"Blue Zone" 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 fourteenth studio album, ''

Full of Love ''Full of Love'' is the fourteenth studio album by Japanese singer Shizuka Kudo. It was released on June 2, 1999, through Pony Canyon. The album features a contemporary R&B sound, produced by the likes of Chokkaku, Ichirō Hada and Seishirō Kusuno ...

''. It was released through

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 lead single on April 7, 1999. The song featured on TV commercials for Toyo tires. A song titled "I.n.g" was originally slated to be released in place of "Blue Zone". Since it does not appear on ''Full of Love'', it is unclear whether the song was scrapped or if "I.n.g" was simply an alternate title. "Blue Zone" is the third and last in a trilogy of singles with "Blue" in the title: "Blue Zone" is preceded by " Blue Velvet" and "

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 ...

", respectively. As well as being the last single released in

Mini CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

format, "Blue Zone" was the last single Kudo released with Pony Canyon, until signing anew with the label in 2005 and releasing " Lotus (Umareshi Hana)".

Background

The song was written by Shizuka Kudo, under the pseudonym Aeri, and composed by Takashi Tsushimi. It is the first single with lyrics by Kudo since " Kama Sutra no Densetsu". The song is composed in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

and Kudo's vocals span from A₃ to B₄. Lyrically, the song deals with the initiation of an inexperienced lover.

Cover version

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 ...

performed "Blue Zone" when auditioning for the second generation of Morning Musume., broadcast on the TX talent search show ''

Asayan ''Asayan'', originally known as was a talent search variety show that aired on TV Tokyo from 1995 to 2002. Some idols that were originally discovered through Asayan auditions produced by Tsunku, formed groups that worked under the umbrella gro ...

''.

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 28 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 9,000 copies in its first week. It fell to number 45 the following week, with sales of 4,000 copies. "Blue Zone" charted in the top 100 for four weeks, selling a total of 20,000 copies.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{authority control 1999 songs 1999 singles Songs with lyrics by Shizuka Kudo Songs used as jingles Shizuka Kudo songs Pony Canyon singles