Say the Word

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“Say the Word”
Single by Namie Amuro
from the album Love Enhanced Single Collection
B-side Let's Not Fight
Released August 8, 2001 (CD)
September 12, 2001 (Vinyl)
Format CD Single, Vinyl
Genre Pop
Length 22:09 (CD)
Label Avex Trax (CD)
Rhythm Republic (Vinyl)
Writer(s) Namie Amuro
Ronald Malmberg
Thomas Johansson
Producer Ronald Malmberg
Thomas Johansson
Namie Amuro singles chronology
"Think of Me / No More Tears"
(2001)		 "Say the Word"
(2001)		 "I Will"
(2002)

"Say the Word" is Namie Amuro's 19th solo single under the Avex Trax label. It is her first single after the termination of her working relationship with longtime producer, Tetsuya Komuro. Debuting in the top three after an all-time low chart debut by its predecessor, "Think of Me / No More Tears" (2001), "Say the word" was her last single to sell over 100,000 copies until her 26th single, "All for You" (2004).

Contents

[edit] Overview

"Say the Word" was released in early August after a one month delay. Early promotion for the single touted it as her first as a singer-songwriter. It was also released as a vinyl single a month after the CD single and was issued on the Rhythm Republic label. As a limited print, Rhythm Republic issued only 1,500 copies of it. It is now out of print. Unlike the CD version of the single, it does not come with the instrumentals of "Say the Word" or its b-side, "Let's Not Fight." Instead, an exclusive remix of the title track entitled, "Say the Word (Clappy Mix)" appears on the disc.

During the winter of 2001 (December), Amuro premiered a new dance remix of the song on the music special, Best Artist 30. That version appears on her second singles compilation, Love Enhanced Single Collection (2002). However, the single mix of the song has never appeared on any of her albums and remains exclusive to its single.

[edit] Original version

Although the song was advertised as an original composition, "Say the Word" was actually a cover. The originally written in English by Ronald Malmberg and Thomas Johansson for Danish artist Jeanette Debb, the song was first released on her album Virtualize (2001) and later as a single to coincide with Amuro's version.

[edit] Commercial endorsements

The song was licensed to Japanese comestic company Kose and appeared in a commercial starring Amuro herself. The version featured in the commercial is both musically and lyrically different from the version commercially released. The lyrics featured in the commercial are:

Say the word and I will be there for you
Aruite yukesou
Say the word and make my dreams come true

The English portions of the lyrics featured in the commercial match those written in Jeanette Debb's version, but were changed in the released version of the song.

In the commercial itself, Amuro advertises Kose's new line of waterproof lipstick, Luminus. It features her underwater and breaking through to grab hold of the comestic. She puts it on underwater to demonstrate the lipsticks ability stay on even under the most damp situations.

[edit] Music video

A music video for "Say the Word" directed by Masashi Muto was filmed on location in Japan and revolves around three scenes. The video opens up with Amuro entering a bus. The song begins when she sits down and puts on headphones. The main scene of the video is a performance scene with Amuro dancing with four female dancers and two male dancers. The final scene of the video involved Amuro driving in a gold cadillac on an open road. Amuro once described herself as a paper driver on an episode of Music Station, meaning she had a license but didn't really drive. Behind-the-scenes footage of the video aired on Channel @, showed Amuro appearing nervous and yelling "Kowai" (Scary) during filming of the scene. The end of video has Amuro getting off the bus. As it comes to a stop the doors open to reveal nothing but water. Amuro has never explained the significance of the scene.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] CD single

  1. "Say the Word" (Namie Amuro, Ronald Malmberg, Thomas Johansson) – 3:58
  2. "Let's Not Fight" (Rie Matsumoto, Ramona Lyons, Jay Lyons) – 4:14
  3. "Say the Word (Breeze House Mix)" (Remixed by Keiichi Ueno, Hiroshi Futami, Yuji Kudo) – 5:46
  4. "Say the Word (Instrumental)" (Ronald Malmberg, Thomas Johansson) – 6:41
  5. "Let's Not Fight (Instrumental)" (Ramona Lyons, Jay Lyons) – 4:14

[edit] Vinyl single

[edit] Side A

  1. "Say the Word (Breeze House Mix)" (Remixed by Keiichi Ueno, Hiroshi Futami, Yuji Kudo)
  2. "Say the Word (Clappy Mix)" (Remixed by Keiichi Ueno)

[edit] Side B

  1. "Say the Word (Original Mix)" (Namie Amuro, Ronald Malmberg, Thomas Johansson)
  2. "Let's Not Fight" (Rie Matsumoto, Ramona Lyons, Jay Lyons)

[edit] Personnel

  • Namie Amuro – vocals, background vocals
  • Hiroko Ishikawa – Dancer
  • IYO-P – Dancer
  • Shinnosuke Motoyama– Dancer
  • Yumeko – Dancer

[edit] Production

  • Producers – Ronald Malmberg, Thomas Johansson
  • Arrangement – Kazuhiro Hara, Keiichi Ueno, Cobra Endo
  • Mixing – Eddie Delena
  • Music Video Director – Masashi Muto

[edit] TV Performances

[edit] Charts

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Chart Peak Position Sales Total Chart Run
September 11, 2003 Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 3 183,840 11 weeks
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