(miss)understood
Encyclopedia
understood is Ayumi Hamasaki
's seventh full-length studio album produced by Max Matsuura
. Its official release date was January 1, 2006, but started appearing in stores on December 28, 2005, the last Wednesday of the year. It was recognized by the RIAJ as one of The Best 10 Albums of the Year for 2006 and by the IFPI
as number 4 on the list of top 10 selling albums in Japan of 2006. According to the Oricon, it is the 8th best selling album of 2006 with sales of 877,433 copies sold
's then-upcoming album Addicted, Hamasaki "fell in love" with the songs and consequently asked Sweetbox's composer GEO if she could use some of the songs for her album. GEO agreed and gave Hamasaki permission to use "Bold & Delicious", "Pride", "Ladies Night", "In the Corner", "Every Step", and "Beautiful Girl". Hamasaki then set to work rewriting the lyrics and rearranging parts of songs.
While My Story
, Hamasaki's preceding album, contained mostly "autobiographical" lyrics and "musings about [her] past", (Miss)understood was a "strong message to send to all women": it was a kind of "girl's talk" to give "moral support" while at the same time reminding women that there would be times when they would "feel weak and low". "Bold & Delicious" "scolded indecisive men", "Pride" expressed Hamasaki's appreciation of "women who do not give up easily", and "Ladies Night" was about female camaraderie. Other themes appeared as well: "Is This Love?
" and "Heaven
" were about love, and "Fairyland
" was about "childhood memories".
, rock
, dance-pop
and funk
. The album opens with "Bold & Delicious", a funk-infused dance track that utilises a gospel choir in the harmony. The song makes use of funk guitars. "Pride" is a ballad song that "sounded like it could be from a musical"; the arrangement of both songs were influenced by Hamasaki's trip to New York City
to record the songs and film their respective music videos. An organ Hamasaki heard while visiting a church inspired her to include the gospel choir in "Bold", while the musical The Phantom of the Opera
influenced her arrangement of "Pride". "Criminal", "Step You
", "Alterna
", and the titular "(Miss)understood" are all rock songs with prominent electric guitars, while "Heaven" is an "ethereal" piano-driven ballad. As with "Bold & Delicious" and "Pride", other songs composed by GEO were rearranged; violins were added to the bridge of "Rainy Day", and a choir was added to the chorus of "Beautiful Day".
".
The PV for Step You was directed by Tetsuo Inoue and the video featured Ayumi wearing different styles of outfits (signifying different parts of her image and personality). A man walks up to a music box-like contraption and as he activates the levers (shown as I, II, III, and IV) different miniature versions of Ayumi appear. As he activates the last lever, the contraption begins to short-circuit, and the four Ayumis turn into one.
The PV for Is This Love? was directed by Masashi Muto and it aired April 19, 2005, the music video features Ayumi singing emotionally in a hotel suite. As she passes by, objects begin to explode (i.e. a bowl of fruit, a fish tank, walls, etc.). The video ends as Ayumi looks at the hotel, in one piece with no sort chaos that happened earlier.
The PV of Fairyland was shot in Hawaii and is one of the most expensive music videos in the world, as well as being Japan's most expensive music video in terms of production costs. The PV cost 240 million Yen (2 million in U.S. dollars). The video was directed by Wataru Takeishi
and it depicts Hamasaki with her companions (dance team) on a lush tropical island, with some scenes showing a timber house with a deck. Eventually, a fallen oil lamp causes the entire structure to burn. Images from earlier sequences showing the group having fun are interspersed through the burning of the house. The video ends with the camera moving away from Hamasaki singing solemnly as she watches the house burn.
The PV of Alterna was fillmed in July 2005 and the video depicts Ayumi as an up-coming star who is chased by clowns.[1] The video also depicts her as a singing machine; this aspect of the music video (as well as the lyrics of "alterna") may be Hamasaki's response to either tabloid articles or to her record label's oppressive treatment of her at the time.
The PV for Heaven features Ayumi singing alone in a subway. As she does, ghosts frequently pass by her. Near the end of the video, the spirits leave Ayumi and board on a train (implying their departure to heaven). The video is done entirely in one shot and in black and white.
The music videos of Bold & Delicious, Pride were both fillmed in New York and were both directed by Luis Hernandez
.
In the video for Bold & Delicious, Hamasaki is featured with long wavy black hair, and wears a faux fur jacket with a light pink dress. She is seen standing on the back of a moving truck driving through areas of New York City, evoking the iconic 1993 Björk music video for her single Big Time Sensuality. Some shots feature "behind the scenes" material, showing footage of the truck driving around the city and film crew members.
The video for Pride features several long takes of Hamasaki in a black dress being prepared by assistants and make-up artists, and then walking through an on-location set prepared under a New York City bridge and in the rain.
The music video for Ladies Night features Ayumi walking around hotel rooms, also she trys to open rooms but their all locked, it also shown what were happening in the rooms, It shows an nasty servant whipping someone (Later to be revealed ayumi herself), A woman, who is like an butterfly catcher, dressed in a big massive white wig, also a massive dress, in a white room. In the end of the video ayumi meets another version of herself who has a swelled face like no eyes, nose or mouth, Then real ayumi goes in a lift and the roof of the lift drops on her, After, ayumi is shown on bed like a statue or death, then it shows like a monster eleven with her. There were intercut scenes of ayumi as a master-queen reporting and teaching people who have no ears and balled headed.
The music video of Rainy Day features ayumi with short-black hair singing in her house looking at the window, then it shows her at a bus stop in a white wig, then a dog comes outta a short cut, In the last verse ayumi falls to the floor where she was at the window and the scene where Ayumi is waiting at the bus stop, the dog what she saw then disappears and rain starts to fall down and people with umbrellas come, in the end of the video, Ayumi who is at a bus stop then goes into a taxi and sees the dog from before.
in sales and was recognized for having more than a million copies shipped to store. On the Oricon Charts, (Miss)understood failed to break a million selling only a little under 900,000. The total sales number of the album's singles comes to a total of 1,122,107. The album sales and the single sales combined come to a grand sales revenue of 1,999,540 CDs sold.
Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...
's seventh full-length studio album produced by Max Matsuura
Max Matsuura
, better known as Max Matsuura, is a record producer and president of one of the largest music labels in Japan, Avex Group. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists and converting them into big stars. Ayumi Hamasaki is the most famous example of Matsuura's work...
. Its official release date was January 1, 2006, but started appearing in stores on December 28, 2005, the last Wednesday of the year. It was recognized by the RIAJ as one of The Best 10 Albums of the Year for 2006 and by the IFPI
IFPI
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland...
as number 4 on the list of top 10 selling albums in Japan of 2006. According to the Oricon, it is the 8th best selling album of 2006 with sales of 877,433 copies sold
Background and themes
In 2005, after hearing demo tracks from band SweetboxSweetbox
Sweetbox is a Los Angeles based pop music project formed in 1995 by executive producer Heiko Schmidt and music producer Roberto "Geo" Rosan.Throughout the years Sweetbox has had several leading women including Kimberly Kearney, Dacia Bridges, Tina Harris, Jade Villalon and most recently and...
's then-upcoming album Addicted, Hamasaki "fell in love" with the songs and consequently asked Sweetbox's composer GEO if she could use some of the songs for her album. GEO agreed and gave Hamasaki permission to use "Bold & Delicious", "Pride", "Ladies Night", "In the Corner", "Every Step", and "Beautiful Girl". Hamasaki then set to work rewriting the lyrics and rearranging parts of songs.
While My Story
My Story (Ayumi Hamasaki album)
My Story is Ayumi Hamasaki's sixth full-length studio album produced by Max Matsuura. It was released on December 15, 2004.-Promotion:The album includes the three singles: "Moments", "Inspire", and "Carols". During its first release, four different limited edition covers were released for fans to...
, Hamasaki's preceding album, contained mostly "autobiographical" lyrics and "musings about [her] past", (Miss)understood was a "strong message to send to all women": it was a kind of "girl's talk" to give "moral support" while at the same time reminding women that there would be times when they would "feel weak and low". "Bold & Delicious" "scolded indecisive men", "Pride" expressed Hamasaki's appreciation of "women who do not give up easily", and "Ladies Night" was about female camaraderie. Other themes appeared as well: "Is This Love?
STEP you/is this LOVE?
"Step You/Is This Love?" is the 35th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was a double a-side single released on April 20, 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the first single released by Ayumi Hamasaki in 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the best-selling solo single of 2005 by a female...
" and "Heaven
Heaven (Ayumi Hamasaki song)
"Heaven" is the thirty-seventh single released by Ayumi Hamasaki, released on September 14, 2005. "Heaven" ended up selling over 325,000 copies, making it Hamasaki's second highest-selling single of 2005 as well as her last single to date that has sold over 300,000 physical copies...
" were about love, and "Fairyland
Fairyland (song)
"Fairyland" is the 36th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on August 3, 2005. It instantly shot to #1 on the Oricon charts where it stayed for the entire week. After one week of sales, "Fairyland" sold over 172,000 copies, the most any of Hamasaki's singles sold in one week in 2005...
" was about "childhood memories".
Composition
(Miss)understood is more musically diverse than My Story; Hamasaki incorporated a variety of musical styles including R&BContemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
. The album opens with "Bold & Delicious", a funk-infused dance track that utilises a gospel choir in the harmony. The song makes use of funk guitars. "Pride" is a ballad song that "sounded like it could be from a musical"; the arrangement of both songs were influenced by Hamasaki's trip to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to record the songs and film their respective music videos. An organ Hamasaki heard while visiting a church inspired her to include the gospel choir in "Bold", while the musical The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
influenced her arrangement of "Pride". "Criminal", "Step You
STEP you/is this LOVE?
"Step You/Is This Love?" is the 35th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was a double a-side single released on April 20, 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the first single released by Ayumi Hamasaki in 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the best-selling solo single of 2005 by a female...
", "Alterna
Fairyland (song)
"Fairyland" is the 36th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on August 3, 2005. It instantly shot to #1 on the Oricon charts where it stayed for the entire week. After one week of sales, "Fairyland" sold over 172,000 copies, the most any of Hamasaki's singles sold in one week in 2005...
", and the titular "(Miss)understood" are all rock songs with prominent electric guitars, while "Heaven" is an "ethereal" piano-driven ballad. As with "Bold & Delicious" and "Pride", other songs composed by GEO were rearranged; violins were added to the bridge of "Rainy Day", and a choir was added to the chorus of "Beautiful Day".
Extras
The initial pressings of the album included two photobooks—one for the CD version (entitled "Off My Day"), and another for the CD+DVD version (entitled "On My Way"). The DVD version included all PV's that were made for her 2005 releases (excluding "My Name's Women")—"Step You", "Is This Love?", "Fairyland", "Alterna", "Heaven", "Bold & Delicious" and "Pride", as well as an alternative PV for "Bold & Delicious" (called the "Side Story"). Two new PVs were also included—"Ladies Night" and "Rainy Day" made their debut on the disc. Behind-the-scenes clips for "Step You", "Is This Love?", "Fairyland", "Alterna", "Heaven" and "Pride" are featured as well. The song "Rainy Day" was used as the ending theme for the game "Onimusha: Dawn of DreamsOnimusha: Dawn of Dreams
Onimusha: Dawn Of Dreams, released in Japan as , is the fourth canonical installment of Capcom's Onimusha series, released in March 2006. Dawn of Dreams focuses on a new protagonist, Soki Onimusha: Dawn Of Dreams, released in Japan as , is the fourth canonical installment of Capcom's Onimusha...
".
Music Videos
There were music videos made for every single of the album, also in December 2005 she fillmed two music videos For Ladies night And Rainy day.The PV for Step You was directed by Tetsuo Inoue and the video featured Ayumi wearing different styles of outfits (signifying different parts of her image and personality). A man walks up to a music box-like contraption and as he activates the levers (shown as I, II, III, and IV) different miniature versions of Ayumi appear. As he activates the last lever, the contraption begins to short-circuit, and the four Ayumis turn into one.
The PV for Is This Love? was directed by Masashi Muto and it aired April 19, 2005, the music video features Ayumi singing emotionally in a hotel suite. As she passes by, objects begin to explode (i.e. a bowl of fruit, a fish tank, walls, etc.). The video ends as Ayumi looks at the hotel, in one piece with no sort chaos that happened earlier.
The PV of Fairyland was shot in Hawaii and is one of the most expensive music videos in the world, as well as being Japan's most expensive music video in terms of production costs. The PV cost 240 million Yen (2 million in U.S. dollars). The video was directed by Wataru Takeishi
Wataru Takeishi
is a prolific Japanese music video director. Takeishi has created videos for Japanese superstars such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Every Little Thing.Little is known of Takeishi, as he himself is not one of the superstars he directs the videos for....
and it depicts Hamasaki with her companions (dance team) on a lush tropical island, with some scenes showing a timber house with a deck. Eventually, a fallen oil lamp causes the entire structure to burn. Images from earlier sequences showing the group having fun are interspersed through the burning of the house. The video ends with the camera moving away from Hamasaki singing solemnly as she watches the house burn.
The PV of Alterna was fillmed in July 2005 and the video depicts Ayumi as an up-coming star who is chased by clowns.[1] The video also depicts her as a singing machine; this aspect of the music video (as well as the lyrics of "alterna") may be Hamasaki's response to either tabloid articles or to her record label's oppressive treatment of her at the time.
The PV for Heaven features Ayumi singing alone in a subway. As she does, ghosts frequently pass by her. Near the end of the video, the spirits leave Ayumi and board on a train (implying their departure to heaven). The video is done entirely in one shot and in black and white.
