& (Ayumi Hamasaki EP) Contents Background and release Promotion Reception Track...
2003 singlesAyumi Hamasaki songsOricon Weekly number-one singlesSongs written by Ayumi HamasakiSongs written by Dai NagaoSong recordings produced by Max Matsuura2003 songsAvex Trax singles
extended playAyumi HamasakiAvex TraxJ-popdance musicMax MatsuuraRecording Industry Association of JapanAyumi HamasakiR&Bpopanswer songHanabiJ-popcosmeticsAllMusicOricon Singles ChartRecording Industry Association of JapanNo Way to Say
| & | |
|---|---|
 CD only artwork. | |
EP by Ayumi Hamasaki | |
| Released | 9 July 2003 |
| Recorded | 2003 |
| Genre |
|
| Length | 34:34 |
| Label | Rhythm Zone |
| Producer | Max Matsuura |
Singles from & | |
| |
& is an extended play by Japanese recording artist and songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on 9 July 2003, by record label Avex Trax. Hamasaki's fourth extended play, & consists of four recordings; "Ourselves", "Greatful Days", "Hanabi: Episode II", and "Theme of A-Nation 03", with three additional instrumentals of the first three tracks. It was released in two different formats; a stand-alone CD, and a digital EP. The artwork for the EP depicts Hamasaki posing in front of a cloudy backdrop, with the title of the work superimposed over her hair. & contains predominantly J-pop and dance music.
Hamasaki contributed by writing the lyrics to all the tracks, while Japanese production and manager Max Matsuura served as the EP's main producer. & received favourable reviews from music critics who commended the EP's production and commercial appeal. & reached number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 500,000 units. "Ourselves", "Greatful Days", "Hanabi: Episode II", and "Theme of A-Nation 03" served as promotional singles, while all but the latter track receiving music videos respectively. & was awarded the Japan Record Award at the 46th Japan Record Awards for Best Pop/Rock Album.
Contents
1 Background and release
2 Promotion
3 Reception
4 Track listing
5 Charts
6 Certifications
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
Background and release
Ayumi Hamasaki announced that she would release a new extended play, marketed as a single, entitled &. It consists of four recordings – "Ourselves", "Greatful Days", "Hanabi: Episode II", and "Theme of A-Nation 03" – with additional instrumental versions of the first three tracks.[1]& was released on 9 July 2003 as the first single from Hamasaki's 2003 extended play, Memorial Address. ("Ourselves", "Greatful Days", and "Hanabi: Episode II" were included in Memorial Address.)[2]& follows the releases of Hamasaki's previous extended plays; Nothing from Nothing (1995),[3]A (1999),[4] and H (2002).[5] Hamasaki did not release another extended-play single until Five in 2011.[6]& was released in two formats: a stand-alone CD and a digital EP.[1] The artwork for the EP depicts Hamasaki posing in front of a cloudy backdrop, with the title of the work superimposed over her hair.[1]
& opens with the first track, "Ourselves", which is an R&B tune with influences of "exoticism pop".[7] The lyrics describe Hamasaki's "painful" sense of sorrow and love.[7] "Greatful Days" is a "refreshing" pop song that showcases Hamasaki's "festive" nature, her "pastel" vocals, and a "relaxing" positive message of happiness.[7][8][9] "Hanabi: Episode II" is an answer song to Hamasaki's 2002 song, "Hanabi".[5] It describes Hamasaki's "miserable" state and "struggle[s]" that is transformed into strength.[9][7] "Theme of A-Nation 03" was used for the Avex A-Nation concert tour in 2003, and emphasizes traditional Japanese instrumentals, progressing more oriental J-pop sounds.[7] The next three tracks are instrumental versions of "Ourselves", "Greatful Days", and "Hanabi: Episode II".[1]
Promotion
"Ourselves", "Greatful Days", and "Hanabi: Episode II" all served as the EP's promotional singles, released on 9 July 2003; the singles did not chart in any Japanese music charts. The singles were promoted through different endorsements deals in Japan; "Ourselves" was used as the televised theme song for Japanese cosmetics brand, Visee, and "Greatful Days" was used as the theme song for Hamasaki's 2004 TV series, Ayuready?.[7] However, by the time the promotion of &, Memorial Address, and her 2003–2004 arena tour was complete, Hamasaki had grown dissatisfied with her position in Avex; she felt that the company was treating her as a product instead of a person.[10] Although Hamasaki initially supported the exploitation of her popularity for commercial purposes, saying that it was "necessary that [she is] viewed as a product", she eventually opposed Avex's decision to market her as a "product rather than a person".[11][12] All three songs featured an accompanying music video, which were included on several DVD compilations by Hamasaki.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| CD Journal | (positive)[7] |
| Hot Express | (positive)[9] |
| Listen Japan | (positive)[8] |
