''Original Ai'' (stylized in

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

) is the second studio album by Japanese–American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on July 23, 2003 by Def Jam Japan and

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. The album features guest appearances and collaborations from

Dabo is a Japanese hip-hop rapper. He first appeared on the Japanese hip-hop scene in the 1990s, collaborating in a Shakkazombie song, ''"Tomo ni ikkou"''. Since 2002, he has released three albums: ''Hitman'' (2002), ''Diamond'' (2003), and ''The Fo ...

, American rapper

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

and Sphere of Influence. Four singles were released from ''Original Ai''. The lead single "Last Words" became Ai's best performing single on the Oricon singles chart until her 2005 single "365".

Background

Ai previously released her debut studio album, '' My Name Is Ai'' in 2001 under BMG Japan. Following its very little commercial success, Ai moved to Def Jam Japan and became the first woman signed to the label. Compared to her previous label, Ai stated she felt more at home with Def Jam Japan. Her first release under the label was the lead single "Last Words", which peaked at number 27 on the Japanese

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...

singles chart. The second single "Thank U" was released in June 2003, peaking at number 37 on the Oricon singles chart.

Track listing

All tracks written by Ai Uemura unless noted.Notes * Tracks 1, 9 and 13 are titled in

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 ...

. * Track 13 translates in English as "Merry Christmas on the Battlefield" or "Battlefield Merry Christmas". * Tracks 2, 5, 6, 10, and 12 are stylized in

all capitals In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in l ...

Charts

Release history

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2003 albums Ai (singer) albums Universal Music Group albums Def Jam Japan albums