Can We Go Back

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Can We Go Back

| artist = Kelly Clarkson

| album = All I Ever Wanted (International iTunes/Japan Edition)

| released = {{start date|2009|5|13}}

| genre =

| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=52}}

| label = RCA

| writer = {{hlist|Adam Watts|Adam Dodd|Shana Crooks}}

| producer = Howard Benson

}}

"Can We Go Back" is a song written by Adam Watts, Andy Dodd and Shanna Crooks and recorded by Kelly Clarkson during the sessions for her 2009 album, All I Ever Wanted. It appears in certain countries as an iTunes Store exclusive song on the deluxe version of the album,{{cite web | url=http://www.bmgjapan.com/kellyclarkson/item.php?id=1427&item=9624l | title=(Japanese) All I Ever Wanted Discography Entry | publisher=BMG Japan | access-date=February 22, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325203626/http://www.bmgjapan.com/kellyclarkson/item.php?id=1427&item=9624l | archive-date=March 25, 2009 }} as well as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the album.{{cite web | url=http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Music/International/Arch/BV/kellyclarkson/BVCP-25187/index.html | title=All I Ever Wanted-Deluxe Edition/オール・アイ・エヴァー・ウォンテッド~デラックス・エディション【初回生産限定盤】 | publisher=Sony Music | access-date=December 27, 2009}} It was then later recorded in Japanese by singer Kumi Koda in 2009 with differing lyrics.

Koda Kumi version

{{Infobox song

| name = Can We Go Back

| cover = Koda_Can.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Koda Kumi

| album = Universe

| B-side = Good Day

| released = {{start date|2010|1|20}}

| recorded = 2009

| studio =

| genre = *Pop

| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=25}}

| label = Rhythm Zone

| writer = *Koda Kumi

| producer = Koda Kumi

| prev_title = Alive/Physical Thing

| prev_year = 2009

| next_title = Gossip Candy

| next_year = 2010

}}

"Can We Go Back" is the fourth single by Japanese singer Koda Kumi for the album Universe, and forty-sixth overall single. "Can We Go Back" became the first single to celebrate Kumi's 10th anniversary as an artist, with "Take Back" having been released in December 2000. The single charted at No. 2 on Oricon and, though it was a limited release, charted for four weeks.

The single was a limited release and Kumi wrote the song about the controversy in 2008, wanting to recognize her mistake and move on, going "back to the way [the fans] used to be".

=Information=

"Can We Go Back" is the forty-sixth single by Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi, and fourth single released for her eighth studio album Universe.{{cite web|title=NEWシングル「Can We Go Back」20 January 2010 発売決定!! |url=http://rhythmzone.net/koda/info/release100120.html |work=Koda Kumi Official Website |date=November 20, 2009 |access-date=December 27, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221091629/http://rhythmzone.net/koda/info/release100120.html |archive-date=December 21, 2009 }} "Can We Go Back" became the first single to celebrate Kumi's 10th anniversary as an artist, with "Take Back" having been released in December 2000.{{cite web |url=http://rhythmzone.net/koda/info/notes100120.html |title=Koda Kumi Official Website |publisher=Billboard Japan |date=December 6, 2009 |access-date=December 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213013847/http://rhythmzone.net/koda/info/notes100120.html |archive-date=December 13, 2009 |url-status=dead }} The single charted at No. 2 on the Oricon Singles Charts, where it remained for four consecutive weeks, despite being of limited release.{{cite web|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/259698/products/852254/1/|title=Can We Go Back (Limited Edition/with DVD) / KODA KUMI / ORICON STYLE|work=Oricon|access-date=January 26, 2016}}

