"Sit! Stay! Wait! Down! / Love Story" | ||||
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Single by Namie Amuro | ||||
from the album Uncontrolled | ||||
Released | December 7, 2011 | |||
Genre |
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Length | 29:08 | |||
Label | Avex Trax | |||
Producer(s) |
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Namie Amuro singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
"Sit! Stay! Wait! Down! / Love Story" is an extended play (marketed as a single) by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro from her tenth studio album and debut bilingual album Uncontrolled (2012). The EP contains the songs "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" and "Love Story" from the parent album and two new tracks "Higher" and "Arigatou". The EP was produced by Michico, T. Kura, Miriam Nervo, Olivia Nervo, T-SK, Tesung Kim, and Nao'ymt, and is divided into two dance-pop songs and two pop ballads.
"Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!/Love Story" was released on December 7, 2011, through Avex Trax and received positive reviews from most music critics; many highlighted Amuro's vocals and the B-side "Higher", while some felt the rest of the songs were boring and outdated. Charted as a single on the Oricon Singles Chart, it reached number three and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" and "Love Story" were released as the two lead singles and charted on the Japan Hot 100 at three and two, respectively.
This single was released approximately four months after Amuro's previous single "NAKED/Fight Together/Tempest". [1] In addition to the two title tracks, two new songs were included as B-side tracks, making it her first single with four songs. [2] This is also the first time since her 33rd single "Funky Town," released on April 4, 2007, that B-side songs have been included in one of her singles. [3]
"Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" and "Arigatou" were written by Michico and co-produced by T.kura, "Love Story" was written by Tiger and produced by T-SK, Tesung Kim and Nervo, and Japanese record producer Nao'ymt produced and wrote "Higher". [2] "Love Story" was used as a theme song for the dorama The Reason I Can't Find My Love . [4] "Arigatou" was used as the jingle for Kosé's Esprique TV commercial. [5] On the release date of this song, a free download was also made available on Amuro's own official Facebook page for a limited time until April 2, 2012. [6] "Higher" was performed on her Namie Amuro Live Style 2011 Japan arena tour. [7] It was also broadcast in some areas as the commercial jingle for Coca-Cola Japan's Coca-Cola Zero. [8]
"Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" is a fast-paced R&B number with a jack-in-the-box structure; the song lyrically relates a significant other to a dog. [9] "Love Story" is a power ballad with lyrics that express gratitude to someone you loved but broke up with. [9] "Higher" is a techno-infused number with a tense electronic sound and powerful vocals. [9] "Arigatou" is a mellow ballad with ethereal string sounds and a soft melody; it expresses gratitude to those who helped with reconstruction efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. [9]
"Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!/Love Story" received positive reviews from most music critics. David Cirone from J-Generation labelled the first single "sexy" and "tongue-in-cheek", while he commented on the latter single ""Love Story" are great ballads, featuring flawless and sincere vocals, just as memorable as some of the greats on Best Fiction." Cirone highlighted "Love Story" as a stand out from Uncontrolled. [10] CDJournal.com praised the first two singles for its composition, calling "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" full of tension and "humorous" and liking Amuro's painful and sad vocals on "Love Story". The website also commended the latter two tracks, labelling "Higher" "full of tension" and a "thrilling electropop song" while calling "Arigatou" "beautiful". [9]
However, Michael McCarthy from Otakudx.com had overall criticized the album's musical direction and lyrical content, but criticized the lyrics of "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" for its sexual innuendos and references to doggy style; he deemed it "ridiculous" and said "if a guy sang this song, talking to a girl like she was a dog, people would be outraged. But since Namie is a female we're supposed to take it as some brilliant role reversal or otherwise be turned on by it? Sorry, I just found it slightly disturbing and extremely boring." [11] Random J from his online blog commended the first single's title for sounding "ridiculously cool and straight to the point." However, he pointed out the song's composition by stating "It sounds like shit we've all heard before and the chorus just sounds like a droned out mess until "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" gets chanted." [12] He also praised the track "Higher" for its "high energy" and having a "stronger melody", but criticized "Love Story" and "Arigatou" for being boring. [12] He awarded three stars out of ten, highlighting "Higher" as the best song but said the EP was one of her weakest singles in her career. [12]
"Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!/Love Story" charted as a single on the Oricon Singles Chart and peaked at number three, selling 77,758 copies in its first week. [13] It dropped to number four the next week, selling 28,384 copies. [14] The single stayed in the top ten one last week, ranking at number five and selling 21,110 copies. [15] "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!/Love Story" stayed in the singles charts for twenty weeks, becoming Amuro's longest charting single since "60s 70s 80s" in 2008 with twenty weeks. [16] [A] The single sold over 162,000 units in Japan, her highest selling single since "60s 70s 80s" and remains her highest inside the 2010s. [17] [B] "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!/Love Story" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for exceeding 100,000 shipments in Japan. [18]
"Love Story" was made available as a ringtone on November 2, 2011, and together with "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!," it was the first song in the history of Recochoku to top the charts for two consecutive weeks, [19] [20] and it was ranked first place in the single download charts for the following year. [21] It also ranked first for the year in the ringtone song and ringtone movie categories. [22] "Love Story" was ranked number one for three consecutive months from December 2011 to February 2012 in the "LISMO Award Music Playback Ranking," which recognizes the most played songs on LISMO-compatible au mobile phones and smartphones that month. Amuro is the third to top the charts for three consecutive months in the history of the LISMO Award Music Playback Ranking. [23] "Love Story" is the biggest-selling song she has released in the 2010s.
Both "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" and "Love Story" charted individually on the Japan Hot 100 and the RIAJ Digital Track Chart. "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" peaked at number three on the Japan Hot 100 chart and sixteen on the Japan Hot Airplay Chart, while "Love Story" reached number two and seven respectively. [24] [25] Both songs peaked at number one on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart, making Amuro the first artist to have both double a-side singles reach the top spot. [26] [27] "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" was certified platinum by RIAJ for digital sales of 250,000 units. [28] "Love Story" was certified million for cell phone ringtone and digital shipments of one million units; this tallied to total sales of 3.6 million units including the physical shipment. [29] [28] [30] "Love Story" became Amuro's first million-selling single since her 2007 single "Baby Don't Cry". [31] [C]
"Love Story" received many forms of recognition: LISMO, an online music player provided by the cell phone company au, selected "Love Story" as the winner of LISMO Award; the karaoke company Daiichi Kosho announced that the song is the most popular Valentine's Day song for a female artist, along with Exile's "Lovers Again", [33] while the song won "Song of the Year by Download" and second place for the Top 5 Downloaded songs at the annual 27th Japan Gold Disc Awards. [34] On June 23, 2012, the video for "Love Story" won the "Best Female Video" award at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan; Amuro also won the "Best Collaboration Video" award for "Make It Happen" (a song from the best collaboration album Checkmate! ). [35]
"Love Story" received a music video and was directed by Kensuke Kawamura. [36] The video was shot in London and features scenes of Amuro walking down a street, sitting outside a café and inside a café. [37] A teaser video was uploaded on Amuro's YouTube channel on March 18, 2012. [38] The music video was featured on the DVD version of the single. [2]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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1. | "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" | Michico | T.kura, Michico | 3:16 |
2. | "Love Story" | Tiger | T-SK, Tesung Kim, Olivia Nervo, Miriam Nervo | 4:45 |
3. | "Higher" | Nao'ymt | Nao'ymt | 4:29 |
4. | "Arigatou" (thank the world for LOVE... gift song for 2011) | Michico | T.kura, Michico | 4:14 |
5. | "Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!" (Instrumental) | T.kura, Michico | 3:15 | |
6. | "Love Story" (Instrumental) | T-SK, Tesung Kim, Olivia Nervo, Miriam Nervo | 4:45 | |
7. | "Higher" (Instrumental) | Nao'ymt | 4:27 | |
Total length: | 29:08 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Love Story" (Music video) |
Weekly Charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Japan (RIAJ) [43] CD version. | Gold | 100,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ) [44] Sit! Stay! Wait! Down! (digital) | Platinum | 250,000* |
Japan (RIAJ) [44] Love Story (digital) | Million | 1,000,000* |
Japan (RIAJ) [30] Love Story (ringtone) | Million | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Namie Amuro is a retired Japanese singer. She rose to prominence as a teen idol, and transitioned into a leading pop artist due to her versatility across music styles and visual presentation. Due to her career reinventions and longevity, she is known as an icon across Japan and Asia. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and her influence domestically has drawn equivalent comparisons to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western pop culture.
