The Last Ai
The Last Ai | ||||
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Studio album by Ai | ||||
Released | December 1, 2010 (2010-12-01) | |||
Recorded | 2009–2010 | |||
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Genre |
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Length | 41:36 | |||
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Producer |
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Ai chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Last Ai | ||||
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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]
Background
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]
Track listing
- Ai Uemura
- George Tashiro
- Uemura
- Cordell Broadus
- DJ2High
- Uta
- Tynice Hinton
- Uemura
- Miliyah
- T.kura
- Uemura
- AK-69
- Uemura
- Judith Hill
- Uta
- Uemura
- Jeff Miyahara
- A.Coley
- C. Mortimer
- Suamana "Swoop" Brown
- Uemura
- Miyahara
- Jeremy Soule
- Uemura
- Uta
- Andrew Bloch
- Bruno Mars
- Edmond Dunne
- Jean Duval
- Keinan Abdi Warsame
- Phillip Lawrence
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Through the Fire" (with Chaka Khan) | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
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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" |
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Personnel
Credits adapted from album's liner notes.[11]
Musicians
- Ai Carina Uemura – lead vocals, songwriting
- George Tashiro – songwriting
- Uta – arrangement, production, songwriting, composition
- Namie Amuro – featured artist, vocals
- Cordell Broadus – songwriting
- DJ2High – composition
- Snoop Dogg – featured artist
- Miliyah Kato – featured artist, songwriting, vocals
- T. Kura – production
- AK-69 – featured artist, vocals, songwriting
- Jin – composition
- DJ Watarai – production, composition
- Masa Kohama – guitar
- Judith Hill – featured artist, vocals, songwriting
- Jeff Miyahara – production, songwriting
- Yuichi Hayashida – composition
- Boyz II Men – featured artist
- Nathan Morris – vocals
- Shawn Stockman – vocals
- Wanya Morris – vocals
- Suamana "Swoop" Brown – production, songwriting, instruments
- C. Mortimer – songwriting
- Alia Coley – songwriting, background vocals
- Erik Hammer – guitar
- Tim Lou – cello
- Geott Osika – bass
- Lisa Liu – violin
- Mark Robertson – violin
- Chaka Khan – featured artist, vocals
- Jeremey Soule – composition
- Andrew Bloch – songwriting
- Bruno Mars – songwriting
- Edmond Dunne – songwriting
- Jean Duval – songwriting
- Keinan Abdi Warsame – songwriting
- Phillip Lawrence – songwriting
- The Smeezingtons – production
- David Foster – songwriting
- Tom Keane – songwriting
- Cynthia Weil – songwriting
Technical
- Ai Carina Uemura – executive production
- Ryosuke Kataoka – vocal engineering
- D.O.I – mixing
- DJ2High – coordination
- Okuda Supa – vocal engineering
- Travis "Shaggy" Marshal – vocal engineering
- Yasuaki Sakuma – vocal engineering
- Neeraj Khajanchi – vocal engineering
- Hiroaki Okuda – recording engineering
- Hiroki Soshi – recording engineering assistant
- Satoshi Hosoi – mixing
- Suamana "Swoop" Brown – vocal arrangement
- Masashi Kubo – mixing
- Masato Kamata – vocal editing
- Phil Tan – mixing
- Dave McNair – mastering
- Tremaine "Six 7" Williams – vocal engineering
- Tiger – vocal direction
Visuals and imagery
- Toshiya Ohno – art direction
- Kenjiro Harigai – designer
- Kyosuke Ochiai – coordination
- Yasunari Kikuma – photography
- Noriko Goto – styling
- Akemi Ono – hair, makeup
- Akilla – tattoo designer
- Hitomi Miyamoto – artwork coordination
Chart performance
The Last Ai debuted and peaked at number 14 on the Japanese Oricon Albums chart, charting for eight weeks.
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
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Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] | 14 |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Version | Label | Ref. |
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Japan | December 1, 2010 | Original | [13] | ||
| Limited | [14] | |||
Various | December 5, 2012 |
| Original | USM Japan | [15] |
References
- ^ "THE LAST A.I.[CD] - AI - UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN". AI (in Japanese). Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ "AIデビュー10周年第2弾シングルは豪華トリプルコラボ". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "AI、デビュー10周年シングルで安室奈美恵と再びコラボ". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "AI、今年3枚目のシングルは未解決事件ドラマ主題歌". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c "AI新シングルで加藤ミリヤ、スヌープ・ドッグと強力コラボ". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100: Week of 2010/04/07". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100: Week of 2010/11/03". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ Inc, Natasha. "AI新作「THE LAST A.I.」に国内外VIPアーティスト8組参加". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved June 15, 2021.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ 嵐、ミスチル超え!09年アルバムセールスのトップに立つ. Nippon Television (in Japanese). September 22, 2009. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ "AI新作「THE LAST A.I.」に国内外VIPアーティスト8組参加". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Natalie Music. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ The Last Ai (CD). Ai. Island Records/Universal Sigma. 2010. UPCI-9038.
- ^ "THE LAST A.I.(初回限定盤) | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "THE LAST A.I. | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
- ^ "THE LAST A.I.(初回限定盤) | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "THE LAST A.I. | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- v
- t
- e
- My Name Is Ai
- Original Ai
- 2004 Ai
- Mic-a-holic Ai
- What's Goin' On Ai
- Don't Stop Ai
- Viva Ai
- The Last Ai
- Independent
- Moriagaro
- Wa to Yo
- Dream
- Respect All
- "Last Words"
- "Story"
- "I Wanna Know"
- "So Special"
- "Okuribito"
- "Fake"
- "Still..."
- "Nemurenai Machi"
- "Stronger"
- "Letter in the Sky"
- "Happiness"
- "Voice"
- "Dear Mama"
- "Minna ga Minna Eiyū"
- "Happy Christmas" / "Heiwa" / "Miracle"
- "Justice Will Prevail at Last"
- "Kira Kira"
- "Summer Magic"
- "You Never Know"
- "Baby You Can Cry"
- "I'm Coming Home"
- "Good as Gold"
- "Gift"
- "Not So Different"
- "The Moment"
- "In the Middle"
- "Aldebaran"
- "Start Again"
- "Respect All"
- "Life Goes On"
- "Rise Together"
- "Broken Strings"
- "Wavin' Flag"
- "Wonder Woman"
- "Magnetic"
- "Bad Bitch Bigaku (Remix)"
- "Beautiful Things"
- "After the Storm"
- "First Time"
- "World Dance"
- "Whatever"
- "All You Need Is Love"
- "Through the Fire"
- "Final Distance"
- "Crime and Punishment"
- "Yūsha Tachi"
- "Welcome Rain"