is a song written and recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. Originally released digitally on November 18, 2011 as the second single from Ai's ninth studio album, ''

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

'', it was released physically on December 14, 2011, by

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

alongside "

Letter in the Sky "Letter in the Sky" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai featuring American pop band The Jacksons. Originally released digitally on October 19, 2011, by EMI Music Japan, it was released physically on December 14, 2011, alon ...

". Used as a commercial theme song for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

's Christmas campaign in Japan from 2011 to 2015, "Happiness" became one of Ai's best performing singles in the 2010's to date with 3 million digital downloads. In 2013, the single received a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

Background and release

In October 2011, "Letter in the Sky" was released digitally as the lead single for ''Independent''. With the release, it was announced the song would be released physically in December. "Happiness" originally was released to Chaka-Uta, a digital transmission technology in Japan used to distribute ringtones and songs to Japanese mobile phones in November 2011. It later was released to other digital stores. On December 14, "Happiness" was released physically with "Letter in the Sky" as a double A-side single.

Music videos

Three music videos were made for "Happiness" and its remixes. The original music video was released in December 2011. In the video, Ai portrays a janitor, a high school principal, and a salesman driving a Coca-Cola delivery truck. The video switches between the three characters she portrays. At the end of the music video, Ai is seen performing the song as herself with the students of the school. In 2012, a music video for the "Smile Version" of "Happiness" was released. The music video was shot in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. In 2013, a music video for the "Giving Version" of "Happiness" was released.

Commercial performance

The physical release of "Happiness / Letter in the Sky" debuted at number 14 on the Oricon weekly singles chart. On the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

'' charts, "Happiness" debuted at number 4 and peaked at number 2 on the

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

. The physical single peaked at number 13 on the Top Singles Sales chart. "Happiness" appeared in many year-end rankings.

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by Ai Uemura unless noted. All tracks produced by Uta unless noted.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Original version

Ai Uemura , known mononymously as Ai (, stylized as AI or A.I. ), is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, spokeswoman, and actress. Born in Los Angeles, California, Ai moved to Kagoshima, at age 4. Motivated to become a singer ...

– vocals, songwriter, producer * Uta – producer, programming, recording arranger

English version

* Ai Uemura – vocals, songwriter, producer * Uta – producer, programming, recording arranger * Latisha Hyman – songwriter

Reggae Summer remix

* Ai Uemura – vocals, songwriter, producer * Uta – producer, programming, recording arranger * Mighty Crown – arranger, work arranger * Danny Bassic – bass (vocals) * Kirk Drummie – drums * Monti – guitar * Deen Fraser – horn * Devon – keyboards * Sami-T – programming, recording arranger

Certifications

Release history

Happiness (Gospel Version)

On October 30, 2019, Ai released a gospel version of "Happiness" as promotional single from her 2019 compilation album, '' Kansha!!!! - Thank You for 20 Years New and Best''.

Background

To celebrate her twenty-year anniversary in the music industry and the then upcoming

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, Ai traveled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to record new material, which later was revealed to be '' It's All Me, Vol. 1'' (2020) and ''

It's All Me, Vol. 2 ''It's All Me, Vol. 2'' (stylized IT'S ALL ME VOL 2) is an extended play by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on February 24, 2021, through EMI Records, as a follow-up to ''It's All Me, Vol. 1'' (2020)''.'' Ai primarily colla ...

'' (2021). While recording new material, Ai recorded gospel arrangements of her previously released hit singles.

Release history

Eito version

Japanese musician

Eito Eito is a village in the northeastern part of the island of Santo Antão, Cape Verde, part of the municipality of Paul. It is situated 1 km southwest of Pombas, 2 km northeast of Figueiral and 15 km northeast of the island capita ...

covered "Happiness" for the Coca-Cola winter 2020 campaign. His cover was released on November 11, 2020, by A.S.A.B. His cover was included as a bonus track on his debut studio album, ''

Sukkarakan is the debut studio album by Japanese singer Eito. It was released through A.S.A.B on December 24, 2020 for digital download and streaming and on January 1, 2021 on CD. It is primarily a J-pop album, with ingrained influences of reggae, folk, a ...

''.

Live performances

Eito performed the song live with Ai at the ''"Coca-Cola" Ribbon Bottle Happiness Night'' on December 10, 2020.

Release history

Footnotes

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Ai (singer) songs EMI Music Japan singles Japanese Christmas songs Songs written by Ai (singer) Song recordings produced by Ai (singer) Songs about the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Coca-Cola in popular culture