"So Special" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai and Japanese singer-songwriter Atsushi of

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. It was released on September 10, 2008 alongside " Okuribito" as a double A-side single, by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

and

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. The song and "Okuribito" served as the lead singles for Ai's seventh studio album, ''

Viva Ai ''Viva Ai'' (stylized as ViVa A.I.) is the seventh studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released March 4, 2009, by Island Records and Universal Sigma. It featured three singles, the 2008 theme song for the film '' Departures' ...

''.

Background

"So Special" was written by Ai and Atsushi as a duet. Two versions of the song were recorded, a "Version Ai" and a "Version EX". In July 2008,

Avex Group is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

announced the "Version EX" of the song was to be included on

's greatest hits album, . The band's greatest hits album was initially announced in June 2008. In August,

Universal Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

announced Ai's version of the song was to be included on the physical release of " Okuribito", a song she recorded for '' Departures'', as a double A-side single.

Promotion and live performances

"So Special" was used as the

Music Fighter Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect o ...

power play song. Ai performed "So Special" with Atsushi on ''Music Station'' on September 12.

Charts

Certifications

References

2008 singles 2008 songs Ai (singer) songs Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Ai (singer) Island Records singles {{Japan-single-stub Universal Sigma singles