''Rainbow'' (stylized as ''RINBOW'') is the fifth studio album by Japanese recording artist
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 18 December 2002 by
Avex Trax. Production of ''Rainbow'' had commenced after the release of Hamasaki's fourth studio album ''
I Am...'' that January; All lyrics were written by Hamasaki, and Japanese producer
Max Matsuura
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese record producer and businessman. He is the founder of Avex Group, one of the largest music labels. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists into stars (most notably Ayumi Hamas ...
returned to produce the album. The album was Hamasaki's first to feature conversational
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
lyrics, where in her previous works she had only used single words.
Channelling
pop and
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...
music, ''Rainbow'' focuses on lighter themes that were established on her previous album. Some songs focus on loneliness, sadness and relationships, while the rest talk about happiness, having fun and nostalgia. Critics' opinions of the album were generally favourable; the composition and lyrical content were commended. However, some critics dismissed Hamasaki's vocals and Matsuura's production. Upon its release, the album entered 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 ...
at number one with first week sales of over one million units, becoming her fifth album to reach the top spot, her fourth to debut there, and her fourth to sell over one million copies in its debut week. ''Rainbow'' is the eighty-ninth highest selling Japanese album of all time.
Hamasaki promoted the album by releasing three singles: "
Free & Easy", "
H", and "
Voyage
Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to:
Literature
*''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden
* ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter
*''The Voyage'', Murray Bail
* "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...
". All three reached number one, with Free & Easy becoming the first of a record breaking twenty-five consecutive number one singles, a streak that did not break until 2013, when her single "
Feel the Love/Merry-Go-Round" stalled at number five. All of the singles except "H" were accompanied by a short
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
. Hamasaki performed several tracks from the album in several television appearances in 2002 and 2003, and has performed some of the album's songs on
several concert tours and countdown live shows.
Background
On
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
2002, Hamasaki released her fourth studio album ''
I Am...'' on
Avex Trax.
The album saw a new direction for Hamasaki, whose first three studio albums were dominated by a
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
sound, and lyrics based on loneliness, confusion, sadness, relationships and individualism.
The result was not generally well received by critics, who found Hamasaki's artistry "unassuming", particularly on her debut release ''
A Song for ××
''A Song for ××'' (the "××" is silent) is the debut album by Japanese pop artist Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickn ...
'' (1999). After being affected emotionally by the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, Hamasaki quickly changed the planned music direction for ''I Am...'', and updated the album cover to support
world peace
World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...
. The album was Hamasaki's first to focus on lighter themes, such as faith, humanity and serenity.
''I Am...'' became a success and sold over 2.3 million copies in Japan, and was certified triple million by the RIAJ.
Composition
The lyrics to the tracks from ''Rainbow'' are written by Hamasaki.
While promoting ''I Am...'', Hamasaki performed for the first time outside Japan at the 2002
MTV Asia Music Awards in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. Her performance has been seem as an influencing factor for Japanese musical acts to begin performing overseas.
At the ceremony, Hamasaki felt that by only writing Japanese lyrics, she was not able to bring her "message" to other countries and decided to begin writing in English.
''Rainbow'' contains three songs with English lyrics: "Real Me", "Heartplace" and "Over".
Like her previous album, Hamasaki focused on balancing lighter and darker themes for the album content; several tracks on the album talk about happiness, loneliness, nostalgia, love, and fun experiences.
Japanese producer
Max Matsuura
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese record producer and businessman. He is the founder of Avex Group, one of the largest music labels. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists into stars (most notably Ayumi Hamas ...
returned as the album's primary
producer.
All songs were recorded in Japan through March to November 2002, and were mastered by Shigeo Miyamoto at FLAIR.
The introduction, "Everlasting Dream", is an instrumental piece.
Composer CMJK said he was inspired by a phrase he used in creating the song, which was “No rain, no rainbow … If it doesn't rain (heartache), you won't see a rainbow (beauty and happiness).”
Lyrics were written for the song, but were removed in the final piece.
"We Wish" is an
uptempo
A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
song.
"We Wish" was the original title for the album, but Hamasaki felt that it didn't work well.
The third track "Real Me", which is the first song to feature English-language phrases, is a string-based
R&B song that was compared to the work of American recording artist
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
.
The lyrics to "Real Me" deal with
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and female empowerment.
"Free & Easy" incorporates instrumentations of
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
and
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s, utilizing a soft and “airy” sound.
"Heartplace" is an
electronic rock
Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...
song.
The original version was straightforward
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
sounds, but when Hamasaki added English lyrics, she felt it needed to be re-composed.