& received favourable reviews from music critics. A reviewer from CD Journal commended the EP's production, and highlighted all the singles as stand out tracks; the reviewer highlighted its "music quality" as a positive note.[7] Kondo Yang from Listen Japan was positive in his review, stating that & was a sign of growing "maturity" in Hamasaki's music. He also felt that her "charisma" and "personality" was a reason why & became successful.[8] Eri Kato from Hot Express was positive in her review, commending Hamasaki's songwriting and composing skills, particularly with "Hanabi: Episode II", and the music arrangements. She later praised them as "unique masterpieces" and [9] Alexey Eremenko, who wrote the biography for Hamasaki on AllMusic, highlighted "Ourselves" and "Greatful Days" as one of the stand-out tracks of the extended play and Hamasaki's long career.[13]
On the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart, & reached number one on its debut week, her third consecutive EP to have reached number one, and her sixteenth number one single overall.[14] The EP lasted sixteen weeks in the top 100, selling 591,000 units,[15][A] and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 500,000 units.[16]& is Hamasaki's final single to sell over 500,000 units, and her only post-single to achieve a close achievement of the limit is "No Way to Say" with 400,000 physical and digital sales.[15][17][18]
Track listing
| CD content[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Ourselves" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Max Matsuura | 4:34 |
| 2. | "Greatful Days" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Max Matsuura | 4:39 |
| 3. | "Hanabi: Episode II" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Max Matsuura | 4:56 |
| 4. | "Theme of A-Nation '03" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Max Matsuura | 6:16 |
| 5. | "Ourselves" (Instrumental) | Ayumi Hamasaki | Max Matsuura | 4:34 |
| 6. | "Greatful Days" (Instrumental) | Ayumi Hamasaki | Max Matsuura | 4:39 |
| 7. | "Hanabi: Episode II" (Instrumental) | Ayumi Hamasaki | Max Matsuura | 4:56 |
| Total length: | 34:34 | |||
Charts
- Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
| Release | Chart | Peak position | First Week Sales | Sales total | Chart run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 July 2003 | Oricon Daily Singles Chart | 1 | |||
| Oricon Weekly Singles Chart | 1 | 287,002 | 591,481 | 16 | |
| Oricon Yearly Singles Chart | 8 |
Total Sales : 591,481
RIAJ certification: Platinum
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[19] | 2× Platinum | 591,000[15] |
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
Notes
^ Sales provided by Oricon database and are rounded to the nearest thousand copies.
References
^ abcde Hamasaki, Ayumi (July 2003). & (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-30497..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (December 2003). Memorial Address (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax.
^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (December 1995). Nothing From Nothing (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax.
^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (August 1999). A (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax.
^ ab Hamasaki, Ayumi (July 2002). H (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax.
^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (August 2011). Five (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax.
^ abcdefgh CD Journal Staff (11 July 2003). "Hamasaki Ayumi / & out of print" (in Japanese). CdJournal. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
^ abc Yang, Kondo (11 July 2003). "& by Ayumi Hamasaki" (in Japanese). Listen Music; published by Yahoo! Music Japan. Archived from the original on 11 August 2004. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
^ abcd Kato, Eri (11 July 2003). "& by Ayumi Hamasaki" (in Japanese). Hot Express; published by Yahoo! Music Japan. Archived from the original on 11 August 2004. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
^ "The First-Time Stench of Being a Human". Oricon Style (in Japanese) (49–1275): 17–19. December 27, 2004.
^ Ayumi Hamasaki (interviewee) (2004). Hamasaki Ayumi: The Heartbreak and Decision in Light and Shadow (Television). Japan: NTV.
^ Takeuchi Cullen, Lisa (March 25, 2002). "I have very clear ideas of what I want". Time. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
^ Eremenko, Alexey. "Ayumi Hamasaki – Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
^ 浜崎あゆみのリリース一覧 [List of Ayumi Hamasaki's Releases]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved August 17, 2014.
^ abc "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 May 2014. (Subscription required (help)).
^ ゴールドディスク認定作品一覧 2003年1月～7月 [Works Receiving Gold Disc Certifications List (January to July 2003)] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. August 10, 2003. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
^ ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2003年11月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (November 2003)] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. December 10, 2003. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
^ レコード協会調べ 1月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: January Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^ "Japanese single certifications – Kumi Koda – 3 Splash" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
External links
Information at Avex Network.
Information at Oricon.
Lyrics of "Ourselves" at MetroLyrics
Lyrics of "Greatful Days" at MetroLyrics
Lyrics of "Hanabi: Episode II" at MetroLyrics
Lyrics of "Theme of A-Nation '03" at MetroLyrics
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