''Colours'' is the fifteenth studio album 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 ...
. It was released on July 2, 2014, in Japan by
Avex Trax, worldwide by Avex Entertainment Inc., and on July 18 in Taiwan by Avex Taiwan. The songs on the album were entirely written by Hamasaki, while production was led by long-time collaborator
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 ...
; it also included a variety of Western producers such as
Armin van Buuren
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...
, members from
RedOne Productions De Paris and Rush,
Darkchild
Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...
, and
Fedde Le Grand
Fedde Le Grand (; born 7 September 1977) is a Dutch house DJ, record producer and remixer from Utrecht.
Biography
In 2006, his single "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached the top five on the Dutch Top 40, number one in the UK Singles Chart a ...
, among others. This became Hamasaki's first studio album to have not been fully produced by Matsuura, and her first album to incorporate a large amount of
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
. Musically, ''Colours'' is an
electronic dance music album.
Upon its release, ''Colours'' received favorable reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Critics commended the material and how Hamasaki included more producers outside of Matsuura, alongside praising the production. Commercially, it was not as successful as her predecessor records in Japan, reaching number five on the
Oricon Albums Chart
The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...
. It is her lowest charting album in Japan, sold 53,406 units by the end of the year, and featured a similar run in other charts in other Asian territories. Each track from the album was released as a single, with "
Feel the Love"/"
Merry-Go-Round
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
" and "
Terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
" entering 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 ...
.
To promote the album, Hamasaki commenced two concert tours in Japan; the first was her
annual Countdown Live for 2013 leading onto 2014, and her 2014 ''
Premium Showcase: Feel the Love'' tour that visited Tokyo, Osaka, and Nayoga city. The concerts were generally a success, and spawned two live video releases. Hamasaki was then part of the 2014 A-Nation concert tour. Hamasaki further promoted the album with several business and endorsement endeavours, including theme songs that were adapted from the album and other musical releases.
Background and recording
In October 2013, Hamasaki announced she had worked on new music when she revealed the release details of her single "
Feel the Love"/"
Merry-Go-Round
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
", which was her first physical release in three years. Then in May 2014, Japanese music publication Jame World confirmed the involvement of Western musicians and producers
RedOne
Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive.
As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...
, Rodney Jenkins, who uses the alias
Darkchild
Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...
, and
Fedde Le Grand
Fedde Le Grand (; born 7 September 1977) is a Dutch house DJ, record producer and remixer from Utrecht.
Biography
In 2006, his single "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached the top five on the Dutch Top 40, number one in the UK Singles Chart a ...
, among others that were unannounced at the time. Titled ''Colours'', the songs on the album were entirely written by Hamasaki, while production was led by long-time collaborator
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 ...
. It also included a variety of Western producers including RedOne Production's members De Paris and Rush, Darkchild, and Grand, plus Andy Kautz,
Armin van Buuren
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...
, and
Benno de Goeij
Marinus Bernardus "Benno" de Goeij (; born on 19 March 1975) is a Dutch record producer. He is best known for his participation in Rank 1 with Piet Bervoets, Kamaya Painters with Tiësto and Gaia (Armin van Buuren alias), Gaia with Armin van Bu ...
, and Japanese musicians
Daishi Dance
Daishi Dance (born in 1976) is a male Japanese DJ and record producer.
Summary
Daishi Dance performs in the heart of Sapporo, creating melodious house mixes that feature vocals conveying grief and discontent, and using three turn tables in a hyb ...
, DJ Hello Kitty, and M-Flo.
This became Hamasaki's first studio album to have not been fully produced by Matsuura, although he did fully contribute to the tracks "Hello New Me", "Pray", and "Now & 4Eva".
Hamasaki began recording the album in 2013 at the
Record Plant
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
studios in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, where she was living at the time.
There, she recorded the tracks "
Feel the Love", "XOXO", "
Terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
", "Angel", "
Merry-Go-Round
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
", and "Lelio".
