"Maware Maware" (lit. "Spin, Spin", stylized as "MAWARE MAWARE" in Japan) is a song recorded by Japanese singer

Misia Misaki Itō, commonly known as and stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Born in Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended ...

featuring

Muro Muro, a word meaning wall in the Spanish, Portuguese Italian, Esperanto and Ido languages, may refer to: Places France * Muro, Haute-Corse, a commune in the ''département'' of Haute-Corse Italy * Muro Leccese, a municipality of the Province ...

and JP, credited under the pseudonym M2J, and French-Cameroonian singer Francis Jocky. The song was released through the official soundtrack of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, ''

Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album ''Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album'' is a compilation album with various artists including both local African and international. This album is the official music album of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and album was rel ...

'', making Misia the first Asian artist to contribute a song for a FIFA album.

Release

The song was first released on the ''Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album'' on May 31, 2010. It was later included on Misia's tenth studio album, ''

Soul Quest ''Soul Quest'' (stylized as ''SOUL QUEST'') is the tenth studio album by Japanese singer Misia. It was released on July 27, 2011, through Ariola Japan. The album yielded three official singles, the digital exclusives " Edge of This World" and " Lif ...

'' (2011). A remix by DJ Gomi was released digitally on May 25, 2011, simultaneously with the single " Kioku", on which it is included as a first pressing bonus track.

Composition

"Maware Maware" is primarily sung by Misia in English. Jocky sings the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

in Duala, one of the various languages of Cameroon. The chorus features Misia incorporating six greetings in various languages, including English ("Hello"), Japanese ("Konnichiwa"), Swahili ("

Jambo! Jambo is a Swahili greeting or salutation. It is similar in meaning to the English word '' Hello''. Linguistically Specifically, Jambo is a Swahili language word that belongs to noun classes 5-6 for "collectives". Jambo primarily means 'affair' ...

"), Spanish ("Hola"), French ("Bonjour"), and Zulu ("Sawubona"). The music video also features this greeting motif and other greetings in Portuguese ("Boa Tarde") and Chinese ("Ni Hao") shown in 3D art.

Performances

The first performance of "Maware Maware" was held at a Sony

make.believe The phrase "make.believe" was a global brand strategy for multinational conglomerate corporation Sony. Development and announcement Previously, the company adopted separate strategies in its promotion of entertainment and electronics products.R ...

showcase in

Roppongi Hills is a development project in Tokyo and one of Japan's largest integrated property developments, located in the Roppongi district of Minato, Tokyo. Constructed by building tycoon Minoru Mori, the mega-complex incorporates office space, apartm ...

in Tokyo on May 10, 2010. The song was later performed in another Sony showcase held in South Africa, right before the Japan vs Cameroon match on June 14, 2010. The music video premiered the following day. Misia opened every show of her Hoshizora no Live VI Encore 2010 International Year of Biodiversity concert tour with "Maware Maware". She also performed the song during her The Tour of Misia Soul Quest tour.

Chart performance

"Maware Maware" debuted at number 87 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 is a Japanese private railway compa ...

Billboard 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 ...

chart. The song peaked the following week at number 55.

Credits and personnel

Personnel *

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

–

Backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

– Misia, Francis Jocky, JP, Hiroto Tanigawa,

Mitsuo Shindō was a Japanese art director, photographer, film director and producer, music video director and calligraphist. Shindō designed over 1000 albums and single cover art for artists including Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Yumi Matsutoya, Pizzicato Five, Mr. ...

Songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

– Misia, JP *

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, programming – M2J *

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

– Francis Jocky * Strings arrangement – Gen Ittetsu *

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

– Gen Ittetsu Strings * Mixing – Masashi Hashimoto *

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

– Ken Nishi, Noriyasu Murase, Mike Freyer * Mastering – Herb Powers Jr.

Charts

Japanese version

In 2013, Misia recorded a Japanese version of "Maware Maware" featuring Senegalese drummer

Doudou N'Diaye Rose Doudou Ndiaye Rose (born Mamadou Ndiaye; 28 July 1930 – 19 August 2015) was a Senegalese drummer, composer and band leader, and was the recognized modern master of Senegal's traditional drum, the sabar. He was the father of a musical dynasty ...

. The song was released in support of the fifth

Tokyo International Conference on African Development is a conference held regularly with the objective "to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners." Japan is a co-host of these conferences. Other co-organizers of TICAD are the United Nations Office of t ...

(TICAD-V) on May 29, 2013. A portion of the proceeds from the song went towards providing mosquito nets to children for malaria prevention.

References

{{authority control 2013 singles 2010 songs Misia songs FIFA World Cup songs Songs written by Misia