"Carols" is the thirty-fourth single released by Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...

. It was released on September 29, 2004. It became her 21st single to claim the #1 spot on the Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 charts and has sold over 340,000 copies to date. Carols is to date the only Ayumi Hamasaki single to be released on the DVD-Audio

DVD-Audio

DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....

 and SACD

Super Audio CD

Super Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...

 formats. It was the last single to be released from the album My Story

My Story (Ayumi Hamasaki album)

My Story is Ayumi Hamasaki's sixth full-length studio album produced by Max Matsuura. It was released on December 15, 2004.-Promotion:The album includes the three singles: "Moments", "Inspire", and "Carols". During its first release, four different limited edition covers were released for fans to...

.

Music Video

The music video primered a few days before the release and it was directed by Masashi Muto. The video was fillmed in black and white, it features Ayumi singing in an empty cinema and she sings in the place all through-out the video.

Track listing

1. Carols – 5:30
2. Carols "Criminal Tribal Mix" – 6:45
3. Carols "Hammond B-3 Whisper" – 5:47
4. Carols "Original Mix ~instrumental~" – 5:30

DVD

1. Carols (PV
   Music video
   A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
   
   )

Live performances

• September 24, 2004 – PopJam
• September 24, 2004 – Music Station
• September 26, 2004 – CDTV
• September 30, 2004 – AX Music
• October 8, 2004 – Music Station
• October 18, 2004 – Hey! Hey! Hey!
• December 15, 2004 – Best Artist
• December 24, 2004 – Music Station

Charts

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release	Chart	Peak position	First Week Sales	Sales total	Chart run
29 September 2004	Oricon Daily Singles Chart	1
	Oricon Weekly Singles Chart	1	177,778	309,128	14 weeks
	Oricon Yearly Singles Chart	20

• Total Sales : 309,128 (Japan)
• Total Sales : 340,000 (Avex)
• RIAJ certification: Platinum

External links

• "Carols" information at Avex Network
  Avex Trax
  , listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as 7860 and abbreviated as AGHD, is the holding company for a group of entertainment-related subsidiaries based in Japan...
  
  .
• "Carols" CD+DVD information at Avex Network.
• "Carols" information at Oricon
  Oricon
  , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
  
  .