(Miss)understood

Infobox Album |
Name = (Miss)Understood
Type = Album
Artist = Ayumi Hamasaki


Released = January 1, 2006 (Japan, Taiwan)
Recorded = Prime Sound Studio Form (Tokyo, Japan) Sony Music Studios (New York, USA) Mixing and mastering studios: avex studio azabu, Bunkamura Studio, Hitokuchizaka Studio, Cresente Studio, Westside, Aobadai Studio, Sound City, Victor
Genre = J-pop
Length = 66:32
Label = Avex Trax
Producer = Max Matsuura
Last album = "My Story" (2004)
This album = "(Miss)understood" (2006)
Next album = "Secret" (2006)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate Cover
Type = Album

|200px
Lower caption = CD-only CoverSingles
Name = (Miss)understood
Type = studio
single 1 = Step You/Is This Love?
single 1 date = April 20, 2005
single 2 = Fairyland c/w Alterna
single 2 date = August 3, 2005
single 3 = Heaven
single 3 date = September 14, 2005
single 4 = Bold & Delicious/Pride
single 4 date = November 30, 2005

"(Miss)understood" is Ayumi Hamasaki's seventh full-length studio album produced by Max Matsuura. Its official release date was January 1,, 2006, but started appearing in stores on December 28, 2005, the last Wednesday of the year. It was recognized by the RIAJ as one of The Best 10 Albums of the Year for 2006 [ [http://www.riaj.or.jp/e/issue/pdf/RIAJ2007E.pdf YB07_E ] ] and by the IFPI as #4 on the list of top 10 selling albums in Japan of 2006. [ [http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/top-10-by-country-2006.pdf SUMMARY TOP TENS 2006.xls ] ]

Background and production

In 2005, after hearing demo tracks from band Sweetbox's then-upcoming album "Addicted", Hamasaki "fell in love" with the songs and consequently asked Sweetbox's composer GEO if she could use some the songs for her album. GEO agreed and gave Hamasaki permission to use "Bold & Delicious", "Pride", "Ladies Night", "In the Corner", "Every Step", and "Beautiful Girl". ["In the Corner" is from "Raw Treasures Volume 1", not "Addicted".] ["Every Step" and "Beautiful Girl" became "Rainy Day" and "Beautiful Day", respectively on "(miss)understood".] Hamasaki then set to work reworking the songs to fit her personal vision, rewriting the lyrics and rearranging parts of songs.ja icon cite journal | last=Fuji| first=Miho (藤井美保) | title=Ayumi Hamasaki: Bold & Delicious/Pride | journal=Girlpop | date=January 5,, 2006|volume=76|pages=pgs. 16–18|issue=no.462] [ja icon cite web | url=http://www.avexnet.or.jp/sweetbox/history/ | title=History of Sweetbox | accessmonthday=February 12 | accessyear=2008 | publisher=Avex Trax]

Themes and musical style

Listen
filename=Ayumi_Hamasaki_-_Bold_&_Delicious.ogg‎
title="Bold & Delicious" (2005)
description=Hamasaki took new directions on "(miss)understood", as epitomized by the single "Bold & Delicious", a funk-influenced song that used a gospel-style chorus.Whereas "My Story", Hamasaki's preceding album had contained mostly "autobiographical" lyrics and "musings about [her] past", "(miss)understood" was a "strong message to send to all women": it was a kind of "girl's talk" to give "moral support" while at the same time reminding women that there would be times when they would "feel weak and low".cite journal | title=Ayumi Hamasaki Special Interview | journal=Sweet | date=January 2006 |pages=pgs. 19–22] "Bold & Delicious" "scolded indecisive men", "Pride" expressed Hamasaki's appreciation of "women who do not give up easily", and "Ladies Night" was about female camaraderie. Other themes appeared as well: "Is This Love?" and "Heaven" were about love, and "Fairyland" was about "childhood memories".

The album was more musically diverse than its predecessor; Hamasaki incorporated a variety of musical styles including R&B, rock, dance-pop, funk. "Bold & Delicious" was a funk-infused dance track that used a gospel choir in the harmony, and "Pride" was a ballad song that "sounded like it could be from a musical"; the arrangement of both songs were influenced by Hamasaki's trip to New York City to record the songs and film their respective music videos. An organ Hamasaki heard while visiting a church inspired her to include the gospel choir in "Bold", while the musical "The Phantom of the Opera" influenced her arrangement of "Pride". "Criminal", "Step you", "alterna", and the titular "(Miss)understood" were all rock songs with prominent electric guitars, while "Heaven" was an "ethereal" piano-driven ballad.cite news| last=Garcia|first=Cathy A|title=Ayumi Hamasaki '(miss)understood'|publisher="The Korea Times" | date=February 7, 2006] As with "Bold & Delicious" and "Pride", other songs composed by GEO were rearranged; violins were added to the bridge of "Rainy Day", and a choir was added to the chorus of "Beautiful Day".

Extras

The initial pressings of the album included two photobooks — one for the CD version (entitled "off my day"), and another for the CD+DVD version (entitled "on my way"). The DVD version included all PVs that were made for her 2005 releases (excluding "My Name's Women") — "Step You", "Is This Love?", "Fairyland", "Alterna", "Heaven", "Bold & Delicious" and "Pride", as well as an alternative PV for "Bold & Delicious" (called the “Side story"). Two new PVs were also included — "Ladies Night" and "Rainy Day" made their debut on the disc. Behind-the-scenes clips for "Step You", "Is This Love?", "Fairyland", "Alterna", "Heaven" and "Pride" feature also.

ales

In 2007, Avex reported that (miss)understood sold 1,030,000 copies in Japan [http://www.avex.co.jp/e_site/material/pdf/material_0604q.pdf (Pg 19)]

(Miss)understood was certified million by RIAJ in sales and was recognized for having more than a million copies shipped to store. [jp icon [http://www.riaj.or.jp/data/others/gold/200601.html RIAJ January data] ] On the Oricon Charts, (miss)understood failed to break a million selling only a little under 900k. The total sales number of the album's singles comes to a total of 1,122,107. The album sales and the single sales combined come to a grand sales revenue of 1,999,540 CDs sold.

CD track listing

# Bold & Delicious – 4:40
# Step You – 4:24
# Ladies Night – 4:29
# Is this Love? – 4:51
# (Miss)understood – 4:02
# Alterna – 5:28
# In the Corner – 3:22
# Tasking – 1:25
# Criminal – 5:13
# Pride – 4:10
# Will – 4:07
# Heaven – 4:18
# Are You Wake Up? – 2:05
# Fairyland – 5:17
# Beautiful Day – 4:34
# Rainy Day – 4:01

DVD track listing

# Step You

Charts

With "(Miss)understood", Hamasaki reached the number one position on The United World Chart with a full album for the first time, outselling the number two by 366,000 copies.

* Total Sales: 877,433 (Japan)
* Total Sales: 1,030,000 (Avex)
* Total Sales: 1,800,000 (Asia)

ingles

Total Single Sales: 1,121,690

Total Album and Single Sales: 1,999,123

References

*The liner notes for "(miss)understood" (Japanese version). AVCD-17837/B

Notes