Insomnia (Chihiro Onitsuka album)
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Insomnia (インソムニア, Insomunia) is the debut album by Japanese singer-songwriter Chihiro Onitsuka, released in March 2001. The album features acoustic-oriented production arranged by Takefumi Haketa, who produced all her studio albums released under the Virgin Tokyo label distributed by Toshiba EMI. It comprises 11 tracks written by Onitsuka, including hit singles "Cage", "Edge","Memai", and her most well-known and successful song "Gekkō."
The lead-off track "Gekkō" was initially used as a theme song for Trick starring Yukie Nakama and Hiroshi Abe, a television drama series aired on Asahi TV in 2000. It was released as a single in August 2000 and became smash hit. At the end of the album, different rendition of the song was included.
While "Gekkō" remained on the chart, "Cage" and "Memai" were released as the singles subsequently. The lyrics of the latter was acclaimed, winning the 43rd Japan Record Awards for "Best Lyrics" in December 2001. It became the first top-ten hit single for her, peaking at the number-six on the charts.
Before Onitsuka gained popularity through "Gekkō," she had already released a single "Shine" arranged and produced by Nozomu Tsuchiya. A song was newly recorded for the Insomnia album. Album version arranged by Haketa features stiff sound of piano he plays. Likewise, a song originally released as a B-Side for her debut single called "Back Door" was also re-recorded.
"Rasen" (a song whose working title was "My Fragile Life") was featured on the 2002 motion picture Wasabi directed by Luc Besson and starred by Ryōko Hirosue.
Music videos of 7 tracks included on the album were produced; "Gekkō" (both single and album versions), "Cage," "Memai," "Edge," "We Can Go," and studio live take of "Shine." All of them has been available on DVD entitled Me and My Devil issued in April 2001.
Commercial success
Insomnia has been the most successful album for Chihiro Onitsuka. The album debuted at the number-one on the Oricon chart, with the sales in excess of 440,000 copies. It made her then-second youngest female chart-topper on the Oricon who followed Hikaru Utada, who had already reached the number-one spot with her debut album First Love at the age of 16 in 1999. Onitsuka retained the record for over 3 years, until overtaken by Under My Skin album by Avril Lavigne in May 2004.
It sold over a million copies in the first month and a further 345,000 in following 20 months. It has been certified was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, for shipments of over 1,200,000 units.[1]
In March 2002, Insomnia won the 16th Japan Gold Disc Awards for "Best-Selling Rock Albums of the Year".
Track listing
All songs composed by Chihiro Onitsuka, except "Edge" "Call" and "Memai" co-written by Takefumi Haketa [2]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Arranger(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gekkō (月光, "Moonlight")" | Takefumi Haketa | 5:02 | |
| 2. | "Innocence" | Haketa | 5:20 | |
| 3. | "Back Door" (Album version) | Haketa, Nozomu Tsuchiya | 5:08 | |
| 4. | "Edge" | Haketa | 4:32 | |
| 5. | "We Can Go" | Onitsuka | Haketa | 4:48 |
| 6. | "Call" | Haketa | 5:19 | |
| 7. | "Shine" (Album version) | Haketa, Tsuchiya | 4:57 | |
| 8. | "Cage" | Haketa, Tsuchiya | 4:33 | |
| 9. | "Rasen (螺旋, "Spiral")" | Haketa | 4:06 | |
| 10. | "Memai (眩暈, "Dizziness")" | Haketa | 5:08 | |
| 11. | "Gekkō" (Album version) | Haketa | 5:08 |
Personnel
- Chihiro Onitsuka - Lead and backing vocals
- Takefumi Haketa - Acoustic piano, organ, acoustic guitar, loop, sampling, drum programming, computer programming, pad, backing vocals
- Takashi Nishiumi - Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro guitar, backing vocals
- Nozomu Tsuchiya - Synthesizer programming
- Hitoshi Watanabe - Electric bass
- Tasuku - Electric guitar
- Gen Tamura - Pedal steel
- Hitoshi Kusunoki - Drums
- Yasuo Sano - Drums
- Hideki Ataka - Drum programming
- Toshiko Ezaki - backing vocals
- Naoto Takahashi - Violin
- Kiyo Kido - Violin
- Takahiro Enokido - Viola
- Kazuki Kashiwagi - Cello
- Ikuo Kakehashi - Ethnic congas, tambourine, shaker, tree bells, harmony ball, Chinese bell, blossom bell, snare, triangle, bodhran
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | March 7, 2001 | Toshiba-EMI/Virgin Tokyo | CD | TOCT-24560 |
| March 11, 2009 | EMI Music Japan | SHM-CD | TOCT-95058 |
Awards
| Japan Record Awards | ||
| Year | Title | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 (43rd) | "Memai"[3] | Best Lyrics |
| Japan Gold Disc Award | ||
| Year | Album | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 (16th) | Insomnia[4] | Best-Selling Rock Albums of the Year |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[1] | Million | 1,345,000[5] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
All-time charts
|
References
- ^ a b "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2001年4月度" (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 499. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 8. June 10, 2001. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ 作品データベース検索サービス. JASRAC (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-12-28.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) Note: Co-writer's credits are omitted from the sleeve-notes for the album. - ^ Japan Composer's Association "History of the Japan Record Awards - List of the 43rd Award Winners" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-12-28.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ Recording Industry Association of Japan "List of the 16th Gold Disc Award Winners" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-12-28.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) (subscription only) - ^ "インソムニア／鬼束ちひろ-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Original Confidence. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "2001年 アルバム年間TOP100" (in Japanese). Retrieved February 2, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "歴代アルバムランキング". August 13, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
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