Love, Day After Tomorrow

Background and composition

In 1999, Kuraki sent Japanese label Giza Studio a demo tape of various compositions she had recorded, in order to secure a contract with them. Despite them being impressed by her performance, they signed her with American label Bip! Records, and sent her to New York City in the United States to debut in that region. This attributed to her debut single "Baby I Like", which was recorded in English language, and would coincide with her then-upcoming English studio album. The track impressed executives at East West Records, prompting the label to distribute it. However, because it failed to chart on any Billboard chart there, her label dropped her and sent her back to Japan, where she began recording new material for a Japanese debut.

From the bunch, "Love, Day After Tomorrow" was written solely by Kuraki, while production was handled by Kanonji. Furthermore, it was composed by Aika Ohno and arranged by American music team Cybersound. Because of Kuraki's experience with English, she wrote some lyrics and phrases in that language. Musically, "Love, Day After Tomorrow" is a pop recording that incorporates elements of R&B and teen music, and lyrically discusses about themes of love. In an article from Japanese magazine CD Journal, a contributing editor compared the music to Western culture in the 1990s. AllMusic's Alexey Eremenko agreed, comparing the sound to the likes of Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.

Release and reception

"Love, Day After Tomorrow" was taken as the lead single from Kuraki's debut record, Delicious Way (2000), and serves as her Japanese debut. It premiered in Japan on December 8, 1999 via Giza Studio in two physical editions; a CD single and 12" vinyl. The compact disc included the original recording, an additional B-side titled "Everything's All Right"—along with a bonus remix—, plus the single's instrumental composition. Furthermore, the vinyl release was issued on March 8, 2000, and included two numbers on each side; the original song, and a Day Tripper Drum N' Bass mix, whilst the reverse side had the same listing for "Everything's All Right". Upon its release, the single received positive reviews from music critics. A member of CD Journal praised the singers vocals and the tracks production, but compared its sound and commercial appeal to the works of another rising Japanese artist at the time, Utada Hikaru. Furthermore, Alexey Eremenko of AllMusic selected it amongst her best singles.

Commercially, "Love, Day After Tomorrow" experienced success in Japan. It entered the weekly Oricon Singles Chart at number two, marking it her first charting experience and eventually starting her trend of non-consecutive number-two positions. By the end of 2000, Oricon ranked the single at number four on their year-end chart, with estimated sales of 1,385,190 units; this stands as Kuraki's best-selling single, and was the second highest entry by a female artist, only behind Utada's "Wait & See (Risk)" which placed at number three. It was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of one million units. The company also listed it as the 101st best-selling single in Japanese history, her only entry to date. According to CD Journal, more than 5,000 copies were pre-ordered and sold in the United States. After the release of the singers compilation All My Best in 2009, the song appeared at number 64 on the Japan Hot 100, published by Billboard. It was certified gold by the RIAJ for digital sales of 100,000 copies.

Promotion

An accompanying music video was directed and produced for the singers DVD compilation First Cut (2000), as her management had no prior plans to create a visual for the single. It features the singer in a black and white room, singing the song in front of a chair. The clip has intercut scenes with various locations in New York City and Japan, showing the lifestyles of several people in the cities. To celebrate the artist's third greatest hits album, Kuraki uploaded a new version of the video that featured numerous scenes that were taken by 15 different directors. Japanese musician Aika Ohno, who served as the composer to the track, covered the song in English language and appeared on her debut record Shadows of Dreams (2002).

In order to promote the single, Kuraki performed it on several nationwide concert tours. It's first appearance was on her Experience Live Tour, which commenced in early 2001, and was included on her Loving You... Tour the following year. Between 2003 and 2004, the singer added it to the set list of her Fairy Tale concert tour, and was used as one of the opening numbers to her 5th Anniversary show. It followed as an encore to her Diamond Wave 2006 tour, her 2008 Touch Me concert, her 10th anniversary tour, and her Happy Halloween Concert tour at. Saitama Super Arena. On January 14, 2017, the singer, alongside vocalists Shizuka, Ami and Reina Washio from Japanese band E-girls, performed a new rendition of the track on Music Fair.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Mai Kuraki.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the CD single;