"Roll Over the Rainbow" is a song by Japanese musical act Superfly. Released as one of the songs on "

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

" & '' Cover Songs: Complete Best 'Track 3''', a four-song

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

featuring a

cover album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

as a bonus disc in September 2010, it was used to promote the 2010 United States of Odaiba summer event, organised by

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...

Background and development

In September 2009, Superfly released the act's second studio album '' Box Emotions'', their second release in a row to reach number one on Oricon's album chart. This was followed by a single, "

Dancing on the Fire "Dancing on the Fire" is a single by Japanese rock act Superfly, the group's ninth single overall. Released on November 18, 2009, "Dancing on the Fire" is Superfly's first single after the release of their second album ''Box Emotions''. The title ...

", Superfly's second upbeat dance song to be used in commercials for Canon's Digital IXUS range of cameras. On June 18, Superfly released the song " Tamashii Revolution", a song used as the theme song of the NHK broadcast 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 ...

, played during relay clips and highlight shows. It became one of Superfly's biggest commercial successes, eventually becoming certified platinum twice 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, Superfly's song "Wildflower" started airing as the theme song for the drama ''Boss''.

Promotion and release

"Roll Over the Rainbow" was one of the four tracks found on the "Wildflower" single, a special release commemorating Superfly's 10th single since their debut. Each song featured a different style of rock, and a different commercial tie-up. The single came packaged with ''Cover Songs: Best 'Track 3, a compilation album compiling Superfly's English language cover songs that were featured on the B-sides of her singles. The song was first unveiled on May 29, when Superfly performed it at the

2010 MTV World Stage VMAJ The MTV World Stage VMAJ 2010 were held on Saturday, May 29, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. The nominees were announced on March 31, 2010. Lady Gaga received five nominations while Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, The Black Eyed Peas, Namie A ...

. The song was made the theme song of the United States of Odaiba, an annual summer event held by

from mid-July to the end of August. On August 31, the final day of the event, a concert featuring Superfly was held, which was broadcast live on Ustream. The song was the only track from the "Wildflower" single not to be featured on her third studio album ''

Mind Travel ''Mind Travel'' is the third studio album by Japanese pop-rock band Superfly (band), Superfly, the first studio album from the group fronted by Shiho Ochi in nearly two years. The record features guest musicians from Beat Crusaders, Tatsuya Nakamu ...

'' (2011). It was eventually compiled onto Superfly's greatest hits album ''

Superfly Best ''Superfly Best'' (stylized as ''Superfly BEST'') is the 5th album from Japanese rock unit Superfly (band), Superfly. It is the band's first greatest hits album, and commemorates the project's fifth anniversary. The album was released on September ...

'' in 2013. The song was performed during Superfly's 2011 arena tour '' Shout in the Rainbow!!'', and a performance was featured on the video release in 2012.

Music video

A music video was released for the song, directed by Hidenobu Tanabe. It features a mixture of stop-motion footage of moving guitars and food, as well as scenes showing Shiho Ochi in field. She sings the song while being surrounded by spinning objects such as picture frames and chairs. Later scenes show Ochi moving in stop-motion across a large keyboard, and scenes set at a beach.

Critical reception

''CDJournal'' reviewers described the song as a "red hot season loving summer party tune" and a "heart-bouncing rock'n'roll" song. They praised the "joyful" and "rolling" keyboard, "dry" guitar sound, and Ochi's tambourine. They noted the song's "open feeling", and the stirring and refreshing pop chorus as some of the high points of the composition. The reviewers likened the song to kayōkyoku-style Japanese idol music from the 1970s.

Track listing

Chart rankings

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roll Over the Rainbow 2010 songs Japanese-language songs Superfly (band) songs