Colours (Ayumi Hamasaki album)

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Colours
pop-rock
Label
Producer
Ayumi Hamasaki chronology
Love Again
(2013) 		Colours
(2014) 		Love Classics
(2015)
Singles from Colours
  1. "Feel the Love / Merry-Go-Round"
    Released: December 25, 2013
  2. "Terminal"
    Released: October 1, 2014

Colours is the fifteenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on July 2, 2014, in Japan by Avex Trax, worldwide by Avex Entertainment Inc., and on July 18 in Taiwan by Avex Taiwan. The songs on the album were entirely written by Hamasaki, while production was led by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura; it also included a variety of Western producers such as Armin van Buuren, members from RedOne Productions De Paris and Rush, Darkchild, and Fedde Le Grand, among others. This became Hamasaki's first studio album to have not been fully produced by Matsuura, and her first album to incorporate a large amount of English language. Musically, Colours is an electronic dance music album.

Upon its release, Colours received favorable reviews from music critics. Critics commended the material and how Hamasaki included more producers outside of Matsuura, alongside praising the production. Commercially, it was not as successful as her predecessor records in Japan, reaching number five on the Oricon Albums Chart. It is her lowest charting album in Japan, sold 53,406 units by the end of the year, and featured a similar run in other charts in other Asian territories. Each track from the album was released as a single, with "Feel the Love"/"Merry-Go-Round" and "Terminal" entering the Oricon Singles Chart.

To promote the album, Hamasaki commenced two concert tours in Japan; the first was her

Premium Showcase: Feel the Love
tour that visited Tokyo, Osaka, and Nayoga city. The concerts were generally a success, and spawned two live video releases. Hamasaki was then part of the 2014 A-Nation concert tour. Hamasaki further promoted the album with several business and endorsement endeavours, including theme songs that were adapted from the album and other musical releases.

Background and recording

In October 2013, Hamasaki announced she had worked on new music when she revealed the release details of her single "Feel the Love"/"Merry-Go-Round", which was her first physical release in three years.[1] Then in May 2014, Japanese music publication Jame World confirmed the involvement of Western musicians and producers RedOne, Rodney Jenkins, who uses the alias Darkchild, and Fedde Le Grand, among others that were unannounced at the time.[2] Titled Colours, the songs on the album were entirely written by Hamasaki, while production was led by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. It also included a variety of Western producers including RedOne Production's members De Paris and Rush, Darkchild, and Grand, plus Andy Kautz, Armin van Buuren, and Benno de Goeij, and Japanese musicians Daishi Dance, DJ Hello Kitty, and M-Flo.[3] This became Hamasaki's first studio album to have not been fully produced by Matsuura, although he did fully contribute to the tracks "Hello New Me", "Pray", and "Now & 4Eva".[3]

Hamasaki began recording the album in 2013 at the

2013-2014 Countdown Live concert tour in Japan. While she was in Tokyo, Japan, she recorded the tracks "Hello New Me", "Pray", and "Now & 4Eva" at Prime Sound Studio Form, Avex Studio, and Avex Studio Azabu.[3]

Composition and songs

The album track "Terminal" was Hamasaki's first collaboration with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren (pictured) in over 10 years since their collaboration effort on her track "Appears".

Musically, Colours is an electronic dance album.[4] In a short commentary on Hamasaki's website, she stated that the album was influenced by dance music.[6] Alongside with several new producers, Hamasaki and Avex Trax enlisted a wide range of musicians and composers to help with the album, including Tetsuya Komuro, John Mamann, AJ Junior, among others.[3] The majority of the album's content was written by Hamasaki in English and Japanese. According to the lyric booklets that came with the physical formats of the album, the tracks "Feel the Love", "XOXO", and "Angel" are performed bilingually, while the remaining content apart from "Lelio" are recorded primarily in Japanese.[3] The track "Lelio" was recorded in English with additional Japanese lyrics throughout the verses.[3][A] The album track "Merry-Go-Round" includes guest vocals of Japanese rapper Verbal, who also contributed to the song writing and composition of the single.[3]

The album opens with "Feel the Love", which is an EDM–

pop ballads.[9]

The sixth track on the album is "Terminal", which was composed and produced by Armin van Buuren and Benno de Goeij.[3] It is Hamasaki's second album track to have not been produced by Matsuura, her first being "Connected", which was produced by Ferry Corsten and appeared on her fourth studio album I Am... (2002).[10] Musically, it is a dance song that incorporates elements of trance music and EDM.[11] "Angel" was composed by Darkchild, Andy Kautz, and Ardita Satka, and was noted by Gwendolyn Ng at The Straits Times as an EDM song.[12] The eighth song on the album was the M-Flo-produced "Merry-Go-Round", which was described by Dinah Congying Chen at Asia Pacific Arts, a newspaper published by the University of Southern California, as another EDM track.[13] "Lelio" was noted by Dato at Kkbox.com as an "aggressive" tune by Dato, while the closing song "Now & 4Eva" was composed by Japanese musician Kazuhiro Hara.[8][3]

Release

Colours was released on July 2, 2014, in Japan by Avex Trax, worldwide by Avex Entertainment Inc., and on July 18 in Taiwan by Avex Taiwan. The album was released in six formats, the first being a stand-alone CD that features the 10 songs.[3] The CD and DVD version includes the 10 tracks, plus 10 videos for the official and behind the scenes of the tracks "Feel the Love", "XOXO", "Angel", "Merry-Go-Round", and "Lelio".[14] The CD and Blu-Ray versions feature the same tracks as the CD and DVD version, but display a different album cover.[15] Two limited edition versions of the DVD and Blu-Ray bundles were made available through Hamasaki's fan club website TeamAyu, which featured the same track list on both formats but came with a promo sticker and a Milena's brand aroma candle scented with "Boutique".[16][17] The final format was the wide digital release, which included the same 10 tracks.[18] The album artwork and promotional photos was photographed by G.T.Gan, which featured Hamasaki holding her arms against her head.[3] The album artworks were published through Hamasaki's website on June 16, 2014, alongside the tracks that were featured.[19]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]

Upon its release, Colours received favorable reviews from

The China Times did not review the album extensively, but labelled the sound and production as "fine", and highlighted the track "XOXO".[21]

Commercially, Colours was not as successful as Hamasaki's previous records in Japan. It became her first to debut outside the top three on the

Gaon Albums Chart and International Albums Chart respectively.[28][29]

The first was a double

Japan Hot 100 chart, hosted by Billboard.[38][39]

To promote Hamasaki's 2014 Premium Showcase: Feel the Love concert tour in Japan, Avex Trax released three double A-side singles in specific arenas to promote the tracks as a free gift. The first release was "XOXO"/"Terminal", released between May 30 and June 1, 2014, in Nagoya, Japan. Both tracks had been promoted separately not long after, and "XOXO" received a music video that appeared on its own release format and the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of Colours.[40][14] The second release was "Angel", released between June 12 in Osaka, Japan.[41] The track received a music video, and was included on the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the parent album.[14] The third and final release was "What Is Forever Love"/"Now & 4Eva", released between June 3 and June 6 in Tokyo, Japan.[42] These six tracks had been distributed through Hamasaki's TeamAyu fan club website on May 23 for streaming and digital downloads.[43]

Live performances and promotion

To promote the album, Hamasaki conducted two live concert tours and several other endorsements and releases. Hamasaki commenced her 2013–2014

Premium Showcase: Feel the Love concert tour in Japan, where she performed the album tracks "What Is Forever Love", "Hello New Me", "Angel", "Terminal", "XOXO", "Lelio", and "Feel the Love". The tour was hosted in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya city, destinations which could only allow "the newest technology and performance techniques" that "allow mechanisms only achievable in these locations".[45] The live performance was then filmed and distributed through Avex Trax in Japan, both on DVD and Blu-Ray discs on October 22, 2014.[46][47] On October 18, 2014, Hamasaki performed as the closing act in the A-Nation premium concert held at the Marina Bay Sands’ MasterCard Theatres in Singapore. She had performed "XOXO" and "Lelio", alongside several other tracks from her discography; this was the second time performing in Singapore after her MTV Asia Awards performance 12 years previously.[48]

One day before the album's release, Hamasaki promoted the album at an album launch at

Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), and the Christmas Fair commercial.[9] "Pray" was used as the theme song for the Japanese animated movie Buddha 2, her first recording for a movie in 12 years; Hamasaki attended the world premiere of the film in Paris, France.[51][52] "Hello New Me" was used as the theme song for the 2014 Fuji television series Zoku: Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi.[9]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by

Fedde le Grand
  • Robin Morssink
  • Thomas Hagenbeek
  • Ross Palmer
  • Maruja Retana
    • le Grand3:3610."Now & 4Eva"Kazuhiro HaraNakano4:34
    DVD/Blu-ray[14][15]
    No.TitleDirector(s)Length
    1."Feel the Love" (Video Clip - "Ayupan × Bloody Bunny" version)Riff Studio 
    2."XOXO" (Video Clip)A Crew 
    3."Angel" (Video Clip)A Crew 
    4."Merry-Go-Round" (Video Clip)Satoru Yokoyama 
    5."Lelio" (Video Clip)A Crew 
    6."Feel the Love" (Making Clip)Keisuke Onodera 
    7."XOXO" (Making Clip)Keisuke Onodera 
    8."Angel" (Making Clip)Keisuke Onodera 
    9."Merry-Go-Round" (Making Clip)Keisuke Onodera 
    10."Lelio" (Making Clip)Keisuke Onodera 
    11."Creators Special Interview" (TeamAyu Versions only)Keisuke Onodera 
    12."A Interview" (TeamAyu Versions only)Keisuke Onodera 

    Personnel

    Credits adapted from the CD liner notes of Colours.[3]

    Recording and management
    Credits
    Additional credits

    Charts

    Sales

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    Japan — 65,000[54]

    Release history

    Region Date Format Label
    Japan[3][18] July 2, 2014 CD Avex Trax
    CD + DVD
    CD + Blu-Ray
    TeamAyu CD + DVD
    TeamAyu CD + Blu-Ray
    Digital download Avex Entertainment Inc.
    Australia[55]
    New Zealand[56]
    United Kingdom[57]
    Ireland[58]
    Germany[59]
    Spain[60]
    France[61]
    Italy[62]
    Taiwan[63]
    United States[64]
    Canada[65]
    Taiwan[66] July 18, 2014 CD + DVD Avex Taiwan
    Hong Kong[67] Avex Trax Hong Kong

    Notes

    1. ^ Each track from Colours, apart from full-written Japanese tracks, were recorded with Japanese and English.[3]