In an interview with Japanese magazine ''S Cawaii'', she stated that one of the reasons she moved to Los Angeles was in order to base her work there and her personal life in Japan; she quoted, "Now that I'm living in L.A., I thought 'I want to do work I could only do in L.A.' I was very proactive about it." She carried on with the development of the album while preparing for her annual
2013-2014 Countdown Live concert tour in Japan. While she was in
Tokyo
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 ...
, Japan, she recorded the tracks "Hello New Me", "Pray", and "Now & 4Eva" at Prime Sound Studio Form, Avex Studio, and Avex Studio Azabu.
Composition and songs
![Armin van Buuren 2005 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Armin_van_Buuren_2005_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Musically, ''Colours'' is an
electronic dance album.
In a short commentary on Hamasaki's website, she stated that the album was influenced by
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
. Alongside with several new producers, Hamasaki and Avex Trax enlisted a wide range of musicians and composers to help with the album, including
Tetsuya Komuro
is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the ...
,
John Mamann
Jonathan Maman (; born September 29, 1978), better known by his stage name John Mamann (), is a French singer, songwriter and composer who is signed to AZ, part of Universal Music. He has released three albums, ''Mister Joe'' in 2010, self-titl ...
,
AJ Junior
Achraf Janussi, better known as AJ Junior, and also known as AJ Janussi, is a well-known songwriter and music producer based in Sweden. The credits may also use A Janussi, Ashraf Janussi and sometimes Jannusi as well. He closely cooperates with re ...
, among others.
The majority of the album's content was written by Hamasaki in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
. According to the lyric booklets that came with the physical formats of the album, the tracks "Feel the Love", "XOXO", and "Angel" are performed bilingually, while the remaining content apart from "Lelio" are recorded primarily in Japanese.
The track "Lelio" was recorded in English with additional Japanese lyrics throughout the verses.
The album track "Merry-Go-Round" includes guest vocals of Japanese rapper
Verbal, who also contributed to the song writing and composition of the single.
The album opens with "Feel the Love", which is an EDM–
pop song that was composed by Komuro and produced by DJ Hello Kitty. DJ Hello Kitty provided an additional remix to the physical release of the single. "XOXO" was produced by RedOne Production members De Paris and Rush Aziz, while the composition was handled by Junior, Ameerah A. Roelants, Aziz, Mamann, and Yohanne Simon. Musically, it is an uptempo
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song that was compared by a reviewer at KKBox.com to the work of American recording artist
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
.
"What Is Forever Love" is a duet with Japanese recording artist
Naoya Urata
is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a former member of the group AAA.
Career
Following Urata's arrest in April 2019, he announced he was leaving AAA on December 31, 2019.
Controversy
On April 19, 2019, Urata was arrested for allegedly assau ...
from the band
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
, and includes the instrumentation of pianos and synthesizers.
"Hello New Me" and "Pray" was noted by a ''CD Journal'' staff member as
pop ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cur ...
s.
The sixth track on the album is "Terminal", which was composed and produced by
Armin van Buuren
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...
and
Benno de Goeij
Marinus Bernardus "Benno" de Goeij (; born on 19 March 1975) is a Dutch record producer. He is best known for his participation in Rank 1 with Piet Bervoets, Kamaya Painters with Tiësto and Gaia (Armin van Buuren alias), Gaia with Armin van Bu ...
.
It is Hamasaki's second album track to have not been produced by Matsuura, her first being "
Connected
Connected may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Connected'' (2008 film), a Hong Kong remake of the American movie ''Cellular''
* '' Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology'', a 2011 documentary film
* ''Connected'' (2015 TV ...
", which was produced by
Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch disc jockey, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moon ...
and appeared on her fourth studio album ''
I Am...'' (2002). Musically, it is a dance song that incorporates elements of
trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes.
Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...
and EDM. "Angel" was composed by Darkchild, Andy Kautz, and Ardita Satka, and was noted by Gwendolyn Ng at ''
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
'' as an EDM song. The eighth song on the album was the M-Flo-produced "Merry-Go-Round", which was described by Dinah Congying Chen at ''Asia Pacific Arts'', a newspaper published by the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, as another EDM track. "Lelio" was noted by Dato at Kkbox.com as an "aggressive" tune by Dato, while the closing song "Now & 4Eva" was composed by Japanese musician Kazuhiro Hara.
