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Best Fiction

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Best Fiction is the third greatest hits album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, and the final greatest hits release under her Avex Trax, her record company since 1995. The release follows her two previous greatest hits albums, 181920 (1998) and Love Enhanced Single Collection (2002). The compilation was released as a stand-alone CD and a CD packaging including music videos on a DVD. The album includes two new tracks; "Sexy Thing" and "Do Me More", and spawned an extended play 60s 70s 80s.

Best Fiction was commended by contemporary critics who noted the progression of Amuro's image from earlier years, while some were critical towards some songs for their lack of power. The album debuted at number one on a Japanese Oricon Albums Chart, her eighth number one on that chart and lasted six weeks at the top. Best Fiction was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of one million units, her first and last million certification since 181920. To promote Best Fiction, Amuro went on her Namie Amuro Best Fiction tour 2008–2009 concert tour in October 2008.

Background

In early 2008, Amuro confirmed that she would release a new single for a new greatest hits album. Amuro released the extended play 60s 70s 80s (March 2008) which contained the tracks "New Look", "Rock Steady", and "What a Feeling". She revealed that all her future singles would be promoted through her endorsement deals, with the first single being promoted through hair company Vidal Sassoon.[1] Amuro revealed that two new songs would be featured on the album, these being "Sexy Girl" and "Do Me More". "Sexy Girl" was the theme song for NHK drama Otome no Punch that aired on June 19, and the other called "Do Me More" was the campaign song for Vidal Sassoon.[2][3][4]

Best Fiction is Amuro's third greatest hits album, featuring all her tracks from "Wishing On the Same Star" (2003) up until 60s 70s 80s.[5] The album was released in two formats; a stand-alone CD that features a close up of Amuro's face, and a CD and DVD package that has Amuro leaning on top of a car hood. The album artworks were revealed on Oricons blog website, both heavily airbrushed.[5][6] The title of the compilation was revealed on the website for NHK series "Otome no Punch" on its FAQ.[7] Amuro commented that the image was chosen because it reflected the album's title.[8]

Singles

60s 70s 80s was served as the first single and was formatted as an extended play. The EP contained three songs: "New Look", "Rock Steady", and "What a Feeling". The single debuted at the number-two position on the oricon weekly charts with over 114,000 copies sold.[9] In the second week the single gained the number-one spot for that week, making it her first number-one single after 9 years and 3 months since "I Have Never Seen".[10] According to Oricon, "60s 70s 80s" sold nearly 300,000 copies.[11] 60s 70s 80s was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of 250,000 units, her highest selling EP and her highest selling single since her single "Something 'bout the Kiss" (1999).[12][13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[14]

Best Fiction received favorable reviews from music critics. Adam Greenberg from Allmusic selected the album as one of Amuro's best works alongside her studio albums Play (2007) and Break the Rules (2002).[15] Reviewing the album, he stated "Rather than taking on the basic manufactured pop sound common to the J-pop world, Amuro spends more of her energy in a dance format, using pounding beats and sexualized lyrics to create a different sound from the light and innocent pop saturating the market, acting as something of a Japanese Madonna in a sense. With Best Fiction, her third greatest-hits compilation, her output from 2002 to 2008 is covered in full detail." He commented that, while "There's some standard fare along the way as well -- items that are sure to hit the charts but leave less lasting impressions", he concluded "There's a lot of range covered here, and all of it performed quite well. Not bad stamina for a onetime idol singer."[14]

Best Fiction sold 681,000 copies in the first week and debuted at the number-one position on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart.[16] Within its third week, Best Fiction outsold a million copies, and Amuro became the only artist who produced million-selling albums in the oricon chart for three decades of her teens, 20s, and 30s.[17][18] Best Fiction eventually spent six consecutive weeks at the number-one position, becoming the first album to do so in more than 14 years since the Dreams Come True's 1993 album Magic.[19] Best Fiction became the second best-selling album behind Exile's Exile Love on the Oricon 2008 yearly album charts.[20] In addition, it became the second best selling digital-format album by Japanese artists behind Hikaru Utada's Heart Station on the iTunes yearly album charts in Japan.[21] Best Fiction won the award for "the best album of the year" at the 50th Japan Record Awards.[22]

Promotion

NHK invited her perform at the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, but Amuro declined.[23] On October 25, 2008, Amuro also started a tour called Namie Amuro Best Fiction tour 2008–2009 at the Makuhari Messe.[24][25] The tour broke attendance records for Japanese solo female artists, playing to 500,000 fans across Japan, China and Taiwan.[26][27] In an appearance with Sweet magazine, Amuro confirmed the home video release of the tour would instead be of her overseas concerts at the Taipei Arena in Taiwan in June. Her management site formally announced on July 21 the release of "Namie Amuro Best Fiction Tour 2008-2009" on DVD and Blu-ray on September 9, 2009.[28]

