Ai o Komete Hanataba o

"Ai o Komete Hanataba o" (愛をこめて花束を, "A Bouquet with Love^[1]") is a song by Japanese pop-rock act Superfly. Used as Edison no Haha's theme song, "Ai o Komete Hanataba o" was released as the band's fourth single on February 27, 2008. The song was Superfly's break-through single, breaking into the Oricon physical singles chart's top 20. As of 2011, it is Superfly's most successful single, being certified as a million ringtone download, triple platinum as a cellphone download, and single platinum for digital sales.

"Ai o Komete Hanataba o"
Single by Superfly
from the album Superfly
Released	February 27, 2008 (2008-02-27)
Recorded	2007
Genre	Pop-rock
Length	4:53
Label	Warner Music Japan
Songwriter(s)	Kōichi Tabo, Shiho Ochi, Junji Ishiwatari
Producer(s)	Kōichi Tsutaya
Superfly singles chronology
"I Spy I Spy" (2008) "Ai o Komete Hanataba o" (2008) "Hi-Five" (2008)
Music video
"Ai o Komete Hanataba o" at YouTube

Writing and background

The melody of "Ai o Komete Hanataba o" was first written in 1997 by Kōichi Tabo at age 15.^[2] The song was re-arranged to be used as a song by the band in 2005, after Superfly had moved to Tokyo to pursue their musical career.^[2] The song was performed at many lives performed by Superfly before their debut in 2006.^[3] While Tabo had already written basic lyrics for "Ai o Komete Hanataba o", they were replaced with new lyrics in 2006 after "Ai o Komete Hanataba o" had been chosen as the theme for the TV drama. The new lyrics were written by vocalist Shiho Ochi, who was assisted by former Supercar member Junji Ishiwatari.^[2] The original version was titled the same and had the same theme of a person putting their feelings of love into a bouquet, however in the new version, Ochi changed the gender of a receiver, so it was a boy who received the bouquet.^[2] Ochi based the lyrics around her own experience of giving a boy a bouquet of flowers.^[2]

"Ai o Komete Hanataba o" felt like a restart to Superfly for vocalist Shiho Ochi, as it was her first solo release after Kōichi Tabo left the official band line-up, and her collaboration song with Jet, "I Spy I Spy."^[4]

Promotion

The song was announced as the theme song for Edison no Haha on December 11, 2007, a month before the drama began airing.^[3] This was the first time a song by Superfly was associated with a Japanese drama.^[3] The producer of the drama, Shōichi Katō, decided to use Superfly for the theme song after being impressed by Superfly's debut single, "Hello Hello," feeling the "strong vocals" and "uplifting message" were fitting for the work.^[3] The song was already written prior to the drama, and was chosen by Katō out of a collection of unreleased Superfly demos.^[3]

In addition to its use in the drama, "Ai o Komete Hanataba o" was featured in commercials for paid download providers music.jp and Recochoku.^[5]

Music video

 

Superfly in the music video for "Ai o Komete Hanataba o".

The music video was directed by Shūichi Banba,^[6] the first time Banba worked together with Superfly. He would become a regular collaborator, directing videos for songs such as "Hi-Five," "Koisuru Hitomi wa Utsukushii", "Yasashii Kimochi de" and "Wildflower".

The music video begins with a shot of a self-playing piano. Vocalist Shiho Ochi stands in front of a camera in a tented campground and sings "Ai o Komete Hanataba o". The camera is shown taking pictures of various other people at the campground, including two small children who hide behind their mother playfully. During the chorus, Ochi performs with men performing instruments, and her image is overlaid in psychedelic colors on the scene. Ochi picks up flowers from inside a box and throws them, becoming surrounded by flower petals. The final scene shows all of the camp members sitting down for a formal photograph.

