is a song recorded by Japanese actress and singer

Erika Sawajiri is a Japanese former actress, singer, and model. After starting out as a junior model, Sawajiri transitioned to acting in 2002 and has starred in ''Break Through!'', '' Shinobi: Heart Under Blade'', and '' 1 Litre of Tears'', for all of which sh ...

for the TBS television adaptation of the film of the same name. It was released under the name "Kaoru Amane", the lead character of the series portrayed by Sawajiri, through

Sony Music Records , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

on August 30, 2006. The single broke several records, scoring the best first-week sales of a debut single by a female solo artist, and becoming the first debut single by an actress in twelve years to top the Oricon Singles Chart, since

Yuki Uchida (born November 16, 1975) is a Japanese actress, and a popular 1990s idol, model and singer. Biography Uchida was born in Tokyo. She practiced fencing in high school, and ranked 3rd in a tournament in Tokyo in 1991. She began her career as a mod ...

's debut with "Tenca o Torō! (Uchida no Yabō)" (1994).

Background

"Taiyō no Uta" was written by Japanese singer-songwriter and daughter of

Emiko Shiratori Emiko Shiratori ( ''Shiratori Emiko''; born March 16, 1950) is a Japanese singer and songwriter. In 1969, the record label Toshiba EMI (now EMI Music Japan) paired her with Sumio Akutagawa, and they formed the folk group Toi et Moi. They achieved ...

, Maika Shiratori. The song was arranged by Junji Yayoshi and produced by Yoshio Konno. It is composed in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...

and set to a tempo of 84

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. Sawajiri's vocals span from G₃ to C₅. Lyrically, the song describes a woman who gains hope for the future through falling in love. Shiratori used the plot of the series as inspiration for the lyrics. In 2007, she self-covered the song for her fourth studio album ''Hikousen''.

Chart performance

"Taiyō no Uta" debuted at number 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart with 150,000 copies sold, held out of the top spot by

GYM A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

's "Fever to Future". The song broke and updated several records upon its release. It recorded the best first-week sales of a debut single by a female solo artist ever, breaking Yuki Uchida's record of 131,000 copies, and became the first debut single by an actress to reach the top three in over nine years, since

Ryōko Hirosue is a Japanese actress and singer, best known to international audiences for her roles in the Luc Besson-produced ''Wasabi'' and the Academy Award-winning Japanese film '' Departures''. She also starred in the 2008 comedy series ''Yasuko to Kenji ...

with the double A-side single "Maji de Koisuru Gobyō Mae" / "Tomadoi" (1997), which also debuted at number 2. It also marked the first top three entry by a female solo artist credited under the name of a fictional character in just shy of six years, since Miho Kanno debuted at number 3 as Shuka Hasui (蓮井朱夏) with the song "Zoo (Ai o Kudasai)". "Taiyō no Uta" reached the top of the Oricon Singles Chart on its second week, becoming the first debut single by an actress in over eleven years, since Uchida's "Tenca o Torō! (Uchida no Yabō)", to reach the number-one position. It also became the first debut single by an actress to chart in the top three for two consecutive weeks in over sixteen years, since

Rie Miyazawa is a Japanese actress and former teen idol. She is regarded as one of Japan's top actresses, and her accolades include six Japan Academy Film Prizes and three Kinema Junpo Awards Miyazawa began her career as a child model, seeing wide exposur ...

's "Dream Rush" (1989). Finally, it became the first single released under the pseudonym of a fictional character, since

Yui Asaka is a Japanese actress, a J-Pop singer, and an idol who came to fame in the 1980s. Biography Yui was born in Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan, and later attended Nakano High School. In 1984, she was the Grand Prix Winner for a Young Girls Comics Mag ...

, Yuka Onishi and Yuma Nakamura's joint release as the Kazama Sisters from the '' Sukeban Deka III'' series, "Remember" (1987), to top the Oricon Singles Chart in close to nineteen years, as well as the second single overall to achieve the feat. On its third week, "Taiyō no Uta" slid back down to number 2, dethroned by

Glay Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also arranged songs using elements from a wide variety of genres, includ ...

's "Natsuoto" / "Hen na Yume (Thousand Dreams)", and became the first debut single by a female solo artist to chart in the top three for three consecutive weeks. The following week, the single regained the top spot, marking the first time a single had topped the Oricon Singles Chart for a second time after its first peak in over sixteen years, since the Japanese band Tama's single "Sayonara Jinrui" / "Ranchiu" and becoming only the second debut single by a female solo artist to do so, other than Akiko Kobayashi's "Koi ni Ochite (Fall in Love)" (1985). The single went on to spend three more weeks in the top ten, before falling out of the top twenty two weeks later. "Taiyō no Uta" charted for twenty-four weeks on the Oricon Singles Chart, selling a reported total of 489,000 copies during its run. The single ranked at number 10 on the year-end chart and was the best-selling single by a female artist of 2006.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

References