DOWN TOWN / Ganbarenai yo (DOWN TOWN/がんばれないよ; DOWN TOWN / I Can't Keep Trying) is Juice=Juice's 14th single. It was released on April 28, 2021 in six editions: two regular and four limited. The first press of the two regular editions includes a random trading card of 8 kinds depending on the jacket (16 in total), while the limited SP editions include an event lottery card.[1]
"DOWN TOWN" is a cover of the 1975 song of same title by the band SUGAR BABE. A 7-inch LP vinyl record of the cover will be released on December 6, 2023.[2]
This is the debut single of Inoue Rei, who joined the group in April 2020. The single was originally scheduled to be released on March 24, but due to Takagi Sayuki's departure, the release date was postponed to April 28.[3]
A digital-exclusive special edition of the single was released in the same day as the CD release including the solo versions of "Ganbarenai yo".[4]
Tracklist[]
CD[]
- DOWN TOWN
- Ganbarenai yo
- DOWN TOWN (Instrumental)
- Ganbarenai yo (Instrumental)
Limited Edition A DVD[]
- DOWN TOWN (Music Video)
- DOWN TOWN (MV Satsuei Making) (MV撮影メイキング; Making of the MV Shooting)
Limited Edition B DVD[]
- Ganbarenai yo (Music Video)
- Ganbarenai yo (MV Satsuei Making)
Limited Edition SP1 DVD[]
- Ganbarenai yo (Kanazawa Tomoko Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Uemura Akari Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Inaba Manaka Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Inoue Rei Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Dambara Ruru Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Kudo Yume Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Matsunaga Riai Solo Ver.)
Limited Edition SP2 DVD[]
- DOWN TOWN (Dance Shot Ver.)
- "Hitori de Ikiraresou" tte Sore tte Nee, Homete Iru no? 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 (「井上玲音がJuice=Juiceの歌を・・・」シリーズ; "Inoue Rei Sings Juice=Juice..." Series) - Inoue Rei × Taisei
- Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei
- Potsuri to 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei × Kanazawa Tomoko
- Sunao ni Amaete 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei × Uemura Akari
- CHOICE & CHANCE 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei × Takagi Sayuki
- Romance no Tochuu 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei × Miyamoto Karin
- Bitansan 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei × Inaba Manaka
- Suki tte Itte yo 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei × Dambara Ruru
- Naite Ii yo 【"Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." Series】 - Inoue Rei × Kudo Yume・Matsunaga Riai
Digital-Exclusive Special Edition[]
- DOWN TOWN
- Ganbarenai yo
- Ganbarenai yo (Kanazawa Tomoko Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Uemura Akari Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Inaba Manaka Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Inoue Rei Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Dambara Ruru Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Kudo Yume Solo Ver.)
- Ganbarenai yo (Matsunaga Riai Solo Ver.)
LP Record[]
Side A[]
- DOWN TOWN
Side B[]
- DOWN TOWN (Instrumental)
Featured Members[]
Juice=Juice promoting "DOWN TOWN"
Juice=Juice promoting "DOWN TOWN"
Juice=Juice promoting "Ganbarenai yo"
Single Information[]
- DOWN TOWN
- Lyrics: Ito Ginji
- Composition: Yamashita Tatsuro
- Arrangement, All Instruments & Background Vocal: Anders Dannvik
- Track Produced by Shusui
- Chorus: Juice=Juice
- Voice Percussion: Inoue Rei
- Dance Choreography: Yamashiro Yoko[5]
- Music Video: ZUMI
- Ganbarenai yo
- Lyrics: Yamazaki Aoi
- Composition, Arrangement, Other Instruments & Programming: KOUGA
- Drums: Takao Toshiyuki
- Bass: Nakagawa Ryou
- Guitar: Kikuchi Masayoshi
- Chorus: Miyahara Hitomi
- Dance Choreography: Yamashiro Yoko[5]
