Koko ni Ita Koto

Koko ni Ita Koto

Regular Edition cover
Studio album by AKB48
Released June 8, 2011 (2011-06-08) (JP)
Recorded 2010–2011
Genre J-pop, Dance, electronica, Hip Hop, Breakbeat
Length 69:27
Label You, Be Cool!/King
Producer Yasushi Akimoto
AKB48 chronology
Set List: Greatest Songs Kanzenban
(2010)		 Koko ni Ita Koto
(2011)		 1830m
(2012)
Singles from Koko ni Ita Koto
  1. "Ponytail to Chouchou"
    Released: May 26, 2010
  2. "Heavy Rotation"
    Released: August 18, 2010
  3. "Beginner"
    Released: October 27, 2010
  4. "Chance no Junban"
    Released: December 8, 2010
Music videos
"Ponytail to Chouchou" on YouTube
"Heavy Rotation" on YouTube
"Beginner" on YouTube
"Chance no Junban" on YouTube
Limited Edition cover
Theater Edition cover

Koko ni Ita Koto (ここにいたこと, "We Were Here") is the third album by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48.

"Koko ni Ita Koto" was released in Japan on June 8, 2011 by King Records. There are three versions available: Limited Edition (catalog number KIZC-90117/8), Regular Edition (KIZC-117/8), and Theater Edition (NKCD-6546).

While all the group's albums had been almost entirely collections of previously released material, "Koko ni Ita Koto" took a different approach. Although it featured four 2010 hits, one theatre stage song, and a theme from an early 2011 movie, the rest were new songs.[1][2]

Although the album was negatively received by English J-pop journalists, it met with great commercial success, topping the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart[3] and, with just one week of sales, placed second in the list of best selling albums of the first half of 2011 in Japan.[4] In the same month, it was already certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of over one million copies.[5]

Background

The upcoming release of the first AKB48's original album was announced on February 21, 2011. The then-unnamed album would be released on April 6, 2011 and contain the hits "Ponytail to Chouchou", "Heavy Rotation", "Beginner", and "Chance no Junban", the rest being new songs. In addition to a regular edition, there would be a limited edition of the album and a theater edition. The limited edition would contain a 100-page photobook shot by photographer Mika Ninagawa, who was the director of their Heavy Rotation music video, a DVD, lottery entry card to win a special present from the band and also comes with a photo in 14 types, while the regular came with 14 alternate changeable covers featuring them in circus costumes and also the DVD which was featured in limited edition and the theater edition would be a CD-only version coming with 14 alternate changeable covers featuring them in school uniforms, a handshake event ticket and a photo of an AKB48 member chosen at random.[6]

More details were announced at a group's handshake event on March 5, 2011.[7] 11 of 16 songs on the album would be completely new. "Shōjotachi yo", the theme song for AKB48's movie Documentary of AKB48 to be continued, would also be on the album. On the title track AKB48 would be joined by the sister groups SKE48, SDN48, and NMB48.[1][2]

Due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the album's release date was pushed back to June 8, 2011.[8] Part of the revenues from it goes to the victims of the disaster.[8] Also, handshakes and photos with the group members, that were planned to be a theater edition bonus, were replaced by the right to choose 5 member photos.

Reception

Commercial performance

Koko ni Ita Koto was sold in 601,985 copies in its debut week, topping the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart[9]

In June 2011, the album was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of over one million copies.[5]

Critical response

Ian Martin from The Japan Times, an English language newspaper, criticized this album, calling it "the kind of music that in more civilized times people would have burned in the streets".[10] James Hadfield of Time Out Tokyo gave it zero out of five stars, calling it "wrenchingly awful", and compared it "perhaps to hearing Alvin and the Chipmunks play Stevie Wonder's 'Happy Birthday' on repeat for an equivalent length of time while being force-fed candy floss until your stomach splits open. ... It's J-pop that's been infantilised, reduced to the level of kindergarten songs. That half of the tracks are wedded to the same pachinko four-four beat serves merely to make it all the more deadening."[11]

Track listing

CD

All lyrics written by Yasushi Akimoto. 