Queen of Hip-Pop is the seventh studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. It was released on July 13, 2005, by Avex Trax. The album's lyrical content, composing and arrangement was handled by multiple music collaborators, such as Nao'ymt, Sugi-V, Michico, Tricky Stewart, T.Kura, among many others. It is her second full-length urban contemporary record, and is made up of songs of various musical genres. Amuro uses the term "hip-pop" to describe the music on the album because it fuses pop music with other genres including R&B and hip-hop music. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital download.
Love Enhanced Single Collection is the second greatest hits album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on March 13, 2002, through Avex Trax. This was Amuro's first greatest hits album in about four years, since 181920. It was also her first greatest hits album since her return to the music scene. Although the album is labeled as a "singles collection," nearly all of the songs on the album have been re-recorded, re-mixed, or re-arranged, all of which remain exclusive to this album's release. In addition, only "Lovin' It" was recorded as a single take. The album also contains the last of the work she created with her longtime creative partner Tetsuya Komuro.
Break the Rules is the fifth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, released on December 20, 2000, through Avex Trax. It was released only 11 months after her previous album Genius 2000 (2000), and was her final album to date with her long-time producer Tetsuya Komuro, the album generally receive positive reviews by the critics, it was the shortlisted the Asia Association Music Prize Award.
Genius 2000 is the fourth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, released on January 26, 2000, through Avex Trax. The album was released three years after her last album, Concentration 20 (1997), and was produced by Tetsuya Komuro and Dallas Austin, marking her first collaboration with an American producer, the album spawned four singles: "I Have Never Seen", "Respect the Power of Love", "Something 'Bout the Kiss" and "Love 2000".
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 musical style is a fusion of genres including pop, dance, rock, reggae and ska. Unlike Amuro's previous effort, Sweet 19 Blues (1996), 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 Amuro's second solo album since splitting up with Super Monkey's.
"White Light" is a song by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released by Avex Trax in Japan on November 16, 2005, as a double A-single with "Violet Sauce". "White Light" was supposed to promote Amuro's eighth studio album Play (2007), but it was scrapped from the final track list. Instead, an alternative version of "Violet Sauce" appeared. A demo version of the song was sent to Amuro, who decided it needed a warmer tone and reworked it as a Christmas song. It was modified by Nao'ymt, the song's sole composer, producer, and writer. Musically, it's a midtempo Christmas song with lyrics about love and holiday festivities.
"You're My Sunshine" is the sixth single by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on June 5, 1996, by Avex Trax and was produced by Tetsuya Komuro. The song was the image song for the Bristol-Myers Squibb "Sea Breeze '96" commercial in which she appeared. The version used in the initial commercial had a different tempo and tune from the CD package version. The following year, 1997, she was used for the second consecutive year in a "Sea Breeze" commercial, this time using her hit song "How to Be a Girl".
"Baby Don't Cry" is the 32nd single by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. It was released as the second single from her eighth studio album, Play (2007). It was written, composed, arranged, and produced by Japanese musician Naoaki Yamato, under the alias Nao'ymt. The single also included the B-side track "Nobody," a reworked version of her 2005 song "White Light." "Baby Don't Cry" premiered on January 24, 2007, as the third single from the album in Japan. It was also released worldwide on February 21, 2007, through Avex Inc. Musically, "Baby Don't Cry" is an mid-tempo sunshine pop song influenced by R&B music.
