A Best 2

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A Best 2
Greatest hits album by
Ayumi Hamasaki
Released28 February 2007 (2007-02-28)
28 February 2022 (2022-02-28) (Re-released anniversary edition)
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
ABest2BlackCDOnly.jpg
A Best 2: White
A BEST 2 WHITE CD only.jpg
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 (stylized as Ayu symbol.gif 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 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
HMV5/5 stars[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
HMV5/5 stars[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.

Featured singles[]

Album Date Title Peak position Chart Run Sales
Black 7 March 2001 (2001-03-07) "Never Ever" 1 12 weeks 850,000
16 May 2001 (2001-05-16) "Endless Sorrow" 1 11 weeks 860,000
27 September 2001 (2001-09-27) "Dearest" 1 16 weeks 825,000
24 April 2002 (2002-04-24) "Free & Easy" 1 9 weeks 555,000
6 November 2003 (2003-11-06) "No Way to Say" 1 12 weeks 425,000
29 November 2004 (2004-11-29) "Carols" 1 14 weeks 375,000
14 November 2005 (2005-11-14) "Heaven" 1 14 weeks 370,000
White 31 January 2001 (2001-01-31) "Evolution" 1 17 weeks 1,145,000
11 July 2001 (2001-07-11) "Unite!" 1 10 weeks 663,000
12 December 2001 (2001-12-12) "A Song Is Born" 1 10 weeks 510,000
26 November 2002 (2002-11-26) "Voyage" 1 28 weeks 760,000
31 March 2004 (2004-03-31) "Moments" 1 21 weeks 370,000
3 August 2005 (2005-08-03) "Fairyland c/w Alterna" 1 13 weeks 370,000
Black and White 24 July 2002 (2002-07-24) "H" 1 24 weeks 1,170,000
9 July 2003 (2003-07-09) "&" 1 16 weeks 680,000
28 July 2004 (2004-07-28) "Inspire c/w Game" 1 15 weeks 390,000
20 April 2005 (2005-04-20) "Step You / Is This Love?" 1 19 weeks 385,000

Total Single Sales: 10,703,000

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.

External links[]

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