181920
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox album
| name = 181920
| type = Greatest hits
| artist = Namie Amuro
| cover = Namie Amuro - 181920.jpeg
| alt =
| released = January 28, 1998
| recorded =
| studio =
| length =
| label = Avex Trax
| producer = {{hlist|Tetsuya Komuro|Dave Rodgers|Claudio Accatino|Federico Rimonti|Laurent Gelmetti|Roberto Gabrielli}}
| prev_title = Concentration 20
| prev_year = 1997
| next_title = Genius 2000
| next_year = 2000
| misc = {{Singles
| name = 181920
| type = Greatest hits
| single1 = Dreaming I Was Dreaming
| single1date = November 27, 1997
}}
}}
181920 is the debut greatest hits album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. Avex Trax released it in Japan on January 28, 1998, and it was later available in a variety of formats throughout Asia. The album contains Amuro's single releases from her debut studio album Dance Tracks Vol. 1 (1995) to her third album Concentration 20 (1997), as well as three tracks from her time with Toshiba-EMI. The album also included a new song called "Dreaming I Was Dreaming," which served as the only single from the album.
Music critics gave the album 181920 favorable reviews, praising its overall sound but finding the material insufficient. The Japan Gold Disc Awards also recognised the album as Pop Album of the Year that same year. Commercially, the album was a huge success in Japan, reaching number one on the Oricon Albums Chart and being certified double million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for sales of more than two million copies. After the album's campaign concluded, Amuro took a brief hiatus for maternity reasons.
Content and material
181920 is Amuro's debut greatest hits album as a solo artist.{{efn|Original Tracks Vol. 1 (1996) was a compilation album by Japanese girl group Super Monkey's, which included Amuro, though some markets and the album artwork billed as Namie Amuro with the Super Monkeys.{{cite AV media notes |author=Super Monkey's |author-link=Super Monkey's |title=Original Tracks Vol. 1 |year=1996 |type=liner notes |publisher=Toshiba-EMI |id=TOCT-9630 |location=Japan}}}} The album contains Amuro's single releases from her debut studio album, Dance Tracks Vol. 1 (1995), to her third album, Concentration 20 (1997).{{efn|{{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=Dance Tracks Vol. 1 |year=1995 |type=liner notes |publisher=Toshiba-EMI |id=TOCT-9100 |location=Japan}}{{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=Sweet 19 Blues |year=1996 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVCD-11463 |location=Japan}}{{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=Concentration 20 |year=1997 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVCD-11581 |location=Japan}}Standard formats of 181920 listed below:
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 |year=1998 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVCD-11624 |location=Japan}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 |year=1998 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVTCD-95149 |location=Hong Kong}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 |year=1998 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=MND-152 |location=Taiwan}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 |year=1998 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVJCD10024 |location=Taiwan}}}} The album also features three songs from her time with Toshiba-EMI: "Try Me (Watashi o Shinjite)", "Taiyou no Season", and "Stop the Music". These three songs were recorded with the Japanese girl group Super Monkeys and released on the compilation Original Tracks Vol. 1 (1996). However, each song was completely reworked and recorded specifically for Amuro on Dance Tracks Vol. 1.
181920 features 12 tracks, including "high-energy electro-pop songs" and two ballads, "Can You Celebrate?" and "Dreaming I Was Dreaming," the latter being a new track for the album.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/181920-mw0000754481 |title=181920 - Namie Amuro |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=March 30, 2024}} Stylistically, the album focuses on various dance-oriented sounds, including eurobeat ("Try Me (Watashi o Shinjite)", "Chase the Chance"), standard dance-pop ("Body Feels Exit", "You're My Sunshine", "How to Be a Girl", "Stop the Music"), and ballad-inspired tracks ("Sweet 19 Blues", "Can You Celebrate?", "Dreaming I Was Dreaming").{{cite magazine |url=https://artist.cdjournal.com/d/181920/1398030127 |title=Namie Amuro / 181920 |magazine=CDJournal |language=Japanese |access-date=March 30, 2024}}
Release and promotion
Avex Trax first released 181920 in Japan on January 28, 1998, and later distributed in Hong Kong and Taiwan the same year. On July 1, a VHS and laserdisc format titled 181920 Films (1998) was released, containing most of the music videos from the album.'181920 Films formats listed below:
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 Films |year=1998 |type=VHS liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVVD-90039 |location=Japan}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 Films |year=2000 |type=DVD liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVBD-91025 |location=Japan}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 Films |year=2000 |type=Laserdisc liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVLD-80013 |location=Japan}} The standard album was re-issued in Taiwan on September 29. In 2004, the album was re-released in all three territories, with a DVD album format and additional DVD disc that contained the music videos from 181920 Films.Re-issue formats of 181920 & Films listed below:
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 |year=2004 |type=DVD liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVAD-91203 |location=Japan}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 & Films |year=2004 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVCD-17456/B |location=Japan}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 & Films |year=2004 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVTCD-95772 |location=Hong Kong}}
