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{{Infobox Single | {{Infobox Single | ||
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'''ZERO''' is the eleventh [[B'z Singles|single]] by [[B'z]], released on October 7, 1992. | '''ZERO''' is the eleventh [[B'z Singles|single]] by [[B'z]], released on October 7, 1992. The lead and only single from ''[[RUN]]'' and released just a few weeks ahead of said album, it is here that B'z began to fully divorce themselves from their dance-rock roots and embraced a more classical rock and roll approach. It was approached with great trepidation by both the band and their management at the time, as it was thought the hard rock sound of "ZERO" could alienate their existing fanbase that had only just two years prior launched them to number one and made them a top act in the Japanese music scene. Despite being labeled a "gamble" at the time, it paid off and has become a trademark song for B'z as well as their most played live song with nearly 500 performances to date. It has been recorded onto every applicable [[B'z Albums#Compilation Albums|compilation album]], including ''[[B'z The Best "Pleasure"]]'', ''[[B'z The Best "ULTRA Pleasure"]]'', and ''[[B'z The Best XXV 1988-1998]]''. | ||
The title song was created during and premiered live as part of the final four dates of [[B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'92 "TIME"]]. When it was time for choosing a single for ''[[RUN]]'', "ZERO" was considered a good candidate although it was undoubtedly a risk and, as described by Tak, "a big gamble to try this as a single". Staff members and executives advising the band recommended the song be given a [[B'z Tie-in Promotions|tie-in promotion]] but Tak decided against it, stating only he "wanted to fight it out" with the song standing on its own this time. This was the first since "[[LADY-GO-ROUND]]" to attempt as much. Because they had invested so much in achieving this new sound, when Koshi was informed the song had instantly become a hit on the charts, he recounted that being "the happiest I'd ever been to that point." It has since appeared at almost every [[LIVE-GYM]] that followed and recorded on multiple [[B'z Home Videos|home videos]]. | |||
In a very rare incidence of a B-side rivaling its A-side, "Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO)" has become the most treasured non-single in the B'z catalogue. It was at one time post-release gauged as being more popular than its companion title song, though it bears noting the band were not entirely happy with that result, as they had long wanted to transition into the hard-rock numbers that "ZERO" exemplified. Tak noted it as a great compliment to the A-side, calling it "a very good opposite to 'ZERO'". | |||
As the band were not typically making dedicated [[B'z Music Videos|music videos]] at the time, "ZERO" had live footage substituted for television video requests. No [[B'z Tie-in Promotions|tie-in]] was arranged for the song, but it was performed twice during ''[[Music Station]]'' in October and their annual "SUPER LIVE" December special for the year of its release. | |||
The single debuted at number one on the Weekly Oricon Singles chart at release, where it remained for two weeks in a row. With first week sales of over 615,000 and eventual sales doubling that, it is one of the band's best-selling singles to date. Finishing eleventh for the year of 1992 and lasting for 28 weeks on the charts in all, "ZERO" was later awarded Million classification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. | The single debuted at number one on the Weekly Oricon Singles chart at release, where it remained for two weeks in a row. With first week sales of over 615,000 and eventual sales doubling that, it is one of the band's best-selling singles to date. Finishing eleventh for the year of 1992 and lasting for 28 weeks on the charts in all, "ZERO" was later awarded Million classification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. | ||
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== Track listing == | == Track listing == | ||
All music and guitar by [[Tak Matsumoto]]. All lyrics and lead vocals by [[Koshi Inaba]]. | |||
#'''[[ZERO (Lyrics)|ZERO]]''' | #'''[[ZERO (Lyrics)|ZERO]]''' | ||
#: [[File:s11_01.ogg]] | #: [[File:s11_01.ogg]] {{ZERO Song}} | ||
#'''[[Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) (Lyrics)|Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO)]]''' — ''My Heart in Love'', 恋心 (KOI-GOKORO) | #'''[[Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) (Lyrics)|Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO)]]''' — ''My Heart in Love'', 恋心 (KOI-GOKORO) | ||
#:[[File:s11_02.ogg]] < | #:[[File:s11_02.ogg]] {{Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) Song}} | ||
