is a 20th single by

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 acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

, released on February 16, 2011. Main song from this single was redone in Thai as B-track by BNK48 and released in 2022.

Release information

It is the 20th major-label single (22nd overall) released by AKB48. It was released in five versions: a limited type-A CD+DVD edition, a regular type-A CD+DVD edition, a limited type-B CD+DVD edition, a regular type-B CD+DVD edition, and a limited CD-only theater edition. The limited type-A and type-B editions came with a national handshaking event ticket, while the theater edition came with a "Sakura no Ki ni Narō" handshaking event ticket and one member picture at random. The title track was used as the theme song for the drama ''Sakura Kara no Tegami: AKB48 Sorezore no Sotsugyō Monogatari'', which starred all AKB48 members. The single sold 655,344 copies on its first day of release, which is at the time, the most that any artist has sold in a single day since Oricon started reporting daily sales in March 2009. When the music video published in YouTube, official discretion states that "The most heart-warming song in all of AKB48 history is born."

Track listing

Type-A CD track list

#Sakura no Ki ni Narō (桜の木になろう) #Gūzen no Jūjiro (偶然の十字路) (Undergirls) #Kiss Made 100 Mile (キスまで100マイル) (MINT) #Sakura no Ki ni Narō off vocal ver. #Gūzen no Jūjiro off vocal ver. #Kiss Made 100 Mile off vocal ver.

Type-A DVD track list

#Sakura no Ki ni Narō Music Clip #Gūzen no Jūjiro Music Clip #Kiss Made 100 Mile Music Clip #Members' Personal Clothes Fashion Show (Type-A) (ガチ私服ファッションショー（Type-A）)

Type-B CD track list

#Sakura no Ki ni Narō (桜の木になろう) #Gūzen no Jūjiro (偶然の十字路) (Undergirls) #Area K (エリアK) (DIVA) #Sakura no Ki ni Narō off vocal ver. #Gūzen no Jūjiro off vocal ver. #Area K off vocal ver.

Type-B DVD track list

#Sakura no Ki ni Narō Music Clip (桜の木になろう　Music Clip＜完全版＞) #Gūzen no Jūjiro Music Clip #Area K Music Clip #Members' Personal Clothes Fashion Show (Type-B) (ガチ私服ファッションショー（Type-B）)

Theatre CD track list

#Sakura no Ki ni Narō (桜の木になろう) #Gūzen no Jūjiro (偶然の十字路) (Undergirls) #Ōgon Center (黄金センター) (team Kenkyuusei) #Sakura no Ki ni Narō off vocal ver. #Gūzen no Jūjiro off vocal ver. #Ōgon Center off vocal ver.

Contributing members

"Sakura no Ki ni Narō"

Center:

Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After ...

* Team A: Haruna Kojima,

Rino Sashihara is a Japanese tarento, singer, producer and actress. She is best known as a former member of idol groups HKT48, AKB48 and STU48, and was the theater manager for HKT48 and STU48. She was also a member of AKB48's unit Not Yet and is the produce ...

Mariko Shinoda is a Japanese singer, actress, fashion model, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48, in which she was the captain of Team A. Career In October 2005, she auditioned for AKB48's first generation roster but failed the audition. Short ...

, Aki Takajō,

Minami Takahashi is a Japanese idol, singer, tarento and a former member of the Japanese girl idol group AKB48. She is in Team A of AKB48. She became the first of AKB48 and its sister groups. In an interview with Nippon Television in June 2010, AKB48 produ ...

* Team K:

Tomomi Itano is a Japanese recording artist, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2011 she debuted solo with a single titled "Dear J", which was ...

Yuko Oshima is a Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48, of which she was the captain of Team K. She was also a member of the AKB48 subunit Not Yet. In addition to the singles that involved the rock-paper-scissors tournaments ...

Minami Minegishi is a Japanese singer and actress, represented by Production Ogi. She was a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, and its subunit no3b. She is noted for having the longest tenure among the group's original members from 2005 to 2021. Ca ...

, Sae Miyazawa * Team B:

Tomomi Kasai is a Japanese singer, actress and a former member of the idol group AKB48, belonging to Team A. She had a recurring role on ''Kamen Rider W'' as Elizabeth, alongside group member Tomomi Itano. Together, they make up the sub-unit Queen & Eliza ...

Yuki Kashiwagi is a Japanese idol and singer. She is a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and a former member of NMB48 and NGT48. She auditioned for AKB48 on December 3, 2006, and is now a member of AKB48's Team B. She was previously the captain of ...

Rie Kitahara is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the Japanese idol girl group NGT48 and former member of AKB48 and SKE48. She debuted in 2008 in Team A and was later co-captain of Team K (2014). In March 2015, it was announced Kitahara w ...

, Mayu Watanabe * Team S (SKE48):

Jurina Matsui is a Japanese TV personality, singer, actress, and YouTuber. She is a former member of Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and former concurrent member of AKB48 (in 2012–2015). She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the top 1 ...

Rena Matsui is a Japanese actress, singer, and novelist. Matsui is a former member of the Japanese idol girl groups SKE48 and Nogizaka46. As a member of the former, she also participated in the main lineup of AKB48's singles. As an actress, she has played r ...

"Gūzen no Jūjiro"

;Credited as "Undergirls" Center: Yui Yokoyama, Kanon Kimoto. *Team A: Aika Ota, Haruka Nakagawa, Ami Maeda *Team K:

Mayumi Uchida The Japanese idol girl group AKB48 has many members who have left the group for various reasons such as focusing on solo careers. Some members have left to help launch AKB48's sister groups. The member lineup often changes as when girls get olde ...

, Ayaka Kikuchi, Moeno Nito, Reina Fujie, Yui Yokoyama *Team B: Haruka Ishida, Manami Oku (last single),

Mika Komori Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footba ...

Sumire Sato is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Sumire can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *菫, " violet" ;as a name *紫花, "purple, flower" *純麗, "purity, lovely" *澄玲, "lucidity, sound of jewels" *澄麗 ...

Miho Miyazaki is a Japanese singer, actress and former member of the idol girl group AKB48 where she was active in Team A. She also participated in the Korean-Japanese show Produce 48. Biography In 2007, Miyazaki passed an audition for AKB48 and became a ke ...

*Team S (SKE48): Masana Oya, Kumi Yagami *Team KII (SKE48): Akane Takayanagi, Manatsu Mukaida *Team E (SKE48): Kanon Kimoto

"Kiss Made 100 Mile"

;Credited as "Mint" * Team A: Haruka Katayama,

* Team K: Moeno Nito, Sakiko Matsui * Team B:

"Area K"

;Credited as "Diva" * Team A: Misaki Iwasa, Shizuka Ōya, Asuka Kuramochi,

Chisato Nakata is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Chisato can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *千里, "great distance" *知里, "knowledge, hometown" *智里, "wisdom, hometown" *千聖, "thousand, holy" *千郷, "th ...

, Sayaka Nakaya, Natsumi Matsubara * Team K:

Sayaka Akimoto is a Filipino-Japanese actress and singer. She was a member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and its spin-off unit Diva. As an actress, Akimoto has appeared in both Japanese and American productions, and made her Hollywood debut in '' Sniper: ...

, Ayaka Umeda, Miku Tanabe, Tomomi Nakatsuka, Misato Nonaka, Rumi Yonezawa * Team B: Kana Kobayashi, Amina Sato, Natsuki Sato, Mariya Suzuki, Rina Chikano, Natsumi Hirajima, Yuka Masuda

"Ōgon Center"

;Credited as "Team Kenkyūsei" * 9th Generation: Mina Oba,

Haruka Shimazaki is a Japanese actress, singer, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48. Her supposed apathetic attitude toward idol fans led to the popularity of the buzzword in Japanese media. Since graduating from AKB48 in 2016, Shimazaki has work ...

, Haruka Shimada,

Miyu Takeuchi is a Japanese singer and YouTuber based in South Korea. She is a former member of AKB48. Career 2004-2008: Pre-debut Prior to joining AKB48, Takeuchi signed a contract with Stardust Production in 2004 and appeared in Little By Little's music ...

Mariya Nagao is a Japanese television personality and former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. Nagao is represented by Irving. Career Mariya Nagao joined AKB48 as a 9th generation trainee in late 2009. On December 8, 2010, together with Min ...

, Mariko Nakamura, Anna Mori, Suzuran Yamauchi * 10th Generation: Maria Abe, Rina Izuta,

Miori Ichikawa is Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol groups AKB48 and NMB48. She is known for her "Fresh Lemon" character and is the Hiroshima Lemon Ambassador since 2014. Biography Ichikawa debuted in the entertainment industry under Star ...

, Anna Iriyama, Rena Kato, Yuki Kanazawa, Marina Kobayashi, Shiori Nakamata, Nana Fujita * 11th Generation: Sara Ushikuba,

Rina Kawaei Rina or RINA may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Rina (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kento Rina, Indian politician * Mahfuza Rahman Rina, Bangladeshi politician * Tongam Rina (born 1979), Indian journ ...

, Natsuki Kojima,

Shihori Suzuki Shihori (written: or in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese actress *, Japanese field hockey player {{given name Japanese feminine given names ...

, Wakana Natori, Ayaka Morikawa, Nau Yamaguchi

Oricon Charts (Japan)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakura no Ki ni Naro 2011 singles 2010s ballads Pop ballads Songs about school AKB48 songs Songs with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto Oricon Weekly number-one singles Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles King Records (Japan) singles Songs about cherry blossom Japanese television drama theme songs