AKB48 28th Single [UZA] Tracklist Revealed

AKB48's 28th single will be titled [UZA] and released on the 31st October 2012. This song features a voting ticket for Request Hour Set List Best 100 2013 and will have songs featuring the new teams.

[UZA] was first revealed during the 29th single janken tournament and is a dark, electronic song, that some call AKB48's yearly "cool" single.

The senbatsu for this single includes janken queen Shimazaki Haruka and, for the first time, HKT48 member Miyawaki Sakura. The song is a double centre led by Oshima Yuko and Matsui Jurina.

Senbatsu members:
Shinoda Mariko (Team A)
Takahashi Minami (Team A)
Watanabe Mayu (Team A)
Yokoyama Yui (Team A / NMB48)
Oshima Yuko (Team K)
Matsui Jurina (Team K / Team S)
Itano Tomomi (Team K)
Kashiwagi Yuki (Team B)
Watanabe Miyuki (Team B / Team N)
Kojima Haruna (Team B)
Shimazaki Haruka (Team B)
Minegishi Minami (Team B)
Matsui Rena (SKE48 Team S)
Yamamoto Sayaka (NMB48 Team N)
Sashihara Rino (HKT48 Team H)
Miyawaki Sakura (HKT48 Team H)

There will be three CD+DVD types of this single, one for each team. Each of the three new teams, revealed in the Tokyo Dome team shuffle, will get a song and PV. This will be the first appearance of the new teams. The theatre edition will feature a kenkyuusei song.

As before, there will be both limited and regular editions of the CD+DVD types. The limited includes a ticket to a national handshake event, whereas the regular includes a photo (one of 32 types). Both limited and regular CD+DVD editions include a voting ticket for Request Hour Set List Best 100 2013. The theatre edition does not include a voting ticket, but includes an individual member handshake ticket and a photo (from a different set to the CD+DVD types).

The [UZA] PV will be directed by Joseph Kahn who directed the [Gingham Check] PV as well as many music videos for famous American pop artists. However, a new [Gingham Check] PV will be included on the [UZA] DVDs, directed by Takahashi Eiki.

AKB48 28th Single
UZA
UZA
31 October 2012

Type A 1,600yen	[CD] 01. UZA 02. Tsugi no Season (Undergirls) 03. Kodoku na Hoshizora (New Team A) 04. UZA (off vocal.) 05. Tsugi no Season (off vocal.) 06. Kodoku na Hoshizora (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. UZA PV 02. UZA PV (Dance Version) 03. Tsugi no Season PV 04. Kodoku na Hoshizora PV 05. Gingham Check PV (Takahashi Eiki ver.)
Type K 1,600yen	[CD] 01. UZA 02. Tsugi no Season (Undergirls) 03. Scrap & Build (New Team K) 04. UZA (off vocal.) 05. Tsugi no Season (off vocal.) 06. Scrap & Build (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. UZA PV 02. UZA PV (Dance Version) 03. Tsugi no Season PV 04. Scrap & Build PV 05. Gingham Check PV (Takahashi Eiki ver.)
Type B 1,600yen	[CD] 01. UZA 02. Tsugi no Season (Undergirls) 03. Seigi no Mikata Janai Hero (New Team B) 04. UZA (off vocal.) 05. Tsugi no Season (off vocal.) 06. Seigi no Mikata Janai Hero (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. UZA PV 02. UZA PV (Dance Version) 03. Tsugi no Season PV 04. Seigi no Mikata Janai Hero PV 05. Gingham Check PV (Takahashi Eiki ver.)
Theatre Edition 1,000yen	[CD] 01. UZA 02. Tsugi no Season (Undergirls) 03. Otona e no Michi (Kenkyuusei) 04. UZA (off vocal.) 05. Tsugi no Season (off vocal.) 06. Otona e no Michi (off vocal.)

I admit that initially I did not like this song, with its generic US pop style and auto-tuning. But over time it has been growing on me. The PV looks quite funny, with many people drawing parallels with the director's previous work on the Backstreet Boys "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". I am glad that Shimazaki-san is in the single, but Sakura is a curious addition, especially given the style of the song. It will be interesting seeing the new teams in action for the first time.