== Reversion history == | |||
{{Main|B'z Reversioned Songs}} | |||
{|class=wikitable width="90%" | |||
|- | |||
! width="30%"| Original Song | |||
! width="70%"| Reversion History | |||
|- | |||
{{ZERO Versions}} | |||
{{Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) Versions}} | |||
|} | |||
== Live appearances == | |||
===[[B'z Songs by LIVE-GYM|Live Performances]]=== | |||
{{ZERO Live}} | |||
{{Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) Live}} | |||
===[[B'z Songs on Home Video|Home Videos]]=== | |||
{{ZERO Video}} | |||
{{Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) Video}} | |||
== Sales data == | |||
{{Main|B'z Sales Records}} | |||
{|class=wikitable width="85%" | |||
|- | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff; width:50px;" rowspan="2" | No. | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff; width:45px;" rowspan="2" | Cover | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff; width:370px;" rowspan="2" | Single | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff; width:150px;" colspan="2" | Physical Copies Sold | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff; width:150px;" colspan="3" | Chart Positions | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff; width:110px;" rowspan="2" | Certification | |||
|- | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff;" | <small>FIRST WEEK</small> | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff;" | <small>LIFETIME</small> | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff;" | <small>WEEK</small> | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff;" | <small>MONTH</small> | |||
!style="color:black; background-color:#e6f2ff;" | <small>YEAR</small> | |||
{{ZERO Sales}} | |||
|} | |||
== Personnel == | == Personnel == | ||
{{Main|B'z Support Members}} | |||
'''B'z''' | '''B'z''' | ||
Latest revision as of 20:21, 3 June 2018
| ZERO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by B'z | ||||
| from the album RUN | ||||
| Released | October 7, 1992 | |||
| Length | 8:36 | |||
| Label | BMG Rooms Vermillion Records (2003 Remaster) | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
ZERO is the eleventh single by B'z, released on October 7, 1992. The lead and only single from RUN and released just a few weeks ahead of said album, it is here that B'z began to fully divorce themselves from their dance-rock roots and embraced a more classical rock and roll approach. It was approached with great trepidation by both the band and their management at the time, as it was thought the hard rock sound of "ZERO" could alienate their existing fanbase that had only just two years prior launched them to number one and made them a top act in the Japanese music scene. Despite being labeled a "gamble" at the time, it paid off and has become a trademark song for B'z as well as their most played live song with nearly 500 performances to date. It has been recorded onto every applicable compilation album, including B'z The Best "Pleasure", B'z The Best "ULTRA Pleasure", and B'z The Best XXV 1988-1998.
The title song was created during and premiered live as part of the final four dates of B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'92 "TIME". When it was time for choosing a single for RUN, "ZERO" was considered a good candidate although it was undoubtedly a risk and, as described by Tak, "a big gamble to try this as a single". Staff members and executives advising the band recommended the song be given a tie-in promotion but Tak decided against it, stating only he "wanted to fight it out" with the song standing on its own this time. This was the first since "LADY-GO-ROUND" to attempt as much. Because they had invested so much in achieving this new sound, when Koshi was informed the song had instantly become a hit on the charts, he recounted that being "the happiest I'd ever been to that point." It has since appeared at almost every LIVE-GYM that followed and recorded on multiple home videos.
In a very rare incidence of a B-side rivaling its A-side, "Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO)" has become the most treasured non-single in the B'z catalogue. It was at one time post-release gauged as being more popular than its companion title song, though it bears noting the band were not entirely happy with that result, as they had long wanted to transition into the hard-rock numbers that "ZERO" exemplified. Tak noted it as a great compliment to the A-side, calling it "a very good opposite to 'ZERO'".
As the band were not typically making dedicated music videos at the time, "ZERO" had live footage substituted for television video requests. No tie-in was arranged for the song, but it was performed twice during Music Station in October and their annual "SUPER LIVE" December special for the year of its release.
