Past Future
Encyclopedia
Past
on December 16, 2009. The album comes over two years after her last original studio album, Play
(2007). Amuro states that she sees the album as a "brand new start" following the highly successful release of the greatest hits compilation, Best Fiction
(2008).
Only one single, "Wild/Dr." was released from the album. Several of the album's tracks will be used in promotional campaigns leading up to its release including, "My Love
" and "Copy That" currently being used in Vidal Sassoon
commercials. A tour in support of the album has been announced to begin in April 2010. The album shifted 310,323 units within its first six days.
was released in Japan on December 16, 2009 as a singular 12-track CD release plus a dual disc set with the album and a separate DVD containing several music videos. Amuro first revealed in the March 2009 issue of S Kawaii that she was preparing a new album which she would begin recording during her Best Fiction Tour
. In the interview, she would also confirm that the direction of the album would be different from her previous album. Confirmation of the impending release of Amuro's ninth studio album occurred several months later when media outlets began to report new commercials with new songs by the singer would appear not in a new single, but a new album towards the end of the year.
Of the twelve tracks being released on the album, eleven tracks including "Wild", Dr.", "Fast Car", "My Love", "Copy That", "Bad Habit" "Love Game", "The Meaning of Us", "Shut Up, "Defend Love", and "Steal My Night" were announced on her official site on October 22. The final track, "First Timer" a collaboration with hip hop group Doberman Inc. was announced at a later date.
Unlike Play which was produced solely by Michico and T.Kura of Giant Swing
and Nao'ymt, Amuro sought other writers and producers for this project. Dsign Music
, a Scandinavia
n production team was the first to reveal that they had written new material for Amuro on their official website in August 2009. In a blog entry, songwriter/producer, Hiro
, who has written for other artist including Kumi Koda
and J Soul Brothers, confirmed that he produced "My Love".
. They premiered on the web first and later on television in October 2009. "My Love" would later make its radio premiere on J-Wave
's Groove Line on October 27. Both "My Love" and "Copy That" were released as ringtones online on November 18. Two more songs from the album, "Fast Car" and "The Meaning Of Us" also made their radio premieres on November 23 and 24. The music videos for the two respective songs also premiered on music channels. In total, four new music videos have been produced for "Fast Car", "The Meaning Of Us", "Love Game", and "Defend Love." All four videos will appear on a DVD included with the album along with music videos for the previously released "Wild" and "Dr.".
In November, a poster promoting the new album began to appear across Japan. It bears the image of a woman, her face hidden, ripping a photo from Amuro's famous Best Fiction album shoot. The image is being used both online and offline for the album, with more photos of the poster being more and more ripped, cumulating to the releases of the covers, where the poster is half-ripped, revealing Amuro's face.
The "Defend Love" music video was a collaboration with Sunrise Animation
, featuring Namie Amuro as an animated character interacting with Amuro Ray
of Mobile Suit Gundam
. Part of the video re-creates the encounter between Amuro Ray and Lalah Sune
in the Ghost of Solomon event, with Namie Amuro in place of Lalah piloting a pink Elmeth.
daily album chart, with a first day sales tally of around 112,000 copies. At the end of its first week of release, the album went on to top the Oricon weekly album chart, selling around 331,000 copies. According to Oricon, the album sold 545,929 copies within ten weeks, surpassing the sales of Amuro's previous studio album, Play
. According to Oricon, Amuro's new album Past was the number one album of 2010 for eight months. As of October 2010, Past is the sixth best-selling album of 2010 in Japan. surpassing her 1998 album, Concentration 20
in terms of ranking.
.
Namie Amuro
is a Japanese R&B and pop singer, entertainer, and former actress who at the height of her popularity was referred to as the "Teen Queen" and the title "Queen of Japanese Pop Music". Born in Naha, Okinawa, Amuro debuted at the age of 14 as an idol in the girl group Super Monkey's...
on December 16, 2009. The album comes over two years after her last original studio album, Play
Play (Namie Amuro album)
Play is the eighth studio album by Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro, released on June 27, 2007 in Japan. The follow-up to her successful 2005 album Queen of Hip-Pop, Play showcases her new hip-pop genre. This also marks her first album to be released in both the CD and CD+DVD formats. PLAY is her...
