Iza, Now!

Iza, Now!
Studio album by
Arashi
Released21 July 2004 (2004-07-21)
GenrePop, R&B, rock[1]
Length64:10[2]
LabelJ Storm
Arashi chronology
How's It Going?
(2003) 		Iza, Now!
(2004) 		5x5 The Best Selection of 2002–2004
(2004)
Singles from Iza, Now!
  1. "Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono"
    Released: 3 September 2003
  2. "Pikanchi Double"
    Released: 18 February 2004

Iza, Now! (いざッ、Now!) is the fourth studio album of Japanese boy band Arashi. It was released on 21 July 2004 through J Storm. Two singles were released from the album: "Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" and "Pikanchi Double". The album debuted at number one in Japan, selling 115,000 copies in its first week.

Background and release

The album comes one year after the group's third studio album How's It Going?. According to Arashi member Masaki Aiba, the album's title Iza, Now! means "to tempt" (誘う, izanau).[3] Member Sho Sakurai co-wrote lyrics for the songs "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono", "The Bubble", "Pikanchi Double", "Eyes with Delight", and "Right Back to You". "Right Back to You" was used as the background song for a Parco commercial.[4] American musician Omar Hakim participated in recording the songs "Jam", "Eyes With Delight", and "Rainbow".[5]

Iza, Now! was released on 21 July 2004 in Japan, in two editions: a regular edition and a limited edition. Though the two editions contains the same tracks, only the limited edition contained a booklet and a DVD containing five music videos chosen by fans.[4] It was released under the Avex Asia label in Taiwan and Hong Kong on 24 August 2004 and 8 September 2004, respectively.

The album was released digitally on February 7, 2020.[6][7]

Promotion

To promote the album, Arashi embarked on the Iza, Now Tour!!. They had 27 shows beginning on 27 July at the Osaka-jō Hall, followed by Yokohama Arena on 2 August, Nagoya Rainbow Hall on 6 August, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center on 11 August, Sekisui Heim Super Arena on 15 August, Nagano Wakasato Tamokuteki Sports Arena on 17 August, Hiroshima Prefectural Sports Center on 20 August, Toki Messe on 24 August, Hamamatsu Arena on 29 August, and Marine Messe Fukuoka on 31 August 2004.[8]

Singles

Arashi released the double A-side single "Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" on 3 September 2003. It peaked at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and achieved a platinum certification.[9][10] "Hadashi no Mirai" was used as the campaign song for Coca-Cola while "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" was used as the theme song for the television series Stand Up!!, starring Arashi member Kazunari Ninomiya, Tomohisa Yamashita, Anne Suzuki, Hiroki Narimiya, and Shun Oguri.[11][12]

"Pikanchi Double" was released on 18 February 2004, and was used as the theme song for Arashi's starring film Pikanchi: Life is Hard dakara Happy, the sequel to Pikanchi: Life is Hard dakedo Happy. It peaked at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart.[13]

Commercial performance

Iza, Now! debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, marking the group's second number-one album in Japan. It sold 115,000 copies in its first week and spent eight weeks on the chart.[14] The album went on to sell around 151,000 copies overall.[15] In July 2004, the album was certified Gold for shipments of 100,000 copies by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.[16]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono"
Takehiko IidaTomoki Ishizuka4:03
2."Jam"Yōji Kubota
  • Tobias Lindell
  • Joel Eriksson
  • Victor Wiszniewski
Masayuki Iwata4:12
3."The Bubble"
  • Spin
  • Sakurai
  • Peter Bjorklund
  • Eriksson
Akira3:54
4."Thank You for My Days"TakeshiIwataIwata4:55
5."Pikanchi Double"
  • Spin
  • Sakurai
Kōsuke MorimotoIshizuka5:08
6."Keep a Peak" (instrumental) Taku YoshiokaYoshioka1:51
7."Eyes with Delight"
  • Kubota
  • Sakurai
Minoru KomoritaIshizuka4:30
8."Right Back to You"
  • Spin
  • Sakurai
  • Bjorklund
  • Eriksson
Ha-j3:35
9."Rainbow"KubotaKomoritaIshizuka4:17
10."Hadashi no Mirai"Ayumi MiyazakiMiyazakiChokkaku 
11."Yasashikutte Sukoshi Baka"Takeshi InoueInoueHa-j3:43
12."Dear My Friend"Takashi OgawaJunjiro SekiSeki4:55
13."Kimi dake o Omotteru"KubotaKōji MakainoNaoki Ōtsubo4:49
14."Check no Muffler"TakeshiMorimotoIwata5:19
15."Tochū Gesha"SpinMorimotoHa-j4:15
Total length:64:10
DVD: Arashi Best 5 Clips
No.TitleDirectorLength
1."Arashi"Kensuke Kawamura 
2."A Day in Our Life"Kawamura 
3."Kimi no Tame ni Boku ga Iru"  
4."Typhoon Generation"Tetsurō Takeuchi 
5."Tomadoi Nagara"Tetsuo Inoue 

Charts and certifications

Release history

Region Release date Format Label
Japan 21 July 2004
J Storm
Taiwan 24 August 2004 Avex Asia
Hong Kong 8 September 2004

References

  1. ^ "ARASHI / いざッ、Now" (in Japanese). CD Journal. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  2. ^ "嵐/いざッ、Now＜通常盤＞" (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  3. ^ Masaki Aiba (26 June 2004). 嵐・相葉雅紀のレコメン!アラシリミックス [Arashi Aiba Masaki's Recomen! Arashi Remix] (Radio broadcast) (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b 嵐のメンバーが侍の格好をしているPARCOのCM曲は？ (in Japanese). CD Journal. 5 July 2004. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  5. ^ いざッ、Now! Liner Notes (booklet). Arashi. J Storm. 2003. JACA-5014.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "旧譜オリジナル・アルバム（全16タイトル）デジタルリリース決定". Johnny's net (in Japanese). February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "嵐のオリジナルアルバム16作品256曲、明後日デジタル配信スタート". natalie.mu (in Japanese). February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "Biography (Arashi)" (in Japanese). Johnny & Associates. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  9. ^ 2003年09月第3週の邦楽シングルランキング情報 (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  10. ^ "The Record vol.700" (PDF). The Record (in Japanese). 528: 14. November 2003. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  11. ^ ハダシの未来 / 言葉より大切なもの (in Japanese). J Storm. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  12. ^ "STAND UP!! INTRODUCTION". Tokyo Broadcasting System Television. 2003. Archived from the original on 4 July 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  13. ^ 2004年03月第1週の邦楽シングルランキング情報 (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  14. ^ a b 2004年08月第1週の邦楽アルバムランキング情報 (in Japanese). Oricon. August 2004. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  15. ^ a b 嵐、昨年発売のベスト盤を上回る初日27.5万枚でデイリー1位 (in Japanese). Oricon. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  16. ^ a b "The Record vol.700" (PDF). The Record (in Japanese). 538: 14. September 2004. Retrieved 21 September 2018.