2004 Ai
2004 Ai (stylized as 2004 A.I.) is the third studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on June 16, 2004. "2004 Ai" was her first top 10 album, as well as her first album to be certified by the RIAJ. Background. The album was her second to be released under Universal Music Japan. While she was initially signed to the DefJam Japan sub-label for "Original Ai", this album was her first to be released after her switch to the Universal Sigma sub-label. "Original Ai" was a commercial success compared to her debut under BMG  Japan, "My Name Is Ai", selling 20 times her debut album's amount and peaking at number 15 on Oricon's albums chart. Two singles were released prior to the album, "After the Rain" and "EO," both of which were top 30 hits. "EO" was her highest charting single to date, reaching number 23. Writing and production. The majority of the album was produced by R&B producers 813 (DJ Yutaka and Shingo. S), 2Soul, Daisuke Imai, T. Kura and Michico. Ai had worked with 813 and Michico on "Original Ai", on the songs "Summer Time" and "Girls' Talk" respectively. "Dreaming  of You" was a collaboration with Danish music production duo Great Dane, i.e. Carsten Lindberg and Joachim Svare, with new Japanese lyrics written by Ai. Ai had previously worked with the pair on her single "Thank U." Ai collaborated with several musicians on the album, most notably beat-boxer Afra and rapper Tucker on the single "Watch Out!" She also collaborated with 1970s guitarist , who arranged the song "Breathe." The collaboration occurred because Ai happened to be childhood friends with Char's son, vocalist Jesse from the rock band Rize. The pair later collaborated vocally on Char's DVD single  No Generation Gap (2004), which was featured on Ai's album "Feat. Ai". Ai also collaborated with reggae artist Boy-Ken on "Angel." Boy-Ken released an alternative version of "Angel" on his album "Everythin' Is Everythin"' (2004). The interlude "L'Haleine des Cordes" is a classical piece arranged by game music composer Shirō Sagisu. Promotion and concerts. The album received several minor commercial tie-ups. "After the Rain" was used as the Fuji TV music show Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ's January to April 2004 ending theme song. "EO" was use as the TV Tokyo music show Japan Countdown 's May 2004 ending theme song. "Watch Out!" was used in TV commercials for the PlayStation game "". An English version of the song "Alive" was used as an insert song for the South Korean drama "Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang". Ai supported the album with two tours, the 15 date "2004 Ai Club Tour" between May and August 2004, and the 10 date "2004 Ai Japan Tour" in September and October 2004. Ai also performed at the 2004 MTV Buzz Asia Concert in Seoul, South Korea, as well as the Taipei Music Festival to promote the album. Footage from the Taiwan  concert, the club tour and the concert tour were compiled to create Ai's first live DVD, "Machigainai". Critical reception. The reviewers at CDJournal felt the album had a lot more personality than "Original Ai". (2003) They felt the album's sound did not show the "frailty" of other popular R&B acts, and noted the album's "strong beats" and the lyrics from a female viewpoint. "After the Rain" was called "bewitching," and that the song's "sticky with emotion melody wraps the song in a mellow atmosphere." The reviewers felt that Ai's "pressingly questioning" rap in "Watch Out !" showed a high level of technique. The music videos were well received at music awards shows. At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, "After the Rain" was nominated for the Best Buzz Asia - Japan award. Ai also received two nominations at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, best R&B video for "EO," and best collaboration for "Watch Out." In 2005 at the Space Shower Music Video Awards, she won the best female video award for "Watch Out." Chart performance. The album debuted at number three in Japan, selling 36,000 copies. It became a long charting album, selling three  times its first week total (113,000) over 17 weeks. At the time, this was Ai's most successful release, and it became her first release to receive a certification by the RIAJ (gold). As of 2012, it remains her fourth most commercially successful album in Japan. Personnel. Personnel details were sourced from "2004 Ai"'s liner notes booklet. Managerial Performance credits Visuals and imagery Technical and production