    References

    1. ^ Natalie Staff (October 23, 2013). 浜崎あゆみシングル制作陣にDJ Hello Kitty、小室、m-flo (in Japanese). Natalie.mu. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    2. ^ Kularu (May 22, 2014). "Ayumi Hamasaki's 15th Album". Jame World. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Colours (CD Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-38967.
    4. ^ a b Ng, Gwendolyn (October 9, 2014). "6 burning questions for Ayumi Hamasaki". The Straits Times. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    5. ^ "Interview with Ayumi Hamasaki". S Cawaii (in Japanese). April 2014.
    6. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (July 2, 2014). "Colours" (in Japanese). Ayumi Hamasaki's official website. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    7. ^ CD Journal Staff (December 25, 2013). "Feel the Love/Merry-Go-Round – Ayumi Hamasaki". CD Journal (in Japanese). Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    8. ^ a b c d Dato (August 12, 2014). 等待濱崎步蛻變後的璀璨，聽【Colours 濱紛】 (in Chinese). KKbox.com. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    9. ^ a b c d CD Journal Staff (July 2, 2014). "Colours – Ayumi Hamasaki". CD Journal (in Japanese). Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    10. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2002). I Am... (CD Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-17037.
    11. ^ CD Journal Staff (October 1, 2014). "Terminal – Ayumi Hamasaki". CD Journal (in Japanese). Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    12. ^ Ng, Gwendolyn (October 11, 2014). "Reigning queen of J-pop". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
    13. ^ Congying Chen, Dinah (October 25, 2014). "Hamasaki Ayumi announces two new singles after a three-year hiatus". Asia Pacific Arts, published through the University of Southern California. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    14. ^ a b c d Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Colours (CD and DVD Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-38965/B.
    15. ^ a b Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Colours (CD and Blu-Ray Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-38966/B.
    16. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Colours (CD and DVD Fan-Club Only Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVZ1-38968/B.
    17. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Colours (CD and Blu-Ray Fan-Club Only Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVZ1-38969/B.
    18. ^ a b c "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Japan). July 2, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    19. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (June 16, 2014). 7/2 Release New Album『Colours』ジャケット写真公開！ (in Japanese). Ayumi Hamasaki's official website. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    20. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "Colours – Ayumi Hamasaki". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
    21. The China Times
      (in Chinese). June 27, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    22. ^
      Oricon Style. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original
      on July 10, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    23. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki Experiences Worst Album Sales Of Career With "Colours" Release". JPopAsia.com. July 9, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    24. ^ "Oricon Albums Chart". Oricon Style (in Japanese). July 21, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    25. ^ "Oricon Albums Chart". Oricon Style (in Japanese). July 28, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    26. ^ a b 年間 CDアルバムランキング 2014年度 [Annual CD Album Ranking – 2014]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). July 28, 2014. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    27. ^ 浜崎あゆみ、松任谷由実と並び歴代1位に「アルバムトップ10獲得数」記録で [Ayumi Hamasaki, ranks first of all-time alongside Yumi Matsutoya in the "Number of Top 10 Albums Scored" record] (in Japanese). MusicVoice. July 10, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014 – via Yahoo Japan News.
    28. ^
      Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original
      on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
    29. ^
      Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original
      on August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
    30. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2013). Feel the Love/Merry-Go-Round (CD Single; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-48776.
    31. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2010). L (CD Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-31938.
    32. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki – Feel the Love/Merry-Go-Round". Oricon Style (in Japanese). December 25, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    33. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2013). Terminal (CD Single; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVCD-83113.
    34. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki – Terminal". Oricon Style (in Japanese). October 1, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    35. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). XOXO (PlugAir Device; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AQZ1-76694.
    36. ^ "Hello New Me – Single – by Ayumi Hamasaki". Tunes Store (Japan). May 14, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    37. ^ "Pray – Single – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Japan). January 27, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    38. ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). February 5, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
    39. ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). May 21, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
    40. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). XOXO/Terminal (CD Single; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. YYYY-00122.
    41. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Angel/Lelio (CD Single; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. YYYY-00123.
    42. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). What Is Forever Love/Now & 4Eva (CD Single; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. YYYY-00124.
    43. ^ 浜崎あゆみ、新曲をファンクラブ会員限定で先行配信. CD Journal (in Japanese). May 23, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    44. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Countdown Live 2013-2014 A (Live DVD; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVBD-92110.
    45. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki fans excited over her recent curves". Arama Japan. 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    46. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Premium Showcase: Feel the Love (Live DVD; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVBD-92166.
    47. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Premium Showcase: Feel the Love (Live Blu-Ray; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Japan: Avex Trax. AVXD-92167.
    48. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki brings the house down at a-nation Singapore". MSN Philippines News. MSN. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
    49. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki NEW ALBUM "Colours" launch! Ayumi Hamasaki × Tower Records Shibuya Special collaboration decision!". Ayumi Hamasaki official website. June 23, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
    50. ^ "EDMA – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Japan). June 18, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    51. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki Sings 1st Anime Film Theme in 12 Years for Buddha 2". Anime News Network. October 19, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    52. ^ "Ayumi Hamasaki also Attends World Premium of Movie Buddha 2". Sync Music. January 15, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    53. ^ 月間 CDアルバムランキング 2014年07月度 [Monthly CD Album Ranking – July 2014]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
    54. ^ オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree'] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
    55. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Australia). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    56. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (New Zealand). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    57. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (United Kingdom). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    58. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Ireland). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    59. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Germany). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    60. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Spain). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    61. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (France). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    62. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Italy). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    63. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Taiwan). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    64. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (United States). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    65. ^ "Colours – Album – by Ayumi Hamasaki". iTunes Store (Canada). July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
    66. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Colours (CD and DVD Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Taiwan: Avex Taiwan. AVJCD10575/A.
    67. ^ Hamasaki, Ayumi (2014). Colours (CD and DVD Album; Liner notes). Ayumi Hamasaki. Hong Kong: Avex Taiwan. 88875006642.

    External links

    • Colours at Ayumi Hamasaki's official website. (in Japanese)
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colours_(Ayumi_Hamasaki_album)&oldid=1199707238"