- {{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 & Films |year=2004 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVJCD-10200A |location=Taiwan}} In 2012, the original format was re-issued to commemorate Amuro's 20th career anniversary in the entertainment business.{{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=181920 |year=2012 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVCD-38603 |location=Japan}}
"Dreaming I Was Dreaming" is the album's only single. It was released a year earlier, on November 27, 1997, as a mini CD, and served as the commercial theme for Ginza Jewellery in Japan.{{cite AV media notes |last=Amuro |first=Namie |author-link=Namie Amuro |title=Dreaming I Was Dreaming |year=1997 |type=liner notes |publisher=Avex Trax |id=AVDD-20221 |location=Japan}}{{cite web |url=http://namieamuro.jp/discography/single09.html |title=Dreaming I Was Dreaming |publisher=Namie Amuro's website |language=Japanese |access-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110150036/http://namieamuro.jp/discography/single09.html |archive-date=November 10, 2015}} It features a sample of T. Rex's "Liquid Generation" song. Commercially, it was a success in Japan, reaching number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and received double platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of over 800,000 units.{{cite web |url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/191925/products/46097/1/ |title=Dreaming I Was Dreaming - Namie Amuro |publisher=Oricon |language=Japanese |access-date=March 30, 2024}}{{cite journal |url=http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/1998/199802.pdf |title=GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1997年12月度 |trans-title=Gold Albums, and other certified works. December 1997 Edition |journal=The Record |volume=459 |page=9 |type=Bulletin |language=Japanese |location=Chūō, Tokyo |publisher=Recording Industry Association of Japan |date=February 10, 1998 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103052147/http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/1998/199802.pdf |archive-date=November 3, 2013}}
Reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{rating|3.5|5}}
}}
Music critics complimented 181920. Ted Mills of AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars. Mills questioned the timing of its release, believing it was "premature to have a singles collection out so soon" and unusual given that it coincided with the rise of other Japanese singers, particularly Ayumi Hamasaki. Nonetheless, Mills stated that the material was "superior," but that it was a "short summation of the sound that changed J-Pop, circa 1996." In addition, the album won Pop Album of the Year at the Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1998.{{cite web |url=https://www.golddisc.jp/award/13/index.html |title=The 13th Japan Gold Discs |publisher=Japan Gold Disc Award |language=Japanese |access-date=March 20, 2024}}
Commercially, the album was a massive success in Japan. It debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, selling 857,100 units in its first week of release.{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.jp/object_ori/980209a.html |title=1998.2.9付 アルバムTOP20 |publisher=Oricon (via Geocities) |language=Japanese |date=February 9, 1998 |access-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025161837/http://www.geocities.jp/object_ori/980209a.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012}} It remained at number one for a second week, selling an additional 326,270 copies.{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.jp/object_ori/980216a.html |title=1998.2.16付 アルバムTOP20 |publisher=Oricon (via Geocities) |language=Japanese |date=February 16, 1998 |access-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025161844/http://www.geocities.jp/object_ori/980216a.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012}} The album spent 35 weeks on the charts and was the eleventh best-selling album of the year.{{cite web |url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/191925/products/44866/1/ |title=181920 - Namie Amuro |publisher=Oricon |language=Japanese |access-date=March 30, 2024}}{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.jp/object_ori/1998a.html |title=1998年 アルバム年間TOP100 |publisher=Oricon (via Geocities) |language=Japanese |date=1998 |access-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118045333/http://www.geocities.jp/object_ori/1998a.html |archive-date=January 18, 2014}} Since its release, 1,693,465 copies have been sold in the region.{{cite web |url=http://ranking.oricon.co.jp |title=オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 |publisher=Oricon |language=Japanese |accessdate=January 29, 2024 |url-access=subscription}} It was certified double million by the RIAJ for exceeding sales of two million units. According to Oricon Style, 181920 is Amuro's fifth best-selling album overall.{{Cite web |title= |script-title=ja:安室奈美恵のアルバム売上TOP20作品 |trans-title=Namie Amuro's Top 20 Albums Sales |url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/191925/rank/album/ |access-date=January 2, 2024 |website=Oricon News |language=ja}} It is also the 74th best-selling album in Japan for the 1990s decade.{{cite web |url=https://amigo.lovepop.jp/decade_a1990b.html |title=1990年代アルバム売上ランキング |lang=ja |access-date=2024-04-14}}
Track listing
{{Tracklist
| total_length = 58:33
| title1 = Body Feels Exit
| length1 = 4:22
| title2 = Try Me (Watashi wo Shinjite)
| length2 = 3:57
| title3 = Chase the Chance
| length3 = 4:31
| title4 = Taiyou no Season
| length4 = 3:30
| title5 = You're My Sunshine
| length5 = 5:46
| title6 = How to Be a Girl
| length6 = 4:26
| title7 = Sweet 19 Blues
| length7 = 5:36
| title8 = Dreaming I Was Dreaming
| length8 = 5:10
| title9 = Stop the Music
| length9 = 3:37
| title10 = A Walk in the Park
| length10 = 5:38
| title11 = Don't Wanna Cry
| length11 = 5:39
| title12 = Can You Celebrate?
