A Best 2

A Best 2 (stylized as BEST 2) is a series of greatest hits albums by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki, which were released simultaneously on 28 February 2007 (2007-02-28) by Avex Trax. The two-volume release is a direct successor to A Best (2001) and features material from a four-year period of her career. A Best 2 is split between contrasting "dark" and "light" themes, with the two volumes Black and White compiling songs of either nature, respectively.

A Best 2
Greatest hits album by
Ayumi Hamasaki
Released28 February 2007 (2007-02-28)
Recorded2001–2007 (Black)
2001–2005 (White)
GenrePop, pop rock, dance, electronic
Length77:27 (Black)
74:56 (White)
LabelAvex Trax
ProducerMax Matsuura
A Best 2: Black
A Best 2: White
Ayumi Hamasaki chronology
Secret
(2006)		 A Best 2
(2007)		 Guilty
(2008)
Ayumi Hamasaki Arena Tour 2006 A
(2006)
Best of Countdown live 2006–2007 A
(2007)
Ayumi Hamasaki Asia Tour 2007: Tour of Secret
(2008)

A Best 2 held the top two spots of the Oricon albums chart in its debuting week, with A Best 2: White at number one. This made Hamasaki the first female artist since Keiko Fuji to occupy both positions in 37 years. Both A Best 2 volumes were certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.[1]

A Best 2: Black
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
HMV[2]

A Best 2: Black includes a previously unreleased track, "Part of Me" (featured in a new Panasonic CM) and its accompanying music video. The song was certified gold for 100,000 legal downloads.[3]

Track listing
No.TitleOriginal AlbumLength
1."Dearest"I am... 
2."Carols"My Story 
3."No Way to Say"Memorial Address 
4."Hanabi (Fireworks)"Rainbow 
5."Walking Proud"My Story 
6."Free & Easy"Rainbow 
7."Endless Sorrow"I am... 
8."Because of You"Memorial Address 
9."About You"My Story 
10."Game"My Story 
11."Is This Love?"(Miss)understood 
12."Hanabi: Episode II (Fireworks: Episode II)"Memorial Address 
13."Never Ever"I am... 
14."Heaven"(Miss)understood 
15."Part of Me"previously unreleased 
16."Memorial Address: Take 2 version" (Hidden Track)Memorial Address 

DVD track listing

1st DVD – Promotional Videos

  1. "Dearest"
  2. "Carols"
  3. "No Way to Say"
  4. "Walking Proud"
  5. "Free & Easy"
  6. "Endless Sorrow"
  7. "Because of You"
  8. "About You"
  9. "Game"
  10. "Is This Love?"
  11. "Hanabi: Episode II"
  12. "Never Ever" [promotional clip]
  13. "Heaven"
  14. "Part of Me"
  15. "H" [TV-CM]

2nd DVD – Best of CountDown Live 2006–2007

  1. Best of CountDown Live 2006–2007 (Behind the Scenes) (90 minutes)

Charts

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Chart Peak Position First Week Sales Sales Total Chart Run
28 February 2007 (2007-02-28) Oricon Daily Albums Chart 1
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart 2 470,057 970,000 52
Oricon Monthly Albums Chart 3
Oricon Yearly Albums Chart 7
  • Total Sales : 970,000 (Japan)

A Best 2: White
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
HMV[4]

On 15 January 2007 (2007-01-15) this release was confirmed by her official website. On 16 January 2007 (2007-01-16), track listing for both CDs were officially released. The album covers and DVD track listings were released on 6 February 2007 (2007-02-06).

Track listing
No.TitleOriginal AlbumLength
1."Evolution"I am... 
2."Greatful Days*"Memorial Address 
3."Independent"Rainbow 
4."Humming 7/4"My Story 
5."Unite!"I am... 
6."Real Me"Rainbow 
7."My Name's Women"My Story 
8."Ourselves"Memorial Address 
9."Inspire"My Story 
10."Step You**"(Miss)understood 
11."July 1st"Rainbow 
12."Fairyland"(Miss)understood 
13."Voyage"Rainbow 
14."Moments"My Story 
15."A Song Is Born"I am... 

DVD track listing

1st DVD – Promotional Videos

  1. "Evolution"
  2. "Grateful Days"
  3. "Humming 7/4"
  4. "Unite!" [promotional clip]
  5. "Real me"
  6. "My Name's Women"
  7. "Ourselves"
  8. "Inspire"
  9. "Step you"
  10. "Fairyland"
  11. "Voyage"
  12. "Moments"
  13. "H" [TV-CM]

2nd DVD – Best of CountDown Live 2006–2007

  1. "Not Yet"
  2. "Ourselves"
  3. "Fly High"
  4. "Beautiful Fighters"
  5. "Never Ever"
  6. "A Song for" ××
  7. "No Way to Say"
  8. "Free & Easy"
  9. "Evolution"
  10. "Flower Garden"
  11. "Until That Day..."
  12. "Audience"
  13. "Boys & Girls"

-encore-

  1. "Trauma"
  2. "Independent"
  3. "Humming 7/4"
  4. "Blue Bird"

