"Kanariya" (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: "Canary") is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist

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 ...

for her second studio album, ''

Loveppears ''Loveppears'' (stylized as ''LOVEppears'') is the second studio album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on November 10, 1999, by Avex Trax, ten months after her debut album, ''A Song for xx'' (1999). It was additionally distribute ...

'' (1999). It was released by

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 ...

in Japan and Hong Kong on December 8, 1999, and through Avex USA in North America in early 2000. The recording also served as Hamasaki's second limited edition single, with limited physical units of 300,000 copies. The track was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator

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 ...

. Two versions of "Kanariya" were made available for consumption—a radio edit produced by American disc jockey

Jonathan Peters Jonathan Peters (born January 25, 1969) is an American DJ, remixer and producer. He is known for his remix of Whitney Houston's " My Love Is Your Love". He was the long-time resident DJ of the Manhattan nightclub The Sound Factory The Sound ...

, and the album version composed by Yasuhiko Hoshino. Lyrically, the song was written in third person perspective. Upon its release, "Kanariya" received mixed reviews from

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 ...

, with some of them praising the original and radio edit, but generally criticizing the remixes. Commercially, the single experienced success in Japan, peaking at 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 TBS'

Count Down TV (also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...

chart. It sold just below its 300,000 restricted copies, and was certified Gold 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 shipments of 200,000 units. An accompanying music video for the recording was directed by

Wataru Takeishi is a Japanese music video director. He has created videos for 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 versatil ...

, with it portraying Hamasaki in a dark laboratory surrounded by keyboards and electronic devices. To promote the single, it appeared on several

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

and

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

compilation albums released by Hamasaki.

Background and release

"Kanariya" was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator

. Two versions of "Kanariya" were made available for consumption—a radio edit produced by disc jockey

, and the album version composed by Yasuhiko Hoshino. Peters' remix of the track portrays a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

composition, a genre that heavily influenced Hamasaki's second studio album, ''

'' (1999). The song also includes musical elements of

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

. "Kanariya"'s instrumentation consists of synthesizers and keyboards played by Peters; it was eventually mastered and co-produced by Japanese musician Naoto Suzuki. The track's album version was included as a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

with another album entry, "Who...", and has been described by members of ''CD Journal'' as a

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 ...

recording with instrumentation of guitars and a drum kit. Lyrically, the recording was written in third person perspective, a trait that is shared with the rest of the album's tracks. The song was released by

in Japan and Hong Kong on December 8, 1999, as a

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

, serving as Hamasaki's second limited edition single with limited physical units of 300,000 copies. The physical format of "Karariya" featured a total of thirteen tracks, of which eleven were remixes and an a cappella of the track, also incorporating a remix for Hamasaki's tracks "Two of Us" and "From Your Letter". While the former appeared on her debut studio album, ''

A Song for ×× ''A Song for ××'' (the "××" is silent) is the debut studio album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki, released on January 1, 1999 by Avex Trax. It was entirely written by Hamasaki herself, while the production was handled by Japanese musician M ...

'' (1999), the latter was included as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

track for her single "

Depend on You "Depend on You" is the fifth single released by Ayumi Hamasaki on December 9, 1998. The single reached number nine on the weekly Oricon chart, becoming her third consecutive top-ten single in Japan. The single contains a B-side, "Two of Us", w ...

". On June 12, 2000, "Kanariya" was distributed in North America through Avex USA as a 12" inch vinyl, including three remixes managed by Peters. The single's artwork was photographed by Japanese photographer Toru Kumazawa, and featured Hamasaki sitting in a circular pod with rhinestones on her face. The physical version of "Kanariya" failed to include a booklet, which resulted in the cover sleeve being immolated as a

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

, featuring an emphasised plastic sheet with information on the single.

Reception

Upon its release, "Kanariya" received mixed reviews from

. A reviewer from Jame World was generally favourable to the album version of the song, acclaiming the R&B approach and Hamasaki's vocal abilities. When reviewing the CD single, the website stated, "For fans of remixes, it is a great release – however, if you want substantial music with variety and professionalism, you should look elsewhere." Similarly, a member of ''CD Journal'' was positive towards the original and radio edit of the single, but criticized the remixes and labelled the sound "tired". Commercially, the single experienced success in Japan. It debuted at number one on the

, selling 248,070 units in its first week of availability. "Kanariya" lasted six weeks within the top 200, marking one of Hamasaki's lowest-spanning singles on that chart. Likewise, it opened atop on the

chart hosted by

Tokyo Broadcasting System (formerly ) is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network TBS Television and radio network TBS Radio. It has a 28-affiliate television network called Japan News Network, as ...