CD
No. TitleMusicArtist(s) Length
1. "Shōjotachi yo" (少女たちよ "Girls")Jun Koami  4:33
2. "Overtake"  Sho ShibataTakahashi Team A 4:44
3. "Boku ni Dekiru Koto" (僕にできること "What I Can Do")SOHOAkimoto Team K 4:09
4. "Ren'ai Circus" (恋愛サーカス "Love Circus")Osamu MasakiKashiwagi Team B 3:37
5. "Kaze no Yukue" (風の行方 "Direction of the Wind")Takamitsu ShimazakiAsuka Kuramochi
Rino Sashihara
Minami Takahashi
Yūko Ōshima
Minami Minegishi
Yuki Kashiwagi		 5:07
6. "Wagamama Collection" (わがままコレクション "Selfish Collection")Takamitsu ShimazakiAika Ōta
Ami Maeda
Mika Komori
Sumire Satō
Mayu Watanabe
Jurina Matsui		 4:53
7. "Ningyo no Vacances" (人魚のバカンス "Mermaid's Vacances")Okishishi UedaAki Takajō
Moeno Nitō
Yui Yokoyama
Tomomi Kasai
Rie Kitahara
Amina Satō
Yuka Masuda		 4:00
8. "Kimi to Boku no Kankei" (君と僕の関係 "My Relationship with You")DR. OWL, RAY. MAtsuko Maeda
Tomomi Itano		 3:02
9. "Iikagen no Susume" (イイカゲンのススメ "Encouragement to Be Irresponsible")Sho WatanabeHaruka Katayama
Haruna Kojima
Mariko Shinoda
Sayaka Akimoto
Sae Miyazawa
Rena Matsui		 4:30
10. "High School Days" (High school days)Takeshi ToriumiTeam Kenkyūsei 4:36
11. "Team B Oshi" (チームB推し "Team B Fan")Takao YoshinoTeam B 4:28
12. "Chance no Junban"  Hiroko Konishi  4:19
13. "Beginner"  Yoshimasa Inoue  3:58
14. "Ponytail to Shushu"  Shinya Tada  4:29
15. "Heavy Rotation"  Yamazaki  4:43
16. "Koko ni Ita Koto" (ここにいたこと "We Were Here")KISAKB48
SKE48
SDN48
NMB48		 4:11

Limited Edition DVD

DVD
No. Title Length
1. "Ponytail to Chouchou" (choreography videos) 4:29
2. "Heavy Rotation" (choreography videos) 4:40
3. "Beginner" (choreography videos) 3:57
4. "Chance no Junban" (choreography videos) 4:17

Bonuses

Limited Edition

Regular Edition

Theater Edition

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart 1
Oricon Monthly Albums Chart 1

Sales and certifications

Chart Amount
Oricon sales 878,907
RIAJ physical shipping certification Million[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "AKB48新アルバムに新曲11曲、SKE・SDN・NMB参加曲も". Natasha,Inc. (in Japanese). Natasha,Inc. 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  2. 1 2 "AKB48 announces million seller, new "Nemousu TV" season, original album details". Natalie, Sponichi Annex. Tokyograph. 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2011-06-20. Translated from original articles by Natalie and Sponichi Annex.
  3. ↑ "ここにいたこと ＡＫＢ４８のプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  4. ↑ "AKB48 ：上半期売り上げ前年2．5倍の66億円　オリコン2冠". Mainichi Shimbun Digital Co.Ltd (in Japanese). MANTANWEB. 2011-06-22. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  5. 1 2 3 ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2011年06月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (June 2011)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). July 10, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  6. ↑ "AKB48、初のオリジナルアルバムが発売決定". Oricon Inc. (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  7. ↑ ＡＫＢ４８　史上最多２万２５００人握手会！ (in Japanese). Sports Nippon Newspapers. 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  8. 1 2 "AKB48、新シングル＆選抜総選挙決定！収益一部を義援金に". Natasha,Inc. (in Japanese). Natasha,Inc. 2011-03-29. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  9. ↑ "AKB48、モー娘。以来11年ぶり快挙！　アルバム初週実売60.2万枚". Oricon Inc. (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  10. ↑ Martin, Ian (2011-06-16). "AKB48 "Koko ni Ita Koto"". The Japan Times (in Japanese). The Japan Times. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  11. ↑ Hadfield, James (2011-06-15). "AKB48, 'Koko ni Ita Koto'/Girls' Generation, 'Girls' Generation'". Time Out Tokyo. Time Out. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
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