"Give Me Five!" is the 25th single by the Japanese girl idol group

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

. It is also AKB48's fifth

sakura A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

-themed single, and their first single of 2012. This single was released in Japan on February 15, 2012. ''Give Me Five!'' is AKB48's fifth

-themed single. However, unlike the previous ones, this single's title doesn't contain the word ''sakura''. The music video for the song ''Give Me Five!'' is a 34-minute

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thrill ...

-like style video. This video was directed by Shigemichi Sugita, and it stars AKB48 members Atsuko Maeda, Yuko Oshima, Yuki Kashiwagi, Minami Takahashi. Actor

Takanori Jinnai is a Japanese actor, film director, and singer. He was born August 12, 1958 in Okawa, Fukuoka. He made his directorial debut with '' Rockers'' (ロッカーズ or ''Rokkazu''), a 2003 film based on his years as vocalist for the punk rock band T ...

also stars in the music video. ''Give Me Five'' sold approximately 967,000 copies on its debut day, thus making it AKB48's 12th single to achieve No.1 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...

charts.

Production

Give Me Five!

''Give Me Five!'' was sung by a band called ''Baby Blossom'' comprising 18 selected members from AKB48 and its sister groups

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshine Sakae, a ...

and

NMB48 NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is base ...

. The band is led by

Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After ...

, who is playing the rhythm guitar, and

Yuko Oshima is a Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48, of which she was the captain of Team K. She was also a member of the AKB48 subunit Not Yet. In addition to the singles that involved the rock-paper-scissors tournaments ...

, who is playing a bass guitar. Other members of the band include

Minami Takahashi is a Japanese idol, singer, tarento and a former member of the Japanese girl idol group AKB48. She is in Team A of AKB48. She became the first of AKB48 and its sister groups. In an interview with Nippon Television in June 2010, AKB48 produ ...

, who is playing the lead guitar,

Yuki Kashiwagi is a Japanese idol and singer. She is a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and a former member of NMB48 and NGT48. She auditioned for AKB48 on December 3, 2006, and is now a member of AKB48's Team B. She was previously the captain of ...

, who is in charge of the drums, Mayu Watanabe, who is playing the keyboard, Haruna Kojima, who is on the

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

Rino Sashihara is a Japanese tarento, singer, producer and actress. She is best known as a former member of idol groups HKT48, AKB48 and STU48, and was the theater manager for HKT48 and STU48. She was also a member of AKB48's unit Not Yet and is the produce ...

and

Minami Minegishi is a Japanese singer and actress, represented by Production Ogi. She was a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, and its subunit no3b. She is noted for having the longest tenure among the group's original members from 2005 to 2021. Ca ...

, who are playing the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

Rena Matsui is a Japanese actress, singer, and novelist. Matsui is a former member of the Japanese idol girl groups SKE48 and Nogizaka46. As a member of the former, she also participated in the main lineup of AKB48's singles. As an actress, she has played r ...

and Yui Yokoyama, who are playing the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

Jurina Matsui is a Japanese TV personality, singer, actress, and YouTuber. She is a former member of Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and former concurrent member of AKB48 (in 2012–2015). She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the top 1 ...

, who is playing the standing drums,

Mariko Shinoda is a Japanese singer, actress, fashion model, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48, in which she was the captain of Team A. Career In October 2005, she auditioned for AKB48's first generation roster but failed the audition. Short ...

, who plays the

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thou ...

, and

Tomomi Itano is a Japanese recording artist, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. In 2011 she debuted solo with a single titled "Dear J", which was ...

, who is playing the shaker. Sae Miyazawa,

Rie Kitahara is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the Japanese idol girl group NGT48 and former member of AKB48 and SKE48. She debuted in 2008 in Team A and was later co-captain of Team K (2014). In March 2015, it was announced Kitahara w ...

, Aki Takajō,

Tomomi Kasai is a Japanese singer, actress and a former member of the idol group AKB48, belonging to Team A. She had a recurring role on ''Kamen Rider W'' as Elizabeth, alongside group member Tomomi Itano. Together, they make up the sub-unit Queen & Eliza ...

and

Sayaka Yamamoto is a Japanese singer and songwriter signed to Universal Sigma. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group NMB48, where she served as captain of both the whole group as well as Team N, and a former member of AKB48's Team K. She ma ...

are the band's chorus. This band was formed in secret by AKB48's producer

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, ...

on 28 August 2011. During the five months prior to the official revelation of the band, the 18 members trained in secret in between their performance schedules. Members of the rock band Gacharic Spin were some of their coaches. Out of the 18 band members, only three had previously played the musical instrument they are playing this time (some of them have played other instruments). Translated from original articles by Sankei Sports and Sports Hochi They are Yuko Oshima, who played the bass guitar during her high school days, Rena Matsui and Rino Sashihara, who had previously played the trumpet and trombone respectively. ''Baby Blossom'' was officially revealed to the public during the 4th and last day of concert ''AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 100 2012'', held on January 22, 2012. At the event, the members performed the song ''Give Me Five!'' for the first time.

