is a song recorded by Japanese singer

Shizuka Kudo , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese singer, actress and former idol, born in Hamura, Tokyo, Japan. She was a member of Onyanko Club between May 1986 and September 1987 and went on to have a successful solo career with 11 number-one hit ...

, from her seventh studio album, ''

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

''. It was released through

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which distributes music, films, home video, and video games. It is affiliated with the Japanese media group Fujisankei Communications Group. Pony Canyo ...

as the album's lead single on January 29, 1992. Kudo performed the song on the 43rd

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

, marking her fifth consecutive appearance on the annual show. In 2007, Kudo recorded a self-cover of the song with a jazz arrangement for the compilation album ''

Shizuka Kudo 20th Anniversary the Best is a unisex Japanese given name. People with the name * , Taiwanese actress * , Japanese voice actress * , Japanese figure skater * , Japanese court dancer * , Japanese voice actress * , Japanese novelist and lyricist * , Japanese actress and da ...

'', released in commemoration of her 20th anniversary.

Background

"Mechakucha ni Naite Shimaitai" was written by

Gorō Matsui is a Japanese lyricist born 11 December 1957 in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, though he considers Tokyo to be his hometown. Beginning with participation in the Yamaha Popular Song Contests, he made his debut writing the lyrics for the 1981 Chage and ...

, composed by

Tsugutoshi Gotō Tsugutoshi Gotō (後藤次利 Gotō Tsugutoshi), born February 5, 1952, is a Japanese songwriter, bassist and music producer. Gotō broke into the Japanese music industry playing bass on tour for artists like Sadistic Mika Band, Bread & Butter ...

and arranged by Gotō and

Satoshi Kadokura , is a Japanese composer, arranger, producer, keyboardist. He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts. He was a producer of Wink, Noriyuki Makihara, Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band f ...

. Lyrically, the song deals with the theme of heartbreak. Matsui writes about a protagonist wallowing in self-pity and pondering whether she will find peace at night if she lets herself "cry like crazy". The song has been described as an "epic waltz". Kudo was praised for her versatility as a vocalist, and specifically for her compelling delivery of Matsui's lyrics, which received acclaim for perfectly capturing the heartache of separation. Comedian

Sanma Akashiya is a Japanese comedian, TV presenter, radio personality and actor most commonly known as Sanma-san. His real name is . His talent agency is Yoshimoto Kogyo and his shishô (master) back when he studied '' rakugo'' is Shōfukutei Matsunosuke. T ...

has listed "Mechakucha ni Naite Shimaitai" as one of his favorite songs. Akashiya was in attendance at Kudo's concert celebrating her 20th anniversary, where she performed the song and dedicated it to him.

Cover versions

In 1992, Hong Kong actress and singer Elaine Ho (何婉盈) recorded a cover of the song for her eponymous album, ''Elaine'', on which it is dubbed "First Love" (初戀). In 2015,

Ko Shibasaki is a Japanese actress and singer who has performed in television shows, movies, and commercials. She is managed by Stardust Promotion. Biography Acting career Ko (also transcribed Kou and Koh) Shibasaki debuted in 2000, when she portrayed Mit ...

recorded her rendition of the song for the cover album, ''

Kō Utau Kou or KOU may refer to *Kou, Burkina Faso, a village in Burkina Faso * Kou, Laiwu (口镇), town in Laicheng District, Laiwu, Shandong, China * Kou language * Kou (name) includes lists of people with the given name and surname *Kou (surname) (� ...

''.

Chart performance

The single debuted at number four on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track down ...

, selling 93,000 copies in its first week. It charted at number ten on its second week, before falling out of the top ten completely the following week. It stayed in the top 100 for a total of 15 weeks. The single ranked at number 73 on the year-end Oricon Singles Chart.

Track listing

Charts

Certification

References

{{authority control 1990s ballads 1992 songs 1992 singles Pop ballads Torch songs Songs with lyrics by Gorō Matsui Songs written by Tsugutoshi Gotō Shizuka Kudo songs Pony Canyon singles