Track listing

CD

# Title Songwriters Time
1. "Do Me More" Nao'ymt 5:16
2. "Wishing On The Same Star" Diane Warren, kenko-p 4:55
3. "shine more" Paul Taylor, Scott Nickoley, Sandra Pires, H.U.B 3:38
4. "Put 'Em Up" Dallas Austin, Jasper Cameron, Michico 4:04
5. "SO CRAZY" Full Force, Jennifer "JJ" Johnson, Michico, Tiger 4:33
6. "ALARM" Jusme, Monk 4:10
7. "ALL FOR YOU" Natsumi Watanabe, Ryoki Matsumoto 5:58
8. "GIRL TALK" T.Kura, Michico 4:22
9. "WANT ME, WANT ME" Michico, Sugi-V 3:11
10. "White Light" Nao'ymt 5:17
11. "CAN'T SLEEP, CAN'T EAT, I'M SICK" T.Kura, Michico 3:48
12. "Baby Don't Cry" Nao'ymt 5:20
13. "FUNKY TOWN" T.Kura, Michico, L.L. Brothers 3:49
14. "NEW LOOK" Michico, T.Kura, Brian Holland, Eddie Holland 3:58
15. "ROCK STEADY" Michico, Muro, Aretha Franklin 3:29
16. "WHAT A FEELING" Michico, Shinichi Osawa, Keith Forsey, Irene Cara, Giorgio Moroder 3:48
17. "Sexy Girl" Ryosuke Imai, Usk Trak 4:39

DVD: Music Videos

# Title Director Time
1. "Do Me More" Yusuke Tanaka
2. "Wishing On The Same Star" Masashi Muto
3. "shine more" Ugichin
4. "Put 'Em Up" Ugichin
5. "SO CRAZY" Masashi Muto
6. "ALARM" Ugichin
7. "ALL FOR YOU" Masashi Muto
8. "GIRL TALK" Ugichin
9. "WANT ME, WANT ME" Masashi Muto
10. "White Light" Masashi Muto
11. "CAN'T SLEEP, CAN'T EAT, I'M SICK" Masashi Muto
12. "Baby Don't Cry" Masashi Muto
13. "FUNKY TOWN" Hidekazu Sato
14. "NEW LOOK" Yuichi Kodama
15. "ROCK STEADY" Yusuke Tanaka
16. "WHAT A FEELING" Hidekazu Sato
17. "Sexy Girl" Kensuke Kawamura[29]

Credits

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[22] Million 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ 安室奈美恵、夢のコラボで新曲初披露 (in Japanese). oricon. January 18, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  2. ^ "Namie Amuro releases new masterpiece collection". natalie. May 27, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
  3. ^ "安室奈美恵:BEST ALBUM発売決定!!".
  4. ^ "Namie Amuro Official Site" (in Japanese).
  5. ^ a b Best Fiction (Album liner notes). Namie Amuro. July 30, 2008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Best Fiction (Album and DVD). Namie Amuro. July 30, 2008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ "Maiden of punch" (in Japanese). NHK. Archived from the original on August 31, 2008.
  8. ^ 次の安室ちゃんは作り物？“フィクション”なアルバムジャケット (in Japanese). Barks. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  9. ^ "Oricon Weekly Single Charts for the fourth week of March 2008" (in Japanese). oricon. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  10. ^ 安室９年３カ月ぶりにオリコン１位獲得 (in Japanese). Sports Daily Online. 2008-03-25. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  11. ^ "2008 Yearly Singles Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. December 11, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  12. ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1999年9月度" (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 480. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 8. November 10, 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014. {{cite journal}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; January 18, 2014 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2008年3月 (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. April 10, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ a b "Namie Amuro – Best Fiction". Allmusic. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Namie Amuro – Biography, Awards, Credits, Songs, Reviews". Allmusic. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  16. ^ a b 安室ベスト盤が今年最高の初動売上68.1万枚でアルバム通算7作目の首位 (in Japanese). oricon. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-12-04. Cite error: The named reference "jap" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ 安室、史上初３年代ミリオンアルバム達成！ (in Japanese). sanspo. 2008-08-19. Archived from the original on 2008-08-22. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  18. ^ 安室しか出来ない！史上初３年代ミリオン！ (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. 2008-08-19. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ 安室奈美恵の勢い衰えず！ドリカム以来14年8か月ぶりの6週連続首位 (in Japanese). oricon. 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  20. ^ a b "2008 Yearly Album Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  21. ^ "2008年、「iTunes Store」で最もダウンロードされた楽曲が発表" (in Japanese). Barks. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  22. ^ a b 安室奈美恵がレコ大最優秀アルバム賞 (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. 2008-12-01. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-03. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "cert" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  23. ^ ドリカム辞退...フラれたＮＨＫ (in Japanese). Daily Sports. 2008-11-26. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ 安室奈美恵:ファンクラブ先行受付ご案内の発送に関して (in Japanese). Vision Factory. 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  25. ^ 安室奈美恵、またもや新記録を達成 (in Japanese). livedoor. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
  26. ^ 安室奈美恵　中国・上海で２万人ライブ開催 (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. 2009-03-23. Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "安室奈美恵、50万人動員ライヴのDVDスペシャルサイトを開設" (in Japanese). Barks. 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  28. ^ "Best Fiction Tour DVD & Blu-ray Announcement".
  29. ^ "Spaceshower TV".
Preceded by Oricon Weekly number-one album
July 28, 2008 - September 7, 2008 (6 weeks) 		Succeeded by
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