L (Ayumi Hamasaki EP)

L is the 50th single (51st overall) by Japanese singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki, released on 29 September 2010. It is Hamasaki's last release from the three-part project to celebrate fifty singles. Its title, L, is the Roman numeral for fifty. All of the songs from the single EP were recorded in Los Angeles.

"L"
Single by Ayumi Hamasaki
from the album Love Songs
A-side
  • "Virgin Road"
  • "Sweet Season"
  • "Last Angel"
B-side
  • "Crossroad"
  • "Seven Days War"
  • (from "Crossroad")
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2010 (2010-09-29)
GenreLast Angel Dance-pop, electronica, trance
Virgin Road J-pop
Sweet Season Pop rock, country pop
LabelAvex Trax
Songwriter(s)Ayumi Hamasaki
Producer(s)Max Matsuura
Ayumi Hamasaki singles chronology
"Crossroad"
(2010)		 "L"
(2010)		 "Dream On"
(2010)
Official Music Video
"Virgin Road" on YouTube
Official Music Video
"Sweet Season" on YouTube
Official Music Video
"Last Angel" on YouTube

The single reached number 1, her 38th overall and 25th consecutive overall since "Free & Easy" on April 24, 2002. "L" has received an album certification for more than 100,000 copies shipped by the RIAJ,[1] and the song "Virgin Road" has received a gold digital certification for paid downloads to cellphones.[2]

Music videos

The videos for Sweet Season and Virgin Road premiered September 27, 2010.

The music video for Sweet Season starts with Hamasaki picking up her kids with her car, and driving back home. It shows Hamasaki and her kids having fun at the swimming pool outside their house. Near the end of the video, Hamasaki falls in the swimming pool slowly, with flashbacks of her and her kids. Then, she wakes up at the same place on her sofa, realizing that it was only a dream. She is dressed differently from before, changing from a sweet-looking mother into a weird looking woman, with heavy makeup. The second version of the video features new scenes of Hamasaki and her children in the living room singing, and scenes could be seen rewound. This version was not part of her Love Songs's music videos.

The music video for Virgin Road features Austrian actor and model Manuel Schwarz (later to become Hamasaki's real-life husband). Virgin Road was Hamasaki's fifth-most expensive music videos, behind Jewel, Green, Fairyland and My Name's Women. The video's production reportedly cost $1,000,000. The music video was shot in Los Angeles and features Hamasaki and Schwarz getting married. After that, they are seen robbing a bank and gas station. The video represents was Hamasaki's first encounter with large guns. A police chase ensues, and Hamasaki throws the stolen money out of the car. Resting somewhere on the hill, helicopter throw grenades at the couple, but they escape.

Overview

Hamasaki's 25th consecutive single breaks the record for the most consecutive number 1 singles by any female artist as well as any soloist since Seiko Matsuda in the 1980s; Matsuda's streak of 24 consecutive number-one singles was broken in 1989 when "Precious Heart" reached number 2, only lagging behind "Gravity of Love" by Tetsuya Komuro, who is also a major contributor to Hamasaki's 49th ("Crossroad") and 50th singles.[3]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Ayumi Hamasaki, except for "Seven Days War", which is a cover version of TM Network's song written by Mitsuko Komuro.

Jacket A
Disc1: CD[4]
No.TitleMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Virgin Road (Original Mix)" (Used for a Music.jp television commercial)Tetsuya KomuroYuta Nakano (Strings arrangement)5:55
2."Sweet Season (Original Mix)" (Used for a Sweet magazine television commercial)Noriyuki MakiharaShingo Kobayashi5:05
3."Last Angel (Original Mix)"KomuroCMJK5:44
4."Virgin Road (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroNakano (Strings arrangement)5:54
5."Sweet Season (Original Mix - Instrumental)"MakiharaKobayashi5:05
6."Last Angel (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroCMJK5:41
Disc2: DVD[4]
No.TitleLength
1."Virgin Road" (Video Clip)5:52
2."Sweet Season" (Video Clip)5:22
3."Virgin Road" (Making Clip)7:06
Total length:33:24

Jacket B
Disc1: CD[4]
No.TitleMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Sweet Season (Original Mix)" (Used for a Sweet magazine television commercial)MakiharaKobayashi5:04
2."Virgin Road (Original Mix)" (Used for a Music.jp television commercial)KomuroNakano (Strings arrangement)5:55
3."Last Angel (Original Mix)"KomuroCMJK5:44
4."Sweet Season (Original Mix - Instrumental)"MakiharaKobayashi5:04
5."Virgin Road (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroNakano (Strings arrangement)5:54
6."Last Angel (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroCMJK5:41
Disc2: DVD[4]
No.TitleLength
1."Sweet Season" (Video Clip)5:22
2."Virgin Road" (Video Clip)5:52
3."Sweet Season" (Making Clip)4:19
Total length:33:22

Jacket C
CD-Only[4]
No.TitleMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Last Angel (Original Mix)"Tetsuya KomuroCMJK5:43
2."Virgin Road (Original Mix)" (Used for a Music.jp television commercial)KomuroNakano (Strings arrangement)5:55
3."Sweet Season (Original Mix)" (Used for a Sweet magazine television commercial)MakiharaKobayashi5:05
4."Crossroad (Orchestra Version)"KomuroNakano5:42
5."Seven Days War (Orchestra Version)"KomuroNakano5:27
6."Last Angel (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroCMJK5:43
7."Virgin Road (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroNakano (Strings arrangement)5:54
8."Sweet Season (Original Mix - Instrumental)"MakiharaKobayashi5:02
Total length:44:31

Jacket D
CD-Only[4]
No.TitleMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Seven Days War (TK Acoustic Piano Version)"Tetsuya KomuroKomuro5:17
2."Virgin Road (Original Mix)" (Used for a Music.jp television commercial)KomuroNakano (Strings arrangement)5:55
3."Sweet Season (Original Mix)" (Used for a Sweet magazine television commercial)MakiharaKobayashi5:05
4."Last Angel (Original Mix)"KomuroCMJK5:44
5."Virgin Road (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroNakano (Strings arrangement)5:54
6."Sweet Season (Original Mix - Instrumental)"MakiharaKobayashi5:05
7."Last Angel (Original Mix - Instrumental)"KomuroCMJK5:41
Total length:38:41

Charts

Oricon Sales Chart
Release Chart Peak position Debut Sales Sales total Chart run
September 29, 2010 Oricon Daily Singles Chart 1 34,796
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 1 70,715 94,573 8 weeks
Oricon Monthly Singles Chart 6 92,478
Oricon Yearly Singles Chart 71

References
  1. ゴールド等認定作品一覧 2010年9月. RIAJ (in Japanese). 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  2. レコード協会調べ 2月度有料音楽配信認定 ＜略称：2月度認定＞ [Record Association report: February digital music download certifications (Abbreviation: February Certifications)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). March 25, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  3. 浜崎あゆみ、シングル25作連続首位で歴代単独1位 松田聖子の記録22年ぶり更新 (in Japanese). Oricon. 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  4. http://www.avexnet.or.jp/ayu/jp/discography/
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