A Best

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A Best
Compilation album by Ayumi Hamasaki

Publication
(s)

JapanJapanMarch 28, 2001 March 28, 2016 (15th Anniversary Edition)
JapanJapan

admission

1998 to 2000

Label (s) Avex Trax

Format (s)

CD , digital distribution , cassette , play button

Genre (s)

J-pop

Title (number)

16

running time

76:01

production

Max Maatsura

chronology
Duty A Best I am…

A Best (spelling: A BEST ) is the first compilation album by the successful Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki . The album is # 3 fastest selling album in a week worldwide. In 2016 the compilation was re-released as the 15th Anniversary Edition .

Compilation details

In addition to the published singles, the album also contains two tracks from their studio albums, A Song for XX and Who… . Mainly the titles consisted of fan favorites. For the album there were also new recordings of the songs A Song for XX , Trust and Depend on You , which wanted to show their vocal progress. The editions of the album had six different cover pictures, which were packed in a cardboard sleeve that usually had the same cover.

A Best was released in parallel with the studio album Distance , by Hikaru Utada . The album reached # 1, selling 3,002,720 times in the first week, which resulted in A Best debuting at # 2 with 2,874,870 units sold. This means that both artists were able to secure the titles of the fastest-selling albums of all time. In 2015, however, the record was broken by Adele and her 25 album. In the second week, A Best made it to number 1 with 510,160 units sold. It is also Ayu's most successful sound carrier.

The album was later also released in countries such as the People's Republic of China , the Philippines , Singapore and South Korea . In these versions, however, there were no new recordings for A Song for XX , Trust and Depend on You .

Oricon announced that A Best was # 2 best-selling album of 2000-2009 in Japan.

In 2014 the compilation was the third most downloaded album in Japan and in 2015 it was ranked 2nd.

  • Catalog number: AVCD-11950

backgrounds

There has been controversy over the album as it got the same release date as Hikaru Utada's Distance album. Avex Trax , Ayumi's record company, is said to have planned the compilation as a move against Hikaru's album. In an interview, which was called Light & Shadow , was shot from 1999 to 2004 and was also released in 2004, Ayu said that the album was released against her will. She said that the release of a compilation is something special for every artist, she would have loved to have wanted to design the album herself, as it is something personal. She also said that she didn't understand why she had to re-record three songs, it might even have been her last album, and it was just way too early for a compilation.

To promote the album, the record company also pushed them to all sorts of magazines and many different advertising deals, in Japan. In the previous week, the shelves in Japan were only adorned with magazines that had Ayu's face on the cover.

Rumor has it that Hikaru Utada was one of the reasons she cried a tear on the cover of A Best . This should be a protest against the media, who portrayed both artists as rivals.

Republication

An anniversary edition with the title A Best: 15th Anniversary Edition in a regular and limited version has been announced for March 28, 2016 . In addition to the remastering of all audio titles on the regular and limited version, the limited version includes a DVD and Blu-ray Disc , both of which have the same content as music videos, whereby the Blu-ray Disc displays all music videos in a high image resolution . The limited version also includes a T-shirt that comes in seven different designs. Finally, there is also a photo album from her Tears - photo shoot that 2001 photos on A Best figured to have interviews and documents contain. The limited edition will also be available in an exclusive box and each purchaser of this version gets a code to download the Sumapura - App .

  • Catalog Numbers - Regular Version : AVCD-93410; Limited version : AVZD-93409 / B / C.

Track list

CD

# title translation composer producer length
1. A Song for XX (New Vocal & Mix) A song for XX Yasuhiko Hoshino Akimitsu Honma 4:47
2. Trust (New Vocal & Mix) trust Takashi Kimura Akimitsu Honma, Takashi Kimura 4:48
3. Depend on You (New Vocal & Mix) Depending on you Kazuhito Kikuchi Akamitsu Honma, Takashi Morio 4:18
4th Love: Destiny Love: destiny Tsunku Shingo Kobayashi, Yasuaki Maejima 4:54
5. To be To be DAI Naoto Suzuki, DAI 5:19
6th Boys & Girls Boys and girls DAI Naoto Suzuki, DAI 3:54
7th trauma trauma DAI Naoto Suzuki, DAI 4:18
8th. End roll Credits DAI Naoto Suzuki, DAI 4:42
9. Appears Appears Kazuhito Kikuchi HΛL 5:38
10. Fly high Fly high DAI HΛL 4:07
11. Vogue Fashion Kazuhito Kikuchi Naoto Suzuki, Kazuhito Kikuchi 4:28
12. Far away Far away Kazuhito Kikuchi, DAI HΛL 5:35
13. Seasons Seasons DAI Naoto Suzuki 4:15
14th Surreal Surreal Kazuhito Kikuchi HΛL 4:42
15th M. M. CREA HΛL 4:30
16. Who ... Who… Kazuhito Kikuchi Naoto Suzuki 5:36
  • All lyrics were written by Ayumi Hamasaki himself.

