''Eighth World'' (stylized as EIGH''th'' WØR''l''D) is Misia's eighth studio album and first since signing back with BMG Japan, released on January 9, 2008. It includes the singles " Any Love" and "

Royal Chocolate Flush "Royal Chocolate Flush" is the eighteenth single by Japanese recording artist Misia. It was released on December 5, 2007 as the second single from Misia's eighth studio album '' Eighth World''. Background The single was released simultaneousl ...

" as well as the J-Wave ''Winter Campaign Holy December, Be in Love with J-Wave'' image song and theme song to the Japanese release of the movie '' Bridge to Terabithia'', "To Be in Love". The first pressing of the album came in a sleeve case packaging. The album is certifie
Gold
for shipment of 100,000 copies.

Title

The title "Eighth World" was chosen because of the coinciding year of release and number of the album. Moreover, with the Kanji for eight, 八 (hachi), resembling a folding fan spreading out, and the symbol for

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

, ∞, being similar to the number 8 flipped on its side, the message conveyed in the title is that "an infinite amount of happiness is spreading out in the eighth world of Misia".

Information

With her previous album, '' Ascension'', focusing on the vast theme of "life" and "birth", Misia entered production of ''Eighth World'' with the idea of incorporating this element in a more tangible way. The album reflects a more up close and personal theme, with lyrics about relationships and the many sceneries Misia encountered in her homeland as well as in Kenya, where she visited the

Kibera Kibera (Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the largest urban slum in Africa.http://www.dominionpa ...

slum in Nairobi. In an interview with MSN Music, she explained:

"Last spring, I visited Kenya and the reality of their conditions I saw in the slums was harsher than I had imagined. It made me think over a lot of things. It made me want to sing about "real" issues and with that in mind, one of the first songs I wrote right after was "Any Love"."

"Taiyō no Malaika" is another song Misia wrote during her stay in Africa. A performance of the song was captured in a documentary of Misia's visit. She explained the crowd's reaction, saying, "The words are in Japanese, so naturally, I didn't think they would understand. However, as I sang, I saw the mothers crying as they listened. That's when I realized firsthand that music has no borders and transcends language." The song "Ishin Denshin", which was written by essayist Mayumi Satō to Misia's demand, speaks of this realization.

Track listing

Charts

Oricon Sales Chart

Physical Sales Charts

References

External links

Misia Official Web SiteEighth World Official Page
{{Authority control 2008 albums Misia albums Japanese-language albums Sony Music Entertainment Japan albums