- Music Video: Imamura Shigeru
Performances[]
TV Performances[]
- DOWN TOWN
- [2021.03.21] Special Plus! precious STAGE ～Juice=Juice～[6]
- [2021.05.06] Hiru Song![7]
- [2021.05.10] Premium MelodiX![8]
- [2021.05.18] Utacon[9]
Concert Performances[]
- DOWN TOWN
- Hello! Project 2021 Winter ~STEP BY STEP~ - Takagi Sayuki, Inaba Manaka, Inoue Rei, Matsunaga Riai
- Hello! Project 2021 Haru "Kachou Fuugetsu" - Team Hana
- Hello! Project Hina Fes 2021
- Miyamoto Karin LIVE 2021 Haru ~Amaryllis~
- Hello! Project 2021 Summer Sapphire & Ruby - Kanazawa Tomoko, Dambara Ruru, Inoue Rei, Matsunaga Riai (Ikuta Erina, Oda Sakura, Makino Maria, Kaga Kaede, Kitagawa Rio, Yamazaki Mei as backdancers)
- Juice=Juice Concert 2021 ~FAMILIA~ Kanazawa Tomoko Final
- Hello! Project 2025 Winter Fes. "Gou" - Haga Akane, Hashisako Rin, Hirayama Yuki, Fukuda Marine, Hirai Miyo, Hiromoto Ruli, Hashida Honoka
- Ganbarenai yo
- Hello! Project 2020 ~The Ballad~ Special Number
- Juice=Juice Concert 2020 ~Tsudzuiteiku STORY~ Miyamoto Karin Sotsugyou Special
- Hello! Project Year-End Party 2020 ~GOOD BYE & HELLO!~
- Hello! Project 2021 Winter ~STEP BY STEP~
- Hello! Project Hina Fes 2021
- Anniversary Onna 2022 -Kominato Miwa, Tanjoubi Matsuri Yarutte yo!- - Kominato Miwa
- Juice=Juice 10th Anniversary Concert Tour 2023 ~Juicetory~
- Juice=Juice 10th Anniversary Concert Tour 2023 Final ~Juicetory~ (part of medley)
- Juice=Juice Concert Tour 2024 TRIANGROOOVE2
- Juice=Juice Concert Tour 2024 TRIANGROOOVE2 Special
Event Performances[]
- Ganbarenai yo
- [2022.05.11] Juice=Juice Dambara Ruru Birthday Event 2022 - Dambara Ruru
- [2023.01.18] Juice=Juice Uemura Akari Birthday Event 2022～2023 Ake Chaimashita Omedetou! - Uemura Akari
- [2024.04.25] Juice=Juice Endo Akari Birthday Event 2024 - Endo Akari
- [2024.10.30] Juice=Juice Kudo Yume Birthday Event 2024 - Kudo Yume
- [2025.01.22] ANGERME Ise Layla Birthday Event 2025 - Ise Layla
Chart Positions[]
Oricon Chart Positions[]
- Daily & Weekly Rankings
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Week Rank | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 3 38,065 |
4 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 43,241 |
| 7 | 17 | 18 | 28 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 936 |
| 23 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 47 | 392 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 84 | 236 |
| - | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | 46 | 849 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 144 | 130 |
- Monthly Ranking
| Year | Month | Month Rank | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | April | 6 | 43,241 | [10] |
- Yearly Ranking
| Year | Year Rank | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | 45,784 |
Total Reported Sales: 45,784
- Weekly Combined Ranking
| Week Rank | Points |
|---|---|
| 4 | 45,986 |
Total reported points: 45,986
Billboard Japan Top Single Sales[]
| Week Rank | Sales | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 65,498 | [11] |
| 16 | 930 | [12] |
| 47 | 397 | [13] |
| 92 | N/A | [14] |
| 40 | 1,122 | [15] |
Total Reported Sales: 67,947*
Other Chart Rankings[]
| Country | Chart | Highest Position |
Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
 Japan
|
Billboard Japan Single Sales (First Three Days) | 2 (61,988) |
[16] |
| "DOWN TOWN" only | |||
| Billboard Japan Hot 100 | 8 | [17] | |
| Billboard Japan Top Download Songs | 39 | [18] | |
| "Ganbarenai yo" only | |||
| Billboard Japan Top Download Songs | 28 | [18] | |
Trivia[]
Juice=Juice promoting "DOWN TOWN" with Takagi Sayuki
Juice=Juice promoting "Ganbarenai yo" with Takagi Sayuki
- Takagi Sayuki was originally included in this single, but due to her departure on February 12, 2021, the single was remade and her parts in both songs were replaced by other members.
