''L'' is the 50th single (51st overall) by Japanese singer-songwriter

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 ...

, released on 29 September 2010. It is Hamasaki's last release from the three-part project to celebrate fifty singles. Its title, L, is the

Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

for fifty. All of the songs from the single EP were recorded in Los Angeles. The single reached number 1, her 38th overall and 25th consecutive overall since " Free & Easy" on April 24, 2002. "L" has received an album certification for more than 100,000 copies shipped by the

RIAJ 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 p ...

, and the song "Virgin Road" has received a gold digital certification for paid downloads to cellphones.

Music videos

The videos for ''Sweet Season'' and ''Virgin Road'' premiered September 27, 2010. The music video for ''Sweet Season'' starts with Hamasaki picking up her kids with her car, and driving back home. It shows Hamasaki and her kids having fun at the swimming pool outside their house. Near the end of the video, Hamasaki falls in the swimming pool slowly, with flashbacks of her and her kids. Then, she wakes up at the same place on her sofa, realizing that it was only a dream. She is dressed differently from before, changing from a sweet-looking mother into a weird looking woman, with heavy makeup. The second version of the video features new scenes of Hamasaki and her children in the living room singing, and scenes could be seen rewound. This version was not part of her ''Love Songss music videos. The music video for ''Virgin Road'' features Austrian actor and model Manuel Schwarz (later to become Hamasaki's real-life husband). ''Virgin Road'' was Hamasaki's fifth-most expensive music videos, behind ''Jewel'', ''Green'', ''Fairyland'' and ''My Name's Women''. The video's production reportedly cost $1,000,000. The music video was shot in Los Angeles and features Hamasaki and Schwarz getting married. After that, they are seen robbing a bank and gas station. The video represents was Hamasaki's first encounter with large guns. A police chase ensues, and Hamasaki throws the stolen money out of the car. Resting somewhere on the hill, helicopter throw grenades at the couple, but they escape.

Overview

Hamasaki's 25th consecutive single breaks the record for the most consecutive number 1 singles by any female artist as well as any soloist since

Seiko Matsuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter, known for being one of the most popular Japanese idols of the 1980s. Since then, she is still actively releasing new singles and albums, doing annual summer concert tours, win ...

in the 1980s; Matsuda's streak of 24 consecutive number-one singles was broken in 1989 when "Precious Heart" reached number 2, only lagging behind "Gravity of Love" by

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 ...

, who is also a major contributor to Hamasaki's 49th (" Crossroad") and 50th singles.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Ayumi Hamasaki, except for "Seven Days War", which is a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

TM Network TM Network is a Japanese rock/new wave/pop musical band, made up by Tetsuya Komuro (keyboardist), Takashi Utsunomiya (vocalist) and Naoto Kine (guitarist). They became popular in Japan as the "futuristic pop songs with synthesizer" after the r ...

Music videos

Overview

Track listing

Jacket A

Jacket B

Jacket C

Jacket D

Charts

Oricon Sales Chart

References