SPEED -- Steady

 

Despite the negative news about "The Flash", I had been interested in seeing this superhero movie for a while because of all of the powers that the titular character possessed through decades of comic book and cartoon production. And of course, there were also the TV versions of "The Flash" that happened in 1990 and over the past decade. 

Well, as it turned out, it wasn't the greatest flick. For example, the plot has been done over and over again in "Star Trek" and even a recent Marvel "What If" story involving Dr. Strange, and those special effects especially in the beginning rescue mission were just...ouch. However, it wasn't the horrifying skid trail that some folks were describing either and that was because of the performances of Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton among others. They were able to lift things a little higher.

So, of course, when I begin an article with the Scarlet Speedster, guess which group I'm going to have to mention? Obviously, it'll be the 90s hit quartet SPEED. And I'm bringing in their second single "Steady" which was released in November 1996. To be honest, of all of their songs that I've covered in KKP, "Steady" is the one that I've remembered the least about; it actually took me until the main chorus to recognize it again. I'm gathering therefore that I probably got to know "Steady" originally more through SPEED's performance of it in quick clips on music shows.

Frequent SPEED songwriting contributor Hiromasa Ijichi（伊秩弘将）was responsible for words and music. "Steady" hit No. 2 on Oricon, became a million-seller (1.5 million copies) and ended 1997 as the 5th-ranked single of the year. It was also a track on the group's debut album "Starting Over" from May 1997 which was at the top of the charts for three weeks straight and sold 2.5 million copies. 

I didn't know that "Steady" had been used as the theme song for the TV Asahi live-action dramatization of the manga "Itazura na Kiss"（イタズラなKiss...Playful Kiss） which had its run in the last few months of 1996.