back number ¡°Chandelier¡± (Universal Music Japan)
Back number had a great 2015. All four of the group¡¯s singles made it into the Top 10 on the Oricon chart, and they did even better digitally. The rock band capped off the year with its first No. 1 album, ¡°Chandelier,¡± which sold 173,014 copies.
The first-week sales of ¡°Chandelier,¡± the band¡¯s fifth album, more than doubled the total sales of its previous album, ¡°Love Story,¡± which came out in 2014. And ¡°Chandelier¡± is on target to crack 300,000 units sold.
Back number¡¯s success has no doubt been helped by the use of its songs in commercials and TV shows. The 2015 singles ¡ª ¡°Heroine,¡± ¡°Sister,¡± ¡°Tegami¡± and ¡°Christmas Song¡± ¡ª are sentimental tunes that fit nicely into prime time. The band saved its better stuff for ¡°Chandelier.¡± The album¡¯s highlight is second track ¡°Siren.¡± If this were a single, the band would have been getting comparisons to other buzzed-about rock acts such as [Alexandros] and Kana-Boon. ¡°Siren¡± has a pulsating drive to it, and a melody that ties it to back number¡¯s previous work. ¡°Mirrorball to Cinderella¡± has a dance-rock sound that will be unexpected to listeners who¡¯ve bought the album on the basis of the TV-related work, and back-end track ¡°Liar¡± recalls the energy of ¡°Siren,¡± though it lacks the stand-out melodic flair of that song.
After listening to ¡°Chandelier,¡± though, it sounds as if label bosses could be pushing the group¡¯s members to abandon what they¡¯ve been doing in favor of more commercial fodder. It¡¯s probably a smart move money-wise, but it could also pigeonhole back number into being a ¡°drama theme song¡± band, separating it from a rising tide of rock acts that the group should have more of a connection to.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.