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.
Once Again
嵐 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
漕ぎ出せ 胸に想い刻み込んで
つかみ取れるさ 手を伸ばせば まだ
忘れていた 夢がそこにある
僕らずっと飛べなくて 空見上げ眺めてた
何にも出来ず当てもなく ただ探し続けたあの頃
眠れない夜 重ねていたんだ
怯えた今日の向こう側へ
辿り着ける日が来るきっと
もう一度 僕らは今 動き出した未来へ
漕ぎ出せ 胸に想い刻み込んで
つかみ取れるさ 手を伸ばせば まだ
忘れていた 夢がそこにある
確かなモノ見えなくて 問いかけてた every night
周りも見えずに突き進み 夢中で駆け抜けたあの頃
降り出した雨に消された声を
胸に刻み忘れないように
沸き起こる想いと共に
君に届く日が来る きっと
もう一度 僕らは今 駆け抜けてく未来へ
描いた 夢はきっと思いのまま
諦めるな 悔やむくらいなら もう
信じてきた 明日はそこにある
見失いかけてた
'願いかけ 描いた夢'の先へと once again
あの頃抱く不安だって
無駄になんてなんない 待ってたって だって
より高く飛ぶために低くしゃがむ事だって僕らには必要
だからどうかいま chanceを once again
そう何度何度も again and again (again)
もう一度 僕らは今 動き出した未来へ
漕ぎ出せ 胸に想い刻み込んで
つかみ取れるさ 手を伸ばせば まだ
忘れていた 夢がそこにある
Stand up! 僕らは今 駆け抜けてく未来へ
描いた 夢はきっと思いのまま
諦めるな 悔やむくらいなら もう
信じてきた 明日はそこにある
嵐's song "Once Again" is a hopeful and inspiring tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. The lyrics sing of the power of holding onto forgotten dreams and allowing them to become a driving force towards a new future. The song acknowledges that at times it can be challenging to move forward, and one may feel stuck in life, but the song reminds us that this is just another obstacle to overcome, and with every effort, one can advance on their journey.
The opening stanza of the song begins with the hopeful phrase "Once again, we are starting to move towards the future." Here the band is encouraging listeners to keep pushing ahead, let go of self-doubt, and keep pursuing their goals. The lyrics then exhorts us to carve our thoughts into our hearts, envision a new dawn, and capture our dreams to make them real.
The second and third stanzas of the song reminisce about the band's youth, where they were consumed by their ambitions and faced challenges along the way. The chorus of the song is a reminder that one should never give up on their dreams and instead hold them dear and chase them relentlessly. The song ends with a powerful call to action to stand up and sprint towards the future.
Overall, the song is an inspirational anthem to motivate listeners to take risks and explore a world of new possibilities.
Line by Line Meaning
もう一度 僕らは今 動き出した未来へ
Let's move towards the future we started again
漕ぎ出せ 胸に想い刻み込んで
Row ahead with our hearts engraved with our feelings
つかみ取れるさ 手を伸ばせば まだ
If we reach out, we can still grasp it
忘れていた 夢がそこにある
The dream we forgot is right there
僕らずっと飛べなくて 空見上げ眺めてた
We couldn't fly all along, just gazing up at the sky
何にも出来ず当てもなく ただ探し続けたあの頃
We couldn't do anything and searched aimlessly back then
途方に暮れた時間だけ過ぎて
Only time lost in despair has passed
眠れない夜 重ねていたんだ
We piled up sleepless nights
怯えた今日の向こう側へ
Towards the fearful future
辿り着ける日が来るきっと
Surely the day will come when we'll make it there
確かなモノ見えなくて 問いかけてた every night
We questioned things we couldn't see night after night
周りも見えずに突き進み 夢中で駆け抜けたあの頃
We charged ahead into the unknown, wholeheartedly chasing our dreams
降り出した雨に消された声を
The voice that was drowned out by the pouring rain
胸に刻み忘れないように
Let's engrave it in our hearts so we don't forget
沸き起こる想いと共に
Together with our overflowing emotions
君に届く日が来る きっと
The day when our feelings reach you will surely come
駆け抜けてく未来へ 描いた 夢はきっと思いのまま
Towards the future we'll run through, the dream we painted will surely come true
諦めるな 悔やむくらいなら もう
Don't give up, it's better to have tried and failed than to regret not doing it at all
信じてきた 明日はそこにある
The tomorrow we believed in is right there
見失いかけてた '願いかけ 描いた夢'の先へと once again
Once again, we head toward the future of our 'wishes and dreams' that we almost lost sight of
あの頃抱く不安だって
Even the anxiety we carried back then
無駄になんてなんない 待ってたって だって
It won't be wasted, even if we waited
より高く飛ぶために低くしゃがむ事だって僕らには必要
In order to fly higher, it's necessary for us to crouch lower
だからどうかいま chanceを once again
So please, let's give it another chance now
そう何度何度も again and again (again)
Yes, again and again, many times (again)
Stand up! 僕らは今 駆け抜けてく未来へ
Stand up! Let's run towards the future
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Wonderland, Sho Sakurai, Alfred Tuohey, Thanh Bui
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind