The announcement of MNL48’s first single sent shock-waves around the fandom as it awoke long dormant (or long-suppressed) feelings of anticipation as the girls are finally going to debut. Some even swore they never expected this day to come, which is understandable because of the length of time it took to prepare the members for the all important day.
The First Single Press Launch is just like any typical press event: all business. Because the event is per invitation only, only a few fans were able to actually see the performance, the question and answer segment, and the exclusive screening of the Music Video. The event was dominated by press-people from various publications and outlets. Columnists who are staples to these kinds of gatherings and who’ve seen countless talents come and go.
The choice of the carrier single was a surprise for me. Aitakatta has been performed by the group several times already that it was hard to fathom why MNL48 finally settled on it as their first. The same is true for Sakura no Hanabiratachi, but to its credit, people thought that was the first single. The true surprise was Skirt, Hirari, which came out of nowhere, at least for me. This means that I’ve already been witness to the first live performances of all known MNL48 songs: Aitakatta-Gustong Makita, Sakura no Hanabiratachi-Talulot ng Sakura, Skirt Hirari-Umiindak na Saya, and Heavy Rotation.
It stands to reason that there may be other songs under wraps, because AKB48 singles usually have B-sides that feature the other line-ups. But if there are, then they are a closely guarded secret. Assuming there are several other songs that are yet to be announced, that would give the group at least six songs. This will mean that the girls have enough for a half-set performance.
A big news this week is the opening of the girls’ official Instagram accounts. I was so excited that I immediately downloaded the app and created an account for myself so that I can follow them. That I’ve resisted creating one for years only to give in when MNL48 is concerned was a surprise to some friends. Of course there’s a catch: I plan to use IG mainly for my hobby-related activities: pictures from events that did not make my articles, random pictures of my collection, and maybe a few video-game related photos. It’s a perfect way to separate my hobby world from the real world where people often raise eyebrows to some of my eccentricities.
For the main part of this week’s blog, I’ll be focusing on the background of the three known songs that are included in MNL48’s first single. They are Aitakatta – the carrier single, Skirt, Hirari, and Sakura no Hanabiratachi. Of the three, most of the public had already seen them perform Aitakatta and Sakura no Hanabiratachi, while Skirt, Hirari was performed only once, although videos of their performance has already been uploaded in You Tube, where they have reached more than a thousand views in two days. My own video has clocked more than 3K views already.
Aitakatta
AKB48’s first major single and third overall, Aitakatta was released on October 25, 2006. It became AKB48’s signature song and also one of their most recognizable.
Released under DefStar Records, it played a major role in causing the public to take notice of AKB48, being frequently used as an introductory song whenever the group appears in TV programs. It was also the theme song of their own late night TV show, AKBingo! for most of its existence.
The single charted for six weeks in the top 200, peaking at #12 in 2006, and then coming back in the Top 200 in 2010 and charting since the second week of September 2010. The single sold 25,544 copies during the first 6 weeks it charted on Oricon. Aitakatta’s total sales per Oricon was 53,934. BNK48 has since released their version of the song.
Aitakatta was centered by Atsuko Maeda, and its senbatsu was Tomomi Itano, Haruna Kojima, Minami Minegishi, Rina Nakanishi, Risa Narita, Tomomi Ōe, Mai Oshima, Mariko Shinoda, Minami Takahashi, Hana Tojima, Sayaka Akimoto, Tomomi Kasai, Kana Kobayashi, Natsumi Matsubara, Sae Miyazawa, Kayo Noro, Erena Ono, Yuko Oshima, Ayaka Umeda.
Skirt, Hirari
Before the major singles, AKB48 released independently through AKS. Skirt, Hirari was the group’s second single, released on June 7, 2006. The song was sung by seven members of AKB48 Team A: Tomomi Itano, Haruna Kojima, Atsuko Maeda, Rina Nakanishi, Risa Narita, Mai Oshima, and Minami Takahashi, with the rest of Team A serving as dancers. If Wikipedia is to be believed, it is a double center with Minami Takahashi and Atsuko Maeda in filling the roles.
The single charted 6 weeks in the top 200 with the highest rank at #13, but sold 20,609 copies, which was about a half of their debut single, Sakura no Hanabiratachi.
BNK48 has also released their version of the song named “Phlio” which was released as a B-side track to “Koi Suru Fortune Cookie – Khukki Siangthai“.
Sakura no Hanabiratachi
The third of MNL48’s triple-threat is “Sakura no Hanabiratachi“, AKB48’s debut single, released independently through AKS on February 1, 2006. The single was the highest from a debuting girl group since Morning Musume’s “Morning Coffee” which was released in 1998. Like Skirt, Hirari, the song was re-recorded and re-released again in 2008 as the group’s final single with major label DefStar Records. The song was sung by the original 21 members of AKB48 that later formed Team A. The original center was Minami Takahashi, while the 2008 version became a double-center with Minami Takahashi and Atsuko Maeda.
The single debuted at #10 in its first week, with 22,000 copies sold. It charted for a further three weeks in the top 50, before finally leaving the top 200 eight weeks after its initial chart entry, having doubled the sales from the first week. The total sales per Oricon reached 46,000.
The 2008 version was less commercially successful as most re-releases are. While it also debuted at #10 with 22,000 copies sold in its first week, it only spent a single week in the top 50, leaving the charts five weeks after its initial week, selling a total of 25,000 copies.
This was the best-selling single from AKB48’s independent period and their time under major label DefStar Records. The record would only be broken by their first single with King Records in 2008, “Ōgoe Diamond“, which sold over 80,000 copies.
BNK48 had also released this song under the name “Khwamsongcham Lae Kham-amla” and was included in the group’s third single, “Shonichi – Wan Raek” released on May 7, 2018.
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If there is any pattern to be seen with the choices for the songs chosen to be included in the debut single, it’s that they were all released very early in AKB48’s existence. The design of MNL48’s uniform, coupled with the way the Music Video was made, all feel like throwbacks to the time before the girls from Akihabara became national idols.
It feels as if MNL48 is intentionally trying to connect to the simpler AKB48 of old, rather than the seller of a million-copies it became. Also, if you may have noticed, all the revealed songs have been covered by BNK48. I don’t really know what that means in the greater scheme of things, but it is an interesting trivia, nonetheless.
With the Aitakatta Music Video about to be unveiled, and with the girls going to perform in ‘It’s Showtime’ tomorrow, we’ve enough to be excited about. I just hope that the promotional campaign will also have taken off by then (August 31 is peeking around the corner already). I just hope that we’ve saved enough money by then.