(2007). Amuro states that she sees the album as a "brand new start" following the highly successful release of the greatest hits compilation, Best Fiction
Best Fiction
Best Fiction is Namie Amuro's third best-of compilation under the Avex Trax label. The album includes 15 tracks selected from singles released between 2002 and 2008, in addition to two new songs: "Sexy Girl" and "Do Me More", which were both be used to promote the album...
(2008).
Only one single, "Wild/Dr." was released from the album. Several of the album's tracks will be used in promotional campaigns leading up to its release including, "My Love
My Love (Namie Amuro song)
"My Love" is a song by Namie Amuro. It was released as a radio single from her 9th album ""My Love" is a song by [[Namie Amuro]]. It was released as a radio single from her 9th album "...
" and "Copy That" currently being used in Vidal Sassoon
Vidal Sassoon
Vidal Sassoon, CBE is a widely recognised British hairdresser, credited with creating a simple geometric, "Bauhaus-inspired" hair style, also called the bob...
commercials. A tour in support of the album has been announced to begin in April 2010. The album shifted 310,323 units within its first six days.
Background
PastNamie Amuro Best Fiction tour 2008-2009
Namie Amuro Best Fiction Tour 2008-2009 is the tenth concert tour by Okinawan R&B/Pop singer and dancer, Namie Amuro in support of her greatest hits album, Best Fiction . The tour began on October 25, 2008 at Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba, Japan and will end on July 12, 2009 at Shanghai Grand...
. In the interview, she would also confirm that the direction of the album would be different from her previous album. Confirmation of the impending release of Amuro's ninth studio album occurred several months later when media outlets began to report new commercials with new songs by the singer would appear not in a new single, but a new album towards the end of the year.
Of the twelve tracks being released on the album, eleven tracks including "Wild", Dr.", "Fast Car", "My Love", "Copy That", "Bad Habit" "Love Game", "The Meaning of Us", "Shut Up, "Defend Love", and "Steal My Night" were announced on her official site on October 22. The final track, "First Timer" a collaboration with hip hop group Doberman Inc. was announced at a later date.
Unlike Play which was produced solely by Michico and T.Kura of Giant Swing
Giant Swing
The Giant Swing is a religious structure in Bangkok, Thailand, Phra Nakhon district, located in front of Wat Suthat temple. It was formerly used an old Brahmin ceremony, and is one of Bangkok's tourist attractions.-History:...
and Nao'ymt, Amuro sought other writers and producers for this project. Dsign Music
Dsign Music
Dsign Music is a songwriting/production company based in Trondheim, Norway. It was formed in 2006 by Robin Jenssen, Anne Judith Wik, Nermin Harambašić and Ronny Svendsen. The team was signed to Universal Music Publishing Group in 2008...
, a Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n production team was the first to reveal that they had written new material for Amuro on their official website in August 2009. In a blog entry, songwriter/producer, Hiro
Hiro (music producer)
Hiro is a Japanese music producer, associated with production company Digz, inc.. He began producing songs in 2007, beginning with dance group PaniCrew's single "Growing & Leaning." His most successful song is currently Kumi Koda's "Taboo," which reached #1 on Oricon's single charts in 2008...
, who has written for other artist including Kumi Koda
Kumi Koda
, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. Having debuted in 2000 with the single "Take Back", Koda gained fame for her seventh single, "Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba", the songs of which were used as themes for the video game...
and J Soul Brothers, confirmed that he produced "My Love".
