the

58th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The , referred to from here on as "Kōhaku," aired on December 31, 2007, on NHK Hall in Japan. The music show on New Year's Eve is broadcast on both television and radio, and divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams ...

. It is also the theme song of their own TV late night show, '' AKBingo!'', which has been broadcast since 2008. The girls took a trip down to Tateyama,

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

to film the video clip, with the main dance scenes set at the cliff of the

Sunosaki Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the city of Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, Japan at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula. History Sunosaki Lighthouse was first lit on December 15, 1919, and completes the navigational aid systems for all vessels ente ...

. Each first pressing CD included a DVD, including Aitakatta's video clip and , as well as following premiums. * Original Trading Cards (one of 3 different designs) * Limited-time online-only video ConnecteD CD edition (recorded special private video originally distributed as online-only) * The ultimate right of application (any one of followings:Application must be received by 22 November 2006)) **Award A: 100 pairs (200 persons) **Award K: 50 pairs (100 persons) **Award B: 300 persons

Reception

The single charted for six weeks in the top 200, with the highest rank at #12 in 2006, coming back in the top 200 in 2010 and charting since the second week of September 2010. "Aitakatta" sold 25,544 copies, during the first 6 weeks charted on Oricon.

Personnel

The title track involved 20 members selected from Team A and Team K. * Center: Atsuko Maeda *Team A - Tomomi Itano, Haruna Kojima, Atsuko Maeda, Minami Minegishi, Rina Nakanishi, Risa Narita, Tomomi Ōe,

Mai Oshima is a singer and a former member of the Japanese all-girl pop group AKB48. Biography In December 2005, Oshima became one of the 24 inaugural members of AKB48's Team A. Over the course of her career, she participated in most of AKB48's A-side sing ...

, Mariko Shinoda, Minami Takahashi,

Hana Tojima Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a city ...

*Team K - Sayaka Akimoto, Tomomi Kasai, Kana Kobayashi, Natsumi Matsubara, Sae Miyazawa,

Kayo Noro is a Japanese singer and entertainer who is represented by the talent agency, Ohta Production. She is a former member of idol groups AKB48 and SDN48 SDN48 (read "S.D.N. Forty-eight", short for Saturday Night 48) was a Japanese idol girl group, ...

, Erena Ono, Yuko Oshima,

Ayaka Umeda is a former Japanese idol and singer from the girl group NMB48, in which she is the co-captain of Team BII. She was also a member of the AKB48 and its subunit DiVA. Biography 2004–2007: Early career, debut, injury In 2004–2005, Umeda too ...

Usage in media

This song was featured on Season 2, Episode 1 of

James May's Cars of the People ''Cars of the People'' was a series of spin-off factual programmes of the BBC Two factual television series ''Top Gear'', presented by James May, which look at how the motor vehicle became an everyday part of human life. Broadcast Although bil ...

, as James May was driving a 1980 Mazda 323 around

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

. The song was also supposed to earn a spot in the 2011 dance video game ''

Just Dance Wii ''Just Dance Wii'' is a 2011 dance rhythm game developed by Ubisoft Paris and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Wii system on 13 October 2011 in Japan as the first Japanese installment in the ''Just Dance'' series published by Ubisoft ...

'', but it was removed for unknown reasons.

Track listing

Charts

Sales and certifications

BNK48 version

The Thai idol group BNK48, a sister group of AKB48, covered the song and named it "Yak Cha Dai Phop Thoe" ( th, อยากจะได้พบเธอ; ; "Wanted to Meet You").

Production

The single was produced by a team led by Pongchuk Pissathanporn ( th, พงศ์จักร พิษฐานพร) from La-Ong-Fong band. The Thai lyrics were written by Natapol Srijomkwan ( th, ณฐพล ศรีจอมขวัญ) from Groove Riders band together with Pongchuk Pissathanporn and Tanupop Notayanont ( th, ตนุภพ โนทยานนท์) from La-Ong-Fong band. The cover art of the single, produced by The Uni_form Design Studio, was revealed on 17 July 2017, depicting the sixteen ''senbatsu'' members with folded paper representing elements from the songs, as buses from "Ōgoe Diamond" and

paper plane A paper plane (also known as a paper airplane in American English or paper aeroplane in British English) is a toy aircraft, usually a glider made out of single folded sheet of paper or paperboard. A simple nose-heavy paper plane, thrown like ...

s from "365 Nichi no Kamihikōki", including elements from the Thai culture, as barb mobiles, and those from the Japanese culture, as paper cranes. The music video for "Yak Cha Dai Phop Thoe" was directed by Wanweaw Hongvivatana ( th, วรรณแวว หงษ์วิวัฒน์) and Weawwan Hongvivatana ( th, แวววรรณ หงษ์วิวัฒน์), twin directors from GDH 559. The video was notably not marketed as the official music video.

