Eighth World
Eighth World (stylized as EIGHth WØRlD) is Misia's eighth studio album and first since signing back with BMG Japan, released on January 9, 2008. It includes the singles "Any Love" and "Royal Chocolate Flush" as well as the J-Wave Winter Campaign Holy December, Be in Love with J-Wave image song and theme song to the Japanese release of the movie Bridge to Terabithia, "To Be in Love". The first pressing of the album came in a sleeve case packaging.
| Eighth World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Misia | ||||
| Released | January 9, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | R&B, pop, dance-pop, lounge | |||
| Length | 74:12 | |||
| Label | BMG Japan | |||
| Producer | Misia | |||
| Misia chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Eighth World | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| allmusic |   |
The album is certified Gold for shipment of 100,000 copies.
Title
The title "Eighth World" was chosen because of the coinciding year of release and number of the album. Moreover, with the Kanji for eight, 八 (hachi), resembling a folding fan spreading out, and the symbol for Infinity, ∞, being similar to the number 8 flipped on its side, the message conveyed in the title is that "an infinite amount of happiness is spreading out in the eighth world of Misia".[2]
Information
With her previous album, Ascension, focusing on the vast theme of "life" and "birth", Misia entered production of Eighth World with the idea of incorporating this element in a more tangible way. The album reflects a more up close and personal theme, with lyrics about relationships and the many sceneries Misia encountered in her homeland as well as in Kenya, where she visited the Kibera slum in Nairobi.[3] In an interview with MSN Music, she explained:
"Last spring, I visited Kenya and the reality of their conditions I saw in the slums was harsher than I had imagined. It made me think over a lot of things. It made me want to sing about "real" issues and with that in mind, one of the first songs I wrote right after was "Any Love"."[3]
"Taiyō no Malaika" is another song Misia wrote during her stay in Africa. A performance of the song was captured in a documentary of Misia's visit. She explained the crowd's reaction, saying, "The words are in Japanese, so naturally, I didn't think they would understand. However, as I sang, I saw the mothers crying as they listened. That's when I realized firsthand that music has no borders and transcends language." The song "Ishin Denshin", which was written by essayist Mayumi Satō to Misia's demand, speaks of this realization.[3]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Misia, except "Ishin Denshin", which is written by Mayumi Satō.
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ishin Denshin" (以心伝心) | Sakoshin | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Any Love" | Sinkiroh | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Royal Chocolate Flush" | Sakoshin | 3:53 |
| 4. | "November: Interlude" | Sinkiroh | 0:57 |
| 5. | "Missing Autumn" | Sinkiroh | 4:59 |
| 6. | "To Be in Love" | Joi | 6:17 |
| 7. | "Hadashi no Kisetsu" (裸足の季節, "Barefoot Season") | Jun Sasaki | 5:36 |
| 8. | "Chandelier" | Joi | 4:26 |
| 9. | "Hybrid Breaks: Interlude" | Sakoshin | 1:02 |
| 10. | "Dance Dance" | Sakoshin | 5:31 |
| 11. | "Taiyō no Chizu" (太陽の地図, "Map of the Sun") | Gomi, Shusui | 4:58 |
| 12. | "Soba ni Ite..." (そばにいて..., "Stay by My Side") | Sinkiroh | 5:01 |
| 13. | "Kimi wa Sōgen ni Nekoronde" (君は草原に寝ころんで, "You Lay Down on the Grasslands") | Joi | 4:40 |
| 14. | "Taiyō no Malaika" (太陽のマライカ, "Angel of the Sun") | Misia | 4:47 |
Charts
Oricon Sales Chart
| Release | Chart | Peak Position | Debut Sales | Sales Total | Chart Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 9, 2008 | Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 | 131,635 | 11 weeks | |
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 3 | 70,916 | |||
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 12 | ||||
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 85 | ||||
Physical Sales Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 |
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 3 |
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 12 |
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 85 |
| Billboard Japan TOP Albums | 3 |
| G-Music J-pop Chart[4] (Taiwan) | 4 |
| Five Music J-pop/K-pop Chart[5] (Taiwan) | 5 |
| Soundscan Albums Chart (CD-Only)[6] | 2 |
References
- allmusic review
- "MISIA MSNミュージック インタビュー 3/3". MSN Music (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- "MISIA MSNミュージック インタビュー 2/3". MSN Music (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- G-Music 風雲榜 (東洋榜) Archived 2011-05-08 at WebCite
- 五大唱片 (日韓榜)
- 週刊 CDソフト TOP20 Archived August 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
