"Be the Naked" (stylized as ''Be the NAKED'') is the thirtieth single by Japanese
hip-hop group
Lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
. The single was announced in December 2018, two weeks before the release of their concert
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
''
Lead Upturn 2018: Milestone''. It debuted in the top ten on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...
charts at No. 7.
The single is their first release following their album ''
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...
'', and released eight months after their previous single "
Bumblebee
A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...
".
The single was released in four formats: a standard CD, two CD+DVD editions, and a CD+booklet edition. Each edition also received a limited edition version that held concert tickets to their upcoming live.
Information
''Be the Naked'' is the thirtieth single released by the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
hip-hop
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
Lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
on January 30, 2019. It was their first single of the year, and the first single following their 2018
studio album ''
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...
.'' ''Be the Naked'' debuted in the top ten on the
Oricon Singles Charts at No. 7 and climbed to the No. 6 spot by the third day. However, before the end of the first week, the single fell out of the top 20 to No. 22, giving it a weekly ranking of No. 9 and ending the first week with 18,243 units sold.
The single was released in four formats: a standard
CD, two CD+DVD editions, and a CD+booklet edition. The
first press editions included tickets to their upcoming live performance. The CD only version held three songs: the title track "Be the Naked", and the two
coupling tracks "Drop in the box" and "99.9%". The CD+DVD editions contained the title track and the coupling track "99.9%". The type A edition carried the
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
of "Be the Naked", along with the
behind-the-scenes making video of both the music video and the cover art. The type B DVD housed the group's "Lead Challenge 30", which was a game show featuring the members. The CD+booklet edition held "Be the Naked" and the track "Drop in the box", along with a 24-page photo book.
"Be the Naked" was arranged by
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
s
Obi Mhondera
Obi Simbarashe Mhondera (born May 21, 1980 in Mutare, Zimbabwe) is a songwriter, producer and re-mixer responsible for many major releases worldwide, particularly in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia.
Background
He was born and raised in Zimba ...
, Kyler Niko and Coach & Sendo, the later of which performed the music. The lyrics were written by Saeki Yuusuke (also known by his stage name 佐伯youthK or Saeki youthK), while Lead's own
Shinya Tanuichi wrote the
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
portion of the song. "99.9%" was written and composed by Carlos Okabe. Both Okabe and Hali Awani performed the piece. The lyrical portion was written by lyricist Kelly. The track "Drop in the box" was written, composed and performed by RYUJA and
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
KM-MARKIT, the latter of which who had worked with Lead in the past for their 2017 song "
Shampoo Bubble". The lyrics were written by Lead members Shinya Tanuichi and Akira Kagimoto.
Cover art
For the type A and standard editions, Shinya, Keita and Akira posed with live flames. The fire and dark tones of the various covers were to portray the intensity and darkness of the title track.
Promotional advertisements
To help promote the single, the song "Be the Naked" was used as the theme song to the second opening of the
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
''
Hinomaru Sumo
is Japanese sumo manga series written and illustrated by Kawada. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine from May 2014 to July 2019, with its chapters collected into 28 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shueisha. A 24-episode anime televi ...
'', which began January 25, five days before the single's physical release.
The series currently airs on Fridays at ten o'clock PM on
Tokyo MX
JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...
,
AbemaTV
Abema (, stylized as ABEMA) is a Japanese live TV streaming website owned by the entertainment company, AbemaTV, Inc. that provides over-the-top media services to customers in Japan. The website primarily acts as an online television network, ...
,
BS11,
Sun Television
is a commercial television station headquartered in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and a member of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations (JAITS).
Office
*the head office - Kobe Ekimae Just Square, 1-1, Higashi-Kawasakic ...
,
Aichi TV and
TVQ Kyushu.
Aiding in promotions, those who preordered the single from various
Tower Records
Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Recor ...
stores throughout Japan were able to obtain a special poster, based on a
first-come first-served
Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting time can be predicted. Queueing theory is generally considered a branch of operations research because the ...
basis. For stores outside of Tower Records, a special
postcard
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
set was available, which included solo postcards featuring each member. The stores participated were
HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
,
Amazon Japan, Tsutaya Records and various CD shops.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
to "Be the Naked" opens with Keita dragging a broken chair through what appears to be an abandoned building before cutting to all three members utilizing their skills in
break dancing
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
, using the interior of building as the location. The video cuts to various shots of the individual members both in rooms and on the roof of the building, overlooking a city during sunset. During the chorus, when the group sings "be the naked", they motion over their genitals. Shots performed in what appears to be an abandoned theater are overlaid with a mirror effect of two members dancing in the background, while one member sings their lines in the front.
For the video, Keita dons short, blonde hair, a style none of the members have utilized throughout their career.
On December 30, 2018,
Pony Canyon
, also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...
's official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
for the group uploaded the music video to assist in promotion.
Track listing
Charts
References
External links
Lead Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Be the Naked
2019 singles
2019 songs
Japanese-language songs
Lead (band) songs
Pony Canyon singles
Anime songs