The Swinging Star

The Swinging Star
Studio album by
Dreams Come True
ReleasedNovember 14, 1992 (1992-11-14)
Recorded1992
Studio
Genre
Length53:53
LabelEpic Records Japan
Producer
Dreams Come True chronology
Million Kisses
(1991) 		The Swinging Star
(1992) 		Magic
(1993)
Singles from The Swinging Star
  1. "Kessen wa Kinyōbi"
    Released: September 19, 1992
  2. "Haretara Ii ne"
    Released: October 21, 1992

The Swinging Star is the fifth studio album by Japanese band Dreams Come True. It was released on November 14, 1992, by Epic Records Japan. It was their first release in about a year since their previous album, Million Kisses (1991). All of the album's lyrics were solely penned by frontwoman Miwa Yoshida, while its songs were arranged by her bandmate Masato Nakamura. The Swinging Star is a doo-wop, pop, blue-eyed soul, and R&B record, with elements of jazz and disco music.

The Swinging Star received positive reviews from most music critics, whom praised the production and Yoshida's vocal performance. Commercially, the album was a huge success in Japan, ascending to number one on the Oricon Albums Chart. It was the fastest-selling album based on first week sales at the time, and sold over 3.2 million units in Japan, making it the 17th best-selling album in that region. The success of the album garnered Dreams Come True the Japan Record Award for "Best Album."

To promote the album the band released two singles. The album's lead single, "Kessen wa Kinyōbi," was released on September 19, 1992; it became a massive success, becoming their first million-selling single and becoming their second chart-topper on the Oricon Singles Chart. "Haretara Ii ne" was released as the second and final single on October 21, 1992; it also became a success, reaching number one and selling over 685,000 copies. To further promote this album, the band embarked on a concert tour called Dreams Come True Concert Tour The Swinging Star from January 28 to April 18, 1993.

Background

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The album's lead single, "Kessen wa Kinyōbi," was released on September 19, 1992.[1] It served as the theme to the CX music show Ureshi Tanoshi Daisuki - Friday Night Live, on which the band were regular cast members.[2] The single's coupling song, "Taiyō ga Miteru" was used in the advertising campaign for Fujifilm's Fujicolor Super HG 400 film.[3] The single reached number one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart and charted for 23 weeks,[4] selling approxametely 1,070,420 copies.[5] Because it sold 856,870 copies in 1992, it finished as the 18th best-performing single of the year.[6] It was their first single to sell over a million copies.[7] "Haretara Ii ne" was released as the second and final single on October 21, 1992.[8] It was the theme song for the NHK dorama series Hilari.[9] The single reached number one on the Oricon Singles Chart,[10] becoming the 48th best-selling single of 1992.[6]

The track "Sweet Sweet Sweet" originated as the ending theme of the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 2, for which Masato Nakamura composed the music, and would later be remixed by American rapper and producer Akon for Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006.

The Swinging Star was recorded in Japan and the United Kingdom during 1992, and was mastered by Tim Young at The Hit Factory in London.[11]

Commercial performance

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The Swinging Star was a massive commercial success throughout Asia. In Japan, the album debuted at the top of the Oricon Albums Chart with 1,209,920 copies sold in its first week.[12] This made it the fastest-selling album in the history of the Japanese music industry at the time.[13] It spent two consecutive weeks atop the chart, with 513,770 copies sold in its second week.[14] The Swinging Star became the first album to sell three million copies in Japan, breaking the Japanese record for total CD album sales at the time.[15] Since it was released on November 14 and the closing date of the Oricon Annual Chart at that time was the last week of November, sales in its first week of release and sales after that were spread out, and thus it was in the top five on the Oricon Annual Album Chart for two consecutive years. It was named the fifth most popular album of the year 1992,[16] and the fourth most popular album of the year 1993.[17] It was also the first time ever for an album to exceed the million-seller mark in more than one year, and the first case of a domestic album to do so.

