Concentration 20

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Concentration 20
Standard cover. The digital formats were replaced on older pressings since 1996.
Studio album by
Namie Amuro
ReleasedJuly 24, 1997
Recorded1996–1997
Studio
Genre
Length56:17
Language
  • English
  • Japanese
LabelAvex Trax
ProducerTetsuya Komuro
Namie Amuro chronology
Original Tracks Vol.1
(1996) 		Concentration 20
(1997) 		181920
(1998)
Singles from Concentration 20
  1. "A Walk in the Park"
    Released: November 27, 1996
  2. "Can You Celebrate?"
    Released: February 19, 1997
  3. "How to Be a Girl"
    Released: May 21, 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Concentration 20 is the third studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on July 24, 1997, by Avex Trax. The album's genre is a fusion of styles including pop, dance, rock, reggae and ska. Unlike Amuro's previous effort, Sweet 19 Blues, which primarily had lyrics written by Tetsuya Komuro, Concentration 20's lyrics were mostly written by Marc Panther. Komuro did, however, compose and arrange most of the album's songs and wrote the lyrics to three of them. It was Namie's second solo album since splitting up with Super Monkey's.

"A Walk in the Park" was released as the album's lead single on November 27, 1996. The single was very successful, becoming Amuro's fourth number one single on the Oricon Singles Chart and fourth million-seller. The second single, "Can You Celebrate?", was released on February 19, 1997. It became an unprecedented smash hit, selling 2,296,200 copies and remains the best-selling physical single by a female soloist in Japanese music history. "Can You Celebrate?" was certified double million by the RIAJ, her first and last single to receive such a certification. The rock-infused third single, "How to Be a Girl", reached number one and sold over 770,000 copies, becoming Amuro's sixth number one single.

The album received positive reviews upon release and won the Asia Association Music Prize Awards. The album was massively successful, premiering at the top of the Oricon Albums Chart with first-week sales of 824,980 copies. It resided on the charts for 28 weeks, and was the seventh best-selling album of the year, selling nearly two million copies and is the 80th best selling album of all time in Japan. Combined with the sales of its singles, Concentration 20 has sold around 4.5 million copies.

Background and recording[edit]

The Record Plant (Hollywood, California) was one of the studios where the album was recorded.

After Amuro's 1996 album Sweet 19 Blues sold more than three million copies in Japan and for a brief period was even the best-selling Japanese album of all time, recording for a follow-up album began immediately. Much of the recording of Concentration 20 was done in the United States, primarily in California and New York. Two weeks were devoted to recording in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. The title of the album was chosen because, according to Amuro: "the studio at that time was on 20th Street in Santa Monica, and that is where we concentrated." She also stated: "the 20th century is almost over, so let's concentrate on the time we have left," along with, "can we keep listening to this album throughout the 20th century?" The album was named so that it could be played with various meanings, such as "people who were 19 years old when Sweet 19 Blues was released are now entering their 20s," and so on, to broaden the imagination. Coincidentally, the title and Amuro's age at the time of release matched even though she was not aware of it.[2][3]

Other well-known artists such as Marc Panther, Koji Kubo, and m.c.A.T. (Akio Togashi) also participated in the production of the album. "Storm" features m.c.A.T., as on the previous album.[4]

Composition[edit]

The album concept was "Fancy & Cool," with the "glamorous and flashy" part emphasized in "CAN YOU CELEBRATE?" and the "cool" part in "Close your eyes, Close to you," "Concentration 20 (make you alright)" and "Whisper."[3] The album embodies an array of styles including pop, rock and reggae. Unlike her previous album, which was heavy on the pseudo-R&B side, Concentration 20 was practically void of it. Therefore, the album took on a more electronic style similar to that of her producer's group, globe.

