The Last Ai | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 1, 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009–2010 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:36 | |||
Language | ||||
Label | ||||
Producer |
| |||
Ai chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from The Last Ai | ||||
|
The Last Ai (stylized THE LAST A.I.) is the eighth studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on December 1, 2010, by Island Records and Universal Sigma. The album features guest appearances and collaborations from Namie Amuro, Snoop Dogg, Kato Miliyah, AK-69, Judith Hill, Boyz II Men, K'naan and Chaka Khan.
Four singles were released from The Last Ai. [2] [3] [4] [5] The lead single, "Fake" was certified gold by the RIAJ, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 while "Still..." and "Stronger" charted within the top 30 of the Japan Hot 100. [6] [7]
The reason for giving the meaningful title "Last Ai" is that "I can't say yet"...Would you like [me] to stop singing? That's not the case! I want to aim for the Grammy Awards, and I want to send music to the world including Japan, so I'm relieved for the future. [8]
— Ai reflecting on the future of her career
Ai previously released her 2009 compilation album, Best Ai which became her first album to chart number one on the Oricon Japanese Albums chart. [9] Her 2009 studio album, Viva Ai , also performed well commercially.
In September 2010, the title of the album was revealed and was slated for release in December later that year. [5] With the release of "Stronger" featuring Miliyah as the fourth single and its B-side track featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg, Ai revealed multiple artists from the west coast would be featured on the album. [5] In November 2010, the track listing and album cover was revealed. [10]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Fake" (featuring Namie Amuro) |
| 4:15 |
2. | "Let It Go" (featuring Snoop Dogg) |
| 3:36 |
3. | "Stronger" (featuring Miliyah) |
| 5:02 |
4. | "Still..." (featuring AK-69) |
| 4:10 |
5. | "For My Sister" (English Version, featuring Judith Hill) |
| 4:08 |
6. | "Incomplete" (featuring Boyz II Men) |
| 5:14 |
7. | "One More Try" (featuring Chaka Khan) |
| 3:49 |
8. | "Family" |
| 3:58 |
9. | "Nemurenai Machi" (眠れない街, Sleepless Town) |
| 3:41 |
10. | "Wavin' Flag Coca-Cola Celebration Mix" (K'naan featuring Ai) |
| 3:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Through the Fire" (with Chaka Khan) | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Fake" (featuring Namie Amuro) (music video) | Ugichin | |
2. | "Still..." (featuring AK-69) (music video) | Masaki Bamba | |
3. | "Let It Go" (featuring Snoop Dogg) (music video) | Tanaka Taro | |
4. | "Behind the Scenes" |
|
Credits adapted from album's liner notes. [11]
The Last Ai debuted and peaked at number 14 on the Japanese Oricon Albums chart, charting for eight weeks.
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
---|---|
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [12] | 14 |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Version | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | December 1, 2010 | Original | [13] | ||
| Limited | [14] | |||
Various | December 5, 2012 |
| Original | USM Japan | [15] |
Ai Carina Uemura, known mononymously as Ai, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, spokeswoman, and actress. Born in Los Angeles, California, Ai moved to Kagoshima, at age 4. Motivated to become a singer, Ai returned to Los Angeles during her adolescence, attending the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. While in Los Angeles, Ai performed as part of a gospel choir at a Mary J. Blige concert and appeared as a backup dancer in Janet Jackson's music video, "Go Deep". She briefly joined the Asian girl group SX4 in 1999 until she graduated high school.
Shinsei Kamattechan (神聖かまってちゃん) is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 2007. The band consists of Noko, Mono, and Misako (drums). They describe themselves as an "Internet Pop Rock Band", which reflects the blend of pop melodies and piano with dark lyrics and punk rock sensibilities found within their music, as well as the band's long history of broadcasting both live performances and aspects of their daily lives on the Internet.
Daichi Miura is a Japanese singer, songwriter, dancer, and choreographer. He also directs his own concerts. He belongs to Rising Production and has a record contract with Avex. He is from Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. He has an official fan club called "Daichishiki".
The discography of Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai consists of thirteen studio albums, four extended plays (EP), seven compilation albums, one live album, one mix tape, ten video albums and numerous solo and collaboration singles.
Happiness was a Japanese pop girl group formed and managed by LDH since 2008 and signed to the record label Rhythm Zone. They were a dance and vocal unit of collective girl group E-girls alongside Dream and Flower. The group consisted of two vocalists and three performers at the time of their disbandment.
Suchmos is a Japanese rock group formed in 2013. Suchmos was inspired by African-American music such as rock, jazz, and hip-hop. The band's name, Suchmos, is adapted from a jazz musician Louis Armstrong’s nickname, “Satchmo”.
"Clear" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Maaya Sakamoto. It was released as a single on January 31, 2018, through FlyingDog. It was written by Sakamoto and composed by Yoshiki Mizuno of the band Ikimono-gakari. "Clear" is the opening theme to the NHK anime Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, the sequel to Cardcaptor Sakura, for which Sakamoto's "Platinum" served as opening theme for the third season close to twenty years prior. An acoustic take of "Platinum" performed on June 4, 2017 at the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima is included as a coupling track on the single.
Wa to Yo is the eleventh studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on June 7, 2017, through EMI Records and Universal Music Group. Featuring two discs, the Wa disc was recorded in Japanese with traditional Japanese sounds while the Yo disc was recorded in English with R&B and hip hop sounds. The album features guest appearances and collaborations from Kodō, Jinmenusagi, Himekami, Jamaican musician Junior Reid, American singer-songwriter Eric Bellinger, and American singer-songwriter Chris Brown.
"Yūsha Tachi" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Miliyah Kato from her second compilation album M Best (2011) and her sixth studio album True Lovers (2012). The song was written by Kato herself, while the production was done by Kato's frequent collaborator, Yuichiro Goto. The single was released for the two versions of CD and digital download on 16 March 2011 through Mastersix Foundation as the lead single from M Best. Ahead of its official release, the short version of the song was released on 2 March 2011 as a ringtone.
It's All Me, Vol. 1 is an extended play by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on July 8, 2020, through EMI Records and features a departure from the traditional Japanese and western electropop sounds found in her 2017 studio album, Wa to Yo.
It's All Me, Vol. 2 is an extended play by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on February 24, 2021, through EMI Records, as a follow-up to It's All Me, Vol. 1 (2020). Ai primarily collaborated with western producers and longtime collaborator Julian Le.
"Not So Different" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on November 25, 2020. The song was written by Ai and Rachel West with additional songwriting credits from producers Avedon and Scott Storch and was included on It's All Me, Vol. 2 (2021).
"Happiness" (ハピネス) is a song written and recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. Originally released digitally on November 18, 2011 as the second single from Ai's ninth studio album, Independent, it was released physically on December 14, 2011, by EMI Music Japan alongside "Letter in the Sky".
"Voice" is a song written and recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released February 13, 2013, by EMI Music Japan. Produced by Uta and Ai, the song served as the theme song for the Japanese drama Yakō Kanransha.
"Still..." is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai featuring Japanese hip hop artist AK-69. It was released on June 30, 2010, by Island Records and Universal Sigma as the second single from Ai's eighth studio album, The Last Ai.
"Gift" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released April 24, 2020, by EMI Records. The song served as the theme song for TBS' King's Brunch and subsequently as the fifth and final single from Ai's extended play, It's All Me, Vol. 1.
The Feat. Best is the third greatest hits album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on November 2, 2016, by EMI Records. The album features 35 artists, including Japanese singers Namie Amuro, Thelma Aoyama, Miliyah Kato, Hikaru Utada, and Exile Atsushi. American artists such as Chaka Khan, Snoop Dogg, The Jacksons, Jeremih, and Boyz II Men also appear on the album.
Dream is the twelfth studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on February 23, 2022, by EMI Records. Ai collaborated with various Japanese and American producers, including longtime collaborator Uta and Bernard "Harv" Harvey, the latter produced her 2021 extended play, It's All Me, Vol. 2.
Kyōgen is the debut studio album by Japanese singer Ado, released January 26, 2022, by Virgin Music. A J-pop and rock record, the album was produced by various Vocaloid musicians.
Unleash is the second extended play by Japanese rock band Band-Maid. The EP was released by Pony Canyon on September 21, 2022, and contains eight tracks, including the lead single "Sense". It debuted at number nine on the Oricon Albums Chart, selling 7,590 in its first week.
{{cite web}}
: |last=
has generic name (help)