"Blue Velvet" is a song recorded by Japanese singer

Shizuka Kudo , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese singer, actress and former idol, born in Hamura, Tokyo, Japan. She was a member of Onyanko Club between May 1986 and September 1987 and went on to have a successful solo career with 11 number-one hits. ...

for her thirteenth studio album, '' I'm Not''. It was released by

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 affiliate ...

as the album's leading single on May 28, 1997. It served as the third ending theme song to the

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, 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 Japane ...

series ''

Dragon Ball GT is a 1996–1997 Japanese anime television series based on Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dragon Ball'' manga. Produced by Toei Animation, the series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV and ran for 64 episodes from February 1996 to Novem ...

'', from episode 42 to episode 50. Out of all the artists that have contributed to the series' soundtracks, Kudo is the only one who is unaffiliated with a

Being Inc. Being Incorporated, d.b.a. Being Giza Group, is a Japanese private entertainment conglomerate based in Tokyo's Roppongi district, founded on November 1, 1978 by musician Daiko Nagato. Being Inc. and its subsidiaries are the main supplier of the ...

label. Kudo, who is a self-proclaimed ''Dragon Ball'' fan, received an autographed hand-drawn illustration of

Goku Son Goku is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Dragon Ball'' manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong (known as Son Goku in Japan and Monkey King in the West), a main character of the classic Ch ...

from series creator

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...

for her 28th birthday. "Blue Velvet" is the second in a trilogy of singles with "Blue" in the title: "Blue Velvet" is preceded by "

Blue Rose A blue rose is a flower of the genus ''Rosa'' (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow. Blue roses are often used to symbolize mystery or attaining the impossible. However, beca ...

", and followed by " Blue Zone".

Background and composition

"Blue Velvet" is described as a scampering, pop-rock song. The song was written by Shizuka Kudo, under the pseudonym Aeri, and

Sharam Q was a Japanese rock band composed of lead singer , on guitar, on drums and on keyboards. Biography They debuted with in 1992. They were not an instant hit initially, but their fourth single broke the top 50 of the Oricon charts. Even ...

guitarist and leader Hatake. It is composed in the key of

E-flat minor E-flat minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature consists of six flats. Its relative key is G-flat major (or enharmonically F-sharp major) and its parallel key is E-flat major. I ...

and set to a tempo of 108

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Kudo's vocals span from C₄ to C₅ in modal voice, and up to E₅ in head voice. Her vocal performance was praised for its versatility, ranging from powerful belts to soft whispers. Lyrically, the song describes a narrator falling madly in love and her efforts to pin down her lover.

Live performances

When performing "Blue Velvet", Kudo sings the song while enthusiastically tapping the

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

. In 2007, during her concert celebrating her 20th anniversary, she played the tambourine given by her friend, actress

Naoko Iijima is a feminine Japanese given name which is occasionally spelled . Possible writings Naoko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *直子, "obedient, child" *尚子, "esteem, child" *奈緒子, "Nara, cord, child" *菜緒 ...

, who was in attendance that day.

Cover versions

In 2013,

Kumi Koda , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. After debuting with the single "Take Back" in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, "Real Emotion ...

recorded a cover of the song for her cover album, ''

Color the Cover ''Color the Cover'' (stylized as ''Color The Cover'') is the second cover album by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi, following her 2010 cover album '' Eternity ~Love & Songs~.'' It came in at No. 3 on Oricon and remained on the charts for nin ...

''. She performed the song in duet with Kudo on the CX music show ''Bokura no Ongaku'' during the album's promotional cycle. In 2017,

Yūki Kaji Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

recorded a cover for the tribute album, ''Shizuka Kudo Tribute''. Singer Brina Palencia recorded the English version of the song to use as the Season 3 credits music for

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 15 on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

, selling 36,000 copies in its first week. It slid to number 17 the following week, with 31,000 copies sold. In its third charting week, the single rose nine positions to number eight, where it peaked and became Kudo's second consecutive solo single to break the top ten, selling 38,000 copies. "Blue Velvet" charted for a total of eleven weeks, and with sales exceeding 200,000 copies, it was certified Gold by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include p ...

Track listing

Charts

Certification

References

{{authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles Shizuka Kudo songs Koda Kumi songs Pony Canyon singles Dragon Ball songs