Love (Ayumi Hamasaki EP)
Love (stylized as LOVE) is the third mini-album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on 8 November 2012 in three editions: CD+DVD, CD-Only and a limited Tales of Xillia 2 Edition.[1]
| Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | November 8, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Genre | Pop, dance-pop, pop rock | |||
| Length | 61:53 | |||
| Label | Avex Trax | |||
| Producer | Max Matsuura | |||
| Ayumi Hamasaki chronology | ||||
| ||||
The EP's track list is formatted similarly to Hamasaki's singles, including remixes and instrumentals, which was different on how she present her mini-albums in the past. Love reached #4 on the Oricon charts, selling 64,841 copies in its first week. It ended up selling 94,347 copies, receiving a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of 100,000 copies.[2]
Information
Love is the first from five consecutive monthly releases from Hamasaki to celebrate her 15th anniversary in the music industry. It has three new songs: "Song 4 U", "Missing" and "Melody" as well as remixes of them and remixes of "You & Me", which was released digitally few months earlier.
The first track on the album, "Song 4 U", was used as the theme song for the 2012 video game Tales of Xillia 2.
At first, Hamasaki included a music video for "Melody" for the track list in the DVD was eventually replaced by a music video for "Missing". "Melody"'s music video will then be included on her 14th studio album, Love Again.
Love is Hamasaki first mini-album not to top the oricon charts, debuting at number 4 with sales of just 64,841. It sold a total of 88,435 in 2012, ending up as the 76th best selling album of the year. Hamasaki had stated that these five releases, including Love, are meant for her fans and not about sales and ranking. Love also charted at 7 at Japan Billboard Top Albums. In Taiwan, it charted at #2 at its debut week and rise to #1 in the following week. Her last number one album in Taiwan was Rock 'n' Roll Circus in 2010.
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Ayumi Hamasaki
| No. | Title | Music | Arranger(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Song 4 U" (original mix) | HINATAspring, Yuta Nakano | Yuta Nakano | 3:51 |
| 2. | "Missing" (original mix) | Kazuhiro Hara | Yuta Nakano | 4:58 |
| 3. | "Melody" (original mix) | Yasuhiko Hoshino | Yuta Nakano | 5:26 |
| 4. | "Song 4 U" (orchestra version) | HINATAspring, Yuta Nakano | Yuta Nakano | 4:22 |
| 5. | "You & Me" (Remo-con rmx - extended) | Tetsuya Komuro | Remo-con | 7:28 |
| 6. | "You & Me" (Shinichi Osawa remix) | Tetsuya Komuro | Shinichi Osawa | 5:01 |
| 7. | "Missing" (Dubscribe remix) | Kazuhiro Hara | Dubscribe | 5:07 |
| 8. | "Melody" (Broken Haze remix) | Yasuhiko Hoshino | Broken Haze | 5:58 |
| 9. | "Song 4 U" (instrumental) | HINATAspring, Yuta Nakano | Yuta Nakano | 3:50 |
| 10. | "Missing" (instrumental) | Kazuhiro Hara | Yuta Nakano | 4:57 |
| 11. | "Melody" (instrumental) | Yasuhiko Hoshino | Yuta Nakano | 5:24 |
| 12. | "You & Me" (instrumental) | Tetsuya Komuro | Tasuku | 5:39 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Song 4 U" (video clip) | |
| 2. | "Missing" (video clip) | |
| 3. | "Song 4 U" (making clip) |
Charts and Certifications
Oricon Chart
| Chart | Peak position | Debut sales | Total sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Daily Chart | 3 |
21,743[3] |
130,000 |
| Oricon Weekly Chart | 4[4] |
64,841 | |
| Oricon Monthly Chart | 11 |
86,095 | |
| Oricon Yearly Chart | 76 |
88,345 | |
G-Music Chart (Taiwan)
| Release | Chart | Peak position | Percentage sales |
|---|---|---|---|
November 8, 2012 |
Combo Chart | 4 |
1.82% |
| Japanese Chart | 1 |
16.53% |
Certifications
| Country | Provider | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | RIAJ | Gold[2] |
References
- "DISCOGRAPHY - ayumi hamasaki（浜崎あゆみ） official website". Archived from the original on 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
- ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2012年11月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (November 2012)] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. December 10, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- @hisaka2u (November 7, 2012). "ORICON STYLE編集長のTwitter 2012年11月7日の発言" (Tweet). Retrieved November 13, 2012 – via Twitter.
- "2012年11月05日～2012年11月11日のCDアルバム週間ランキング（2012年11月19日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. November 14, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.