Aldebaran (song)

This article is about the Ai song. For other songs, see Aldebaran (disambiguation).

"Aldebaran"
Single by Ai
from the album Dream
Language	Japanese English
Released	November 1, 2021 (2021-11-01)
Recorded	2021
Genre	Orchestral
Length	4:26 (original version) 2:52 (radio version)
Label	EMI Universal
Songwriter(s)	Naotarō Moriyama
Producer(s)	Neko Saito Ai Uemura
Ai singles chronology
"In the Middle" (2021) "Aldebaran" (2021) "Start Again" (2022)
Music video
"Aldebaran" on YouTube

"Aldebaran"^[a] is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on November 1, 2021, by EMI Records and Universal Music Group. The song served as the theme song for the Japanese television drama, Come Come Everybody and subsequently served as the third single from Ai's twelfth studio album, Dream.

Upon its release, "Aldebaran" received critical acclaim from critics for its composition and lyrics.^[1][2] The song debuted and peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and number 6 on the Oricon Digital Singles Chart. In May 2022, "Aldebaran" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.

Background

It's a song I want to convey to people who are working hard in this era, with the life of the main character of the drama, and in this era, various things are happening...

— Ai's thoughts on the lyrics of Aldebaran^[3]

On September 27, 2021, Ai announced on her social media of a song she recorded for an upcoming NHK TV series.^[4] Written by Naotarō Moriyama and featuring arrangements by Neko Saito, the song is named after the star of the same name in the Taurus constellation.^[5][6] Regarding the song, Mone Kamishiraishi, one of the actresses to be in the film, commented that the song was "beautiful" and "nice and encouraging".^[7] Eri Fukatsu also commented she was wary of Ai's recording but stated, "My heart was shaken, robbed and filled."^[7] Actress Rina Kawaei, also an actress in the film, commented that she was "impressed by the gentle singing and the wonderful lyrics".^[7] The song was originally written by Moriyama on New Years in 2021 about environmental issues and was originally titled "Daphnia Pulex".^[8] "Aldebaran" was not intended to be the theme song for Come Come Everybody until Moriyama allowed Ai to record the song with reworked lyrics.^[8]

Promotion

To promote "Aldebaran", Ai was to appear on NHK's Utacon to preview the song on September 28, 2021, however the event was cancelled and moved to October 4 due to an emergency deceleration.^[9][10][11] Universal Japan issued a compilation chapter titled Self Selection "Piano Ballad" on the same day the single was announced.^[12] On TikTok, a 30 second television version was released to the service.^[13] On October 4, a radio edit of "Aldebaran" was sent to Japanese radio stations. An official audio of the radio edit was uploaded to Ai's YouTube channel.^[14] On October 26, Ai performed the song on an NHK broadcast show.^[15]

Commercial performance

"Aldebaran" debuted at number 5 on the Oricon Daily Digital Singles chart on November 2.^[16] The song later peaked at number 4 on the Daily Digital Singles chart.^[17] On the weekly Oricon Digital Singles chart, "Aldebaran" debuted at number 11.^[18] For the week of November 16, 2021, "Aldebaran" reached a new peak at number 6 with 8,331 total downloads.^[19] On the Billboard Japan Hot 100, "Aldebaran" debuted and peaked at number 37. "Aldebaran" marked Ai's first appearance on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 since her 2017 single, "Kira Kira". In March 2022, "Aldebaran" peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Japan Top User Generated Songs chart. The song was later ranked at number 29 on the Billboard Japan Top Download Songs year-end chart for 2022.

Accolades

Year	Organization	Award/work	Result	Ref.
2022	The Television Drama Academy Awards	Best Drama Song	Won	[20]
	15th Tokyo Drama Awards	Theme Song Award	Won	[21]

Music video

A music video for "Aldebaran" was announced on October 25, 2021 and premiered on YouTube on November 5.^[22]

Live performances

Ai performed "Aldebaran" on the day of its release during her 20th anniversary tour It's All Me at the Tokyo International Forum Hall.^[23] Ai performed "Aldebaran" at the 72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on December 31, her fourth appearance on the show. Ai appeared on 193rd episode of The First Take, a YouTube channel where singers perform a song recorded in one take. She performed an excerpt of "Story" prior to "Aldebaran".^[24] It marked her first appearance on the channel.^[25]

Charts

Weekly charts 2021–2022 chart performance for "Aldebaran" Chart (2021–2022) Peak position Japan Digital Singles Chart (Oricon)[19] 6 Japan Hot 100 (Billboard Japan)[26] 37 Japan Top Download Songs (Billboard Japan)[27] 6 Japan Top User Generated Songs (Billboard Japan)[28] 12 2023 chart performance for "Aldebaran" Chart (2023) Peak position Japan Top Download Songs (Billboard Japan)[29] 72

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Aldebaran" Chart (2022) Position Japan Top Download Songs (Billboard Japan)[30] 29

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Dream liner notes and Tidal.^[31][32]

• Ai Carina Uemura – lead vocals, production
• Naotarō Moriyama – songwriting
• Neko Saito – production, arranging
• Midorin – drums
• Tomohiko Ohkanda – bass
• Fumio Yanagisawa – guitar
• Satoshi Onoue – guitar
• Hideaki "Lanbsy" Sakai – latin percussion
• Tomoyuki Asakawa – harp
• Great Eida – concertmaster, strings
• Jo Kuwata – violin
• Nagisa Kiriyama – violin
• Haruko Yano – violin
• Yukinori Murata – violin
• Akane Irie – violin
• Ayumu Koshikawa – violin
• Akiko Maruyama – violin
• Yui Kaneko – violin
• Masahiro Miyake – violin
• Yuji Yamada – viola
• Mayu Takashima – viola
• Ayano Kasahara – cello
• Yoshihiko Maeda – cello

