When Japan hosts the FIVB Volleyball Women’s or Men’s World Championships, the Grand Champions Cup, the World Cup, or the World/Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, there is a official song for each of their tournaments. More often then not, the song has been performed by a boy band. When Fuji Television broadcast FIVB events from 2011 to 2016, the boy band Sexy Zone had a song used as the official song four times. In with the 2011 FIVB World Cup it was their song “Sexy Zone“, in 2012 for the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament it was “Kimi no tame boku ga iru (I am there for you)“. For the 2015 FIVB World Cup it was “Cha-Cha-Cha Champion” and for the 2016 World Olympic Qualifying Tournament it was “Shori no hi made (Until the day we win)“.
In 2010, the 19-member (yes 19) boy band EXILE was chosen to have the official song for the 2010 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). EXILE’s song “I Wish for You” was the song used, and heard during every timeout or long stoppage in play. Even if you watch the videos from the 2010 tournament, you can still hear the fans using thundersticks to the rhythm.
On April 3rd, Tokyo Broadcasting System put out a press release for their official song for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship. TBS chose Japanese rock band, the Southern All Stars and their song, “Tokyo Victory” to be the official song. The Southern All Stars were created in 1974, and 2018 will the band’s 40th anniversary of their first hit single in 1978. The band has sold between albums and singles a total nearly 49 million copies in Japan, 5th all-time in Japanese history, through June 2017 (per Japanese wikipedia). Below is a cover of “Tokyo Victory” which was originally released in 2014, and also used by TBS as the their theme song for the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship.
In my opinion, the song is not as good as EXILE’s “I Wish for You” and even when compared to the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship official song “Start a Fire” by Margaret, it is nowhere even close.
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