(TBS), lasting four weeks within the top 100. By the end of 1999, the recording sold over 289,200 units in Japan, but failed to be included on Oricon's Annual Chart for unknown reasons. The subsequent year, "Kanariya" was ranked at number 92 behind five other singles released by Hamasaki. It also peaked at number 84 on TBS' Annual Chart in 1999. In February 2000, the track was certified Gold by the

(RIAJ) for shipments of 200,000 units. As of July 2016, "Kanariya" has been listed as the singer's 29th best-selling single based on

Oricon Style , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in N ...

's database.

Music video and promotion

An accompanying music video for the single was directed by

, and uses a shorten version of Peters' remix. The visual portrays Hamasaki in a dark laboratory, being surrounded by keyboards, electronic devices and a black bird. Throughout the music video, several people start to wear headphones and follow Hamasaki, with them eventually starting to listen to the song and observing TV monitors of the singer. Each person, including Hamasaki, wears black eye shadow on one eye, and a code on their hand. Over the clip, the singer is seen singing to the recording in the laboratory, with interspersed scenes portraying her wearing the outfit used for the single's artwork. The music video was included on several DVD compilations released by Hamasaki, including''A Clips'' (2000), ''A Complete Box Set'' (2004), and the digital release of ''A Clips Complete'' (2014). "Kanariya" has been heavily promoted through compilation albums released by Hamasaki, being additionally included on six of her remix albums, including ''

Super Eurobeat Presents Ayu-ro Mix ''Super Eurobeat Presents Ayu-ro Mix'' is the second remix album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. The album was released on February 16, 2000, and became the second highest selling remix album in Japan of 2000, with 700,000 copies sold. The alb ...

'' and ''

Ayu-mi-x II Version Non-Stop Mega Mix ''Ayu-mi-x'' (stylized as ''ayu-mi-x'') is the first remix album by Japanese musician Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on March 17, 1999, to promote A Song for ××. Ayu-mi-x remix album contains 2 discs. Disc 1 is the Remix Club Side which contain ...

'' (2001). The single has also been featured on '' A Complete: All Singles'' (2007), one of the singer's

album, and was specially remixed by

Hex Hector Hex Hector (born Héctor Ortiz) is an American music producer and remixer. Early life Hector was born Héctor Ortiz in Manhattan, New York, of a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban father. Career Hex Hector's interest in music began at an early ...

for addition on her extended play '' The Other Side One: Hex Hector'' (2001).

Track listing

*CD single & Digital download # "Kanariya" (Jonathan Peters' Vocal Club Mix) – 9:58 # "Kanariya" (Struggle Mix) – 6:03 # "Kanariya" (Hal's Mix) – 4:22 # "Kanariya" (DJ-Turbo Club Mix) – 7:10 # "Kanariya" (Dub's Energy Remix) – 7:31 # "Two of Us" (Hal's Mix) – 5:17 # "Kanariya" (Spazm Mix) – 6:22 # "From Your Letter" (Pandart Sasanooha mix) – 5:41 # "Kanariya" (Big Room Mix) – 7:35 # "Kanariya" (Hiroshi's Nite Clubbing Mix) – 5:15 # "Kanariya" (Full Vocal Mix) – 6:45 # "Kanariya" (Original Mix) adio edit– 3:03 # "Kanariya" (Vocal Track) – 3:03 *US 12" vinyl # "Kanariya" (Jonathan Peters' Vocal Club Mix) – 9:58 # "Kanariya" (Jonathan Peters' Millennium Dub) – 9:41 # "Kanariya" (Jonathan Peters' Sound Factory Dub) – 9:41

Credit and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the single's physical release. ;Recording *Recorded at Prime Sound Studio, Studio Sound Dali, Onkio Haus,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in 1999. ;Credits *

– vocals, songwriting, background vocals *

– production *Yasuhiko Hoshino – composing, programming *CPM-Marvin – arranging *Naoto Suzuki – sound producing *

– music video director *

– co-producing, remixing *Dave Way – mixing

Charts

Weekly

Year-end chart

Certification and sales

Release history

Notes

References

External links

"Kanariya"
at Ayumi Hamasaki's official website.
"Kanariya"
at

. {{authority control Ayumi Hamasaki songs 1999 singles Oricon Weekly number-one singles Songs written by Ayumi Hamasaki 1999 songs Song recordings produced by Max Matsuura Avex Trax singles