Flying Get


"Flying Get" is the 22nd single by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, released on August 24, 2011. Its members were chosen by the AKB48 2011 general election. It won the Grand Prix of Japan Record Awards, which was the first time a female group accomplished it.

2011 general election

The participating members were chosen by AKB48's 2011 general election. Each of AKB48's 21st single "Everyday, Kachusha" contained a ballot that allows the buyer to register a vote for one of the member candidates for the group's 22nd single. The top 21 vote-getters would get to participate in the title track, and the top 12 from the lineup would be prominently featured in its promotions. The winner of the general election was Atsuko Maeda, with Yuko Oshima as runner up. The members who were ranked 22 to 40 were grouped as "Under Girls" and recorded on one of the B-sides.
RankNameTeamNumber of votes
1Atsuko MaedaAKB48 Team A138,892
2Yuko OshimaAKB48 Team K122,843
3Yuki KashiwagiAKB48 Team B74,252
4Mariko ShinodaAKB48 Team A60,539
5Mayu WatanabeAKB48 Team B59,118
6Haruna KojimaAKB48 Team A52,920
7Minami TakahashiAKB48 Team A52,790
8Tomomi ItanoAKB48 Team K50,403
9Rino SashiharaAKB48 Team A45,227
10Rena MatsuiSKE48 Team S27,804
11Sae MiyazawaAKB48 Team K33,500
12Aki TakajoAKB48 Team A31,009
13Rie KitaharaAKB48 Team B27,957
14Jurina MatsuiSKE48 Team S27,804
15Minami MinegishiAKB48 Team K26,070
16Tomomi KasaiAKB48 Team B22,857
17Sayaka AkimotoAKB48 Team K17,154
18Amina SatoAKB48 Team B16,574
19Yui YokoyamaAKB48 Team K16,455
20Yuka MasudaAKB48 Team B14,137
21Asuka KuramochiAKB48 Team A12,387

Tie-ins

The title track was the theme song for the Fuji TV drama series Hanazakari no Kimitachi e 'Ikemen Paradise' 2011, which starred AKB48 member Atsuko Maeda. The track was also featured in a television commercial for Peach John's lingerie brand "Heart Bra", and starred AKB48 members Yuko Oshima, Haruna Kojima and Tomomi Kasai.

Music video

The music video for "Flying Get" was directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi. Its full version lasts over 18 minutes and features a plot similar to those of action films. Instead releasing a normal MV on official channel on YouTube, a dance shot version was uploaded.

Reception

The single sold 1,025,952 copies on the first day of its release, becoming the first single in Oricon history to sell over one million copies on its first day of release.
Flying Get hit No.1 in Rekochok monthly download ranking, and has been downloaded more than 1 Million copies.
Flying Get hit No.1 in weekly Hot 100, Hot Top Airplay, Hot Singles Sales, Adult Contemporary Airplay of Billboard Japan, and No.2 in Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year End.
"Flying Get" outsold the group's previous single, "Everyday, Katyusha", in the last week of sales in 2011, and became the overall number-one selling single of 2011.

Awards

YearCeremonyAwardResult
201153rd Japan Record AwardsGrand Prixrowspan="6"
201153rd Japan Record AwardsExcellent Work Award-
201170th Television Drama Academy AwardsBest Theme Song-
201144th Japan Cable AwardsExcellent Music Award-
201226th JAPAN GOLD DISC AWARDSBest 5 singles-
2013JASRAC AwardsSilver Award-

Track listing

Music review

Even though the "single CD" has several coupling songs, the review below talks about flying get mostly.
Review from Hotexpress describe this song has "electric guitar sings on the rhythm full of Latin flavor", “refrain like a roller coaster” and "this work would pioneer a new realm of idol music, and has a party tune that changes Japan to midsummer throughout the year, to everyone." Review from CDjournal states that it has "soulful sound and the hot positive message featuring the sound of passionate horn." Review in TokyoHeadline wrote that "Flying Get is a Latin rock-like music that starts with the samba rhythm reminiscent of a carnival", and the music video "likes a conspiracy and action-packed short film" and "is out of the ordinary".

Members

"Flying Get"

The lineup for the main single consists of the top 21 members from AKB48's 2011 general election. The top 12 members were given additional media promotion.

The number in brackets indicates the member's ranking.
Performed by Under Girls, which consist of members who ranked 22 to 40 in AKB48's 2011 general election.

The number in brackets indicates the member's ranking.

Center: Ayaka Umeda
The ending theme of Majisuka Gakuen 2
Center: Atsuko Maeda
Performed by a special unit formed to promote Ezaki Glico's Ice no Mi, a bite-sized frozen candy. Gained worldwide headlines after the promotional campaign announced it would 'debut' a new member in the form of Aimi Eguchi, later revealed to the shock of many to be an advanced, CG-created amalgamation of six of the most popular members of the group voiced by 12th-generation kenkyūsei Yukari Sasaki.
Performed by Yasai Sisters, a special unit for AKB48 single, "Heavy Rotation", where they sang Yasai Sisters and used in Kagome CM.
Center: Atsuko Maeda

Oricon Charts (Japan)

Taiwan Weekly Chart

Sales and certifications

SNH48 version

"Flying Get" was redone in Mandarin for AKB48's sister group in China, SNH48, as the group's second single; it was released on August 2, 2013. This EP also contains Mandarin tracks for Ponytail to Shushu and Chance no Junban.

Personnel

The track was sung by the first generation members of SNH48:
On July 2, 2013 SNH48 announced the filming of "Flying Get" to be held at the Shanghai World Financial Center. Fans had an opportunity to participate in the video by wearing a SNH48 "Flying Get" T-shirt.

JKT48 version

On February 15, 2014, JKT48 announced the group's fifth single to be "Flying Get".

Promotion and release

This single has the voting tickets for JKT48's 6th single Senbatsu Sosenkyo.

Personnel

Melody Laksani is the center performer for the title track. The performers are listed as follows: