is a song recorded by Japanese singer

Shizuka Kudo , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese singer, actress and former idol, born in Hamura, Tokyo, Japan. She was a member of Onyanko Club between May 1986 and September 1987 and went on to have a successful solo career with 11 number-one hits. ...

for her fifteenth studio album, ''

Jewelry Box A casket is a decorative box or container that is usually smaller than a chest and is typically decorated. In recent centuries they are often used as boxes for jewelry, but in earlier periods they were also used for keeping important documents an ...

''. It was released as the album's leading single by Extasy Japan on November 8, 2000. It served as the theme song to the tanpatsu dramas aired between October 2000 and 2001 on AX's ''Kayō Suspense Gekijō'' time slot. "Shinku no Hana" is Kudo's first single to be released in 12 cm

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

format since "

Again Again may refer to: Entertainment * ''Again'' (video game), a 2009 adventure game for the Nintendo DS * ''Again!!'' manga * ''Again!'', a 2011 children's book by Emily Gravett * ''Again'' (film), a 2015 Japanese film Music * Again (band), a ...

Background and composition

"Shinku no Hana" is Kudo's first single released through the label Extasy Japan. As per an initial press release, a cover of a

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

song was planned to be included on the CD single, but was eventually omitted. Originally titled , the title song "Shinku no Hana" was written and produced by

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 ...

member and

Extasy Records Extasy Records is a Japanese record label founded in April 1986 by Yoshiki Hayashi, co-founder of the heavy metal band X Japan. The label's first release was X's 1986 single "Orgasm". Over the next few years, the label signed several then-lit ...

founder

Yoshiki Yoshiki is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshiki can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義樹, "justice, tree" *義基, "justice, foundation" *義機, "justice, opportu ...

. He is credited under the female pseudonym of Tomomi Tachibana (橘朋実) for the song's lyrics. The song is composed in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

and Kudo's vocals span from B₃ to C₅ in modal voice, and to C₅ in head voice. Lyrically, the song deals with the theme of heartbreak. Yoshiki describes a protagonist dejected in love who compares love to a deep crimson-colored flower that eventually wilts and fades away because "nothing lasts forever".

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 33 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 ...

, selling 10,000 copies in its first week. It fell to number 40 the following week, with sales of 6,000 copies. "Shinku no Hana" charted in the top 100 for four weeks, selling a total of 22,000 copies.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2000 singles 2000s ballads Pop ballads Torch songs Songs written by Yoshiki (musician) Japanese television drama theme songs Television drama theme songs Shizuka Kudo songs Extasy Japan singles