Play is the eighth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. It was released on June 27, 2007, by Avex Trax and was made available in both physical and digital formats. Following the success of her previous album, Queen of Hip-Pop (2005), Amuro enlisted long-time collaborators Nao'ymt and T. Kura to produce the album. Play, like its predecessor, is an urban contemporary record with elements of pop music, rock and dance-pop. Lyrically, the record explores themes of love, frustration, and relationships.
"60s 70s 80s" is a triple A-side single by Japanese singer Namie Amuro from her third greatest hits album, Best Fiction (2008). It was released on March 12, 2008, through Avex Trax and consists of the songs "New Look," "Rock Steady" and "What a Feeling," each sampling from a specific decade in music, hence the title. "New Look" represents the 1960's and features a sample from The Supremes' "Baby Love." "Rock Steady" represents the 1970's and features a sample from Aretha Franklin's song "Rock Steady." The last song, "What a Feeling" represents the 1980's and features samples from Irene Cara's "Flashdance... What a Feeling," which was the theme for the 1983 film Flashdance.
Best Fiction is the third greatest hits album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on July 30, 2008, by Avex Trax and features seventeen singles released between 2002-2008, which included five new songs, three of which were released as a triple A-side single called "60s 70s 80s." Furthermore, the album tracks "Do Me More" and "Sexy Girl" were released as digital singles.
Past<Future is the ninth studio album by Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro. It was released on December 16, 2009, through Avex Trax. This was her first original album to be released in two and a half years. The record came after the release of her blockbuster greatest hits album Best Fiction (2008), which sold over a million copies. Unlike her previous studio albums, Queen of Hip-Pop (2005) and Play (2007), Past<Future features a more electropop and synth-pop sound that was prevalent in the Western music charts at the time.
"Fake" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on March 31, 2010, by Island Records and Universal Sigma. The song served as the lead single for Ai's eighth studio album, The Last Ai.
"Break It/Get Myself Back" is a double A-side single released by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. It was released on July 28, 2010, through Avex Trax. Break It was used in a Coca-Cola Zero commercial. The song reached number three on Oricon's weekly chart. The single has been certified Gold for shipment of 100,000 copies, as well as "Get Myself Back" being certified as a gold download to cellphones., it serves two lead singles for her tenth studio album Uncontrolled.
Checkmate! is a collaboration album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro, featuring a collection of her collaborations with other musicians released between 2003 and 2011, as well as four new collaborations. The album was released on April 27, 2011, about one month after its original release date, due to 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
"Wonder Woman" is a song by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, featuring R&B singer and rapper Ai as well as rock musician Anna Tsuchiya. The song was the lead promotional single for Amuro's collaboration-compilation album, Checkmate!, released in April 2011.
Uncontrolled is the tenth studio album by Japanese pop and R&B musician Namie Amuro, released on June 27, 2012. This marks Amuro's first original album in two and a half years since her last album Past<Future (2009) and her first original album for her 20th anniversary of her debut. It was released in three formats: CD+DVD, CD and Playbutton. Uncontrolled consists mostly of songs sung in Japanese, however this was the first album of Amuro's to feature several songs sung entirely in English. "Go Round" and "Yeah-Oh" are songs with entirely English lyrics, and are included under the titles "Go Round " and "Singing "Yeah-Oh!"" respectively. The new songs "In The Spotlight (Tokyo)," "Hot Girls" and "Only You" are also include entirely English lyrics.
"Brighter Day" is a song by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. Released as a single on November 12, 2014 by Amuro's label Dimension Point through Avex Trax, the release contained the B-sides "Sweet Kisses", and "Still Lovin' You". It received mixed reviews from music critics; many commended Amuro's vocal abilities while some criticized the song's composition and production. Charted as a single on the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart, it reached number eight, becoming her lowest chart single since "Alarm" which peaked at eleven. The title track was certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for digital sales of 250,000 and all three tracks charted on the Japan Hot 100.
Finally is the seventh greatest hits album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released in a variety of formats by her label Dimension Point on November 8, 2017, and was later distributed to other markets in Asia. It is the singer's final music release upon announcing her retirement from the entertainment industry in September 2018.
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