Release
''Colours'' was released on July 2, 2014, in Japan by
Avex Trax, worldwide by Avex Entertainment Inc., and on July 18 in Taiwan by Avex Taiwan. The album was released in six formats, the first being a stand-alone CD that features the 10 songs.
The CD and DVD version includes the 10 tracks, plus 10 videos for the official and behind the scenes of the tracks "Feel the Love", "XOXO", "Angel", "Merry-Go-Round", and "Lelio".
The CD and Blu-Ray versions feature the same tracks as the CD and DVD version, but display a different album cover.
Two limited edition versions of the DVD and Blu-Ray bundles were made available through Hamasaki's fan club website TeamAyu, which featured the same track list on both formats but came with a promo sticker and a Milena's brand aroma candle scented with "Boutique".
The final format was the wide digital release, which included the same 10 tracks.
The album artwork and promotional photos was photographed by G.T.Gan, which featured Hamasaki holding her arms against her head.
The album artworks were published through Hamasaki's website on June 16, 2014, alongside the tracks that were featured.
Reception
Upon its release, ''Colours'' received favorable reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. An editor from ''CD Journal'' complimented Hamasaki's approach to electronic dance music, and commended the variety of producers who helmed the album. Specifically, the review pointed out "Feel the Love", "Merry-Go-Round", and "Hello New Me" as the best tracks on the album.
Similarly, Dato from KKbox.com was positive in his review and praised Hamasaki's approach to electronic dance music. He also noted the "fun" appeal to the album, and recommended the tracks "Feel the Love", "Hello New Me", "Pray", "XOXO", "What Is Forever Love", and "Lelio" from the album.
Linshu Yan from ''
The China Times'' did not review the album extensively, but labelled the sound and production as "fine", and highlighted the track "XOXO".
Commercially, ''Colours'' was not as successful as Hamasaki's previous records in Japan. It became her first to debut outside the top three on the
Oricon Albums Chart
The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...
, ranking at number five, and earned the singer the lowest first week sales of her career at the time, with 39,295 units sold.
The album's opening sales performance was attributed to a lack of promotion and stiff competition by other artists at the time, as described by Japanese publications. It dropped to number 16 the following week, Hamasaki's first album to not remain inside the top ten for at least two weeks, with sales of 6,122 units. It slipped to number 31 the following week, with 2,922 units sold, and left the top 50 the week after. By the end of 2014, the album had sold 53,406 cumulative units and ranked at number 98 on Oricon's Annual Chart.
Despite its more minimal success, ''Colours'' became Hamasaki's 47th record to chart within the top ten on the Oricon Albums Chart, making her the second artist in Japanese music history to achieve this, after
Yumi Matsutoya
, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures ...
. Elsewhere, the album reached numbers 75 and 16 on the South Korean
Gaon Albums Chart
The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, previously kno ...
and International Albums Chart respectively.
The first was a double
A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
single that featured the songs "
Feel the Love" and "
Merry-Go-Round
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
", released on December 25, 2013. It was her first physical release in three years, after her EP–single ''
L'', and both tracks received a music video. It under performed in Japan, reaching number five 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 made it her lowest charting single at the time of its release. The second single was "
Terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
", which was released on October 1, 2014. It was her first single to not feature a music video, her first since "
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 occasio ...
" in 2001. It became her first single to miss the top 20 since her debut single "
Poker Face" in 1998, and is her lowest selling single as of August 2016. "XOXO" was released on the same day as "Terminal", but was distributed as a PlugAir device in Japan and North American through
Machine Shop Recordings
Machine Shop Records is a record label founded by American rock band Linkin Park members, Brad Delson and Mike Shinoda, in 2001. The label is notable for releasing music in rock, hip hop, underground hip hop, alternative rock and nu metal music ...
, featuring the song, one remix, and three additional videos. The tracks "Pray" and "
Hello New Me" were released as digital singles on January 27 and May 14, 2014. Both tracks peaked at number 76 and 29 on the
Japan Hot 100
The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...
chart, hosted by ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''.