The single debuted at number one on the Weekly Oricon Singles chart at release, where it remained for two weeks in a row. With first week sales of over 615,000 and eventual sales doubling that, it is one of the band's best-selling singles to date. Finishing eleventh for the year of 1992 and lasting for 28 weeks on the charts in all, "ZERO" was later awarded Million classification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
The single was simultaneously remastered and re-released on March 26, 2003 along with nine other of the band's older singles and the then-latest single, "IT'S SHOWTIME!!". On the daily chart at launch, B'z held a monopoly over the chart's top eleven slots, with the new single ranking at the top and the re-issues covering the remaining ten. Ultimately, B'z would set a record that week for holding nine of the Top 10 slots for the week of release, with "ZERO" coming in fourth place.
Track listing
All music and guitar by Tak Matsumoto. All lyrics and lead vocals by Koshi Inaba.
- ZERO
- File:s11 01.ogg Undoubtedly a chief fixture of all B'z live shows, "ZERO" is by far the band's most played live song. It has been played at over 500 separate shows and performed during every era of the band's history. When released, it signaled a change in sound for the band and was amongst their hardest rocking songs to that point. Unusual for the band even now, the song contains a rap portion during the interlude which has become one of the high points of its live performances. According to Koshi, the first lyrics completed were those for the verses. He later joked that, "Maybe I had some annoying matters in mind at the time." In 2015 for -EPIC NIGHT-, after remaining roughly the same as when it was released, the song was performed in a slowed down bluesy version that featured just Tak on electric guitar and Koshi on vocals.
- Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) — My Heart in Love, 恋心 (KOI-GOKORO)
- File:s11 02.ogg A light-hearted pop song that stands in stark contrast to the very rock and roll A-side, "Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO)" has withstood the test of time on its own merits and achieved a reverance and notoriety typically only possible for singles. The lyrics and sentiment of the song originated from a letter sent in to B'z WAVE-GYM, a periodic radio program hosted by B'z in the 1990s. The song is written from the perspective of a young school boy chasing the affections of his crush and seeking his teacher's advice. As with "Wonderful Opportunity" before it, live performances have a set choreography that Koshi leads for the audience to follow. Notably, this is one of very few B'z songs—another exception being "The Loose"—in which the band's names appear as Koshi as protagonist refers to a "Matsumoto" which is often played up in live shows. Its popularity has been proven through the years, ranking first for the fan-selected B'z The Best "Treasure" in 1998 and 2nd for B'z The Best "ULTRA Treasure" in 2008 when it lost out to "Brotherhood". In a 2014 poll whose results were published in Be With! Vol. 104, "Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO)" ranked in at ninth in songs fanclub members wanted to hear live for the 2015 LIVE-GYM
Reversion history
| Original Song | Reversion History |
|---|---|
| ZERO SINGLE & ALBUM SONG (1992)
|
KARAOKE: ZERO [Karaoke Version] (1996) |
| Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) B-SIDE (1992)
|
UNRELEASED: Koi-Gokoro [English Demo Version] (1992-1994) |
Live appearances
Live Performances
- ZERO [501 SHOWS]
B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'92 "TIME" [4/12 SHOWS]- B'z LIVE-GYM '93 "RUN" [49/49 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER" [2/2 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '94 "THE 9TH BLUES -Part1-" [55/55 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '94 "THE 9TH BLUES -Part2-" [32/32 SHOWS]
- Merry X'Mas ~ Mary Had a Little Lamb/Silent Night [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'95 "BUZZ!!" [12/12 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '96 "Spirit LOOSE" [44/44 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'97 "FIREBALL" [9/9 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE "GO! GO! HEAVEN" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '98 "SURVIVE" [49/49 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '99 -Brotherhood- SHOWCASE "B'zepp" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '99 "Brotherhood" [24/24 SHOWS]
