| Koko ni Ita Koto | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Regular Edition cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 8, 2011 (2011-06-08) | |||
| Recorded | 2010–2011 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 69:27 | |||
| Label | You, Be Cool! / King | |||
| Producer | Yasushi Akimoto | |||
| AKB48 chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Koko ni Ita Koto | ||||
| ||||
| Music videos | ||||
| "Ponytail to Chouchou" onYouTube | ||||
| "Heavy Rotation" onYouTube | ||||
| "Beginner" onYouTube | ||||
| "Chance no Junban" onYouTube | ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
_cover.jpg) Limited Edition cover | ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
_cover.jpg) Theater Edition cover | ||||
Koko ni Ita Koto (ここにいたこと, "We Were Here") is the debut studio album (third overall) by theJapanese idol girl groupAKB48.[1][2] "Koko ni Ita Koto" was released in Japan on June 8, 2011, byKing Records. There are three versions available: Limited Edition (catalog number KIZC-90117/8), Regular Edition (KIZC-117/8), and Theater Edition (NKCD-6546).
While all the group's albums had been almost entirely collections of previously released material, "Koko ni Ita Koto" took a different approach. Although it featured four 2010 hits, one theatre stage song, and a theme from an early 2011 movie, the rest were new songs.[3][4]
It met with great commercial success, topping theOricon Weekly Albums Chart[5] and, with just one week of sales, placed second in the list of best selling albums of the first half of 2011 in Japan.[6] In the same month, it was already certified Million by theRecording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of over one million copies.[7] TheIFPI ranked it as the 42nd best-selling album worldwide in 2011.[8]
The upcoming release of the firstAKB48's original album was announced on February 21, 2011. The then-unnamed album would be released on April 6, 2011, and contain the hits "Ponytail to Chouchou", "Heavy Rotation", "Beginner", and "Chance no Junban", the rest being new songs. In addition to a regular edition, there would be a limited edition of the album and a theater edition. The limited edition would contain a 100-page photobook shot by photographerMika Ninagawa, who was the director of theirHeavy Rotation music video, a DVD, lottery entry card to win a special present from the band and also comes with a photo in 14 types, while the regular came with 14 alternate changeable covers featuring them in circus costumes and also the DVD which was featured in limited edition and the theater edition would be a CD-only version coming with 14 alternate changeable covers featuring them in school uniforms, a handshake event ticket and a photo of an AKB48 member chosen at random.[9]
More details were announced at a group's handshake event on March 5, 2011.[10] 11 of 16 songs on the album would be completely new. "Shōjotachi yo", the theme song for AKB48's movieDocumentary of AKB48 to be continued, would also be on the album. On the title track AKB48 would be joined by the sister groupsSKE48,SDN48, andNMB48.[3][4]
Due to the2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the album's release date was pushed back to June 8, 2011.[11] Part of the revenues from it goes to the victims of the disaster.[11] Also, handshakes and photos with the group members, that were planned to be a theater edition bonus, were replaced by the right to choose 5 member photos.
James Hadfield of the Tokyo edition ofTime Out gave the album zero out of five stars, calling it "wrenchingly awful", and compared it "perhaps to hearing Alvin and the Chipmunks play Stevie Wonder's 'Happy Birthday' on repeat for an equivalent length of time while being force-fed candy floss until your stomach splits open. ... It's J-pop that's been infantilised, reduced to the level of kindergarten songs. That half of the tracks are wedded to the same pachinko four-four beat serves merely to make it all the more deadening."[12]
Another review expressed that it's hard to experience the full album since half of the songs are bland to him. However, some of the songs are still highly praised. "Beginner" was described as "freaking cool" and gave ten out of ten stars. "Heavy Rotation" is "perfect pop goodness" and "really awesome", etc.[13] An editor fromSelective Hearing wrote that "the music is also fun to listen to and for me that's what counts the most."[14]
Koko ni Ita Koto was sold in 601,985 copies in its debut week, topping theOricon Weekly Albums Chart.[15] In June 2011, the album was certified Million by theRecording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of over one million copies.[7]
All lyrics are written byYasushi Akimoto
| No. | Title | Music | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shōjotachi yo" (少女たちよ "Girls") | Jun Koami | 4:33 | |
| 2. | "Overtake" | Sho Shibata | Takahashi Team A | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Boku ni Dekiru Koto" (僕にできること "What I Can Do") | SOHO | Akimoto Team K | 4:09 |
| 4. | "Ren'ai Circus" (恋愛サーカス "Love Circus") | Osamu Masaki | Kashiwagi Team B | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Kaze no Yukue" (風の行方 "Direction of the Wind") | Takamitsu Shimazaki | Asuka Kuramochi Rino Sashihara Minami Takahashi Yūko Ōshima Minami Minegishi Yuki Kashiwagi | 5:07 |
| 6. | "Wagamama Collection" (わがままコレクション "Selfish Collection") | Takamitsu Shimazaki | Aika Ōta Ami Maeda Mika Komori Sumire Satō Mayu Watanabe Jurina Matsui | 4:53 |
| 7. | "Ningyo no Vacances" (人魚のバカンス "Mermaid's Vacances") | Okishishi Ueda | Aki Takajō Moeno Nitō Yui Yokoyama Tomomi Kasai Rie Kitahara Amina Satō Yuka Masuda | 4:00 |
| 8. | "Kimi to Boku no Kankei" (君と僕の関係 "My Relationship with You") | DR. OWL, RAY. M | Atsuko Maeda Tomomi Itano | 3:02 |
| 9. | "Iikagen no Susume" (イイカゲンのススメ "Encouragement to Be Irresponsible") | Sho Watanabe | Haruka Katayama Haruna Kojima Mariko Shinoda Sayaka Akimoto Sae Miyazawa Rena Matsui | 4:30 |
| 10. | "High School Days" (High school days) | Takeshi Toriumi | Team Kenkyūsei | 4:36 |
| 11. | "Team B Oshi" (チームB推し "Team B Fan") | Takao Yoshino | Team B | 4:28 |
| 12. | "Chance no Junban" | Hiroko Konishi | 4:19 | |
| 13. | "Beginner" | Yoshimasa Inoue | 3:58 | |
| 14. | "Ponytail to Shushu" | Shinya Tada | 4:29 | |
| 15. | "Heavy Rotation" | Yamazaki | 4:43 | |
| 16. | "Koko ni Ita Koto" (ここにいたこと "We Were Here") | KIS | AKB48 SKE48 SDN48 NMB48 | 4:11 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ponytail to Chouchou" (choreography videos) | 4:29 |
| 2. | "Heavy Rotation" (choreography videos) | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Beginner" (choreography videos) | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Chance no Junban" (choreography videos) | 4:17 |
Weekly charts[edit]
Monthly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[18] | Million | 883,267[17] |
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | June 8, 2011 | King Records (You Be Cool division) | |
| Hong Kong | King Records | ||
| Taiwan | |||
| South Korea | August 3, 2018 |
