Ai no Uta (Strawberry Flower song)

"Ai no Uta" (愛のうた, Song of Love) is an image song released in conjunction with the video game Pikmin for the Nintendo GameCube. The song was only used in commercials for the game and does not appear in the game itself, and those commercials appeared only in Japan. A small clip of the song though can be heard being sung by the Pikmin in Pikmin 2, and the song is one of the default tracks available for the Distant Planet stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (along with a new, French language version).[1] The song is sung by the virtual group Strawberry Flower, who also sang the theme song for Pikmin 2. The title of the song translates to "Song of Love," so named because the song expounds on the emotions the Pikmin feel in relation to their involvement in the game.

"Ai no Uta"
Single by Strawberry Flower
Released	December 6, 2001
Strawberry Flower singles chronology
"Ai no Uta" (2001) "Pikmin Dance" (2002)

The Pikmin are depicted to feel a kind of sadness, but also devotion to their given task of helping the game's protagonist, Captain Olimar.

The song was featured in commercials for the Pikmin video game, in order to stimulate flagging sales. The song became immediately very popular and soon became one of the most recognizable songs in Japan at the time. Many people had memorized the song from the commercials, and soon after the sales of the video game rose nearly fivefold. The song itself was released as a CD Single on December 6, 2001 and remained in the top ten for several weeks. Unexpectedly, the song actually outsold the game it has advertised, even beating Pikmin's sales figures shortly after its release as a single. The song was a remarkable media phenomenon in that it sold equally well to audiences of all ages and tastes. The single has sold over 632,350 copies and was ranked 8th in 2002 Oricon Yearly Chart. The single is rare, highly collectible and out of print.[2]

The music video was shot September 26, 2001.[3]