Past Future

Past<Future is the ninth studio album by Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro, released on December 16, 2009. The album arrived over two years after Play (2007). Amuro stated that she saw Past<Future as a "fresh start" following the highly successful Best Fiction (2008).[1]

For Past Future, a rock-classical album with Göteborgs Symfoniker, see Magnus Rosén.
Past<Future
Studio album by
Namie Amuro
ReleasedDecember 16, 2009 (2009-12-16) (Japan)
Genre
Length48:47
LabelAvex Trax
Namie Amuro chronology
Best Fiction
(2008)		 Past<Future
(2009)		 Checkmate!
(2011)
Alternative cover
CD+DVD edition and digital download artwork
Singles from Past<Future
  1. "Wild/Dr."
    Released: March 18, 2009

Only one single, "Wild/Dr.", was released from the album. Several of the album tracks were used in promotional campaigns leading up to its release, including "My Love" and "Copy That" which were used in Vidal Sassoon commercials.[2] A tour in support of the album was announced for April 2010.[3] The album sold 310,323 units within its first six days.

Background

Past<Future was released in Japan on December 16, 2009 as a singular 12-track CD release plus a dual disc set with the album and a separate DVD containing several music videos. Amuro first revealed in the March 2009 issue of S Kawaii that she was preparing a new album which she would begin recording during her Best Fiction Tour. In the interview, she also confirmed that the direction of the album would be different from her previous album. Confirmation of the impending release of Amuro's ninth studio album occurred several months later when media outlets began to report new commercials with new songs by the singer would appear not in a new single, but a new album towards the end of the year.[4]

Of the twelve tracks being released on the album, eleven tracks including "Wild", Dr.", "Fast Car", "My Love", "Copy That", "Bad Habit" "Love Game", "The Meaning of Us", "Shut Up, "Defend Love", and "Steal My Night" were announced on her official site on October 22.[1] The final track, "First Timer" a collaboration with hip hop group Doberman Inc. was announced at a later date.

Unlike Play which was produced solely by Michico and T.Kura of Giant Swing and Nao'ymt, Amuro sought other writers and producers for this project. Dsign Music, a Scandinavian production team was the first to reveal that they had written new material for Amuro on their official website in August 2009.[5] In a blog entry, songwriter/producer, Hiro, who has written for other artists including Kumi Koda and J Soul Brothers, confirmed that he produced "My Love".[6]

Promotion

After the release of the singles "Wild" and "Dr.", the first songs to be promoted from the album were "My Love" and "Copy That", which appeared in new commercials for cosmetics company, Vidal Sassoon. They premiered on the web first and later on television in October 2009.[7] "My Love" would later make its radio premiere on J-Wave's Groove Line on October 27.[8] Both "My Love" and "Copy That" were released as ringtones online on November 18. Two more songs from the album, "Fast Car" and "The Meaning Of Us" also made their radio premieres on November 23 and 24.[2] The music videos for the two respective songs also premiered on music channels. In total, four new music videos have been produced for "Fast Car", "The Meaning Of Us", "Love Game", and "Defend Love." All four videos will appear on a DVD included with the album along with music videos for the previously released "Wild" and "Dr.".[2]

The "Defend Love" music video was a collaboration with Sunrise Animation, featuring Namie Amuro as an animated character interacting with Amuro Ray of Mobile Suit Gundam. Part of the video re-creates the encounter between Amuro Ray and Lalah Sune in the Ghost of Solomon event, with Namie Amuro in place of Lalah piloting a pink Elmeth.

Track listing
CD
No.TitleLyricsMusicProducer(s)Length
1."Fast Car"TigerAnne Judith Wik, Ronny Svendsen, Robin Jenssen, Nermin Harambasic, Chris YoungDsign Music3:20
2."Copy That"MichicoT.Kura, MichicoT.Kura for Giant Swing Productions4:25
3."Love Game"DoubleAnthony Anderson, Joleen Belle, Jaden Michaels, Steve SmithAnthony Anderson & Steve Smith for SA TrackWorks Productions3:39
4."Bad Habit"TigerHugo Lira, Thomas Gustafsson, Negin, lan-Paolo LiraH.Lira, T.Gustafsson, I-P Lira for Random Music3:10
5."Steal My Night"Jeff Miyahara, Kanata OkajimaJeff MiyaharaJeff Miyahara3:32
6."First Timer (feat. Doberman Inc)"Michico, Doberman IncT.Kura, Michico, Doberman IncT.Kura for Giant Swing Productions5:24
7."Wild"MichicoT.Kura, MichicoT.Kura for Giant Swing Productions3:18
8."Dr."Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt5:41
9."Shut Up"Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt4:08
10."My Love"HiroHiroHiro for Digz, Inc.4:04
11."The Meaning of Us"Momo "Mocha" N.Momo "Mocha" N., U-key ZoneU-Key Zone4:28
12."Defend Love"Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt4:03
Total length:48:47
DVD
No.TitleDirector(s)Length
1."Fast Car" (Music video)Shigeaki Kubo3:25
2."Love Game" (Music video)Shigeaki Kubo3:56
3."Wild" (Music video)Caviar3:22
4."The Meaning of Us" (Music video)Shigeaki Kubo4:35
5."Dr." (Music video)Junpei Mizusaki (Kamikaze Douga), Shuichi Sato, Yasuhiko Shimizu5:54
6."Defend Love" (Music video)Tanakazoo & Yusuke Tanaka4:26

Chart performance

The album debuted at number one on the Oricon daily album chart, with a first day sales tally of around 112,000 copies.[9] At the end of its first week of release, the album went on to top the Oricon weekly album chart, selling around 331,000 copies.[10] According to Oricon, the album sold 545,929 copies within ten weeks, surpassing the sales of Amuro's previous studio album, Play. According to Oricon, Amuro's new album Past<Future was the number one album of 2010 for eight months. As of October 2010, Past<Future is the sixth best-selling album of 2010 in Japan. surpassing her 1998 album, Concentration 20 in terms of ranking.

Reception

Takurō Ueno (上野 拓朗, Ueno Takurō) rated the album four and a half out of five stars on Rolling Stone Japan.[11]

Charts and certifications

Singles - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
Release Single Chart Peak Position
18 March 2009 Wild/Dr. Oricon Daily Singles Chart 1
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 1

References
  1. "安室奈美恵NEWアルバムのタイトル・収録曲が決定!!". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  2. "～待望のオリジナルアルバム発売決定!!!～". Archived from the original on 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  3. "安室奈美恵：全国ツアー開催決定！！".
  4. "アムロ３変化☆「ヴィダルサスーン」新ＣＭ". Sankei Sports. 2009-09-25. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  5. "DSign Music AS".
  6. "安室奈美恵 "MY LOVE"". Archived from the original on 2009-11-29. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
  7. "安室が宇宙でリボーン！ヴィダルサスーン新CM公開".
  8. "新曲「MY LOVE」をラジオ初オンエア！〜". Archived from the original on 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  9. 安室奈美恵、2年半ぶりのオリジナルアルバムが1位スタート (in Japanese). Oricon. 2009-12-17. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  10. 30代でもアルバム1位、安室奈美恵が女性初10〜30代首位制覇 (in Japanese). Oricon. 2009-12-22. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  11. Ueno, Takurō. "Past<Future CD Review" (in Japanese). Rolling Stone Japan. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  12. "アルバム 年間ランキング-ORICON STYLE ランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 20, 2010. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
  13. "Soundscan Albums". Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  14. G-Music Combo Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  15. G-Music J-Pop
  16. "安室奈美恵、デビュー以来初の上半期アルバム1位". Oricon. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  17. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2009年12月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
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