Valentine Kiss
Encyclopedia
is the solo debut J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...

 single from Sayuri Kokushō
Sayuri Kokushō
is a Japanese actor, singer, and tarento. She was an original member of Onyanko Club. She works for the talent management firm Sony Music Artists. Her debut single, Valentine Kiss, is the most popular Valentine's Day song in Japan.- Brief biography :...

 (though it was billed on the cover as "Sayuri Kokushō with Onyanko Club
Onyanko Club
was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s. The group gave a new approach to the idol formula with its 52 official members and three unofficial members...

) released on February 1, 1986 by CBS Sony
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....

 in Japan. Kokushō was the eighth member of Onyanko Club. The B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 song was .

The single ranked at number 2 on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 charts,, and was rated fourth most popular on The Best Ten music program on TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

. It was also awarded the Japan Gold Disc Award
Japan Gold Disc Award
The Japan Gold Disc Awards for Music sales in the Recording Industry Association of Japan, is major music awards held annually in Japan also released as a CD.- List of the Artists of the Year :************...

 for Best Single of the Year.

While the title of the song is "Valentine Kiss", due to the often repeated chorus line of "Valentine Day kiss", the song is often called "Valentine Day Kiss".

"Valentine Kiss" was reproduced by Kokushō and resold in 2008 by Sony Music Direct. This remake reached number 135 on the Oricon charts.

History

"Valentine Kiss" was the ending theme song for the Monday Drama Land series on Fuji TV in 1986. The single reached number 2 on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 charts, number 1 on the Music Lab and Music Research charts, and number 4 on the The Best Ten music program on TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

. The single also won the Japan Gold Disc Award
Japan Gold Disc Award
The Japan Gold Disc Awards for Music sales in the Recording Industry Association of Japan, is major music awards held annually in Japan also released as a CD.- List of the Artists of the Year :************...

 for Best Single of the Year.

The song has become associated with Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...

 in Japan, and is regularly used in television programs and commercials which occur around that time. In a 2006 survey of people between 10 and 49 years of age in Japan, Oricon Style
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 found Valentine Kiss to be the most popular Valentine's Day song, while it only sold 317,000 copies. The singles it beat in the ranking were number one selling "Love Love Love" from Dreams Come True (2,488,630 copies), "Valentine's Radio" from Yumi Matsutoya
Yumi Matsutoya
', nicknamed , is an influential Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. She is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice, and live performances, and is an important figure in Japanese popular music....

 (1,606,780 copies), "Happy Happy Greeting" from the Kinki Kids
KinKi Kids
is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. Although the members share the same surname, the only relation they have to each other is that they both hail from the Kinki region, hence the duo's name....

 (608,790 copies). The final song in the top five was "My Funny Valentine
My Funny Valentine
"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green...

" by Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

.

The makeup and hair styling featured in the cover image for the single were done by Kokushō herself. "Valentine Kiss" was sung in 1986 as a feature of the "Today is special..." segment of the Yūyake Nyan Nyan variety show hosted by Onyanko Club
Onyanko Club
was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s. The group gave a new approach to the idol formula with its 52 official members and three unofficial members...

. The song was used in the February 14, 2009 "Valentine After School" episode of Chūgakusei Nikki as the opening theme, and Kokushō sang it as the ending theme song as well.

Tracks

The album was a 45rpm vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 with one song on each side:
  1. (3:34, lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto
    Yasushi Akimoto
    is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...

    , composed by Hiroaki Sei, arranged by Jun Satō)
  2. (lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto, composed by Hideya Nakazaki, arranged by Jun Satō)

Other recordings

"Valentine Kiss" was recorded in 2011 by AKB48
AKB48
AKB48 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto.The group has achieved enormous popularity in Japan. Its ten latest consecutive singles topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart...

 sub-unit Watarirouka Hashiritai, under the name Watarirouka Hashiritai 7. The single debuted at number 2 on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 weekly charts selling around 95,000 copies in its first week. Watarirouka Hashiritai 7's cover of the song is also the first to enter the top 10 and matched the original's ranking.

Other covers

"Valentine Kiss" has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 many times since its release. The all-girl ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...

 band The Kitchen Gorilla released an Onyanko Club cover album titled "Onyanko Punk Love" in November 2003 which featured a cover of "Valentine Kiss". Kokushō covered the song herself in 2008 on the variety show Idoling!!! for the show's 300th episode on February 14.

The song was covered as an ending theme song for the May 27, 2007 episode of the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series Lucky Star, sung by the characters Tsukasa (Kaori Fukuhara
Kaori Fukuhara
is a female Japanese voice actress from Chiba, Japan.Aside from voice acting, she also sang on the music group Bohemian Quarter's album "Blister Pack Voices".- TV anime :2005*Animal Yokocho is a female Japanese voice actress from Chiba, Japan.Aside from voice acting, she also sang on the music...

) and Konata (Aya Hirano
Aya Hirano
from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She was contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, for her voice acting career, and for her singing career,...

). It was also covered multiple times by multiple characters in the anime series The Prince of Tennis
The Prince of Tennis
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The title is often shortened to , a portmanteau of the two parts in the Japanese pronunciation of the words "Tennis Prince". The manga was first published in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1999, and ended...

. From February 2004 through February 2011, a total of 11 different versions were released (seven individually, two together, and the final two together). The first one, featuring the character Keigo Atobe (voiced by Junichi Suwabe
Junichi Suwabe
is a Japanese voice actor working for Haikyo. His most known roles involve, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques , Archer , Keigo Atobe and Omega ....

) reached number 14 on the Oricon charts.
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