About SMAP's "Ganbarimashou"

"Ganbarimashou" is their 14th single, released in 1994. It was announced on the 3rd anniversary of their debut, and the hit of this song led to SMAP's breakthrough. Their previous work, "Original Smile," was a cheerful, idol-like song but did not become a hit, and the one before that, "Hey Hey Ookini Maido Ari," reached number one on the music charts but could not be called a massive public hit and was not highly regarded. This release set a record that far surpassed the sales of all their previous singles. Riding the momentum of this song, a self-titled variety show called "SMAP no Ganbarimashou" was produced the following year in 1995, and it was frequently performed on music programs until around 1996, despite being released two years prior. It recorded cumulative sales of 720,000 copies.

This was the group's second single to reach number one on the Oricon charts since "Hey Hey Ookini Maido Ari." It is based on the song "You Are" by the American funk group Niteflyte, and the intro samples Kabuki vocal clips and Prince's "Gett Off." There is a music video for "Ganbarimashou" that combines CD audio with edited concert footage. It is a short version of the music video that skips the second verse and ends after the third melody and third chorus.

Initially, they wore red and white jackets with black pants, divided into groups of three, but after the single was released, the costumes were changed to red jackets with white pants (zebra-striped). Also, in the vocal parts, Takuya Kimura's chorus part "Yeah Yeah～Get it on Tonight.～Oh～Every go Every go～" was not included, and the tempo of the song was slower than it is today. It was performed on television programs such as "Music Station," "Ai Love SMAP," "Sakurakko Club," "NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen," and "FNS Music Festival."

When they appeared on the music program "Music Station" broadcast on January 20, 1995, they were originally scheduled to perform their new song "Tabun All Right," but they abruptly changed the song and sang this track along with a message to the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

"Ganbarimashou" gathered popularity for about two years after its release until around 1996, ranking on music charts and often being sung in medleys with new songs on television programs. In the late-night "Supo-Kui Battle 7" segment of the 1996 27-Hour TV, Takeshi, Sanma, and SMAP appeared together, and the chorus of "Ganbarimashou" was used repeatedly throughout the program. Furthermore, in the special program "27-Hour Challenge TV" broadcast in November of the same year, "Ganbarimashou" was chosen as number one under the theme of "songs that gave everyone courage," and SMAP appeared and performed the song (Inagaki took over Mori's part). The Ventures covered it in 1995 on their album "POPS A LA CARTE," and Shigeru Matsuzaki also covered it in 2009, which is included on his album "Yes We Can!!"