"Give Me Five!" is the 25th single by the Japanese girl idol group

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...

. It is also AKB48's fifth

sakura The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

-themed single, and their first single of 2012. This single was released in Japan on February 15, 2012. ''Give Me Five!'' is AKB48's fifth

-themed single. However, unlike the previous ones, this single's title doesn't contain the word ''sakura''. The music video for the song ''Give Me Five!'' is a 34-minute

Japanese television drama , also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Format All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...

-like style video. This video was directed by Shigemichi Sugita, and it stars AKB48 members Atsuko Maeda, Yuko Oshima, Yuki Kashiwagi, Minami Takahashi. Actor Takanori Jinnai also stars in the music video. ''Give Me Five'' sold approximately 967,000 copies on its debut day, thus making it AKB48's 12th single to achieve No.1 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

charts. Not to be confused with another song title, "Give me Five!" by Chihiro Yonekura, for the 3rd ''Fairy Tail'' OVA opening intro.

Production

Give Me Five!

''Give Me Five!'' was sung by a band called ''Baby Blossom'' comprising 18 selected members from AKB48 and its sister groups

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae, Nagoya, Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshi ...

and

NMB48 NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is based ...

. The band is led by

Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After ...

, who is playing the rhythm guitar, and

Yuko Oshima is a Japanese actress and former member of idol girl group AKB48, of which she was the captain of Team K. She was also a member of the AKB48 subunit Not Yet. In addition to the singles that involved the rock-paper-scissors tournaments, she sa ...

, who is playing a bass guitar. Other members of the band include

Minami Takahashi is a Japanese idol, singer, tarento and a former member of the Japanese girl idol group AKB48. She is in Team A of AKB48. She became the first of AKB48 and its sister groups. In an interview with Nippon Television in June 2010, AKB48 produc ...

, who is playing the lead guitar,

Yuki Kashiwagi is a Japanese singer. She was a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, NMB48 and NGT48. She auditioned for AKB48 on December 3, 2006, and was a member of AKB48's Team B. She was previously the captain of Team B before she was replaced ...

, who is in charge of the drums,

Mayu Watanabe is a Japanese former singer and actress. Watanabe started her career as a member of the idol girl group AKB48 under Team B. In the annual AKB48 General Elections event, she had consistently been voted by fans to rank among the group's top membe ...

, who is playing the keyboard,

Haruna Kojima is a Japanese entrepreneur, actress, model, and former singer. From 2005 to 2017, she was a member of idol group AKB48 under Team A. In 2018, she founded her own brand, "Her lip to". Career Kojima was born in Urawa-ku, Saitama, Saitama Pref ...

, who is on the

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

Rino Sashihara is a Japanese tarento, singer, producer and actress. She is best known as a former member of idol groups HKT48, AKB48 and STU48, and was the theater manager for HKT48 and STU48. She was also a member of AKB48's unit Not Yet and is the produc ...

and

Minami Minegishi is a Japanese singer and actress, represented by :ja:プロダクション尾木, Production Ogi. She was a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, and its subunit no3b. She is noted for having the longest tenure among the group's origina ...

, who are playing the

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

Rena Matsui is a Japanese actress, singer, and novelist. Matsui is a former member of the Japanese idol girl groups SKE48 and Nogizaka46. As a member of the former, she also participated in the main lineup of AKB48's singles. As an actress, she has played r ...

and

Yui Yokoyama is a Japanese actress, YouTuber and former singer. She is a former member of the idol group AKB48. She was the second General Manager of the AKB48 Group. She had served as the captain of AKB48 Team A, and was a former member of AKB48 sister grou ...

, who are playing the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

Jurina Matsui is a Japanese TV personality, singer, actress, and YouTuber. She is a former member of Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and former concurrent member of AKB48 (in 2012–2015). She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the to ...

, who is playing the standing drums,

Mariko Shinoda is a Japanese singer, actress, fashion model, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48, in which she was the captain of Team A. Career In October 2005, she auditioned for AKB48's first generation roster but failed the audition. Shor ...

