Flower Flower

Flower Flower (フラワー フラワー^[1], Furawā Furawā, stylised as FLOWER FLOWER) is a Japanese rock band that was formed in 2013 by Japanese singer-songwriter Yui. The group debuted with the single "Tsuki" (2013).

Flower Flower
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Indie pop shoegazing
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Sony Music Records
Members	Yui, Mura☆Jun, Mafumafu, Sacchan
Website	www.flowerflower-net.jp

Biography

Vocalist Yui is a musician from Fukuoka, who originally debuted as a soloist under Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 2005, after auditioning in 2004.^[2] She released five studio albums between 2006 and 2011, all of which were commercially successful. Some of her most famous songs include "Good-bye Days" (2006), the theme song for the film Midnight Sun which starred her as Xeroderma Pigmentosum sufferer Kaoru Amane, and the spring song "Cherry" (2007), both of which were certified million by the RIAJ.^[3][4] In November 2012, Yui announced her intention to retire from music as a soloist.^[5]

Flower Flower was first formed in early 2013, composed of musicians Yui respected.^[6] These included keyboardist Mura☆Jun, otherwise known as Jun Murayama, a member of the band Venomstrip and a session musician, as well as Mafumafu, i.e. bassist Katsuhiro Mafune, and drummer Norihide Saji, known in the band as Sacchan.

The band started with recording sessions, followed by a series of secret lives across Japan in March 2013. The project was officially announced in April 2013, followed by a series of festival performances.^[6] The group released their first single "Tsuki" digitally in June, used in a commercial campaign for cellphone provider au.^[7] The group attended festivals such as Join Alive, Rock in Japan Festival and Countdown Japan.^[8][9][10]

In May 2014, the band released their second song, "Kamisama".^[11] In June, it was announced that Flower Flower would perform the four theme songs for the live-action adaptation of Daisuke Igarashi's manga Little Forest, released in two parts in August 2014 and February 2015. Flower Flower performed the theme songs for each season, with summer and autumn released in 2014 and winter and spring in 2015.^[12]

The name Flower Flower was picked as Yui wanted something natural in their band name.^[6]

Discography

Studio album

List of albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak positions		Sales (JPN)[13][A]
		JPN [14]	KOR Overseas [15]
Mi (実, "Fruit")	Released: November 26, 2014 (JPN)[16] Label: Sony Music Records Formats: CD, CD/DVD, digital download	5	24	JPN: 34,790 (as first week sales)
Spotlight (スポットライト)	Released: March 14, 2018 (JPN) Label: Sony Music Records Formats: CD, CD/DVD, digital download	9	16	JPN: 7,083 (as first week sales)
Target (ターゲット)	Released: March 25, 2020 (JPN) Label: Sony Music Records Formats: CD, CD/Blu-Ray, digital download	21	—	JPN: 4,923[17] (as first week sales)

Extended play

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak positions	Sales (JPN)[13]
		JPN [14]
Shiki (色, "Colors")	Released: February 18, 2015 (JPN) Label: Sony Music Records Formats: CD, CD/DVD, digital download	10	12,035

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		JPN Oricon [18]	JPN Hot 100 [19][B]
"Tsuki" (月, "Moon")	2013	—	37	Mi
"Kamisama" (神様, "God")	2014		70
"Natsu" (夏, "Summer")			—	Shiki
"Aki" (秋, "Autumn")			—
"Subarashii Sekai" (素晴らしい世界, "Wonderful World")			81	Mi
"Takaramono" (宝物, "Treasure")	2016	10	31	Takaramono
"Mannequin" (マネキン, "Mannequin")	2017	20	—	Mannequin
"Tokei" (時計, "Clock")	2018	—	—	Spotlight
"Tsuki -band acoustic ver.-"	2019	—	—	Non-album singles
"Kamisama -band acoustic ver.-"			—
"Tomoshibi" (灯火, "Light")			—
"Atsui Aitsu " (熱いアイツ, "Hot Guy") featuring Mizobe Ryo (odol)	2020		—	Target
"Hana Uta" (はなうた, "Flower Song")				Hana Uta