Both "Over" and "Hanabi" are
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...
songs that showcase higher notes performed by Hamasaki, with the first dealing with friendships and the latter discussing
nostalgia
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...
.
After the “magical” instrumental "Taskinillusion", the ninth track "Everywhere Nowhere" is inspired by uptempo 80s-inspired
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
-
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
music.
The lyrical content deals with social activity.
The tenth track "July 1st" is a “summery”
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
song. The title was inspired by a party she attended a day before, highlighting how
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
from America's
independence day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
on July 4 reflected the mood and sensation she was in.
The lyrics are about fun experiences with friends.
The mid-tempo trip hop "Dolls" was inspired by an unnamed film by Japanese director Takeshi Kitano.
The trip hop inspired instrumental piece "Neverending Dreams" leads on from "Everlasting Dream".
"Voyage" talks about the equality between women and men.
The composition of "Close to You" is inspired by
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
, and the final track "Independent" is an uptempo
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
song that relates to the theme of
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
.
A hidden track "+" was used at the end of "Independent".
Singles
The album's
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
"
Free & Easy" was released on 24 April 2002. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who highlighted it as an album stand out.
The song was a success in Japan, reaching number one and was certified platinum by RIAJ for shipments of 400,000 units.
Wataru Takeishi
is a prolific Japanese music video director. Takeishi has created videos for Japanese superstars such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Every Little Thing.
Most Expensive Music Videos
Three videos that Takeishi directed appear on the list of most expensiv ...
commissioned the music video, which features Hamasaki and was inspired by
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
.
The album's second single was released as an extended play, and featured the tracks "Independent", "July 1st" and "Hanabi"; it was titled "
H". Released on 24 July 2002, it received positive reviews from music critics, who highlighted the song's production and composition.
The song reached number one on the
Oricon Singles Chart
The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...
and was certified million by RIAJ, and it remains was her final million-certified single to date. It occupied the top spot on the 2002 Annual Oricon Singles Chart, Hamasaki's first and only single to achieve this. The song "Hanabi" was a commercially successful
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...
, being 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 ...
in January 2015, for selling 100,000 legal downloads since its release twelve and a half years prior.
The album's third and final single "
Voyage
Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to:
Literature
*''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden
* ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter
*''The Voyage'', Murray Bail
* "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...
" was released on 26 September 2002. It received positive reviews from music critics, who commended the composition and lyrical content. It reached number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified triple platinum by RIAJ, her highest selling single underneath the million threshold. A
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
was directed by
Isao Yukisada
is a Japanese film director from Kumamoto. He served as assistant director on Shunji Iwai's ''Love Letter'', ''April Story'', and '' Swallowtail Butterfly''.
Filmography Director
* ''Open House'' (1998)
* (Sunflower) (2000)
* ''A Closing Day'' ...
and featured Hamasaki as a Japanese
princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
. The DVD was released and featured the video. All her singles from ''Rainbow'' were awarded Song(s) of the Year at the 2003 Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Promotion
Several tracks from ''Rainbow'' appeared as remixed versions on her 2003 compilation series: ''
Rmx Works from Ayu-mi-x 5 Non-Stop Mega Mix'', ''
Rmx Works from Cyber Trance Presents Ayu Trance 3
Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki has released seventeen studio albums, five compilation albums, twenty-six remix albums, four live albums and numerous singles and promotional singles. She debuted in 1995 under Nippon Columbia with the stage name Ayu ...
'', and ''
Rmx Works from Super Eurobeat Presents Ayu-ro Mix 3
Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki has released seventeen studio albums, five compilation albums, twenty-six remix albums, four live albums and numerous singles and promotional singles. She debuted in 1995 under Nippon Columbia with the stage name ...
''. To promote ''Rainbow'', Hamasaki performed on several tours and concert shows; the first was her ''
Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2002 A
''Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2002 A'' is a Japanese-language live album released on January 29, 2003, the same day ''Ayumi Hamasaki Stadium Tour 2002 A'' (Stylized as ayumi hamasaki STADIUM TOUR 2002 A) was also released.
Track listing
# I am… ...
''. She also promoted the album on her ''
Ayumi Hamasaki Stadium Tour 2002 A
''Ayumi Hamasaki Stadium Tour 2002 A'' DVD was released on January 29, 2003, the same day as ''Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2002 A
''Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2002 A'' is a Japanese-language live album released on January 29, 2003, the same day ' ...
'', ''
Ayumi Hamasaki Countdown Live 2002–2003 A
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 su ...
