"I for You" is the eleventh single by Japanese rock band

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most success ...

, released on July 1, 1998. It reached number 2 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 ...

and was the 49th best-selling single of the year. It was the third and last in a serial release after the band's hibernation from 1997 to early 1998.

Overview

Original scores for "I for You" were composed by

Sugizo , born and better known by his stage name Sugizo, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist and violinist of the rock band Luna Sea since 1989. Sugizo started his solo care ...

as an

orchestrated Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

version; although it was first written around 1993, it had not been considered for recording until later, when an opportunity appeared for creating a theme song for a TV drama. The final version of the song was furnished with revisions by Ryuichi. Sugizo's mother is featured playing the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

. During the recording of "I for You", guitarist hide of

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

, who was a close friend with members of the band, died. Some of the lyrics are described as a tribute to him by the members. It was used as the theme song for the Japanese TV drama , which was also aired overseas in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and helped to popularize the band internationally, leading to their First Asian Tour the following year. The B-side "With" was originally composed by

Inoran , better known exclusively by his stage name Inoran, is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Luna Sea since 1986. He started his solo career in 1997. Luna Sea disba ...

around 1994. Clock

ticking Ticking is a type of cloth, traditionally a tightly-woven cotton or linen textile. It is traditionally used to cover tick mattresses and bed pillows. The tight weave makes it more durable and hinders the stuffing (straw, chaff, hair, down feathers, ...

appears near the end of the song, connecting it to the first track of '' Shine'', "Time Has Come".

Track listing

#"I for You" - 5:30 #"With" - 5:57

Reception

"I for You" reached number 2 on the

, charted for 16 weeks, and was certified Platinum 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 ...

in July 1998 for sales over 400,000. It went on to become the 49th best-selling single of the year with 481,390 copies sold.

Cover versions

Ryuichi recorded his own version of "I for You" for his 2006 cover album, ''Evergreen''. It was also covered by Juichi Morishige of Ziggy for 2007's '' Luna Sea Memorial Cover Album -Re:birth-''. In 2012, the song was covered by both Mr. Big singer Eric Martin and

Megamasso was a Japanese visual kei rock band. Their sound was lively and upbeat, with a unique mix of punk, piano ballads and pop rock. Formerly signed to NXSIE Records, they are now connected to Avex Group's HPQ label. Since the release of "SWAN SONG", ...

singer Inzargi for their respective cover albums.

References

{{Authority control Luna Sea songs Rock ballads Japanese television drama theme songs 1998 singles