"Funky Town" is Namie Amuro's 32nd solo single under the Avex Trax label. It was released in CD and CD&DVD formats on April 4, 2007, three months after the release of her previous single "Baby Don't Cry".
| "Funky Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 CD only cover | ||||
| Single by Namie Amuro | ||||
| from the album Play | ||||
| B-side | "Darling" | |||
| Released | April 4, 2007 | |||
| Length | 17:38 | |||
| Label | Avex Trax | |||
| Songwriter(s) | T.Kura, L.L. Brothers, Michico | |||
| Producer(s) | T.Kura & Michico, L.L. Brothers | |||
| Namie Amuro singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 CD+DVD cover | ||||
"Funky Town" was ranked #44 on Recochoko's Download Chart and the video was ranked #4 on the PV Download Chart.[1]
Overview
editFor the release of "Funky Town", Amuro returned to work with frequent married producers Michico and T. Kura. The song is described as being a dancey new number, produced by frequent collaborators T. Kura and Michico along with the L.L. Brothers.[2] The b-side, entitled "Darling," is said to be an adult and stylish dance tune produced by Coldfeet.[3] Also, uncommon for Amuro, first pressing editions of the "Funky Town" single came with a disco ball keychain - the CD&DVD version came with a gold disco ball keychain, and the CD only came with a silver disco ball keychain.[4]
Commercial endorsements
edit"Funky Town" was used in a new commercial campaign for a redesigned version of the lemon tea Lipton Limone. The new commercial featured Amuro herself[5] and began broadcast on March 20, 2007.
Music video
editThe promotional video for "Funky Town" found Namie working with director Masāki Uchino (內野政明), instead of long-time director Muto Masashi (武藤真志).
The video begins with the words "Funky Town" on the screen, in the same font seen on the single's cover. The video featured scenes of Namie performing choreography with a group of dancers all wearing black in a black room in featuring a car; dancing against a large screen featuring footage of her face on it; and towards the end singing amid a pile of golden disco balls.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arranger(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Funky Town" | Michico | T.Kura, L.L. Brothers, Michico | T.Kura | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Darling" | H.U.B. | Lori Fine | Coldfeet | 5:03 |
| 3. | "Funky Town" (Instrumental) | Michico | T.Kura, L.L. Brothers, Michico | T.Kura | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Darling" (Instrumental) | H.U.B. | Lori Fine | Coldfeet | 4:55 |
| Total length: | 17:38 | ||||
| No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Funky Town" (Music video) | Masaaki Uchino |
Personnel
edit- "Funky Town"
- Namie Amuro – vocals
- L.L. Brothers, Warner, Michico - additional vocals
- Giantswing Production (T. Kura, Michico, L.L. Brothers) - productions
- "Darling"
- Namie Amuro – vocals
- Coldfeet - productions
- Lori Fine - keyboards
- Watusi - programming & instruments
- Terrassy - guitars
Production
edit- "Funky Town"
- Producers – T.Kura, Michico, L.L. Brothers
- Choreographer - Hirotsugu Kurosu
- Director - Masaaki Uchino
- "Darling"
- Producer - Coldfeet
TV performances
edit- March 16, 2007 - PopJam Reprise
- April 5, 2007 - Sakigake! Ongaku Banzuke SP
- April 6, 2007 - Music Fighter
- April 7, 2007 - CDTV
Charts
edit| Release | Chart | Peak position | First week sales | Sales total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 4, 2007 | Oricon Daily Singles Chart | 2 | ||
| Oricon Weekly Singles Chart | 3 | 34,292 | 54,030* | |
| Oricon Monthly Singles Chart | 14 |
RIAJ certification
edit"Funky Town" has been certified gold for shipments of over 100,000 by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.[6] In 2011 as a ringtone, it has received a double platinum certification, for being downloaded more than 500,000 times.[7]
References
edit- ^ (in Japanese) 「著うたフル®」・「著うた®」なら「レコ直♪」 - 年間ランキング Archived 2011-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Namie Amuro Official Site" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-02-22.
- ^ "Namie Amuro Official Management Site" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-03-13.
- ^ "Namie Amuro Official Site" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
- ^ "Namie Amuro Official Site" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-03-01.
- ^ ゴールド等認定作品認定 2007年4月 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-05-11.
- ^ 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＞ [Record Association report: March digital music download certifications (Abbreviation: March Certifications)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2011.