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Aldebaran"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[33] Single track	Gold	100,000^*
^* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for "Aldebaran"

Region	Date	Format	Version	Label	Ref.
Japan	October 4, 2021	Radio airplay	Radio edit	Universal Japan	[14]
Various	November 1, 2021	Digital download streaming	Original	EMI Universal	[34]
	March 11, 2022		First Take		[24]

Notes

1. Japanese: アルデバラン; Hepburn: Arudebaran

References

1. "連続テレビ小説『カムカムエヴリバディ』主題歌AI「アルデバラン」、ヒロインの未来を照らすあたたかい楽曲に". Real Sound｜リアルサウンド (in Japanese). November 2, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
2. "【コラム】AIの新曲「アルデバラン」、"朝ドラ放送前からすでに号泣"の声が続出する理由". BARKS (in Japanese). October 30, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
3. "AI「アルデバラン」次期朝ドラ「カムカムエヴリバディ」主題歌 - ドラマ : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
4. "１１月スタート新朝ドラ「カムカムエヴリバディ」主題歌にＡＩ ２８日「うたコン」で初披露（スポーツ報知）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
5. TVガイド (September 28, 2021). "AIの新曲「アルデバラン」が「カムカムエヴリバディ」の主題歌に決定！ 作詞・作曲は森山直太朗 ｜ TVガイド". TVガイド (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
6. "『カムカムエヴリバディ』主題歌がAI「アルデバラン」に決定 ヒロイン3人からコメントも（リアルサウンド）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
7. "カムカムエヴリバディ：次期朝ドラ主題歌はAI「アルデバラン」 作詞作曲は森山直太朗 明日「うたコン」で初披露". MANTANWEB（まんたんウェブ） (in Japanese). September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
8. "森山直太朗、朝ドラ主題歌「アルデバラン」の仮タイトルは「ミジンコ」だった AIや上白石萌音らへの提供楽曲制作秘話を聞く". Real Sound｜リアルサウンド (in Japanese). February 24, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
9. "AI、朝ドラ『カムカムエヴリバディ』で主題歌 森山直太朗が作詞・作曲". ORICON NEWS. September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
10. "AI 次期朝ドラ主題歌を担当 森山直太朗が作詞・作曲の「アルデバラン」". ライブドアニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
11. "NHK「うたコン」が急きょ放送延期に 緊急事態宣言解除関連でニュース番組が延長". gooニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved September 29, 2021.
12. "Self Selection "Piano Ballad"專輯 - AI". LINE MUSIC. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
13. "AI、新曲「アルデバラン」オフィシャルオーディオ公開". ライブドアニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved October 5, 2021.
14. "AI、新曲「アルデバラン」オフィシャルオーディオ公開". BARKS (in Japanese). October 4, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
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16. "オリコンデイリー デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2021年11月02日付". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
17. "オリコンデイリー デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2021年11月11日付". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
18. "オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2021年11月01日～2021年11月07日 11～20位". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
19. "オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2021年11月08日～2021年11月14日". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
20. "ドラマソング賞 受賞結果 1位：アルデバラン、AI | 第111回 - ザテレビジョンドラマアカデミー賞" [Drama Song Award Winner 1st Place: Aldebaran, AI | The 111 Television Drama Academy Awards]. WEBザテレビジョン (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
21. "【東京ドラマアウォード】『カムカム』が"最多4冠" オダギリジョーが助演男優賞". ORICON NEWS. October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
22. "AI、『カムカムエヴリバディ』主題歌MVのプレミア公開が決定！ 直前にトーク＆ライブの生配信も（THE FIRST TIMES）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved October 31, 2021.
23. "AI、NHK朝ドラ『カムカムエヴリバディ』主題歌「アルデバラン」ライブ映像をフル公開（THE FIRST TIMES）". The First Times (in Japanese). Retrieved November 17, 2021.
24. "AI、『THE FIRST TAKE』初登場！ 朝ドラ主題歌「アルデバラン」を一発撮りのパフォーマンスで披露（THE FIRST TIMES）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved February 19, 2022.
25. "AIが今夜「THE FIRST TAKE」初登場、朝ドラ主題歌「アルデバラン」披露｜ウーマンエキサイト". ウーマンエキサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved February 19, 2022.
26. "Japan Hot 100 - 11/10/2021". Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
27. "Billboard Japan Top Download Songs - 24 November 2021". Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
28. "Billboard Japan Top User Generated Songs 2022/03/02 公開". Billboard Japan. March 2, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
29. "Billboard Japan Top Download Songs - June 7, 2023". Billboard Japan. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
30. "Year-End Charts Billboard Japan Top Download Songs". Billboard Japan. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
31. Dream (CD). Ai. EMI Records/Universal/Def Jam Recordings. 2022. UPCH-20614.
32. "AI / Dream (CREDITS TIDAL US)". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
33. "Japanese digital single certifications – Ai – Aldebaran" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved June 26, 2022. Select 2022年5月 on the drop-down menu
34. "朝ドラ主題歌 AIさんの「アルデバラン」 11月スタート 上白石萌音さんヒロイン「カムカムエヴリバディ」". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.

External links

• "Aldebaran" Special Site