, who plays 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, thoug ...

, and

Tomomi Itano is a Japanese recording artist, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2011 she debuted solo with a single titled " Dear J", which wa ...

, who is playing the shaker.

Sae Miyazawa is a Japanese actress, television personality and former singer, signed under the entertainment agency Horipro. She is best known for her affiliations with AKB48 and its various sister- and subgroups. Between 2006 and 2016, she was a part of the ...

, Rie Kitahara, Aki Takajō,

Tomomi Kasai is a Japanese singer, actress and a former member of the idol group AKB48, belonging to Team A. She had a recurring role on ''Kamen Rider W'' as Elizabeth, alongside group member Tomomi Itano. Together, they make up the sub-unit Queen & Elizab ...

and

Sayaka Yamamoto is a Japanese singer-songwriter signed to Universal Sigma. She is a former member of the girl group NMB48, where she served as captain, and a former concurrent member of AKB48. She made her debut as a solo artist in October 2016 with her firs ...

are the band's chorus. This band was formed in secret by AKB48's producer

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, ma ...

on 28 August 2011. During the five months prior to the official revelation of the band, the 18 members trained in secret in between their performance schedules. Members of the rock band

Gacharic Spin Gacharic Spin is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 2009. Initially releasing music independently, they later signed with Victor Entertainment then Nippon Crown. Known for their flamboyant, aggressive performances, they have toured Japa ...

were some of their coaches. Out of the 18 band members, only three had previously played the musical instrument they are playing this time (some of them have played other instruments). Translated from original articles by Sankei Sports and Sports Hochi They are Yuko Oshima, who played the bass guitar during her high school days, Rena Matsui and Rino Sashihara, who had previously played the trumpet and trombone respectively. ''Baby Blossom'' was officially revealed to the public during the 4th and last day of concert ''AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 100 2012'', held on January 22, 2012. At the event, the members performed the song ''Give Me Five!'' for the first time.

Music video

The music video was directed by director Shigemichi Sugita. The music video stars AKB48 members Atsuko Maeda, Yuko Oshima, Yuki Kashiwagi, Minami Takahashi and actor Takanori Jinnai. The filming of this music video took place in a high school located in

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

during end-November 2011. This music video tells the story of four students, all of whom comes from troubled backgrounds. Atsuko Maeda plays the role of Atsuko Ogata, a girl whose parents divorced and subsequently went to Tokyo. Yuko Oshima plays Yuko Osawa, a girl who secretly works at a brothel to cover household expenses. Yuki Kashiwagi stars as Yuki Kobayashi, a girl who is mentally troubled after being bullied at school. Minami Takahashi plays the role of Minami Ichikawa, a quick-tempered girl who can never stay in one job for long. Takanori Jinnai stars as the quartet's homeroom teacher. The four of them, on the suggestion of their teacher, formed a music band named ''Baby Blossom''. Together, they mature and gradually become self-confident. Ryosuke Miura as Ankh and Shu Watanabe as Eji Hino from

Kamen Rider OOO is a 2010–2011 Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's Kamen Rider Series, being the twelfth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-first overall. It began airing on September 5, 2010, the week following the conclusion of ''Kamen R ...

made a cameo. The music video is included in both the Type-A and Type-B versions of this single. It was made available for viewing on the group's official YouTube channel on May 2
.

Announcement

Some information on this single was announced on December 12, 2011. However, the title of the single was not revealed in that announcement. The title was later published at the King Records official site on January 2, 2012. On January 22, 2012, AKB48 performed the title song in concert for the first time, during the group's ''Request Hour Set List Best 100 2012'' concert held at

Tokyo Dome City Hall The Tokyo Dome City Hall (TDC Hall) is a facility for sports, fashion shows, circuses, and live music, located inside Tokyo Dome City in Tokyo, Japan. It is on the opposite corner of the Tokyo Dome, and hosts a variety of events at any given t ...