Opening the album is the industrial rock influenced, "Concentration 20 (make you alright)." The song was unlike anything she had previously released and embodied the diversity within the project.[5] "B w/z you" is a mid-tempo number with a rock beat and a powerful hammering sound.[5] "Close your eyes, Close to you" is a Euro-style digital rock tune with an intro that is prolonged and dynamic, leading the listener to believe it is an instrumental.[5] "Me love peace !!" is a reggae-style number with a ska beat that evokes the tropical mood of Okinawa.[5] She would not attempt a similar style again until 2005's "Want Me, Want Me," which featured prominent dancehall and reggaeton influences. "No Communication" is a dance pop number.[5] "a walk in the park" is a brisk digital rock number with a chorus that envelops the listener in warm sunlight. Komuro participates by singing in the chorus.[5] "To-day" is a mellow song with contemporary AOR influences.[5]

"Storm" is full-fledged rap number written by m.c.A.T. and composed by Akio Togashi.[4][5] "Whisper" is song that has a composition that changes from the whispering sound of the title to intense digital rock.[5] "CAN YOU CELEBRATE?" is ballad with a gospel-like chorus, a string orchestra and a piano sound.[5] "I know…" is an instrumental with an electric sound.[5] "How to be a Girl" is an upbeat dance rock number.[5]

Singles[edit]

The singles from this album were very successful, two were million sellers and all three reached the top spot of the Oricon Singles Chart.

The lead single "A Walk in the Park" was released four months after the massive success of her studio album Sweet 19 Blues, it became her fourth number one and million selling single. The single spent 7 weeks into the top 5 and 8 weeks in Top 10 totally.[6][7][8][9][10][11] She performed the song at the Japan Cable Awards in December 1996 and at the Japan Gold Disc Awards in February 1997. "A Walk in the Park" was the 13th best selling single of the year 1997.

The album's second single was "Can You Celebrate?" Amuro began the year 1997 with her defining single and biggest success to date. The song, a gospel influenced ballad, was released as the second single from the album. It opened at the top spot with over 800,000 copies sold in its first week,[12] the highest first week sales for a single at that time and the 8th highest opening sales of all time for a single in Japan.[13] It spent two consecutive weeks at #1,7 weeks in the top 5 and 8 weeks in Top 10 totally. It was charted for 40 weeks.[14] "Can You Celebrate?" was the biggest selling single of 1997[15] and is the 14th best selling single in Japanese music history[16] with sales of over 2.29 million copies.[17] A remix single of the song was also released to commemorate Amuro's wedding with Masaharu "Sam" Maruyama and was also successful with about 500,000 units sold. In December 1997, the song helped her to win the Best Single Award at the 39th Japan Record Awards.

"How to Be a Girl" is the third and last single from the album and was released in May 1997. "How to Be a Girl" is Amuro's first attempt at rock music. The single still managed to be a commercial success, spending two consecutive weeks at No. 1 and selling over 770,000 copies, included over 300,000 copies purchased in its opening week.[18] How to Be a Girl was also the 23rd best selling single of 1997.

Tie-ups and theme songs[edit]

"A Walk in the Park" and "Can You Celebrate?" were both theme songs for Maxell UD commercials and "Whisper" was used as the background music for the Maxell MD74 commercial.[19] "Can You Celebrate?" was also the theme song of the Japanese dorama Virgin Road. "How to Be a Girl" was used as background music in four commercials for Sea Breeze products. The first CM was promoting a sun lotion, the second a shampoo, the third a deodorant and the last a moisturizer.[20] "No Communication" was used as background music in a commercial for the DyDo Mistio drinks.[21]

Commercial performance[edit]

Concentration 20 debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon Albums Chart with 824,980 copies sold in its first week of availability.[22] It again nabbed the top spot on the charts in its 2nd week of availability, with sales of 362,440 copies.[23] On its third week Concentration 20 dropped to No. 4 with 229,550 copies sold.[24] The album stayed in the top 10 for 7 weeks and in the top 20 for 9 weeks. The following month, in August 1997, Amuro became the first teenage popster to surpass the 20 million single and album sales mark on Oricon.[25] In all, Concentration 20 sold about 1.9 million copies during its chart run and more than 2 million copies in total.[26] Concentration 20 is Amuro's third best-selling LP according to Oricon Style,[27] as well as the fifty-sixth best-selling album in Japan for the 1990s decade.[28]

Promotion and live performances[edit]

Two days after the release of the album, she started her first dome tour "mistio presents namie amuro SUMMER STAGE 1997 Concentration 20" supporting the album, which drew 300,000 people at four major domes: Osaka Dome, Tokyo Dome, Fukuoka Dome, and Nagoya Dome. The live video "Namie Amuro Concentration 20 Live in Tokyo Dome" was released on December 3, 1997.[29]