- B'z juice guerilla live [1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2000 "juice" [21/21 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE "Kobushi wo Nigire" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2001 "ELEVEN" [32/46 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM in Taipei & Hong Kong 2001 [4/4 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE "SAPPORO DEVIL" [1/1 SHOWS]
- 2002 FIFA World Cup International Day Concert [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2002 "GREEN ~GO★FIGHT★WIN~" [18/18 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2002 "Rock n' California Roll" [3/3 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2003 "IT'S SHOWCASE!!" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM The Final Pleasure "IT'S SHOWTIME!!" [22/23 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2003 "BANZAI IN NORTH AMERICA" [7/7 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2006 "MONSTER'S GARAGE" [7/17 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2008 "ACTION" [13/53 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS- [6/6 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2009 -B'z In Your Town- [8/8 SHOWS]
- SUMMER SONIC 09 [2/2 SHOWS]
- Pepsi NEX presents B'z 1DAY LIVE [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2011 -C'mon- [26/26 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2012 -Into Free- [11/11 SHOWS]
- AEROSONIC [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER- [7/30 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT- [9/40 SHOWS] (Blues Version)
- B'z SHOWCASE 2015 -Shinagawa Uchouten NIGHT- [1/1 SHOWS]
- TV Asahi Dream Festival 2015 [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI- [12/23 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820- [1/5 SHOWS]
- Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO) [195 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '93 "RUN" [42/49 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure'95 "BUZZ!!" [12/12 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2000 "juice" [21/21 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2001 "ELEVEN" [46/46 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM in Taipei & Hong Kong 2001 [4/4 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2002 "GREEN ~GO★FIGHT★WIN~" [13/18 SHOWS] (Acoustic Version)
- B'z LIVE-GYM The Final Pleasure "IT'S SHOWTIME!!" [2/23 SHOWS] (Acoustic Version)
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS- [6/6 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2013 -Pleasure75- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER- [22/30 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2018 -The Wall Of Rock- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI- [23/23 SHOWS]
- B'z PARTY Presents B'z Pleasure in Hawaii [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820- [1/5 SHOWS]
Home Videos
- ZERO
- LIVE RIPPER: Pleasure'93 "JAP THE RIPPER"
- "BUZZ!!" THE MOVIE
- LIVE-GYM '99 "Brotherhood"
- LIVE-GYM 2002 "GREEN ~GO★FIGHT★WIN~"
- LIVE-GYM 2002 "Rock n' California Roll"
- LIVE-GYM Final Pleasure "IT'S SHOWTIME!!"
- LIVE-GYM 2003 "BANZAI IN NORTH AMERICA"
- Hidden Pleasure: LIVE-GYM '93 "RUN"
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS-
- LIVE-GYM 2011 -C'mon-
- LIVE-GYM 2012 -Into Free- (Web Stream)
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER-
- LIVE-GYM 2012 -Into Free- EXTRA
- LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT-
- SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820-
- Koi-Gokoro (KOI-GOKORO)
- "BUZZ!!" THE MOVIE
- LIVE-GYM 2002 "GREEN ~GO★FIGHT★WIN~"
- LIVE-GYM Final Pleasure "IT'S SHOWTIME!!"
- Hidden Pleasure: LIVE-GYM 2001 "ELEVEN"
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS-
- LIVE-GYM 2001 -ELEVEN-
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER- (Hall Tour)
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI-
- SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820-
Sales data
| No. | Cover | Single | Physical Copies Sold | Chart Positions | Certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST WEEK | LIFETIME | WEEK | MONTH | YEAR | ||||
| 11 | 
|
ZERO |
615,470+ |
1,311,000+ |
1 |
1 |
11 |
Million |
Personnel
B'z
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
- Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition
Support Members
- Ikkoh Tanaka: Drums
- Masao Akashi: Bass, Arrangement
- Kazuki Katsuta: Saxophone
- Hiroshi Sawano: Trumpet
- Hiroyuki Nomura: Trombone
- Yuki Takahara: Chorus (Track 2)
Production
- B+U+M
- Chris Bellman: Remastering (2003 reissue, Bernie Grundman Mastering L.A., U.S.A.)