Morning Musume - AS FOR ONE DAY

AS FOR ONE DAY was the 18th single released by Morning Musume and featured members from the first five generations (except the third), thereby creating a rather nice mix of industry experience and providing a pretty good summary of the group's movement thus far. The single marked the graduation of Yasuda Kei and not surprisingly for the ever-popular group, reached #1 on the Oricon.

AS FOR ONE DAY starts with a monologue read by Kago Ai, after which it bursts into life with a cheerful, relaxed yet detailed arrangement laced with traditional instruments. Ishikawa Rika introduces us to the melody, her incredibly soft voice setting a good contrast to the crisp jingly background. Being one of the senior members she gets the first two lines to herself and is followed by the more confident Yaguchi Mari. It is interesting to note that when Rika and Mari return together to finish off the first chorus, they are joined by Takahashi Ai, who at the time was at the bottom of the "food chain" as she was a new member. The second verse is completed by Yoshizawa Hitomi and Niigaki Risa, the latter’s line being especially memorable thanks to her strong voice, which successfully manages to push Mari’s verse out of the spotlight. For the next chorus Kago Ai returns in full swing along with Kei – who sadly, just can’t keep up. The instrumental that follows is vibrant with different melodies and sounds. The vocalised melody itself is of little importance when considering the number of singers involved. The focus is on the changes in vocals, and it can be hard to consider the melody as a lone entity.

Never Forget (Rock Ver.) may have been written with Kei in mind, heralding her departure from Morning Musume. Having been neglected during AS FOR ONE DAY, Kei has her final moment to shine. The track opens on a notorious theme – the rebellious guitar-playing female music genre that has since matured. Behind this, however, is the ever-present cheery factor and as Kei begins to sing it becomes apparent that this song will be a memoir of her time in Morning Musume. It is easy to see why she was neglected in the previous song - her voice is pleasant but lacking the “X” factor and sounds reserved in character. In spite of this, Kei proves she can carry a tune well and ensures that the melody is easy on the ears, but she does have some way to go if she ever wishes to be a successful soloist. The instrumental and subsequent “la’s” add to the feeling of a finale.

The great thing about AS FOR ONE DAY is that for the most part, it succeeds in bringing difference and fun to the forefront, leaving the not-so-brilliant vocals behind. Add to that the summery musical backdrop and cultural flavors, and it’s not difficult to see how it reached number one on the charts.