Independent (Ai album)

Background and development

After the release of The Last Ai in 2010, Ai parted ways with Universal Music Japan, and signed to EMI Music Japan in June 2011. On December 13 and 14, 2011, Ai was one of the lead acts of the Michael Jackson Tribute Live tributes in Japan. She performed Michael Jackson's vocals in the third act, along with the Jacksons. Her first release under EMI, the digital single "Letter in the Sky" featuring the Jacksons, was the theme song for the event. Densetsu Night, a concert recording for the tour of her previous album, The Last Ai (2010), was also released under EMI prior to the album.

Writing and production

The album was written by Ai, collaborating with American and Japanese producers. Of the 10 tracks, nine featured lyrics exclusively written by Ai, and eight featured input from Ai on the musical melody.

The album was recorded over a period of seven months, in Los Angeles, New York City and Tokyo. The bulk of the album was recorded at Eagle Rock, Los Angeles. "Letter in the Sky" was recorded in Hollywood, and "Happiness," "Yume no Mukou" and "Utsukushiki Mono" were recorded in Tokyo. Ai felt that moving to a new label was a chance to refresh her music. In the album sessions, Ai felt challenged in many ways. "Dance Together," an electronic song, was something she had never thought of making, as she previously thought she did not enjoy the genre. Ai considered "Utsukushiki Mono" as the most vocally challenging song she had recorded. She used much more of her falsetto range on the album than in previous works. The lyrics of the album were more "heartfelt" than her previous albums, in particular "One Love" and "Happiness." "Happiness" was written with the feelings and mindset Ai had in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

The album consists of only 10 songs, as she decided it was better to focus on a small number of quality songs. Ai usually felt pressured to record a great number of songs before the album session deadline in the past.

The album was named after its lead track, "Independent Woman."

Promotion and release

The first digital single from the album, "Letter in the Sky," was released in October 2011. The major promotions of the album centred on the song "Happiness," which was first released in November 2011, and later as a physical single in December 2012. The song was used in a high-profile winter commercial campaign for Coca-Cola. The song was highly successful, receiving two separate gold certifications from the RIAJ. This was her most highly certified single since 2007's "I'll Remember You."

Prior to the album, three digital singles were released. "One Love" and "Utsukushiki Mono" were simultaneously released on February 1, 2012. "Utsukushiki Mono" was used as the ending theme song for the animated film Berserk Golden Age Arc I: The Egg of the High King, based on the manga Berserk. "One Love" was used in Morinaga's 1 Choco for 1 Smile charity campaign.

The leading track, "Independent Woman," was released a week before the album on February 15, 2012. A music video was recorded for the song, which was later nominated for the Best R&B video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan. The song was used as the commercial song for Marisol magazine's March and April 2012 TV campaign. "Independent Woman" was featured in the 2012 Wii dance game Just Dance Wii 2, a Japan only game in the Just Dance franchise, as one of the playable tracks.

Ai appeared in a variety of magazines, and on many radio shows to promote her album. These included radio appearances on J-Wave, Nack5 and FM Fuji. She was interviewed in a variety of magazines for the album, including An An, Blenda, Fine, Popteen, Samurai Magazine and Woofin'. A TV special, Ai Special: Independent, was produced and aired on Music On! TV in February 2012.

Tours

Ai supported the album during her Independent tour, held between April and June 2012 across Japan. 23 dates in 23 cities were performed, with the final performed at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan hall on June 22. An additional concert will be performed at Los Angeles on August 24, 2012, at Club Nokia.

Critical reception

Critical reception for the album was favorible. The reviewer at Listen Japan was overwhelmed by the strong impressions of all of the tracks, including the "heavy bass and trancey synths" on "Dance Together," "Futuristic Lover" that "shines with '80s style synths." The reviewer felt all the different songs felt extremely modern and trendy, and noted the varied vocals between songs. CD Journal considered the album's "borderless strength and depth" impressive. Of the lead single "Happiness/Letter in the Sky," the reviewer enjoyed both songs, but much preferred "Letter in the Sky," feeling that Jackie Jackson's lead vocals were "loaded with soul." Listen Japan's Morio Mori thought "Happiness"' "catchy hook and autotuned voice" could make hearts dance. Takuro Ueno of Rolling Stone Japan awarded the album 3.5 stars out of 5, feeling that it was an album that expressed Ai's "pronounced personality" very well. Tetso Hiraga of Hot Express, however, was more impressed by the album's lyrical themes of "the potential of mankind" and unity than the song.

Chart performance

Independent debuted at number two in its first week, selling 21,000 copies. This was the highest position Ai had reached with a studio album since What's Goin' On Ai in 2006. The album charted for 21 weeks in the top 300, eventually tripling its first week to sell 61,000 copies. This was Ai's best selling original album in five years, since Don't Stop Ai in 2007.

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from Independent's liner notes booklet.

Managerial

Performance credits

Visuals and imagery

Technical and production