'' and ''
Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2003–2004 A
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 su ...
'', and her music videos for "Free & Easy", "Voyage" and other album promotional footage were featured on her 2004 video
box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
''
Ayumi Hamasaki Complete Clip Box A
''Ayumi Hamasaki Complete Clip Box A'', by 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 ...
''.
Release and critical reception
''Rainbow'' was released on 18 December 2002 by Avex Trax.
It was released in Taiwan by Avex Taiwan and in China by Avex and the China Record Shanghai Corporation (CRSC). The promotional photography, directed by Shinichi Hara and photographed by Leslie Kee, features a blue-hued Hamasaki sitting in water with rainbow-colored extensions in her hair; her name and the album title is featured at the bottom.
Hara has been Hamasaki's creative director for promotional work and began collaborating with her in 1998. His final work was directing the sleeve for Hamasaki's 2009 single "
Sunrise/Sunset (Love Is All)
"Sunrise/Sunset (Love Is All)" (stylised as Sunrise/Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~) is Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki's forty-sixth (forty-seventh overall) single, released on August 12, 2009. The song "Sunrise: Love is All" is used as the theme song to ...
". A
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
of ''Rainbow'' was released in Japan in early 2003.
''Rainbow'' received favorable reviews from most music critics. ''Rainbow'' was the first written review for Hamasaki by American journalist Adam Greenberg for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
.
Awarding it three-and-a-half stars out of five, he commented that “''Rainbow'' came after a string of high-charting albums, itself not reaching the same heights thanks to some interesting but uneven experimentation with her sound.” Although he criticized the production and certain fillers, he concluded “The album doesn't have as much refinement as much of Hamasaki's later albums, but it shows the progression of her skills and vocal abilities.”
He listed ''Rainbow'' as one of Hamasaki's best albums, alongside ''
Secret
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
'' (2005) and ''
Ayu-mi-x 6: Silver'' (2008).
Commercial performance
''Rainbow'' entered 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 ...
selling over one million copies in its first week.
It stayed at number one for a sole week, and stayed on the charts for twenty-seven weeks.
Selling over 1.8 million units in Japan, the album was certified million 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 ...
(RIAJ) for shipments of one million units.
The DVD edition entered at number 220 on the Oricon Albums Chart, and stayed in for just one week.
''Rainbow'' is Hamasaki's fifth highest selling studio album according to
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 Nov ...
; the DVD version is her fifty-third best selling album.
The album is currently the eighty-ninth best selling Japanese album of all time, with total sales of 1.85 million units in Japan.
Track listing
Personnel
*
Recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
– Hiroyuki Shiotsuki, Koji Morimoto, Motohiro Tsuji, Satoshi Kumasaka, Yasuo Matsumoto, Yoichiro Kano, Yuichi Nagayama
*
Mastering – Shigeo Miyamoto
*
Directed by – Yasuyuki Tomita
*
Mixing – CMJK (1), HΛL (3) (12), Koji Morimoto (6, 9, 10, 11, 14), Satoshi Kumasaka (1, 8), Yasuo Matsumoto (2, 4, 5, 7, 13, 15), Yoshiaki Onishi (3)
*
Programming – CMJK (1, 3, 7), HΛL (2, 4, 11, 12), Tasuku (5, 8, 9, 10, 15), Atsushi Sato & Toshiharu Umesaki (6), Takahiro Iida & Yoshinori Kadoya (13), Nobuhiko Nakayama (14)
*
Guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
– Takehito Shimizu (2, 4, 6, 12), CMJK (3, 7, 9), Masato Ishinari (3), Tasuku (5, 8, 10), Yozo Nakatsugawa (5), Norihiro Ishizuka (9), Susumu Nishikawa (10), Hirokazu Ogura (13)
*
Strings
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 ...
– Gen Ittetsu Group (5, 13), Yuko Kajitani, Miyuki Onuma (11)
*Strings arrangement – Ken Shima (5, 13), Yuta Nakano (11)
*Backing vocals –
Junko Hirotani
, better known by her stage name , was a Japanese singer.
Biography
Junko Kido was born in Tokyo on 17 October[Profile]
at Kira- ...
(7, 13, 14), Andrea L. Hopkins, Daniel Morgan, Yasuhiro Kido (13), Kayoko Wada, Takao Saito (14)
Charts
Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
* Total sales: 1,920,000 (Japan)
* Total sales: 2,440,000 (Avex)
Certifications
Release history
Notes
References
{{Authority control
2002 albums
Ayumi Hamasaki albums
Avex Group albums
Japanese-language albums