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''Loveppears'' (stylized as LOVEppears; pronounced as "Love Appears") is the second studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on November 10, 1999 by Avex Trax in Japan and China Record Corporation in China. Following the success of her debut studio album ''A Song for ××'' in January 1999, Hamasaki and Avex came to an agreement to produce and record a new album by the end of the year. Hamasaki continued writing all the songs and Max Matsuura returned as the album's primary producer. After ''A Song for ××'' attracted harsh reviews for its "unassuming" pop rock sound,〔 Hamasaki recruited with new producers and composers for the album, including HΛL, Dai Nagao and Naoto Suzuki. ''Loveppears''s lyrics emphasize loneliness, sorrow and love, similar to the content from her previous album. The album reviews varied by critics, many whom complimented the musical quality and dance transition, while some criticized her vocal abilities and production values. In its first week of release, the album entered the Oricon Albums Chart at number one with over 1.2 million units. Becoming her longest charting effort with a sixty-four week duration, ''Loveppears'' remains the fortieth highest selling Japanese album and her second highest selling effort behind ''Duty'' (September 2000). Hamasaki promoted the album by releasing eight singles: "Whatever", "Love (Destiny)", "To Be", "Boys & Girls", the extended play ''A'', "Appears", "Kanariya" and "Fly High", all but the EP which were accompanied by a short music video. She performed several tracks from the album on several television appears in 1999 and 2000, and has performed songs on several concert tours and countdown live shows. ==Background== ''Loveppears'' is Ayumi Hamasaki's second studio album. During the mid-1990s, Hamasaki moved to Tokyo to pursue a modelling career with the help from modelling agency SOS. After several business refused her because she was “too short”, she started a small music venture through Sun Music, a musician agency. She released a hip-hop-influenced extended play ''Nothing from Nothing'' (December 1995) on Nippon Columbia, but was dropped after the release failed to make an impact in Japan. While attending Horikoshi High School in Nakano, Tokyo, Hamasaki decided to leave because she refused to study as she believed the subjects were at no use to her.〔 With no job or school attendance, Hamasaki spent much of her time shopping at Shibuya boutiques and dancing at Velfarre, an Avex-owned disco club.〔 At Velfarre, one of her friends introduced her to Max Matsuura. After hearing Hamasaki sing karaoke at the club, Matsuura offered her a recording deal, but Hamasaki suspected ulterior motives and turned the offer down.〔 He persisted and succeeded in recruiting her for the Avex label in the following year.〔 Hamasaki started vocal training in early 1997, but skipped most of her classes after finding her instructors to be too rigid and the classes dull.〔 When she confessed this to Matsuura, he sent her to New York to train her vocals under another method. During her foreign sojourn, Hamasaki frequently corresponded with Matsuura and impressed him with her style of writing. On her return to Japan, he suggested that she try writing her own lyrics.〔 Hamasaki release her debut single "Poker Face" (April 1998). The song was not a major hit and peaked at twenty on the Oricon Singles Chart. Her second single "You" was released a month later and also reached twenty in Japan. Two follow-up singles "Trust" and "Depend on You" were more successful, peaking inside the top ten on the chart and were both certified gold by the RIAJ respectively. Her debut album ''A Song for xx'' (January 1999) was a huge success, selling over one million units in Japan and was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Loveppears」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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