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I Wanna Be Your Ghost

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"I Wanna Be Your Ghost"
The single's cover. It features a real shot of a Japanese seaside city centered by a pylon, scattered with illustrated ghosts similar to the ones in the song's music video.
Single by Gen Hoshino
LanguageJapanese
ReleasedJuly 18, 2022 (2022-07-18)
GenreAlternative rock[1]
Length3:45
LabelSpeedstar
Songwriter(s)Gen Hoshino
Producer(s)Gen Hoshino
Gen Hoshino singles chronology
"Comedy"
(2022) 		"I Wanna Be Your Ghost"
(2022) 		"Why" / "Life"
(2023)
Music video
"I Wanna Be Your Ghost" (feat. Ghosts) on YouTube

"I Wanna Be Your Ghost" (Japanese: 異世界混合大舞踏会, Hepburn: Isekai Kongō Dai-butōkai, lit. "Grand Stage of Different Worlds")[a] (Japanese pronunciation: [isekai koꜜŋgoː daibɯtoꜜːkai]) is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter and musician Gen Hoshino. Written and produced by Hoshino as the main theme to the 2022 live-action film Yokaipedia  [ja], the song was released as a digital-exclusive single through Speedstar Records on July 18, 2022.

Background and composition

"I Wanna Be Your Ghost" was written and produced by Gen Hoshino as the main theme to the film Yokaipedia  [ja] (2022), a live-action adaptation of a children's books series published by Kodansha. 3 minutes and 45 seconds-long, "I Wanna Be Your Ghost" is an alternative rock song[1] that opens with a poppy melody and lyrically expresses an overlap in the worlds of humans and ghosts. In the chorus, the song uses the word うらめしや (urameshiya, roughly "rueful"), a Japanese word used to signify the appearance of ghosts. Backing Hoshino's vocals, it features electric instrumentation such as a variety of branded synthesizers, electric guitar and bass, theremin, Rhodes piano, and Clavinet.[2][3]

Approached by the film team for a theme to "illustrate the [fantasy] world that kids play in" and appeal to a wide audience, Hoshino wanted to create a song to "break barriers of different worlds" and allow humans and ghosts to dance together. He co-arranged and programmed the track with musician Mabanua, and sang on the background vocals with guitarist Ryosuke Nagaoka and Yokaipedia voice actors Rie Kugimiya (Book Boy), Hiro Shimono (Ittan-momen), and Tomokazu Sugita (Yamabiko); the voice actors were added to the chorus after they visited Hoshino during production, and are credited under their character names. Recording was headed by Mabanua, Shojiro Watanabe, and Shu Saida, with Watanabe also named for mixing and Takahiro Uchida credited with mastering.[2][3]

Promotion and release

On May 25, 2022, it was announced that Hoshino had written the main theme song for Yokaipedia, titled "I Wanna Be Your Ghost". The announcement was accompanied by a "main theme trailer", showcasing the song over snippets from the film.[2] On July 13, the song was announced for release as a digital single alongside a teaser to the song's music video, featuring an animated ghost dancing.[4] Cover art and visuals were unveiled two days later, showing illustrations mixed into real pictures.[5] Yokaipedia would mark the first shared appearance by Hoshino with his wife Yui Aragaki since their marriage in 2021.[6]

The "I Wanna Be Your Ghost" single was released by the Victor Entertainment label Speedstar Records on July 18, 2022,[7] five days before the film's premiere on July 22.[4] The music video was announced for live premiere the same day at 0:00 JST.[5] The video was produced by the then-newly opened animation studio Outline, led by director Yūki Igarashi [ja]. The video features a boy dancing with ghosts, 2D animated with "simple lines and colors", according to industry publication Animation Business.[8] On July 22, Hoshino announced that Rie Kugimiya, Hiro Shimono, Tomokazu Sugita – the film voice actors featured in the song's background vocals – would guest appear on his radio program on All Night Nippon.[9] Hoshino gave a debut performance of "I Wanna Be Your Ghost" in August 2022, appearing as a featured artist on Spotify's Go Stream video series.[10] In December, Hoshino revealed that he would sing the song alongside "Comedy" (2022) during his timeslot at the 2022 Count Down TV Christmas special.[11]

Commercial performance

The song peaked at No. 26 on the Oricon Combined Singles Chart and took No. 6 on Billboard Japan's Hot 100.[12][13]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Hoshino's website.[3]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "I Wanna Be Your Ghost" (2022)
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Japanese Combined Singles (Oricon)[12] 26
Japan (Billboard Japan Hot 100)[13] 6

Notes

  1. ^ Officially titled with "(feat. Ghosts)" in English and "(feat. おばけ)" (Obake) in Japanese.

References

  1. ^ a b "I Wanna Be Your Ghost (feat. Ghosts) - Single by Gen Hoshino". Apple Music. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "星野源"人間もおばけも踊る"新曲完成 新垣結衣&神木隆之介ら出演の実写映画『おばけずかん』主題歌に決定" [Both Humans and Ghosts Dance in New Gen Hoshino Song, Theme Song to Live-Action Yokaipedia Film Starring Yui Aragaki and Ryunosuke Kamiki]. Oricon. May 25, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "I Wanna Be Your Ghost (feat. Ghosts)". Amuse Inc. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "星野源、映画『ゴーストブック おばけずかん』主題歌"異世界混合大舞踏会 (feat. おばけ)"7月18日配信リリース決定。おばけが踊るティーザー映像も公開" [Gen Hoshino Announces Yokaipedia Theme Song "I Wanna Be Your Ghost" for Digital Release on July 18, and Unveils Teaser Video with Dancing Ghost] (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. July 13, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "星野源の新曲「異世界混合大舞踏会（feat. おばけ）」リリースと同時にMVを公開" [Gen Hoshino to Premiere Music Video for New Song "I Wanna Be Your Ghost" on Release Day]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). July 15, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  6. ^ "星野源が新垣結衣出演映画「GHOSTBOOK　おばけずかん」主題歌書き下ろしで初"夫婦共演"" [Gen Hoshino and Yui Aragaki to Make First Married Appearance in Yokaipedia]. Nikkan Sports. May 25, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  7. ^ "星野 源 - 異世界混合大舞踏会 (feat. おばけ)" [Gen Hoshino - I Wanna Be Your Ghost (feat. Ghosts)] (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Sudo, Tadashi (July 20, 2022). "「OUTLINE」が本格始動、ツインエンジングループの新アニメスタジオ" [New Twin Engine Group Animation Studio Outline Launches Full-Scale]. Animation Business (in Japanese). Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "7月26日放送「星野源のオールナイトニッポン」、ゲストに映画『ゴーストブック おばけずかん』おばけ役の釘宮理恵、下野紘、杉田智和が登場" [Yokaipedia Voice Actors Rie Kugimiya, Hiro Shimono, Tomokazu Sugita to Feature on July 26 Broadcast of Gen Hoshino's All Night Nippon] (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. July 22, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  10. ^ "星野源、Spotifyビデオシングルシリーズ『Go Stream』にて撮り下ろしのパフォーマンスを披露" [Gen Hoshino Performs for Spotify's Go Stream Video Single Series]. Rockin'On Japan (in Japanese). September 16, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "今夜「CDTVライブ！クリスマスSP」タイムテーブル公開" [Time Table Revealed for Tonight's CDTV Live! Christmas Special]. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). December 19, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "週間合算シングル50 - 2022/08/01付" [Weekly Top 50 Combined Singles - 2022/08/01] (in Japanese). Oricon. August 1, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024 – via the You Taiju service.
  13. ^ a b "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). July 27, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
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