Blu-ray / DVD (15th Anniversary Edition)

# title annotation Director
1. Trust Music video Wataru Takeishi
2. Depend on you Music video Masashi Muto
3. Love: Destiny Music video Wataru Takeishi
4th To be Music video Wataru Takeishi
5. Boys & Girls Music video Wataru Takeishi
6th Appears Music video Wataru Takeishi
7th Fly high Music video Wataru Takeishi
8th. Vogue / Far Away / Seasons Music video Wataru Takeishi
9. Surreal Music video Wataru Takeishi
10. M. Music video Wataru Takeishi

publication

date country format Catalog numbers Label
March 28, 2001 Japan CD AVCD-11950 Avex Trax
March 29, 2001 Overseas Avex Marketing
April 2001 Hong Kong AVTCD-95461
AVTCD-95461 / B 		Avex Trax
2001 Indonesia AVCD-0060601
cassette AV-0060601
July 31, 2006 South Korea CD + postcards SM entertainment
March 31, 2012 Japan Play button AQZD-50667 Avex Trax
15th Anniversary Edition
March 28, 2016 Japan CD
CD + BD + DVD 		AVCD-93410
AVZD-93409 / BC 		Avex Trax
Worldwide Digital distribution Avex Music Creative Inc.
0April 6, 2016 Taiwan CD + DVD AVJCD10645 / A Avex Taiwan

Sales figures and chart placements

Charts

Charts Positions
Daily Oricon album charts 1
Oricon weekly album charts 1
Oricon Annual Album Charts (2001) 2
Daily Oricon Album Charts
(15th Anniversary Edition) 		2
Weekly Oricon Album Charts
(15th Anniversary Edition) 		9
Oricon Monthly Album Charts
(15th Anniversary Edition) 		22nd
Oricon Annual Album Charts (2016)
(15th Anniversary Edition) 		258

Sales

Charts First week All in all Charts stay
Oricon album charts 2,874,870 4,301,353 51 weeks
Oricon Album Charts
(15th Anniversary Edition) 		9.413 18,277 Eight weeks

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Generasia A Best (English), accessed on August 18, 2012
  2. ↑ Oricon 2001 年 04 月 第 2 週 の 邦 楽 ア ル バ ム ラ ン キ ン グ 情報 ( Memento of March 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (Japanese), accessed on August 18, 2012
  3. ↑ The Japan Times The noughties played it nice , accessed August 18, 2012
  4. ↑ avexnet Discography - album (English), accessed on August 18, 2012
  5. ↑ a b c d secsecae Ayumi Hamasaki - Light & Shadow -Despair and Decision at Age 25- with English subtitles.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) (English), accessed on August 18, 2012@1@ 2Template: dead link / secsecae.multiply.com
  6. ↑ a b Oricon A Best (profile) ( Memento from November 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Japanese), accessed on August 18, 2012
  7. ↑ Avex 【English Information】 the 15th Anniversary Edition of the album "A (ロ ゴ) BEST" In avex.jp/ayu (English), accessed on January 30, 2016
  8. ↑ Oricon A BEST -15th Anniversary Edition- In Oricon (Japanese), accessed January 30, 2016
  9. ↑ Oricon A BEST -15th Anniversary Edition- (初 回 生産 限定) In Oricon (Japanese), accessed January 30, 2016
  10. ↑ Oricon 月 間 CD ア ル バ ム ラ ン キ ン グ 2016 年 03 月度 In Oricon (Japanese), accessed April 29, 2016
  11. ↑ Oricon Ayumi Hamasaki - Album Ranking (Japanese), accessed August 18, 2012