To promote Hamasaki's 2014 Premium Showcase: Feel the Love concert tour in Japan, Avex Trax released three double A-side singles in specific arenas to promote the tracks as a free gift. The first release was "XOXO"/"Terminal", released between May 30 and June 1, 2014, in Nagoya, Japan. Both tracks had been promoted separately not long after, and "XOXO" received a music video that appeared on its own release format and the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of ''Colours''.
The second release was "Angel", released between June 12 in Osaka, Japan. The track received a music video, and was included on the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the parent album.
The third and final release was "What Is Forever Love"/"Now & 4Eva", released between June 3 and June 6 in Tokyo, Japan. These six tracks had been distributed through Hamasaki's TeamAyu fan club website on May 23 for streaming and digital downloads.
Live performances and promotion
To promote the album, Hamasaki conducted two live concert tours and several other endorsements and releases. Hamasaki commenced her 2013–2014 ''
Countdown Live 2013-2014 A'' at the
Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its suspension roof design.
It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming and d ...
in
Yoyogi Park
is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...
, Tokyo. At the three concert date tour, she performed "Feel the Love" and "Merry-Go-Round" from the parent album, and eventually distributed a live DVD on April 30, 2014. She then went on her 2014 ''
Premium Showcase: Feel the Love'' concert tour in Japan, where she performed the album tracks "What Is Forever Love", "Hello New Me", "Angel", "Terminal", "XOXO", "Lelio", and "Feel the Love". The tour was hosted in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya city, destinations which could only allow "the newest technology and performance techniques" that "allow mechanisms only achievable in these locations". The live performance was then filmed and distributed through Avex Trax in Japan, both on DVD and Blu-Ray discs on October 22, 2014. On October 18, 2014, Hamasaki performed as the closing act in the
A-Nation premium concert held at the
Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands (abbreviation: MBS) is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. The resort is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and at its opening in 2010, it was deemed the world's most expensive standalone casino prop ...
’ MasterCard Theatres in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. She had performed "XOXO" and "Lelio", alongside several other tracks from her discography; this was the second time performing in Singapore after her
MTV Asia Awards
The MTV Asia Awards was the Asian equivalent of the European MTV EMA. Held from 2002 to 2008, the show gave recognition and awards to Asian and international artists in achievement, cinema, fashion, humanitarian, and music. Just like the EMAs, mos ...
performance 12 years previously.
One day before the album's release, Hamasaki promoted the album at an album launch at
Tower Records
Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...
in
Shibuya
Shibuya ( 渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station.
As of April 1 ...
. On June 18, 2014, weeks prior to the release of ''Colours'', Hamasaki released a non-stop megamix album entitled ''EDMA''; the album included short versions of the tracks "XOXO", "Lelio", "Feel the Love", "Terminal", "Angel", "Merry-Go-Round", and "What Is Forever Love". Three of the album's tracks: "Feel the Love", "Pray", and "Hello New Me" were used in advertising endorsements and films in Japan. "Feel the Love" was used as the commercial theme song for Dwango.jp, the
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 hosted by the
Tokyo Broadcasting System
formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...
(TBS), and the Christmas Fair commercial.
"Pray" was used as the theme song for the Japanese animated movie ''Buddha 2'', her first recording for a movie in 12 years; Hamasaki attended the world premiere of the film in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
"Hello New Me" was used as the theme song for the 2014
Fuji Fuji may refer to:
Places China
* Fuji, Xiangcheng City (付集镇), town in Xiangcheng City, Henan
Japan
* Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan
* Fuji River
* Fuji, Saga, town in Saga Prefecture
* Fuji, Shizuoka, city in Shizuoka Prefectur ...
television series ''Zoku: Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi''.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the CD liner notes of ''Colours''.
;Recording and management
*Recorded at
Record Plant Recording Studios,
Los Angeles California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and Prime Sound Studio Form, Avex Studio, Avex Studio Azabu,
Tokyo
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 ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
between 2013 and 2014. Management at
Avex Trax in Tokyo, Japan.
;Credits
*Ayumi Hamasaki – vocals, songwriting
*Yuta Nakano – backing vocals, composing, production
*Yumi Kawamura – backing vocals
*Jaycen Joshua – mixing
*
Tetsuya Komuro
is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the ...
