"Audience" is a song by Japanese recording artist

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

from her third studio album ''

Duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

'' (2000). It was released as the album's fifth and final single on 1 November 2000 by Avex Trax. Hamasaki wrote the track and

Max Matsuura , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese record producer and businessman. He is the founder of Avex Group, one of the largest music labels. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists into stars (most notably Ayumi Hamas ...

Lewis produced it.

Dai Nagao Do As Infinity is a Japanese pop and rock band that formed in 1999 with three members: vocalist Tomiko Van, guitarist Ryo Owatari, and guitarist and composer Dai Nagao. The band's name is sometimes abbreviated as DAI, alluding to the fact that ...

and

HΛL Hal (stylized HΛL, replacing the Latin "A" with the Greek "Λ" or Lambda) is a Japanese pop band formed in 1996. They have worked with several Japanese pop and rock stars and also have won two Japan Record Awards for their musical arrangement ...

composed both the single and album version. The single artwork was shot by Japanese photographer Toru Kumazawa and features duplicate clones of Hamasaki, resembling an audience. Musically, "Audience" is a dance–pop and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

song. "Audience" received positive reviews from music critics; many highlighted it from the parent album and her music career. It achieved lukewarm success in compare to her previous singles, with a peak position of number three on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

and a gold certification by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

(RIAJ). The single remains Hamasaki's twenty–seventh best selling single in Japan. No music video was shot for the single.

Background and composition

Ayumi Hamasaki's track "Audience" appeared on her third studio album, ''

'' (2000). Hamasaki begun work on ''Duty'' and followed a similar musical concept like her first two albums ''

A Song for ×× ''A Song for ××'' (the "××" is silent) is the debut album by Japanese pop artist Ayumi Hamasaki, released January 1, 1999, by Avex Trax. Primarily a rock-pop album, it features musical composition and arrangements by Yasuhiko Hoshino, Mits ...

'' (January 1999) and ''

Loveppears ''Loveppears'' (stylized as ''LOVEppears'') is the second studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released in Japan, Hong Kong and China on November 10, 1999 through Avex Trax and the China Record Corporation, and distrib ...

'' (November 1999). "Audience" was written by Hamasaki. Majority of the lyrics were about loneliness, chaos, confusion, and the burden of her responsibilities, aimed mostly towards her public image as a recording artist. In contrast to "Audience", the trilogy singles focused on hopelessness, a reflection of Hamasaki's disappointment that she had not expressed herself thoroughly in any of her previous lyrics. She described her feelings after the writing as "unnatural" and was constantly "nervous" for the final result. The song was recorded in mid–2000 in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

produced both the single version and the album version, with additional production handling by Naoto Suzuki for the single version.

played the keyboard, Suzuki played the guitar and all other instruments were handled by

. "Audience" is a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

song that employs elements of

disco music Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano ...

. In comparison, ''Duty'' was a rock–influenced album and "Audience" was the only dance track on the album. "Audience" was her third song to incorporate an English–language phrase, alongside her single " Whatever" (February 1999) and the b–side to " Love (Destiny)", "Love: Since 1999" (May 1999). But because "Audience" and "Whatever" used one–worded phrases and "Love: Since 1999" was not written by Hamasaki, it does not count in using English–language conversation like she did in her 2002 album ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

''.

Release and promotion

"Audience" was released on 1 November 2000 in CD format by Avex Trax, as the fifth single from ''Duty''. The maxi single features over nine remixes, one instrumental and an a cappella of "Seasons". The cover sleeve features several clones of Hamasaki, representing an

audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), o ...

. The cover shoot was photographed by Japanese photographer Toru Kumazawa with a total off seven make–up and hair assistants. Shinichi Hara had directed the cover sleeve and has been Hamasaki's creative director for promotional work and began collaborating with her in 1998. His final work was directing the sleeve for Hamasaki's 2009 single " Sunrise/Sunset (Love Is All)". A digital release of the single was released in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. A

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

was released by Rhythm Republic Records and was distributed in Japan only. "Audience" has featured on three greatest hits compilation albums by Hamasaki including the white deluxe edition of '' A Best 2'' (2007), '' A Complete: All Singles'' (2008) and ''

A Summer Best ''A Summer Best'' (sstylized as 'SUMMER BEST'') is the 6th compilation album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki released on August 8, 2012. The album contains 24 old songs plus two new tracks - " You & Me" and "Happening here" - over 2 di ...

