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"Story" is a song written and recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on May 18, 2005, by
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
and Universal Sigma. The song served as the second single from Ai's fourth studio album, '' Mic-a-holic Ai''. Produced by 2Soul, "Story" became one of the biggest singles of the 2000s in Japan, peaking at number 8 on the Japanese
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
singles chart, and was the sixth single in history to receive a triple million digital certification by the
Recording Industry Association of Japan 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 pro ...
(RIAJ).


Background and release

Ai previously released "365", the lead single for her then-upcoming fourth studio album. The song was used for a commercial tie-up in 2005. "Story" was announced and released in May 2005.


Composition and lyrics

"Story" is a R&B ballad song. Lyrically, the song is about relationships with a significant other.


Commercial performance

Upon its release, "Story" became a
sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...
, charting for 20 weeks in the top 30 in 2005 and 2006, however went on to sell over three million ringtones, one million cellphone downloads, and 270,000 physical copies. (subscription only) The single charted for 72 weeks total on the Oricon singles chart. In 2009, the song debuted at number 24 on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 with the reborn version included on Ai's greatest hits album, ''
Best Ai ''Best Ai'' is the first greatest hits album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai (singer), Ai, released on September 16, 2009, by Island Records and Universal Music Japan, Universal Sigma. The album was released in three editions: limited C ...
''. It later peaked at number 7 in its third week on the chart. Near the end of 2014, "Story" re-entered Japanese charts following the Japanese release of the animated film '' Big Hero 6'', reaching a new peak on the Japan Hot 100 at number 18.


Music video

A music video for "Story" aired on
MTV Japan MTV Japan (Music Television Japan) is the Japanese version of the cable television network based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Paramount Global, Paramount Global Japan K.K., and was launched on November 15, 1993. It can be viewed on cable ...
in mid-2005. In 2014, the music video for "Story" was released on Ai's
Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...
channel on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. A sand art music video was released near the end of 2015 to commemorate the release of Ai's greatest hits album, '' The Best''. On February 13, 2025, Ai released a new music video for "Story". Directed by Won, critics described the music video as a "drama-style" video with the theme of "love and family".


Accolades


Live performances

Since the release of "Story" in 2005, Ai has performed the song multiple times live. Ai performed "Story" at the ''56th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen'' music competition on December 31, 2005, her first appearance on the program. In 2008, she performed the song at the El Rey Theatre, which marked her debut live performance in the United States. In 2009, she performed the song at the 3rd Asia Pacific Screen Awards.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Cover versions

"Story" has been covered by many Japanese artists on albums and live performances. Most notable covers are Makato Ozone's, Ms. Ooja's and May J.'s.


Track listing

* Digital download, streaming and CD # Story – 4:49 # Passion – 3:44 # Story (instrumental) – 4:49 # Passion (instrumental) – 3:44 * 7-inch vinyl # Story – 4:49 # Story (English version) – 4:51


Story (English Version)

On October 21, 2014, it was revealed that an unreleased English version of "Story" would be used in Disney's 2014 animated film, ''Big Hero 6'' for the Japanese dub. The song was released digitally as a single from the film's soundtrack on October 22, 2014 by
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...
and Walt Disney Music in Japan. Regarding the song being included in the movie, Ai commented, "I was very happy to have sung 'Story' instead of a new song. Even if we sometimes feel uneasy or lonely, people always connect with someone." The song was used in the closing credits for the Japanese release. For the single cover photo, Ai is pictured with her sister, Sachi Uemura.


Track listing

Digital download and streaming # "Story (English Version)" — 4:50


Music video

A music video was released on January 27, 2015. Throughout the video, photos of loved ones submitted by fans are shown in the video.


Release history


See also

*
List of best-selling singles in Japan In 2007, Japan had the second largest music market in the world. In 1962, Tokushin music reports was founded and became the leading provider of music sales in Japan. However their reports and charts are only available to industry insiders and are ...


References

{{Authority control 2005 singles 2014 singles 2005 songs 2014 songs 2000s ballads 2010s ballads Island Records singles EMI Records singles Walt Disney Records singles Avex Group singles Ai (singer) songs Songs written by Ai (singer) Universal Sigma singles