is the fifth single by

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

duo

Wink A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional c ...

. Written by Neko Oikawa and Masaya Ozeki, the single was released on July 5, 1989 by Polystar Records.

Background and release

"Samishii Nettaigyo" was first used by

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

for their S-Type headphone commercial featuring Wink in mid-April 1989. The B-side is a Japanese-language cover of the Hedy West song "

500 Miles "500 Miles" (also known as "500 Miles Away from Home" or "Railroaders' Lament") is a song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from home ...

". "Samishii Nettaigyo" became Wink's third 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 ...

's weekly charts. It sold over 564,000 copies and was certified Platinum by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include ...

. The song won the Grand Prix award at the

31st Japan Record Awards The 31st Annual Japan Record Awards took place at the Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda, Tokyo, December 31, 1989, starting at 7:00PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS. Award winners *Japan Record Award: ** Wink for " Samishii ...

. In addition, it led to the duo's first and only appearance on NHK's ''

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 ne ...

'' in 1989.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Neko Oikawa; all music is arranged by Motoki Funayama.

Chart positions

;Weekly charts ;Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* In 1990, the song was covered in Chinese Mandarin by Xiao Hu Dui as "Xing Xing De Yue Hui" (星星的約會) on their cover album of the same name. * In 1991, the song was covered in English by

The Nolans The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish girl group who formed in Blackpool in 1974 as the Nolan Sisters, before changing their name in 1980. Often referred to as Ireland's ''First Family of Music'', they were the first Irish performing family to achiev ...

as "Tidal Wave" on their cover album ''

Tidal Wave (Samishii Nettaigyo) is a cover album by the Irish pop group The Nolans. Released on 21 September 1991 exclusively in Japan by Teichiku Records, the album consists of 12 English-language covers of popular J-pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s. The title track, a cover ...

''. * In 2004, the song was covered by W on their debut album '' Duo U&U''. * In 2004, the song was covered by Nana Katase on her album ''

Extended Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * Exte ...

'' * In 2005, the song was performed by ex-

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an ...

member

Kaori Iida is a Japanese pop singer and actress, associated with Hello! Project and best known as a founding member of the girl band Morning Musume. She has also recorded with the Morning Musume side project band Tanpopo and is currently a solo artist. Dur ...

and Ruca at Flet's (フレッツ) Casual Dinner Show. * In 2008, the song was covered by Kimiko Koyama for the anime '' Rosario + Vampire''. * In 2010, the song was covered by

MAX Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

on their 2010 cover album '' Be MAX''. * In 2017, the song was covered by FEMM on their album ''80's/90's J-Pop Revival''. * In 2012, the song was covered by You Kikkawa on her 2012 cover album ''

Vocalist? is a cover album by Japanese singer You Kikkawa. Released through Universal J on November 7, 2012, the album features covers of popular J-pop songs from the 1980s to the 2000s. The album cover features an anime-style caricature of Kikkawa. A limit ...

''. * In 2012, the song was covered in English by Janet Kay on her 2012 cover album ''

Idol Kay is a cover album by British singer Janet Kay. Released through Universal Music Japan on 23 May 2012, the album features English-language reggae covers of popular J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an ...

''. * In 2019, the song was covered by Kazehikaru Fukurou (風光ル梟), as their second single. * In 2019, the song was performed by Red Velvet members Joy and

Yeri Yeri may refer to: *Yeri, Cyprus *Yeri, Tajikistan * Yeri (singer) (born Kim Ye-rim, 1999), South Korean female singer, member of Red Velvet. *Yery Yeru or Eru (Ы ы; italics: ), usually called Y in modern Russian or Yery or Ery historica ...

as a Special Stage at ''SMTOWN in Tokyo''. * In 2020, the song was parodied by

Kyoko Fukada is a very common feminine Japanese given name. Not to be confused with Kiyoko. Possible writings The final syllable "ko" is typically written with the kanji character for child, 子. It is a common suffix to female names in Japan. The first ...

, Mikako Tabe, and Mei Nagano in a UQ Mobile commercial.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs Wink (duo) songs Japanese-language songs Songs with lyrics by Neko Oikawa Compositions in A minor Oricon Weekly number-one singles