- The "Inoue Rei ga Juice=Juice no Uta wo..." series, featured in the Limited Edition SP2 DVD, is a series of videos of Inoue Rei covering Juice=Juice songs uploaded to the group's YouTube channel starting in May 2020.[19] Out of the videos featured in the DVD, only the "Naite Ii yo" cover featuring Kudo Yume and Matsunaga Riai was previously unpublished onto YouTube.
- "DOWN TOWN" and "Ganbarenai yo" are the first Hello! Project music videos uploaded to YouTube with the UP-FRONT WORKS logo embedded in the corner, and with closed captioning instead of embedded subtitles.
- The instrumental used for the solo versions of "Ganbarenai yo" have a piano arrangement and is different from the single version.
- Each solo also have different ad-libs at the end to further differentiate from the other members. Inaba Manaka, Dambara Ruru, and Matsunaga Riai ad-lib before the last line, while Kanazawa Tomoko, Uemura Akari, Inoue Rei, and Kudo Yume ad-lib after the last line.
- The instrumental used for the Inoue Rei and Matsunaga Riai versions also have a different pitch from the other versions.
- A Blu-ray of the release commemorative special mini-live of the single was available to pre-order for Hello! Project fanclub members from July 1 to July 28, 2021, and for UP-FRONT WORKS Web Store pre-orders from July 15 to August 9, with delivery scheduled to late September 2021. It was released on general sale on October 13, 2021.
- Juice=Juice's "Ganbarenai yo", Tanpopo's "Seinaru Kane ga Hibiku Yoru" (1999) and ℃-ute's "Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku" (2012) are the only Hello! Project songs to have official solo versions sung by each member on a main release. However, the other two songs are simply solo recordings layered on top of the main instrumental, rather than the "Ganbarenai yo" case of different instrumentals with varying pitches.
- Buono!'s "Hatsukoi Cider" also has solo versions, however they were only included on the Buono! COMPLETE CD box set in 2017, and was only made available at the time of the initial release through the solo ver music videos included in Hatsukoi Cider's Single V.
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ "Juice=Juice、両A面シングル「がんばれないよ / DOWN TOWN」をリリース" (in Japanese). natalie. 2021-01-11.
- ↑ "Juice=Juice｜名曲カバー3タイトル『DOWN TOWN』『プラスティック・ラブ』『FUNKY FLUSHIN'』の7inchアナログ盤が12月6日発売" (in Japanese). TOWER RECORDS ONLINE. 2023-10-11.
- ↑ "Juice=Juice『DOWN TOWN/がんばれないよ』発売日変更のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. 2021-02-15.
- ↑ "Juice=Juice「DOWN TOWN/がんばれないよ(Special Edition)」配信スタート！" (in Japanese). UP-FRONT WORKS. 2021-04-28.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://high-energy.jp/2021/04/28/juicejuice-24/
- ↑ "Juice=JuiceのNEWシングル『DOWN TOWN/がんばれないよ』リリース記念！新曲の魅力たっぷりのライブパフォーマンスとインタビューを交えた撮り下ろし特別番組をオンエア！" (in Japanese). PR Times. 2021-03-12.
- ↑ "♪.ひるソン！OMAKE！anan！ 金澤朋子" (in Japanese). Juice=Juice Official Blog. 2021-05-06.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/tver_official/status/1391955534547275782
- ↑ "NHK総合「うたコン」ありがとうございました！！ DOWN TOWNを歌わせていただきました 久しぶりのうたコン嬉しかったです" (in Japanese). Dambara Ruru Official Instagram. 2021-05-18.
- ↑ https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/m/2021-04/
- ↑ http://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/99591/2
- ↑ http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=sales&year=2021&month=05&day=17
- ↑ http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=sales&year=2021&month=05&day=24
- ↑ http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=sales&year=2021&month=05&day=31
- ↑ http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=sales&year=2021&month=06&day=7
- ↑ "【先ヨミ】JO1『CHALLENGER』が23万枚で現在シングル1位＜4/30修正＞" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. 2021-04-30.
- ↑ http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=hot100&year=2021&month=05&day=10
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=dlsongs&year=2021&month=05&day=10
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs8AlpdTjgweHrq5pLmng_pbrbXJ3kqeW
External Links[]
- Discography: Hello! Project, UP-FRONT WORKS
- Wikipedia: Japanese
- Lyrics: DOWN TOWN, Ganbarenai yo