Koda Kumi had written the lyrics to reflect on the controversy she experienced in January 2008 during All Night Nippon, in which she had made the comment, "At 35, women's amniotic fluid starts to go rotten, so I hope to have a child before then," after being asked if she hoped to have children someday.{{cite web|url=http://www.tokyograph.com/news/kumi-koda-comment-goes-rotten-suspended-for-month/|title=Kumi Koda comment goes rotten|work=TokyoGraph|access-date=May 2, 2016}} She said how the song was about wanting to recognize her mistake and move on, going "back to the way we used to be".{{cite web|url=http://www.univasian.com/listen/Kingdom?print=1&tmpl=component|title=All Night Nippon|work=univasian.com|language=ja|access-date=September 1, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205054323/http://www.univasian.com/listen/Kingdom?print=1&tmpl=component|archive-date=February 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nautiljon.com/paroles/koda+kumi/can+we+go+back.html|title=Paroles / Lyrics: Koda Kumi: Can We Go Back|work=NautilJon|access-date=September 16, 2016}}

The single contained a B-side, "Good Day" (stylized as "Good☆day"), which would receive a remix on Kumi's fourth remix album, Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 3.

=Background and composition=

"Can We Go Back" was written and composed by songwriters Adam Watts, Andy Dodd and Shanna Crooks. Prior to singer Kelly Clarkson's solo version of "Can We Go Back" being released, Kumi had heard the demo version of the song from the original songwriters. After feeling that the song's aggressive tone matched how she felt at the time, Kumi picked the song to be her next single. While the English lyrics utilized in the Japanese version stayed the same, Kumi wrote the Japanese portion, keeping only the instrumental the same.

Adam Watts has worked with the likes of American musicians Jesse McCartney, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/192928-Adam-Watts?filter_anv=0&type=Credits|title=Adam Watts Discography Information|publisher=discogs|access-date=August 21, 2018}} Andy Dodd is best known for his works with Colton Dixon's albums A Messenger (2013) and Anchor (2014).{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Colton-Dixon-A-Messenger-Expanded-Edition/release/6869438|title=Colton Dixon – A Messenger (Expanded Edition)(CD, Album)|date=January 7, 2014 |publisher=discogs|access-date=August 21, 2018}}

The coupling track "Good Day" was written and composed by Yuta Nakano, originally from the group HΛL, which formed in 1996 (Yuta left the group in 2001). While Yuta wrote the song, Kumi wrote the lyrical portion.{{cite web|url=http://j-lyric.net/artist/a0006b2/l01e48a.html|title=倖田來未の「Good☆day」歌詞ページ|work=J-Lyric|access-date=August 21, 2018}}

=Packaging and cover art=

Despite being a limited release, the single was released as both a standard CD and a CD+DVD edition.

Both version contained the title track, the B-side "Good Day" and both songs' corresponding instrumentals. The DVD housed the music video for "Can We Go Back", along with the behind-the-scenes making video.

Both editions harbored different cover art, with the CD only showing Kumi with a full frontal, her chin tilted up towards the camera. The CD+DVD housed a three-quarter view of Kumi, with her teeth grazing the knuckle of her hand.{{cite web|url=http://coveranimes.blogspot.com/2012/05/kumi-koda-can-we-go-back.html|title=Kumi Koda (倖田來未): Can We Go Back|work=Cover Animes at Blogspot|date=May 14, 2012|access-date=August 21, 2018}} However, both covers were taken on the scene setup in the music video where Kumi was bound to a wall, symbolizing her restraint of the past and breaking free for the future.

=Music video=

File:Koda CanWeamusicvid.jpg

The music video was shot by director Ryūji Seki (known in Japan as セキ★リュウジ).{{cite web | title= 倖田來未 Can We Go Back| url=http://www.spaceshowertv.com/search/detail.cgi?mu=0078329&ch=0| access-date=December 27, 2009}} The video was given a Joan of Arc theme, to reflect "being in a battle with a friend, being injured and supporting each other" image intended to be expressed in the song.