. During that performance, it was unveiled that the title track of this single, ''Give Me Five!'', will be performed by a specially-formed band named ''Baby Blossom''. The band comprises selected members who played different musical instruments.

Release details

''Give Me Five!'' was officially released in Japan on February 15, 2012. The single is available in 5 versions: Type-A Regular and Limited Editions, Type-B Regular and Limited, and Theater Edition. All regular editions are CD+DVD. They come sealed and include a bonus: the limited editions have a randomly seeded ticket for 1 of 2 nationwide handshake events, and the regular editions have 1 randomly seeded photo of a member out of the 18-photo set created exclusively for the single. The Theater Edition is CD only. It comes with a ticket for a large release event at AKB48 Theater. Plus, since the edition is intended for being sold at AKB48 Theater, the buyer can in person pick 1 member photo out of a large photoset created especially for the theater edition of the single. In total, the single sold 967,000 copies on the first day of their release.

Reception

''Give Me Five!'' sold approximately 967,000 copies on its debut day. This makes it the AKB48's third-highest selling single on its release day, behind singles '' Kaze wa Fuiteiru'' (which sold 1.046 million copies on its release day) and '' Flying Get'' (which sold 1.026 million copies on its release day). In total, ''Give Me Five!'' sold 1.287 million copies on its debut week. This makes it AKB48's 12th single that topped the Oricon charts, and its 6th consecutive million-selling single.

Track listing

Type A

Type B

Theater Version

Bonus

Types A, B

* (Limited Edition) Random national handshake event ticket (sealed in, 2 kinds in total available) * (Regular Edition) Random photo of a member (sealed in, one per senbatsu member, i.e. 18 kinds in total, available)

Theater Edition

* Large handshake event ticket * Photo of a member (selectable from a set, one kind per member available)

Members

"Give Me Five!"

Center:

* Team A:

, Aki Takajō,

* Team K:

Yūko Ōshima is a Japanese actress and former member of idol girl group AKB48, of which she was the captain of Team K. She was also a member of the AKB48 subunit Not Yet. In addition to the singles that involved the rock-paper-scissors tournaments, she sa ...

* Team B:

, Rie Kitahara,

Team S:

Team N:

Note: The selected members are the same as on " Kaze wa Fuiteiru".

"Sweet & Bitter"

Sung by : Center:

* Team A:

* Team K:

"New Ship"

Sung by : Center:

, Melody Nurramdhani Laksani * Team B: Sumire Satō * Team 4:

Miori Ichikawa is a Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol groups AKB48 and NMB48. She is known for her "Fresh Lemon" character and is the Hiroshima Lemon Ambassador since 2014. Biography Ichikawa debuted in the entertainment industry under Sta ...

, Anna Iriyama, Haruka Shimazaki, Suzuran Yamauchi * Kenkyūsei:

Karen Iwata is an actress and former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 under Team A. Biography Iwata was born on May 13, 1998, in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Her mother is Miwa Sugawara, who works as a TV personality in Sendai. As a child, Iwat ...

, Rena Katō,

Rina Kawaei is a Japanese actress and former singer, represented by Avex Inc., Avex. She is a former member of the girl group AKB48. As an actress, she has starred in television series such as ''Come Come Everybody'' (2021) and was nominated for Blue Ribbon ...

, Juri Takahashi, Yuka Tano *

Team S:

Yuria Kizaki is a Japanese actress and former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, where she was the captain of Team B. Biography Kizaki was born in Aichi Prefecture. On November 13, 2009, Kizaki passed SKE48's third-generation auditions. On Jun ...

Team E: Kanon Kimoto *

Team N: Miyuki Watanabe *

HKT48 HKT48 (read "H.K.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. HKT48 is named after the Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Hakata-ku ward of Fukuoka, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at ...

