Arashi's members are:
相葉雅紀 (Aiba Masaki)
松本潤 (Matsumoto Jun)
二宮和也 (Ninomiya Kazunari)
大野智 (Ohno Satoshi)
櫻井翔 (Sakurai Sho)
Over the years the members have grown in popularity - both individually and as a group, leaving behind a string of successful TV shows, dramas and stageplays as well as their music.
In 2008, they had a extremely successful year with the group achieving the Top 2 spots on the Oricon Yearly charts with truth/Kaze no Mukou e and One Love. Apart from that, they were the 3rd artist from Johnny's to hold concerts at 5 major domes in Japan and also, the 3rd artist to perform at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.
On December 18, 2009, Oricon announced that Arashi topped the annual singles, albums and music DVD rankings for 2009 in Japan. All of the group's 2009 singles ranked within the top five placings on the Oricon singles charts: Believe/Kumorinochi, Kaisei at number one, Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon: Kimi wa Muteki at number two, My Girl at number three and Everything at number five.
With monopolization of the top three spots on the singles chart, Arashi became the first artist in twenty-one years and the third artist in history - after Pink Lady in 1978 and Hikaru Genji in 1988 - to do so.
Furthermore, the group became the first artist in history to monopolize the top two spots on the singles charts for two consecutive years and to have four releases in the top five.
Their compilation album, "All the Best! 1999-2009", became the best-selling album of 2009 in Japan by selling over 1.43 million copies, making it the first time the group has topped annual album charts.
As for their music video collection DVD - 5x10 All the Best! Clips 1999-2009 and live concert DVD - Arashi Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo, both claimed the number one and two spots on the annual music DVD charts respectively, making it the first time they have also topped annual music DVD charts.
Due to their high sales for 2009, Oricon declared Arashi the best-selling artist of the year and awarded them the "Artist Top Sales" (ATS) award with 14.46 billion Japanese yen (approx. US$161.25792 million) worth of total sales in the singles, album, music DVD and music Blu-ray categories.
As a result of having dominated three separate charts and emerge as the best-selling artist of the year, the group became the first artist in the forty-two years of Oricon's history to have such a record in the same year.
Dear my friend
嵐 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh yeah
見上げたら 二つの雲が重なってはまた離れてく
Alright
本当は誰もが知ってるはずさ
ひとりきりの不安を
白い靴はもう汚れているけど
たどり着くのだろう oh oh oh
踏み出す一歩が
かけがえのないものに変わる
つまずいたって (いつだって)
駆け出したくて (今だって)
立ち上がれるんだよ
普通の景色が
いとおしくなるほど眩しくて
この先ずっと (照れくさくて)
変わらずもっと (信じたくて)
伝えたい dear my friend
道の無い道を歩いてゆくのさ
だって明日が来る oh yeah (yeah yeah)
悔しさの涙も虹に変わるよ
いつか雨は止む alright
本当の意味なら消えないはずさ
この地球に生まれて
巡る季節はまた過ぎてくから
この先何年経ったって忘れない今を oh oh oh
つながってるなら
たぐり寄せることがあれば
思い返して (誰だって)
笑い飛ばして (そうやって)
上を向けるんだよ
旅路にバッグはない
留まらないまま行くから
言葉じゃなくて (ただちょっと)
ふざけ合って (今そっと)
伝えたい dear my friend (alright) yeah yeah
踏み出す一歩が
かけがえのないものに変わる
つまずいたって (いつだって)
駆け出したくて (今だって)
立ち上がれるんだよ
普通の景色が
いとおしくなるほど眩しくて
この先ずっと (照れくさくて)
変わらずもっと (信じたくて)
伝えたい dear my friend
伝えたい dear my friend
伝えたい dear my friend
The lyrics of 嵐's song Dear My Friend describe the journey of life that everyone takes, with its ups and downs, and the importance of having friends to share it with. The singer talks about searching for an exit in life even though there was no entrance, representing the confusion that often comes with growing up. The blue sky represents hope, and the clouds that come together and then part again represent the unpredictable nature of life. The singer acknowledges that everyone feels alone and unsure at times, but that they should not lose hope. The white shoes that have become dirty symbolize the challenges that one encounters in life, but there is still hope for the future. The singer encourages listeners to take that first step in life, even if it leads to stumbles, because they will eventually find their way. The regular scenery becomes more precious because they have friends to share them with. The singer concludes by saying that they want to continue to cherish their friends, because they are the ones lighting up their journey.
