''Purple'' is the tenth

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 August 2, 1995, 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 ...

. The album is named after Kudo's favorite color,

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...

, or more specifically

wisteria ''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), that includes ten species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and north o ...

. The record features the song "Olivia", which Kudo wrote about her deceased brother.

Critical reception

Kudo was praised for the "chic" and "mature" musical direction of the album. She was acclaimed for producing a cohesive sound, consisting of

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

s-intensive ballads and

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

tracks.

Commercial performance

''Purple'' debuted at number seven 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 55,000 units sold in its first week, marking Kudo's last studio album to debut in the top ten. The album dropped two positions to number nine on its second week, with 31,000 copies sold. It charted one last time in the top twenty, ranking at number 16 on its third week with 18,000 copies sold. ''Purple'' spent seven consecutive weeks in the top 100, selling a reported total of 140,000 copies during its run.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Shizuka Kudo albums Pony Canyon albums