"A-ra-shi: Reborn" is a song by Japanese boy band Arashi, released as a single via J Storm on December 20, 2019, as announced on their official social media accounts.[1] The song was later included in the Arashi Reborn Vol.1 extended play, released on February 28, 2020, together with "A Day in Our Life: Reborn", and "One Love: Reborn".

"A-ra-shi: Reborn"
Single by Arashi
from the album Arashi Reborn Vol.1
Language
  • English
  • Japanese
ReleasedDecember 20, 2019 (2019-12-20)
Length3:25
LabelJ Storm
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Erik Lidbom
  • Geek Boy Al Swettenham
Arashi singles chronology
"Turning Up"
(2019)
"A-ra-shi: Reborn"
(2019)
"Love So Sweet: Reborn"
(2020)
Music video
A-RA-SHI : Reborn [Official Music Video] on YouTube

Background

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The song was announced in a video shared on the band's official social media, and serves as a thank you to the fans for helping them celebrate their 20th anniversary.[2] The song marks the first part of a new "Reborn" project.[3] "A-ra-shi: Reborn" was uploaded as an audio video to the group's YouTube channel, and was included in download and streaming sites. On its first day, the song managed to reach over one million views in YouTube.[4] It was announced on February 24, 2020, in Arashi's official site at Johnny's, that this song, along with two others, would be included in the "Arashi Reborn Vol. 1" EP released on February 28, 2020 for digital download and streaming.[5][6]

"A-ra-shi: Reborn" is a new version of the group's debut song "Arashi" with a new arrangement and sound, as well as including more English in its lyrics, which also reflect changes in the group itself, as it opened to an international audience.[7] The original had a funky sound to it, while "Reborn" uses Auto-Tune in its vocals. The rap part has been also changed, with Sho Sakurai writing a new lyric. And the singing has moved from a very group-centered mode to a multi-solo one.[8]

In "Reborn", the lyrics reflect Arashi's ("Hey we are The Storm") rise as a group, reaching close at their goal, while being held there by their fans ("You’re filling me with energy You are the wind..."), as well as making Arashi an individual dream ("A-ra-shi, A-ra-shi, my dream") come true for each of the five members ("five clouds"), whereas in "A-ra-shi", the lyrics reflected the dreams ("A-ra-shi, A-ra-shi, for dream") of the group of teens as a whole ("one cloud") that just started their rise to fame ("Gather the wind in your body and make a storm happen").[9]

Music video

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On December 23, a teaser video was uploaded to Arashi's YouTube channel, made in collaboration with the anime One Piece. The 39-second video has the five animated members of the band mingling with the crew from the anime, up until the moment when Arashi is about to give a concert. The full version video was released on January 4, 2020.[10]

Charts

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Chart (2019) Peak
position
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[11] 2
Japan (Billboard Japan Hot Buzz Songs)[12] 1 (downloads)
Japan (Oricon Total Weekly Singles)[13] 3

References

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  1. ^ "嵐が配信シングル2作目を明日リリース、デビュー曲「A・RA・SHI」をリプロダクション". natalie.mu (in Japanese). December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  2. ^ @arashi5official (December 19, 2019). "みんなにとっておきのお知らせ!We have a surprise for you! #あらしらせ #FromARASHI #嵐 #ARASHI pic.twitter.com/GPydx0PGBp" (Tweet). Retrieved December 19, 2019 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Arashi release 2nd digital single". tokyohive. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  4. ^ "Listen to Arashi's new song "A-RA-SHI : Reborn"". aramajapan. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  5. ^ "<DIGITAL EP> Reborn Vol.1". Johnny's Net (in Japanese). February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  6. ^ "嵐 DIGITAL EP「Reborn Vol.1」2.28リリース決定!". jnews1.com (in Japanese). February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  7. ^ "嵐、新曲「A-RA-SHI : Reborn」に反響 「不思議な感覚」「嵐の本気が見えました」". oricon (in Japanese). December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "嵐、「A-RA-SHI:Reborn」の革新的アプローチ 根底に感じるアイドルとしての確かな誇り". realsound (in Japanese). December 21, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  9. ^ "嵐、「A-RA-SHI:Reborn」の革新的アプローチ 根底に感じるアイドルとしての確かな誇り". realsound (in Japanese). December 21, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "One Piece: Arashi realiza colaboración con personajes del anime [VIDEO]". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). December 22, 2019. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  11. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2019/12/30". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Buzz Songs 2019/12/30". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). December 28, 2019. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  13. ^ "週間 合算シングルランキング" [Total Weekly Single Ranking]. Oricon (in Japanese). December 30, 2019. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2020.