Dream "A" Live

Dream "A"live
Studio album by Arashi
Released April 23, 2008 (2008-04-23)
(see release history)
Genre Pop, R&B, rock
Length 76:00 (Limited edition)[1]
59:01 (Regular edition)[2]
Label J Storm
Arashi chronology
Time
(2007)		 Dream "A"live
(2008)		 All the Best! 1999–2009
(2009)
Singles from Dream "A"live
  1. "Happiness"
    Released: September 5, 2007
  2. "Step and Go"
    Released: February 20, 2008

Dream "A"live is the eighth studio album of the Japanese boy band, Arashi. The album was released on April 23, 2008 in Japan under their record label J Storm in two editions: a limited 2CD version and a regular CD version. Dream "A"live is the 30th best-selling album of 2008 in Japan.[3] As of July 2010, the album is the group's third highest-selling album after their tenth anniversary album All the Best! 1999–2009 and debut album Arashi No.1 Ichigou: Arashi wa Arashi o Yobu!.[4]

Album information

The album contains the singles "Happiness", which was used as the theme song for the drama Yamada Tarō Monogatari, and "Step and Go". Although production of the album began during the release of "Happiness", word of the new album did not surface until March 2008 when the album available for pre-order on online stores, with the two editions even reaching as high as the top two spots on CDJapan's Pre-Order Ranking.

Title

During Sho Sakurai's radio show Sho Beat on March 2, 2008, it was revealed that the Dream "A" Live title was created by Sakurai and Jun Matsumoto. The original title was "Alive", but was then purposely divided into "A live" to indicate the group's name and the live performance. Matsumoto also added "Dream" to the title to signify how "dreams can turn into reality" because the coincided Arashi Marks 2008 Dream-A-Live tour was considered a major achievement, as only two other Johnny's groups had previously performed a five-dome tour.[5]

Track list

Chart performance

The album debuted at the number one on the Oricon singles daily chart upon its release with the sales index number of 57,795 (about 101,000 copies). By the end of its first week, the album sold a total of 220,722 copies.[6] The album ranked as the 30th best-selling album of 2008 in Japan, selling 303,727 by the end of the year.[3]

On January 1, 2009, the album was placed at number 38 on Billboard Japan's 2008 Top Albums Year-End list.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]

Adam Greenberg on Allmusic gave Dream "A"live three out of five stars, calling it a "decent album throughout, well-crafted and well-performed".[8]

Aside from topping the sales rankings, Oricon also reported that the album was a hit with male buyers. Even men in the 40-year-old age bracket had planned to buy the album, compared to the interest with the group's previous album. The music statistics group attributed the group's increasing fan base to their primetime variety program Himitsu no Arashi-chan (ひみつの嵐ちゃん! Arashi's Secrets) and the various dramas and commercials that the members have appeared in. It was considered quite a development, since many promotions and releases of Johnny's artists are geared towards female teens and young adults.[9]

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Japan Oricon album Weekly Chart[6] 1
Japan Oricon album Yearly Chart[3] 30

Sales and certifications

Country Provider Sales Certification
Japan RIAJ 303,727[3] Platinum[10]

Preceded by
Game by Perfume		 Oricon Weekly number-one album
May 5, 2008 		Succeeded by
Hard Candy by Madonna

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalog
Japan April 23, 2008 J Storm CD JACA-5091[11]
2CD JACA-5089[12]
Taiwan May 9, 2008 Avex Taiwan CD JAJCD26004[13]
2CD JAJCD26004/A[14]
Hong Kong May 14, 2008 Avex Asia CD[15]
2CD[16]
Korea August 19, 2008 SM Entertainment CD SMJTCD271[17]
2CD SMJTCD270[18]

Personnel

Musicians
  • Daisuke Kawai – organ
  • Takahiro Miyazaki – alto saxophone
  • Susumu Nishikawa – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Hideaki Sakai – percussion
  • Satoshi Sano – trombone, chromatic harmonica
  • Shiro Sasaki – trumpet
  • Yasushi Sasamoto – keyboard
  • Hiroomi Shitara – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Masanori Suzuki – trumpet
  • Tetsuya Takahashi – keyboard, choir, chorus
  • Takeshi Taneda – electric bass
  • Tomohiko Tsuya – choir, chorus
  • Jun Usuba – tenor saxophone
  • Ryoji Yamashiki – electric bass

Production

  • Jun Abe – programming
  • Takeshi Hanzawa – photography
  • Gen Strings Ittetsu – string arrangements
  • Julie K. – producer
  • Hiroshi Kawasaki – mastering
  • Mike Rose
  • Yasushi Sasamoto – programming
  • Tsutomu Satomi – coordination
  • Tetsuya Takahashi – programming
  • Akitomo Takakuwa – engineer, mixing
  • Takao – stylist
  • Shigeru Tanida – engineer, mixing
  • Noboru Tomizawa – make-up, hair stylist
  • Asuka Tozawa – coordination
  • Alfred Tuohey
  • Carl Utbult
  • Youth Case – lyricist, composer

References

  1. ↑ "Album Details - Dream "A" Live (Limited edition)" (in Japanese). J Books. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  2. ↑ "Album Details - Dream "A" Live (Regular edition)" (in Japanese). J Books. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 年間ランキング特集『2008年 オリコン年間ランキング大発表！』 (in Japanese). Oricon. December 11, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Arashi Oricon Album Ranking" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  5. ↑ "Arashi Announces "5 Dome Tour"". Tokyograph. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  6. 1 2 2008年05月第1週の邦楽アルバムランキング情報 (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Albums Year End 2008" (in Japanese). Billboard. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  8. 1 2 Greenberg, Adam. "Dream "A" Live review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  9. ↑ 嵐 8枚目のアルバムは、男性からの関心度も上昇 (in Japanese). Oricon. April 20, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  10. ↑ "ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2008年4月". RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  11. ↑ "Dream"A"live (Regular Edition)". CD Japan. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  12. ↑ "Dream"A"live (Limited Edition)". CD Japan. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  13. ↑ "Dream "A"live (普通版)" (in Chinese). Avex Taiwan. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  14. ↑ "Dream "A"live (初回版)" (in Chinese). Avex Taiwan. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  15. ↑ "Dream"A"live (Normal Edition) (Hong Kong Version)" (in Chinese). YesAsia. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  16. ↑ "Dream"A"live (First Press Limited Edition) (Hong Kong Version)" (in Chinese). YesAsia. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  17. ↑ "Arashi (아라시) - Dream "A"live (통상판)" (in Korean). Aladdin. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  18. ↑ "Arashi (아라시) - Dream "A"live (초회한정판)" (in Korean). Aladdin. Retrieved 2010-02-09.

External links

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