''Joy'' (stylized as ''JOY'') is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Japanese singer

Shizuka Kudo , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese singer, actress and former idol, born in Hamura, Tokyo, Japan. She was a member of Onyanko Club between May 1986 and September 1987 and went on to have a successful solo career with 11 number-one hits. ...

. It was released on March 15, 1989, through

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...

. It is the first of three albums released by Kudo that year: it was followed by the concept album ''

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

'' in October and the compilation album ''

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

'' in December. A limited first pressing of ''Joy'' was released in

gold CD A gold compact disc is one in which gold is used in place of the super pure aluminium commonly used as the reflective coating on ordinary CDs or silver on ordinary CD-Rs. Gold CDs can be played in any CD player. Blank gold CD-Rs are also availab ...

format. Kudo has stated that ''Joy'' is one of her favorite albums she has recorded.

Nanase Aikawa is a Japanese singer. She publishes her music under the Motorod label, a division of Avex Group. Biography Early life Nanase Aikawa was born on February 16, 1975, in Osaka, Japan. Throughout her school years, Nanase had sung and participate ...

has also listed the album as a major influence behind her decision to pursue a musical career. ''Joy'' was re-issued in APO-CD format on December 1, 1993.

Commercial performance

The standard edition of ''Joy'' debuted at number one 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 ...

, with 131,000 units sold in its first week, while the limited edition entered the chart at number three, with 47,000 copies sold. The standard edition dropped three positions to number four on its second week, selling 57,000 copies. It slid up to number three the following week, logging sales of 41,000 copies. It fell to number five next, where it stayed for two consecutive weeks, selling 26,000 and 19,000 copies, respectively. The album dropped to number eight the following week, then to number thirteen. It rose to number ten on its eighth week, charting one last time in the top ten. The album fell back down to number thirteen before dropping out from the top twenty the next week. The standard edition of ''Joy'' charted in the top 100 for seventeen weeks, selling a reported total of 360,000 copies during its run, while the limited edition charted for four weeks, selling a reported total of 56,000 copies. ''Joy'', the standard edition, was ranked number 24 on the year-end Oricon Albums Chart.

Track listing

All tracks composed and arranged by

Tsugutoshi Gotō is a Japanese songwriter, bassist and music producer. Gotō broke into the Japanese music industry playing bass on tour for artists like Sadistic Mika Band, Bread & Butter and Shiro Kishibe. He went on to write and produce songs for other artist ...

Commercial performance

Track listing

Charts

Standard edition

Limited edition

Certification

Release history

See also

References