'' (2012). No

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

was shot for the single. Only a video commercial for the single was aired in Japan. This became Hamasaki's first single to not feature a music video; her next single to not feature a music video was her 2001 single "

Unite! "Unite!" is the twenty-third single by Ayumi Hamasaki, released on July 11, 2001. It is her sixth single released in Germany. Unlike most of her other A-sides and some of her B-sides, Unite! has no PV. It has been performed on various occasion ...

Reception

"Audience" received favorable reviews from most music critics. Alexey Eremenko, who had written her extended biography at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, highlighted the song as an album and career stand out. A reviewer for ''CDJournal'' was positive towards the track, commending the production and calling it “fun” but “aggressive” Hamasaki hosted an online voting poll for fans to choose their favorite tracks to be featured on her Ayumi Hamasaki 15th Anniversary Tour Best Live Tour. As a result, "Audience" were featured on the list. "Audience" debuted at number three on the Japanese

Count Down TV (also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...

chart. The song was unable to pass

Misia Misaki Itō, commonly known as and stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Born in Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended ...

's single "Everything" and

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band that first formed in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (dr ...

' single "Blue in Green". It fell to number eight the next week. It fell to sixteen in its third week, and fell at number thirty and forty-six in its fourth and fifth week, respectively. The song fell outside the top fifty at number fifty-four and fell to seventy-nine. "Audience" debuted at number two on the

and lasted eight weeks. In the 2000 annual Count Down TV chart, "Audience" was placed at ninety-two. "Audience" was certified gold by the

(RIAJ) for shipment of 200,000 units. "Audience" resulted in the lowest selling single off ''Duty'', with only the lead "trilogy" singles selling over 500,000 units in Japan. Despite this result, "Audience" now remains Hamasaki's second best selling limited edition single to date with sales over 293,000 units, just behind "Fly High" which sold 300,000 units. "Audience" is her twenty–seventh best selling single.

Live performances

Hamasaki has performed "Audience" in all of her New Years countdown concerts up until the '' Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown Live 2006–2007 A'', which became the song's last live performance at the countdown shows. Additionally, Hamasaki has performed "Audience" twice in her involvement with Avex Trax's concert A Nation, being performed in 2006 and the last performance being held in 2008. "Audience" has also been featured on several of Hamasaki's national and international tours that has spread throughout many Asian territories. The song had made its debut tour performance on Hamasaki's 2001 '' Ayumi Hamasaki Dome Tour 2001 A''. Ever since the song's debut performance, "Audience" has appeared on several of Hamasaki's arena tours including ''

Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2002 A ''Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2002 A'' is a Japanese-language live album released on January 29, 2003, the same day ''Ayumi Hamasaki Stadium Tour 2002 A'' (Stylized as ayumi hamasaki STADIUM TOUR 2002 A) was also released. Track listing # I am… ...

'', ''2002 Stadium Tour'' and ''2005 My Story Tour''. The song's last live performance was her 2014 ''Ayumi Hamasaki PREMIUM SHOWCASE: Feel the love'', in which was supported by her 2014 studio album ''

Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

''.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the single's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

Song credits

–

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, vocal production *

– composition *Yasuyuki Tomita – A&R *Shigeo Miyamoto – mastering, engineering *Shinji Hayashi – additional production *

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, vocal production, additional production

Cover credits

*Shinichi Hara –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

*Shigeru Kasai and Takuma Noriage –

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

*Naoki Ueda – creative coordinator *Toru Kumazawa –

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

*Koji Matsumoto – fashion director *Hiroyuki Ishii and Takako Mishima – stylist *CHIKA – hair assistant and make–up stylist *Kanako Miura –

nail art Nail art is a creative way to paint, decorate, enhance, and embellish nails. It is a type of artwork that can be done on fingernails and toenails, usually after manicures or pedicures. Manicures and pedicures are beauty treatments that trim, s ...

ist

Track listing

All lyrics written by Ayumi Hamasaki.

Charts, peaks and positions

Weekly charts

Certification

Release history

Notes

References

External links

"Audience"
information at Avex Network. {{Authority control Ayumi Hamasaki songs 2000 singles Songs written by Ayumi Hamasaki Songs written by Dai Nagao Disco songs