Arikitari na Onna

"Arikitari na Onna" (ありきたりな女, "An Ordinary Woman"), also known by its French title "Une femme ordinaire",[1] is a song by Japanese musician Ringo Sheena. It was the leading promotional song for her fifth album Hi Izuru Tokoro on October 1, 2014.[2]

"Arikitari na Onna"
Promotional single by Ringo Sheena
from the album Hi Izuru Tokoro
Released	October 1, 2014
Recorded	2014
Genre	Pop
Length	4:18
Label	EMI Records Japan
Songwriter(s)	Ringo Sheena
Producer(s)	Ringo Sheena

Background and development

In 2011, Sheena's band Tokyo Jihen made the mutual decision to split up, and in 2012 released an extended play called Color Bars, and performed a farewell tour Bon Voyage. After the tour had finished, Sheena released a digital single "Jiyū e Michizure", the theme song for the drama Ataru.[3] In 2013, Sheena began a year of celebration for the 15th anniversary since her debut. This began with the single "Irohanihoheto" / "Kodoku no Akatsuki" in May, two albums released on November 13, 2013: Ukina, a collaboration compilation album and Mitsugetsu-shō, a live compilation album, and ended with Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku, a self-cover album of songs Sheena had written for other musicians.[4]

After the production of Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku, Sheena was asked by Japanese broadcaster NHK to create a song for their soccer broadcasts in 2014, beginning with the 2014 FIFA World Cup. After being asked in March, Sheena quickly wrote and recorded the song at the start of April.[5][6] This song, "Nippon", was released as a single in June, and was commercially successful, becoming certified gold for digital downloads by the RIAJ.[7][8]

Promotion and release

The song was released as a digital download on October 1, a month before the release of Hi Izuru Tokoro.[2] On October 24, Sheena performed "Arikitari na Onna" at Music Station.[9]

Music video

A music video was created for the song, directed by Yuichi Kodama and first unveiled on October 10, 2014.[10][11] The video was shot in an early Western building in Yokohama, on September 17, with dancers from Idevian Crew.[12]

It features two versions of Sheena, one in a blue dress in a white house, and another upon a stage. The first Sheena sits at a chair as the entire room begins to tilt to the left. As she hits the floor, the second version of Sheena falls out of a box onto the stage of an empty theatre, where she gives a dramatic reading of the song. The video switches between the two Sheenas, with the Sheena in the house performing odd actions, such as removing many convenience store crème caramels onto a plate, and using cellphones as dominoes. From outside the window of her house, there are dancers in orange dresses. They enter the house to dance alongside Sheena, and also appear on stage with the other version of Sheena. Interspersed with these scenes are images of the song's lyrics printed in a book, being read, as well as an image of Sheena sitting in a garden, being offered four different types of foods by hands outside of the camera angle. The video ends with Sheena choosing the carrot out of these four different foods.

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from Hi Izuru Tokoro's liner notes booklet.[13]

Performers and musicians

• Yukio Nagoshi – guitar
• Ringo Sheena – vocals
• Yoshiaki Sato – piano
• Tom Tamada – drums
• Hiroo Yamaguchi – bass guitar

Technical and production

• Ringo Sheena – arrangement, songwriting

Chart rankings

Charts (2014)	Peak position
Japan Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay[14]	29
Japan Billboard Japan Hot 100[15]	46

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Distributing Label
Japan	October 1, 2014 (2014-10-01)[2]	Digital download	EMI Records Japan (Virgin Records)
South Korea	October 22, 2014 (2014-10-22)[16]	Digital download	Universal

References

1. "Sunny / SHEENA RINGO". Kronekodow. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
2. "椎名林檎、5年半ぶりオリジナルアルバム発売" [Ringo Sheena releases first live album in five years]. Natalie. September 19, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
3. 椎名林檎、中居主演ドラマに主題歌「自由へ道連れ」提供 (in Japanese). Natalie. 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
4. "椎名林檎「浮き名」「蜜月抄」特集" [Ringo Sheena special feature: Ukina and Mitsugetsu-shō]. Natalie. November 13, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
5. "サッカーテーマの新曲完成!ニューシングル「NIPPON」6月11日発売!" [Soccer theme completed! New single "Nippon" released on June 11!] (in Japanese). Universal. May 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
6. "サッカーテーマ曲「ＮＩＰＰＯＮ」をリリースした椎名林檎。 日本代表の初戦前日、14年ぶりにTOKYO FM渋谷スペイン坂スタジオに生登場！制作秘話や日本代表・長友選手とのエピソードを披露!!". PR Times (in Japanese). MSN. June 15, 2014. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
7. "NHKサッカーテーマの新曲「ＮＩＰＰＯＮ」本日よりシングル先行配信リリース！" [NHK soccer theme "Nippon" early release today digitally!]. Universal. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
8. レコード協会調べ　7月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: July Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
9. "来週Mステに電気、林檎、VAMPS、娘。ら7組" (in Japanese). Natalie. October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
10. "椎名林檎、新曲「ありきたりな女」MV公開" (in Japanese). Barks. October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
11. ありきたりな女 (in Japanese). Space Shower. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
12. Uchida, Masaki (October 20, 2014). "Document: Recording / Photo Shooting / Movie Shooting / Live". Switch (in Japanese). Tokyo: Switch Publishing. 32 (11): 44–55. ISBN 4884183622.
13. Hi Izuru Tokoro (Media notes) (in Japanese). Ringo Sheena. Tokyo, Japan: Universal Music Japan. 2015.CS1 maint: others (link)
14. "Adult Contemporary Airplay". Billboard (in Japanese). October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
15. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
16. "Arikitarino Onna" (in Korean). Bugs. Retrieved November 5, 2014.