Bumblebee (Lead song)

Bumblebee is the twenty-ninth single by Japanese hip-hop group Lead. The single was announced in March and was released on April 25, 2018. The single was their third release post their studio album The Showcase, and released seven months after their previous single Beautiful Day. The single peaked on the Oricon charts at No. 2, becoming their highest ranking single.

"Bumblebee"
Single by Lead
from the album Milestone
B-side	Shizuku ~Sizk~ (CD, Type C) Rosario ~Rosary~ (CD, Type A & B)
Released	April 25, 2018
Recorded	2018
Genre	Pop hip hop
Label	Pony Canyon PCCA-04668 (CD) PCCA-04665 (Type A, CD+DVD) PCCA-04666 (Type B, CD+DVD) PCCA-70526 (Type C, CD+Booklet)
Composer(s)	Drew Ryan Scott Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith Sean Alexander
Lyricist(s)	Akira Kagimoto Shinya Tanuichi (rap)
Lead singles chronology
"Beautiful Day" (2017) "Bumblebee" (2018) "Be the Naked" (2019)

The single was released in four editions: a standard CD, two different CD+DVD editions, and a CD+Booklet edition.

Information

Bumblebee is the twenty-ninth domestic single released by Japanese hip-hop group Lead on April 25, 2018.[1] It debuted at No. 5 on the Oricon Singles Charts[2] and, by the second day, went up in ranking to No. 4.[3] The single jumped again in rank to No. 2, where is stayed for the remainder of the week, giving the single the weekly ranking of No. 4 for its first week.[4] The single was their first release in over six months, with their previous single being Beautiful Day released in August 2017. The single was officially announced via Pony Canyon's official YouTube for Lead on March 30, 2018, with the release of the music video.[5]

The single was released in four editions: a standard CD, two CD+DVD editions with varying content and a version housing the CD and booklet.[6] While the CD and CD+DVD editions house the b-side "Shizuku ~Sizk~" (雫 / Drop), the CD and CD+Booklet editions contain the song "Rosario ~ROZARIO~" (ロザリオ / Rosary).[7][8]

The lyrics to the title track were written by Lead members Shinya Tanuichi and Akira Yamaoka, with Shinya writing the rap portions. The music was written and composed by Drew Ryan Scott, Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith and Sean Alexander. The b-sides "Shizuku ~Sizk~" and "Rosario ~Rosary~" had their lyrics written by Makihashi Shungo (best known by his stage name shungo.). While songwriter PHANTOM worked on both songs, "Shizuku ~Sizk~" was aided by PIUS and 345. "Rosario ~Rosary~" also had the help of Swedish songwriter Erik Lidbom and MUSOH.

Background and composition

"Bumblebee" written by Lead members Shinya Tanuichi and Akira Yamaoka, with Shinya writing the rap portions. The music was written and composed by Drew Ryan Scott, Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith and Sean Alexander. Drew Ryan Scott was the original singer-songwriter for the Los Angeles, California now-disbanded-based boy band After Romeo. Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith is most well known for his work with South Korean girl group Oh My Girl and group Shinee.[9] Sean Alexander has also worked with South Korean groups, such as TVXQ, TWICE and EXO.[10]

The b-sides "Shizuku ~Sizk~" and "Rosario ~Rosary~" had their lyrics written by Makihashi Shungo (best known by his stage name shungo.), who has written songs for Japanese artist Hitomi Shimatani and Lead's original rival group w-inds.[11] While songwriter PHANTOM worked on both songs, as well, "Shizuku ~Sizk~" was aided by PIUS and 345. "Rosario ~Rosary~" also had the help of Swedish songwriter Erik Lidbom, who has primarily worked in the K-Pop genre,[12] and MUSOH.

Track listing

CD

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Bumblebee"	Akira Kagimoto Shinya Tanuichi (rap)	Drew Ryan Scott Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith Sean Alexander	3:31
2.	"Shizuku ~Sizk~" (雫 / Drop)	shungo.	PHANTOM 345 PIUS	3:48
3.	"Rosario ～Rosary～" (ロザリオ)	shungo.	MUSOH PHANTOM Erik Lidbom	3:58

CD (Type A & B)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Bumblebee"	Akira Yamamoto Shinya Tanuichi (rap)	Drew Ryan Scott Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith Sean Alexander	3:31
2.	"Shizuku ~Sizk~" (雫 / Drop)	shungo.	PHANTOM 345 PIUS	3:48

DVD (Type A)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bumblebee" (Music video)	4:00
2.	"Bumblebee" (Behind the Music Video)

DVD (Type B)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bumblebee" (Special Interview)
2.	"Bumblebee" (Behind the Photo-Shooting)

CD+Booklet

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Bumblebee"	Akira Yamamoto Shinya Tanuichi (rap)	Drew Ryan Scott Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith Sean Alexander	3:31
2.	"Rosario ～Rosary～"	shungo.	MUSOH PHANTOM Erik Lidbom	3:58

Charts

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release	Chart	Peak position
April 25, 2018	Oricon Daily Chart	2
	Oricon Weekly Chart	4

References

1. "Lead Official Release Schedule". Lead Official. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
2. "デイリー　シングルランキング2018年04月24日付 (Oricon Singles Rank 2018.04.24)". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved April 26, 2018.
3. "デイリー　シングルランキング2018年04月25日付 (Oricon Singles Rank 2018.04.25)". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved April 26, 2018.
4. "週間　シングルランキング 2018年05月07日付 (Weekly Single Ranking 2018.05.07)". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved May 2, 2018.
5. "Bumblebee / Lead【Music Video】". Lead Official YouTube. March 30, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
6. "Lead : New Single「Bumblebee」4月25日発売決定！【MV公開＆タイアップ決定！】". RISING PRODUCTION (in Japanese). March 30, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
7. "Bumblebee [Type C](First Press Limited Edition)(Japan Version)CD". YesAsia. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
8. "Bumblebee (Normal Edition)(Japan Version)CD". YesAsia. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
9. "Darren 'Baby Dee Beats' Smith Discography". discogs. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
10. "Sean Michael Alexander / AVENUE 52". Sean Alexander Official Tumblr. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
11. "Shungo Discography & Works". discogs. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
12. "K-Pop Producer Spotlight: Erik Lidbom". The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion. May 10, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.

External links

• Lead Official Site