''Memorial Address'' is the debut

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

by Japanese singer

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the List of ...

Avex Trax is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group. History Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from othe ...

released the album on December 17, 2003, in both

physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, clinical examination, or medical checkup, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a Disease, medical co ...

and

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

formats; it was her first album to be released in CD+DVD format in addition to the regular CD-only format, due to her increased interest in music video direction. The mini-album contains eight songs and features a number of collaborators, including Tetsuya Yukumi, Bounceback, CMJK, and

Dai Nagao Do As Infinity is a Japanese pop and rock band that formed in 1999 with three members: vocalist Tomiko Van, guitarist Ryo Owatari, and guitarist and composer Dai Nagao. The band's name is sometimes abbreviated as DAI, alluding to the fact tha ...

, among others, with Hamasaki serving as co-composer and songwriter. ''Memorial Addresss musical influences include

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

, R&B,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

Music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

praised ''Memorial Address'', citing the progression in Hamasaki's sound and the overall release as a high point in her career. The mini-album was commercially successful, reaching number one on Japan's

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon A ...

with more than half a million copies sold in its opening week. It was certified million by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pro ...

(RIAJ) for exceeding one million unit shipments and remains the country's best-selling mini-album by a Japanese female singer. ''Memorial Address'' produced three singles: " &", "Forgiveness", and "

No Way to Say "No Way to Say" is a song by Japanese singer and songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on November 6, 2003, by Avex Trax. The track was written by the singer herself, while the composition was done by the singer herself under the pseudonym Cr ...

", all of which were successful in Japan. To promote the mini-album, she embarked on a Japanese Arena Tour in 2003–04.

Background and composition

''Memorial Address'' is Hamasaki's first

, released ten months after her

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

-themed

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

A Ballads ''A Ballads'' (stylized as '' BALLADS'') is the second greatest hits album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released physically on March 12, 2003, through Avex Trax, and digitally distributed worldwide on September 14, 2006, b ...

''.

Max Matsuura , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese record producer and entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of Avex Group, one of the largest music labels. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists into stars (most notab ...

, a long-time collaborator, produced the album, which was mixed by Koji Morimoto, Satoshi Kumasaka, and Yasuo Matsumoto, and mastered by Shigeo Miyamoto.''Memorial Address'' formats listed below: * * The mini-album features seven songs, including a bonus title track, and was produced by a number of collaborators, including Tetsuya Yukumi, Bounceback, CMJK, and

, among others, with Hamasaki serving as co-composer and songwriter on most tracks. Yukumi of Lover Sound Track composed "Memorial Address," which was originally a

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

taken from the band's track "Kumo." ''Memorial Addresss musical influences include

, R&B,

, and

. According to Neil Z. Yeung of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, the mini-album "ushered in a heavier rock grit to her sound" that was later inspired on her subsequent albums. Throughout the album, he noted influences of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

songs with electronic dance influences ("Angel Song", " Greatful Days"), rock and alternative metal ("Because of You"), and tracks compared to American R&B group

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

(" Ourselves"). Furthermore, Japanese magazine ''CDJournal'' described the second half as featuring more emotional tracks, with "

" being "mellow" and the title track having a rock sound with "heartfelt" lyrics.

Release and promotion

On December 17, 2003,

released ''Memorial Address''. The CD version contained eight tracks in total, whereas the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

version contained the album and

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s for all songs except "Memorial Address," as well as a limited digest film of her ''A Museum: 30th Collection Live'', which was packaged in a large jewel case. Avex Trax then released ''Memorial Address'' in Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan, as well as

and

streaming services A streaming media service (also simply called a streaming service) is an online platform that allows users to watch or listen to content, such as film, movies, Television show, TV shows, music, or podcasts, over the internet. Instead of downloadi ...

.''Memorial Address'' international formats listed below: * * * * To promote the mini-album, she embarked on a Japanese Arena Tour in 2003–04, culminating in a live release on September 29, 2004. Furthermore, three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

were issued. Avex Trax released " &" as the lead single on July 9, 2003, and is a triple

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

that includes the songs "Ourselves," "Greatful Days," and "Hanabi: Episode II". All formats of the single both include additional

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

tracks as well as the A-Nation 2003 theme. It was a commercial success in Japan, reaching number one on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track down ...

and earning double platinum certification by the

(RIAJ) for selling over 500,000 units. On August 20, 2003, "Forgiveness" was released, and all formats included the instrumental track as well as remixes of "Ourselves" and "Hanabi: Episode II". It was a commercial success in Japan, reaching number one on the Oricon Singles Chart for 12 weeks and being certified platinum by the RIAJ for sales of over 250,000 units. It was used as the drama Kōgen e Irasshai's theme song. On November 6, 2003, "

" was released as the mini-album's final single, with physical and digital formats containing various mixes of the single, as well as acoustic versions of her songs "

Seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

", " Dearest", and "

Voyage Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to: Literature *''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden * ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter *''The Voyage'', Murray Bail * "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...

". It was a commercial success in Japan, peaking at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and earning two certifications: platinum for physical shipments and gold for more than 100,000 digital downloads. Furthermore, the album's title track reached number 82 on the

RIAJ Digital Track Chart The was a record chart that ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, with data provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan from April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads (着うたフル ''Chaku-Uta Full'') (not downlo ...

and was certified gold for digital downloads.

Reception

gave ''Memorial Address'' positive reviews. Neil Z. Yeung of

gave the mini-album four stars, describing it as an "absolute highlight in Ayumi Hamasaki's catalogue." He selected "Because of You" and "Ourselves" as standout tracks from the mini-album, concluding, "Though not a totally hidden gem, ''Memorial Address'' should be sought out when enjoying the first half of her first decade as Japan's queen of pop." The Japanese magazine ''CDJournal'' praised Hamasaki's vocals and songwriting on some tracks, particularly "No Way to Say" and "Memorial Address," calling them "superb" and wondering if the latter track could represent the singer's future sound. ''Memorial Address'' achieved commercial success in Japan. The album debuted at number one on the

, selling 524,028 copies in its first week, becoming her eighth studio album to reach that position. It dropped to number two the next week, selling 306,521 copies, being knocked off the top spot my

Mai Kuraki (born October 28, 1982) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer. After releasing her US debut single " Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single " Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she rele ...

's ''

Wish You the Best Wish You the Best may refer to: * ''Wish You the Best'' (album), a 2004 compilation album by Mai Kuraki * "Wish You the Best" (song), a 2023 song by Lewis Capaldi {{disambiguation ...

''. The album stayed in the top ten for five weeks and in the top 300 chart for 48 weeks. It reached fifth place on the Oricon Year-end Chart in 2004, selling over 1.059 million copies and becoming the best-selling mini-album of the year. The

(RIAJ) certified the album million for sales exceeding one million units. According to

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

, ''Memorial Address'' sold 1,062,288 copies in Japan and remains the best-selling mini-album by a female Japanese singer in the country.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time chart

Certification and sales

Release history

References

Notes

Citations

{{Authority control Ayumi Hamasaki EPs 2003 EPs Avex Group EPs Japanese-language EPs 2000s Japanese-language albums