''Party Queen'' is the thirteenth full-length studio album 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 ...

. The album was released digitally on March 14, 2012 and physically on March 21, 2012 through Avex Trax. Primarily a pop album, ''Party Queen'' is made up mostly of dance songs and ballads. As with all of Hamasaki's albums, she wrote all of the lyrics. Composition was handled by a team of composers, as with many of her albums. ''Party Queen'' featured music videos and songs recorded in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and was her second album to do so. ''Party Queen'' became Hamasaki's first album to feature no physical singles; however, " How Beautiful You Are" was released digitally as the album's lead single. As it lacked a physical release, "How Beautiful You Are" was ineligible to chart on the Oricon singles chart, but it did chart at number fifty-two on

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 ...

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 ...

, and number three on the

RIAJ Digital Track Chart The was a record chart that ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, with data provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan from April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads (着うたフル ''Chaku-Uta Full'') (not downlo ...

. The song was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan 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 pr ...

for digital sales exceeding 100,000. ''Party Queen'' received mixed reviews from music critics. Commercially, the album became her second to miss the Oricon's top position, debuting at number two in Japan with first-week sales of 97,691 copies, the lowest of her career at that time. It sold around 150,000 copies in Japan by the end of its chart run and received Gold certification.

Release

''Party Queen'' was released in 5 different formats: CD only version; CD+DVD version; CD+2DVD version with the second DVD being ''Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown Live 2011-2012: Hotel Love Songs''; a special limited box set containing CD+4DVD with ''Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown Live 2011-2012: Hotel Love Songs'', ''Ayumi Hamasaki Power of Music 2011 A: Limited Edition'', 2 half-pint glasses and 2 cork coasters; another similar special box set containing CD+2DVD+Blu-ray, Blu-ray being ''Ayumi Hamasaki Power of Music 2011 A: Limited Edition''. Only 2 songs had commercial endorsements prior to the album release: "Party Queen" was used as commercial song for

Peach John is a Japanese mail-order retailer of lingerie and women's apparel targeted at women in their teens and 20s. History The company was founded 1 June 1994 by Mika Noguchi and her now ex-husband, Shoji Noguchi, in Tokyo, Japan. Mika Noguchi, th ...

and " How Beautiful You Are" was the theme song for drama show "Saigokara Nibanme no Koi". And the promotional music video for the single notably featured an appearance by late gay pornographic actor Koh Masaki and his boyfriend. To promote ''Party Queen'' after its release, Hamasaki attracted around 3,000 fans for her "Public Recording Session Event" at FM Osaka, which was held at Abeno Market Park Ceus Mall on March 27. After that, Hamasaki did Yahoo GyaO's live talk with Joshinavi.

Release

Track listing

Release history

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certifications

References