"Rūju no Dengon" (ルージュの伝言, Lipstick Message, Message in Rouge, Rouge no Dengon) is the fifth single by the Japanese singer-songwriter Yumi Arai, released in February 1975. It was her first single to enter the Oricon Singles Chart.
Overview "Rūju no Dengon" is the lead single from the album Cobalt Hour. Its B-side, "Nani mo Kikanaide", was also included in the album. The meaning of the lyrics shows a girl's actions after finding out that her boyfriend cheated.
Tatsuro Yamashita, Minako Yoshida, Taeko Ohnuki participated on the chorus. Masataka Matsutoya, who was in charge of the arrangement, said, "The members of the tour band were asked to participate in the recording once in a while, and although it was OK, the quality of the performance was inferior to usual, so there was no response. After that, I added strings, but I felt that it was 60 points, so I thought that I could not make a record as it is. Then I came up with the idea of using Yamashita for the chorus. He had a connection with the chorus in the past.
Afterward, Yamashita gathered Yoshida, Ohnuki, and Kayo Ishū to make a chorus. Their collaboration gave the song a distinctly polished American pop sound. This demonstrates the significant influence Yamashita had on "Rūju no Dengon". As a result, he pioneered Yumi's pop singer line.
The song was used as the opening theme for the 1989 Ghibli film Kiki's Delivery Service. The ending theme of the movie was "Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara", which had been included on her 1974 studio album Misslim. The song also appeared in Makoto Shinkai's 2022 animated film Suzume as a reference to Kiki's Delivery Service.
Track listing
Chart positions YearSingleCountryChartPositionSales1975Rūju no DengonJapanOricon Weekly Singles Chart4569,000
Release history Country Date Label Format Catalog numberJapanFebruary 20, 1975Express7" SingleETP-20107April 5, 1978ETP-10386December 21, 1989AlfaCD09A3-23
See also 1975 in Japanese music
References