Track listing[edit]

Concentration 20 track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Concentration 20 (Make You Alright)"MarcTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		4:07
2."B w/z You"MarcTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		5:03
3."Close Your Eyes, Close to You"MarcTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		5:50
4."Me Love Peace!!"MarcTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		4:29
5."No Communication"MarcTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		4:14
6."A Walk in the Park"Tetsuya KomuroTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		5:50
7."To-day"MarcCozy KuboCozy Kubo
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		4:41
8."Storm"m.c.A.TAkio TogashiAkio Togashi
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		3:07
9."Whisper"MARCTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		5:08
10."Can You Celebrate?"Tetsuya KomuroTetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Strings: Randy Waldman
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		6:15
11."I Know..."―Tetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro3:09
12."How to Be a Girl"Tetsuya Komuro,
MARC		Tetsuya KomuroTetsuya Komuro
Mix Engineer: Eddie Delena		4:24

Personnel[edit]

Musicians[edit]

Production[edit]

  • Producers – Tetsuya Komuro
  • Mixing – Eddie Delena
  • Vocal direction – Tetsuya Komuro, Kenji Sano
  • Photography – Itaru Hirama
  • Art direction – Tycoon Graphics

Charts[edit]

Sales and certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[34] 2× Million 1,929,860[33]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ 「ぴあ」1997年7月28日号7Pより。
  3. ^ a b ソニー・マガジンズ刊『WHAT's IN?』1998年1月号袋とじ「SELF LINER NOTES '97」p.10より。
  4. ^ a b Amuro, Namie (1997). Concentration 20 (Liner notes). Namie Amuro. Japan: Avex Trax, Avex Taiwan. AVCD-11581.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l CD Journal Staff (July 24, 1997). "Namie Amuro – Concentration 20 [CD]". CD Journal (in Japanese). Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of December 9th, 1996
  7. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of December 16th, 1996
  8. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of December 23rd, 1996
  9. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of December 30th, 1996
  10. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of January 13th, 1997
  11. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of January 20th, 1997
  12. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of February 3rd, 1997
  13. ^ Opening Singles Sales: Oricon TOP 116
  14. ^ Number one singles of 1997 musictvprogram.com
  15. ^ Oricon TOP 100: Albums and Singles
  16. ^ List of best selling singles of all times in Japan (Oricon TOP 242)
  17. ^ Can You Celebrate single informations
  18. ^ Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of June 2nd, 1997
  19. ^ Screencaps of Namie's maxell CMs Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Screencaps of Namie's SEA BREEZE CMs Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Screencpas of Namie's DyDo CMs Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Oricon Style Staff (August 4, 1997). "Oricon Albums Chart – Chart Week August 4, 1997". Oricon; published through Yahoo! GeoCities (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  23. ^ Oricon Style Staff (August 11, 1997). "Oricon Albums Chart – Chart Week August 11, 1997". Oricon; published through Yahoo! GeoCities (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  24. ^ Oricon Style Staff (August 18, 1997). "Oricon Albums Chart – Chart Week August 18, 1997". Oricon; published through Yahoo! GeoCities (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  25. ^ "安室奈美恵ディスコグラフィー". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 5, 1998. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  26. ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1997年8月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. August 1997 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 456. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 9. October 10, 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  27. ^ 安室奈美恵のアルバム売上TOP20作品 [Namie Amuro's Top 20 Albums Sales]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  28. ^ "1990年代アルバム売上ランキング" (in Japanese). Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  29. ^ "安室奈美恵/Namie Amuro Concentration 20 Live in Tokyo Dome＜初回限定特別価格版＞" (in Japanese). Tower Records Japan. March 24, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  30. ^ "Concentration 20 安室奈美恵". Oricon. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  31. ^ "1997年　アルバム年間TOP100". Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  32. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20120103001458/http://www.musictvprogram.com/corner-ranking-album.html
  33. ^ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  34. ^ "Japanese album certifications – 安室奈美恵 – Concentration 20" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 31, 2021. Select 1997年8月 on the drop-down menu
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