ultra soul
| ultra soul | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by B'z | ||||
| from the album GREEN | ||||
| Released | March 14, 2001 | |||
| Promotions | #1 (Sekai Suiei Fukuoka 2001 Theme) #2 (Sekai Suiei Fukuoka 2001 Insert) #3 (Kandou Factory Sport!) | |||
| Length | 10:55 | |||
| Label | Rooms Records | |||
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
| B'z singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
ultra soul is the thirty-first single by B'z, released on March 14, 2001. Of the hundreds of songs released by the band in their two-plus decades of history, "ultra soul" is no doubt amongst their absolute most successful. Harkening back to some of their earliest works, the title song relies primarily on a digital beat with only guitars and vocals as primary instruments and has since been seen as the dawn of a new era in the B'z catalogue. Notably, the release date was shared with the re-issuing of three home videos on DVD: once upon a time in Yokohama ~B'z LIVE GYM'99 "Brotherhood"~, "BUZZ!!" THE MOVIE, and LIVE RIPPER.
So well-received was the title song that it was performed six times on television in the first year of its release, with a repeat on Music Station B'z 25th Anniversary Special in 2013 as per fan demand. It has been used numerous times as a theme to swimming events and televised coverage of the sport in Japan, beginning with coverage of the 2001 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka. This was repeated for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona and the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in 2014. Additionally, "ultra soul 2011" was likewise bestowed the same honor for the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai. Due to the swimming tie-in of the title song, 1997 SURVIVE album song "Swimmer yo!!" was revived, re-arranged, and rebranded "Swimmer yo 2001!!" as a B-side alongside a new song, "ROCK man".
In 2013, "ultra soul" was one of four B'z songs to be released for guitar-learning video game Rocksmith 2014 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The song was included with all copies of the game in all territories across the world. Three others in "juice", "girigiri chop", and "Easy Come, Easy Go!" were shortly thereafter released as downloadable content.
Upon release, the single instantly solidified itself as one of the band's biggest hits, moving over 500,000 copies in its first week alone and debuting at the top of the Weekly Oricon Singles chart—a position it held for two straight weeks. It became the 11th best-selling single of the year, and spent a total of 23 weeks on the charts. The high sales numbers allowed the single to be awarded Triple Platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. The title song was successful as a ringtone as well, being awarded a Gold certification in the format.
Track listing
- ultra soul
- Swimmer yo 2001!! — スイマーよ2001!!
- ROCK man
Live appearances
Live Performances
- ultra soul [418 SHOWS]
B'z SHOWCASE "Kobushi wo Nigire" [1/1 SHOWS]- B'z LIVE-GYM 2001 "ELEVEN" [46/46 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!!" [23/23 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2003 "BANZAI IN NORTH AMERICA" [7/7 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2003 "BIG MACHINE" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2003 "BIG MACHINE" [12/12 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2005 "Abashiri Extra Edition" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2005 "CIRCLE OF ROCK" [41/41 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2006 "Yokosuka MONSTER" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2006 "MONSTER'S GARAGE" [17/17 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2007 -19- [6/6 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2007 -B'z In Your Town- [3/7 SHOWS]
- SUMMER SONIC 07 [2/2 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]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2010 "Ain't No Magic" [19/19 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2011 -long time no see- [3/3 SHOWS]
- TV Asahi Dream Festival 2011 [1/1 SHOWS]
- Pepsi NEX presents B'z 1DAY LIVE [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2011 -C'mon- [26/26 SHOWS]
- AEROSONIC [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER- [17/30 SHOWS]
- B'z Special LIVE at EX THEATER ROPPONGI [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2015 -Shimonoseki Uchouten NIGHT- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT- [40/40 SHOWS]
- ROCKROCK 20th ANNIVERSARY LIVE "ROCK BEYOND ROCK" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2015 -Shinagawa Uchouten NIGHT- [1/1 SHOWS]
- TV Asahi Dream Festival 2015 [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2017 -Hissatsu Hiokinin- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2017 -B'z In Your Town- [11/11 SHOWS]
- ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017 [1/1 SHOWS]
- RISING SUN ROCK FESTIVAL 2017 in EZO [1/1 SHOWS]
- 7-Eleven presents B'z PREMIUM LIVE [2/2 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2017-2018 "LIVE DINOSAUR" [18/18 SHOWS]
- FM802 ROCK FESTIVAL RADIO CRAZY 2017 [1/1 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 2019 -Makaitenshow- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2019 -Whole Lotta NEW LOVE- [36/36 SHOWS]
- SUMMER SONIC 2019 [2/2 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820- [1/5 SHOWS]
- Swimmer yo!! [145 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE "GO! GO! HEAVEN" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM '98 "SURVIVE" [49/49 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE "Kobushi wo Nigire" [1/1 SHOWS] (2001 Version)
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2001 "ELEVEN" [42/46 SHOWS] (2001 Version)
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2008 "ACTION" [12/53 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2015 -Shimonoseki Uchouten NIGHT- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT- [40/40 SHOWS]
- ROCKROCK 20th ANNIVERSARY LIVE "ROCK BEYOND ROCK" [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820- [1/5 SHOWS]
- ROCK man [19 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2001 "ELEVEN" -Preview-/-Intermission-[3/46 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2007 -B'z In Your Town- [6/7 SHOWS]
- B'z SHOWCASE 2008 -Kiyotake ACTION- [1/1 SHOWS]
- B'z LIVE-GYM 2008 "ACTION" [9/53 SHOWS]
Home Videos
- ultra soul
- 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 2005 "CIRCLE OF ROCK"
- Pleasure II Limited Edition: LIVE-GYM 2003 "BIG MACHINE"
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2008 -GLORY DAYS-
- LIVE-GYM 2010 "Ain't No Magic"
- SHOWCASE 2007 -19-
- LIVE-GYM 2011 -C'mon-
- LIVE-GYM 2011 -long time no see-
- LIVE-GYM 2005 -CIRCLE OF ROCK-
- LIVE-GYM 2001 -ELEVEN-
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER-
- LIVE-GYM 2015 -EPIC NIGHT-
- TV Asahi Dream Festival 2015
- DINOSAUR Limited Edition: ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2017
- LIVE-GYM 2017-2018 "LIVE DINOSAUR"
- LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2018 -HINOTORI-
- LIVE-GYM 2019 -Whole Lotta NEW LOVE-
- SHOWCASE 2020 -5 ERAS 8820-
- Swimmer yo!!
- ROCK man
Sales data
| No. | Cover | Single | Physical Copies Sold | Chart Positions | Certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST WEEK | LIFETIME | WEEK | MONTH | YEAR | ||||
| 31 | 
|
ultra soul |
501,040+ |
876,000+ |
1 |
3 |
11 |
3x Platinum |
Personnel
B'z
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition, Arrangement
- Koshi Inaba: Vocals, Lyric Composition, Arrangement
Support Members
- Akihito Tokunaga: Bass (Tracks 2 & 3), Arrangement