| "Eyes on Me" | |
|---|---|
 "Eyes on Me" CD single cover | |
| Single byFaye Wong | |
| from the albumSing and Play | |
| B-side | "Red Beans" |
| Released | February 24, 1999 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Label | Toshiba-EMI |
| Composer | Nobuo Uematsu |
| Lyricist | Kako Someya |
"Eyes on Me" is a song by Chinese recording artistFaye Wong as a lovetheme for the video gameFinal Fantasy VIII. It was released on February 24, 1999, as the firstFinal Fantasy pop ballad. The song was composed byNobuo Uematsu withEnglish lyrics written by Kako Someya.
The song was released as aCD single in Japan on February 24, 1999. The B-side was a ballad, "Red Bean" (simplified Chinese:红豆;traditional Chinese:紅豆;pinyin:hóng dòu), composed by Jim Lau with Mandarin lyrics byLin Xi. The Japanese title for it was "Akashia no Mi" (アカシアの実,"Acacia Seeds"). It had been included in Faye Wong's 1998 albumSing and Play, along with a Cantonese version "Repayment" (simplified Chinese:偿还;traditional Chinese:償還;Jyutping:seung4 waan4), and was popular in its own right. "Eyes on Me" was re-released on a 18 cm vinyl record on November 3, 2017.[1]
"Eyes on Me" was composed byNobuo Uematsu withEnglish lyrics by Kako Someya.[2] It was the first pop ballad song in theFinal Fantasy series.[3] It was performed by singer Faye Wong.[3] The main theme ofFinal Fantasy VIII was used for the song's melody.[3]
Square Enix Music Online writer Dave felt "Eyes on Me" was both "overhyped and overcriticized" since it was "ultimately a replica". He called it "enjoyable, fitting, [and] beautiful", though also "unremarkable".[3] In 2020, Lisa Cam of theSouth China Morning Post listed the song as one of Faye's best, noting it had been a "matter of national pride" that she had performed the end theme for "arguably one of the most popular RPGs of the 1990s".[4]
Upon the song's release in Japan, it placed number one on the Oricon Western Singles Chart for 19 consecutive weeks, and generated lifetime sales of over 500,000 copies,[5][6] placing it as the best-sellingvideo game music disc ever released in Japan until the release of "Hikari" byUtada Hikaru forKingdom Hearts.[7] In 2000, it was the first song invideo game history to win an award at the 14th AnnualJapan Gold Disc Awards, where it won "Song of the Year (Western Music)".[8][9][10]
The song was popular among the video game community in theWestern world, and brought Faye Wong to the attention of many who were not previously familiar with her music.[11] In 2017, Brian Ashcraft fromKotaku described "Eyes on Me" as one of the mosticonic songs of theFinal Fantasy franchise, as well as one of the most commercially successful singles associated with the video game industry.[1]
Near the end of the production ofFinal Fantasy VII, the developers suggested to use a singer, but abandoned the idea due to a lack of reasoning based on the game's theme and storyline.[12] However, Nobuo Uematsu thought that aballad would closely relate to the theme and characters ofFinal Fantasy VIII. This resulted in the game's developers sharing "countless" artists, ultimately deciding on Faye Wong, a Chinese vocalist. Uematsu claims "her voice and mood seem to match my image of the song exactly", and that her non-Japanese nationality "fits the international image of Final Fantasy". After negotiations were made, "Eyes on Me" was recorded inHong Kong with anorchestra.[13]IGN claimed that she was reportedly paid $1 million US dollars for her work.[14]
The lyrics, written in imperfect English,[15] unveil the hopes of a night club singer for romance with a member of her audience. WithinFinal Fantasy VIII, the song is written byJulia Heartilly, a pianist who is a love interest ofLaguna Loire.[16] It is heard repeatedly throughout the game in various incarnations as an instrumental piece, including a version entitledJulia. Its full version is heard during a pivotal moment between Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly—the main protagonists—on board theRagnarok. An orchestrated version of the theme plays once more during the game's ending.
Ahappy hardcore remix was recorded for the 2000Dancemania compilationSpeed 4,[17] and on theDancemania Speed Best 2001 of theDancemania Speed series.[18] There is anotherdance remix of the song made byAlmighty, later included on the Japanese release of Wong's 2000 albumFable,Dancemania X5,[19] and Dancemania Diamond Complete Edition (Millennium Hits Collection).[20]
In 2004, a Japanese version sung by Manami Kiyota titled "Summer Album" (夏のアルバム,"Natsu no Arubamu") with lyrics byKazushige Nojima was included onFinal Fantasy Song Book: Mahoroba.[21] The original song was also covered byAngela Aki for release on her 2006 single "Kokoro no Senshi", with minor grammatical changes.[22] In anExcite Japan interview, Aki said Uematsu had told her that her version 'shed light on "Eyes on Me"'.[23] Covers byKanon[citation needed] and Susan Calloway were also created.[citation needed] The singerMayBee covered aKorean language version of the song.[citation needed]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eyes on Me" | 5:36 |
| 2. | "Red Beans" | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Eyes on Me (Instrumental)" | 5:42 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[26] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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