& (Ayumi Hamasaki EP)
& | ||
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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 & | ||
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& 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.
Background and release
Ayumi Hamasaki announced that she would release a new extended play, marketed as a single, entitled &, and 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.[1] & was released the first single on 9 July 2003 from Hamasaki's 2003 extended play, Memorial Address, and "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] & was Hamasaki's final extended play–single up until her 2011 release, Five.[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 | |
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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 extended play's and Hamasaki's long-career stand out tracks.[13]
On the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart, & reached number ones on its debuting 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][upper-alpha 1] 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
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
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Japan Weekly (Oricon)[14] | 1 |
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
- 1 2 3 4 5 Hamasaki, Ayumi (July 2003). & (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-30497.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 Hamasaki, Ayumi (July 2002). H (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax.
- ↑ Hamasaki, Ayumi (August 2011). Five (Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 CD Journal Staff (11 July 2003). "Hamasaki Ayumi / & out of print" (in Japanese). CdJournal. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 Yang, Kondo (11 July 2003). "& by Ayumi Hamasaki" (in Japanese). Listen Music; published by Yahoo! Music Japan. Archived from the original on 2004-08-11. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Kato, Eri (11 July 2003). "& by Ayumi Hamasaki" (in Japanese). Hot Express; published by Yahoo! Music Japan. Archived from the original on 2004-08-11. 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.
- 1 2 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.
- 1 2 3 "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. Select 2014年月 on the drop-down menu
External links
- Information at Avex Network.
- Information at Oricon.
- Full lyrics at MetroLyrics: "Ourselves", "Greatful days", "Hanabi: Episode II", "Theme of A-Nation '03"