(then Kenkyūsei): Haruka Kodama *

JKT48 JKT48 ( pronounced J- K- T- 4 8 ) is Indonesia’s premier girl group, established in 2011 as the first international sister group of Japan’s AKB48. Based in Jakarta, which is the capital and largest city of Indonesia, located on the northw ...

(then Kenkyūsei): Melody Nurramdhani Laksani

"Hitsujikai no Tabi"

Sung by : Center:

* Team A:

Misaki Iwasa is a Japanese idol. She is a former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48 and enka singer. Her nickname is Wasamin. Her talent agency is Nagara Productions. She was also a member of the sub-unit Watarirouka Hashiritai 7. Career 2008 * Decemb ...

Aika Ōta , is a former member of the Japanese idol group HKT48, the captain of its Team KIV. She has also been a member of AKB48 and Watarirouka Hashiritai 7, Watarirouka Hashiritai, and portrayed Kazue Kae in ''Tomie Unlimited'' (2011). Career 2006ー2 ...

, Haruka Katayama, Asuka Kuramochi,

, Aki Takajō * Team K:

Sayaka Akimoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a member of Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training ...

, Ayaka Umeda, Ayaka Kikuchi,

Reina Fujie , is a Japanese actress and former singer. She is a former member NMB48's Team BII and former member of AKB48. She is a cousin of Berryz Kobo was a Japanese idol girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Pro ...

, Sakiko Matsui,

* Team B:

, Rie Kitahara, Amina Sato, Yuka Masuda,

* Team 4:

Haruka Shimada is a Japanese businessperson and former singer and actress. She is a former member of AKB48, and has founded two companies aiming to provide second career options for aspiring and active entertainers. Biography Shimada joined AKB48 in 2009. D ...

, Mariya Nagao *

Team S:

Team KII:

Akane Takayanagi is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group SKE48. She joined SKE48 as a second-generation trainee in March 2009, before being promoted to Team KII. She was a member of SKE48 Team KII, and a former member of NMB48 Team BII. AKB48 genera ...

"Yungu ya Furoito no Baai"

Sung by * Team A: Shizuka Ōya,

Haruka Nakagawa , is a Japanese people, Japanese Media Personality, media personality based in Indonesia. She is a former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48 and its sub-unit Watarirouka Hashiritai, as well as its Indonesian sister group JKT48, all produced ...

, Chisato Nakata, Sayaka Nakaya, Ami Maeda, Natsumi Matsubara * Team K: Mayumi Uchida, Miku Tanabe, Tomomi Nakatsuka, Moeno Nitō, Misato Nonaka, Rumi Yonezawa * Team B: Haruka Ishida,

Kana Kobayashi is a Japanese idol who is a former member of AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records tha ...

, Mika Komori, Natsuki Satō, Shihori Suzuki,

Mariya Suzuki is a Japanese idol, singer and actress. She joined the girl group AKB48 in 2009 where she participated in a number of their singles, and was one of two Japanese members to transfer and to become founding members of the Chinese idol sister group ...

, Rina Chikano, Natsumi Hirajima,

Miho Miyazaki is a Japanese singer, actress and former member of the idol girl group AKB48 where she was active in Team A. She also participated in the Korean-Japanese show '' Produce 48''. Biography In 2007, Miyazaki passed an audition for AKB48 and becam ...

* Team 4: Maria Abe, Miyu Takeuchi, Shiori Nakamata, Mariko Nakamura * Kenkyūsei: Rina Izuta, Miyū Ōmori, Natsuki Kojima, Marina Kobayashi, Erena Saeed Yokota, Yukari Sasaki, Rika Suzuki, Wakana Natori, Rina Hirata,

Nana Fujita Nana, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana (chief) (died 1896), Mimbreño Apa ...

, Tomu Muto, Ayaka Morikawa

Charts

Sales and certifications

References

External links

Profile at the King Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Give Me Five! 2012 singles AKB48 songs Songs with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto Oricon Weekly number-one singles Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles RIAJ Digital Track Chart number-one singles King Records (Japan) singles 2012 songs Songs about cherry blossom