Video albums

List of media, with selected chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak positions
		JPN DVD [23]	JPN Blu-ray [24]
Inko no have a nice day Tour 2018.05.09 Zepp Tokyo (インコの have a nice dayツアー 2018.05.09 Zepp Tokyo , Inko no have a nice day tsuā ー 2018.05.09 Zepp Tokyo)	Released: June 27, 2018 (JPN) Label: Sony Music Records Formats: DVD, Blu-ray	13	24

Music videos

List of music videos, with director(s)

Title	Year	Director(s)
"Kamisama"	2014	Masato Matsukawa
"Natsu"		Junichi Mori
"Aki"
"Haru"	2015
"Fuyu"
"Takaramono"	2016	Saki Iyori
"Mannequin"	2017	Takuro Okubo
"Tokei (Special Video)"	2018	Masato Matsukawa
"Inochi"
"Powerful"
"Mitsu (Lyric Video)"	2019
"Yume"	2020
"Jouka"
"Hana Uta"

Notes

1. Sales provided by Oricon database and are rounded to the nearest thousand copies.
2. Sources for chart positions are as follows: "Tsuki",^[20] "Kamisama",^[21] "Subarashii Sekai".^[22]

References

1. "映画「リトル・フォレスト」の主題歌「夏・秋・冬・春 ／ FLOWER FLOWER」" (in Japanese). Music-Net. June 8, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
2. "総力特集YUI" [Super special feature: Yui] (in Japanese). Excite. 2006. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
3. レコード協会調べ 10月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: October Digital Music Download Certifications]. RIAJ (in Japanese). November 20, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
4. レコード協会調べ 1月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: January Digital Music Download Certifications]. RIAJ (in Japanese). February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
5. "YUI、活動休止を発表「形は変わっていくかもしれませんが、大切な音楽を通して楽しいことをたくさんしていきたい」" [Yui announced her retirement. "The form will probably change, but I want to keep making important music and do lots of fun things.] (in Japanese). Barks. November 19, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
6. "YUIが新バンドで音楽活動再開、5月にフェス＆イベント出演" [Yui starts works again with her new band, to perform at festivals and events in May.] (in Japanese). Natalie. April 3, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
7. "FLOWER FLOWER、au書き下ろしCMソング「月」配信" [Flower Flower releases "Tsuki" digitally, a song written especially for au's commercials] (in Japanese). Natalie. June 28, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
8. "「JOIN ALIVE」タイムテーブル発表、大トリはセカオワ" [Join Alive publishes their time-table, SekaOwa featuring as their big finale act] (in Japanese). Natalie. June 27, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
9. "RIJFに中川翔子、ベビメタ、でんぱ、9nine、BiSら追加" (in Japanese). Natalie. June 26, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
10. "CDJ第4弾でクロマニヨンズ、ワンオク、ムックら39組追加" (in Japanese). Natalie. October 22, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
11. "FLOWER FLOWER、ライブ定番曲「神様」リリースへ" [Flower Flower releases live favourite "Kamisama".] (in Japanese). Natalie. May 19, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
12. "FLOWER FLOWER、五十嵐大介原作映画に主題歌4曲" [Flower Flower writes four theme songs for a film for Daisuke Igarashi's works.] (in Japanese). Natalie. June 4, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
13. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
14. "FLOWER FLOWERの作品" [Flower Flower works]. Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
15. "Gaon Album Chart 국외". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.

    • "2014년 50주차 Album Chart 국외". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
    • "Spotlight (スポットライト)". April 14, 2018.
16. "FLOWER FLOWER、"衝撃起こす"初CD「実」". Natalie. October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
17. 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2020年04月06日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on April 6, 2020] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
18. "Oricon Flower Flower Singles" (in Japanese). Oricon.
19. "Hot 100｜JAPAN Charts｜Billboard JAPAN" (in Japanese). Billboard.
20. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). July 9, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
21. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). May 25, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
22. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
23. "Oricon Flower Flower DVD" (in Japanese). Oricon.
24. "Oricon Flower Flower Blu-ray" (in Japanese). Oricon.

External links

• Biography portal

• Official website
• Sony Music label site
• Official blog