According to Sony statistics, by January 20, 1993, shipments had topped 3.02 million copies.[18] The Swinging Star stayed on the chart for 55 weeks,[19] and was also once the biggest-selling Japanese-language album of all time.[20] As of January 2015, it has sold over 3.2 million copies in Japan and has been certified triple million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[21][a][22] To promote this album, the band embarked on a concert tour called Dreams Come True Concert Tour The Swinging Star from January 28 to April 18, 1993, attracting 250,000 spectators.[23]

Track list

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All lyrics are written by Miwa Yoshida, and all tracks arranged by Masato Nakamura

CD (ESCB 1350)
No.TitleMusicLength
1."The Swinging Star"Masato Nakamura0:59
2."Ano Natsu no Hanabi" (あの夏の花火 "The Fireworks of That Summer")M. Nakamura  • Takahiro Nishikawa4:48
3."Da Diddly Deet Dee"M. Yoshida4:04
4."Sayonara" (extended version)M. Nakamura6:01
5."Ikitai no wa Mountain Mountain" (行きたいのはMOUNTAIN MOUNTAIN)M. Yoshida  • M. Nakamura3:38
6."Megane Goshi no Sora" (眼鏡越しの空)M. Yoshida3:57
7."Kessen wa Kinyōbi" (決戦は金曜日)M. Nakamura5:39
8."Namida to Tatakatteru" (涙とたたかってる)M. Yoshida  • M. Nakamura5:38
9."Hide and Seek"M. Yoshida4:57
10."Taiyō ga Miteru" (太陽が見てる)M. Nakamura4:49
11."Sweet Sweet Sweet"M. Nakamura5:13
12."Haretara Ii ne" (晴れたらいいね)M. Yoshida4:06
Total length:53:53

Charts

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Certification and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[26] 8× Platinum 3,222,990[5]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Initially received a 8× Platinum certification for 3.2 million copies shipped, however the 8× Platinum threshold was retired in 2003.

Citations

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  1. ^ 決戦は金曜日 (liner notes). DREAMS COME TRUE. Japan: Epic Records Japan. 1992. ESDB-3326.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ 25年前の本日、ドリカム「決戦は金曜日」がオリコンチャートの1位を獲得. Nippon Broadcasting System. September 28, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  3. ^ DREAMS COME TRUE「太陽が見てる」-『』収録. RecoChoku. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  4. ^ 決戦は金曜日 DREAMS COME TRUE. Oricon. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "オリコン 1992年TOP100". Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  7. ^ "DREAMS COME TRUE ミリオンセラー". Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  8. ^ 晴れたらいいね (liner notes). DREAMS COME TRUE. Japan: Epic Records Japan. 1992. ESDB-3336.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ 連続テレビ小説「ひらり」得. NHK. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  10. ^ 晴れたらいいね DREAMS COME TRUE. Oricon. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  11. ^ The Swinging Star (liner notes). DREAMS COME TRUE. Japan: Epic Records Japan. 1992. ESCB-1350.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Oricon Style Staff (November 23, 1992). "Oricon Albums Chart – Chart Week November 23, 1992". Oricon; published through Yahoo! GeoCities (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  13. ^ 歴代アルバム初動ランキング (in Japanese). Music TV Program. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  14. ^ Oricon Style Staff (November 30, 1992). "Oricon Albums Chart – Chart Week November 30, 1992". Oricon; published through Yahoo! GeoCities (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  15. ^ "ドリカム中村が明かす35年の軌跡　「300曲あるとすれば290曲は聴かれていない。トップ10の曲でドリカムは成り立っている」". Yahoo (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "1992年 アルバム年間TOP100". Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "1993年 アルバム年間TOP100". Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  18. ^ 日本経済新聞 1993, p. 13.
  19. ^ a b The Swinging Star DREAMS COME TRUE. Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  20. ^ Dreams Come True For Japanese Act (PDF). Billboard. February 13, 1993. p. 17. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  21. ^ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  22. ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1996年09月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. September 1996 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  23. ^ "Dreams Come True Biography 1993" (in Japanese). Dreams Come True's website. Archived from the original on August 18, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  24. ^ "1990年代アルバム売上ランキング" (in Japanese). Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  25. ^ "歴代アルバムランキング" [All-time album ranking]. musictvprogram.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012.
  26. ^ "Japanese album certifications – DREAMS COME TRUE – The Swinging Star" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved August 2, 2024. Select 1993年2月 on the drop-down menu


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