A Song for ××
| A Song for ×× | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Ayumi Hamasaki | ||||
| Released | January 1, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 70:38 | |||
| Label | Avex Trax | |||
| Producer | Max Matsuura | |||
| Ayumi Hamasaki chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Song for ×× | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| MTV Asia |   link |
A Song for ×× (the "××" is silent) is Japanese pop artist Ayumi Hamasaki's debut album on a major label. Though the official release date was January 1, 1999, the album was sold in the record stores since mid-December. To the surprise of many critics, the album debuted at the top position of the Oricon Charts and topped the chart for five weeks, a remarkable feat for a debut album. The album debuted at #1 with more than 548,210 copies sold. This was partly because A Song for ×× debut sales was the first and second week sales combined (Oricon only has 51 weeks instead of 52). The album stayed on the charts for 63 weeks and eventually went on to sell more than a million copies. As of 2008, A Song for ×× is Japan's 139th best selling album of all time.[1]
Track list
All lyrics written by Ayumi Hamasaki.
| CD | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Music | Arranger(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Prologue" (Instrumental) | Yasuhiko Hoshino | Hoshino | 1:25 | ||||||
| 2. | "A Song for ××" | Hoshino | Hoshino | 4:44 | ||||||
| 3. | "Hana" | Hoshino | Hoshino | 4:07 | ||||||
| 4. | "Friend" | Hoshino | Akimitsu Honma | 4:11 | ||||||
| 5. | "Friend II" | Mitsuru Igarashi | Igarashi | 3:59 | ||||||
| 6. | "Poker Face" | Hoshino | Honma | 4:41 | ||||||
| 7. | "Wishing" | Hideaki Kuwabara | Honma | 4:29 | ||||||
| 8. | "You" | Hoshino | Honma | 4:46 | ||||||
| 9. | "As If..." | Kazuhito Kikuchi | Honma | 5:36 | ||||||
| 10. | "Powder Snow" | Kuwabara | Honma | 5:27 | ||||||
| 11. | "Trust" | Takashi Kimura | Honma, Kimura | 4:48 | ||||||
| 12. | "Depend on You" | Kikuchi | Honma, Takashi Morio | 4:20 | ||||||
| 13. | "Signal" | Kuwabara | Honma | 4:25 | ||||||
| 14. | "From Your Letter" | Akio Togashi | Togashi | 4:38 | ||||||
| 15. | "For My Dear..." | Hoshino | Hoshino | 4:33 | ||||||
| 16. | "Present" | Hoshino | Hoshino | 4:31 | ||||||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Catalogue Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | January 1, 1999 | CD | AVCD-11691 |
| Taiwan | |||
| Hong Kong | |||
| China | December 25, 2005 | CD | AVTCD-95224CB
|
Charts
- Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
| Release | Chart | Peak position | First Week Sales | Sales total | Chart run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 1999 | Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 | |||
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 1 | 548,210 | 1,451,910 | 63 | |
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 1 | ||||
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 15 |
- Total Sales: 1,451,910 (Japan)
Singles
| Date | Title | Peak Position | Weeks | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 April 1998 | Poker Face | 20 | 6 weeks | 43,150 |
| 10 June 1998 | You | 19 | 10 weeks | 78,260 |
| 5 August 1998 | Trust | 9 | 10 weeks | 181,820 |
| 7 October 1998 | For My Dear... | 9 | 7 weeks | 74,440 |
| 9 December 1998 | Depend on You | 6 | 9 weeks | 131,460 |
| 28 February 2001 | Poker Face (12 cm re-release) | 31 | 2 weeks | 24,000 |
| You (12 cm re-release) | 25 | 6 weeks | 36,000 | |
| Trust (12 cm re-release) | 29 | 2 weeks | 24,000 | |
| For My Dear... (12 cm re-release) | 33 | 2 weeks | 23,000 | |
| Depend on You (12 cm re-release) | 27 | 3 weeks | 28,000 |
- Total Single Sales: 644130
Total Album and Single Sales: 2,0960,040
References
| Preceded by Moment by Speed |
Oricon Weekly number-one album (first run) December 21, 1998 – January 10, 1999 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by People of the World by J-Friends |
| Preceded by People of the World by J-Friends |
Oricon Weekly number-one album (second run) January 18, 1999 – January 31, 1999 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by Discovery by Mr. Children |