Charts

A Best 2: White – Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Chart Peak Position First Week Sales Sales Total Chart Run
28 February 2007 (2007-02-28) Oricon Daily Albums Chart 1
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart 1 475,284 990,000 52
Oricon Monthly Albums Chart 2
Oricon Yearly Albums Chart 5
  • Total Sales : 990,000 (Japan)

Release history
Region Date Format Catalogue Number
Japan 28 February 2007 (2007-02-28)
28 February 2022 (2022-02-28)		 CD+2DVD AVCD-23263 (Black)
AVCD-23265 (White)
CD AVCD-23264 (Black)
AVCD-23266 (White)
Taiwan 9 March 2007 (2007-03-09)
Hong Kong 13 March 2007 (2007-03-13)
China 27 October 2007 (2007-10-27) CD+2DVD
  • Initial pressing
CD
  • Initial pressing
Singapore 14 March 2007 (2007-03-14)
South Korea 15 March 2007 (2007-03-15)

Sales and accomplishments

Japan

After the first week sales of A Best 2: Black and White were announced, Hamasaki had already garnered sales of over 1 million copies. With the release of A Best 2, Hamasaki also broke many records.

As of August 2007, A Best 2 has charted in the top 5 of 2007 Oricon Half-Yearly Album 2007 Chart. A Best: White charted as #3 and Black charted as #4; the nearest competitor was Kobukuro with "All Singles Best" with sales around 640,000 copies. However, factoring in consistent sales of Kobukuro's "All Singles Best", it is predicted that A Best 2 will fall down to #4 and #5, respectively. According to Avex, A Best 2 had sold over 2 million copies as of March 2007.[5]

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Chart Peak Position Oricon Sales Total Avex Sales Total Chart Run
28 February 2007 (2007-02-28) Oricon Daily Albums Chart 1 (Black & White) 170,000 200,000 1 day
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart 1 (White)
2 (Black)		 945,341 1,000,000 1 week
Oricon Monthly Albums Chart 2 (White)
3 (Black)		 646,479 (White), 632,999 (Black) 1,200,000 4 weeks
Oricon Yearly Albums Chart 4 (White)
5 (Black)		 1,960,000 (as of 2008) 2,000,000 52 weeks
  • Total Sales: 1,960,000 (Japan)
  • Total Sales: 2,000,000 (Avex)

Taiwan

A Best 2 as a whole performed very well on the Taiwan Charts. A Best 2: White topped the Taiwan Charts for 8 weeks, while A Best 2: Black has been following behind at #2 consistently, achieving peak at #1 on the second week of being released.

Album Date Title Peak position Chart Run Sales
Black 7 March 2001 (2001-03-07) "Never Ever" 1 12 weeks 756,980
16 May 2001 (2001-05-16) "Endless Sorrow" 1 11 weeks 768,510
27 September 2001 (2001-09-27) "Dearest" 1 16 weeks 750,420
24 April 2002 (2002-04-24) "Free & Easy" 1 9 weeks 486,520
6 November 2003 (2003-11-06) "No Way to Say" 1 12 weeks 371,171
29 November 2004 (2004-11-29) "Carols" 1 14 weeks 309,128
14 November 2005 (2005-11-14) "Heaven" 1 14 weeks 326,694
White 31 January 2001 (2001-01-31) "Evolution" 1 17 weeks 955,250
11 July 2001 (2001-07-11) "Unite!" 1 10 weeks 571,110
12 December 2001 (2001-12-12) "A Song Is Born" 1 10 weeks 441,410
26 November 2002 (2002-11-26) "Voyage" 1 28 weeks 679,463
31 March 2004 (2004-03-31) "Moments" 1 21 weeks 302,923
3 August 2005 (2005-08-03) "Fairyland c/w Alterna" 1 13 weeks 316,663
Black and White 24 July 2002 (2002-07-24) "H" 1 24 weeks 1,016,000
9 July 2003 (2003-07-09) "&" 1 16 weeks 591,481
28 July 2004 (2004-07-28) "Inspire c/w Game" 1 15 weeks 329,145
20 April 2005 (2005-04-20) "Step You / Is This Love?" 1 19 weeks 345,340

Total Single Sales: 9,909,689

Live performances
  • 23 February 2007 (2007-02-23) – Music Station – "Evolution"
  • 24 February 2007 (2007-02-24) – Music Fair 21 – "Evolution", "Dearest", "Heaven"
  • 26 February 2007 (2007-02-26) – Hey! Hey! Hey! – "Dearest"
  • 26 February 2007 (2007-02-26) – SMAPxSMAP – "Voyage", "Unite!"
  • 2 March 2007 (2007-03-02) – Music Station – "Part of Me"
  • 2 March 2007 (2007-03-02) – Music Fighter – "Never Ever"
  • 2 March 2007 (2007-03-02) – PopJam – "Moments"
  • 4 March 2007 (2007-03-04) – Domoto Kyoudai – "Step You"
  • 16 March 2007 (2007-03-16) – Music Station – "Memorial Address"
  • 16 March 2007 (2007-03-16) – PopJam (final episode special) – "No Way to Say"

References
  1. ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2007年3月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (March 2007)] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 10 April 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  2. "A Best 2: Black Review" (in Japanese). HMV. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  3. "Japanese Charts" (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  4. "A Best 2: White Review" (in Japanese). HMV. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  5. "Avex Financial Results of the first quarter of 2007 Page 2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2009.
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