Music video

The music video was directed by director Shigemichi Sugita. The music video stars AKB48 members Atsuko Maeda, Yuko Oshima, Yuki Kashiwagi, Minami Takahashi and actor

. The filming of this music video took place in a high school located in

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefectur ...

during end-November 2011. This music video tells the story of four students, all of whom comes from troubled backgrounds. Atsuko Maeda plays the role of Atsuko Ogata, a girl whose parents divorced and subsequently went to Tokyo. Yuko Oshima plays Yuko Osawa, a girl who secretly works at a brothel to cover household expenses. Yuki Kashiwagi stars as Yuki Kobayashi, a girl who is mentally troubled after being bullied at school. Minami Takahashi plays the role of Minami Ichikawa, a quick-tempered girl who can never stay in one job for long. Takanori Jinnai stars as the quartet's homeroom teacher. The four of them, on the suggestion of their teacher, formed a music band named ''Baby Blossom''. Together, they mature and gradually become self-confident. Ryosuke Miura as Ankh and Shu Watanabe as Eji Hino from

Kamen Rider OOO is a 2010-2011 Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's Kamen Rider Series, being the twelfth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-first overall. It began airing on September 5, 2010, the week following the conclusion of '' Kamen R ...

made a cameo. The music video is included in both the Type-A and Type-B versions of this single. It was made available for viewing on the group's official YouTube channel on May 2
.

Announcement

Some information on this single was announced on December 12, 2011. However, the title of the single was not revealed in that announcement. The title was later published at the King Records official site on January 2, 2012. On January 22, 2012, AKB48 performed the title song in concert for the first time, during the group's ''Request Hour Set List Best 100 2012'' concert held at Tokyo Dome City Hall. During that performance, it was unveiled that the title track of this single, ''Give Me Five!'', will be performed by a specially-formed band named ''Baby Blossom''. The band comprises selected members who played different musical instruments.

Release details

''Give Me Five!'' was officially released in Japan on February 15, 2012. The single is available in 5 versions: Type-A Regular and Limited Editions, Type-B Regular and Limited, and Theater Edition. All regular editions are CD+DVD. They come sealed and include a bonus: the limited editions have a randomly seeded ticket for 1 of 2 nationwide handshake events, and the regular editions have 1 randomly seeded photo of a member out of the 18-photo set created exclusively for the single. The Theater Edition is CD only. It comes with a ticket for a large release event at AKB48 Theater. Plus, since the edition is intended for being sold at AKB48 Theater, the buyer can in person pick 1 member photo out of a large photoset created especially for the theater edition of the single. In total, the single sold 967,000 copies on the first day of their release.

Reception

''Give Me Five!'' sold approximately 967,000 copies on its debut day. This makes it the AKB48's third-highest selling single on its release day, behind singles '' Kaze wa Fuiteiru'' (which sold 1.046 million copies on its release day) and '' Flying Get'' (which sold 1.026 million copies on its release day). In total, ''Give Me Five!'' sold 1.287 million copies on its debut week. This makes it AKB48's 12th single that topped the Oricon charts, and its 6th consecutive million-selling single.

Track listing

Type A

Type B

Theater Version

Bonus

Types A, B

* (Limited Edition) Random national handshake event ticket (sealed in, 2 kinds in total available) * (Regular Edition) Random photo of a member (sealed in, one per senbatsu member, i.e. 18 kinds in total, available)

Theater Edition

* Large handshake event ticket * Photo of a member (selectable from a set, one kind per member available)

Members

"Give Me Five!"

Center:

* Team A: Haruna Kojima,

, Aki Takajō,

* Team K:

, Yūko Ōshima,

, Sae Miyazawa, Yui Yokoyama * Team B:

, Mayu Watanabe *

Team S:

Team N:

Note: The selected members are the same as on " Kaze wa Fuiteiru".

"Sweet & Bitter"

Sung by : Center:

* Team A:

* Team K:

, Yūko Ōshima

"New Ship"

Sung by : Center:

, Melody Nurramdhani Laksani * Team B: Sumire Satō * Team 4:

Miori Ichikawa is Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol groups AKB48 and NMB48. She is known for her "Fresh Lemon" character and is the Hiroshima Lemon Ambassador since 2014. Biography Ichikawa debuted in the entertainment industry under Star ...

, Anna Iriyama,

Haruka Shimazaki is a Japanese actress, singer, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48. Her supposed apathetic attitude toward idol fans led to the popularity of the buzzword in Japanese media. Since graduating from AKB48 in 2016, Shimazaki has work ...

, Suzuran Yamauchi * Kenkyūsei: Karen Iwata, Rena Katō,

Rina Kawaei Rina or RINA may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Rina (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kento Rina, Indian politician * Mahfuza Rahman Rina, Bangladeshi politician * Tongam Rina (born 1979), Indian journ ...

Juri Takahashi , also known mononymously as Juri ( ko, 쥬리; ja, ジュリ), is a Japanese singer based in South Korea. She is a member of South Korean girl group Rocket Punch and former member of the Japanese girl group AKB48. Career 2011-2018: AKB4 ...

Yuka Tano Yuka may refer to: * Yuka (music), an Afro-Cuban style of music *Yuka (mammoth), mammoth specimen found in Yakutia, Russia *Manshu Yuka Kogyo K.K. Ssuningkai, a Japanese-German pre-WWII industrial co-operation People *Yuka (name), a Japanese pers ...

Team S: Yuria Kizaki,

Team E: Kanon Kimoto *

Team N: Miyuki Watanabe * HKT48 (then Kenkyūsei):

Haruka Kodama is a Japanese actress and former member of the idol girl groups HKT48 and AKB48. In HKT48, she was a member of Team H. She has been the lead performer of three HKT48 singles: "Hikaeme I Love You!" (2014), "12 Byō" (2015, with Sakura Miyawaki), ...

JKT48 JKT48 (read as "J. K. T. forty-eight") is an Indonesian-Japanese idol girl group whose name is derived from its based city of Jakarta and the Japanese idol group AKB48. Formed in 2011, the group is the first AKB48 sister group outside Japan and ...

(then Kenkyūsei): Melody Nurramdhani Laksani

"Hitsujikai no Tabi"

Sung by : Center:

, Mayu Watanabe * Team A: Misaki Iwasa, Aika Ōta, Haruka Katayama, Asuka Kuramochi, Haruna Kojima, Aki Takajō * Team K:

Sayaka Akimoto is a Filipino-Japanese actress and singer. She was a member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and its spin-off unit Diva. As an actress, Akimoto has appeared in both Japanese and American productions, and made her Hollywood debut in '' Sniper: ...

, Ayaka Umeda, Ayaka Kikuchi, Reina Fujie, Sakiko Matsui,

, Sae Miyazawa, Yui Yokoyama * Team B:

, Amina Sato, Yuka Masuda, Mayu Watanabe * Team 4: Haruka Shimada,

Mariya Nagao is a Japanese television personality and former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. Nagao is represented by Irving. Career Mariya Nagao joined AKB48 as a 9th generation trainee in late 2009. On December 8, 2010, together with Min ...

Team S:

Team KII: Akane Takayanagi

"Yungu ya Furoito no Baai"

Sung by * Team A: Shizuka Ōya, Haruka Nakagawa, Chisato Nakata, Sayaka Nakaya, Ami Maeda, Natsumi Matsubara * Team K:

Mayumi Uchida The Japanese idol girl group AKB48 has many members who have left the group for various reasons such as focusing on solo careers. Some members have left to help launch AKB48's sister groups. The member lineup often changes as when girls get olde ...

, Miku Tanabe, Tomomi Nakatsuka, Moeno Nitō, Misato Nonaka, Rumi Yonezawa * Team B: Haruka Ishida, Kana Kobayashi, Mika Komori, Natsuki Satō, Shihori Suzuki, Mariya Suzuki, Rina Chikano, Natsumi Hirajima,

Miho Miyazaki is a Japanese singer, actress and former member of the idol girl group AKB48 where she was active in Team A. She also participated in the Korean-Japanese show Produce 48. Biography In 2007, Miyazaki passed an audition for AKB48 and became a ke ...

* Team 4: Maria Abe,

Miyu Takeuchi is a Japanese singer and YouTuber based in South Korea. She is a former member of AKB48. Career 2004-2008: Pre-debut Prior to joining AKB48, Takeuchi signed a contract with Stardust Production in 2004 and appeared in Little By Little's music ...

, Shiori Nakamata, Mariko Nakamura * Kenkyūsei: Rina Izuta, Miyū Ōmori, Natsuki Kojima, Marina Kobayashi, Erena Saeed Yokota, Yukari Sasaki, Rika Suzuki, Wakana Natori, Rina Hirata, Nana Fujita,

Tomu Muto is a Japanese idol and singer, and a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She is a member of AKB48's Team K. She is an alumna of Seijo University, where she studied economics and also earned her postgraduate degree, as well as a certif ...

, Ayaka Morikawa

Charts

Sales and certifications

References

External links

Profile at the King Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Give Me Five! 2012 singles AKB48 songs Songs with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto Oricon Weekly number-one singles Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles RIAJ Digital Track Chart number-one singles King Records (Japan) singles 2012 songs Songs about cherry blossom