Whatever (Ayumi Hamasaki song)
Encyclopedia
"Whatever" is the sixth song performed by Japanese
singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki
, for her album Loveppears
(1998). The song was written by Hamsaki herself, composed by Kazuhito Kikuchi
and produced by Max Matsuura
.
The song is a trance
and electronic dance. The album version, which is the Dub 1999 Remix was released as the single version. The J Version was released with the single version. It is over seven minutes long. "Whatever" peaked at number 5 on the Japanese Oricon
charts.
In the music video, it features Hamasaki in a white baby-blue room where water falls, where she is sitting on a seat in a white suit. In the video, small intercut scenes of a boy in a angel
costume is seen. Critical reception was mostly positive from critics. The song was released February 10, 1999 in Japan, and later released worldwide digitally.
, composition by Kazuhito Kikuchi
and was produced by Max Matsuura
. The song stays as a J-Pop
genre, but through most of the song, it has heavy trance
and house
styles of music. The song features violin
strings, with double bass
, synthesizers and violas. "Whatever" was released in Japan on February 10, 1999 as a digital format. On February 28, 2001, it was released as a CD Single
, Maxi-CD and digital download worldwide.
as a CD Single. On February 28, 2001, the single was re-released worldwide as a digital download
. The digital version was the Maxi CD version, which featured three new tracks.
's name and the title "Whatever" is features. Then it glitches to Hamasaki singing in white clothes in a room of waterfalls. Threw the video, it features a boy with a dread wig and a angel
costume, as he walks curious in an abandoned and destroyed town. At the end, it shows Hamasaki in a white wig with a tear in her eye, as she is trapped in a cage with barbed wire.
, but on Ayumi's official YouTube account, a small snippet of the song is featured on her profile. The version is the single version, and does not show the end of the video, as it only lasts for two minutes and five seconds.
1 Original version
2 Re-release version
Oricon sales: 189,610 (Original version)
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
singer-songwriter 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...
, for her album Loveppears
LOVEppears
-CD1:#"Introduction" - 1:09Words: Ayumi HamasakiMusic: HALArrangement: HALKeyboards: HALGuitar: Naoyo AkimotoProgramming: HALMixed by Dave Way...
(1998). The song was written by Hamsaki herself, composed by Kazuhito Kikuchi
Kazuhito Kikuchi
Kazuhito Kikuchi is a Japanese composer. From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the J-pop duo Breath.He has been one of the main song composers for Ayumi Hamasaki and has also written songs for Kumi Koda, Every Little Thing, Ami Suzuki and others. He won the Best Composer Award at the Japan Record...
and produced by Max Matsuura
Max Matsuura
, better known as Max Matsuura, is a record producer and president of one of the largest music labels in Japan, Avex Group. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists and converting them into big stars. Ayumi Hamasaki is the most famous example of Matsuura's work...
.
The song is a trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
and electronic dance. The album version, which is the Dub 1999 Remix was released as the single version. The J Version was released with the single version. It is over seven minutes long. "Whatever" peaked at number 5 on the Japanese 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.
In the music video, it features Hamasaki in a white baby-blue room where water falls, where she is sitting on a seat in a white suit. In the video, small intercut scenes of a boy in a angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
costume is seen. Critical reception was mostly positive from critics. The song was released February 10, 1999 in Japan, and later released worldwide digitally.
Composition and release
"Whatever" was written by Ayumi HamasakiAyumi 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...
, composition by Kazuhito Kikuchi
Kazuhito Kikuchi
Kazuhito Kikuchi is a Japanese composer. From 2001 to 2005 he was a member of the J-pop duo Breath.He has been one of the main song composers for Ayumi Hamasaki and has also written songs for Kumi Koda, Every Little Thing, Ami Suzuki and others. He won the Best Composer Award at the Japan Record...
and was produced by Max Matsuura
Max Matsuura
, better known as Max Matsuura, is a record producer and president of one of the largest music labels in Japan, Avex Group. He is known mainly for discovering and developing new artists and converting them into big stars. Ayumi Hamasaki is the most famous example of Matsuura's work...
. The song stays as a J-Pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
genre, but through most of the song, it has heavy trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
and house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
styles of music. The song features violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
strings, with double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, synthesizers and violas. "Whatever" was released in Japan on February 10, 1999 as a digital format. On February 28, 2001, it was released as a CD Single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
, Maxi-CD and digital download worldwide.
Re-release
For the 1999 release, the song was only released in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a CD Single. On February 28, 2001, the single was re-released worldwide as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
. The digital version was the Maxi CD version, which featured three new tracks.
Music video
- Assistant Producer: Kiyoshi Utsumi (prime direction)
- Director: Wataru Takeishi
- Production Manager: Yoshiko Ishibashi (Dee DRIVE)
- Assistant Director: Tetsuji Nakamichi (Dee DRIVE)
- Director Of Photography: Tetsuya Kamoto (JPN)
- Light: Masuto Noguchi
- Stylist: Koji Matsumoto
- Hair & Make Up: Chu, Tamotsu (Too-RUSTIC)
Sypnosis
The music video starts when Ayumi HamasakiAyumi 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...
's name and the title "Whatever" is features. Then it glitches to Hamasaki singing in white clothes in a room of waterfalls. Threw the video, it features a boy with a dread wig and a angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
costume, as he walks curious in an abandoned and destroyed town. At the end, it shows Hamasaki in a white wig with a tear in her eye, as she is trapped in a cage with barbed wire.
Reception
Currently, the music video is not officially released on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, but on Ayumi's official YouTube account, a small snippet of the song is featured on her profile. The version is the single version, and does not show the end of the video, as it only lasts for two minutes and five seconds.
Tracklisting
- 1999 Japanese CD Single;
(February 20, 1999)
- "Whatever" (version M)
- "Whatever" (version J)
- "Whatever" (version M – instrumental)
- "Whatever" (version J – instrumental)
- Re-released Maxi CD
(February 28, 2001)
- "Whatever" version M
- "Whatever" version J
- "Whatever" (Ferry 'System F' CorstenFerry CorstenFerry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, is a Dutch producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer. He also hosts his own weekly radio show, Corsten's Countdown. He routinely plays at events all over the world with crowds in excess of tens of thousands. In 2009 Ferry...
vocal extended mix) - "Appears" (JP's SoundFactory mix)
- "Immature" (D-Z Dual Lucifer mix)
- "Whatever" version M (instrumental)
- "Whatever" version J (instrumental)
Live performances
- February 10, 1999 - Hit MMM - Version M
- February 19, 1999 - Music Station - Version M
- February 20, 1999 - Countdown TV - Version M
- February 22, 1999 - Hey! Hey! Hey - Version M
- March 10, 1999 - Pocket Music - Version M
- March 13, 1999 - Pop Jam - Version J
- March 25, 1999 - Super Dream Live - Version J
- March 29, 1999 - Hey! Hey! Hey! - Version J
- October 2, 2000 - SMAPxSMAP - Version M
Chart positions
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
Time in chart |
|---|---|---|
| Japan 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... 1 |
5 | 9 weeks |
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
Time in chart |
| Japan 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... 2 |
7 | 3 weeks |
1 Original version
2 Re-release version
Oricon sales: 189,610 (Original version)
External links
- "Whatever" information at Avex NetworkAvex 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...
. - "Whatever" re-release information at Avex Network.
- "Whatever" information at OriconOricon, 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...
. - "Whatever" re-release information at Oricon.