Critical reception

HotExpress reviewer Takayuki Saito complimented Ochi's "freeing overwhelming vocalism" and Tabo's "excellent melody sense," as well as the lively arrangement.^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Arranger	Length
1.	"Ai o Komete Hanataba o" (愛をこめて花束を, "A Bouquet with Love")	Kōichi Tabo, Shiho Ochi, Junji Ishiwatari	Kōichi Tsutaya	4:53
2.	"Ai to Kansha" (愛と感謝, "Love and Gratitude^[8]")	K. Tabo, S. Ochi	Motoki Matsuoka	4:24
3.	"Rhiannon" (Fleetwood Mac cover)	Stevie Nicks		5:00
Total length:				14:17

Chart rankings

 

"Ai o Komete Hanataba o"

The chorus of "Ai o Komete Hanataba o", plus a section of the instrumental motif.

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Charts (2008)	Peak position
Billboard Japan Hot 100^[9]	7
Oricon weekly singles^[10]	13
RIAJ Reco-kyō ringtones Top 100^[11]	7
Charts (2009)	Peak position
RIAJ Reco-kyō ringtones Top 100^[12]	63
RIAJ Digital Track Chart Top 100^[13]	81
Charts (2010)	Peak position
Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay^[14]	9
RIAJ Digital Track Chart Top 100^[15]	40
Charts (2011)	Peak position
RIAJ Digital Track Chart Top 100^[16]	91

Sales and certifications

Chart	Amount
Oricon physical sales^[17]	47,000
RIAJ ringtone downloads^[18]	Million (1,000,000+)
RIAJ full-length cellphone downloads^[19]	Triple platinum (750,000+)
RIAJ PC downloads^[20]	Platinum (250,000+)

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Distributing Label
Japan	February 27, 2008 (2008-02-27)	CD, digital download	Warner Music Japan
	March 15, 2008 (2008-03-15)^[21]	Rental CD

References

1. "Publication |Superfly Official Site". superfly-web.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
2. 初のドラマ主題歌は、大切な人へのメッセージ. Oricon (in Japanese). 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
3. . Vibe Net (in Japanese). December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
4. . Yahoo! Music (in Japanese). May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
5. "Superfly - タイアップ". CDJournal (in Japanese). Retrieved July 13, 2011.
6. "アーティスト名 Superfly 楽曲名 愛をこめて花束を" [Artist Name: Superfly. Song Name: "Ai o Komete Hanataba o"]. Space Shower (in Japanese). Retrieved July 10, 2011.
7. Takayuki Saito. "Hot Express" レビュー 愛をこめて花束を (in Japanese). Hot Express. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
8. "Publication |Superfly Official Site". superfly-web.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
9. . Billboard Japan. March 10, 2011. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
10. 愛をこめて花束を - Ｓｕｐｅｒｆｌｙ. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved July 10, 2011.
11. "レコード協会調べ 3月度有料音楽配信チャート（「着うた（R）」）＜略称：3月度レコ協チャート（「着うた（R）」）＞" (in Japanese). RIAJ. April 20, 2008. from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
12. "レコード協会調べ 12月度有料音楽配信チャート（「着うた（R）」）＜略称：12月度レコ協チャート（「着うた（R）」）＞" (in Japanese). RIAJ. January 20, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
13. . RIAJ (in Japanese). June 12, 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
14. . Billboard Japan. May 10, 2010. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
15. . RIAJ (in Japanese). October 15, 2010. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
16. . RIAJ (in Japanese). April 29, 2011. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
17. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011. (subscription only)
18. レコード協会調べ 6月度有料音楽配信認定＜略称：6月度認定＞. RIAJ (in Japanese). July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
19. レコード協会調べ 11月度有料音楽配信認定＜略称：11月度認定＞. RIAJ (in Japanese). December 20, 2008. from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
20. レコード協会調べ 3月度有料音楽配信認定＜略称：3月度認定＞. RIAJ (in Japanese). April 20, 2009. from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
21. "愛をこめて花束を／Ｓｕｐｅｒｆｌｙ". Tsutaya. 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2011.