SPEED, a group of four teenage idols in their late 90’s, the pride of Japan

Did you know that they took the world by storm in the late 1990s?

I would like to touch on the single music until the first breakup.
We released 11 singles and were active for 1335 days. During that time, they had 5 No. 1 singles. Except for their debut song, which reached No. 4, their other songs only reached No. 2, which shows that they were very popular at that time.

１ｓｔSingle【Body＆Soul】

On August 5, 1996, their major debut single “Body & Soul” became a big hit and won the Record Award for Best New Artist that year.
The song is still one of SPEED’s most popular songs.
A four-member group consisting of Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara, and Hitoe Aragaki.
The name “SPEED” was born from an application for a TV show after graduating from Okinawa Actors School.
Their debut song was their first attempt at rap music, and the interaction between the two main singers, Hiroko Shimabukuro and Eriko Imai, was impressive and wonderful.

２ndSingle【STEADY】

Released on November 18, 1996, it was the group’s first million-seller and was chosen as the theme song for a TV drama.
In the chorus of the song, the singer sings strongly, but there are some parts where he sings in a back voice, and there is a line where he asks the audience, “Isn’t it so?
The choreography is also very distinctive, with the dancers raising both hands in the air.

３ｒｄ　Single【Go！Go！Heaven】

The group’s first No. 1 album on the Oricon Weekly Chart, released on March 26, 1997.
Surprisingly, it was the first time for the group to reach No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.
The music video was shot in New York.

４ｔｈ　Single【Wake Me Up！】

Released on August 6, 1997 A year has passed since their debut, and the members have grown up. On the CD jacket, Takako Uehara has a “U” shaped expression.
Hiroko Shimabukuro also has a line in this song, “I won’t cry anymore,” but at the time she was not very good at looking at the camera and struggled with it.
As the title suggests, the freshness of the morning comes to the fore, so it is recommended to listen to it in the morning.

5th Single【White Love】

Released on October 15, 1997, it was the group’s biggest hit and was performed at the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen that year.
Unlike previous songs, this song was performed with a stand-up microphone, and the choreography created a huge boom at the time.
The song was so popular that it was called “White Love” in the pre-Christmas winter season. The music video scene in which the four sing in front of the microphone while snow piles up is a highlight of the song.
In 2001, a re-recorded version of the song was released on a one-day reunion CD.

6th Single【ｍｙ　graduation】

Released on February 18, 1998. It is said that this song was written with the theme of graduation, and was also written at the time when Takako Uehara, a member of the group, was graduating from junior high school.
In the music video, the members are surrounded by flowers, and the camera is behind them, creating a very emo finish. It was also a million-seller!
It is also a million-seller, and it was tied with EveryLittleThing’s “Time goes by,” which was released on the same day, and maintained the No. 1 position.
This work is filled with graduation and tears, but the tie-up commercial was for cup yakisoba noodles.

7th Single【ALIVE】

Released July 1, 1998, theme song for the group’s first movie “Andromedia”.
This song has a line in the song that talks about “love”. It is a medium tempo song with no specific choreography, and the four members sing side by side.
The song is No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart. The coupling song “Up To You!” is not tied up with SPEED, but it is a favorite among SPEED fans, and unlike “ALIVE,” it has an up-tempo finish.

８ｔｈ Single【ALL MY TRUE LOVE】

Released on October 28, 1998.
Hiroko Shimabukuro sang “hiro
Eriko Imai sang “ErikowithCrunch” and each sang a solo song.
Only the first run of the album comes in a slick card jacket. In addition to the sleeve case, the lyric cards are separated for SPEED, hiro and Eriko respectively.
And it was a million-seller work, and the song was the top batter of NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen that year.

9th Single【Presious Time】

Released on Feb. 17, 1999. This was the last 8cm CD, although the previous album was a 12cm single and this album was a return to 8cm singles.
It ranked No. 2 on the Oricon Weekly Chart, and it was the first solo album for both Takako Uehara and Hitoe Niigaki. The two went on to make their solo debuts.
The coupling song “Kisei ga Iku Toki” was chosen as the theme song for the Doraemon movie that year.

１０ｔｈ　Single【Breakin’ out to the morning】

Released on May 19, 1999. 12cm CD with hands-free microphone for performance.
Each member has a part to say the lyrics in turn, but Hiroko Shimabukuro’s part, which is the last part in the order, is all in Japanese, not in English, so it is said that she almost bites herself.
The last lyrics of the song is “××××” and the words are different between the single and the album, so it is fun to compare them.
Eriko Imai’s solo song ErikowithCrunch “EVERYDAY, BE WITH YOU” is included as the coupling song.
Eriko Imai and Hitoe Arakaki were in a TV drama together at the time, and the fact that the song was used as the theme song for another drama instead of the drama’s work was also a topic of discussion.

11th Single【Long Way Home】

Released on November 3, 1999 It was the last single before announcing the breakup and the first breakup. On the same day, Arashi’s “ARASHI” was released and it failed to reach No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart and ended up at No. 2.
This song was choreographed by Hitoe Aragaki. The single and album versions of the song are different, so you can choose which version you prefer.
Each member of the band sings a different part of the song, and the lyrics rhyme with each other, and the CD jacket has a black background with a black music-like finish.
The CD jacket has a black background and has a black music feel to it. Since this year was the millennium, the word “millennium” is included in the song, giving it a sense of the times.

What do you think of SPEED’s singles? However, the group broke up again around 2012, and each member is currently working as a solo artist.
Hiroko Shimabukuro is a solo singer, Eriko Imai is a politician, Takako Uehara is working in Okinawa, and Hitoe Aragaki is married, but no information is available from there. We hope that they will come back again, if only for a while.
In the next issue, I will write about Morning Musume。 s CDs in 2003.