"Iiwake Maybe" (言い訳Maybe, "An Excuse, Maybe") is the 13th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on August 26, 2009.[1] It was the first AKB48's single which participating members were chosen by election. The single surprisingly outsold SMAP on its first day, taking the 1st place in the daily chart,[2] but eventually placed 2nd in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.[3] Their sister groups JKT48, MNL48, AKB48 Team SH and BNK48 made their own version.
| "Iiwake Maybe" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Regular Edition cover | ||||
| Single by AKB48 | ||||
| from the album Kamikyokutachi | ||||
| B-side | "Tobenai Agehachō" | |||
| Released | August 26, 2009 (Japan) | |||
| Genre | J-pop | |||
| Length | 4:09 | |||
| Label | You, Be Cool! / King | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Yasushi Akimoto, Shunryū | |||
| Producer(s) | Yasushi Akimoto | |||
| AKB48 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music videos | ||||
| Iiwake Maybe on YouTube | ||||
| Tobenai Agehachō on YouTube | ||||
Track listing
editThe single was released in two versions: Regular Edition (通常盤) (CD+DVD, catalog number KIZM-37/8) and Theater Edition (劇場盤) (CD only, catalog number NMAX-1086).
Regular Edition
edit- CD
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Iiwake Maybe" (言い訳Maybe) | Yasushi Akimoto, Shunryū | 4:09 |
| 2. | "Tobenai Agehachō" (飛べないアゲハチョウ) | Yasushi Akimoto, Yoshimasa Inoue | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Iiwake Maybe (off vocal ver.)" | Akimoto, Shunryū | |
| 4. | "Tobenai Agehachō (off vocal ver.)" | Akimoto, Inoue | |
| Total length: | 15:49 | ||
- DVD
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Iiwake Maybe (music video)" (「言い訳Maybe」ビデオクリップ) | |
| 2. | "Tobenai Agehachō (music video)" (「飛べないアゲハチョウ」ビデオクリップ) | |
| 3. | "AKB48 General Election documentary" (AKB48総選挙ドキュメント) |
Bonus (First press limited edition only)
- Handshake event ticket
Theater Edition
edit- CD
See Regular Edition CD
Members
editParticipating members were chosen by election.[4] Top 21 members sang the A-side "Iiwake Maybe". Those, who were voted 22nd to 30th, sang the B-side "Tobenai Agehachō" under the name of Under Girls.
"Iiwake Maybe"
edit- Atsuko Maeda (Team A) (4630 votes)
- Yūko Ōshima (Team K) (3345)
- Mariko Shinoda (Team A) (2852)
- Mayu Watanabe (Team B) (2625)
- Minami Takahashi (Team A) (2614)
- Haruna Kojima (Team A) (2543)
- Tomomi Itano (Team A) (2281)
- Amina Satō (Team A) (2117)
- Yuki Kashiwagi (Team B) (1920)
- Tomomi Kasai (Team K) (1890)
- Erena Ono (Team K) (1838)
- Sayaka Akimoto (Team K) (1599)
- Rie Kitahara (Team A) (1578)
- Sae Miyazawa (Team K) (1547)
- Yukari Satō (Team A) (1539)
- Minami Minegishi (Team A) (1414)
- Kazumi Urano (Team B) (1395)
- Miho Miyazaki (Team A) (1373)
- Jurina Matsui (SKE48) (1371)
- Aika Ōta (Team B) (1365)
- Asuka Kuramochi (Team K) (1355)
"Tobenai Agehachō"
edit- Under Girls
- Rumi Yonezawa (Team B) (1352)
- Aki Takajō (Team A) (1322)
- Megumi Ohori (Team K) (1316)
- Yuka Masuda (Team K) (1247)
- Natsumi Hirajima (Team B) (1216)
- Rino Sashihara (Team B) (1170)
- Haruka Katayama (Team B) (1089)
- Rena Matsui (SKE48) (1073)
- Natsumi Matsubara (Team K) (1050)
Charts
edit| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japan (Oricon Weekly Singles Chart) | 2 |
| Japan (Japan Hot 100)[5] | 2 |
| Japan (RIAJ Digital Track Chart) | 11 |
Sales and certifications
edit| Chart | Amount |
|---|---|
| Oricon physical sales | 145,776 |
| RIAJ full-length cellphone downloads | Platinum (250,000+) |
References
edit- ^ "KING RECORDS OFFICIAL SITE 言い訳Maybe（マキシ＋DVD複合） 音楽" (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ "止めたAKB48、再開したモー娘。"政権交代"が進むアイドル界の「握手会狂想曲」" (in Japanese). Excite Japan Co., Ltd. 2009-09-19. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ 言い訳Maybe/AKB48 (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ ""AKB48選抜総選挙"開票！ トップ当選の前田敦子「AKBに人生捧げる！」" (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ "AKB48 Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard.