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Ai no Uta (Strawberry Flower song) - Wikipedia
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Ai no Uta (Strawberry Flower song)

"Ai no Uta" (愛あいのうた, Song of Love) is a song recorded by Strawberry Flower for Japanese TV commercials of the GameCube game Pikmin. It was written and produced by band member Takeshi Tomozuma. The song was later included in the "Pikmin World" soundtrack album, in three different versions. It is from the point-of-view of the Pikmin creatures.

"Ai no Uta"
Single by Strawberry Flower
from the album Pikmin World
ReleasedDecember 6, 2001
GenrePop
Length3:04
LabelToshiba-EMI
Composer(s)Strawberry Flower
Producer(s)Strawberry Flower
Strawberry Flower singles chronology
"Ai no Uta"
(2001) 		"Pikmin Dance"
(2002)

"Ai no Uta" became one of the biggest singles in Japan in 2002, reaching #2 on the Oricon Weekly charts and managing to be one of the best-selling singles in the country that year.

Concept and creation

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Ai no Uta originally came about as a result of Nintendo enlisting Gan Matsumoto, credited Takeshi Tomozuma, to make music for the upcoming Pikmin. Tomozuma first came up with Ai no Uta, enlisting singer Tomoe Watanabe to contribute vocals and forming Strawberry Flower. The song was not actually featured in the game itself, instead being used as part of the game's marketing campaign.[citation needed] The song is a pop ballad driven by guitar and harmonica, with soft vocals by Tomoe Watanabe. Lyrically, the song talks about the Pikmin game from the Pikmin's point of view, describing their actions, sacrifice, and devotion to the game's protagonist, Captain Olimar, although neither Pikmin nor Captain Olimar are mentioned by name in the song's main version.

The music video was shot September 26, 2001.[citation needed]

Reception

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Ai no Uta was well-received by children and adults alike.[1] A Famitsu writer praised the lyrics and the story of the song, discussing how the story evoked sympathetic imagery of office workers.[1]

Initial shipments of the record exceeded 200,000, with 30,000 additional being ordered by 7 December 2001.[2] By 20 December, it had exceeded 460,000 units sold,[3] and by June 2002 900,000.[4]

"Ai no Uta" debuted at #2 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart,[3] which is the highest the song reached.[5]

Other versions and appearances

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A cover of the song was released in France with the title "Vos Meilleurs Amis - Songs of Love".[4] It was featured in Pikmin 2 as an Easter egg.[citation needed] It was included in the 2008 crossover fighting video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[6] It was also used to advertise the 2013 Pikmin 3 release.

Track listing

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Retrieved from Oricon:[5]

  1. Ai no Uta (愛あいのうた, Song of Love)
  2. Namida ga Afureta (涙なみだがあふれた, Tears Overflowing)
  3. Ai no Uta (愛あいのうた) (Instrumental)

References

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  1. ^ a b ウワーマン (October 26, 2022). "『ピクミン』が発売はつばいされた日ひ。CMソング『愛あいのうた』が話題わだいを呼よんだゲームキューブの名作めいさく【今日きょうは何なんの日び？】". Famitsu. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "【NEWS】『ピクミン』のCMソング、初回しょかい出荷しゅっか20万まん枚まいを突破とっぱ" [[NEWS] Pikmin Advert Song Exceeds 200,000 Shipments]. Famitsu. 7 December 2001.
  3. ^ a b "『ピクミン』CMソング「愛あいのうた」が大だい流行りゅうこう！50万まん枚まい突破とっぱは目前もくぜん" [Pikmin Advert Song "Ai no Uta" Mega Success - 500,000 Sales Imminent]. Dengeki Online. 20 December 2001.
  4. ^ a b "ピクミン｢愛あいのうた｣フランスでヒット" [Pikmin "Ai no Uta" Hit in France]. Sponichi Annex. 26 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2 October 2002.
  5. ^ a b "愛あいのうた" [Ai no Uta]. Oricon News. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  6. ^ "ピクミン：WORLD MAP" [Pikmin: World Map]. smashbros.com. 9 January 2008.
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