The music video takes place on a battlefield with Koda Kumi and her back-up dancers dressed in clothes inspired by Hundred Years' War-era uniforms worn by the French military as they tried to raise their flag on the field. Koda Kumi is performing the song on a stage set on the battlefield as the video cuts to the story visuals. The dance break in the middle of the video was arranged by Hiro, who created the dance to reflect an overall feel of Michael Jackson, taking inspiration from the "Thriller" music video.{{cite web | title= 倖田來未"UNIVERSE"とかとか| url=http://ameblo.jp/hiro777com/entry-10434593007.html| work=HIRO -THE MUSIC BLOG- | date=January 15, 2010 | access-date=January 29, 2010}} The ending to the music video is shown with Kumi and her compatriots raising their flag in the style of French artist Jules Eugène Lenepveu's famous 1890 artwork Panthéon II.{{cite web|url=https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/hundred-years-war-joan-of-arc-in-armor-before-orleans-painting-by-picture-id587490962|title=Joan of Arc in armor before Orleans – by Jules Lenepveu|work=Getty Images|access-date=August 21, 2018}}

=Track listing=

{{Track listing

| headline = CD

| extra_column = Arranger(s)

| total_length = 12:59

| title1 = Can We Go Back

| note1 =

| lyrics1 = Koda Kumi • Adam WattsAndy Dodd

| music1 = Adam WattsAndy Dodd

| extra1 = Adam WattsAndy DoddShanna Crooks

| length1 = 3:25

| title2 = Good Day

| note2 =

| lyrics2 = Koda Kumi

| music2 = Yuta Nakano

| extra2 = Yuta Nakano

| length2 = 3:07

| title3 = Can We Go Back

| note3 = Instrumental

| lyrics3 =

| music3 = Adam Watts • Andy Dodd

| extra3 = Adam Watts • Andy Dodd • Shanna Crooks

| length3 = 3:25

| title4 = Good Day

| note4 = Instrumental

| lyrics4 =

| music4 = Yuta Nakano

| extra4 = Yuta Nakano

| length4 = 3:02

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = DVD

| total_length =

| extra_column = Director(s)

| title1 = Can We Go Back

| note1 = Music video

| extra1 =

| length1 =

| title2 = Can We Go Back

| note2 = Making video

| extra2 =

| length2 =

}}

=Charts=

==Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)==

class="wikitable"

!Release

!Chart

!Peak position

!Sales total

rowspan="4"|January 20, 2010

|Oricon Daily Charts

|align="center"|2

|

Oricon Weekly Charts

|align="center"|2

|36,565

Oricon Monthly Charts

|align="center"|8

|

Oricon Yearly Charts

|align="center"

class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (2010)

!Peak
position

Billboard Japan Adult Contemporary Airplay{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/adult_airplay/11-50/ |title=Adult Contemporary Airplay Week of February 1, 2010 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929232526/http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/adult_airplay/11-50 |archive-date=September 29, 2010 }}

|align="center"|20

Billboard Japan Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/system/jp_charts/hot100/?begin=41&order=position|title=Japan Hot 100 Week of February 1, 2010|magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 26, 2010}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

|align="center"|6

Oricon Weekly Singles{{cite web|url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/search/result.php?kbn=js&types=rnk&year=2010&month=2&week=1&submit4.x=24&submit4.y=11|title=2010年02月第1週のシングルランキング情報|work=Oricon|access-date=January 27, 2010}}

|align="center"|2

RIAJ Digital Track Chart Top 100{{cite web|url=http://satsuki.musicdb.gr.jp/all_info/ranking_weekly/WeeklyRankingAction.do?term=2010f&weeklyCd=20100119&rankKbn=50|title=RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue January 19, 2010|publisher=Recording Industry Association of Japan|access-date=January 23, 2010|language=ja|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008101953/http://satsuki.musicdb.gr.jp/all_info/ranking_weekly/WeeklyRankingAction.do?term=2010f&weeklyCd=20100119&rankKbn=50|archive-date=October 8, 2011}}

|align="center"|6

=Alternate versions=

"Can We Go Back"

  1. "Can We Go Back": Found on the single and corresponding album Universe (2010)
  2. "Can We Go Back" [Instrumental]: Found on the single (2010)
  3. "Can We Go Back" [Prog5 Handz-Up Electro Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 3 (2011)

"Good Day"

  1. "Good Day": Found on the single (2010)
  2. "Good Day" [Instrumental]: Found on the single (2010)
  3. "Good Day" [Jewel Remix]: Found on Koda Kumi Driving Hit's 3 (2011)

References