The music videos of Bold & Delicious, Pride were both fillmed in New York and were both directed by Luis Hernandez
Luis Hernández
Luis Hernández may refer to:* Luis Hernández , Mexican long-distance runner* Luis Hernández , Venezuelan baseball player* Luis Hernández , Mexican Olympic fencer* Luis Hernández , Mexican footballer...
.
In the video for Bold & Delicious, Hamasaki is featured with long wavy black hair, and wears a faux fur jacket with a light pink dress. She is seen standing on the back of a moving truck driving through areas of New York City, evoking the iconic 1993 Björk music video for her single Big Time Sensuality. Some shots feature "behind the scenes" material, showing footage of the truck driving around the city and film crew members.
The video for Pride features several long takes of Hamasaki in a black dress being prepared by assistants and make-up artists, and then walking through an on-location set prepared under a New York City bridge and in the rain.
The music video for Ladies Night features Ayumi walking around hotel rooms, also she trys to open rooms but their all locked, it also shown what were happening in the rooms, It shows an nasty servant whipping someone (Later to be revealed ayumi herself), A woman, who is like an butterfly catcher, dressed in a big massive white wig, also a massive dress, in a white room. In the end of the video ayumi meets another version of herself who has a swelled face like no eyes, nose or mouth, Then real ayumi goes in a lift and the roof of the lift drops on her, After, ayumi is shown on bed like a statue or death, then it shows like a monster eleven with her. There were intercut scenes of ayumi as a master-queen reporting and teaching people who have no ears and balled headed.
The music video of Rainy Day features ayumi with short-black hair singing in her house looking at the window, then it shows her at a bus stop in a white wig, then a dog comes outta a short cut, In the last verse ayumi falls to the floor where she was at the window and the scene where Ayumi is waiting at the bus stop, the dog what she saw then disappears and rain starts to fall down and people with umbrellas come, in the end of the video, Ayumi who is at a bus stop then goes into a taxi and sees the dog from before.
Sales
In 2007, Avex reported that (Miss)understood sold 1,030,000 copies in Japan. (Miss)understood was certified million by RIAJRecording Industry Association of Japan
The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry...
in sales and was recognized for having more than a million copies shipped to store. On the Oricon Charts, (Miss)understood failed to break a million selling only a little under 900,000. The total sales number of the album's singles comes to a total of 1,122,107. The album sales and the single sales combined come to a grand sales revenue of 1,999,540 CDs sold.
Track listing
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Catalogue Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | CD+DVD
Special Photobook On My Way (80P) |
AVCD-17837/B | |
CD
Special Photobook Off My Way (80P) |
|||
| Taiwan | |||
| Hong Kong | |||
| China | CD+DVD
|
||
| CD+DVD | AVTCD-95881 | ||
| CD
|
|||
| CD | AVTCD-95876CB
|
Charts
| Release | Chart | Peak Position | First Week Sales | Sales Total | Chart Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2006 | Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 | |||
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 1 | 653,830 | 877,500 | 31 weeks | |
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 1 | ||||
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 8 |
- Total Sales: 877,500 (Japan)
- Total Sales: 1,030,000 (Avex)
Singles
| Date | Title | Peak position | Weeks | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 20, 2005 | "Step You/Is This Love? STEP you/is this LOVE? "Step You/Is This Love?" is the 35th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was a double a-side single released on April 20, 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the first single released by Ayumi Hamasaki in 2005. "Step you"/"is this Love?" was the best-selling solo single of 2005 by a female... " |
1 | 19 weeks | 345,340 |
| August 8, 2005 | "Fairyland Fairyland (song) "Fairyland" is the 36th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on August 3, 2005. It instantly shot to #1 on the Oricon charts where it stayed for the entire week. After one week of sales, "Fairyland" sold over 172,000 copies, the most any of Hamasaki's singles sold in one week in 2005... " |
1 | 13 weeks | 316,663 |
| September 14, 2005 | "Heaven Heaven (Ayumi Hamasaki song) "Heaven" is the thirty-seventh single released by Ayumi Hamasaki, released on September 14, 2005. "Heaven" ended up selling over 325,000 copies, making it Hamasaki's second highest-selling single of 2005 as well as her last single to date that has sold over 300,000 physical copies... " |
1 | 14 weeks | 327,771 |
| November 30, 2005 | "Bold & Delicious/Pride Bold & Delicious/Pride "Bold & Delicious/Pride" is the 38th single released by Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on November 30, 2005.The song Bold & Delicious was originally composed by music producer Roberto "Geo" Rosan for the Los Angeles-based pop group Sweetbox, which achieved fame in Europe and Asia throughout the... " |
1 | 7 weeks | 132,993 |
- Total Single Sales: 1,121,690
- Total Album and Single Sales: 1,999,123