– composing
*DJ Hello Kitty – composing, production, arrangement
*Jordan Sapp – arrangement
*Trevor Muzzy – mixing
*AJ Junior – composing
*Ameerah A. Roelants – composing
*Rush Aziz – composing, production, programming
*John Mamann – composing
*Yohanne Simon – composing, programming
*De Paris – production
*Junichiro Kawata – coordinator
*Kazuki Kumagai – coordinator
*Sakimi Kanai – coordinator
*
Naoya Urata
is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a former member of the group AAA.
Career
Following Urata's arrest in April 2019, he announced he was leaving AAA on December 31, 2019.
Controversy
On April 19, 2019, Urata was arrested for allegedly assau ...
– guest vocals
*
Daishi Dance
Daishi Dance (born in 1976) is a male Japanese DJ and record producer.
Summary
Daishi Dance performs in the heart of Sapporo, creating melodious house mixes that feature vocals conveying grief and discontent, and using three turn tables in a hyb ...
– composing, production
*Tomoharu Moriya – composing
*Tomoki Ihira – guitar
*Naoki Yamada – mixing
*Kunio Tago – composing
*Yuko Kajitani Strings – music, string arrangement
*David Reitzas – mixing
*Takayuki Mogami – oboe
*
Armin van Buuren
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...
– composing, production
*Benno de Goeij – composing, production
*Andy Kautz – composing, production
*Ardita Satka – composing
*
Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...
– composing, production
*Mitsunori Ikeda – arranging, programming
*Tachytelic – arranging, programming
*Jeb – composing
*Unico – composing
*
M-Flo
is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of record producer DJ Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa.
Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists fo ...
– composing, production
*
Verbal – rapping, guest vocals
*Robin Morssink – mixing, composing
*
Fedde Le Grand
Fedde Le Grand (; born 7 September 1977) is a Dutch house DJ, record producer and remixer from Utrecht.
Biography
In 2006, his single "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" reached the top five on the Dutch Top 40, number one in the UK Singles Chart a ...
– composing, production
*Ryota Akizuki – acoustic guitar
*Yumi Kawamura – backing vocals
*Takehito Shimizu – electric guitar
*Kazuhiro Hara – composing
;Additional credits
*Nobby Uno – album coordinator
*Terry Ross – album coordinator
*Mai Takamizawa – album coordinator
*Alvin Goh – creative designer
*Hidetomo Yoneda – direction
*Bradford H. Smith – engineer
*Dustin Capulong – engineer
*Ryan Kaul – engineer
*Ryota Gomi – engineer
*Shuhei Shimizu – engineer
*Yuji Tanaka – engineer
*Yujiro Yonetsu – engineer
*Yushi Iwata – engineer
*Koji Sato – management (composing)
*Tadayoshi Matsuzaka – management (composing)
*Tomonori Takeda – management (composing)
*Yuki Iwabuchi – management (composing)
*Alam Melina – management (production)
*Daisaku Ito – management (production)
*Dick de Groot – management (production)
*Gesine Pertenbreiter – management (production)
*Jr. Regisford – management (production)
*Hiroki Nakajima – management (production)
*Ichiro Shimizu – management (production)
*John Witsenburg – management (production)
*Kevin Inoue – management (production)
*Maykel Piron – management (production)
*Nadine van Bodegraven – management (production)
*Noboru Kuroda – management (production)
*Ray Hatayama – management (production)
*Sachiko Hanai – management (production)
*Susanne Wolffensperger – management (production)
*Takashi Honda – management (production)
*Dave Kutch – mastering
*G.T.Gan – photography
*Hideaki Jinbu – recording
*Hiroshi Sato – recording
*Koji Morimoto – recording
*Naoki Yamada – recording
*Yuichi Nagayama – recording
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Yearly charts
Sales
Release history
Notes
References
External links
''Colours''at Ayumi Hamasaki's official website.
{{Authority control
2014 albums
Ayumi Hamasaki albums
Dance-pop albums by Japanese artists
Japanese-language albums