"7" 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 eleventh studio album, ''

Doing Do, DO or D.O. may refer to: Languages * The English verb, ''do'', which may serve as an auxiliary verb; see do-support * ''Do'' (kana), a mora symbol in Japanese writing * Ditto mark People * Đỗ, a Vietnamese surname * Do (surname), include ...

''. It was released by

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 affiliate ...

as the album's lead single on November 20, 1995. The song was the ending theme to the AX variety show ''TV Oja Mammoth'', while the single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "Hachigatsu..." was featured on the AX tanpatsu drama ''Ren'ai Zenya: Ichido Dake'' (1996), on which Kudo appeared in a supporting role. "7" is the first in a consecutive trilogy of singles with one-character titles: "7" is followed by "

Chō is a Japanese actor and narrator from Kōnosu, Saitama. His former stage name was . He is a graduate of the Nishogakusha University Department of Literature and received training at Bungakuza's research establishment and the Seinenza Theater ...

" and " Yū".

Background

"7" was written by Kudo, under the pseudonym Aeri, and Toshiaki Matsumoto. It is written in the key of

A-flat minor A-flat minor is a minor scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, consisting of the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C♭ (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F♭ (musical note), F, and G♭ (musical note), G. Its key ...

. Kudo's vocals span from E₃ to B₄. The title refers to the good luck superstition of the number seven. The song has been described as

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

-like. Lyrically, it deals with the feeling of lust. In the song, the narrator calls for her companion to be a competent lover and to not let her down. Kudo's vocal performance was praised for its captivating low notes. The coupling song, "Hachigatsu...", is one of the few songs for which Kudo provides both lyrics and music.

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 15 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 42,000 copies in its first week. It charted a total of eight weeks in the top 100.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles Songs with lyrics by Shizuka Kudo Shizuka Kudo songs Pony Canyon singles