Promotion
After the release of the singles "Wild" and "Dr.", the first songs to be promoted from the album were "My Love" and "Copy That", which both appeared in new commercials for cosmetics company, Vidal SassoonVidal Sassoon
Vidal Sassoon, CBE is a widely recognised British hairdresser, credited with creating a simple geometric, "Bauhaus-inspired" hair style, also called the bob...
. They premiered on the web first and later on television in October 2009. "My Love" would later make its radio premiere on J-Wave
J-Wave
J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Tower to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broadcasts in Tokyo, and has surprised the radio broadcast...
's Groove Line on October 27. Both "My Love" and "Copy That" were released as ringtones online on November 18. Two more songs from the album, "Fast Car" and "The Meaning Of Us" also made their radio premieres on November 23 and 24. The music videos for the two respective songs also premiered on music channels. In total, four new music videos have been produced for "Fast Car", "The Meaning Of Us", "Love Game", and "Defend Love." All four videos will appear on a DVD included with the album along with music videos for the previously released "Wild" and "Dr.".
In November, a poster promoting the new album began to appear across Japan. It bears the image of a woman, her face hidden, ripping a photo from Amuro's famous Best Fiction album shoot. The image is being used both online and offline for the album, with more photos of the poster being more and more ripped, cumulating to the releases of the covers, where the poster is half-ripped, revealing Amuro's face.
The "Defend Love" music video was a collaboration with Sunrise Animation
Sunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
, featuring Namie Amuro as an animated character interacting with Amuro Ray
Amuro Ray
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Char's Counterattack, voiced by Tōru Furuya , Brad Swaile , Michael Lindsay and Matthew Erickson is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and its sequels, Mobile...
of Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
. Part of the video re-creates the encounter between Amuro Ray and Lalah Sune
Lalah Sune
is a fictional character from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam.-Fictional Character Biography:Lalah is a young woman who is the "star student" of Professor Flanagan due to her strong Newtype abilities, and as such is also one of the key test subjects in the development of Newtype-related weaponry...
in the Ghost of Solomon event, with Namie Amuro in place of Lalah piloting a pink Elmeth.
Track listing
Chart performance
The album debuted at number one on the OriconOricon
, 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
daily album chart, with a first day sales tally of around 112,000 copies. At the end of its first week of release, the album went on to top the Oricon weekly album chart, selling around 331,000 copies. According to Oricon, the album sold 545,929 copies within ten weeks, surpassing the sales of Amuro's previous studio album, Play
Play (Namie Amuro album)
Play is the eighth studio album by Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro, released on June 27, 2007 in Japan. The follow-up to her successful 2005 album Queen of Hip-Pop, Play showcases her new hip-pop genre. This also marks her first album to be released in both the CD and CD+DVD formats. PLAY is her...
. According to Oricon, Amuro's new album Past
Concentration 20
Concentration 20 is Namie Amuro's third original studio album. The album is a fusion of styles including Pop, Dance and Rock. Released a year after her record shattering hit Sweet 19 Blues, the album raced to the top of the chart further solidifying her place in Japanese music history.- History...
in terms of ranking.
Reception
rated the album four and a half out of five stars on Rolling Stone JapanRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japan Oricon 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Daily Album Chart |
1 |
| Japan Oricon Weekly Album Chart | 1 |
| Japan Oricon yearly album chart | 6 |
| Japan Soundscan Albums Chart (CD+DVD) | 1 |
| Japan Soundscan Albums Chart (CD-Only) | 1 |
| Taiwan G-Music Combo Chart | 1 |
| Taiwan G-Music J-pop Chart | 1 |
| Korea Hanteo Weekly Albums Chart | 1 |
| Korea Hanteo Monthly Albums Chart | 1 |
Sales and certifications
| Country | Provider | Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | RIAJ Recording Industry Association of Japan The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry... |
600,000 | 2x Platinum |
Chart procession and succession
Singles - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
| Release | Single | Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 March 2009 | Wild/Dr. | Oricon Daily Singles Chart | 1 |
| Oricon Weekly Singles Chart | 1 | ||