"Sexy Zone" is a song by Japanese

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

group

Sexy Zone Sexy Zone is a five-member Japanese boy band managed by Johnny & Associates, consisting of Shori Sato, Kento Nakajima, Marius Yo, Fuma Kikuchi and Sou Matsushima. When they debuted their group age average was 14.6. In 2013 they appeared in Kouh ...

. It was released on November 16, 2011, as its debut single under

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...

. The song was written by Satomi and

Kōji Makaino is a Japanese pop music composer, arranger, and musician. He is the elder brother of composer Shunichi Makaino. Biography Makaino was born in the city of Toyohashi, in Aichi Prefecture. His father Noboru was a music-lover and amateur compos ...

. "Sexy Zone" was released in five editions: Regular Edition, Limited Editions A, B, C, and D. It ranked number one on both the Oricon Singles Chart and ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100, making the quintet the youngest music act to debut atop the former. The single was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan 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 pr ...

(RIAJ), denoting shipments of 250,000 units.

Background

The formation of Sexy Zone was announced during a press conference on September 29, 2011, consisting of

Kento Nakajima is a Japanese actor and singer. He is best known as being a member of the Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in ...

, Fuma Kikuchi, Shori Sato, So Matsushima, and Marius Yo. With an average age of 14.2 years, Sexy Zone became the youngest group announced by

Johnny & Associates is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency re ...

. Born in Germany, Yo also became the first non-native singer to debut under the agency.

Release and promotion

Sexy Zone first performed "Sexy Zone" during the ''Kis-My-Ft2 with Johnny's Jr.'' show, where they performed in all-white tuxedos and a rose in hand. The quintet imitated promotions for the single by performing it on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

's ''

Music Station is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently syndicated throughout th ...

'' beginning on November 11. "Sexy Zone" was released on November 16, 2011, in five editions: Regular Edition; Limited Edition A with bonus DVD content that includes the music video for "Sexy Zone"; Limited Edition B with bonus DVD content that includes a "close-up version" of the music video; and Limited Edition C with bonus DVD content that includes off-shots and an interview movie. The track was used for the

2011 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup The 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup was held from 20 November to 4 December 2011 in Japan. The tournament was the first step in the qualification process for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, United Kingdom. The top three teams qualified f ...

and 2011 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup.

Commercial performance

On the issue dated November 16, 2011, "Sexy Zone" debuted at number one on Japan's national weekly Oricon Singles Chart, selling 172,925 copies in its first week. Sexy Zone became the youngest music act to top the chart with an average age of 14.4 years, surpassing the record of 14.6 years previously held by Yuma Nakayama w/B.I.Shadow when its single "Akuma na Koi" / "NYC" ranked number one in 2009. On ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100, the song debuted at number 63 and topped the chart the following week. "Sexy Zone" was certified platinum in November 2011 by the

for shipments exceeding 250,000 units. According to Oricon's year-end report, the single sold 211,908 copies domestically and ranked number 30 on its list of best-selling singles. It also ranked at number 98 on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 Year End chart.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly

Year-end

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles Japanese-language songs Oricon Weekly number-one singles Pony Canyon singles Sexy Zone songs Songs written by Kōji Makaino