One interesting fact about 嵐's song Dear My Friend is that it was written by the famous Japanese musician Yojiro Noda, who is the lead vocalist of Radwimps. Radwimps is a famous Japanese rock band that has written and composed many hit anime theme songs. Another interesting fact is that the song was originally intended to be the theme song for a Japanese movie, but it was later decided that it would be released as a song from 嵐 instead. The album that contains Dear My Friend was so popular that it sold over 3 million copies in Japan alone. The music video for the song shows the members of 嵐 walking and running in scenic locations, reflecting the message of the song. Additionally, Dear My Friend has been covered by many different musicians, including a popular a cappella group in Japan called O-matsuri Daiko. The song has also been used in many different TV dramas and commercials, making it a timeless and iconic hit.
Chords:
Verse: Bbm Ab Eb Fm
Chorus: Ab Eb Fm Db Ab Eb Bbm Eb
Line by Line Meaning
入り口も無いのに 出口を探していたのは青い空
The blue sky looked for an exit even though there was no entrance.
見上げたら 二つの雲が重なってはまた離れてく
When I looked up, two clouds overlapped and then drifted apart again.
本当は誰もが知ってるはずさ
ひとりきりの不安を
白い靴はもう汚れているけど
この先どんな未来に
たどり着くのだろう oh oh oh
Everyone should know that feeling of loneliness and anxiety. Even though my white shoes are dirty now, I wonder what kind of future lies ahead of me.
踏み出す一歩が
かけがえのないものに変わる
つまずいたって (いつだって)
駆け出したくて (今だって)
立ち上がれるんだよ
Each step I take becomes irreplaceable, and even if I stumble, I still want to run forward and stand up again.
普通の景色が
いとおしくなるほど眩しくて
この先ずっと (照れくさくて)
変わらずもっと (信じたくて)
伝えたい dear my friend
The ordinary scenery becomes so precious that it blinds me. I want to tell my dear friend that I'm a little embarrassed, but I still believe in them and want them around forever.
道の無い道を歩いてゆくのさ
だって明日が来る oh yeah (yeah yeah)
悔しさの涙も虹に変わるよ
いつか雨は止む alright
I walk down a road with no clear direction, but tomorrow is always coming, and even the tears of regret can turn into rainbows eventually. The rain will stop someday, and everything will be alright.
本当の意味なら消えないはずさ
この地球に生まれて
巡る季節はまた過ぎてくから
この先何年経ったって忘れない今を oh oh oh
If something has true meaning, it will never disappear. We're born on this planet, and the seasons keep changing. But no matter how many years go by, we won't forget the present moment.
つながってるなら
たぐり寄せることがあれば
思い返して (誰だって)
笑い飛ばして (そうやって)
上を向けるんだよ
If we're connected, we can always pull each other closer. We can look back on our memories and laugh, no matter who we are. And we can always keep looking up.
旅路にバッグはない
留まらないまま行くから
言葉じゃなくて (ただちょっと)
ふざけ合って (今そっと)
伝えたい dear my friend (alright) yeah yeah
I don't have a bag for this journey, and I can't stay in one place. So instead of speaking, let's just play around a little and express how much I cherish my friend. Alright, yeah yeah.
伝えたい dear my friend
伝えたい dear my friend
伝えたい dear my friend
I want to tell my dear friend how much they mean to me, how much I value their presence in my life.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Junjiro Seki, Takashi Ogawa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind