You & Me (Ayumi Hamasaki song)

"You & Me" is a song by Japanese musician Ayumi Hamasaki. It was the leading promotional track from her summer song compilation album A Summer Best, released on August 8, 2012.[1] The song was a commercial success, certified gold by the RIAJ,[2] and became a part of the track list for Hamasaki's 14th studio album, Love Again (2013).

"You & Me"
A woman against a sky background smiling.
Remix versions' digital download cover
Promotional single by Ayumi Hamasaki
from the album A Summer Best, Love Again
LanguageJapanese
ReleasedAugust 8, 2012 (2012-08-08)
Recorded2011
GenrePop, dance
Length5:36
LabelAvex Trax
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Official Music Video
You & Me on YouTube

Background

In March 2012, Hamasaki released her 13th studio album Party Queen, led by the song "How Beautiful You Are", a song used as the drama Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi's theme song.[3]

Hamasaki first recorded a song of Tetsuya Komuro's in 2001, the duet "A Song Is Born" with Komuro's wife Keiko of the band Globe. In 2006, she recorded a cover of the TRF song "Teens" for their album Lif-e-Motions. In 2010, Hamasaki released Love Songs, an album featuring 10 songs produced by Komuro, including the singles "Crossroad", "Virgin Road", "Last Angel" and the eponymous track "Love Song". In late 2011, Hamasaki covered the TRF song "Happening Here", which she performed in December 2011 at her Countdown Live 2011-2012: Hotel Love Songs concerts. The song was included on A Summer Best alongside "You & Me".

Writing and production

The song featured words written by Hamasaki, and music by Japanese music producer Tetsuya Komuro.[4] Long time Hamasaki collaborator Tasuku handled the song's arrangement.

Promotion and release

The song was used in commercials for Japanese company Nissen, fur autumn and winter 2012.[5] The a cappella tracks for the song were released for free on August 14 to SoundCloud,[6] and on September 13, remixes of the song by Remo-con and Shinichi Osawa were released as digital downloads.[7] This was the third time Hamasaki had been remixed by Osawa, after "Startin' (Shinichi Osawa Remix)" from Ayu-mi-x 6: Gold (2008) and "Appears (Shinichi Osawa Remix)" from Ayu-mi-x 7 Version House (2011). DJ Remo-con is the stage name of producer Tetsuya Tamura, who had been producing remixes for Hamasaki since 2001. These two "You & Me" remixes were compiled on CD as a part of Hamasaki's fourth extended play, Love, which was released on November 8, 2012.

The song was first added to her set-list for her Arena Tour 2012 A: Hotel Love Songs tour on July 22, at her performance at the Osaka-jō Hall, and continued to be a part of the set-list until September. The song was also performed at festivals in 2012: first performed on August 8, 2012 at the FNS Uta no Natsu Matsuri, a four-hour Fuji Television music special.[8] The song became a part of her set-lists for Countdown Live 2012–2013, 15th Anniversary Tour: A Best Live (April–July 2013), Countdown Live 2013–2014 and Premium Showcase: Feel the Love (May–July 2014), and has been performed at A-Nation from 2012–2014.

Music video

A music video was produced for the song, directed by Masashi Muto.[9] It features Hamasaki at a beach resort town, alongside her dancer Maroka "Maro" Uchiyama.[4] Scenes feature Uchiyama and Hamasaki at the ocean, the pair playing games at a night carnival, and driving to a supermarket.

Critical reception

CDJournal called "You & Me" an impressive upper tempo song with a "danceable groove tune" and a "piercing bright melody", and praised the final "quiet" section of the song in particular. They noted it was one of the highlights of the A Summer Best compilation.[10][11]

Versions
  • "You & Me" (5:36)
  • "You & Me" (from A Classical) (5:27)
  • "You & Me (Remo-con rmx – radio edit)" (5:36)
  • "You & Me (Remo-con rmx – extended)" (7:29)
  • "You & Me (Remo-con rmx – instrumental)" (7:29)
  • "You & Me (Shinichi Osawa remix)" (4:56)
  • "You & Me (Shinichi Osawa remix instrumental)" (4:56)

Chart rankings
Charts (2012) Peak
position
Japan Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay[12] 83
Japan Billboard Japan Hot 100[13] 33

Certifications
Chart Amount
RIAJ digital download certification[2] Gold (100,000)

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from A Summer Best's liner notes booklet.[4]

Musicians and personnel

  • Ayumi Hamasaki – lyrics, vocals, music video cast
  • Yumi Kawamura – additional background vocal
  • Shingo Kobayashi – acoustic piano
  • Tetsuya Komuro – music
  • Masashi Muto – music video director
  • Yuichi Nagayama – recordist
  • Tasuku – arrangement, guitar, programming
  • Maroka 'Maro' Uchiyama – music video cast
  • Jerry K. White – music video location support
  • Naoki Yamada – mixing
  • Yujiro Yonetsu – 2nd engineer

Release history
Region Date Format Distributing Label
Japan August 8, 2012 (2012-08-08)[1][2] Ringtone, digital download Avex Trax
September 21, 2012 (2012-09-21)[14][15] Digital download ("Remo-con rmx - Extended", "Shinichi Osawa Remix")

References
  1. "2012.8.8 in stores 『A(ロゴ) SUMMER BEST』" (in Japanese). Avex Group. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  2. レコード協会調べ 1月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: January Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  3. "【配信情報】フジテレビ系木曜よる10時ドラマ「最後から二番目の恋」主題歌「how beautiful you are」をデジタル・シングルとして2/8（水）にリリース！" [[Download news] Fuji TV Wednesday 10pm drama 'Saigo kara Nibanme no Koi' theme song "How Beautiful You Are" to be released as a digital single on February 8 (wed)!] (in Japanese). Avex Group. February 1, 2012. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  4. A Summer Best (Media notes) (in Japanese). Ayumi Hamasaki. Tokyo, Japan: Avex trax. 2012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. "「You & Me」タイアップ情報更新しました！" (in Japanese). Avex Group. August 9, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  6. "浜崎あゆみ、新曲"You & Me"のアカペラ素材をSoundCloudで無料配信" (in Japanese). Tower Records. August 14, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  7. "【配信情報】大沢伸一、Remo-conによる「You & Me」リミックス音源を配信開始！" (in Japanese). Avex Group. September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  8. "FNSうたの夏まつり - ８月８日（水）夜19時 国立代々木競技場第一体育館から４時間84曲生放送！" (in Japanese). Fuji Television. 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  9. "You & Me" (in Japanese). Space Shower. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  10. "浜崎あゆみ / A SUMMER BEST [2CD+DVD]" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  11. "浜崎あゆみ / LOVE again [CD+DVD]" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  12. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  13. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  14. "You & Me (Remo-con rmx - Extended) - Single 浜崎あゆみ" (in Japanese). Apple. 12 September 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  15. "You & Me (SHINICHI OSAWA remix) - Single 浜崎あゆみ" (in Japanese). Apple. 12 September 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
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