Promotion

The three songs in the single were first performed at the group's debut event on 2 June 2017. Sixteen members of the group were then selected as '' senbatsu'' to promote the single, consisting of Can, Cherprang, Jaa, Jan, Jennis, Kaew, Kaimook, Miori, Music, Namhom, Namneung, Noey, Orn, Pun, Satchan, and Tarwaan. Music serves as the centre for "Aitakatta" and "Ōgoe Diamond", whereas Jennis is the centre for "365 Nichi no Kamihikōki". A change was made to this set of ''senbatsu'' for the event Japan Expo in Thailand 2017, held in Bangkok on 1 and 3 September 2017, after Jan, Kaew, Orn, and Namneung were demoted to undergirls after being found in violation of undisclosed rules (reportedly truancy), and were replaced by Jane, Mobile, Pupe, and Rina Izuta. To support the single, the group held its first handshake event in Bangkok on 27 August 2017, attracting almost 4,000 fans. The music video for the song "Yak Cha Dai Phop Thoe" was released on 29 November 2017 after announcing that the song would be used for the soundtrack of the television series, ''

Project S the Series ''Project S: The Series'' is a Thai teen drama television series by GDH 559 and Nadao Bangkok, in association with Hub Ho Hin Bangkok and Jor Kwang Films. It was produced by Songyos Sugmakanan and Kriangkrai Vachiratamporn, and consists of four ...

'' ("Shoot! I Love You" Part).

Release and sales

The single was officially released on 8 August 2017. Physical CDs were available for purchase from 7 to 19 July 2017 only, during which it sold a total of 13,500 copies. Critic Nutthapong Chaiwanitphon ( th, ณัฐพงศ์ ไชยวานิชย์ผล) observed that the total sales for the BNK48 single has been low.

Track listing

* Bold indicates centres. ; "Wanted to Meet You") , note1 = cover of AKB48's "Aitakatta" , length1 = 3:48 , lyrics1 = , extra1 = Can, Cherprang, Jaa, Jan, Jennis, Kaew, Kaimook, Miori, Music, Namhom, Namneung, Noey, Orn, Pun, Satchan, Tarwaan , title2 = Ko Chop Hai Ru Wa Chop ( th, ก็ชอบให้รู้ว่าชอบ; "I Like You, So I Let You Know That I Like You") , note2 = cover of AKB48's " Ōgoe Diamond" , length2 = 4:08 , lyrics2 = Tanupop Notayanont , extra2 = same as the previous song , title3 = Sam Roi Hoksip Ha Wan Kap Khrueangbin Kradat ( th, สามร้อยหกสิบห้าวันกับเครื่องบินกระดาษ; "365 Days with Paper Planes") , note3 = cover of AKB48's " 365 Nichi no Kamihikōki" , length3 = 4:38 , lyrics3 = Tanupop , extra3 = Can, Cherprang, Jaa, Jan, Jennis, Kaew, Kaimook, Miori, Music, Namhom, Namneung, Noey, Orn, Pun, Satchan, Tarwaan , title4 = Yak Cha Dai Phop Thoe , note4 = Off Vocal Version , length4 = 3:48 , title5 = Ko Chop Hai Ru Wa Chop , note5 = Off Vocal Version , length5 = 4:08 , title6 = Sam Roi Hoksip Ha Wan Kap Khrueangbin Kradat , note6 = Off Vocal Version , length6 = 4:38 , all_writing = , title7 = , length7 = , title8 = , length8 = , title9 = , length9 = , title10 = , length10 = , title11 = , length11 = , title12 = , length12 = , title13 = , length13 = , title14 = , length14 = , title15 = , length15 = , title16 = , length16 = , title17 = , length17 = , title18 = , length18 = , title19 = , length19 = , title20 = , length20 =

MNL48 version

The Filipino idol group MNL48, a sister group of AKB48, covered the song and named it "Gustong Makita" (Want to meet you). It is their first single released on September 28, 2018.

Tracklisting

* Bold indicates centers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitakatta AKB48 songs BNK48 songs MNL48 songs 2006 singles 2017 singles 2018 singles Songs with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto Defstar Records singles 2006 songs 2017 songs 2018 songs