''Babylon no Kiseki'' (バビロンの奇跡 / Miracle of Babylon) is the second single by

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 ...

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

LISA Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

since her split from m-flo, and sixth overall single. It ranked at #31 on the Oricon charts and stayed on the charts for one month. It became the ending theme song for the

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 betw ...

''Future Tracks.''

Background information

''Babylon no Kiseki'' is the second single by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese R&B soloist LISA under the

Avex is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

sub-label

Rhythm Zone (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 2000, ...

since splitting from the hip-hop duo

m-flo is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of record producer DJ Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa. Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists fo ...

. The single peaked at #31 on

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 Nov ...

, but took the #36 spot on the Weekly Singles Charts, remaining on the charts for four consecutive weeks. The single was only released as a CD. Although it was given a

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the single's promotional run, the video would not be released for purchase until her 2005

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Melody Circus ''Melody Circus'' (stylized as ''MELODY CIRCUS'') is LISA's third studio album, released on May 20, 2005. It contains covers of 1980s English songs. Background information ''Melody Circus'' is a covers album that was released a year after her ...

.'' The title track was composed by

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra , commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike t ...

, a

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band created in 1988. LISA wrote the lyrics to "Babylon no Kiseki" to reflect how the society in Japan was at the time. During an interview for the single, LISA said how "You look at the world right now and there’s war and recession . . . suicide and homeless people.” However, LISA said how the song was also optimistic of what was the come, how people "are alive at this stage for a reason" and that each person "is a miracle . . . even if your situation is Babylon."

Promotional activities

"Babylon no Kiseki" was used as the end theme for the

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

show ''Future Tracks.'' It was also used as the promotional song for Kirin's "Hyōketsu Kajū"

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and for the

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

company Daiichikosho. None of the single's

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s were used as promotional tracks.

Track listing

Release history

References

External links

LISA Official Discography Web Site HMV Album Release
{{authority control 2002 singles 2002 songs Rhythm Zone singles Songs written by Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974)