| length12 = 6:21
}}
{{track listing
| headline = 181920 & Films
| extra_column = Director(s)
| title1 = Opening
| note1 =
| extra1 =
| length1 =
| title2 = Body Feels Exit
| note2 = Music video
| extra2 = Masashi Muto
| length2 =
| title3 = Chase the Chance
| note3 = Music video
| extra3 = Norihiro Akita
| length3 =
| title4 = Don't Wanna Cry
| note4 = Music video
| extra4 = Norihiro Akita
| length4 =
| title5 = You're My Sunshine
| note5 = Music video
| extra5 = Shuichi Tan
| length5 =
| title6 = A Walk In The Park
| note6 = Music video
| extra6 = Masashi Muto
| length6 =
| title7 = Can You Celebrate?
| note7 = Music video
| extra7 = Wataru Takeishi
| length7 =
| title8 = How to Be a Girl
| note8 = Music video
| extra8 = Masashi Muto
| length8 =
| title9 = Dreaming I Was Dreaming
| note9 = Music video
| extra9 = Masashi Muto
| length9 =
}}
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of 181920.
Musicians
{{div col}}
- Namie Amuro – main vocals, background vocals
- Tetsuya Komuro - vocals, background vocals
{{div col end}}
Production
{{div col}}
- Tetsuya Komuro - arranger, composer, producer, songwriter
- Hinoky Team - composer
- Dave Rodgers - arranger
- Claudio Accatino - composer
- Federico Rimonti - composer
- Laurent Gelmetti - composer
- Roberto Gabrielli - composer
- Kazumi Suzuki - songwriter
- Jonny Taira - producer
- Masato "Max" Matsuura - producer
- Marc Panther - songwriter
- Cozy Kubo - arranger, composer
- Yasuhiko Hoshino - arranger
- Natsumi Watanabe - songwriter
- Takahiro Maeda - songwriter
{{div col end}}
Imagery
{{div col}}
- Tycoon Graphics - art director(s), designers
- Itaru Hirama - phographer
- Kyoko Tsunoda - styling
- Katsuma Yokoyama - Hair and makeup
{{div col end}}
Management
{{div col}}
- Masato "Max" Matsuura - executive producer
- Shinji Hayashi - general producer
- Katsuro Oshita - general producer
- Yuichi Orimoto - production manager
- Kimi Sato - production coordinator
- Tetsuya Uekata - production coordinator
- Kazumi Yanagi - A&R chief
- Kengo Goto - A&R
- Takashi Kasuga - public relations
- Yukio Takemura - public relations
- Tatsuya Ikeda - public relations
- Jonny Taira - supervisor
- Tom Yoda - specially coordinator
- Akira Kobayashi - Rising Production management representative
- Masayuki Okura - Rising Production management representative
- Shigeo Maruyama - Tetsuya Komuro management representative
- Shigeo Ohtake - Tetsuya Komuro management representative
{{div col end}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (1998) !Peak |
| scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|align="center"|1 |
|---|
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (1998) !Position |
| scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)
|align="center"|11 |
|---|
=Decade-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!Chart (1990–1999) !Position |
| scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon){{cite web |url=https://amigo.lovepop.jp/decade_a1990b.html |title=1990年代アルバム売上ランキング |language=ja |access-date=2024-04-14}}
| style="text-align:center;"|74 |
|---|
=All-time chart=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!Chart !Peak |
| scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon){{cite web | url=http://www.musictvprogram.com/corner-ranking-album.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103001458/http://www.musictvprogram.com/corner-ranking-album.html | archive-date=January 3, 2012 | title=歴代アルバムランキング }}
| style="text-align:center;"|109 |
|---|
{{col-end}}
Certifications
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ 181920 release history ! scope="col"| Region ! scope="col"| Date ! scope="col"| Format ! scope="col"| Label ! scope="col"| {{abbr|Ref(s).|Reference}} |
| scope="row" | Japan
| January 28, 1998 | rowspan="3" | CD | rowspan="8" | Avex Trax |
|---|
| scope="row" | Hong Kong
| rowspan="2" | 1998 |
| scope="row" | Taiwan |
| scope="row" | Japan
| rowspan="3" | January 28, 2004 | {{hlist|CD|DVD audio}} |
| scope="row" | Hong Kong
| rowspan="2" | CD+DVD |
| scope="row" | Taiwan |
| scope="row" | Japan
| 2012 | CD |
| scope="row" | Various
| N/A | {{hlist|Digital download|streaming}} | {{cite web |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/3RXpy9HMDg4bjBJfvIVJgw |title=181920 - Album by Namie Amuro |publisher=Spotify |access-date=March 30, 2024}} |
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://namieamuro.jp/discography/album03.html 181920] on Namie Amuro's website ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151126071938/http://namieamuro.jp/discography/album03.html archived]).
{{Namie Amuro}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Namie Amuro video albums
Category:1998 compilation albums
Category:Music video compilation albums
Category:Avex Group compilation albums
Category:Avex Group video albums
Category:Albums produced by Tetsuya Komuro